“Wait,” I said, “was there another attack? Is everyone okay?”
“Yeah,” Lyssa said with a casual wave of her hand. “But we’re all fine. We’re going after Victrixa.”
“What, what, what? Why would we do that?”
“It turns out, she’s behind the bat demon attacks,” Nate said.
Matt came up behind us. “She’s found an entrance to Xibalba.”
“Are you kidding me?” That woman was such a PITA.
Lyssa raised her right hand. “Swear to gum.”
“That’s good enough for me.” Let’s face it; nothing was more important to Lyssa than gum. Well, maybe Cesar.
Matt pulled on my hand. “Hey, let’s grab some lunch and get some meat on those bones.”
While we all ate, they filled me in on what I’d been missing.
But there are priorities and there are priorities. “Is there any Diet Coke?” I asked.
“I’ll grab one, babe.” Matt started for the kitchen.
“I think you should give her the regular. She needs the calories,” Cesar said through his sandwich. That promptly earned him a kick under the table.
“Ay!”
I had to grin. Man, it was good to be back.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
I was so glad to be back at the compound that I decided to go out to the garden after lunch, demons be damned. (Ha!) It wasn’t like I couldn’t protect myself, was it? I grabbed one of the encrypted phones and headed for the kitchen door.
“Where you headed?” Lyssa asked from the couch.
“The garden. Wanna come?”
“Hell, yes. I can’t deal with one more second in this house.”
We walked toward the fruit trees and sat down beneath one for some cover.
“How are you, Lyss?”
“I’m cool. Cesar is kinda buggin’, though.”
“Because of the attack?”
“Yeah. He’d have a stroke if he knew I was out here like this.”
“The fabulous protective instinct.”
Lyssa cocked her head. “You know something? Matt doesn’t seem to have it.”
I chuckled. “Oh, he has it, all right. It’s just mellow because he can feel my emotions. Believe me, without that, he’d be building me a fortress with little holes poked in it for me to breathe through.”
She picked up an orange and gazed at it for a minute, then changed the subject. “Can you believe a couple of months ago we were thinking about the prom? Now look at us.”
I laughed. “A couple of old married women. Would you change it?”
She lay down on her stomach and started peeling her orange. “No. I mean, I can’t because we’re mated. But even if I could? No. Cesar is the best person I’ve ever met.”
I smiled. “He is a great guy. I’m so happy for you, Lyss. I wish I could have been here to tell you that…to tell you a lot of things.”
“No worries,” she said. “I got through it. And it was nothing compared to what you’ve been through.”
“Matt told you?”
“Just the gist about Akil and his sister. Are you okay with it?”
“Honestly, Lyss, I don’t know if I’ll ever be okay with it. But that was my past. It’s time to move on now. I’ve been living in the past for way too long. First, my mom, and then this whole goddess thing. I’m just so over it. After we deal with the wicked witch and her flying monkeys, Matt and I have a life to build together.” I took a piece of her orange and popped it in my mouth. “So, what’s the 4-1-1 on Nate?”
“Well, Damian is super private about it, but Nate is really great. He’s perfect for Damian. I think he’s in love with him.”
“Really? And Damian?”
“Can’t get a peep out of him. I offered Nate my room so they’d be next door to each other, you know? Don’t know how much use it’s getting, though. Those two are never apart.”
“That’s so cool. I’m so glad Damian’s happy. He deserves it.”
“Yeah, I am, too. Hey, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Are you okay with the whole goddess thing?”
“Yeah. I mean, well, I’m not really a goddess anyway. I was in the old Maya’s body, and I felt what she could do. But I’m not her now, that’s for sure. I’ve just somehow gotten a few of her powers back. I’ve been thinking it might have something to do with the whole 2012 thing. You know. Saving the world from chaos.”
She nodded. “That gleaming thing will sure come in handy when you want to sneak over to Matt’s when we get home.”
Home. OMG! “Lyss—I really gotta call my dad!”
