Ancient (#5 Destroyers Series)

by Holly Hook

  From the tone of Manuel's voice, it sounded like quite a few had tried.

  "He's not in a temple," Sophia said. It was the first time she'd spoken the entire dinner.

  All faces turned to her. "Tell them about what you saw," Janelle said.

  She did, slowly reciting everything that had happened from the time she stepped into the freezer from the time she stepped out. Manuel put his chin on his hand as he listened. His eyebrows rose when she got to the part where she felt the tingling coming out of the water-filled pit.

  "How sure are you?" Manuel sounded surprised at her finding.

  "Hyrokkin was almost certain it was him," Sophia said. She sounded relieved that she was done telling her story. "She said it felt the same as having Andrina around. Which is why we probably shouldn't bother him."

  "Do you know where this pit might be?" Janelle asked Manuel.

  "The pit sounds like it might be a cenote," he said at last, staring into the space above Janelle. "There are a lot of them in the Yucatan. They are holes in the limestone filled with groundwater. People used to worship at them sometimes when there was a drought. They were thought to be the home of the rain god."

  "That's pretty close," Janelle said, sitting taller in her chair. They had a lead. "Huracan was a storm god, so that would fit. Wouldn't it?"

  "It wasn't him that they worshipped there," Manuel said. "This was a different god. But these pits were also supposed to be gateways to the Mayan underworld. Xibalba."

  A shudder raced down Janelle's spine. "Wherever this was, it was close to a pyramid and a bunch of other temples. Sophia says it had a parking lot and lights, so it must be a place tourists can go to."

  Manuel twisted his face in thought. "It sounds like it could be Chichen Itza."

  "Chichen Itza?" Leslie echoed.

  "It is open to the public. Lots of tourists. Buses take people from Cancun to there every day. I know. I used to drive one."

  "So you can show us how to get there?" Janelle asked, wishing that she didn't sound so hopeful. There might not even be a reason to feel hopeful about this, especially if underworlds were involved.

  "I can, but I am not very happy about it. You see, Tempests always feel uneasy there, like something is wrong. Humans don't feel it, but we always do. I don't know about Outbreakers, but they might, too. I never went in past the museum. I am surprised you never heard of that."

  Janelle shook her head. She hadn't. Then again, she'd never seen anything of Mexico besides Cancun and the inside of conference rooms. Her schedule didn't leave any room to go exploring ancient ruins. If she'd known about this place sooner, it would have cut down on a lot of hassle.

  "I know that I felt weird there," Sophia said. "Janelle, I don't think this is a good idea."

  "We might not have another one," Gary told her. He gripped Janelle's hand under the table.

  For once, they were in agreement. The only alternative was the one she dared not talk about.

  Going goddess herself and losing everyone she loved.

  Sophia sighed and scraped her fork along her plate, making a hollow metallic sound. It looked for a minute like she might say something, but nothing came.

  "I agree with Gary," Paul said, scooting closer to Leslie. His face was hard with his promise to her. "We have to at least try this. It's our only real shot, isn't it?"

  "It is," Janelle and Gary said at the same time.

  She stared at him. He smiled. They were agreeing more and more every minute, it seemed.

  "And you have me with you," Kenna reminded them. "If anyone can wake up a god, it's me."

  Manuel conversed with his wife in a low voice. Janelle felt her heart pounding as he spoke. She could only catch one word out of five or so and cursed herself for not trying harder at her Spanish lessons. It appeared he was coming to his decision.

  "All right," he said at last. "I will ride with you to Chichen Itza, but as a promise to my wife, I will not go in with you. Once you go through into the old city, you are on your own."

  Chapter Six

  That night was nerve-racking.

  Leslie couldn't stop the nervous grumbles of her stomach as she lay on the bed with Paul. He snuggled closer to her, silent, as Sophia flipped through the TV channels on the other bed. The dinner with Manuel still swirled through her head. Tomorrow it might happen. They might actually find Huracan and somehow wake him up.

  Was Paul just as nervous as she was?

  Judging from his silence, yes.

