Run, Zane. Far away, Hurakan said. And don’t look back.
“I’m not running!” I shouted. I was sick of living a lie, sick of being stuck in a prison I didn’t create. Sick of pretending to live a life that wasn’t even mine.
There is no victory in pride.
“There’s no victory in running away, either.”
In the next breath, I felt a sudden and familiar mind-numbing rush. I was out of time. The world began to swirl in a haze of mist and shadow, and the letter ignited into flames as I was ripped away from the Empty.
Brooks hovered over me, studying me with wide amber eyes, her tanned face only inches from mine. Her hands were pressed against my chest. “You were thrashing around,” she said. “You’ve never done that before. I thought old Puke Face was there, ripping you to shreds.”
“I could totally take him,” I said. “But thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Holy K, Zane. Way to freak me out!” She was still hovering.
I was sure she could feel my heart pounding. I scooted away and rubbed my left cheek with the back of my hand. It stung like…
“I slapped you a few times to try and bring you back,” Brooks said. “Sorry about that. How come your nose isn’t bleeding from the jump?”
I sat up, gripping the jade, and replayed Hurakan’s words. I didn’t call you here….Dread smashed against my skull like a two-ton hammer.
“You’re zoning out, Obispo.”
“Huh? Yeah. Sorry.” We got to our feet. I gave Brooks the short version of what I’d learned, and ended with “If Hurakan didn’t call me there, who did?”
“Maybe Pacific? I mean, she’s the one who first gave you the tooth.”
“But she’s in hiding, and…why would she want me to go to the Empty?” Something about that answer didn’t feel right.
“You don’t think…it’s Puke, do you?”
“No way! Don’t even think it!” Ah-Puch didn’t have any connection to the jade, and besides, he was spinning in an eternal vortex of fire.
Then I remembered some of his last words to me. Once Hurakan is dead, this place will die, too. And with nothing left here to trap me, I’ll head off to the underworld and I’ll take back what’s mine. So, any way you look at it, I win.
Was that true? Or had he just been bluffing? The last thing I needed to worry about was the god of death coming back to finish me off.
“Maybe the jade’s magic called you there by itself…” Brooks guessed. “Like, maybe it knows more than even Hurakan…. I mean, it’s totally possible.”
I wished she were right, but something told me whatever the truth was, I wasn’t going to like it. How had everything gotten so complicated? I’d gone to Xib’alb’a to sneak out through a gateway, and I felt more trapped than ever. What was the right thing to do? Save my dad, or rescue the godborns? How could I choose?
Brooks interrupted my thoughts. “What aren’t you telling me?”
It was no use to try to act innocent. Brooks would see right through me. “He told me to run, Brooks.”
“Why? That’s so”—she made a face like she’d just taken a bite of something sour—“cowardly.”
“Maybe it has to do with this bleak future.”
Brooks folded her arms tightly. “Are you sure Hurakan said ‘bleak’?”
“Yes.”
“Like how sure?”
“Brooks.”
She pushed her hair behind her ears. “Okay, okay. I hate bleak,” she muttered as she quickly glanced over her shoulder, then back to me. She took hold of my hand and, using telepathy, said, Let’s put all the pieces together. According to the ancestors, the Prophecy of Fire was only the beginning, and no matter what path you choose, the gods are going to be furious. The sobrenaturales’ powers are weakening, and we don’t know why or how. The godborns are being abducted.