Ah-Puch’s eyes narrowed. “How accurate is that spear of yours, godborn?”
I gripped Fuego tightly. “Why?”
“Because that blood I smell? It’s on its way. And it’s going to kill us. Well, mostly you, which I suppose by extension means me.”
“What do we do?”
“Run!”
“Run?” I shouted. “To where?”
“We have to get to open water,” Ah-Puch said. “Hurry!”
“How do I know your nose isn’t as bad as your ears?”
“I know blood, godborn.”
Okay, that convinced me. Ren and I took off with Rosie a few paces ahead. I glanced over my shoulder to see Ah-Puch dragging himself after us. A part of me wanted to leave him behind, but we’d made a deal, so I backtracked with Rosie.
“Get on Rosie,” I said to Ah-Puch.
“I am the god of death! I will not ride a hellhound.”
“Then I guess it’s back to the inferno.”
With a scowl, Ah-Puch climbed on Rosie, muttering words I can’t repeat.
Once we got to the dock, Ah-Puch herded Ren and me into a sleek powerboat. The kind that’s shaped like a bullet and built for speed. He and Rosie hopped in behind us.
Groping through compartments, Ah-Puch finally found the owner’s manual. Furiously, he flipped through the pages.
“What are you doing?” I hollered.
“Learning to drive,” he said as he fumbled with the ignition.
“We need a key.” I looked under the seat and turned over some cushions, hoping to find one hidden.
“Is Ah-Puch joking?” Ren’s eyes darted around nervously. “We can’t take this boat. We’re going to end up in a Mexican jail!”
“Uh, I’m more worried about the blood that’s coming,” I said.
“What did you mean, blood is on its way?” Ren asked Ah-Puch. But he was too busy starting up the boat to answer. Don’t ask me how, since we hadn’t found the key.
“I can steer,” I said, and as soon as the words left my mouth, my brain sent an all-out panic alert: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! You can’t sail into open waters with the god of death!
Ah-Puch waved me off while Rosie leaned over the port side, her tongue hanging out of her mouth like she couldn’t wait for the blood to arrive.
Whatever.
“We can’t just steal a boat!” Ren hollered over the roar of the engine.
“There was nothing about that in our agreement,” Ah-Puch said as we cruised across the harbor and into the open sea. “And unless you want the looming horror we’re about to face to show up on the gods’ radar, we need to get to open water. Trust me.”
“Stop saying that!” I groaned. “I’ll never trust you.”
It was entirely possible Ah-Puch’s sense of smell was way off since he wasn’t exactly himself. I mean, here we were, stealing a boat, racing across the ocean, and Rosie wasn’t even howling or snarling or foaming at the mouth. If there was any danger, believe me, my hellhound would know. Right?
“How do you know how to drive this thing?” Ren shouted as we skip-jumped over the water. A nearby tourist was thrown off his Jet Ski in our wake.