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Ah-Puch kept on. “And when all is said and done, your father will suffer, too.”
The demon runners hissed and groaned impatiently.
“Hurakan doesn’t have anything to do with this!” I bent my knees and gripped my spear, ready to fight whichever demon came at me. Preferably one at a time. Power throbbed in my legs and I wondered how long it would last.
“Oh, but he has everything to do with this. He is at the center of my plan. But enough of that. Let’s get your punishment started, shall we?”
“I’d rather not.”
The demons bared their nasty fangs.
“Maybe we should begin with your friends,” he said.
At the same time, thick ropes of white hair slithered out of the forest, followed by a dozen new demons. These were different from the demon runners I’d seen. Instead of blue skin, theirs was a glistening silver that shimmered in the moonlight, and it was thick, like a shark’s. They had long white hair that hung in thick braids down their backs, swinging back and forth like tails.
They shrieked, leaping onto the backs of Ah-Puch’s little army with amazing force. Teeth gnashed. Claws ripped. Hair choked.
The black-smoke hands released Brooks and Quinn and rose into the air. They formed ribbons and wound themselves into a long serpent that headed toward the silver demons.
I launched my spear at one of Ah-Puch’s guys, testing its accuracy. It incinerated the monster on impact, then zipped back into my hand.
Ah-Puch narrowed his gaze. “Very good. Your little toy can melt demons. But it can never kill me!”
Quinn sat up with a wince. Brooks’s eyes were bright as she got to her feet, reached into her waistband, and pulled out her demon-burning flashlight.
Ah-Puch pivoted as a woman with long blue locks materialized from a curtain of fog. Her skin was the color of a white-hot sun, and her eyes burned—with real fire! She shifted her white cape and extended one arm. A single flame danced on her palm and grew into a globe.
Puke’s mouth curled into a sick smile.
Then the woman hurled the fireball at him.
“NO!” I screamed, launching myself forward to shove him out of the way.
The fireball hit me in the back, exploding on contact, and it knocked me off my feet, but it didn’t kill me. I didn’t even feel its heat!
The woman narrowed her fire-eyes at me, smiling murderously. “Godborn,” she hissed. Then she launched another fireball, but this time I didn’t get up fast enough.
I turned to see the damage. Puke opened his mouth and inhaled the thing before blowing it back out as a stream of smoke.
“Hello, Ixtab,” he said. “How’s my throne? Did you keep it warm for me?”
Her eyes darted between me and Ah-Puch. “I destroyed it,” she said with a wicked grin that showed a mouthful of gray teeth. “How does your new hell taste?” Her long white cape dragged across the ground as she came closer, giving me a better look at it. The garment was made of small bones, and its hem was lined with teeth.
“The demons’ hair is a nice touch,” Ah-Puch said as he indifferently watched the last of his demons get smothered.
Why was he so calm? So confident?
Ixtab’s victorious demons dragged themselves over and circled us like hungry wolves. Quinn and Brooks stood back-to-back as they waited for the first strike.
“Er… Ixtab?” My voice squeaked. I was about to tell her not to kill him when she cut in.
“Shut up, godborn.” Ixtab raised her hand to silence me. Her hungry glare shifted to Quinn. “Traitors always pay the highest price. Soon you will be dead.” Then, to Ah-Puch, “You’ll like what I’ve done with Xib’alb’a. I have a special little corner waiting for you, my pet.”
Ah-Puch snarled. It sent chills down the back of my legs. If I were betting on a winner, I might’ve gone with him.
Ixtab’s eyes blazed.
It was now or never. I had to take advantage of Puke’s being distracted. I gripped my spear, preparing to throw…
