I’d come to the end of my wire and was forced to make another searing incision in my arm, ripping the healing wound open with my bare hands. When I was satisfied I had enough, I created another length of wire and bound his flailing legs, stretching the tether between four meteors so that the war god hung suspended between them. My vision blurred and a heavy fog set in. I’d given too much of myself, and Xiuhcóatl’s poison was quickly dissolving what was left of me. I let Valerius take the reins, with barely enough energy to stay conscious.
Huitzilopochtli’s gaze fixed on me when I settled into the visible spectrum, clearly contemplating all the creative ways he could murder me.
“This was not part of our agreement!” he bellowed.
Valerius cocked his head to one side, considering the war god. His desire to kill roiled beneath the surface of my skin, making my fingers twitch. He wanted to loop the war god’s intestines around his neck and drink his blood. Not so long ago, Valerius would have treasured the opportunity. But now he held himself in check, forgoing his own vengeance in order to preserve my life, and my people.
“It is,” Valerius countered finally. “I have bound you, and you have mortally wounded my host. If I leave you this way, you will be attacked by your sister, who hates you. If I stay, I will perish outright. We are at an impasse. Agree to give me the use of Xiuhcóatl and we will both benefit. Deny me and we both perish.”
I could see the gears grinding behind the war god’s eyes. He wanted to find some way to kill us without handing over the snake. But Valerius was right. If he chose to act in spite, we’d both die. Even the brutish Aztec war god couldn’t be so stupid as to condemn the world for his pride.
I read the surrender on his face a second before he spoke. His shoulders slumped and he inclined his head, just a little.
“You did well, parasite.”
“Not really,” Valerius said with a shrug. “You were merely too arrogant.”
“Take it,” the god conceded with a nod. “Cut my bonds and you are free to leave. But be warned. I will have my vengeance for this. No one shames me and lives to tell of it.”
Valerius gave him a fierce little grin and nodded.
“I look forward to the day we fight in earnest, Huitzilopochtli.”
My hands reached for the snake that curled in the war god’s massive grip. It snapped at me once more, but went completely docile once it had been plucked from its wielder’s hand. Valerius lifted the turquoise snake to my bicep, where it curled like the world’s deadliest armband. As I watched, it sank into my skin, a glittering tattoo much like the rest of my markings. And then, with a waggle of my fingers, the bonds sluiced off, dissolving into a watery vapor. Huitzilopochtli raised a drenched hand to his lips, sampling my essence with a grin.
“Someday, Natalia Valdez, I will bathe in your entrails,” he promised me with a shark-like look of anticipation.
I shuddered, unnerved that this ancient deity somehow knew my name. Then the world disappeared, almost as if it had never been. When my eyes snapped open again, I was staring at the endless black void of Mictlan’s night sky. Sienna Vogel stared down at me with an expression of mingled concern and irritation.
“What happened to you?” she demanded. “You began thrashing only a few minutes in. I thought I was going to lose the connection.”
I sat up, testing my limbs. Aside from some soreness on my right side, and a deep exhaustion, I was feeling fine. Lifting my arm up to the faint glow of her ghostly luminescence, I scanned my arm. Sure enough, just beneath the death ideogram was a turquoise snake, curled around my bicep.
“I did it,” I whispered, awed by the accomplishment.
I’d been pretty sure this whole mission was suicidal.
If I could face off against a war god and draw, how hard could it be to defeat Ewan?
With renewed vigor I leapt to my feet, stretching my muscles.
“Let’s get that firewood and go back to camp,” I said with a tight smile.
“I can’t wait to see the look on Ewan’s face.”
chapter
15
I DIDN’T EVEN BOTHER TO conceal the tattoo of Xiuhcóatl as we entered the camp. It would have been useless to do so, even if I hadn’t been smug about it. The snake-weapon thrummed like a struck chord through my entire body, exuding an energy that was instantly recognizable if you knew what you were looking for. Ewan might not, but Bryne certainly would.