  "You know, I finally get to watch television, and now I can't understand anything anyone's saying," Paul said at last. It was a distraction, through. She could tell by the absent tone of his voice. His mind was on that pit Sophia had described and whatever was resting at the bottom of it.

  It was going to plague both of their nightmares tonight.

  "Paul, if it comes down to it, I'd rather stay an Outbreaker than have anything happen to you."

  Leslie sucked in a breath. The words had just come out. On the other bed, Sophia shifted and said nothing.

  She wished she could take back those words, at least from Sophia.

  I almost killed her.

  That fact lingered in the air whenever the two of them were in the same room, making her want to ask Kenna to trade places with her more and more. She'd almost gone to the other room and asked for that. Twice.

  "It's not a life," Paul said, scratching at his jeans. "There's nothing good about being an Outbreaker. Tempests at least have an important role. They keep the world's weather from going haywire. Even Kenna has it better than this. At least volcanoes did something good and made the Hawaiian islands. What do we do?"

  He had a valid question. It was one that had been going through her mind more and more in the past couple of weeks, and even more since her first Outbreak last week. She still had nightmares about it, about how she'd left her body and lost memory of everything, including her own name. About how she'd turned into--

  "Maybe we don’t know the answer yet," Leslie said.

  "Or maybe there isn't one," Sophia said. She flipped to yet another channel, a cooking show. "There isn't one for me, either."

  "Hyrokkin, you mean," Leslie said, relieved that Sophia was talking. It was better than silence. Silence hid the worst things sometimes.

  "Same thing," she said. "We're stuck together. Huracan's not going to be able to help me much with that one. Unless he wants to free her and let her do whatever she wants to the world. I don't think I'm up for that."

  Leslie hadn't really appreciated how bad Sophia had it. She'd been too busy thinking about herself. There really wasn't a good way out of this for her. Freeing Hyrokkin would allow her to do the worst she could to the world. It would be just as bad as having Andrina loose. Keeping her with Sophia would ruin her life even more than it had already been ruined. The poor girl couldn't even go back and live with her grandmother now.

  "At least your mom doesn't hate you," Leslie said. "Your grandma at least picks up your calls."

  Paul shifted uncomfortably next to her. "Why don't we head outside and walk on the beach?" he asked, getting off the bed.

  * * * * *

  It was the first time Leslie had been to one of Cancun's beaches. She regretted not coming out here sooner, because it was probably the most romantic place she had visited with Paul. Mobley was where they'd met, but the dusty Oklahoma town where so many bad memories lurked didn't quite count as romantic. Neither did the kitchen where she'd kissed him for the first time, or the old van where Paul had been forced to turn her.

  Cancun was, in a word, nice.

  The fine sand snuggled in between her bare toes as she walked hand in hand with Paul. The stretch of beach was mostly clear now that the last of the sun's rays were turning to a faint orange on the horizon. Most people seemed to be headed to the bars on the boardwalk or into loud parties in some of the hotels. But this was fine.

  Her mother would be so jealous if she saw them like this.

  It was a th
ought that didn't bother Leslie in the slightest anymore.

  "Wow, I wish I'd seen more of the world as a kid," Paul said, marveling at the scene around him. "I wasn't even aware that places like this existed. Well, I was, but you know what I mean."

  "Hey, I haven't seen much of the world, either," Leslie said. Well, she'd been in Hawaii and in the Tempest capital, Alara, which was abandoned at the moment.

  Sophia trotted along behind them, slowly catching up and appearing in the side of Leslie's vision. She stayed on the other side of Paul, though, as if Leslie were about to try jumping at her and strangling her. It was a thought that upset her stomach a little.

  "You-know-who hasn't said anything to me since yesterday," Sophia said, more to Paul than to her. "I wonder if she's scared about tomorrow."

  Tomorrow. Leslie hadn't been trying to think about it in the last few minutes.

  "Probably," Leslie said. "Huracan's probably got all the same powers that Andrina does. I'm sure he can match her. The problem is whether or not he's going to even want to. A lot of things could go wrong, you know?"

