“Because they don’t know how to fly planes?”
“Because Puke’s stupid demon runners are loyal pack dogs whose only mission is to serve him, and somehow they learned he was here—” She smacked her palm against her forehead. “That’s it!”
“What? What’s it?”
“You cleared the opening to these caves, right? That allowed Ah-Puch’s distress signals to reach his demon runners.” Her voice was way too eager. “That’s how the demon runner knew to come here!”
So this was my fault? I wondered miserably. I swallowed the fat lump in my throat as I recalled the creepy tracks I’d seen the night of the crash. I told Brooks about them and added the obvious: “The demon runner… he must have tried to find an entrance on foot, and when he couldn’t, he flew the plane into the crater, thinking it would open the volcano so he could find his jefe. Seems like a stupid plan, if you ask me.”
“They aren’t known for their intelligence,” Brooks said. “I mean, they are the lowest-level demons. Their pea-brains are mush compared to a regular demon that can talk to you in full sentences.”
I didn’t think I wanted to meet a regular demon if it could talk to me. Sweat trickled down the back of my neck. “You don’t think that demon runner found its way in here, do you?”
My brain had gone from first to second gear s
o fast I hadn’t noticed Brooks nudging me down the tunnel.
“It’s very likely that it found its way inside,” she said matter-of-factly.
Great. And with my luck, we were heading straight for its giant fangs. I hoped it had already eaten dinner.
“But we would’ve seen the demon’s tracks outside and I didn’t see any, so I bet we’re totally in the clear,” I said, trying to convince myself.
“Except they don’t always walk, Zane.”
I remembered the way the demon runner had vanished into a trail of mist. Rosie groaned like she remembered it, too.
The hairs on my arms stood straight up. “Let’s assume the worst.” My voice came out in a shaky whisper. “Say the demon runner got inside and found this ‘magical artifact.’ Do you… do you think he let Puke out?”
Brooks’s breathing filled the space as she tugged me along. “They don’t have the power to do that.”
“Then why go to all the trouble to find their boss?”
“You ready for the second freaky thing?” she asked.
My stomach clenched and I tried to prepare my mind—what little of it was left. “Bring it.”
“The Great Soothsayer foretold something called the Prophecy of Fire.”
“Okay….”
“She saw…”
I ducked into the narrowest part of the passage. “Saw what?”
“You.”
I spun to face her. “Me?”
“Zane,” Brooks said slowly, “you’re the one who’s going to set Ah-Puch free.”
7
I pushed her flashlight out of my eyes. “Hang on! I don’t care how powerful this soothsayer person was, she was dead wrong. I’d never be stupid enough to let some ugly, hairy, war-hungry monster free!”
“Uh-huh.” Brooks raised one eyebrow. “Well, I never said Ah-Puch was hairy, and the soothsayer was punished for making that prophecy, so I’m pretty sure she was right. I mean, think about it. Why would she risk death for a lie?”
“Death?”