Swaggering into camp, I dumped the bundle full of scrub brush and twigs onto the ground near the small fire pit I’d built out of nearby stones. Ewan jumped to his feet at once, glaring daggers at me. He bared his fangs in an outraged snarl.
“Treacherous little bitch!” he hissed. “I knew you were up to something.”
I grinned back at him, cocking one hip out in a jaunty position. I finally understood exactly why Ewan had been so damn obnoxious about his theft from the museum. It felt good to have and flaunt one’s advantage.
“What’s the matter, Ewan? You don’t seem so confident now that we’re evenly matched.”
Ewan let out a snarl that was pure animal rage and lunged across the space that separated us, a fireball kindling in his hand. I went for my gun, feeling the physical weight in my hand. Thank god for corporeality. I’d just flicked the safety off of my weapon when Dom pushed himself between us, glaring Ewan down. He shoved a hand into each of our chests, pushing us away from each other with an exasperated sound.
“I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but this needs to stop right the hell now. You two do know this is pointless, right? No matter which of you wins, you’re going to come back. You two were very specific. Neither one of you can die until we reach Mictlantecuhtli and enter the arena, correct?”
“I don’t give a shit,” Ewan snarled. “I just want a piece of her hide. What a fucking cheat.”
I glared at Ewan over Dom’s shoulder, for once in agreement with the psychopath’s sentiment. I wanted to take a chunk out of Ewan too, logic be damned. But I took a deep breath and holstered my pistol.
“Right,” I said. I wasn’t exactly clear on the details, but Valerius had communicated as much. Killing Ewan here would be satisfying, but he’d only come back stronger.
“What’s happened?” Dom demanded, glaring at each of us in turn until we both settled enough to step away from him. I sat down on the shifting sands while Ewan resumed his seat on the boulder.
“This happened,” I said, holding out my arm for his inspection. “With Sienna’s help I entered the astral plane and sought out the Aztec war god Huitzilopochtli. I won his wager and with it, the flaming serpent sword Xiuhcóatl. It’s a legendary, god-killing weapon, the same as Hercules’ sword and arrows. Ewan’s pissed that we’re on even footing again. He thought he had to cheat to win, so I leveled up the playing field.”
Dom examined the serpent on my arm with no small amount of pride. My insides warmed, just a little. I hadn’t thought he’d disapprove too heartily, but it was good to know that he didn’t blame me, all the same.
“It sounds fair,” Dom said with a nod. He rounded on Ewan. “Don’t get any funny ideas about trying to kill her, Saunders.”
Ewan stood to his full height, pushing his way into Dom’s space. I bristled, ready to intervene if Ewan tried anything. I wouldn’t put it past him to kill Dom out of spite. Most of this group were already shades. Like hell was I going to let the ghostly trio become a ghostly quartet just because Ewan was pissy.
“Or you’ll what? Shout at me? You don’t scare me, Dominic Finch. You never have.”
“You kill Nat, even temporarily, and I will shove a lightning bolt so far up your ass your shit will glow for the rest of eternity,” Dom promised in a low, menacing tone. Parts of me clenched so tight with pleasure at the statement that I wanted to throw him down right then and there.
Ewan’s mocking smile didn’t fade.
“Fine, Tempest,” he said in a tone of false surrender
. “I’ll play nice. But when I’m done eviscerating your girlfriend, I will feed you her heart.”
And with that chilly pronouncement, Ewan flicked a tongue of flame into the scrub brush and a fire leapt up, spitting bright sparks into the dark sky. He turned away from us and flopped onto the ground, pillowing his head with his forearms. His eyes slid shut and he seemed completely serene, humming a bright tune.
Dom and I exchanged glances, both unsettled by his sudden change in demeanor. Some of my enthusiasm evaporated. If Ewan was still confident of his victory, he had to have another ace up his sleeve. But what?
I laid down as well, pulling Dom to my side so we could cradle each other. He situated himself with his back to the fire and I didn’t protest. He needed it far more than I did. The desert was getting cooler with every passing hour. If I’d had a blanket, I would have draped it over him.
