Serious.
Then she a took a deep breath and said, “Zane, I…” She hesitated and dropped my hand.
“What?”
“I have to go.”
“Like, back to the house?”
Her words came out in a single rush. “Back to where I came from. To be with my s
ister. And…” She hesitated and took a deep breath. “My dad is sick.”
Her dad? The guy who had left her and Quinn for some new family? I wanted to ask that, but I knew this wasn’t the right time. “What kind of sick?”
“When Hurakan renewed the Maya magic, my dad’s nawal power didn’t come back all the way. Quinn thinks it’s because he was already sick. Anyways, he needs our help.” She squeezed her hands together. “I can’t just leave him alone.”
So that’s what the sisters had been talking about over dinner.
I felt like a giant fist had punched a hole in my chest. Brooks gone? I was so used to her being here, bossing me around. Telling it to me straight. Being my best friend. I wanted to beg her to stay, but I’d be a world-class jerk to hold her back. She belonged with her family.
“It’s not for forever,” she said. “Ixtab is letting me train with the godborns this summer. I’ll see you then, right?”“
I turned to face her. “In the Tree.”
She looked up at me, pushing a stray curl from her face. “In the Tree.”
The waves rolled. The sea breeze wound between us. I stepped closer to her, holding my breath. She didn’t punch me. I found myself tilting my face toward her, getting near enough to…
Brooks closed her eyes.
A burst of flame startled us and pulled us apart. Rosie’s fireball rolled to my feet.
Stepping back, Brooks laughed. “Want to play some fire fetch, girl?”
I picked up the fireball and tossed it down the beach. Rosie tore after it. When I turned back, Brooks socked me in the arm and said, “Your face is kind of on fire.” And then she shifted into hawk form and took off, flying directly over my hellhound like she wanted to race.
My hands flew to my cheeks. Yep, they were blazing hot. With Fuego in hand, I raced into the sea and dove beneath the breakers, where the only sound was the pounding surf. I launched myself to the surface and looked up to see Brooks soaring overhead in a wide circle. Watching her, my heart pretty much expanded three sizes. “You’re still a show-off!” I hollered, smiling.
I knew these moments of peace wouldn’t last. Jordan, Bird, and Camazotz wouldn’t stay gone forever. They’d been plotting revenge for hundreds of years, and they weren’t about to stop now. They’d try to raise the Mexica gods, and monsters, and who knew what else.
But the difference this time? I had the fire. I still had a lot to learn, but I’d be ready. We’d be ready. Me, the godborns, the sobrenaturals, and the Maya gods. For whenever that someday might come.
For now? I’d count the days till summer.
One…
EL FIN
GLOSSARY
Dear Reader:
This glossary is meant to provide some context for Zane’s story. It in no way represents the many Maya mythologies, cultures, languages, pronunciations, and geographies. That would take an entire library. Instead, this offers a snapshot of how I understand the myths and terms, and what I learned during my research for this book. Simply put, myths are stories handed down from one generation to the next. While growing up near the Tijuana border, I was fascinated by the Maya (as well as the Aztec) mythologies, and I was absolutely sure that my ancestors were related to the gods. Each time I’ve visited the Maya pyramids in Yucatán, I’ve listened for whispers in the breeze (and I just might’ve heard them). My grandmother used to speak of spirits, brujos, gods, and the magic of ancient civilizations, further igniting my curiosity for and love of myth and magic. I hope this is the beginning (or continuation) of your own curiosity and journey.
Ah-Puch (ah-POOCH) god of death, darkness, and destruction. Sometimes he’s called the Stinking One or Flatulent One (Oy!). He is often depicted as a skeleton wearing a collar of dangling eyeballs from those he’s killed. No wonder he doesn’t have any friends.
Ahuitzotl (ah-WEET-so-tul) a Mexica water monster with a lopsided face, spiked fur along its spine, and a lizard tail with a hand at the end to drag around its screaming victims. It eats humans.