“Want some privacy?”
“Yeah, thanks.” Crap!
As she headed back toward the house, I punched in the number on the encrypted cell phone and waited while it rang. Evenings were better for calling my dad, but you never knew, with classes and all.
“Maya!”
“Hey, Dad. I’m sorry I missed our call last week.”
“That’s okay,” he said. “I’m sure you have a lot going on, what with the new school and all. How’s that going? Is it safe there?”
“Sure. Yeah, it’s safe. School’s okay. I’m learning a lot.” Not exactly a lie. I sure as hell had learned a lot. Sheesh.
“You know,” he was saying, “I’m really proud of you. It takes a lot for someone who has difficulty with languages to brave a school where all they speak is Spanish.”
“I miss you,” I said. “I wish I’d known I’d be away so long.”
“Aw, honey, it’s okay. Everything’s been so crazy here, anyway. I’m at the lab almost all the time. I’m not teaching spring semester.”
“Really?” That was a first. “So, you mean you’re just in the lab?”
“I’m on the verge of a big breakthrough in some work I’ve been doing. The university felt it was important enough to cut down my teaching time.”
“Wow. That’s great, Dad. You’ve worked really hard for this.”
“Uh, actually, I need to head out in a few minutes. I’m sorry, honey. I wish we could talk more.”
“That’s okay. I was surprised to get you at all in the afternoon, anyway. I love you, Dad.”
“I love you, too, sweetheart.”
I hung up the phone, got up, and headed back to the house. I ran into Matt on his way to guard duty.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey, come here, you.” He put his arms around me and gave me a quick kiss. “I see you have the 007 phone.”
“Yeah. I wanted to call my dad.”
“How is he?”
“Okay. Stuck in the lab, as usual.” I wondered briefly how bad his diet had gotten with his new, busier schedule and me away in Mexico. That could only mean one thing —fast food. Yeesh.
Matt started to head toward the gate. “I’ll be back in five,” he said. “Don’t forget we have a meeting tonight.” He turned, phased, and leapt right over the twelve foot gate. (My man, ladies and gentleman!)
“Now that was a thing of beauty.”
I turned around to see who was talking. It was Ryan, headed into the main house. I followed him in and grabbed a pear off the counter.
“So, Ryan, Lyssa says you can phase on the fly?” I asked him.
“Yeah, I can.”
“Think you could teach me sometime?”
“Sure. It’s really a lot easier than it looks. You’d get it in no time.”
“How long have you been with Richard and Adriana?”
He popped open a can of Coke. “I guess a little over a year now.”
“What made you want to sign up for this? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“Actually, when Richard found me, I was homeless and living in my car. I had already phased a couple of times. My parents kicked me out. I guess Richard recognized it when he saw it. Or maybe he just wanted to help me out. Anyway, I’ve been with them ever since.”
I took a bite of my pear. “I’ll get back to you about those l
essons,” I said. Then I gave him a wink and headed toward the bedroom. He could be really nice. And the fact that he had been homeless made me very glad I had just talked to my dad. I had a theory that Ryan was obnoxious just to get attention. Hopefully I was right, or those lessons were going to be painful in more ways than one.
After dinner, we all crammed into what was left of the living room. I sat cross-legged on the couch with Matt at my feet. He always wore his hair with the sides and back buzzed short and then longer on top, and I was busy creating a little faux hawk on him while we waited for Richard to start.
Lyssa, who was on the floor next to Matt, watched me for a couple minutes. “That’s hot,” she said.
Matt turned and looked at me, which messed up the ’hawk. “Are you making me look like a dork?”
“Why would I do that?”
“I dunno. Entertainment value?”
Cesar looked down at Lyssa. “Bella, do you want me to shave my hair like his?”
“Shit, no! Don’t you dare touch a hair on that head.”
I giggled and switched to rubbing Matt’s shoulders. “Where’s Damian?” I asked.
