by Meg Cowley
“Unusual, don’t you think for a warehouse to be under such watchful eyes?” I said.
“Hmm.” Juan was still reluctant to admit my theory was correct, it would seem, but he had to realise it was unusual. The rest of the industrial park lay abandoned in relative darkness with not so much as one security guard patrolling the estate.
“Look, I’m going in there, whether you believe me or not, and whether you come with me or not. I was hired to do a job, and as far as I’m concerned, until I get the stand-down order from my own director, I’m still on that job. This is the most — the only — credible lead we have. I intend to follow it up. Are you coming, or not?”
“Chica, you have Mexican fire in you. Are you sure you’re English?”
I laughed. “Pretty sure. I don’t think they make Mexicans as pale as me.”
He cracked a smile, too. “Alright. If you’re sure, I support you. I’m not letting you go in there alone; how could I?”
“We have something they don’t, anyway. Magic.”
Juan nodded with a grimace, serious again.
“I’ll take out the cameras, can you knock out a couple of the guards? I have an idea…”
My rune bracelet hummed on my wrist as I activated the magic within it. Being so close to Cancun itself, I could feel the latent power of the ley lines surging, and I took advantage of them, drawing their power through my runes and towards the building. Within seconds, I knew the magical charge would disrupt the electrical power circuits and scramble the cameras, giving us a limited window to get into the warehouse. I just had to hope Juan had successfully completed his part of my plan.
I watched as he snuck around the building, creeping up on two of the guards. As he rounded the corner, I saw the flash of magic and all was dark and still again.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when he reappeared by my side, now clothed entirely in black; he had melted into the shadows all the way back. He held out a set of black clothes for me, too.
“Where are they?”
“I tied them up in a dark corner where they won’t be found and put them to sleep. They won’t wake for a while, don’t worry.” He grinned at me as he stuffed his glowing pendant beneath his borrowed top. I scrambled to put on the black clothes over my own. It was a stuffy night, and these wouldn’t help, but it was a price worth paying. This way, we could get much closer without being detected.
Last of all, we donned the matching black caps — I tucked my hair out of sight under mine — and, heads down, we hurried to the compound, marching step by step around the building to continue the path Juan’s unfortunate victims had taken. The main door was a stone’s throw away, but it was too convenient; too tempting. It was the side door that we unlocked with a whisper of magic.
We slipped inside to a dimly lit interior and ducked behind some metal shelving to recon. It was deserted and packed with stacked crates of all shapes and sizes. We crept along an aisle towards the front of a building, and stopped as we heard voices approaching. Our wide eyes met, and Juan motioned me to join him. I followed him between some crates and we waited with bated breath. Shadows flitted over us as two guards passed, strolling nonchalantly along.
When they had passed, we moved on. My heart hammered in my chest. I was Magicai, and trained in jujitsu; I could handle them, but I was never complacent. The front of the warehouse loomed and the lights were all on here. Activity thrummed, and I dared not get any closer. Wedged between two crates, I inched forward, straining to see what was happening. I had a limited view, but before me, men and women bubble wrapped items and packed them into crates. I beckoned Juan. Taller than me, he stood with his front to my back, and his head atop mine, and watched.
“Those are the artefacts from the dig site.” His voice was devoid of emotion, but I knew it would be raging inside him; surprise, shock, anger, upset. My heart sank. I had been proven right; it was both satisfying and a disappointment. Gonzalez was behind the entire thing. Dos ojos, dos caras; two eyes, two faces, indeed.
“Any sign of the skull?”
“You’ll know it if you see it. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before.”
It was at that moment my phone rang on full volume. Rookie mistake. My hands scrambled to silence it, but it was too late. I only had time to meet Juan’s eyes with my own — filled with unsaid apologies — before shadows fell over us and we were dragged from our hiding place.
A strong hand grasped me by the nape of my neck and hauled me out with the ease of picking up a cat by its scruff into full view of the spread of artefacts. My phone was snatched from my hand. I could just see Juan in the corner of my eye being pulled by two men, and then three. He soon gave up struggling. There were too many of them. Magicai or not, we could not escape this.
