The Storm Runner (The Storm Runner 1)

Muwan lifted off Ah-Puch’s shoulder, flew across the stadium, and in one swoop, snatched up a snake with her talons and flipped it into her mouth.

My stomach turned.

Bird looked wounded, like he and the snakes were BFFs, and a second later the rest of the red reptiles evaporated with the snap of his finger.

“We’re going to destroy you,” Bird said to Ah-Puch.

“We? Apparently not,” Ah-Puch said coolly, looking at the comatose Jordan. “But I’ll let you try your best. In the meantime, I have some plans of my own.”

Why did I have a feeling my name was written on those plans?

Muwan shifted into her human form—same dress, same bronze skin, same dangerous smile.

“You’re too afraid to fight, old man,” Bird provoked.

“I’m not the one trembling,” Ah-Puch said with a calm but deadly glare. Then his gaze turned to me, and I didn’t like what I saw: someone ready to collect what he was owed.

I inched back. It wasn’t time yet. I still had a whole day to figure out how to stop him. But how? I gripped the jade in my pocket for security, careful not to will myself to the Empty and leave my body with monsters that wanted to see me dead.

Suddenly, three huge black winged creatures swooped down. They had human heads that were too small for their massive bodies. Like Muwan, they sported slick black feathers, razo

r-sharp talons, and wings with a fifteen-foot span.

The creatures were identical to one another: bald pates, sharp chins, bulging veins in their necks, and foreheads like their blood was too thick. The only difference was that each had eyes that glowed a different color: yellow, orange, and purple.

Bird tried to make a run for it, but the yellow- and purple-eyed monsters moved like lightning, snatching him then Jordan in their huge wings and cocooning them tightly so only their heads poked out.

“You remember the Yant’o Triad, surely?” Ah-Puch addressed Bird in a self-satisfied tone. “Allow me to reintroduce you to Yant’o, Usukun, and Uyitzin—otherwise known as Good, Bad, and Indifferent. Except we all know there isn’t any Good, but it sure rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?”

Bird thrashed, trying to break free. But the only things that got loose were the curses he spat at Ah-Puch. As the words flew from his mouth, they turned into silver daggers aimed at his nemesis. Muwan batted them away easily. Jordan was a lifeless doll in the wings of his monster.

I thought about Hurakan. I mean, if Puke hated the twins for lying about beating him, imagine how much he hated my dad for sticking him in his prison for hundreds of years. Yeah, this was going to get ugly. What had Hurakan said? Inconceivable? Skinny kid versus god of death. Some match.

“The gods will unite against you,” Bird said with a grunt.

“Yes, the gods,” Ah-Puch said casually. “Last I checked, they were already at war within their ranks, trying to figure out who could have set me free. Tsk-tsk-tsk. You really can’t trust anyone these days, now can you?”

Ah-Puch turned to me. “As for you, Zane…”

Bird narrowed his eyes at me like he was just remembering I was there. “This is your fault, human!”

Ah-Puch hesitated, as if deciding how much he wanted to say. “He’s no human,” he said slowly, like he wanted to savor the shock that registered on Bird’s face. “But we can talk about that later, can’t we, Zane?”

I didn’t think I could get any words past the lump in my throat, but somehow I managed. “I’m, uh—I’m human, I mean… Sure, yeah. Later.” But I was so hoping there wouldn’t be a later. I’d rather disappear, hole up in the Caribbean somewhere….

Except that wasn’t me. Not anymore. I’d holed up at home for a whole year because I was too afraid to face the kids at school. Too afraid to see the way they looked at my leg. Too afraid to try and be someone more than the names they threw at me. Well, those days were over. I’d told Pacific I’d never hide, and I meant it. Even if it meant going down, at least I’d do so fighting.

“So the gimp’s not human,” Bird finally muttered. I could see his mental gears clicking into place, but not before Ah-Puch started to laugh. I mean a giant, uproarious laugh that shook the stone walls and could’ve registered a ten on the Richter scale.

The creatures gripping the twins smiled. Their teeth were black like they’d been stained with ink, and their breath smelled worse than rotting meat in July. The ground trembled. The stone walls began to crumble. The skyscrapers in the distance fell in giant columns of smoke and dust. In only a few more minutes this place would be completely destroyed.

The creatures holding Bird and Jordan folded their wings tighter and tighter. Each of the twins’ faces puckered like their heads were being sucked dry. Their skin turned gray, and purplish veins spread beneath. Their eyeballs bugged out and turned dark red.

“Don’t kill them!” I shouted.

This is going to be good. That was Brooks still gripping my hand.

You can’t be serious.