“He and Nate are preparing the tech part of the presentation for Richard,” Lyssa said.
A few minutes later, Richard and Adriana walked to the front of the room.
Richard cleared his throat. “Is everyone here that we know of? Let’s get started. As you all know, we’ve had avian shifters doing recon at Victrixa’s villa. Our mission there now is to find the cenote she’s using to call the demons and take it from her. We’ve received some good intel and a few head scratchers. First of all, there have been no shifters on the property that we know of. The only people that have been spotted coming and going are Avery Wells and Victrixa herself.”
Warning bells suddenly went off in my head. Supposedly, Victrixa was trying to keep the cenote hidden and protected, but she had no help? Really? Something was up, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Or maybe she was just being her usual batshit self? (Batshit, ha!)
Richard continued. “The odd thing is that Wells went in, but he never came out. That could mean she has more help than we think. It also makes it more difficult for us to figure out whether she has split off from Toltec. Based on the unclear intel, we’re going to go in as if we’re expecting to encounter shifters. Matt and Cesar will each be leading ten of you, and I’ll be taking another ten. The three of us will be wired for communication. We’ll also be carrying firearms.”
“Aaa!” Matt yelped.
I realized I had grabbed his shoulders incredibly hard. I guess I didn’t know my new strength yet. “Sorry,” I whispered.
“You okay back there?” Richard asked.
“All set,” Matt answered.
“Good. Now, one of the most important things the avian shifters found was a system of caves with an entrance about a mile from Victrixa’s property. There’s an excellent chance that the cenote we’re looking for is in those caves somewhere. Cesar and Matt will be leading the expedition to the caves, while my group will take the villa. Adriana and Nate will be in one of the vans, monitoring communications. They’ll have Maya with them in case of reported injuries and emergencies. The twins will be waiting there as well, in the off chance we run into any demons.
“If you run into shifters,” he looked at Matt and Cesar, “by all means, take them down. But no one is to confront demons other than Maya or the twins. If you encounter any, stay low and get out. I want that crystal clear. I have a map of the area that we’re going to go over next. Unfortunately, we don’t have a plan of the villa’s interior, though we do have maps for the property and the location of the cave entrance.”
I probably should have been listening more carefully, but my brain was still stuck on the word “firearms.” Why hadn’t Matt told me about this? Everything was starting to hit me all at once as I began to realize just how dangerous this whole thing would be. Matt must have felt it because he looked up at me and rubbed my hand.
Cesar leaned over and whispered, “Maya, it’s going to be fine. I trained him myself. Don’t worry.”
So Cesar was some kind of gun expert? I looked down at Lyssa to see what she thought, but she just seemed to be listening. Apparently I was the only one verging on a breakdown. Figures.
When the meeting was over, and the other shifters had gone back to the cabins, I sat down with Matt, the twins, Nate, and Cesar.
“Since when do you guys use guns?” I asked.
“I’ve been trained for a couple of years,” Cesar said.
“And you trained Matt? When did all this happen?”
Matt looked at me. “While you were gone, babe. I’m sorry. I should have told you, but it honestly didn’t cross my mind. Look, if it bothers you that much, I won’t carry one.”
“The hell you won’t!” Richard came in from the kitchen carrying a cup of coffee. “Maya, I know this is scary for you, but Matt would be in more danger if he were unarmed. As a team leader, he won’t be able to phase and still direct his shifters. He’s an excellent shot. I’m afraid you’re just going to have to make peace with the idea.”
Okay, sure, make peace with a gun. I’ll get right on that. Was I the only one seeing how totally bizarre that sounded?
“Don’t stay up too late,” Richard added. “We’ve got an early day tomorrow. Matt and Cesar, we’re up at five to prep.”
That night, as Matt and I lay in bed, I put my arms around him and rested my head on his chest.
“Still worried, huh.”
It wasn’t a question. I knew he could feel how I felt.
“It’s not just the gun thing,” I said. “Something just feels, like, off.”
