Mayan Blood

by Theresa Dalayne

  Her heart flooded with misery, as if someone had reached inside her chest and torn it out with a hot iron.

  It was her stone. From wherever Sarian held it captive, it managed to break through the barrier to deliver a message.

  The obedience spell was failing.

  Her light bolted to life so violently, her back arched and her chest jerked toward the sky. Behind her lids played a succession of images.

  Raging water.

  Flashes of light.

  A tree, hanging onto the edge of a cliff with vines consuming the trunk.

  Flashes of light.

  She gasped and held her breath when ice cold shocked her skin.

  White water and bubbles.

  Flashes of light.

  Her lungs burned.

  Flashes of light.

  The water roared in her ears.

  Flashes of light.

  Her throat tightened.

  Flashes of light.

  Panic streaked through her. She couldn’t breathe.

  Flashes of light.

  She ground her teeth and swallowed down the need to pull in a breath.

  The soft glow of something, pinched between two rocks. A string, from what she could tell, swayed in the water’s current.

  When her light flickered off, her eyes flew open and she collapsed to the sand. She gasped and coughed, choking on the memory. Her body shook as she struggled to stand. The vision had torn through her. She’d never experienced anything like it.

  One thing she knew for sure.

  That wasn’t her stone.

  When her stone spoke to her, she felt it.

  This was more like an infliction—a vision she had no way to control.

  She had to go there. She had to find the place with the waterfall.

  It took longer than usual to make it to the house. The more she walked, the lighter her muscles became. After she had walked through a few wings, she was as good as new. Maybe it was that whole healing thing that helped her recover so fast, though it was hard to tell.

  When she reached the north wing, Zanya knocked on the door. It creaked open and Hawa peeked out. Her hair in a tight ponytail, she resembled a black leopard. “Yes?”

  “I need your help.”

  Hawa rolled her eyes. “What now?”

  “Listen. I’m coming to you because I think you can help me. I need to go out. You—I think—can take me there.”

  She arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “Why me?”

  “Because you don’t care about keeping me safe.”

  Hawa opened the door a bit wider. “Sounds like an adventure.”

  “Yeah.” Zanya shrugged. “I guess you could call it that.”

  ***

  It took almost an hour to get to the place from her vision. When they arrived, Zanya followed Hawa out of the car. Soft soil sank under her feet in the humid night air.

  “Where to now?” Hawa stepped out of the car and shut the door behind her.

  Even with the Jeep’s headlights, the waterfall was shrouded in darkness. Its presence would have been cloaked completely if the water weren’t for the roaring rush of the water. A light mist coated her skin.

  “I’m not completely sure.” Zanya listened carefully, half expecting a booming voice to echo down from the skies and direct her where to go.

  “Well I seriously hope you didn’t drag us out here for nothing. I’m missing my beauty rest to take you on this little excursion.”

  Zanya held up her hand. “Just…shut up for a second.”

  Hawa huffed and swatted at the bugs swarming around the light from the headlights. “Make this quick, would you? I don’t particularly want to be eaten alive.”

  The jungle’s sounds were deafening. Zanya carefully walked forward, every step more unsure than the last. Staggering around in the jungle at night wasn’t exactly smart, but her vision was so strong, she wasn’t left with a choice. It was either follow the clues or not sleep again—ever.

  She scanned the jungle foliage.

  “Anything?” Hawa called from behind her.

  Zanya’s scanned the jagged cliffside to the top, where silky moonlight cast over a single tree. Vines wrapped around the trunk as if they were eating it alive. “I think I got something.” She glanced over her shoulder at Hawa. “This way.”

  She scouted the easiest way up the side of the cliff, spotting what may have been a game trail. Without a second thought she pushed forward, stumbling over rocks and thick branches on her way.

  “Hey!”

  Zanya ignored Hawa’s calls. Her pulse quickened with every step toward the tree. She had to get to it. She needed to see what was there.

