“And what?”
“I picked up his scent.”
“His?”
Three seconds later, the world trembled. Fireworks exploded in reds and golds, splitting the sky with every pop and crackle. At first the crowd laughed and clapped like this was all part of the show. I knew it wasn’t.
Then slowly, ever so slowly, the sky began to fall bit by bit, like ash. No, not ash—broken glass. People screamed as shards stabbed them. The crowd scattered, shrieking and cowering. The skyscrapers in the distance began to tremble, threatening to collapse any second. But on the court, nothing touched us.
Hondo grabbed my arm. “Is this real?”
“It’s real.”
Then I saw her. Muwan, in owl form, flying straight toward us. Her legs were stretched in front of her, talons open wide.
The twins stared up at the shattering sky in shock.
I kept my eyes on Muwan. She was fearsome, but not as fearsome as who I knew had to be right behind her. The air vibrated. The arena shook with so much force my teeth rattled in my head.
Jordan watched in horror as the panicked crowd emptied the stadium. “It can’t be!”
Hondo crumpled to the ground, and I lunged in time to break his fall. Brooks knelt next to us and whispered, “He’s asleep now.”
“You mean he’s in hell,” I said through gritted teeth. A cold shiver ran through me. This wasn’t how things were supposed to be happening. Something…everything was wrong.
A swirl of black smoke rose from the pieces of sky at our feet, solidifying into a dark column. It formed shoulders, a head, arms, and legs. The eyes came last—filled with shadows coiled like snakes. Finally Ah-Puch looked exactly like he had at the volcano, with his elegant dark suit and his sinister gaze. Except he seemed even stronger now.
Muwan landed on his shoulder. She smiled at the twins. “It’s been too long, boys.”
They didn’t say anything—just stood there frozen.
Brooks whispered, “We need to get out of here.”
I looked back at Hondo. His pale skin, his barely rising chest. Where was he now? And how was I supposed to move him? He weighed like 180.
Bird lifted a hand and the world stopped shaking. The sky stopped falling. “You think you can destroy our magic?” he said to Ah-Puch.
But Ah-Puch wasn’t paying attention to Bird. He kept his dark eyes on me. With a grin he said, “Thank you, Zane.”
The tattoo on my wrist burned as if a flame were searing it into my skin. I grabbed it and grimaced.
Bird’s gaze fell on the mark. His whole face went pale.
And that’s when I understood.
This wasn’t just a mark.
It was a tracking device.
27
“You did this?” Jordan’s granite face looked like it might crumble.
The mark continued to burn, the skull’s sleeping eyes fluttering as if they might open any second. My heart thrashed against my ribs. I jerked my sleeve over the tattoo and stood.
“You were stupid enough to make a deal with the god of death?” Bird said with a smirk I wished I could wipe off his face.
Ah-Puch laughed. “Come now, Jun’ajpu’. Let’s be gentlemen about this.”
Jordan’s eyes raked over Ah-Puch with so much hatred, I thought old Puke might melt and we could all go home.
“Did you really think your pathetic magic could keep me out?” Ah-Puch said to the twins. “Your little sand castle isn’t as strong as you imagined.”
Jordan’s jaw tightened as he looked around at the broken pieces of their illusory world. The shattered walls, the splintered sky. The distant skyscrapers began to sway again.
“Such a poor imitation,” Ah-Puch said, following his gaze.
“Did you come here for a fight, Ah-Puch?” Bird’s tone told me he wanted Ah-Puch to say yes.
“Boys, please,” Ah-Puch said. “I didn’t come here to fight. Simply to destroy your little… what shall we call it?” He took in the halfway-finished demolition. “Bubble? And to set the record straight.” His voice rose a few godly notches for the next part. “You never defeated me, only a couple of my weak underlords.”
The world tilted. Surely that was wrong. Surely I hadn’t relied on a plan that was built on empty boasts.
“We beat you,” Bird said through gritted teeth.
Ah-Puch stroked Muwan’s head. “Your lies are such bitter little things. And to think I was locked away, unable to refute them. Hardly justice, wouldn’t you agree, Zane?”
