Another sneer. “You flatter yourself, if you think you have any importance beyond helping me achieve my goal.”
That’s not a “no.” And the corpse god didn’t seem to have any problem spanking Valiente when it looked like he might mess things up. Maybe I can use that. I turn to the deathly gray, filmed-over eye, whose owner supposedly doesn’t believe in dicking around.
“I’m getting real tired of this guy’s bullcrap,” I call out. “I want clear, honest answers or no deal!”
The orb snaps over to Valiente, and the tendrils rip up his neck and face so fast, he’s forced to take a knee. “Ahhh!”
“Answer my question, vampire!” I cry out, sounding a lot tougher than I feel.
“Hedoesn’t,” Valiente snarls, still down. “So long as you might cooperate, Ah Puch does not want you dead.”
“And why is that exactly?”
Valiente pauses and glances to the Hell creature behind the glowing curtain. Then he returns to me.
“It was when you accessed your magic that Ah Puch was able to recognize what you are. Very few things in our world can serve as the bridge for this ritual. Even the Avatar is an imperfect fit. Your cooperation, however, would ensure its success.”
Huh. So, I’m apparently a veryusefulspecial snowflake.
Maybe I have a lot of leverage.
“What does he think of this ritual’s chances, if I don’t play ball?”
“Ah Puch does not deal in probabilities or speculation,” he says haughtily, like I should know that. The god fixes him with a warning glare, and Valiente winces slightly, before quickly adding, “But the most honest answerIcan come up with would be that both success and failure are equally likely.”
So, it’s basically a coin flip if I don’t agree. Not nothing, but not great odds. Not with so many lives on the line.
Damn it. Valiente’s the one keeping the ritual going with his stupid mind control. If I could just take him down, I bet I could end this! I try creating some flame in my free hand but get no response at all. This serene magic inside me is different, and I have zero idea how to use it, even if I was allowed. Ditto for all the nice guns lying around the room—I’m not going to come out on top in afirefight against an experienced shooter like Rafa’s mom, especially not surrounded by a bunch of kids. If I could get through that toxic barrier, I could just rip the snooty Vampire King’s head off. I’ve got more than enough incubus juice to do that, at least. But the vibrating Hell wall between us was built to stop a god.
Which leaves me trying to use the leverage I have for negotiation. Savadeva is angling for a sure thing, while I’ve been given a bad option and a terrible option. I’m sure Ms. Stryker would know how to turn this to her advantage, but for the life of me, I can’t think what I could ask for that’ll keep a death god from entering this world. And six-month reprieve or not, that’s the whole ballgame. Once he’s through, there’ll be no stopping him. Mom made that pretty clear.
My stomach sinks. I’m right where I’ve always been—totally out of my league. I’m not strong or skilled enough to take the Vampire King out. And certainly not clever enough to outsmart a god. But if I don’t accept the deal, Savadeva might come through anyway, lots of people die immediately, and that’ll all be on me.
The fate of the world couldn’t be in worse hands.
Valiente stands, narrowing his eyes. I’m being quiet for too long. Looking weak.
I glance up at Collin, who’s throwing off the siphons again and again with ferocity. He can’t tell me what to do—but at least he’s not wallowing in self-pity. He’s just as outmatched as I am but still fighting.
He called me the bravest and most tenacious person he’s ever met. He told me that would be enough for us to win. But courage and tenacity won’t help me outsmart anancient deity! And they’re not going to get me through that lethal Hell wall in front of me so I can take out Valiente.
Nothing will.
Because that toxic magic can kill anything. Destroy anything.
I wouldn’t last two seconds against it.
Not even one…
I stare at the barrier, vibrating with warning like a rattle on a snake. Valiente glares back through the corrosive energy, tapping his foot, annoyed.
Then I get a crazy idea. A stupidly crazy idea.
These guys outmatch me on pretty much every level. I can’t win this by trying to be better than them. But what if Collin was right?
What if blind courage and pigheadednesswereenough?
“Ah Puch is eternal, but his patience is not,” Valiente growls.