  “Hey, crazy woman. Does being the guardian give you night vision, too?”

  “I have to get to that tree.” She clawed at the ground and scrambled her way there until she reached the top of the cliff. When she looked down at the car, Hawa’s silhouette was carved into bright beams from headlights.

  Hawa cupped her hands around her mouth. “You’re going to get yourself killed!”

  Zanya reached the tree, the toes of her shoes close to the edge of the cliff. The tree grew in an awkward spot, tilted over the edge. She rested her hand on the trunk and peered over at the raging water below.

  Vertigo made her head spin. She pushed back, her stomach lurching into her throat.

  Her vision had brought her to the tree, and then…

  “Oh, hell no.” She stole another glance over the cliff. “This is so not a good idea.” Her muscles rigid, she ground her teeth and then stripped off the outer layer of clothes. “I’ve finally lost it.”

  “What the hell are you doing?” Hawa yelled.

  “I don’t know!” Her shouts echoed through the jungle. She tossed her sweater on the ground and gathered all of the courage she had, which under the circumstances had to be a lot. She curled her lip. “This better be worth it.”

  She ran forward, and with the third step, she hit air. Zanya flailed her arms as she fell to the churning pool below. When she hit the white water, her first instinct was to gasp from the shock of cold. Instead she swallowed down the urge and kicked as hard as she could.

  Panic streaked through her as she fought to find the surface. The water tossed her in every direction. Bubbles swirled in circles and her hair floated all around her.

  A warm glow caught her eye. She searched below, but the waterfall’s power swept her away.

  The glow streaked past her again. Her lungs were on fire, and the idea of retrieving whatever was there became a distant second to taking a breath. She kicked and scrambled until she found rock and skimmed her hands along its slick surface to the top. She pulled in the most wonderful air she’d ever breathed, and then another. Water fell over her head, pushing hair into her face.

  “Are you fucking crazy or do you have a death wish?” Hawa stood at the edge of the lake, flailing her arms in the air.

  “There’s something down there.”

  Hawa paused, and then threw her arms out to the sides. “Great. There’s something down there.” She paced. “I need your help, she said. It’ll be an adventure, she said.” Hawa laughed. “Just great.”

  “I have to get it.”

  Hawa turned toward her. “Don’t you dare. Renato will kill me if something happens to you.”

  Zanya shivered. She had to retrieve the glowing object. She tightened her jaw. “This better be worth it.” She drew in a deep breath and dunked under.

  Peering through the churning water, the glow broke through. She pushed off the rock and kicked toward it, reaching out to catch the string with the tips of her fingers. With one firm tug, the pendant came loose.

  The current grabbed her and dragged her underneath the waterfall. The water punched her in the gut and in the ribs, battering her against sharp rocks.

  Her limbs went limp.

  Her head pounded with every heartbeat.

  The need to find oxygen had all but vanished as her vision blurred.
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br />   The current carried her out from under the waterfall and pushed her motionless body into the center of the lake.

  She wanted to swim to the surface.

  She wanted to, but couldn’t.

  Her limbs were heavy and the will to fight slipped away.

  Someone grabbed hold of her arm and tugged her to the surface. She gasped when a cool breeze caressed her cheek, and she tilted her head back to see Hawa’s blurry features.

  Zanya blinked through beads of water. “You look like a drowned rat.” The words croaked from her throat.

  “Yeah. Thanks.” Hawa dragged her to the edge and onto land, then collapsed beside her, her chest heaving. “You are one stupid, crazy girl.”

  “I know.” Zanya lifted her hand with the wicker pendant folded in her fingers. “But it was worth it.”

  ***

  Arwan

  Arwan paced in the foyer. He had heard Hawa and Zanya leave, but it had been hours since then and they still hadn’t returned. He glanced out the window at the sky, now streaked with colors of a dawning day. Something was wrong. He had to find them, which would mean telling Renato he was aware they left and didn’t stop them. There was no doubt his mentor would be furious, but it was out of his hands now.