I took the scant moments I had to take in the scene before me. The floor was littered with artefacts and bubble wrap floated about liberally. In the centre of them all, the huge prize lay on a table, half packed; it was being wrapped with the greatest care. I could only see half of it, but it was enough to send shivers down my spine.
It was unmistakably the Kukulkan Skull. Bleached white bone. Yawning, empty eye sockets. Fangs as long as my arm. And coming from it, a trace of the old magic I had felt as we explored the dig site mixed with the strangest tang of something unfamiliar; perhaps the very magic of the god Kukulkan. Perhaps it did exist? Perhaps he did exist — or had? My legs stopped. I wanted to look at it, but my captor had other ideas and shoved me forwards. I stumbled and fell, landing hard on my side.
Juan followed me, sprawled in a heap at my shoulder as his captors flung him to the floor, too. He spoke in a rapid babble of Spanish to anyone who would listen, for guns were appearing from all sides to train on us. I heard him say the senator’s name and the guns froze.
I understood nothing of the exchange. I wished being a Magicai gave me the gift of tongues, but I hadn’t mastered that magic, yet. Whatever Juan had said stopped us being imminently shot, for the guns were lowered, by a fraction, and a phone call was made.
With my head forced to the floor, it was hard to see much, but the polished black brogues that arrived some time later did not match the scuffed boots and shoes of everyone else. I recognised the pinstriped pants. The senator himself had arrived.
“Señor Santiago, Señorita Stark, what are you doing here? I apologise for your treatment.” His voice was light, but I did not mistake it for friendliness. He fired a babble of Spanish at our captors, who helped us to our feet and stood back, watching us warily. I glared at the buffoon who’d dared pick me up by the neck and brushed myself down, imagining pinning him to the floor instead.
His motive was obvious: he was trying to test how much we knew. I knew there’d be no way out of this room alive regardless. Now that we’d seen the artefacts, we were a liability, and he knew it. Neither Juan nor I were the types of folks he could buy silence from.
“You have seen?” He swept his immaculate arm around the room, inviting us to take in the details of his spoils. “Recovered this afternoon, just after you left my company. I had them brought here to personally oversee their careful packaging and swift return to national custody.”
Juan’s gaze swung between us. I could see his uncertainty resurfacing. He had finally believed me that this crazy tale strung together. And now, the senator has arrived to cast doubt on that. For me, there was none. I wasn’t blinded by loyalty to a man I’d served for years, like Juan. I wasn’t confused by that. I had only facts, and they shouted loud and clear.
“You know that’s not true.” I stared him out, refusing to lower my eyes. His brow furrowed as if he couldn’t quite fathom me out.
“I am sure I do not understand what you mean, Señorita.”
“You robbed your own site. Murdered the thieves. Why? To cover your tracks? It didn’t work. You bought them cursed deaths for your own selfish ends.” I bared my teeth at him in a feral scowl. “You thought you could hide behind petty criminals and shell companies.”
My lip curled and I shook my head in disgust.
Gonzalez had the nerve to smirk, as if he was amused by my tirade, but he did not rise to my goading. No, he was too experienced to do that. His tone was anything but jovial when he replied, however.
“I would be very careful, Señorita Stark, of what you accuse me of so lightly. I am an incredibly powerful and wealthy individual; well respected from many years of service to Mexico. Do you really want to make such wild and unfounded accusations against me?”
His eyes glittered with menace as he stalked forwards, and something else glittered too on his rings: runes. I kept my eyes fixed on his. If he knew I had realised he was Magicai, we were finished, whether he was guilty or not in this. I had no doubt he would kill us to protect that. For once, I thanked my lucky stars my own Magicai identity was kept under such tight wraps, few outside my family knew.
“Okay, Señorita. Say you’re right. Everything you say is true. What now?” He opened his hands wide and shrugged. “You are both trespassing on private property, out of hours. How suspicious, and illegal. You, Señorita, are in a foreign country far from your embassy. You, Señor Santiago, are disgraced. An angry employee — former employee, after this — and his girlfriend on a crazy chase for what? To smear my name? To steal the artefacts for yourselves? Who can tell? Either way, I can have you arrested at once.”
