“My?” He rolled closer to me. “What is it? The nightmare again?”
“No, I mean yes! But it was different this time. There was a guy there. He had wings!”
“Okay, slow down. Take some deep breaths. It was just a dream.”
“No, it wasn’t! I know him from somewhere, Matt. Or I knew him. And I recognized places in the dream that I’ve never seen before. And he said…Oh, God, Matt. He said I am what he is. That I used to have wings. Don’t you see? Toltec was right! They were right!” I covered my face with my hands.
Matt picked up the blanket from the end of the bed and wrapped it around my shoulders. Then he got up and disappeared into the hall. A moment later, Adriana and Selena came into our room. But when Selena sat on the edge of the bed and put her arms around me, all I could do was cry harder.
“It’s okay, you’re okay,” she whispered. “Matt, would you get my bag? It’s in the kitchen. Oh, and a glass of water, please.”
When Matt came back, Selena took a small bottle out of her bag and used the dropper to add a few drops of something to the water.
“Here, Maya, drink this slowly.”
“I don’t wanna sleep.” I sounded like a Muppet.
Adriana handed me a Kleenex. “You won’t sleep, I promise. This will help calm you.” As I took the glass and started to drink, she asked, “You had a nightmare? Do you want to tell us about it?”
I blew my nose. Ah, hell, hell, hell! I hadn’t even told them about the recurring dream I was having.
That’s when Damian and Lyssa walked into the room. “Maya’s been having the same nightmare since we got back from Chichen Itza,” she said.
“You shouldn’t have told her,” I said.
“No, you’re right,” Damian answered. “You should have.”
“Easy, guys,” Matt said.
“I’m sorry. I guess I was just trying to figure it all out.”
Selena gave me a little squeeze. “It’s all right.”
“Can you tell us what it was about?” Adriana said.
So I told them the story of the village, and they all seemed amazed at the amount of detail I was able to remember. But by then, I’d had the dream so many times. I probably could have told them what color underwear people were wearing.
“And then you said last night’s was different, babe?” Matt said.
“Yeah. There was this guy. At first, he was in the Mayan village, walking toward me. He knew me! He knew my name. I didn’t know his, but I recognized him. Then he said his name was Akil. He said that I’d had the name Maya for a thousand years. And he had wings! He said that I used to, too. He told me…” I couldn’t go on. I couldn’t get myself to say it. Balam, I thought, please give me courage.
Matt immediately sat down on the other side of me and took my hand. “Whatever it is, My, I’m not going anywhere.”
I looked into his eyes and cleared my throat. “He said that I’m from the Otherworld like he is. He said that I’m…a—a goddess.”
I looked from face to face as I tried to read my friends’ reactions. I don't know what I expected. Mass exodus, I guess. But what happened was just the opposite.
Selena and Adriana looked at one another. Neither one of them said anything for a moment.
“Well,” Adriana finally said, “for all we know, this could very well just be a dream. You’ve been very stressed about your powers and your burns healing.”
Selena gave me another squeeze. “Look, no matter what, we’re going to help you with this. It’s going to be okay.”
“Hey,” said Lyssa, “no matter what happens, you’re still our girl.”
“Ditto!” Damian sang.
I was trying my best to be brave, but I could tell by their faces that they were all shocked and worried. And I knew at that moment that they had never truly believed in the possibility that Toltec could be right. Even now, they were still hoping it was all a dream. All I could say was, “Thanks, you guys.”
“Let’s let these two get ready for brunch,” Adriana said.
***
Christmas Eve in Mexico is amazing, but Christmas Day runs a close second. One word—leftovers! It’s like Thanksgiving in the States. Of course, with so many mouths to feed, we wouldn’t have leftovers for very long. But holiday feast round two would be enough to cheer anyone up. It was comforting as we all sat at the two tables we had put end-to-end for last night’s feast. I also couldn’t help but notice that Lyssa and Cesar were sitting next to each other.
