Part 18 (2/2)
”Is that its name?” Her voice echoed strangely; her body felt very far away.
There, he must fulfill the prophecies, or the earth plane will suffer Vucub's twilight.
Dread and excitement churned through her; an ancestor had come to her, was talking to her. But considering whose ancestor it was, she didn't dare take any of it at face value. Swallowing, she whispered, ”Are you Anntah?”
The spirit guide nodded. ”I called you here to bring him a message. Tell him that he must do as he was born to do, or the sacrifices that have led to this point are meaningless.”
Hearing the familiar words from long ago, she narrowed her eyes as suspicions took root. ”I've heard that rhetoric before. You got inside Keban's head, too, didn't you? You told him to sacrifice Joy and save Dez instead. It was you all along.”
”Fool!” The word cracked in her brain, bringing a slash of pain. ”Do not question me, and do not think that you are protected by destiny. You were never meant for him.”
Her poker face failed her abruptly. ”That's a lie.”
The spirit's lips curved cruelly. ”He was meant for the twins of the star bloodline. With them gone, he has no destined mate and must fulfill the prophecies alone. You must give him the message and leave, or you will answer to Lord Vulture when he arrives.”
When his presence wavered, she reached for him. ”Wait! What-”
His image fractured abruptly, turning into honey-colored shards that spun away from her and disappeared.
She blinked awake to find her body stiff, her heart racing, her stomach knotted with stress and heartache. The afternoon shadows said she'd lost half a day, and her pulse thudded in her ears as she tried to process the new information: The mountain they were looking for was called Coatepec.
The threat from Lord Vulture was real.
Anntah was an arrogant, opinionated b.a.s.t.a.r.d.
And she and Dez weren't destined mates.
That last part shouldn't have bothered her the most, but it did, making her realize that on some level she had wanted to believe the G.o.ds were rooting for them to get together, maybe even helping. That would explain how she'd been brought back into his life, and why she sensed the magic, especially his, even though she was only human. But if she believed Anntah-and in this case she unfortunately did-then coincidences really did exist, and it was an accident that they were back in each others...o...b..ts. If they weren't destined mates, then there was no grand plan for them, no cosmic interference, no hope of her ever wearing his jun tan. And, she realized with an embarra.s.sed start, she had wanted that too. Somewhere deep down inside, she had let herself imagine them belonging to each other permanently, at long last.
How could she still want that, even knowing that he had hidden the truth from her, over and over again? How could- ”Enough,” she said, closing her eyes and digging her fingers into her aching scalp. ”You're not nineteen anymore, and the world doesn't begin and end with Mendez.” Or, rather, their relations.h.i.+p wasn't central to the end of the world. Mendez himself could very well be, and the Nightkeepers needed to hear what Anntah had told her. Shoving the personal stuff behind a mental tape line that said ”do not cross,” she got herself up and headed down the trail to the library. Swinging open the door, she called, ”I know what mountain were . . .” She trailed off when she found the cavernous s.p.a.ce deserted.
That put a s.h.i.+mmy in her stomach. Not that Jade, Lucius, and Natalie were chained to the place, but under the circ.u.mstances they should've been there working . . . Which suggested that something else had happened that took priority.
Oh, G.o.d. Suddenly aware that she'd been out of the loop for hours, she reached for her armband, only to realize she wasn't wearing it. How had she forgotten it? Stupid. For a second she thought they might be off looking for her, then remembered that Strike could instantly lock on to her with his 'port talent. Or did the pueblo walls mess with that the same way rock and certain forms of magic did? Either way, she needed to get her a.s.s back to the main mansion and see what was up.
She got lucky; there was a Jeep in the parking area, keys in the ignition. She dumped the vehicle near the mansion's front door, noting that Keban's body and pickup were gone. But she was far more concerned with what she was going to find when she pounded along the covered walkway and blew through the main door, her instincts shrilling a warning when she realized that the normal background energy of the place had dimmed. The magi were gone. ”h.e.l.lo?” she called. ”Anyone?”
”In here.”
She followed Lucius's voice, found him sitting alone at the breakfast bar, crutches leaning nearby. One look at him told Reese that her instincts had been right, as usual-he was waiting for news. ”What happened?”
”The monitors caught a huge magic spike at a highland village called Xik. The team zapped down to pick up Rabbit, Myrinne, and Sven and then bounce to Xik, hoping to get there before the makol finish harvesting the village.”