  Paul started to guide her over closer to the water, where someone had left a forgotten towel decorated in gaudy parrots. They sat down, facing the water and snuggling close together. It was getting cooler out as the heat sailed away into the clear sky. There weren't any clouds anywhere. Well, except for a huge, dark one miles and miles to the north. It stretched almost as if it had traveled across the country, struggling to keep itself together.

  "That's kind of ominous looking over there," Sophia said, pointing. She sat and bent her knees up, hugging them. "Probably a thunderhead. Wow, I hope it's not headed this way."

  "Agreed." Leslie squinted, studying it for any signs of lightning. The cloud rose into the sky as if it were escaping the ground itself, almost like--

  "Paul? Sophia? Does that look strange to you? Like really strange?"

  "What?" Sophia sat up. "Well, it does look like something's burning, but it's too far away for that. I think."

  "That cloud. It doesn't look like a normal cloud. I don't think it's a thunderhead." The thought of a thunderstorm sent ripples of panic through Leslie. Could she have an Outbreak here in Cancun? It might be possible if it had happened in Flint.

  "No. That's not a thunderhead. It does look like smoke." Paul squinted, raising his hand to his forehead.

  It did. It was as if, somewhere a hundred miles away, someone had lit the world's biggest fire. Another dust storm? No. This was different. It was almost as if--

  "Guys? Are there volcanoes here in Mexico?"

  It was directed at Sophia. Paul wasn't the one to ask.

  "I…I think so," she said, following Paul's gaze. "Oh. That's the direction Kenna pulled us all through, isn't it?"

  Leslie wasn't sure who got up from the towel first: her or Paul. She barely remembered how they all ran across the sand towards Oceanside Hotel, searching for the bright green sign that labeled the back door. She led the way, tracking grains across cold pavement and onto carpet. The shops. They lined the hall, lit but about to close this late. Leslie dug in her pockets for money. Thankfully, Janelle had exchanged some of Mel's for the local currency and rationed it out.

  "What are you doing?" Paul asked when the stopped at the corner.

  "We need a map. That's the only way to know for sure." If Kenna had set off some volcano not too far away, it would practically be a huge beacon for Andrina to follow, even if the volcano managed not to hurt anyone.

  After scrambling around the hotel's shops for some time, she managed to secure a map of Mexico from a confused shop owner. They rushed up the steps and waited as Sophia pounded on the door to the others' room.

  This time, ironically, it was Kenna who answered. "Something wrong?"

  "Can we talk to Janelle?" Leslie asked.

  Kenna moved aside. Her gaze went down to the floor for a second. "Janelle?"

  She huffed across the room, leaving Gary by the window. Kenna stood aside, turning very quiet and small.

  She knew. At least, she suspected.

  Leslie unfolded the map and stepped into the room, spreading it out on the bed to show all of Mexico. It was awful to put Kenna through this, because she knew exactly what it felt like, but there were no other choices here.

  "Okay," she said as Gary joined them. "Which way did you pull us through, Kenna? I know we started in Arizona." Leslie tapped the northern edge of the map. "And we wound up here." She moved her finger to the Yucatan, on the coast of the Caribbean. "Did you move us in a straight line under the ocean or did you move us under Mexico itself? I know you don't like the ocean, which I don't blame you for."

  Kenna stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Why is this important?"

  "Trust me. It is."

  Kenna sighed. "Okay. I brought us here, following the land. I didn't want to come out on the ocean floor. That would have meant disaster for all of us." She stuttered a lot on that last sentence.

  Leslie hated to do this next part. "So you would have brought us under Mexico like this." She drew her finger down Mexico, past Mexico City and right over an ominous red cone shape on the map.

  Then another red cone, and another. Leslie's finger moved across four altogether on the way to Cancun.

  Oh, no. She hadn't realized it would be that bad.

  "Oh, great," Gary breathed as Kenna withered away from the map.

  "Volcanoes," Leslie said. "At least, I think that's what the red triangles stand for. The three of us saw what looked like smoke coming out of the ground miles and miles to the northwest." Leslie fumbled with the map, trying to find the spot where they'd seen it. All four of those volcanoes could fit the bill.

