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This wasn’t just a mark.
It was a tracking device.
27
“You did this?” Jordan’s granite face looked like it might crumble.
The mark continued to burn, the skull’s sleeping eyes fluttering as if they might open any second. My heart thrashed against my ribs. I jerked my sleeve over the tattoo and stood.
“You were stupid enough to make a deal with the god of death?” Bird said with a smirk I wished I could wipe off his face.
Ah-Puch laughed. “Come now, Jun’ajpu’. Let’s be gentlemen about this.”
Jordan’s eyes raked over Ah-Puch with so much hatred, I thought old Puke might melt and we could all go home.
“Did you really think your pathetic magic could keep me out?” Ah-Puch said to the twins. “Your little sand castle isn’t as strong as you imagined.”
Jordan’s jaw tightened as he looked around at the broken pieces of their illusory world. The shattered walls, the splintered sky. The distant skyscrapers began to sway again.
“Such a poor imitation,” Ah-Puch said, following his gaze.
“Did you come here for a fight, Ah-Puch?” Bird’s tone told me he wanted Ah-Puch to say yes.
“Boys, please,” Ah-Puch said. “I didn’t come here to fight. Simply to destroy your little… what shall we call it?” He took in the halfway-finished demolition. “Bubble? And to set the record straight.” His voice rose a few godly notches for the next part. “You never defeated me, only a couple of my weak underlords.”
The world tilted. Surely that was wrong. Surely I hadn’t relied on a plan that was built on empty boasts.
“We beat you,” Bird said through gritted teeth.
Ah-Puch stroked Muwan’s head. “Your lies are such bitter little things. And to think I was locked away, unable to refute them. Hardly justice, wouldn’t you agree, Zane?”
I gave a short nod. I mean, it really was a raw deal. “Why… why would Jordan and Bird lie?”
“To establish their fame, their notoriety,” Puke said in a commanding tone. “To ensure that no other godborns would ever challenge them.” He turned his hardened gaze on the twins. “I do admire your sinister plan,” he said to them. “Lie about defeating me, inspire humans to ignore the gods, instill enough fear in the gods to make them create the Sacred Oath. That way you’d never have any competition.”
I processed each bit of information, and it all made sense. Jordan and Bird had manipulated the gods into taking the Sacred Oath! I remembered what Pacific had said about the twins inspiring jealousy in the gods. “But… if the gods were so worried about godborns, why didn’t they kill the twins?” I asked.
“Very on point. Bravo,” Ah-Puch said, smiling. “The twins used their popularity among humans as leverage in a deal with the gods. ‘Jordan and Bird’ promised to go on a PR tour, encouraging humans to revere the gods again, to restore balance.”
Man, that was messed up! I thought. But it didn’t surprise me now that I’d seen their ugliness up close.
Jordan and Bird shared a glance. Beads of sweat formed on Jordan’s forehead. Was fear getting the best of him?
No, this was something more serious. He clawed at his throat. His eyes bugged out and he collapsed.
Bird squatted next to his brother, pressing on his chest, calling his name over and over. He glared up at Ah-Puch. “I don’t know how you did this, but I will make you pay!”
For an instant, surprise registered on Ah-Puch’s face. That told me all I needed to know.
It wasn’t him—it was La Muerte! The chile pepper really had worked! A little late, but she’d worked. I wanted to slip away before the truth was discovered, but how could I, with Hondo passed out cold?
Brooks gripped my wrist so hard, her nails dug into my skin. This is going to be really, really bad!
You think? Then I said, If I don’t make it—
I’m not listening.
Make sure Hondo gets out. Please.