“And we will tell the police everything. We have proof.” My chin jutted out in defiance. That stopped him for a moment, but the flicker of indecision was masked by his bravado once more. But I had seen it.
“You’re right, I cannot risk that.” He turned to an associate. “Take them to Nohol-ha. You know what to do.”
“What?” I had no idea what he meant. Beside me, Juan struggled to his feet and launched himself at Gonzalez.
“How could you do this?” he snarled. All traces of the carefree Juan I knew had vanished, and his hate was palpable. I could understand that. The man who he idolised, worked for, represented, even, had betrayed him at the deepest level personally and professionally. “All these years, a lie!”
Gonzalez did not reply, looking at Juan disinterestedly for a moment, before turning away. “Nohol-ha, at once,” he repeated to his associate and strode away. “I shall accompany you. I can afford no more delays.”
I batted away the man who tried to grasp my wrists with calculated punches to neutralise him and glared at the rest to stop them approaching me. “I don’t know what you intend to do with us,” though I had a dark feeling I knew what, “but you won’t get away with it. We’ve passed on our evidence. You’ll be stopped no matter what. Harming us will only make things worse for yourself.” My voice was much more confident than I felt. An urgency flowed through me. You never had much chance to bargain with men like these; it was a gamble. And you had to make sure your cards sounded better than theirs.
Gonzalez stopped and turned around to view me with open curiosity. “You are a strange one, Señorita Stark.” No doubt he expected me to be quivering on the ground in tears. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction, even if that was in my nature. I bared my teeth instead. “Goodbye.”
“The world will know what you have done!” I snarled at him.
“I doubt it,” he said, already walking away. I simmered as hands grabbed us and dragged us away. How much I wished I could punch him and unleash the full power of my magic upon him, but that would not help matters, I was sure. I knew he was Magicai, but until all else was lost, I would not reveal myself to him.
Our hands were bound so tightly I couldn’t feel my fingers, and our feet, too, before we were half hauled, hand dragged outside and tossed into the back of a van like rolled up carpets. The metal floor was cold against my cheek, which stung from the force of the impact. In front of me, Juan’s eyes looked into nothing. He looked defeated, but I hadn’t given up yet. We were plunged into darkness as the doors slammed shut. A moment later, the engine rumbled to life and the van shook us mercilessly.
“This isn’t over,” I warned him. “Where are they taking us?”
He did not reply.
“Juan. For goodness sake, snap out of it. I know this is hard to take, but if you don’t help me, we’re both dead. Do you want to die?”
That did it. His eyes met mine, a tiny gleam in the almost pitch black. Only the passing street lamps flashed intermittent flashes of orange light through the small window across us.
“No.”
“Then help me. We still have a mission. Gonzalez is Magicai; he knows all about the power of the Kukulkan Skull, I’m sure. Do you want him to use it? To… to kill many innocent people? Or to raise an army of the living dead?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then explain where are they taking us and how do we get out of here?”
He jostled into me as the truck ran over a bump and his head banged mine. For a moment, I saw stars.
“Sorry, Zoe.”
“Not your fault.” He couldn’t see my grimace in the dark.
“Nohol-ha is a cenote to the south of Cancun.”
“And?” I could send him holding back.
“It’s where the gangs dump bodies.” His voice was hollow, and I could sense the fear in him. I had to feel a little sorry for him. He was a nice guy, but I would bet, for as much as he had dealings with Araña, he didn’t know much of this world. He didn’t deserve to.
“Right. Well. At least, I know. We know they’re going to act at some point sooner or later. I imagine Gonzalez will want to savour his victory before he acts, so we have time, but the quicker we can escape the better. I think we’ll have no choice but to reveal ourselves to him, but we have to avoid it for as long as possible. Magic is the only ace card we get.”
“Huh?” He didn’t gamble, then. Or understand the saying.
