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Okay? I was definitely not okay! There was a picture of the god of death in my holy-water-soaked Maya book. I recalled a split skull and bulging deranged eyes. Man, I hoped my memory was wrong. “So this Puke guy, he’s like what, a myth?” I asked hopefully.
“Myths are real, Zane. Well, most are. And gods are very real—an important part of the universe and its balance. Long ago, Ah-Puch got into a war with some of the other gods and lost.”
Gods. Balance. War. Okay, this was bigger than I could ever have imagined. My mind was spinning so fast I didn’t know what to focus on first. “Gods… are real?” I tried to remember the other gods listed in my book. There were too many to keep track of, and on top of that, their names were impossible to pronounce.
“Of course they’re real,” she said nonchalantly.
“Which… which gods did he fight?”
“Let’s see, there’s Nakon, god of war, and Ixkakaw—”
“Eesh-ka-kow,” I repeated. “She’s the goddess of chocolate.” Her name came to me because it was fun to say, and because who doesn’t love chocolate?
Brooks’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “How’d you know?”
“That book. You know, the one you said was written by an idiot?”
“Hmm… Anyways, it doesn’t matter which gods Ah-Puch fought. What matters is that he lost and the gods imprisoned him, some other god stole his throne, and then the gods made sure he got a taste of his own medicine.”
“Medicine?”
“Torture, dismemberment, that sort of thing.”
Now I did feel sick.
“So where’s this hidden cave?” Brooks asked.
“But you haven’t told me everything.” I knew in my gut there was more.
She looked around. “Let’s get inside. I promise I’ll tell you the rest.”
I studied her face for an eye twitch or a jaw clench or anything that would tell me I shouldn’t trust her. “How do I know you’re not going to knock me over the head with a rock and drag me to that demon runner?”
Brooks’s nose flared. “I wouldn’t need to get you in the volcano to do that, Zane.” She inched closer. “But if you don’t want to know the truth about your destiny, then…” She shrugged.
Destiny? My guts churned. “If I show you,” I said, “you have to swear that no matter what, you’ll never, ever, ever tell anyone about this cave.”
Brooks’s brows came together. “Zane, I’m a nawal. Our word is stronger than steel. I promise, your secret is safe with me.”
I walked over to the opening, squatted, and removed the branches to reveal the crawlspace.
“I really don’t think we should go in there right this second,” I said.
“How come?”
“Well… because it’s dark, a murderous demon might be waiting in there, and, oh yeah—we could die!”
“I have to see it.” Brooks peered over my shoulder into the darkness. “To make sure this is the right place.”
“I could wait here,” I said, trying to be chill. “Act as the lookout.”
“I get it. You’re scared.”
I didn’t like the way she was looking at me. “I’ve been in there loads of times,” I said with a casual shrug. But that was before all this talk about prophecies and demons and death. “And I’m not scared.”
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m not!” I was totally scared.
