“Hey,” I said, gripping Fuego as Brooks tossed a stick into the waves for Rosie. My hellhound took off after it.
Brooks’s eyes fell to my cane/spear. “You got it back.”
Eager to see what this 2.0 version could do, I launched Fuego over the waves. It streaked blue across the sky and appeared back in my hand before I could blink twice. I stared down, catching my breath. “Whoa!”
“Yeah,” Brooks said as she stood and came closer to inspect him. “Whoa! Even faster than”—she held up the book—“before.”
I felt pressure in my chest like I’d just run up a mountain. Why was it so hard to breathe? “Pretty boring, huh?”
“It reminded me of how nasty Ah-Puch was back then. And now he’s…”
“Yeah.”
“It was hard to see you take off with him.”
“I know. But I needed his help.”
“I get it.” She shrugged. “I would have done the same thing.”
“Really?”
“Well, no. I would have told you—not left a worthless note.” Her amber eyes flashed. “You should have trusted me.”
“You wouldn’t have let me go alone.”
She paced. “It makes sense now.”
Oh gods—was she going to call me out on all the other reckless things she’d read about? I groaned inwardly, thinking of the PRIVATE thoughts she’d seen by now, about her being beautiful, and her smile, and…Stupid truth paper! Heat rushed into my face. Man, I hoped my skin wasn’t glowing with fire.
“‘All roads lead to the gods’ angry wrath,’” she quoted. “The ancestors’ message—they meant the Mexica gods.”
I let out a tense breath. “Not the Maya.”
She nodded, clutching the book. “It’s not bad.”
I didn’t know if she was talking about the message or the book, and if she was talking about the book, I wanted to change the subject. “I didn’t get to tell you, but that was a good move, ripping off Jordan’s and Bird’s masks, and then—”
“Saving you?”
“Again.”
“Too bad I didn’t get in more clawing.” She smiled, adding, “Next time you take off and don’t want to be found, you might want to erase your Google search history.”
“That’s why you went to the volcano?”
“We saw the images and figured if you went back to New Mexico you might start at the Beast. Thankfully, we found a nearby gateway.”
I toed the sand, thinking Brooks would make an excellent spy. Then my mind drifted back to Jordan and Bird. “Do you think the gods will find the twins?”
Brooks frowned. “I don’t know. Those guys are pretty shrewd, and now they’re getting help from their mom. And that creepy Zotz….”
“But we have all the Maya gods on our side.”
“No, Zane—we’re on their side. Don’t forget who’s boss.”
We stood like that, staring at the ocean, neither one of us knowing what to say next. She reached for my hand. Things are going to get…
Dangerous?