I gave a short nod. I mean, it really was a raw deal. “Why… why would Jordan and Bird lie?”
“To establish their fame, their notoriety,” Puke said in a commanding tone. “To ensure that no other godborns would ever challenge them.” He turned his hardened gaze on the twins. “I do admire your sinister plan,” he said to them. “Lie about defeating me, inspire humans to ignore the gods, instill enough fear in the gods to make them create the Sacred Oath. That way you’d never have any competition.”
I processed each bit of information, and it all made sense. Jordan and Bird had manipulated the gods into taking the Sacred Oath! I remembered what Pacific had said about the twins inspiring jealousy in the gods. “But… if the gods were so worried about godborns, why didn’t they kill the twins?” I asked.
“Very on point. Bravo,” Ah-Puch said, smiling. “The twins used their popularity among humans as leverage in a deal with the gods. ‘Jordan and Bird’ promised to go on a PR tour, encouraging humans to revere the gods again, to restore balance.”
Man, that was messed up! I thought. But it didn’t surprise me now that I’d seen their ugliness up close.
Jordan and Bird shared a glance. Beads of sweat formed on Jordan’s forehead. Was fear getting the best of him?
No, this was something more serious. He clawed at his throat. His eyes bugged out and he collapsed.
Bird squatted next to his brother, pressing on his chest, calling his name over and over. He glared up at Ah-Puch. “I don’t know how you did this, but I will make you pay!”
For an instant, surprise registered on Ah-Puch’s face. That told me all I needed to know.
It wasn’t him—it was La Muerte! The chile pepper really had worked! A little late, but she’d worked. I wanted to slip away before the truth was discovered, but how could I, with Hondo passed out cold?
Brooks gripped my wrist so hard, her nails dug into my skin. This is going to be really, really bad!
You think? Then I said, If I don’t make it—
I’m not listening.
Make sure Hondo gets out. Please.
Muwan lifted off Ah-Puch’s shoulder, flew across the stadium, and in one swoop, snatched up a snake with her talons and flipped it into her mouth.
My stomach turned.
Bird looked wounded, like he and the snakes were BFFs, and a second later the rest of the red reptiles evaporated with the snap of his finger.
“We’re going to destroy you,” Bird said to Ah-Puch.
“We? Apparently not,” Ah-Puch said coolly, looking at the comatose Jordan. “But I’ll let you try your best. In the meantime, I have some plans of my own.”
Why did I have a feeling my name was written on those plans?
Muwan shifted into her human form—same dress, same bronze skin, same dangerous smile.
“You’re too afraid to fight, old man,” Bird provoked.
“I’m not the one trembling,” Ah-Puch said with a calm but deadly glare. Then his gaze turned to me, and I didn’t like what I saw: someone ready to collect what he was owed.
I inched back. It wasn’t time yet. I still had a whole day to figure out how to stop him. But how? I gripped the jade in my pocket for security, careful not to will myself to the Empty and leave my body with monsters that wanted to see me dead.
Suddenly, three huge black winged creatures swooped down. They had human heads that were too small for their massive bodies. Like Muwan, they sported slick black feathers, razo
r-sharp talons, and wings with a fifteen-foot span.
The creatures were identical to one another: bald pates, sharp chins, bulging veins in their necks, and foreheads like their blood was too thick. The only difference was that each had eyes that glowed a different color: yellow, orange, and purple.
Bird tried to make a run for it, but the yellow- and purple-eyed monsters moved like lightning, snatching him then Jordan in their huge wings and cocooning them tightly so only their heads poked out.
“You remember the Yant’o Triad, surely?” Ah-Puch addressed Bird in a self-satisfied tone. “Allow me to reintroduce you to Yant’o, Usukun, and Uyitzin—otherwise known as Good, Bad, and Indifferent. Except we all know there isn’t any Good, but it sure rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?”
Bird thrashed, trying to break free. But the only things that got loose were the curses he spat at Ah-Puch. As the words flew from his mouth, they turned into silver daggers aimed at his nemesis. Muwan batted them away easily. Jordan was a lifeless doll in the wings of his monster.
