Mayan Blood (19 page)

Peering through the churning water, the glow broke through. She pushed off the rock and kicked toward it, reaching out to catch the string with the tips of her fingers. With one firm tug, the pendant came loose.

The current grabbed her and dragged her underneath the waterfall. The water punched her in the gut and in the ribs, battering her against sharp rocks.

Her limbs went limp.

Her head pounded with every heartbeat.

The need to find oxygen had all but vanished as her vision blurred.

The current carried her out from under the waterfall and pushed her motionless body into the center of the lake.

She wanted to swim to the surface.

She wanted to, but couldn’t.

Her limbs were heavy and the will to fight slipped away.

Someone grabbed hold of her arm and tugged her to the surface. She gasped when a cool breeze caressed her cheek, and she tilted her head back to see Hawa’s blurry features.

Zanya blinked through beads of water. “You look like a drowned rat.” The words croaked from her throat.

“Yeah. Thanks.” Hawa dragged her to the edge and onto land, then collapsed beside her, her chest heaving. “You are one stupid, crazy girl.”

“I know.” Zanya lifted her hand with the wicker pendant folded in her fingers. “But it was worth it.”

***

Arwan

Arwan paced in the foyer. He had heard Hawa and Zanya leave, but it had been hours since then and they still hadn’t returned. He glanced out the window at the sky, now streaked with colors of a dawning day. Something was wrong. He had to find them, which would mean telling Renato he was aware they left and didn’t stop them. There was no doubt his mentor would be furious, but it was out of his hands now.

The doorknob jiggled. Arwan paused and watched, listening to whispers from the other side of the door. His eyes narrowed. When the door pushed open, Hawa met his gaze and her shoulders slumped forward. “Fantastic.”

Zanya followed her, both of them sopping wet.

Strands of wet hair were stuck to Zanya’s neck and cheeks. She cleared her throat and glanced at Hawa. “Hey. What are you doing up?”

Arwan stepped toward Hawa, who immediately stepped back.

“Where have you been?” The words pushed through his clenched jaw.

“Hey, calm down, cowboy. It’s fine. We’re fine.” Hawa smoothed out her wet shirt. “Can’t say the same for my clothes, though.” She shot a glare at Zanya.

She shrugged. “Sorry.”

Arwan shifted his attention to the guardian. “What’s going on?”

She gathered hair over her shoulder. “I had this thing I had to do. It’s kind of hard to explain.”

He glared. “Amuse me.”

Zanya froze, then dropped her hands to her sides. “Why do you seem so pissed off?”

Arwan clenched and unclenched his fists. “Do you have any clue what would have happened if you got hurt?”

“Well…” She rubbed the back of her head. “It seems like the whole healing thing is working in my favor.”

He widened his eyes. “You did get hurt?”

“It was just a scratch,” Hawa said. “Calm down.”

He shouted a few lines in Spanish, telling Hawa just how irresponsible she was for allowing Zanya to put herself in harm’s way. Their entire plan would have fallen apart if Zanya didn’t return.

Hawa scoffed and perched her hand on her hip. “You have some damn nerve. You should be thanking me, and instead you’re acting like a lunatic.” He opened his mouth to say something else, but she pushed out her palm. “Whatever. I’m going to change.” Hawa stomped off, leaving him alone in the foyer with Zanya.

She shifted her weight. “I have a feeling I missed something.”

“What was so important?” He scanned her for any injuries. There was a streak of blood on the shoulder of her shirt, but she didn’t seem to be in any pain.

Zanya dug in her pocket and pulled out a wicker pendant dangling from a thin rope. “I had to get it.”

He inspected it a moment before speaking. “You went to get a piece of jewelry?”

“Well…” She glanced at it. “Yeah. Kind of. I had this vision and—”

Arwan grabbed her shoulders. “What were you thinking?”

Her features hardened and she craned her neck, looking at his hand rested on her shoulder. “Get your hands off of me.”

“You could have gotten yourself killed.”

“I said...” She drew in a deep breath, as if trying to calm herself. “Get your hands off of me. Now.”

He searched her face, and then stepped back. “Why didn’t you ask me to help?”