“Never mind. Can you loosen your ropes?”
“Yes.”
“Just a little bit, then. We’ll need to have the element of surprise.”
“You want to escape from the truck?”
“Not exactly. We won’t know what we’re escaping into. We’ll have to wait for the right moment.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“No.” Well, I had to be honest. I wasn’t sure. But I’d be damned if I wasn’t going to try.
With a flash of magic, our bonds loosened; not entirely, but so we could slip our hands and feet loose if we wanted.
The van juddered to a halt and the engine cut out. Silence was immediate; I was deafened by the lack of sound after the loudness of the engine. A door slammed as feet crunched outside.
“Zoe,” Juan’s voice was low and urgent. “I’m sorry, okay? This is all my fault. If we don’t make it—”
“We’ll make it,” I said with as much determination as I could muster.
The door opened, and in the brief second before I was dragged out, I flashed him the best reassuring smile I had.
Chapter Seven
It was pitch black, but the hum of the jungle was unmistakeable. Out here, it was still muggy and cloying despite the time. I could see moonlight ahead through a break in the canopy, and we were hauled towards it. No one spoke.
The trees parted, and before us Nohol-ha yawned; a vast pit of dark water far below us that disappeared into nothingness. A tingle of unease caressed my already nauseated stomach. Out here in the dark with the faded traces of old magic, it was much easier to believe the tales about portals into the Mayan underworld, for it looked just like one. I didn’t want to enter it, that was certain.
Our legs were untied and we were hauled to our feet before the cliff. Gonzalez strolled towards the edge, looking into the depths, and was inscrutable as he returned to us. He stopped a distance away as if he did not wish to step too close to us. I assumed they’d shoot us. Perhaps, he didn’t want to get blood on his suit. I found the masterminds usually didn’t enjoy the dirty work.
“Well, this is it,” said Gonzalez with a thin-lipped smile. “I’m sorry it had to be this way, but you
should not have interfered with my business.”
“You don’t have to do this,” I said. I had to try. “If we don’t reappear, the police and the media will be alerted. They know where to find you.”
He stared at me. I could barely see his face in the shadows. “I think we both know this is untrue, Señorita Stark. No one will miss you until it is far too late. You will never be found. Perhaps, if the police do speak to me, they will find I tell them of an unstable young man who had just lost his job.”
“And me?”
“What of you?”
“You hired me.”
“All contact was made in Señor Santiago’s name. How can I know where you are if I do not know you exist? You were never here.” His teeth flashed briefly in the gloom with delight. He thought he was so clever. I swallowed. I was running out of options. We were running out of options. He knew it. “So, here you will sleep. Fitting, no? I am sending you to the depths of the Mayan underworld. Perhaps you will meet Kukulkan himself.” He barked a short laugh. “No one will ever find you. Nohol-ha keeps my secrets well. If you’ll excuse me. Goodbye.”
He adjusted his tie and cuffs, and beckoned to one of his men. They walked away chatting in Spanish, Gonzalez with his hands clasped behind his back as if he were enjoying a stroll on a summer’s day. Soon, they were out of sight through the tangle of the jungle.
I could feel my heart kicking against my ribs as adrenaline rushed through my body. This was it. This was the moment to break for it or we would die. Around me, I could hear the click of guns being prepared.
“Now,” I whispered to Juan.
Time seemed to slow as we leapt into action. Our bonds stretched like elastic, seemingly of their own volition, and slipped to the floor. My bracelet and Juan’s pendant flashed dimly as we called upon them.
I launched myself towards one of the three remaining men. He had no time to raise his gun before I sent him to the floor with three quick blows. Juan tackled the second, but the third was already squeezing the trigger on his gun, pointing at Juan. My runes flashed even brighter, and from the gun spurted water. Automatically, the man had already moved to target me and realised part way through pulling the trigger again that his gun was no longer a functional weapon. As the second man sailed over the cliff edge and splashed into the cenote with a racket that split the night, I sailed towards the last man, plucked the gun from his grasp, and crashed it into his temple. He dropped without a sound.