I thought about Hurakan. I mean, if Puke hated the twins for lying about beating him, imagine how much he hated my dad for sticking him in his prison for hundreds of years. Yeah, this was going to get ugly. What had Hurakan said? Inconceivable? Skinny kid versus god of death. Some match.
“The gods will unite against you,” Bird said with a grunt.
“Yes, the gods,” Ah-Puch said casually. “Last I checked, they were already at war within their ranks, trying to figure out who could have set me free. Tsk-tsk-tsk. You really can’t trust anyone these days, now can you?”
Ah-Puch turned to me. “As for you, Zane…”
Bird narrowed his eyes at me like he was just remembering I was there. “This is your fault, human!”
Ah-Puch hesitated, as if deciding how much he wanted to say. “He’s no human,” he said slowly, like he wanted to savor the shock that registered on Bird’s face. “But we can talk about that later, can’t we, Zane?”
I didn’t think I could get any words past the lump in my throat, but somehow I managed. “I’m, uh—I’m human, I mean… Sure, yeah. Later.” But I was so hoping there wouldn’t be a later. I’d rather disappear, hole up in the Caribbean somewhere….
Except that wasn’t me. Not anymore. I’d holed up at home for a whole year because I was too afraid to face the kids at school. Too afraid to see the way they looked at my leg. Too afraid to try and be someone more than the names they threw at me. Well, those days were over. I’d told Pacific I’d never hide, and I meant it. Even if it meant going down, at least I’d do so fighting.
“So the gimp’s not human,” Bird finally muttered. I could see his mental gears clicking into place, but not before Ah-Puch started to laugh. I mean a giant, uproarious laugh that shook the stone walls and could’ve registered a ten on the Richter scale.
The creatures gripping the twins smiled. Their teeth were black like they’d been stained with ink, and their breath smelled worse than rotting meat in July. The ground trembled. The stone walls began to crumble. The skyscrapers in the distance fell in giant columns of smoke and dust. In only a few more minutes this place would be completely destroyed.
The creatures holding Bird and Jordan folded their wings tighter and tighter. Each of the twins’ faces puckered like their heads were being sucked dry. Their skin turned gray, and purplish veins spread beneath. Their eyeballs bugged out and turned dark red.
“Don’t kill them!” I shouted.
This is going to be good. That was Brooks still gripping my hand.
You can’t be serious.
You’re no fun.
Ah-Puch turned to me. “Trust me, I’m not generous enough to kill them quickly.” Then, to Good, Bad, and Indifferent, he said, “Take them away. Their magic will make a lovely feast for us.”
The Triad took flight, carrying the twins into the falling sky.
Ah-Puch started to fade.
“Wait!” I called to him. “You tricked me. This mark…”
He stopped, looked at me. “Clever, yes? You can’t run, and you can’t hide.”
“Unless I burn off this tattoo!”
“The magic runs deep, and you aren’t brave enough to withstand that kind of pain.” Ah-Puch sighed. “I’ll see you soon, Zane Obispo.” He gazed around the collapsing world and said, “Very soon, judging from this house of cards.”
28
Brooks shook my arm. “We have to get out of here!”
“Help me with Hondo!” I shouted over the falling debris.
But even with both of our efforts, he was deadweight. No way were we going to get him out before the place crashed all around us.
This was not how it was going to end. Not in a dollhouse of Jordan’s making.
Brooks’s eyes shifted, the gold and amber flecks glowing like they might ignite any second. And for an instant she looked like her hawk self—mythical and even dangerous.
“Go!” I told her. “Save yourself.”
“Not without you!”
Why was she so stubborn?!
At the same moment, a very large figure emerged through a cloud of black and gray dust.
Jazz!
“I guessed you all might have some problems,” he yelled. “I put some minicams in your clothes, and what a show it’s been!” Jazz scooped Hondo up like a sack of chile pods and hoisted him over his shoulder. “We’ve got a boat to catch!”