  "I…I only was under them for a second," Kenna stammered. She backed towards the door. "It shouldn't have done anything. Even when I was at Yellowstone, it was taking about an hour to make anything happen. And I thought I only went under one."

  "But you went under them four times," Gary pointed out. Mr. Blunt was back. "Wait--eight, actually. You had the return trips to the camper, too."

  "What was I supposed to do?" Kenna asked. The stress in the air was growing thicker than that smoke from the distant eruption. "It was the only way out of that dust storm. If I'd taken any detours, it would have taken too long and Paul would have been disintegrated!"

  "She's right," Leslie said in her defense.

  "But you could have just gone under the ocean," Gary said. He pointed outside to the water. "You did it when you traveled back to Hawaii that one time. Why not now?"

  Janelle stiffened and faced him. "Gary. She did the best she could. You know how bad water is for her. Shut up!"

  Leslie balked. Janelle had never gotten into an argument with her boyfriend like this before.

  "Fine." Gary brushed past Kenna and tore open the door. It slammed behind him, leaving one of the hinges off-place and twisted. In his anger, he'd forgotten all about his Tempest strength.

  Nobody said anything for what felt like a full minute. Paul gave her another one of his uncomfortable looks. The heavy silence Gary had left managed to grow even heavier as Kenna sighed, turned, and let her head fall to the wall. It landed with a thunk.

  * * * * *

  Kenna could feel the eyes of everyone left in the room turning to face her. It was an awful feeling. This was how Leslie had felt after her first Outbreak. How Janelle had felt after her transformation. What Sophia had to deal with after the airport.

  The wall tilted in her vision as she stared at it, cross-eyed.

  Kenna hadn't actually made any volcanoes blow up before, even if she had come close. The one back home didn't count, because it was blowing up all the time anyway and it didn't matter if she was there or not.

  This was different.

  Was this what her mother had meant about the earth's fire always being with her? If it was, it was a major disappointment.

  "Are you sure that's what you saw?" she asked without removing her head from the wall. It could stay there a
ll night.

  "I think," Leslie said from behind her. "Kenna, I'm really sorry about this."

  "Not your fault. I should have thought of something better." A detour would have meant losing Paul. But she'd sensed those volcanoes while passing under them and hadn't said a word to anyone. Now it was blowing up in her face. Literally.

  "Is there any news we can turn on?" Sophia asked. "The Internet would probably be better, actually."

  That was the last thing Kenna wanted to do, but they might have to. "I suppose," she said, peeling her forehead from the wall and turning to the others. "I don't think I'm the best person to look, though. Someone who isn't as upset as me should do it."

  Janelle was curled up on the bed with her hands around her knees. She looked the way that Kenna felt.

  "Janelle?"

  "I'm okay," she said, staring into space in front of her.

  "I'm sure Gary's not really mad at you," she went on. "It's me who deserves it. Why don't I go down and apologize to him?" Even as she said it, she knew it wouldn't work. Her own temper was no better than Gary's. It would just turn into an argument within seconds.

  "He should have been a little more forgiving." Janelle let her legs straighten out on the bed. "I love him, but once in a while he turns into a real jerk."

  Kenna knew the real reason that Gary was mad. Janelle probably did, too, but didn't dare say it out loud. It was more about Kenna's mom than anything else. Gary still hated her for what had happened back in Hawaii. Some of that might have gotten into the argument. There was nothing anyone could do about that. "This isn't your fault, Janelle. It's not really anybody's."

  "Why don't we let all this cool down?" Leslie suggested. "You know, before we turn on the TV to see if anything's going on?"

  "Or I can go find a computer," Paul added. Kenna could hear his urge to leave. There was no other reason he of all people would offer to do some Internet work.

  "We can do that," Leslie said. She faced Kenna. "Want to come along?"

  She didn't and yet she did. The uncertainty was nagging at her more and more and would threaten to grow into a monster if she didn't find out now.