“Now I can’t do anything without your permission? Maybe you have the wrong idea of what we are. You’re not my boss or my protector. I can handle myself.”

His heart clenched. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Well you sure as hell are acting like you know what’s best for me.” She shoved the pendant back in her pocket. “I didn’t ask for a babysitter, okay? So…” She eyed him. “Back off.”

“Back off?” He ground his teeth. “Do you have any idea how long we’ve searched for you? Do you have any idea how many people have died, for you!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t ask for anyone to—”

“You didn’t have to!” His shouts echoed through the foyer. He reeled himself back, his gazed locked with hers. “You should be training. You should be putting your time and energy into learning how to use your powers and getting the stone back. Into finding Sarian. We have to find him!”

“Why is it so important to you, anyway?”

Arwan turned his face away from her.

“Oh. So there’s more to this than I thought.”

He scowled. “He may not have killed my mother, but he helped the person who did. For that, he deserves to die.”

“So that’s it. That’s why this whole thing has been so important to you. Why
I’m
so important to you.”

He furrowed his brows. “That’s what you think?”

“I don’t know. You tell me. I thought you were different. That I could…” Her cheeks flushed.

“Zanya.” He reached out to her, but she pulled back.

“It’s okay. I get it.” She shivered and curled her arms around herself.

He ached to hold her. Comfort her.

“You don’t have to pretend anymore, Arwan.” Her features hardened. “I’ll try harder to find Sarian. That’s my job, after all. That’s why I’m here.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Zanya

Settled on the sofa in Renato’s study, Zanya shut her eyes and used telepathy to call everyone to a meeting. She tried to be as gentle as possible, recalling how much it hurt when Marzena first climbed into her head. Even though she was hesitant, Renato insisted she use her powers as much as possible. Practice makes perfect.

One by one, they sluggishly strode in at the early morning hour.

Arwan was the last to arrive, wearing a pair of striped shorts and a tight white T-shirt. She hated how he always looked like he’d just stepped out of the pages of an Abercrombie and Fitch ad without even the slightest effort.

He pulled back strands of hair fallen around his face. Completely avoiding eye contact, he found a seat on one of the two leather armchairs.

Jayden strode in and plopped on the couch beside her. He threw his arm over her shoulder. “Good morning, beautiful.”

Zanya rolled the pendant between her fingers. She didn’t know why, but it calm her. “I thought you were mad at me,” she said to Jayden in a low voice.

He shrugged. “I could never stay mad at you for long.”

That may have been true, but Arwan was proving to be the polar opposite. She sensed his avoidance. They hadn’t spoken since last night, making the air thick with tension.

Renato held a book when he took front and center. “Marzena and I have spent a tremendous amount of time in research. We’ve found a connection, one that may prove helpful in locating Sarian. When Tara was taken, he most likely brought her to where he is hiding. It’s where he would have been most comfortable interrogating her.”

Zanya winced. There was only one thing he could have meant by ‘interrogating.’ He was trying to handle the topic delicately, but it still made her skin crawl. She gripped the pendant tighter.

“So…” Peter took Tara’s hand, waiting for Renato to elaborate.

“So if Marzena can search Tara’s mind for some kind of link buried deep in her subconscious, we may be able to locate him.”

“That seems like a good idea,” Zanya said. “We should try it.”

Renato struck a long wooden match and glided the flame over the chamber of his pipe. “There’s a catch.”

Jayden huffed. “There’s always a catch.”

“If I can help, I’ll do it,” Tara said. “Even if it’s not easy.”

Marzena used her mind to speak to the group. Thankfully, Zanya had gotten used to the mental invasion now that she had access to her own strengths. “Tara, my dear. Entering the mind can be difficult, and sometimes painful. Usually, if the subject is open to me looking into their memories, the discomfort can be avoided. In this case, however, I will need to reach very deep inside your subconscious.”

Tara frowned. “So, it’ll be painful?”

“The memory of your experience with Sarian has been locked away, separated from the rest of your mind because in reality, when we went back and changed the path of history, it was undone. But no memory is ever completely lost. Reaching them is possible, but not without risk.”

“What risk?” Zanya asked.

“It may bring Tara’s recollection of her time with Sarian to the surface.”