  The doorknob jiggled. Arwan paused and watched, listening to whispers from the other side of the door. His eyes narrowed. When the door pushed open, Hawa met his gaze and her shoulders slumped forward. “Fantastic.”

  Zanya followed her, both of them sopping wet.

  Strands of wet hair were stuck to Zanya’s neck and cheeks. She cleared her throat and glanced at Hawa. “Hey. What are you doing up?”

  Arwan stepped toward Hawa, who immediately stepped back.

  “Where have you been?” The words pushed through his clenched jaw.

  “Hey, calm down, cowboy. It’s fine. We’re fine.” Hawa smoothed out her wet shirt. “Can’t say the same for my clothes, though.” She shot a glare at Zanya.

  She shrugged. “Sorry.”

  Arwan shifted his attention to the guardian. “What’s going on?”

  She gathered hair over her shoulder. “I had this thing I had to do. It’s kind of hard to explain.”

  He glared. “Amuse me.”

  Zanya froze, then dropped her hands to her sides. “Why do you seem so pissed off?”

  Arwan clenched and unclenched his fists. “Do you have any clue what would have happened if you got hurt?”

  “Well…” She rubbed the back of her head. “It seems like the whole healing thing is working in my favor.”

  He widened his eyes. “You did get hurt?”

  “It was just a scratch,” Hawa said. “Calm down.”

  He shouted a few lines in Spanish, telling Hawa just how irresponsible she was for allowing Zanya to put herself in harm’s way. Their entire plan would have fallen apart if Zanya didn’t return.

  Hawa scoffed and perched her hand on her hip. “You have some damn nerve. You should be thanking me, and instead you’re acting like a lunatic.” He opened his mouth to say something else, but she pushed out her palm. “Whatever. I’m going to change.” Hawa stomped off, leaving him alone in the foyer with Zanya.

  She shifted her weight. “I have a feeling I missed something.”

  “What was so important?” He scanned her for any injuries. There was a streak of blood on the shoulder of her shirt, but she didn’t seem to be in any pain.

  Zanya dug in her pocket and pulled out a wicker pendant dangling from a thin rope. “I had to get it.”

  He inspected it a moment before speaking. “You went to get a piece of jewelry?”

  “Well…” She glanced at it. “Yeah. Kind of. I had this vision and—”

  Arwan grabbed her shoulders. “What were you thinking?”

  Her features hardened and she craned her neck, looking at his hand rested on her shoulder. “Get your hands off of me.”

  “You could have gotten yourself killed.”

  “I said...” She drew in a deep breath, as if trying to calm herself. “Get your hands off of me. Now.”

  He searched her face, and then stepped back. “Why didn’t you ask me to help?”

  “Now I can’t do anything without your permission? Maybe you have the wrong idea of what we are. You’re not my boss or my protector. I can handle myself.”

  His heart clenched. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “Well you sure as hell are acting like you know what’s best for me.” She shoved the pendant back in her pocket. “I didn’t ask for a babysitter, okay? So…” She eyed him. “Back off.”

  “Back off?” He ground his teeth. “Do you have any idea how long we’ve searched for you? Do you have any idea how many people have died, for you!”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t ask for anyone to—”

  “You didn’t have to!” His shouts echoed through the foyer. He reeled himself back, his gazed locked with hers. “You should be training. You should be putting your time and energy into learning how to use your powers and getting the stone back. Into finding Sarian. We have to find him!”

  “Why is it so important to you, anyway?”

  Arwan turned his face away from her.

  “Oh. So there’s more to this than I thought.”

  He scowled. “He may not have killed my mother, but he helped the person who did. For that, he deserves to die.”

  “So that’s it. That’s why this whole thing has been so important to you. Why I’m so important to you.”

  He furrowed his brows. “That’s what you think?”