”Harvesting.” Reese s.h.i.+vered at the hideous accuracy of the word. ”Did Dez go with them?” she asked, but they both knew she was really asking where he stood with Strike and the others. Please don't say he's locked in the bas.e.m.e.nt. She could see the logic, but didn't think she could stand to see him locked up again. The first time, it had been for the best. This time . . . h.e.l.l, she didn't know what was right anymore.
”He took off right after you did. He said he was going to take care of Keban's body, drove off in the pickup.” Lucius's tone was carefully neutral, but she heard the question in it.
”If that was what he said, then that's what he's doing. He's not a liar.” Which was true. He omitted. He talked around issues and was occasionally guilty of some whoppers in the flawed-logic department. But he rarely lied outright.
”Without an armband, driving a vehicle that isn't hooked into the Skywatch system?”
”I didn't say he always plays by the rules. Just that he's not a liar.” But her heart sank as she saw Lucius's mistrust. Softening her voice, she said, ”Look, I'm not saying that his motives are always a hundred percent pure, but I believe him when he says he doesn't want the throne.”
”Despite his history?”
”He's not the guy he used to be.” It wasn't until she said it aloud that she realized she really believed it, deep down inside. She didn't know whether the change had come from maturity, breaking his bond with the star demon, the Triad magic, or a combination of all those things, but he was truly a different person now. A better man. ”He took the fealty oath and swore on his honor.” Which in his own way, he held sacred. ”I think you should give him a chance.”
”Is that what you're going to do?”
”Honestly? I don't know what I'm going to do. This is all so complicated.” She paused. ”And there's more. I had a vision, just now.” His eyes fired as she described the spirit guide and repeated his warnings. Halfway through, Lucius grabbed a napkin and started taking notes; she could see the wheels turning in his brain. Although she was tempted to leave out the parts about her and Dez not being a destined pairing, she told him.
”I'm sorry,” he said when she was finished. ”That sucks.”
She shrugged. ”It doesn't change anything.” But they both knew it did. ”How about Coatepec Mountain ? Do you know where it is?”
”Not offhand, but the name is sure as h.e.l.l familiar.” He pushed away from the breakfast bar and grabbed his crutches. ”I'm going to collect Natalie and hit the books. You want to come with? We could use you.”
”Later.”
His eyes sharpened on hers. ”You're going after Dez?”
She blew out a breath, then nodded. ”He needs to know what Anntah said . . . and that I'm not running away this time. I don't know exactly what's between us at this point, but whatever it is, I'm going to fight for it.”
But first, she stopped in her room for her armband and more firepower. As she headed back to the Jeep, her armband staticked and Jade's voice said, ”We've got the others and are headed to Xik now. Wish us luck.”
Luck, Reese thought. But so far, luck had been painfully short for the magi. And time was running out.
The village of Xik
Mayan highlands
As Strike triggered the 'port, Sven hung on tightly to Mac's ruff with one hand, the joined hands of Jade and Patience with the other, awkwardly touch-linking himself and the coyote into the circle. Mac whined, quivering. He knew what was coming, and wasn't a big fan:'port magic freaked him out.
Calm, Sven sent to the big canine using the simple glyphlike command images that Carlos had been teaching him, and got a surge of deep suspicion in return. He was still getting used to communicating with his familiar, a process that hadn't exactly been easy, given that Mac was opinionated, quick-tempered, and a little on the flighty side. Their partners.h.i.+p was turning out to be less about Sven giving orders and more a constant state of negotiation, which was exhausting. Carlos had a.s.sured him that things would get better, but right now, it was all he could do not to lose track of his familiar. He'd learned his lesson, though-the last time Mac took off, it had taken Sven hours to track him down the rain forest based on oh-so-helpful thought-images like: Leaves, leaves, leaves. Jaguar p.o.o.p. More leaves.
”Hang on,” Strike said, and then triggered the 'port. Sven braced himself against the familiar sideways lurch, the whip of gray-green barrier magic flying past, and then the universe rea.s.sembled itself around him.
Tightening his grip on Mac's ruff as the big coyote quivered and strained, sending a sudden flow of Enemy! Run! Bite! Runbiterun! Sven checked out the scene. And saw that they were too d.a.m.n late. Again.
The magi had materialized in an open courtyard surrounded by twenty or so thatched-roof huts, several damaged, most untouched. Cooking fires still hissed and popped, one burning a pan of corn to s.h.i.+t, mute testimony that the place had very recently been inhabited. A radio played somewhere, Madonna crooning about being a virgin. And that was it. There was no other sound, no signs of life. The village was empty.
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