The Shadow Crosser (The Storm Runner 3)

Rosie let out a mournful wail, and when I whipped around to face her, her eyes burned with red flames. Then she too disappeared in a curtain of mist. “Rosie!”

“Uh, Zane,” Brooks said, bent over the two shapes that had landed on the deck. “You’re going to want to check this out.”

“I think this hole is some kind of portal,” Marco said, peering into it.

While Ren cooed encouragingly at the devourer, I joined Brooks. Adrik and Marco followed. There were two sprawled figures—one male, one female. Their eyes were closed, but thank the saints, they were breathing.

We all stared at them in shock. Not because they had survived being devoured or had dropped out of the sky as balls of light. Nope.

“They don’t look like gods,” Marco said, tilting his head to the side like he was studying pinned cockroaches. “More like your average twelve-year-old.”

“Did we get duped?” Adrik asked.

I turned to the devourer, who was still on her knees. Ren was rubbing her back.

“These aren’t the gods,” I growled.

With claws firmly planted on the deck, the devourer took long deep breaths. “Th-they are,” she sputtered.

My head pounded. “Why are they—”

“Not adults?” Adrik finished.

“Dude,” Marco said, “I don’t care how old they are. They need to wake up now!”

Ren touched the devourer’s shoulder and said, “That’s right, just breathe. It must’ve been hard to carry so many gods. That was a lot of power to hold inside!”

The goddess forced herself to rise to her full height, which was only about five feet. “I don’t know why they are children,” she said weakly. “A side effect of time travel, perhaps?”

“Well, fix them!” I shouted. We needed their full strength if we wanted to save Itzamna and oust Ixkik’ and Zotz.

“If the gods are back,” Brooks asked, staring into the distance, “why isn’t the Tree lit up?”

We all looked over and froze. Except the devourer, who grimaced and clutched her stomach.

“Maybe because they’re knocked out?” Marco held his chin, pressing a thumb into his scar.

Ren came over and gently shook the unconscious gods, but nothing happened.

“I bet that’s why the Sparkstriker left so fast,” Brooks said.

Marco nodded like he’d had the same idea but sooner. “She was afraid Zotz and Ixkik’ saw that little light show.”

“And now they know the gods are alive,” Adrik said.

“Which means the element of surprise went kaboom.” Marco made an explosion gesture with his hands.

Ren looked panicked. “Guys!” she cried. “If the gods are all asleep out there in the jungle, they’re sitting ducks.”

Hurakan!

“We have to find them,” I said, gripping Fuego. “All of them.”

Brooks walked over to the devourer, looming several inches over her. “Are you the devourer and giver of life,” she said to the goddess. But there was no inflection, no question mark. She wasn’t asking—she was telling. Or reminding. But where was she going with this?

The goddess nodded slowly.

“And you said you were tricked,” Brooks said.