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This was Pacific’s “parting gift” to me. She had to find a new hiding place. The gods would read my story soon enough, and everyone I’d been trying to protect would be revealed. Even Mat wasn’t safe. Stupid truth paper!
“We’re here,” Elvis said, bursting through breakers. Imagine going through a crazy car wash at Mach ten. That’s what this was like. He pulled to a stop on a white sandy beach lined with swaying palms.
“Where… where are we?”
“Isla Holbox, Mexico,” Ixtab said. “Very secluded, and surrounded by water, which is the most important part.”
“Why does the water matter?”
“Messes up signals, wavelengths, the gods’ ability to see clearly. Plus, it’s protected by—”
“Your shadow magic.”
“Precisely.”
I ducked to peer through the windshield. “Whoa!”
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. A luxury vacation house—the kind you only read about in adventure books or see in those fancy travel magazines. The place was tucked under tall, willowy palms, had two stories, a palapa roof, and thick timbers holding up a massive back porch where hammocks swung in the afternoon sun. A quick glance down the shore in both directions told me we were pretty secluded, with the next house at least two football fields away. Rosie barked, whined, and pawed at the car door.
When I went to open it, Ixtab grabbed my arm, reached into her pocket, and removed a silver letter opener. “I almost forgot. This is for you.”
“Er… what’s this for?” I thought it was a weird parting gift.
“You know, for someone who’s part god and has seen ancient magic, you really are lacking in the imagination department,” she said. “It’s your cane-slash-spear. I had to hide it somewhere.” She tapped the end and the cane popped out.
I took it from her. It was just as cool as before. “Does the spear still work?”
Ixtab rolled her eyes and stepped out of the car. “Ándale,” she said. “I don’t have all day.”
Leading with my warrior cane, I stepped out of the cab.
“One more thing.” She pointed to the right, past the house and across the jungle.
I blinked. Once. Twice. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Yup.”
Rosie hunkered low and covered her eyes with her paws, groaning. Some things hadn’t changed. I patted her on the head reassuringly and asked Ixtab, “But how the heck did you move a whole volcano?”
“It was your father’s idea.” She played with the gold bangles dangling from her wrists. “It wasn’t a bad one, either, I have to admit. We couldn’t simply leave it in New Mexico—it had too much magic left over in it. So Mat replaced it with a replica, and I, of course, did all the heavy lifting to bring the real one here.”
“And the people on this island didn’t wonder when a volcano sprang up out of nowhere?”
Ixtab shrugged. “It happens sometimes.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off my volcano. I almost threw my arms around Ixtab’s neck but stopped when I realized she might strangle me.
“You obviously approve,” she said.
“Approve?” Grinning, I ran my hands over my hair. “It’s… it’s amazing!”
“I created a portal inside that leads to Xib’alb’a. You may use it in case of emergency,” Ixtab added. “Extreme emergency.”
“Emergency? Why would I have an emergency? You said this pla
ce is safe.”
“I said your family and friends are safe. Nowhere is ever entirely safe for someone like you.”
