by L. A. Boruff
"What about blood?" I asked.
"I've got a soft-sided cooler in my bag," said Michael. "We got it when we bought those pillows and your altitude sickness medicine."
"Did you bring the supplies for me to fill more bags?" Three heads nodded the affirmative. "Well then, let’s go."
Anthony consulted a map given to him by the greeter. He started toward the interior of the island and we trailed behind. Michael and Elias flanked me and set the pace.
"I could go faster than this, you know." I could walk faster with a broken leg, blindfolded. Elias gave me a sympathetic grin and we trudged on. The ground was packed hard, smooth from years of travelers come to explore the ruins. I stumbled once on a rock. The view was too breathtaking to keep my eyes on my feet, and I wasn’t watching where I was going.
The path led us ever upward over enormous hills. Given where I was raised, I couldn't call them mountains, but my body did feel like I was hiking at home in the Appalachians.
We crested the first hill and I stopped, awestruck. The water of the lake was cornflower blue and so inviting that I found my body itching to glide through it like a mermaid. I bet the kids would love this.
Slowly turning in a circle to try to see it all, I wished the guys thought to pack a good camera. They’d already visited the island several times during their childhood, so it wouldn’t be special to them. I’d want to remember the day. The view; the feel of the gritty stones under my feet, the smell of meat cooking, drifting toward me from some nearby village. I would want to reminisce on the first days Michael returned to me, and the days we built our relationship—days that would, hopefully, be stories we told our children and our grandchildren, and several generations of offspring after that.
Michael tugged on my hand. I logged away my memories, and we continued down the hill into a large village. It was bustling with tourists and natives buying and selling local wares. I was drawn to the many buildings, small and bright against the rocky terrain, but they tugged me away from the market area.
The hostel looked like a beach house, with the exterior outfitted in stone. The windows were framed in wood with vibrant curtains billowing. We climbed three flights of uneven stone stairs to get to the entrance. My massive men crowded me on the front porch, each vying to stand beside me. They were going to have to figure out a rotation.
The interior was as colorful as the exterior. The lobby was filled with potted plants and chairs with throw pillows embroidered with blocky animals. Elias conversed in Spanish with a plump woman sitting behind a desk possibly made from an old pallet. I wished I knew Spanish so I could ask, but my guys probably didn't even know what pallet repurposing was, so I didn’t try to get them to translate.
Anthony handed over some bills and she led us to a small bedroom with two twin beds, then pointed across the hall to an open door. I could see a tiny shower through the doorway. After a few more exchanges with Elias, she left us in the sparse room.
A dresser with a small, clean mirror was situated between twin beds. There were several hooks on the wall and nothing else. The linens were like the rest of the house, bright and cheery. They were beginning to show signs of wear, but clean. The owners took pride in their belongings. I plopped down on one of the beds with a sigh.
Elias relayed the info he'd been given. We were free to come and go as we pleased day or night, but she didn't recommend exploring the island in the dark, as the terrain could be unsafe. Michael stepped out to use the bathroom, which was to be shared with anyone else staying on our floor. Anthony snuggled up next to me. He said she'd questioned that all of us would share one room, but he told her Michael and I were married and they were his best friends, so she let it go.
She brought in a cot that would squeeze into the corner of the room, and Michael and I were expected to share one of the beds. That would be interesting, given Michael's size. Even though I'd lost weight, I was still no pixie. Oh shit. Do pixies exist?
Michael returned from the bathroom, and we repacked their backpacks with essentials for keeping me fed and hydrated. They pulled out a bag of blood, and Elias sucked some out of the tip before handing it off to Michael. Michael walked over to the window to enjoy the view while he drank his portion.
"Did you even drink any?" Anthony asked as Michael handed him the bag.
"Yeah, I'm not drinking as much since I was starved. I can't resist drinking some, but I can control a bit better how much I drink, especially since I know I do have a supply of more if I need it."
I ate a granola bar and downed a bottle of water before heading over to the bathroom. The room was barely big enough to turn around in with a shower stall, toilet, and pedestal sink with no mirror. A bar of homemade soap sat on the sink ledge. "Hey, Elias. Did you guys think to buy soap?" I called to them..