Zanya's features hardened. “No. There’s no way we’re going to do it.”

“Zanya, if I can help find the stone, I want to do it. I’m the only one without abilities here, and all I’ve been is dead weight—”

“That’s not true,” Peter said.

“Yes it is. I know it sounds bad to say, but it’s the truth. If I can do this one thing—”

“You don’t want to remember. Trust me.” She had spent years with that monster climbing in her head. She wouldn’t let Tara go through the same thing.

“I agree with Zanya,” Renato said. “It’s settled then. We will find another way.”

Tara leaned forward, her red curls now matching the shade spread over her cheeks. “Excuse me, but I’m the one in question here. What about how
I
feel? Doesn’t that matter?”

“Of course it does,” Renato replied. “But certain things should be left in the past.”

“There isn’t any other way to find this guy, and if Marzena doesn’t find anything in my head, then we’re no worse for wear.”

“And if she does find something?” Peter asked. “Then what? You’ll have all those memories to cope with. God knows what they’ll be.”

***

Two days later, Renato called everyone back to the study. Pacing in front of his desk, he cradled a book to his chest. “We have been asking all the wrong questions. We have been trying to figure out where Sarian is hiding, while we should have been asking
when
he is hiding.” His pacing stopped. “He has been sheltering his whereabouts not at a secret location, but in the past, which is why neither Marzena nor Jayden have been able to track him.”

“How did you figure that out?” Zanya asked.

Tara cleared her throat. “I, uh, I let Marzena…” She tapped her temple. “You know…”

“You let her dig around in your head?” Zanya's disbelief changed to uncertainty, which grew into anger. She stood up, glaring at Marzena. “I thought we agreed? How could you do this?”

Renato stepped forward. “Zanya, it was Tara’s choice to make. She wanted to help. She insisted. They did nothing wrong. It was a brave, unselfish act. You should be very proud of her.”

“Proud?” Zanya's turned to Renato. “But you agreed with us that it was too big of a risk.”

“That was until Tara spoke to me in private. Nothing I could have said would have changed her mind.”

Zanya rested back on the sofa. “Fantastic. Now you guys are plotting behind my back.”

“I think you’re being a little unreasonable,” Arwan mumbled.

Zanya's eyes narrowed. “You would think that.” If he was trying to get on her nerves, it was working. She looked at Tara. “Are you okay? Do you remember anything?”

She shook her head. “I did have a gnarly migraine after she finished. Peter fixed it, and everything’s fine. There’s seriously no reason to be upset.”

Zanya examined her friend. She seemed okay, and she was acting normal enough. Besides, Tara would tell her if something went wrong. The tension in Zanya’s muscles gave way. Of course Tara would tell her. They were best friends.

“Very well,” Renato said. “The information Tara provided led me to examine the 1800s. The strongest indication being a symbol on a flag.” He opened the book in his hands and displayed a large flag on its pages. “It’s a royal family crest. I should have known better. I’m a fool for not realizing the possibility sooner.”

“So what are we going to do?” Peter asked.

“We must find a way to travel back to Victorian London.”

“Can’t we just use the parasites again?” Jayden said.

Renato shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Even if the parasites could withstand that length of time in the bend, it would surely kill Arwan.”

“What if Peter heals him while we’re traveling?” Tara suggested.

“That was a possibility I considered, but I’m afraid our abilities are disabled while in the bend.”

“And what do you mean, we?” Zanya said. “You’re not coming. It’s too dangerous.”

Tara crossed her arms. “Oh, I’m coming. You can’t leave me behind while you go gallivanting around the Victorian era.”

“You’re not coming,” Zanya said again.

“Yes—I am.”

Peter took Tara’s hand. “I’ll stay behind with her.”

Tara’s jaw dropped open. “Peter, I want to go.”

“I’m sorry, but I have to agree with Zanya on this one. It’s too dangerous. You could get hurt.”

“Actually,” Renato interrupted, “we need Peter with us in case someone gets injured.”

Peter gestured to Zanya. “She has the healing ability now, too.”

“Which she hasn’t learned to use accurately enough yet. And what if Zanya gets injured? What if several of us are hurt simultaneously? We cannot risk you staying behind.”

