The Fire Keeper (The Storm Runner 2)

He smiled, showing a row of glistening fangs. “You didn’t hear me. No one is leaving. But I do enjoy a good hunt if you want to run.”

“Camazotz.” Ah-Puch’s voice crept up behind me.

“Ah-Puch, old friend.”

Old friend?

“I was wondering if my offering in Cabo would be enough to lure you here,” Camazotz said. “By the looks of you, maybe I should have sent more.”

All the air went out of me. This guy was lying. Ah-Puch couldn’t be helping him, could he? “You sent those bats?” I asked. “They tried to kill us.”

“They get a little carried away sometimes.” The giant bat shrugged. “But they weren’t there for you. They were for my comrade here,” Camazotz said. “You looked pretty weak, Ah-Puch. And how I pitied you for having to babysit these kids.” His sickly green eyes met mine.

“Your bats tried to abduct me!” Ren growled.

“Call it a dual mission. Snatch you and fortify my friend.”

“You sensed my presence. Good.” Ah-Puch kept his steely gaze on Camazotz. “The bats were delicious. But as you can see, I need something more.”

“What’s he talking about, A.P.?” Ren asked as Rosie stepped to my side.

My muscles tensed.

“Oh, he didn’t tell you?” Camazotz said to Ren with a gleeful stupid smile. “We have a long history from our time hanging out in Xib’alb’a. Well, I did most of the hanging. Ha. Get it? Ah, so many late-night parties when he was the king and hell was wretched. Now it’s gone soft and vegan and…” He sighed. “What matters is that I had to make sure he got you here safely, Zane. You kept taking annoying little detours and that made me nervous, so I sent blood. Because blood is always the answer.”

My head broke through the earth’s atmosphere and was going to burn up in three…two…one.

Ren gasped. “Ah-Puch would never work with you!”

Camazotz tucked his wings to his side. His bats swooped into the trees, where their eyes glowed in the waiting shadows. “Let’s get these monsters back in their cages, Ah-Puch, and then we can talk terms.”

“Talk is cheap, old friend,” Ah-Puch said. “Show me my prize.”

“Quit calling him friend,” I blurted out.

Hondo growled, “A snake is always a snake.”

Ignoring my uncle (and maybe the terrible truth), Ren tugged on Ah-Puch’s sleeve. “Don’t let the bat bully you, A.P.”

Ah-Puch inched toward his “old friend.” “Don’t be fools, Ren and Zane,” he said. “The second those bats arrived in Cabo, I knew I had a real chance at freedom and could finally be done with both of you.”

“No!” Ren’s eyes filled with tears. “After everything…I…we helped you and—”Her voice cut off in a choked sob.

Ah-Puch’s face tightened with impatience. “Did you really think we stood a chance to save these wretched godborns and Hurakan?” he said. “I knew it was a doomed effort from the start, so when you told me bats had come for you, Ren, I put two and two together. But it wasn’t until Zotz’s blood gift made its way to me that I was sure of what I had to do.” He looked down at his weathered hands. “Don’t you see? This is about me, and I always choose the winning team.”

Searing heat gripped my bones. “Then you can rot in your inferno! I’ll never save you now. Never.”

Camazotz smiled as Ah-Puch kneeled in front of him, his head bent like some kind of beggar. “I humbly ask to join your cause, and I commit my loyalty and service for all eternity.”

“A.P.!” Ren screamed.

“You delivered my second most valuable asset,” Zotz said to Ah-Puch. “So, I accept your offer. I need a brilliant godly mind to help keep those insufferable and impetuous twins in line. And their mother?” He sighed. “Don’t even get me started on her demands. Now we can be kings together. I grant your request to trade your bones for glory.”

“No!” I shouted at Camazotz. “Only I can give him back his power.” Did he say “second most valuable asset”? What was the first?

Ah-Puch’s face was so tense I thought it might crack if he so much as flinched. “There is going to be a new world order, Zane,” he said, getting to his feet weakly. “And the blood sacrifices made will be great enough to raise me from the inferno. Don’t you see? I don’t need you anymore.”

One of the godborns muttered, “Why did you ever trust this guy?”