Anthony came out of the room and stood in the hall. "We didn't, Coya. We forgot toothbrushes as well. We’ll have to visit that marketplace after all. I'm sure they sell such things." I smiled, looking forward to shopping, and closed the bathroom door in his face as he sighed.
I did my business, wondering if I was going to get constipated for fear of defecating where they could smell it. I'd already gone a couple of days, maybe it would happen at the hostel so I could shut both doors. Surely the stink wouldn't penetrate that far.
The soap smelled like lavender. I hoped we could find something similar in the market. I giggled, imagining my big men smelling like flowers.
Livened by an unexpected burst of energy, I skipped over to our room to collect my guys and go shop. It was too late in the day to trek out to the ruins anyway. Michael pulled me to his side, a place I was more than willing to be.
"Are we ready?" I asked.
"Sure, Coya. We’re on a specific mission, but there's no reason we can't try to have a little bit of fun this afternoon," Anthony said. He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door. Michael's arm around me pulled him along with us. I laughed and looked back at Elias.
"Grab my ass, Eli, and we'll go freak out the locals," I said, giggling.
The walk to the market was breathtaking. I closed my eyes and breathed, the sun warm on my face as we crested a big hill before the entrance to the market stalls. A coughing fit surprised me as I inhaled a strong scent of an animal. My eyes popped open and I squealed in the face of a llama. The guys burst out laughing at my expression and the odd noises I made as I coughed and squeaked. I scrambled to let the llama and a native man pass by, confusion on his face.
Right, keeping my eyes open. I turned away from the llama and gazed over the roofs of the stalls at the bottom of the hill. We walked through a crude trellis that served as the entrance to the shopping area. Immediately, we were greeted by children wearing balaclavas, offering to shine our shoes. Michael smiled at them and crouched down. After a short conversation in Spanish, he handed them a few Boliviano bills and they scampered off.
A young girl offered a flower next. I accepted the flower with a smile and turned my head to raise my eyebrow at Michael. He took out a few more bills with a sigh and gave them to the little girl. We carried on toward the stalls. I pulled Michael by his wrist. Looking back, I saw Elias and Anthony watching me with bemused expressions.
I turned to pick which stall I wanted to shop at first and stopped dead. The sneaky woman that had stalked us since we arrived in Copacabana was crossing the path in front of us. She glanced our way once, and when she saw me watching her, she took off in the crowd of tourists. I sprinted after her. She was like eighty years old, I figured surely I could catch her.
My many years of shopping at huge retailers on Black Friday kicked in as I bobbed and weaved between the tourists. I ducked under a man’s outstretched arms, yelling “sorry!” behind me.
I heard three yells—I surprised my guys. “Keep up!” I yelled, sure they could hear me. Hell, after drinking my blood for the past several days they could probably find me anywhere in a mile radius. Like mosquitos. They’re my fucking mosquitos.
Th
ankful yet again that I’d trained my body so hard, I went at a fast pace. At one point I had to twirl around a small child that darted out in front of me. I didn't want to lose the slippery woman again. I saw a flash of her black and white hair duck behind a stall ahead to my right and put on another burst of speed.
I turned the corner to find the elusive woman surrounded by Michael, Elias, and Anthony. I gave them a stupid expression. Even knowing their abilities, it still shocked me to see them somehow get ahead of me unnoticed.
I stepped between Michael and Elias to confront her. “Who the hell are you?” I yelled.
Michael touched my elbow and said, “Riley, keep it down. We would like to draw the least amount of attention possible after that chase through the market.”
“Answer the question,” I said in a normal tone.
The grandmotherly woman’s face split into a wide grin. “Riley Elizabeth Collins Effler. Daughter of David and Blanche, dead in a car crash when you were eighteen. Two children, sons, David and Daniel. Married to Michael Effler, deceased,” she stated. Her voice was deep, almost masculine. Michael took a small step forward. “Not deceased. I’m right here, old woman. Why are you following Riley?”