Tara displayed a smug grin. “So it’s settled. I’m going.”

Zanya pushed her hands down on the cushion of the couch and leaned forward. “No, you’re not.”

“Well I’m not leaving Tara alone,” Peter said.

He must have been crazy. Here she was trying to keep Tara safe, and Peter was ruining it. “What if she gets taken by Sarian again? It was a pure stroke of luck we got her back last time. She’s the only one of us without abilities. She’s too vulnerable.”

Tara scoffed. “So since you have abilities and I don’t, you don’t want me around?”

“You know that’s not what I mean. I’m trying to protect you.” Hell, she was starting to sound like Arwan.

“I know. You’re always watching out for me…but I’m still coming.”

Zanya dug her fingers into the cushion. “You’re so stubborn.”

Bobbing her foot, Tara shrugged. “And you wonder why we’re best friends.”

Zanya leaned back and folded her arms over her chest.

“If Peter will not come with us unless Tara accompanies him, then we have no choice but to bring them both. We will all keep a close eye on her.”

Zanya weighed their options. She hated to admit it, but Renato was right about Peter. They needed him to come. “Fine, but you have to promise to stay safe. I couldn’t stand losing you again.”

Tara clapped her hands in delight. Zanya rolled her eyes. Of course Tara would celebrate that she was about to walk straight into a hot zone. She was fearless. Unfortunately, that quality wasn’t always smart.

Zanya couldn’t help but noticed Arwan’s grin.

“I’m glad you’re getting such a kick out of this,” she snapped.

His grin widened. “I can’t help it.” He met her gaze. “You’re incredibly cute when you’re angry.”

Zanya parted her lips. She wanted to shout at him, hit him—or better yet, zap him. How dare he go from cold to hot so quickly? Give the impression he only cared about her for one reason, and then drop the, you’re incredibly cute, line.

“Now that we have that settled, we can move on to the means by which we will get there,” Renato said.

They all waited for him to reveal his plan. Several horrifying possibilities traipsed through Zanya's imagination.

Renato searched the faces in the room. “Anyone?”

Zanya sat up straight. “What do you mean? You don’t know?”

“I haven’t the slightest idea.”

That was a first. Renato always knew the answer. She perked up when she remembered something she’d read in a scribe’s journal. “Wait.” She stood and walked to a bookshelf, searching for the right title.

Renato joined her and waited while she sifted through the titles. She stole a glance at him every so often as he examined the pendant in her hand. “What do you have there?”

She held it up. “To be honest, I’m not sure.”

Renato gently took the necklace.

She searched the shelves while he gave the pendant a closer look.

“Zanya…”

The scribe’s journal had to be there somewhere. If she could just find the right one…

“This is the symbol of Cualli, flower goddess of the middleworld. The daughter of Ishel.”

Zanya froze and tore her attention away from her search.

“Where did you get this?”

“I was led to it, by a vision. It was at the bottom of a waterfall.”

“Amazing.” He examined the piece closer. “The Maya believe water is a portal to the underworld. Someone must have tossed this into the lake while pleading for help. It’s very old.”

Zanya peered at it. “How old?”

“Hundreds of years. And it hasn’t been affected by the water.” He turned it over, running his fingers along the lines. “It’s in perfect condition. This means something.”

“Like what?”

“It means, Zanya, that we are no longer working alone. The middleworld deities are aware of our struggles and have joined our fight.”

She stared at the pendant that suddenly took on a whole new meaning. “That—is from a goddess?”

Renato nodded and handed it back to her. It was so beautiful, like artwork. And the way it made her feel was even more remarkable. It steadied her hand, gave her reassurance. Almost like her stone, but in a different way. Why, she’d had no idea—until now.

After a few more moments of searching, she plucked the book from the shelf. “Here it is. She might be able to take us back.” Zanya flipped through the pages, then handed it to Renato.

“She, who?” Tara asked.

Renato rubbed his chin, studying the pages. “This would be incredibly dangerous.”

“If you can’t come up with a solution, I’m pretty sure this is the only way.”

Renato drew in a deep breath. “Very well.” He tossed the book on his desk and turned to the rest of the group. “Contessa.”