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You’re no fun.
Ah-Puch turned to me. “Trust me, I’m not generous enough to kill them quickly.” Then, to Good, Bad, and Indifferent, he said, “Take them away. Their magic will make a lovely feast for us.”
The Triad took flight, carrying the twins into the falling sky.
Ah-Puch started to fade.
“Wait!” I called to him. “You tricked me. This mark…”
He stopped, looked at me. “Clever, yes? You can’t run, and you can’t hide.”
“Unless I burn off this tattoo!”
“The magic runs deep, and you aren’t brave enough to withstand that kind of pain.” Ah-Puch sighed. “I’ll see you soon, Zane Obispo.” He gazed around the collapsing world and said, “Very soon, judging from this house of cards.”
28
Brooks shook my arm. “We have to get out of here!”
“Help me with Hondo!” I shouted over the falling debris.
But even with both of our efforts, he was deadweight. No way were we going to get him out before the place crashed all around us.
This was not how it was going to end. Not in a dollhouse of Jordan’s making.
Brooks’s eyes shifted, the gold and amber flecks glowing like they might ignite any second. And for an instant she looked like her hawk self—mythical and even dangerous.
“Go!” I told her. “Save yourself.”
“Not without you!”
Why was she so stubborn?!
At the same moment, a very large figure emerged through a cloud of black and gray dust.
Jazz!
“I guessed you all might have some problems,” he yelled. “I put some minicams in your clothes, and what a show it’s been!” Jazz scooped Hondo up like a sack of chile pods and hoisted him over his shoulder. “We’ve got a boat to catch!”
I’d never been so happy to see anyone in my whole life. Brooks and I hurried behind him, but he didn’t head for the exit. I figured it was already demolished. Instead, he went to the roof’s edge. And let me tell you, it was hard to keep up with a giant whose stride was like ten yards. Especially since my stupid limp was back. The time limit on our enchantment had run out.
Gusts of cold wind raged across the broken world. Umbrellas tumbled, trees split in two, glasses shattered.
I looked over the edge, wondering where the safety net was. Or maybe we were waiting for a helicopter? My answer came within seconds. An enormous flying machine with a giant red sail rose from the darkness. And you wouldn’t believe who was driving—the skeleton, Flaco! Really? This was our ride out of here?
“Teeckets, please,” he said, circling in what looked like a four-seater go-kart with a small engine near the back.
Jazz grunted. “Get closer!”
The roof quaked, splitting the cement.
“Next time he circles, jump and hold on tight,” Jazz boomed.
Was he kidding? Jump? Couldn’t Flaco land? Then I realized the roof was going to give way any second.
Brooks grabbed my hand. “Don’t fall!”
“I’ll do my best.”