“I’m going to kill him,” Dom muttered more to himself than to me.
“Save it for tomorrow,” I muttered, snuggling into his shoulder. His arms went around me automatically, pulling me tight. My ear pressed against his chest and I was calmed by its steady beat. “Right now, I just need you to kiss me.”
Dom tilted my head up, pressing his lips to mine in the single most searing kiss we’d ever shared. I recognized it for what it was… desperation. But I allowed the tingling, joyous sensation to lift my spirits.
I had to survive, I decided. No matter what the cost.
Because an eternity without experiencing this?
That would be hell.
***
Three days later, and I was almost certain that Dom was going to collapse. Each desert was worse than the next. Hotter, the ground less stable, the shifting sands threatening to swallow us whole.
The wind was strong in this desert and I pulled the jaguar mask down to shield my eyes. I’d loaned my shield to Dom so he could stop the specs of burning sand from peppering his face. Still, despite all our precautions, Dom was dragging. He tried not to let it show, trudging along dutifully at the back of the group while my grandfather kept up an endless stream of conversation. But I knew he was suffering. He had to be. The water we’d packed for the journey was getting low, and there was no other place to refuel except the river that was still four deserts away.
“Break time,” I declared when the blazing sun hung directly overhead. This was as good a place to stop as any. I watched Dom settle under the sparse shade of a withered mesquite tree, taking measured sips of water from his canteen. Too much or too little hydration and he’d be sick.
Ewan laughed. “Again? What, can’t Nikki boy keep up with the rest of us?”
Hurt showed very briefly on Dom’s face before he was able to conceal it.
He hadn’t said much to me about it, but I knew he was feeling the helplessness of our situation more acutely than I was. I tried to put myself in his shoes. The weakest link in a team that contained two demon-infested corpses and three shades. Dom was the only one of us who could be permanently killed, and in a number of ways. I’d been working on a solution to his problem with Valerius, shaping an object that could help bolster Dom’s strengths.
I shot Ewan a dirty look as the rest of our crew came to a stop. “Fuck you, Saunders.”
He grinned and patted his lap. “If you’re down I could be game, Nat. I always did like that Latina shit on Pornhub. Do you like to be smacked around a little like those videos? Cause I could oblige.”
“I’d rather fuck a cactus,” I hissed, threading my arm through Dom’s. “Come on. Let’s take a walk.”
Dom didn’t come easily, glowering at Ewan until I pulled him out of sight. We walked for another mile before I found another mesquite big enough for him to shelter beneath. Long, thick branches hung with low creeping moss that nearly swept the ground. A bald-headed vulture took to the sky as we disturbed his roost. Dom sank to the ground, hands splayed on his knees as he stewed.
“You should have let me knock his block off,” Dom muttered. “He has no right to say something like that to you.”
I shook my head with a sigh. “He’s just trying to bait us, Dom. You know that. And it wouldn’t work if you weren’t dehydrated and feeling like shit. Don’t rise to it.”
Dom didn’t reply, just fixated on a spot on the sand, glaring at it like it had done him a personal wrong. I sighed and knelt down, settling on my haunches. I dug around in the innards of my armor, plucking the metal bangle I’d been constructing from within. I held it out to him.
“Take this,” I said.
Dom stared at the object uncomprehendingly for a second. “What is it?”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s a bracelet, you dork. What does it look like?”
Dom plucked the copper band from my hand and held it up for examination. The dull crimson color caught the light and reflected into my eyes.
“Erm…thank you?”
I chuckled. “Believe me, it wasn’t an easy task to create this on the down-low. Ever since the incident, Ewan’s been watching me like a hawk. I had to construct it during our breaks. There were small scraps of copper in the last desert. I heated it in my palm, molding the molten metal, then sketched the runes with twig.”
“What does it do, exactly?”
I touched the surface of the ring, letting just a spark of my power flood into the organic material that had made it. Runes and ideograms flashed brightly for a few seconds, then faded.
