Strengthened by his bats, Camazotz was able to get to his feet. “You chose wrong this time, Ah-Puch.” His eyes flashed triumph as he leaped at the god of death, fangs bared. His claws slashed, ripping Ah-Puch like paper. Thick blood spilled onto the dirt.
I leaped off Rosie and lunged for Ah-Puch. His body collapsed like an empty sack in my arms. Fire ignited inside of me. Smoke curled from my mouth and nose.
“One shot of fire from you and my bats will kill another needless life,” Camazotz warned. His chest heaved.
“NO!” Ren broke off from the others and ran back to us.
Camazotz spun toward her and smiled viciously. “Fine. Another kill it is.” He moved like a flash of liquid shadow. In the space of two blinks, he had Ren ensnared in his wings, and all I could see were her red boots kicking at the bat god’s hairy legs.
Ah-Puch’s bleeding chest was still. He wasn’t breathing. I felt like I had just walked off a cliff and was spinning down, down, down. Forever falling toward nothing, no earth to crush my bones and end this misery.
Camazotz sniffed the air. “Well, well, what do we have here? Mexica and Maya blood?” His laugh reverberated across the corroded world. “You will make an excellent sacrifice,” he said to Ren.
I hated to admit it, but I didn’t see a way out, a way to beat this guy. He was too powerful.
I glanced up. The gateway had closed. Of course it had—Ah-Puch was dead, and without his power to keep it open…Hondo and the godborns stood waiting, looking stunned. Why hadn’t they left when they had the chance?
“Such a shame.” Camazotz sighed. “Ah-Puch would have been such a formidable addition to my new world.”
Then it came to me—my last resort. Quickly, I ripped the jade off my neck and placed it in Ah-Puch’s limp hand. With a deep, shaky breath, I said, “I give you back your life as a god. Don’t make me regret this.”
Instantly, darkness swallowed the world. The ground shuddered. And then came ringing silence, like the aftermath of an explosion right next to my ear.
I peered through the dark. Ah-Puch’s borrowed and broken body vanished in a trail of silvery dust. And in its place, raw god power appeared in a perfect human form. He wore his signature black suit. His face was a mask of anger and death. Around his neck was a yellow serpent with glowing green eyes and black stripes that seemed to breathe.
I stumbled back. Camazotz crouched and balanced on the balls of his feet, wearing a wicked smile. He had Ren by the throat. She must have been in one of her trances, because her eyes were glazed over.
“You had me fooled, old friend,” said the bat. “I truly admire your deception. But what was it for? These worthless thugs?”
Ah-Puch’s jaw tensed as he glanced around casually, like he was sizing up the place. “Let the girl go and I may not make this supremely painful.”
“Where would be the fun in that?” Camazotz squeezed Ren’s neck tighter.
I shot fire bullets from my hands, aiming precisely for the guy’s eyes. His bat wings didn’t deflect them fast enough this time. He screamed, shook his head, and looked back at us with empty, scorched sockets. “I don’t need eyes when I can smell you,” he hissed.
Ah-Puch placed his hand on my arm. I can only buy you minutes. Go now! he said.
A shimmering light caught my attention—Ah-Puch had reopened the gateway near the crane. With a mere flick of his wrist, he sent the entire army of bats tumbling into the night sky.
“I’m not leaving without Ren!” I said.
Camazotz let out a twisted laugh. His eye sockets smoked, and the smell of burning flesh rose in the air, turning my stomach. “You’ll never save Hurakan in time! And in the end, your blood will be mine.”
The godborns, Hondo (with Brooks still in hand), and Rosie waited at the portal.
“Get out of here!” I yelled to them.
“Enough talk,” Ah-Puch said flatly. At the same moment, his snake split into hundreds and they shot forward, taking Camazotz by surprise. They ripped Ren from his grasp and wrapped themselves around her protectively. As one large serpentine form made of many smaller ones, they slithered her over to the gateway before vanishing into yellow smoke.
The bat god released a terrifying screech. His wings grew wider and his fangs longer as he charged at me.
“Go!” Ah-Puch yelled. He shot a gust of wind beneath my feet that whisked me toward the gateway and out of Camazotz’s claws.
Hondo stood at the gateway’s edge, waiting for me as the last of the godborns stepped inside. Rosie howled as if to say Hurry it up!
I balanced easily on the wind, like I was riding a surfboard in raging waters. Hondo went through, then Rosie, then me. I glanced over my shoulder just as the wrecking yard exploded into shrieks and fury and flames.
* * *