The Storm Runner (The Storm Runner 1)

“All the way to the top,” Brooks said.

“Er… the building is, like, only a couple stories high.”

With a shrug, Brooks said, “Magic.”

The higher we went, the more I worried. What if Brooks was right about the twins? I mean, why would they want to help me? No one gives secrets away for free, and if I wanted their secrets for defeating Ah-Puch, I was going to have to earn them—except I didn’t have anything valuable to trade.

The doors pinged open to a domed chamber. And at the center? A huge stone statue of two guys, at least ten feet tall.

“Let me guess,” Hondo groaned. “Jordan and Bird?”

I drew closer to get a look at their massive muscles, chiseled faces, defiant eyes, and broad shoulders. I’d seen a photo of the statue of David once. That’s what this reminded me of, except the twins had clothes on and looked a whole lot meaner. A falcon sat on the shoulder of one of the brothers, its wings spread, ready to take flight. These guys definitely didn’t look anything like the illustrations in my book.

The statues’ eyes were raised like they were encouraging visitors to look up at the domed ceiling. It was brightly lit, and every inch was covered with images of the twins in action: running down a ball court, standing on top of a mountain with spears raised, cutting off the head of a demon runner. This was their story, painted in vivid full color, for all their opponents to see before they walked in. Talk about psychological warfare.

Brooks stood in front of a pair of carved wooden doors. Music and chatter boomed from the other side. “Whatever you guys do,” Brooks said, “don’t make them mad.”

Hondo bounced in place. “Yeah, well, maybe they shouldn’t make us mad.”

“What happens when they get mad?” I asked, not sure I really wanted to know.

“They usually throw you off the building,” she said, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

“Oh,” I said. “Is that all?”

Brooks pushed open the doors. It was party city! The enormous multitiered terrace was packed with people mingling, laughing, and dancing to some really bad techno music that blared from all directions. And they all wore these weird lifelike masks of lions, sharks, snakes, and skeletons.

There were palm trees that swayed in the night breeze. A few shirtless fire-jugglers flung torches toward the sky; they rotated back down at a frightening speed, casting strange shadows across the oblivious crowd. The sickening smell of kerosene filled the air as my eyes scanned the masked faces.

Hondo let out a low whistle. “Looks like a Halloween party, Capitán. Not a birthday party.”

Brooks stepped behind a wall into the shadows. “It’s all show. They believe the masks contain the spirit of the animal or whatever they’re wearing.”

“How come we didn’t get one?” Hondo sounded disappointed.

“We got enchantment,” I said, thinking that was way cooler than a mask.

“He’s right.” Brooks pressed against the wall like she was hiding. “I doubt anyone here has encantamiento. Too expensive and hard to come by these days. Masks are the next best thing.”

“Who are all these…?” I didn’t know what to call them, because I didn’t know if they were human.

“Some are human, some supernatural,” Brooks said.

I took it all in. There was a massive stone fireplace with roaring flames, and beyond the roof’s edge were dozens of skyscrapers. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but they seemed to be wobbling slightly, like they were made of Jell-O. I had a feeling this wasn’t an actual view of LA but a magically created one.

“Can this be real?” Hondo whispered.

Brooks peered around the corner. “See that bear-masked guy over there by the waterfall?”

“The skinny one?” I asked.

“Yeah, he’s human. Comes every year to ask for help with his music career. The twins have big connections in Hollywood, and most of the people here are looking for access to those. That butterfly girl over there? She probably wants to be a model. And that shark?” She pointed to a short, stout guy. “An actor.”

Sounded like she’d spent plenty of time here. “You said the twins trade in magic,” I said, staying focused. “But humans don’t have magic.”

“Sure they do.”

I gave her a confused look.