“If you give me just an ounce of strength, I can open any gateway you want….” His voice trailed off in a coughing fit, and I swear the guy was going to hack up a lung all over Ren’s red boots. “Small daily doses,” he said. “The risk is minimal, Zane, and if at the end of it all I fail…” He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. “Then you do not have to restore me. But if we succeed, then you…must be…the one to…make me whole again.”
“Because I ended you?”
His eyes met mine. “Because you have the oldest, most powerful magic in the universe hanging from your neck.”
The jade. The one thing with the power to give anything I asked for, but only if it was for someone else.
“See?” Ren said. “You only need to heal him enough to help you…us.”
I hated to burst her bubble, but there was no us.
Ah-Puch began to fade from sight. We were running out of time and I had to choose.
I know what you’re thinking: Didn’t you learn from last time? This is the god of death! Let him rot.
Except there was no other gateway opening anytime soon.
My heart was jamming to the beat of a really bad rap song as I squatted next to the god of death. The guy smelled like rotten chunks of cow liver. “Here’s the deal,” I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking, because you have to look muy fuerte when you’re negotiating with a god. “You get me to the Fire Keeper today. Then you have to serve me as long as I need you. Until I let you go.” Hey, if I was going to make a deal with the god of death, it was going to be for everything, and if things didn’t pan out at the Fire Keeper’s, I for sure would need some godly help.
“You won’t hurt anyone,” I added, “kill anyone, or devour anyone. You won’t try and take back your kingdom from Ixtab, start any wars, or hurt the godborns or me. You will listen to everything I say, and at the end of the quest, if we succeed in all of the above, I will…” I hesitated, glancing at Ren. She tipped her head in agreement. With a deep and not-so-confident breath, I finished it. “I, Zane Obispo, will give you back your full strength.”
Ah-Puch extended his withered hand. “I agree to your terms, godborn.”
It only took three tiny bits of the maize kernel to get Ah-Puch standing upright. And two more to add a few more hairs to his head and stop his coughing. “You expect me to open a gateway with five measly crumbs?” he complained.
“Pretty much.” I stuffed the kernel back in my pocket and turned to Ren. “I’m sorry, but you can’t come with me. The Red Queen was super clear. She said if I took anyone, the journey would be filled with misfortunes and you could be cursed.”
“Technically”—Ah-Puch raised a finger, smacking his skinny dry lips—“that doesn’t include a god, or anyone with the blood of a god. Soooo…”
I shot him a don’t-make-me-regret-this glare. I knew he was right, but he didn’t have to tell Ren that. There was no reason to have her hanging out with Puke Face if she didn’t have to.
“I’m coming with you,” Ren said. I started to argue, but she added, “You’re going to need me, Zane.”
“You’ll definitely need her,” Ah-Puch said. “Trust me.”
“I’ll never trust you,” I growled.
Ah-Puch smiled, showing a mouthful of twisted gray teeth. “You already have.”
I really hated this version of him. “We have a deal,” I said. “And that includes listening to me, so can you callarte for a whole second?”
Ah-Puch shrugged, inspecting his ragged nails while whistling a stupid tune.
“That includes whistling,” I said.
Cupping a hand over his ear, he said, “Bad ears. What was that?”
Ren folded her arms. “Zane, you’re not the big boss here, and I can help you with him.” She lowered her voice. “Trust me.”
The way she said trust told me she had a lot more to tell me about her magic. “Ren, I…”
Ren jammed her thumb in Ah-Puch’s direction. “Unless you’d rather only have Mr. Hard-of-Hearing God of Death for company.”
Rosie grumbled. “Sorry, girl. I know what good company you are.” Ren scratched the hellhound’s thick neck.
Okay, Ren had a point. I didn’t want to think about doing all this with Puke Face as my only source of companionship. Plus, I wanted Ren to finish telling me whatever the awful thing was about her dad’s side of the family. What was so dangerous about their blood that the gods wanted to murder them for it?
Turning to Ah-Puch, I ordered, “Open the gateway and take us to the Fire Keeper at Land’s End—in Cabo San Lucas.” I figured I had to be specific or risk getting sent to England. Or worse, stuck between the pages of a clothing catalog.