  “I don’t know. You tell me. I thought you were different. That I could…” Her cheeks flushed.

  “Zanya.” He reached out to her, but she pulled back.

  “It’s okay. I get it.” She shivered and curled her arms around herself.

  He ached to hold her. Comfort her.

  “You don’t have to pretend anymore, Arwan.” Her features hardened. “I’ll try harder to find Sarian. That’s my job, after all. That’s why I’m here.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Zanya

  Settled on the sofa in Renato’s study, Zanya shut her eyes and used telepathy to call everyone to a meeting. She tried to be as gentle as possible, recalling how much it hurt when Marzena first climbed into her head. Even though she was hesitant, Renato insisted she use her powers as much as possible. Practice makes perfect.

  One by one, they sluggishly strode in at the early morning hour.

  Arwan was the last to arrive, wearing a pair of striped shorts and a tight white T-shirt. She hated how he always looked like he’d just stepped out of the pages of an Abercrombie and Fitch ad without even the slightest effort.

  He pulled back strands of hair fallen around his face. Completely avoiding eye contact, he found a seat on one of the two leather armchairs.

  Jayden strode in and plopped on the couch beside her. He threw his arm over her shoulder. “Good morning, beautiful.”

  Zanya rolled the pendant between her fingers. She didn’t know why, but it calm her. “I thought you were mad at me,” she said to Jayden in a low voice.

  He shrugged. “I could never stay mad at you for long.”

  That may have been true, but Arwan was proving to be the polar opposite. She sensed his avoidance. They hadn’t spoken since last night, making the air thick with tension.

  Renato held a book when he took front and center. “Marzena and I have spent a tremendous amount of time in research. We’ve found a connection, one that may prove helpful in locating Sarian. When Tara was taken, he most likely brought her to where he is hiding. It’s where he would have been most comfortable interrogating her.”

  Zanya winced. There was only one thing he could have meant by ‘interrogating.’ He was trying to handle the topic delicately, but it still made her skin crawl. She gripped the pendant tighter.

  “So…” Peter took Tara’s hand, waiting for Renato to elaborate.

  “So if M
arzena can search Tara’s mind for some kind of link buried deep in her subconscious, we may be able to locate him.”

  “That seems like a good idea,” Zanya said. “We should try it.”

  Renato struck a long wooden match and glided the flame over the chamber of his pipe. “There’s a catch.”

  Jayden huffed. “There’s always a catch.”

  “If I can help, I’ll do it,” Tara said. “Even if it’s not easy.”

  Marzena used her mind to speak to the group. Thankfully, Zanya had gotten used to the mental invasion now that she had access to her own strengths. “Tara, my dear. Entering the mind can be difficult, and sometimes painful. Usually, if the subject is open to me looking into their memories, the discomfort can be avoided. In this case, however, I will need to reach very deep inside your subconscious.”

  Tara frowned. “So, it’ll be painful?”

  “The memory of your experience with Sarian has been locked away, separated from the rest of your mind because in reality, when we went back and changed the path of history, it was undone. But no memory is ever completely lost. Reaching them is possible, but not without risk.”

  “What risk?” Zanya asked.

  “It may bring Tara’s recollection of her time with Sarian to the surface.”

  Zanya's features hardened. “No. There’s no way we’re going to do it.”

  “Zanya, if I can help find the stone, I want to do it. I’m the only one without abilities here, and all I’ve been is dead weight—”

  “That’s not true,” Peter said.

  “Yes it is. I know it sounds bad to say, but it’s the truth. If I can do this one thing—”

  “You don’t want to remember. Trust me.” She had spent years with that monster climbing in her head. She wouldn’t let Tara go through the same thing.

  “I agree with Zanya,” Renato said. “It’s settled then. We will find another way.”

  Tara leaned forward, her red curls now matching the shade spread over her cheeks. “Excuse me, but I’m the one in question here. What about how I feel? Doesn’t that matter?”