“It’s enchanted. Good-luck sigils and vitality charms, mostly. A bit more advanced than the stuff I used to peddle at the markets. I also soaked it in blood. I think it might hold a tiny bit of Valerius’ power, like a charged battery. It’s not much, but I think it should help get you through the next few desserts and into Mictlantecuhtli’s realm. And you should be able to stand up to Ewan for at least a few minutes if he gives you shit. He’s unstable, I saw it in his eyes.”
“I can take him.”
“No, you can’t.”
Dom took the charmed bracelet from my palm with a soft smile and twirled it around his finger.
“And here I thought you were finally accepting my proposal.”
My stomach did an odd little flip. It seemed like a lifetime ago Dom had been arguing his case about our theoretical nuptials. If I’d been thinking, I might have known that he’d interpret this as a romantic gesture, not the last-ditch effort to save his life.
“Dom…”
He held up a hand at once. “I know, I know, Nat. It’s not the time for romance or weddings. But I just wanted you to know how I feel.”
Dom was too pale and thin, despite the heat. His lips were cracked, and purple circles stood out from under his wild eyes against his ashen skin. I’d been feeding him tiny desert mice, with long ears and tails, fried between my palms like jalapeno poppers, and wild sage when I could find it.
He took my hand and his burning gaze seemed to scorch me to my soul. I waited, breath frozen in my lungs for his confession. He gave my fingers a light squeeze.
“I’m over all of it, you know,” he said. “What happened before. With everything that’s happened, it’s impossible to stay mad at you. And just the thought of losing you has made me realize something.”
He leaned in and gave me the lightest of kisses.
When he pulled away, he brought a hand up to cup my cheek.
“I don’t care what you are, Nat. You can be an assassin, a Trust operative, anything you want. So long as I’m along for the ride. I appreciate the gift, Nat. It’s very thoughtful. But I can’t accept it. I don’t want to lessen the chance that you’ll win the match when we reach the keep.”
He tried to hand the bracelet back but I shoved it away.
“You put that on, damn it.”
“No,” he said firmly. “You need it more than I do. The journey to Mictlan was designed to keep mortals out, and we’re barely halfway there. It was a mistake to bring me here. I’m slowing you down.”
“Leave me he
re, it’s as nice a place as any. Peaceful.”
I sat beside him, holding his hand and taking in the sweeping landscape. Strange thorny plants and random cacti disrupted the otherwise flat terrain. A lizard darted between the orange and brown shrubs, beneath the pink and purple clouds above.
“Don’t talk like that,” I said.
“If I don’t make it, it’s up to you,” he said, closing his eyes. “You can’t let him leave Mictlan.”
I’d never heard him sound so hopeless. And if Dom lost hope, I was done for. I seized the copper band and jammed it onto his wrist, willing its energy into Dom and rubbing his arms vigorously.
“Take it, you selfish bastard,” I begged. “I know this self-pity act is just a ploy to get me to accept your proposal. So fine, damn it, I accept. The first thing I’m going to do when we get back to earth is rustle up a priest to marry us, got it?”
Dom’s eyes lit with feverish hope. “Really?”
“Really,” I said, squeezing his hand. It was another promise I wasn’t sure if I could keep, but he needed confidence more than anything. Maybe we both needed something to look forward to.
“But you have to wear the bracelet, Dom. What’s yours is mine and all that crap. You have to stay alive to get to the end of the aisle, right? You can give it back when we get to Mictlan, before the fight.”
Dom looked like he might argue, so I seized the back of his neck and pulled him in for a rough kiss. His resistance melted away the second our lips touched and I groaned when he used his grip to roll me onto the sand beneath him. My mood quickly morphed to match his and I pulled insistently at his armor, whipping it off and over his head the moment I figured out how to undo the straps.
“God, I want you,” Dom groaned as he buried his face in my neck.
I dug my nails into his back and arched into him with a half-moan of my own.
“So take me,” I whispered into his ear.
And not another word was spoken for the next hour and a half.
Agent of Magic Box Set Page 55