After eating way more than our stomachs could handle, Lyssa and I passed out on her bed.
“Man, I ate so much. Look at this! I have a total food baby.”
“You kind of do.” I laughed. “Hey, I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you about the dreams. I hadn’t told anyone but Matt.”
“No worries. I’ve been kinda buggin’.”
I giggled. “Oh? Might this have something to do with a certain hottie?”
She grinned and then blushed. (Twice in two days!) “Oh, shut it already.”
“So…is he, like, the cheese to your macaroni?”
We lapsed into a giggle fit.
“Seriously, though,” I said when I could catch my breath, “are you guys mated?”
“I hate that effing word! It sounds like we belong in a textbook for bio.”
“Did you say, we?” I asked.
“Yeah, I did.”
I screamed and gave her slightly expanded bod a huge hug. “That’s so awesome!”
“And not a little freakish, as I am not a shifter. Hello! Confusion.”
“Whatever. I used to have wings.”
And we busted up all over again. We laughed till we cried. Talk about your sleep deprivation! This was not the kind of stuff Maybelline could fix.
“Do you believe what the guy from your dream said?” Lyssa asked me.
“Oh, I dunno. When it was happening, it all seemed so real. Now I just don’t know.”
She seemed to be thinking about something. Then she said, “Hey, My, why do you think Cesar and I are mated?”
“K’ul.”
“Really? That’s what Damian says.”
“Yeah. And so do Richard and Adriana.”
“They talked about it?” she asked.
“Yep.”
“I’m gonna hurl.”
“Yep.”
She fell back on her pillow. “How the hell did you survive the first few days?”
I had to smile. “It’s called parental supervision, my friend.”
She sighed. “Yeah, I gotta get me some of that.”
“Yeah, you do, Lyss. You really do.”
Half an hour later, I chased Matt down, but I didn’t have to look very far.
“Sleeping off round two?” I asked him.
“Yeah, I just woke up.”
I flopped on the bed and crawled over next to him. “Guess what? Lyss and Cesar are mated!”
“Mated, huh,” he said, brushing his lips across my mine before pulling me into a deep kiss. I could feel the ecstasy rising within him. It mingled deliciously with my own.
“Yeah,” I whispered. “Mated.”
CHAPTER FOUR
The day after Christmas, a bunch of us planned on going into Valladolid. We weren’t sure what would be open, but we figured it was better than going totally mental at the compound. Twenty-four hours away sounded like pure heaven. Besides, for once I had actually slept! I still wonder if I got the wrong rompope. I was nearly bouncing off the walls compared to the last few days.
Richard, Adriana, the twins, Cesar, Selena, Matt and I took one of the vans to town. Lyssa and I were convinced we would run into Nicolas Malleville, a yummy model for Burberry. It turns out he owns two businesses and a load of property in the area. (Who knew?) And what could make our day better than hanging out with a male supermodel? But as Lyssa described the property Nicholas owns, Matt and I realized at almost the exact same moment that it was near the beach where we first gave in to the call.
We looked at each other for a long moment. Then I took his hand and he laid his head on my shoulder.
I took my other hand and ran it along the ancient Mayan necklace he had given me that night, the night before we went to Chichen Itza, the night we had no idea if we would ever see each other again. It felt good to be able to wear it now that my burns were healed, and I realized suddenly that I had missed it. I thought back to when he first put it on me. It had felt like I’d always had it on. Supposedly, it was an old heirloom handed down for generations in Adriana’s family.
Valladolid was fabulous! We took a few minutes to get settled at the inn, which we entered through a beautiful archway that reminded me of pictures of the south of Spain in my Spanish textbook. There were flowers and plants everywhere and cozy benches for two all around for lovers who wanted to steal a moment together. All of the rooms bordered on the courtyard. The room Matt and I shared was cute and cozy.
“The whole drive here,” Matt said, “all I could think about was our beach.”
