I barely breathed. “Was it poisoned?”
“She wouldn’t still be breathing if it was.” Then Quinn released a stream of threats and promises of revenge.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” I asked. “These are demons we’re talking about.”
Quinn shrugged. “How should I know? Maybe they ran out of poison. Maybe they weren’t in a killing mood.”
“They seemed like some pretty motivated murderers to me,” Adrik said.
I followed Alana’s gaze to her brother. The two shared a nod and a grimace. Then their irises changed to a deep blue-black, and I swear it was like their eyes were made of liquid. What the heck? They were definitely talking telepathically.
“It’s good she’s sleeping.” Quinn stroked Brooks’s hair. “That’s how nawals heal.” She stood and asked, “How far are we from your house, Obispo?”
“You live here?” Adrik asked. “Looks like a deserted island.”
I knew every inch of Isla Holbox, including this stretch of isolated beach on the north end. “About three miles to the house,” I said.
“She’s awake!” Alana cried. “She…she moved.”
I dropped to Brooks’s side, grabbing her hand. Her fingers wiggled. A second later, her amber eyes opened and stared right into mine. Relief spread through me. “Are you okay?”
Barely above a whisper, she said, “I…Who—” She blinked. Her eyes darted from face to face before landing back on mine. “Why do you have goose feathers in your hair?”
Quinn let out a breath. “Can you sit up?”
“I think so.” Brooks rubbed her head groggily as we propped her against the tree.
“How do you feel?” I asked.
“Woozy. The dart…Thankfully, it only clipped my wing. I’m sorry I couldn’t fly.” Brooks studied the wound on her arm, wiping the blood away. “I…I feel so weird. Like I’m in a dream. Am I dreaming?”
“You mean having a nightmare?” Adrik muttered as he glanced toward a rustling sound in the bushes. “Are there any alligators in this jungle?”
Just then, a wall of black mist rose up from the sand. Out stepped Rosie. She bounded toward me on her three legs, her tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth, her nub tail wagging.
“I missed you, too, girl.” I embraced her, scrubbing her ribs.
“That’s a huge…uh…Is that a bear?” Adrik asked while his sister just stared wide-eyed, studying Rosie’s every move. Only a sobrenatural could see Rosie for what she was: a hellhound the size of two lions. To the human eye, she was just a regular black dog with three legs.
“Bear?” Quinn snorted. “Try the world’s finest hellhound.”
Rosie’s soft brown eyes studied my face, landing on the cheek wound I’d already forgotten about. One slobbery lick and I could feel the healing properties of her saliva going to work immediately. “Brooks needs you, too,” I whispered, wiping off some of her drool.
Rosie went to Brooks and, with a small whine, began to lick her arm. Brooks stroked her between the ears. “You’re the best, you know that?”
Here’s what I had finally figu
red out about my dog: She didn’t need training; she didn’t require orders to pull her weight. I could trust her to figure out what had to be done. That meant adiós to the commands Ixtab had taught her. We no longer had to yell STEAK! to get her to stop, and DEAD! to make her breathe fire. Those were just ordinary words to her now, which made conversations much easier.
Bright lights suddenly appeared in the jungle.
“What’s that?” Alana stepped back, alarmed. She shielded her eyes as if the sun was blinding her.
Then came the familiar sound of wheels running over the earth. A second later, Hondo’s tourist tram emerged from the trees, coming to a stop a few feet away from us. My uncle killed the engine but left the headlights running as he jumped off the vehicle and ran over. Ren was close behind, hollering my name.
I didn’t realize how much I had missed them until I saw them in the flesh.
“Zane!” Ren squealed, hugging me and then Brooks, who had staggered to her feet.