He thought for a minute, then said, “Okay, I trust your instincts. I’ll be extra careful. Let’s try to get some sleep, babe.”
Of course sleep never happened. He sensed that I couldn’t sleep, and then I sensed that he couldn’t sleep. We finally just gave up, and used our time more productively. After we had dozed off for a bit, I woke up and he was already gone. I took a quick shower, and grabbed a Diet Coke. Many of the shifters were eating an early breakfast, but there was no way any food was going in my stomach. The feeling was still there, and I couldn’t shake it. While the shifters got all pumped up with high fives and loud whooping, I couldn’t help wondering just what we were walking into.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Too nervous to do much else, I decided to go out and watch as they loaded the vans. I couldn’t believe how much equipment there was. The van I would be riding in with the twins was so full of all kinds of communications devices, I was starting to wonder how we were all going to fit. The shifters, including Matt, were all dressed in fatigues. (Man, did he look hot. I’m just sayin’.) The twins and I looked like we were headed for a normal day of eleventh grade.
Before long, it was time to leave. Matt’s van was going to the caves, and mine was headed toward a location between the caves and the villa. When I looked at him with all his equipment, his earpiece, his gun, I was shocked at first to see how natural all this came to him. Then I remembered that Matias had been a soldier. I almost smiled until it hit me that I’d lost Matt this way once before. That’s when I started to feel shaky.
He stopped, walked over to me, pushed some hair away from my face, and gave me a brief kiss.
“You come back to me,” I said.
“Always.”
He headed for his van and I got into the back of mine. Lyssa was there ahead of me. She looked about as happy as I felt.
“They’ll be okay,” I said.
“Yeah, I know.” She didn’t say another word the whole way. I couldn’t remember a time when she was quieter. I mean, it just went against nature. Talk about unsettling.
Adriana, Damian, and Nate were talking about a bunch of mechanical crap that I totally didn’t understand. Then Adriana turned to us.
“Okay, ladies, here’s how we’re going to know what’s going on with our mates. We’ll be
monitoring all of their communications from here. Richard will be in the villa, so his call sign is Uplander One. Matt and Cesar will be in the caves. So Maya, Matt’s call sign is Downlander One. Lyssa, Cesar’s is Downlander Two. The conversations will be short and sweet, but at least you’ll be able to hear them. Maya, if we have any reason to believe there’s an issue, I’ll ask you to take a look at what’s happening. We’ll only send you or the twins in if it’s absolutely necessary and only after we have a decent picture of what’s going on.”
We all nodded and I went back to busily looking at my feet. The van finally started to slow down and I leaned my head back. About twenty minutes later, it all started when Richard’s voice came on the monitor.
“Uplander One in position, over.”
My heart started pounding as Matt checked in. “Downlander One in position, over.”
“Downlander Two in position,” Cesar said.
“See you in a few, gentlemen,” Richard said.
After that, we didn’t hear much for a while and I started to realize that radio silence was going to be difficult. Lyssa sat next to me with her head on my shoulder. I felt so bad for her. She was more newly mated than I was, and she didn’t have the advantage of feeling her mate’s emotions. At least I could sense the calm coming from Matt. That is, until his adrenaline went through the roof.
“Downlander Two, this is Downlander One, what the hell was that?”
“Just Ryan.”
“You boys play nice down there.”
Lyssa and I couldn’t help but shake our heads, then I looked at Damian. He seemed unusually fidgety, and Nate was rubbing his shoulder. “Hey, are you okay?” I asked.
“I’m not sure what’s going on,” Nate said. “He says he feels like he’s being pulled to something, but he doesn’t know what it is.”
“I feel it, too,” Lyssa said, “It’s like a…a heaviness, almost. I can’t explain it.”
“Maybe there are demons nearby,” I said.
Damian shook his head. “This never happens with the demons. We can hear them from long distances, but they don’t call to us.
Jaguar Moon (Jaguar Sun Series Book 2) Page 15
