“That’s three against two,” Bird said sarcastically. “Hardly fair.”
Jordan whispered something to Bird I couldn’t hear. I only caught “gone soon.”
“That’s the deal,” Brooks ground out angrily.
“And we get to pick the game,” I said.
“I could take these guys down in the ring,” Hondo muttered under his breath. “How about that for a game?”
“No way,” Jordan said. “We pick or no deal.”
I stuffed the jade back in my pocket, knowing they’d never give in and neither would we, and we didn’t have time for a staring contest. “We’ll flip for it,” I said.
“Like a coin?” Jordan’s eyebrows shot up.
Brooks put her hand on my shoulder. Don’t do it. They’ll win. They always win.
I’d come too far and I needed their secret if I was going to stand a chance against Ah-Puch. Hurakan had said I’d have to be smart and brave, that things were going to be inconceivable. I was desperate for every piece of intel I could get.
My stomach turned as Bird pulled an obsidian stone from his pocket. He held it up, showing me one side etched with this symbol:
On the other side was this symbol:
“Death or jaguar, human?” Bird asked.
At the same moment, Pacific’s words found me: One choice can lead to victory… the other to defeat.
Hondo chuckled. “Seems like a no-brainer.”
He was right. Statistically speaking, most people would’ve called jaguar. And if the twins really were the tricksters history made them out to be, I had only one choice.
Bird kept his dark gaze on me. “Call it.”
He flipped the stone into the air and as it tumbled down, I whispered, “Death.”
26
The black stone twisted in slow motion, landing with a dry little ker-thud on the rug.
Bird didn’t even wait for the result. He unbuttoned his coat and peeled it off. “Slam it is.”
I hurried over, blinked… The face of the jaguar looked up at me, smiling like he knew all along he was going to win. I picked up the obsidian stone, weighing it in my palm to be sure. I knew it!
“You tricked me!” How could I have been so stupid?
Bird narrowed his eyes. “Tricked.”
There wasn’t a question mark after the word.
“What do you mean?” Hondo asked me.
“The death side is heavier,” I argued, holding the black shiny stone up to the light.
Bird held back a smile.
I took a few steps toward him, but Jordan blocked my path and grabbed me by the jacket collar. He sniffed the air and his eyes narrowed. He reached into my coat pocket.
I tried to squirm free, but the guy was strong. He pulled out the little bottle of chocolate and smiled. “Holding out on us, human? Check it out, Bird. Liqueur for the gods.” His gaze cut back to me. “What are you doing with something like this?”