“You may call me Mama Pacha, Riley, daughter of Blanche. I've come to save you, so that you may save me.” She beamed. “I'm going to guide you to the entrance to Uku Pacha. It is my home, and I've missed it greatly.” She shuffled toward me, causing Michael and Elias to step in front of me. “Brave boys you are,” she hissed. “Don't anger me, children. The only one I need alive is Riley.”
I stepped around the side of Eli, knowing he wouldn't move out of my way. Anthony moved to shield me again, but I held up my hand.
“Enough. She either has the power to hurt me or she doesn’t. Stop blocking me, I want to hear what she has to say.” I turned my head and gave each man a glare. They looked furious.
“Mama Pacha, I will not help you if you harm any of these men. They’re protective of me. I wouldn’t be here if not for their help.”
She closed her eyes. I met Michael’s eyes and shrugged as she stood there, unresponsive. Her head turned to each man and paused briefly on each of them.
She opened her eyes and cocked her head at me. “One of these men isn't quite what he seems, but I can't pinpoint what's off. I can only tell something's not right. I've been away from home for such a long time, and my powers have weakened considerably.” Her face grew sad and her shoulders slumped a bit. “Once I would’ve been able to tell you the most private thoughts of these men of yours. But now I'm weaker than the average Supay.” She squared her shoulders and grabbed my hand. “I need you, Riley. If it means putting up with these overprotective buffoons, so be it.”
Three sets of hands tried to jerk me away from her grasp at the same time. “Riley,” said Michael. “We have no idea who she is. This could be a trap. She’s probably the one that led the Junta to us to begin with.” Elias and Anthony nodded their heads in agreement, both staring a hole through Mama Pacha.
I was calm. I was safe. She gave off a sense of familiarity, like an old friend or distant relative. I turned to Mama Pacha and grabbed her hand again. It was warm, soft. Warmth spread up my arm from her gnarled fingers. When the warmth reached my chest and heart I gasped. I could actually feel her life. I looked into her eyes and saw centuries reflecting at me. I saw snatches of earthquakes and ritualistic sacrifices. I saw death and destruction. I also saw life—births and celebrations. I saw joy, and I saw intense pain.
Three bodies crowded me, shouting. I wasn’t so lost in her memories that I couldn’t reply. “Relax guys, she’s showing me…stuff. So much,” I whispered. Anthony couldn’t stop himself and ripped her hand out of mine. My body crumpled. Mama Pacha didn’t fall, but she did stumble a bit. Michael caught me and Anthony steadied her. He stared down at the seemingly frail woman.
“Why did you help her if you are so distrustful of her?”
“I was raised in the south, Coya. I don’t let a woman fall to the ground,” he replied, almost apologetically.
“I’m glad you did. We need her. We need her more than I can possibly explain here in an alley. Get us to our room, please.”
Chapter 14
Michael scooped me up and I feigned unconsciousness while he navigated the crowded streets. I had no idea if Mama Pacha was with us.
“Is she coming?” I asked, my eyes closed and my head tucked into his shoulder.
“She disappeared. She moves fast, like us. I watched her go toward our hostel, but humans wouldn’t have been able to see her moving,” he replied, barely moving his lips. “Riley, what did you see? What is she?” he asked.
“Michael…she’s a god.” He kept moving, speechless. The statement was unbelievable. I wouldn’t have believed it either—except I saw it. Even in this new world where vampires and werewolves and Cthulu existed, meeting a god in a market in Bolivia was hard to stomach.
I began to feel stronger. “I think I can walk, Michael,” I said.
“No, I’m carrying you. I’m far too freaked out to put you down.”
“I second that.” Anthony’s voice came from behind us. Eli walked ahead, and I was sure they chose that formation to keep me in the middle. When we reached the front door to the hostel, I insisted Michael let me walk. I didn’t want the proprietress asking any questions.
Mama Pacha sat on one of the sofas in the lobby, alone in the room. She stood and turned to us when we entered. “I put the idea in the nosy woman’s mind that it was imperative she have a nap. She should be asleep for several hours. Lead the way.” She stepped back to allow us to pass by her and up the stairs to our room.
