The Shadow Crosser (The Storm Runner 3)

She could be here all she wanted—no way was I ever, ever having that convo with her.

The next morning, we all stood on the beach waiting for some air spirit to arrive to take us to SHIHOM. That’s what our invites had said, anyways. Mom stood at the edge of the patio and waved. I knew she was crying, which made me feel really awful. I mean, I’d just gotten home, and here I was, already leaving again.

I’d already hugged her good-bye. Just as I’d pulled out of her arms, she’d whispered, “Your father promised to keep an eye on you.”

“When did you talk to him?”

Ignoring the question, she’d said, “Remind him that I will come for him if anything happens to you.”

Yup. My pro-stunt-dr

iving mom was probably the one person whose threat would strike fear into a creator-and-destroyer god like Hurakan.

Ren looked at her gold watch and frowned. “The air spirit’s late.” She would know, since the watch had come from her mom, Pacific, the goddess of time. According to Ren, it kept perfect Maya time, but it hadn’t done any other magical stuff yet. I had told her not to worry—that could change tomorrow night, at the claiming ceremony.

“Maya creatures are hardly ever punctual.” Brooks took a bite of her pineapple empanada. My mom had given them to us for our journey, and I’d already polished off three.

Hondo hoisted his pack onto his shoulder. I guess, as a teacher, he didn’t have to follow the same bring-nothing rules the rest of us did. Whatever.

“What’s in the backpack?” I asked.

Hondo shrugged. “Just some stuff.”

Alana pushed her shades up the bridge of her nose. My mom had given her a blue neoprene MAYA JOURNEYS strap so Alana wouldn’t lose her glasses in case things got “adventuresome.”

I was totally rooting for an unadventurous trip to SHIHOM.

Just then, a thick wall of greenish fog swirled around us. So thick I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. Rosie whined and nudged me with her wet muzzle.

“What the heck?” Brooks said.

“I can’t see!” That was Adrik.

Hondo gripped my shoulder. “Someone really should tell the gods to ixnay all the creep-factor stuff.”

The fog lifted like a veil, revealing a pre-dawn sky that was pink with wisps of silver and blue. Then, like flipping a set of blinds, the sky changed to pale orange with streaks of lavender. The sand glittered with gold and red and green, as if bits of rubies and emeralds had been scattered everywhere. And the sea? It was a brilliant turquoise with not a single wave.

“It’s like a kaleidoscope,” Ren whispered.

“Whoa!” Adrik blinked furiously, like he had a sea gnat in his eye.

Brooks’s mouth fell open.

“Is this SHIHOM?” Alana asked, tugging off her shades.

I spun to find my house gone. We were definitely no longer on Isla Holbox. There were no palm trees, no hammocks, no gulls. It was just us, the glittering beach, and the kaleidoscope sky. Or at least I thought so, until three massive tortugas with dark shells lumbered out of the sea. Their eyes were deep blue, like pools of iridescent ink. And let me tell you, they were muy slow.

“Those…uh…don’t look like air spirits,” Hondo said.

“That’s our ride to SHIHOM?” Brooks groaned. “Like, can’t we fly or take a gateway?”

“How do we know they’re friendly?” Alana chewed on a pinkie nail.

Her brother inched back and asked, “Aren’t turtles carnivores? Do you see any teeth?”

“Definite flesh-eaters,” Hondo said, popping the rest of his empanada into his mouth.

Ren smiled. “They look nice to me.”