AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She was walking on the shore of a forest lake with a tall dark-haired man. They held hands, laughing like a couple of kids. Then they skipped stones. It was kind of embarrassing to watch.
I’d figured it out by now—the guy was my dad. It was the same man who’d been on top of the pyramid, warning me not to give in to Ah-Puch. And he looked normal, not like a demon runner or monster or anyone I wouldn’t want to be related to. At least not on the outside. They sat near a fire under the stars. I was so lost in the image, I stopped thinking about the skull-busting cement I was plummeting toward. It was as if this vision of my parents was a net that could save me.
The man put his arm around my mom and whispered in her ear, but I couldn’t hear what he said. All I know is my mom’s face lit up… and in the same instant he was gone, vanished like a puff of smoke.
“Mom!” I called out.
She was there in every window, but she couldn’t see me. The world sped up again. I was in free fall. Ah-Puch’s words echoed in my ears: It is done, old friend, and now he’s mine!
As the ground rose up to meet me, I felt someone shaking me.
“Zane! Wake up!”
Brooks!
I opened my eyes. It was night and I was back in my room, flat out on my bed. Brooks hovered over me. Did I mention her eyes change from amber to chocolate brown when she’s scared?
“It’s about time!” Brooks socked me in the arm. “How can you sleep at a time like this?”
I couldn’t help it—I smiled. “Great to see you, too.”
She blew a long piece of hair out of her face, clearly annoyed. “How’d we get here? What happened?”
I swear I could’ve barreled into her and hugged her to death. Okay, bad choice of words, but you wouldn’t believe how happy I was to see her breathing. “You don’t remember?” I sat up, patting my dry chest and legs to make sure nothing was broken.
“I… I remember you pulling me through the water and…” Her mind was turning. “The eclipse…” She turned back to me with terrified eyes and whispered, “You let him out.”
I couldn’t lie. “I didn’t have a choice. I had to save you and—”
Rosie! I jumped up and rushed out to the living room. “Rosie? Come out, girl!” I frantically checked everywhere—under beds, in cabinets, behind the TV. Where was she? Ah-Puch had promised!
“Zane!” Brooks was right behind me. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Rosie?”
I raced outside, whistling for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. “Rosie!”
Nothing but silence answered me. Heat clawed its way through my chest. “WE HAD A DEAL!” I shouted to the moonlit sky, as if Ah-Puch could hear me.
Brooks placed her hand on my shoulder. “Zane?”
I was borderline hysterical. Maybe it was like post-traumatic stress disorder, that moment when the reality of everything hit me. And I wasn’t built for the impact. How could I have been so stupid? But why would Ah-Puch give me back one and not the other?
“Because he’s a twisted, bitter god who can’t be trusted,” Brooks whispered. Her hands flew to her mouth. “Holy K! I heard your thoughts.”
“Whoa!” I jumped back. This had happened before, when we were in the pool, but I thought that had been a fluke. I did not want her in my head. It was wrong on so many levels.
“Can you hear mine?” she asked.
“No.”
“How about now?” She took my hand in hers. I’m thinking you’re the biggest idiot on the planet to make a deal with Ah-Puch!
I jerked my hand free. “How’d you do that?”
Brooks blinked fast. “It must happen when we’re touching.” She paced nervously. Then she froze and her gaze met mine. “Holy K! I know what your dad is.”
>