We crowded in, and I sat beside Mama Pacha on one of the beds. Michael sat on the cot, already stuck in the corner. Elias and Anthony sat on the other bed, as close to me as they could get without crowding onto the bed with me.
I stared at Mama Pacha, a little bit in love with her. “She is Mama Pacha, guys. She is Mother Nature.” They shifted and also stared at her.
“I have so many questions. Why are you here? Why do you need me?” I asked, full of a million more questions.
“Calm down, child. I have much to tell you and much I won't tell you.” She gave each man around her a meaningful look. “I won't tell you certain things until I discover which of these men give me the heepie jeepies and why.” I snorted at her botched use of the term “heebie jeebies.”
“I’ve been so far removed from my home for so long that I can't trust my intuition as I once could.” Her eyes took on a dreamy quality as she remembered. “I was beautiful once. I'm ancient, child. Much older than any of you will ever be able to reach.
“Riley is right. Once, I was a goddess. I was Mother Earth, Mother Nature. I was worshiped because they believed I blessed their harvests. I was the Inca’s goddess of fertility.” She sighed and lost the far off gleam in her eyes.
“But, it was a sham. I’m no goddess, never was. I was powerful, yes. I allowed the people to worship me, of course. I was showered in gifts. They performed sacrifices in my name. They went on pilgrimages to find me. I ruled my small part of the world fairly. Yet terribly, since I had no right to rule. And then the portals closed and I couldn’t go home.”
She shrugged and she gave us a half smile. “Supay tried to warn me that they'd be closing, but I was too driven, too consumed with my power in this world.” Her eyes filled with tears, and she took my hand again. I was able to see her memories reflected in her eyes as warmth spread across my body.
She showed me another world. The colors were more vibrant than our own. The air sparkled as if glitter were floating about. The view satisfied me deep inside. Her emotions seeped over into mine, and I felt her desire to see her homeland again.
“I want to go home, child. I need you to get me there.” She released my hand.
“How in the world am I supposed to do that? We can’t even figure out how to fix me so I can live long enough to be with my family!” I was puzzle
d—what could I do? “I mean, don’t get me wrong, if I can help I will, but I don’t see how.”
“Little girl, over the hundreds of years I've walked this Earth, I've seen truth become legend and then turn to dust. When I came here, over a thousand years ago, I found a primitive land with primitive people. I watched as the humans worshipped me and my ilk as gods, for we knew how to tap the magic in our blood, and we brought magic from other worlds. We also knew more about science than even humans of today can comprehend.
“We came through portals from our worlds to this. Some came earlier, some later. I’m actually one of the last to come through. My people found the portal in our world and traveled to this one. I came with Inti, Supay, and many like us. We became the gods of the Inca, but we heard many stories of other gods the world over. Other beings that were not gods, but were worshiped for their magic and knowledge.
“The stories you hear of Hades, Loki, Egyptian gods like Let and Sekhmet, Abaddon, Ishtar, Lilith, countless others. I can tell you some of the worlds they come from. They are no more gods than my cat, HissyFloof, is.”
I giggled. “HissyFloof?”
“Yes, I have a cat, she’s horrible. Hush. We shared one common trait—our DNA was compatible with human DNA. We could create our own species by mating with the creatures of this Earth. The species that call themselves The Supay were not created by Supay or my kinsman that came to this world with me from Uku Pacha.”
Anthony interrupted her, “Uku Pacha is a real place?”
“Yes, boy. It is my home. The Inca believed, and we encouraged it, that their dead either went to what we call heaven, Hanan Pacha, or hell, Uku Pacha. This belief helped cement our status as gods. But to us, it was home, and the human dead don't go there. Right now, no one passes in or out of this world.”
Elias held his hand out to interrupt her story, “Wait, you said that Supay didn't create our species?”
Mama Pacha smiled. “You are our descendants. The people of Pacha that came through the portal into this world mated with humans. Our offspring became what are today known as the Supay. I’ve followed our people’s progress, and I’m proud of the place you’ve carved in this world for yourselves.