I wrapped my arms around him. “Mmm, I know.” He felt so good, I could have skipped Valladolid altogether. That is, until Damian knocked on the door to tell us it was time to head out.
The stone streets of Valladolid reminded me of Marrakech. The houses and shops in the quaint Mexican town were a sea of pastels. It felt traditional and really cool, all at the same time. We had planned to take a quick peek at a 500-year-old convent, San Bernadino de Siena, as our first stop, but there wasn’t much there. The altar was pretty, and there were some seriously old paintings.
From the convent, we headed to the main plaza for shopping and lunch. The guidebook said that they had just recently restored the plaza, which was awesome, and so was the Cathedral of San Gervasio, which towered high above our heads. Lyssa and I were super psyched about buying a couple of Mayan dresses.
“Qué chido!” Lyssa said, as I held a less traditional dress up to my body. It still had the beautiful embroidery, but it was halter style at the top. “It’s totally off the hook,” she said. “You have to get it.”
“Let’s both get one of each,” I suggested. “It’ll be nice to have a traditional one and a halter. I’m sure your new mate would appreciate it.” I wiggled my eyebrows.
“Shut it.”
When buying our dresses didn’t take as long as we’d thought, we decided to hunt down lomitos de Valladolid for lunch. It’s a fish dish, which I can’t say I’m really into. (I mean, seriously, I’m supposed to like a food with a name like that? Not so much.) But, hey, it’s the local specialty, so I figured I'd at least give it a try.
“Hey, guys,” I said, “I’m just going to go down a block to a craft shop I saw in the guidebook. I’ll meet you for lunch.”
“Okay, but don’t be too long, all right?” Adriana called.
Apparently a guidebook and a one-block radius weren’t enough to keep me out of trouble. I was lost less than five minutes after I left the plaza. I thought about asking for directions. After all, it rocked that I could speak other languages now, but instead, I stared at my Lonely Planet and walked along the stone street (not highly recommended, BTW). I managed to trip on the uneven stones and my book went flying. I somehow got my hands down in time so I wouldn’t smash my kneecaps. Out of nowhere I just seemed to stop falling, and then I was set back on my feet in what seemed like one motion. I looked up. There he was. Akil. All flesh and bone and his face was even more perfect than I remembered. A chill ran up my spine.
“Are you all right?”
“Wha—?”
He took my hand and pulled me into a little alley between two shops.
“What the hell are you doing?” I asked. “Let go of me!” I pushed at him, trying to get away from him. That’s when I realized that my strength almost matched his. How was that possible? But he used his whole body and pressed me against the wall of the building.
“Maya, stop. The people here are superstitious. They were staring. They know I don’t belong here.”
“I second the hell outta that!” I rammed my foot into his kneecap.
“Ow! What are you doing?”
“What are you doing? Do you always grab girls on the street and attack them in alleys? There are laws, you know!”
“Are you sure I’m the one doing the attacking?” His voice trailed off. He was looking at my necklace. He seemed totally fixated on it. He held up one hand as though he was going to touch it.
I wiggled away a couple inches. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you that it isn’t polite to stare? What are you looking at? It’s just a necklace.”
Without warning, he looked straight into my eyes. I couldn’t look away. There was something so familiar. I could feel something inside of me stir, but I didn’t recognize what it was.
“Where did you get this?” he demanded.
“It was a gift.”
“That’s not possible. Who gave it to you?”
He was so close I could feel his breath as he spoke. He was still holding my upper arms, keeping me trapped between the heat of his body and the cool stone of the building.
Suddenly, I heard familiar voices out on the street.
“Who the hell gets lost in two blocks?”
“Chill out, Lyss.”
“We will find her, bella.”
Damian, Lyssa, and Cesar. They were looking for me.
“My friends are right out there,” I said to Akil. “Let me go or I’ll scream.”
He released me instantly, and without looking back, I slipped out onto the street and walked up behind everyone.
