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“Look again,” the old man urged.
Matt glanced at Gina, whose scleras seemed to have expanded, too. For an instant he worried that she’d caught the virus as well. But the transmission of viruses between species was very rare. Of course if these were werewolves and half-human, that could cause a prob—
Matt heard what his mind was saying and a choked laugh escaped. Talk about mass hysteria.
“Quit yucking it up,” McCord grumbled, “and take another look.”
“Look close,” Gina urged, so Matt did.
One was black with gray eyes; another was sable with brown; the third from the left had a shiny, smooth coat, which was a lovely shade of gold, with blue eyes that stared into his and—
Matt yelped and dropped the binoculars.
Those were Ashleigh’s eyes.
Gina set her hand on his arm. “You saw him?”
“Him?” He blinked several times, staring through the window at her. The Ashleigh-eyed wolf seemed to be staring back—and grinning.
“Mel.” Gina pointed. “Over there.”
“Mel’s there, too?”
“Too?” Gina bent and retrieved the binoculars, peering through them until she saw—
“Ashleigh.” Gina lowered the field glasses. McCord snatched them up, put them to his eyes, then cursed.
“And Juan.” Isaac lifted a gnarled finger to indicate the second black wolf, this one with equally black eyes—except for the whites that blared freakishly against the dark fur.
Matt lowered his glasses back into place. He couldn’t believe what he was thinking, what they were. There had to be another explanation, but he really couldn’t fathom what it was. He needed more information. And Isaac appeared just the man to give it to him.
“What did you bury?” he asked.
Isaac’s dark gaze cut from the wolves to Matt, then back again. “We better sit.” He waved his wrinkled hand at the furniture. “Turn those round so we can keep our eyes…” He first pointed his forefinger and middle finger at his face, then jabbed them toward the window.
The younger men moved the couch, as well as two wing chairs, while Gina retrieved Fanny and the two women went upstairs. In all the excitement, they’d forgotten about the “blond chick” sucking her thumb in the hall.
“All asleep,” Gina said when she returned. “Except for the kid, who’s playing some game on his phone and barely looked at me when I opened his door. Fanny will stay to make sure no one comes down and hears something they shouldn’t. We can catch her up later.”
“Fanny won’t need catching up.” Isaac sat on the couch. “The legend of the Tangwaci Cin-au’-ao has been known to my people since we confined him.”
Gina glanced at McCord, who shrugged. “It’s a legend.” He made a mouth with his hand, opening and shutting his fingers and thumb while muttering, “Blah, blah, blah. We’ve got a million.”
Isaac shot his grandson an irritated glare. “This legend became a legend on this land. The creature is—” His mouth twisted. “Was. Buried here.”
Matt took the wing chair closest to Gina, ignoring McCord’s inevitable snarl. “You call the buried creature the Tangwaci Cin-au’-ao, but you also call them,” Matt pointed to the wolves, “Tangwaci Cin-au’-ao.”
Isaac shrugged. “What do you want to call them?”
“Werewolves,” Gina murmured.
“A different name don’t make ’em somethin’ they’re not.”
“You should probably start at the beginning,” Matt said, and the old man inclined his head, then did.
“Centuries ago—at least four, maybe five—an army came from the south. There’d been rumors for years of this army, which swept over the land, leaving blood and death and destruction behind. Those they didn’t kill they stole, and took them back to the place where Tauaci, the sun, lives, never to be seen or heard from again.”
Matt leaned forward. The people who lived with the sun had to be the Aztecs.
