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Mr. O grabbed me and pulled me into a tight hug. “Héroe.”
“Everyone was a hero,” I said, turning to Ms. Cab.
Ms. Cab lifted her chin. “You’re lucky all the seers went back to normal, because if I had to be a chicken one more day…”
“Good to see you, too,” I said, with a pang of guilt, as I realized that her cover would soon be blown as well.
Ms. Cab reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a handful of… birdseed? She tossed some into her mouth. I figured my own mouth must’ve been hanging wide open, because she shrugged and said, “An acquired taste.”
Mom stifled a laugh and Hondo made a disgusted face.
“Mr. Ortiz took wonderful care of us while you were away,” Mom said.
Ms. Cab sighed. “I suppose. Old fool followed me here just because I told him I’d have dinner with him.”
Mr. O’s face lit up when he looked at Ms. Cab. Any guy who could still love someone who’d been a cranky chicken and ate birdseed out of her pocket was a champ in my book.
“I couldn’t let you get away, amor,” he said, to which she huffed. “We will be very happy on this isla.”
“In separate huts!” Ms. Cab reminded him.
Turning to me, he raised his bushy brows and asked, “And La Muerte? Did she work?”
I recalled the pepper’s effect on Jordan. “Definitely took out a bad guy,” I said.
Mr. O beamed while Ms. Cab popped more birdseed into her mouth and mumbled, “Idiots.”
I laughed. It was her way of saying she cared about us.
“And one more thing, Zane,” she said.
“Yeah?”
“You owe me an eyeball.”
After everyone went inside, I headed down to the beach. Rosie raced after me, yelping and jumping in the waves. Being in Xib’alb’a hadn’t really changed her. Sure, she looked different on the outside, but inside she was still the dog I had rescued. And now she had rescued me.
The sun was melting into the water and everything had an orange glow. If I had to hole up somewhere, this seemed like a pretty good place. But shadow magic or no shadow magic, I knew I wouldn’t stay here forever.
Laughter spilled out of the house. I sat on the sand and stared at my legs. My shorter one was a clue about where I’d come from and what I could do. I mean, if I hadn’t had a limp, the Sparkstriker would never have been able to find my dominant power.
I laid back and closed my eyes as Rosie settled next to me. “Tomorrow,” I said, “we can hike the Beast again.”
Rosie whined.
Then I felt something blocking the sun. I opened my eyes to see a hawk circling overhead. “Brooks!” I shouted, bolting upright.
She landed nearby, kicking up some sand. Which I totally thought she did on purpose. Like I said, she can be annoying.
Rosie barreled into her as Brooks shifted back into a human. What, were they like BFFs now? Brooks fell back laughing as she rubbed Rosie’s ears. “Hey, girl.”
I got to my feet, pulled Brooks up, and squeezed her in a bear hug. Man, she smelled good. Like coconut oil and fresh towels.
“Okay,” she said, pushing me back. “I can’t breathe.”
“Wha… what are you doing here?” I was so excited, I had a hard time standing there without hugging her again. “Hondo said you were with Jazz, and he didn’t know where—”
She rolled her eyes. “Get real, Zane. You think I wasn’t going to get the whole story from you? Besides, I’m a fugitive now.”