“Hey, guys!” I tried to sound as natural as possible, but my mind kept telling me that he was here. Akil was here. What did that mean?
At the sound of my voice, Lyssa whirled around. “Where the hell have you been? Jesus, Maya! We’ve been looking for you for half an hour!”
“We were worried,” Damian said.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I got caught in a conversation. I didn’t mean to worry you.” At least it wasn’t a total lie.
As we turned around and made our way back up to the main plaza, Damian leaned in close and whispered, “Don’t think I didn’t notice the red marks on your arms.”
I just rolled my eyes and kept walking. I had way more to worry about than a few red marks. Akil wasn’t just a dream anymore. He was real. I could feel beads of sweat popping out on my forehead. Who was he? Why was he here? I couldn’t get his words out of my mind. They know I don’t belong here.
The rest of the afternoon and evening, I tried not to let on how distracted I was. But that’s not easy to pull off when your mate can feel your emotions and your best friends are staring daggers at you. But I just couldn’t say anything. Not yet. Whoever Akil was, he was there because of me. I wasn’t about to involve them if he was dangerous. No way. They had been through enough because of me.
When we got back from dinner, I sat in the courtyard on a bench and watched the moon. What was it about the moon? I felt the same unexplained yearning. I suddenly wished that I had brought some copal with me. I seriously needed to connect with my nagual.
“Balam,” I whispered, “Please give me clarity to find the right path. I’m so confused. I don’t understand what’s happening. Lend me your strength to bear the weight of all this.”
“My, what is it?” Matt sat down next to me and wiped a tear from my cheek with his thumb.
“I’m not sure,” I said. “I don’t know who I am anymore. I don’t understand what’s happening to me. What the hell am I gonna do, Matt?”
He slid me over and collected me into his lap in a crumpled heap. And that’s exactly how I felt. Broken. Unfixable. Inhuman. The thought made my dinner come part way up my throat. I held on to him so hard I thought I would leave welts on his back.
“You’re going to figure this out,” he said. “Look at me.” He lifted my chin and looked deep into my eyes. “Balam isn’t going to let anything happen to you. And neither am I.”
“I’m scared, Matt.
I’m so scared.” I started to shiver so hard my teeth chattered.
“Let’s get you inside.”
We walked to our room and got ready for bed. It was only ten o’clock, but I was exhausted. And so what if I had another dream about Akil? He was following me around in broad daylight now. I snuggled into a spoon with Matt and dropped off instantly.
***
I awoke with a start. I had an eerie feeling, like we were being watched. I looked around in the darkness, and as my eyes adjusted, I turned my head toward the window to the courtyard. There, bathed in moonlight, stood Akil. I should have stayed exactly where I was. I had no business going anywhere with him, day or night. But he knew something about me. And I suddenly realized that I was willing to risk whatever might happen to me to find out what it was. I had to know. The thought jolted me to my core, but I found myself shrugging into jeans and a sweatshirt anyway.
I slid quietly out the door and let it close behind me, then purposely started to walk away from our rooms before I turned around. I knew he was behind me.
“What the hell do you want from me?” I asked him. “First you’re in my dreams, now you’re watching us while we sleep? Do you have any idea how freaking creepy that is?”
He looked away for a moment. I had touched some kind of nerve. Of course I had no idea how, or even if, he had nerves. Then he looked to me with what seemed to be renewed energy, like he had just made some kind of decision. “We need to talk.”
“So talk.”
“No. Not here. Not near the humans.”
The humans.
I followed him as he walked through the archway and out of the courtyard.
He stopped and turned. “Will you walk with me?” he asked.
“Sure, why not, you only attacked me twelve hours ago.”
“I didn’t attack you.”
“What would you call it then?”
“I told you. We needed to get off the street. And I was startled by your necklace. I would never harm you, Maya.”
Jaguar Moon (Jaguar Sun Series Book 2) Page 3
