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Ixkakaw nodded in agreement, as did Nakon.
“If he’s going to die anyway,” Ixtab said, “then let’s use him. Let’s see if he can defeat Ah-Puch. No sense in all of us getting our hands dirty if we don’t have to.”
Hurakan said coolly, “Let him fight.”
“Good idea,” Ah-Puch agreed. “He wins, and you can all go home. I win, and we can prepare for war.” Then, with a shrug, he added, “What beautiful irony, Hurakan. A war with your son fighting at my side!”
Hurakan’s eyes changed from gold to black as he searched my face. You know what to do.
No! I don’t know what to do, and in case you haven’t noticed, I’m sort of paralyzed right now.
Find the source.
No more words were spoken. Instead, there was an image. Had Hurakan put it in my mind, or had I conjured it up?
I couldn’t move, couldn’t fight, couldn’t do anything. But I had the jade. I understood what I had to do.
As Puke’s grip tightened around my neck, I heard a low growl behind us. When Ah-Puch turned, Rosie released a mouthful of fire. I drew it to me as I envisioned the Empty.
41
I didn’t know if it would work, if I could travel to the Empty with Ah-Puch, but it was my last option. I floated in emptiness, spinning in a void of black. Then came a long tunnel of white mist. When I felt a familiar bounce, I opened my eyes. The sea, the pyramid, the jungle were all there, exactly as I’d left them. I sprang to my jaguar paws. I’d made it!
I didn’t celebrate for long, because Rosie’s fire burned hot inside of me and because I heard a sickening hiss coming from inside the temple. I instinctively crouched. From the moonlit shadows came a monstrous blackish-green snake the size of Jazz. Of course Ah-Puch would inhabit the body of a giant snake when he spirit-jumped here. Whitish liquid oozed from between its scales, and when it dripped to the floor, it… it turned into maggots. Writhing, slimy, disgusting maggots. No wonder the guy reeked!
“Little godborn,” Ah-Puch hissed as he slithered toward me. His slitted eyes blazed red. His yellow fangs glistened in the moonlight. “You think you’re very smart, don’t you?”
Man, I was so hoping he’d turn up as a lizard or maybe even an ant. I inched back, remembering what Hurakan had said: that the Empty was his creation, made of his power and his magic. A place where the other gods’ powers couldn’t follow.
Ah-Puch’s nostrils flared. “Do you like my chosen form?”
“A goat would’ve been better.”
He reared up, showing me the maggoty red scales of his underbelly. “If I had hands, I’d applaud you, little godborn. I mean, it was a clever plan to bring me here.” His forked tongue flicked, like it was sniffing the air. “Is that it? You think you can trap me in this place?”
“Maybe,” I said defensively, hoping his tongue couldn’t sense my lie. Trapping him here wouldn’t be enough. It wouldn’t break our connection. “You can’t destroy the real world from here.” I backed up slowly, my senses on fire, but definitely more controlled.
“Is that what you think?” he sneered. “That it’s me and me alone? Do you really believe I’m the only one who wants to destroy your pathetic world?” He let out a cruel laugh that echoed across the stone buildings. “You’re so naive, just like your father. He thought I didn’t know he was trying to undermine me at every turn. But here’s a little secret, godborn: You are the catalyst! You are the reason the world will end.”
It felt like the black sky was pressing down on me. “Wha… what’re you talking about?”
“Even if you defeat me, the gods will never allow you to live. They’ll never allow a new race of gods.” He lowered his head to the stone floor, coiling his tail slowly. “It threatens our powers, creates unbalance. So I used you for my own gain. Imagine what a wonderful surprise it was for me to discover that you’re a godborn. You really think I couldn’t detect your father’s power racing through you?”
He paused, as if he thought I would respond, but I had nothing to say to this snake.
He continued, “Those on my side appreciated knowing there was a godborn among us, but I kept your identity to myself. I claimed I had no idea who your parent was, because that would sow mistrust, fighting, and paranoia among the gods. And once I’d created that little breeding ground, they did all the heavy lifting. I simply had to sit back and watch. So you see, Zane Obispo, you were the most glorious surprise of all.”
An angry growl erupted from my throat as my back paws came to the edge of the stairs. I took deep breaths, trying to restrict the heat inside my veins that was threatening to explode any second.
“So, Zane, whether you keep me here or not,” he added, “the gods will kill your father. Do you want to know what happens after that?”
“You turn into a cockroach at midnight?”
His eyes hardened. “You should be thanking me for not revealing your secret. But I didn’t do it for you. I figured I’d put those powers to good use, because in the end, Zane, they won’t help you defeat me. You see, you’re a little half-breed nothing now. You need training, guidance, a god to teach you. But with your old man on death row, and the other gods wanting you dead, that training will be hard to come by. Join me and I’ll help you attain more power than you ever imagined.”
I teetered on the edge of the stairs, thinking I’d had enough of everyone’s deals. “I’ve got a better idea,” I said. “How about you release me and I won’t have to kill you?”
He let out a twisted laugh and inched closer. “Spoken like a true weakling. Once Hurakan is dead, this place will die, too. And with nothing left here to trap me, I’ll head off to the underworld and I’ll take back what’s mine. So, any way you look at it, I win.”
