“I don’t,” Marco said. “It’s your fault we’re in this”—he glanced around—“hellhole.”
Coming to my defense, Louie said, “He could have left us on top of that pyramid.” He looked around skittishly like he was waiting for someone or something to jump out and attack him.
Brooks stepped forward and stared hard at Marco. “Would you rather live a lie?”
“I’d rather live, period,” Marco said.
“Then say thank you.” Her eyes flashed yellow, a warning that forced Marco to inch back.
“It’s okay,” I said. “Marco’s right. But so are you, Brooks.” I turned to the godborns. “My magic called to you guys, but I didn’t know that would mean putting your lives at risk. I thought you’d rather know who you really are.”
“I would,” Serena said, keeping her eyes on the door to the conference room.
Louie raised his hand. “Me too. Also, do you know if they have any food around here?”
The other godborns nodded silently. I didn’t blame them for being so quiet. I mean, they had been abducted, caged, and informed they were godborns, and they were now standing in the underworld waiting to meet their godly mom or dad.
Hondo rubbed his hands together. “You think they’d let me teach at that school Ixtab mentioned? The Shaman Institute of Higher-Order Magic? It needs a new name, but I could teach the godborns some moves and meditations. Stuff like that.”
Ren nodded enthusiastically. “Your meditations definitely helped me with the shadows.” The godborns flocked to Ren as she explained her take on how to control magic, using the “visualization” techniques Hondo had taught her.
Marco lifted his chin and motioned me to the side, away from the group. Brooks kept her hawk eyes on us. “I hope you fight better than you write. This doesn’t sound like it’s over.”
“Where are you from?” I asked.
“Don’t try to distract me. I know what’s up.”
“You’re right. Camazotz and the twins…they’ll be back. But maybe, if we’re lucky, it’ll be a hundred years from now and it’ll be a problem for the gods to worry about.”
“I’m not stupid.” He gave me a slight nod, backing away. “But you’ll find that out in the Tree.”
Tree?
Ren hurried over. “Do you think my mom is in there with the gods?”
Just then, the doors—very grandes, by the way—flew open, and the godborns were summoned. I peeked into the room to see that even more gods and goddesses had arrived since I’d stepped out. I wanted to stick around to see who belonged to whom, but I wasn’t allowed inside.
While we waited in the hallway, Hondo and Rosie played fetch with a bone that looked like it had come from a large animal. Or a…Never mind.
Brooks kept pressing her ear to the wooden door. “How thick is this? I can’t hear anything!”
“I think that’s the point,” I said.
“You’re such a killjoy, Obispo.”
A few minutes later, Hurakan emerged. He asked Brooks to excuse us and took me out to a small bone garden. (Yes, bone garden. Like spines that grew out of the ground in tall columns, and rib cages that lined the walkways. Did I mention the stepping-stones made of skulls?)
“They all signed the treaty,” he said, sitting on a bench made of what looked like femurs.
Three reddish moons hung low, casting a pinkish glow over everything.
“Why did so many gods lie about breaking the Sacred Oath?” I asked, taking a seat next to him. “And almost let you die for something they did, too?”
“The gods are not easily understood, Zane. Perhaps they believed that by condemning me, they could erase their own guilt. Self-righteousness is always blind.”
It sounded like some pretty twisted logic, but whatever. “So, what happens now?” I asked.
He stretched his long legs in front of him. “Ixchel, the moon goddess, has agreed to oversee the Shaman Institute of Higher-Order Magic. We will train you all, teach you how to control and use your powers. Determine your strengths.”