I’d never been so happy to see anyone in my whole life. Brooks and I hurried behind him, but he didn’t head for the exit. I figured it was already demolished. Instead, he went to the roof’s edge. And let me tell you, it was hard to keep up with a giant whose stride was like ten yards. Especially since my stupid limp was back. The time limit on our enchantment had run out.
Gusts of cold wind raged across the broken world. Umbrellas tumbled, trees split in two, glasses shattered.
I looked over the edge, wondering where the safety net was. Or maybe we were waiting for a helicopter? My answer came within seconds. An enormous flying machine with a giant red sail rose from the darkness. And you wouldn’t believe who was driving—the skeleton, Flaco! Really? This was our ride out of here?
“Teeckets, please,” he said, circling in what looked like a four-seater go-kart with a small engine near the back.
Jazz grunted. “Get closer!”
The roof quaked, splitting the cement.
“Next time he circles, jump and hold on tight,” Jazz boomed.
Was he kidding? Jump? Couldn’t Flaco land? Then I realized the roof was going to give way any second.
Brooks grabbed my hand. “Don’t fall!”
“I’ll do my best.”
“On the count of three,” Jazz said, gripping Hondo with one arm.
“Forget the count!” I hollered. “Let’s get out of here.”
The wind groaned angrily. Trees bent and writhed. Then a massive black hole opened in the sky, sucking everything into it. Even the oxygen. Flaco circled back, closer and closer to the edge. He was only three feet away.
“Let’s fly!” Brooks shouted.
Easy for her to say. She was part hawk!
“Two,” Jazz shouted.
Wait—what happened to one?
I imagined myself as the jaguar, with the power of those muscular back legs. Flaco was close enough that it wouldn’t take much of a leap. I could do this.
“Three.”
We launched ourselves into the air. I used my one good leg, thrusting myself with all I had. At the last second a gust of wind jerked the glider to the right. I came up short, barely latching onto the side rail. Everyone was tucked safely in the flying go-kart/whatever. And me? I was dangling off the side.
Brooks leaned over the edge. “Zane! What’re you doing?”
“Oh, you know… just enjoying the view.”
Don’t let go, I told myself. Don’t let go.
“Take my hand!”
I was scared to, I admit it. But I couldn’t hang on to the
side of this thing for long. With a deep breath, I reached up and grabbed hold of her hand. She hauled me into the glider, where I clung to the seat for dear life.
“No time to be a thrill-seeker,” she said, shaking her head.
“Yeah…” I groaned. “Thrill.”
“You okay?” Jazz called from the front seat. Hondo was still sagging over his shoulder.
I nodded, trying to get control of my breathing.
“Good driving, eh?” Flaco said. Who knew skeletons could beam with pride?
The engine whirred as we burst through a sheet of cold silver light, leaving the broken imitation world behind. It was like passing through a waterfall without the water.
We sailed high above Santa Monica. Over traffic-packed streets lit up with red taillights. A dark-haired woman was pushing a stroller below, and she walked with a small skip in her step. Like my mom. I wondered if she was back home yet. What had she said to Hurakan to get him to help me? Had she always known where to find him? I needed to sleep so I could talk to Ms. Cab and ask her to check on my mom. Then I realized… the eyeball was in my backpack, which was still at Jazz’s.
“Where are we going?” I shouted. “To your place?”
“Not safe there,” Jazz hollered back.
“I need my eyeball!” I screamed, immediately realizing how stupid that sounded.
“Woo-hoo!” Brooks leaned halfway out of the glider. “Faster!”
Flaco obliged, and I felt sick as I gripped the edge of my seat.
The salt air was my first clue we were headed back to the beach. When we got closer to the sand, I thought we’d land, but Flaco kept on going, right over the water, farther and farther toward the dark horizon. Brooks wasn’t leaning out anymore.
Brooks tapped Jazz on the shoulder. “What… what are we doing here?”
“Coming in for a landing,” Jazz said. “Might get a little wet.”
“Jump when I say so,” Flaco said.
“I can’t swim!” Brooks shouted. I could feel her panic as she tensed up for the first time since we’d taken flight. Below was a double-level boat too small for us to land on. So, dark sea it was.
The Storm Runner Page 23