Mayan Blood (13 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Zanya sat with her legs crossed on the floor of the study, piles of books stacked around her. After Jayden’s seeking efforts fell flat and Marzena’s attempts yielded no result, it was time to take matters into her own hands. Arwan and Hawa joined in, assisting in the research.

There were countless books in the library, many of them handwritten journals. Zanya picked one up and admired the antique finish. “Where did these all come from, anyway?”

“All of what?” Hawa never tore her focus away from her book.

“All of these.” She slid the hand-crafted journal across the floor to Hawa, who picked it up.

“It’s a scribe’s journal.”

“Which is?”

“A-scribe’s-journal,” Hawa repeated slowly.

Zanya grabbed another book from beside her. “Saying it slower doesn’t help clarify anything.”

“She doesn’t know these things yet,” Arwan said.

Hawa rolled her eyes. “A scribe’s journal is exactly what it sounds like. The journal of a scribe. The writings of the original Mayan civilization were almost lost during the Spanish conquests. Though a lot of the cities were already abandoned, the Spaniards invaded what was left and burned most of the literature. Anything written on papyrus and bark was destroyed, and the language became forbidden to speak. These are what survived.”

“Whoa. You guys must have everything they ever wrote.”

“Not even close. The books in our library are just the ones that were smuggled out of the villages. The elders hid them until Renato built this house. Now they’re kept here for safekeeping.”

“So, they’re history books.” It was half question, half statement.

Hawa shrugged. “Pretty much. History, religious rituals, all that. Anything the scribes could record about our history. It’s all here.”

Renato entered the study and paused, raising an eyebrow at the mess of books. “What are you doing?”

“Hoping to find something useful,” Zanya said. “I’m thinking if Jay or Marzena couldn’t find Sarian, maybe there’s something here that can help.”

He continued to his desk. “Anything interesting?”

“No, not yet.” Zanya sighed. “Plenty of uninteresting stuff, though.” She displayed the journal in her hand. “This is part two.” Her gaze scaled up the shelves. “I must have left part one up there.”

With a bit of bravery, she climbed the ladder to the top. Stretching on her tiptoes, Zanya stretched for the title and caught it with her fingertips. “Got it.” She slid it out.

“I don’t think you’re going to find what you need in that one either,” Hawa said.

Zanya climbed down the ladder, relieved when she planted her feet firmly on the floor. “How would you know what we’re going to find?”

“Because we’ve been reading for hours.”

Zanya exhaled and set the book on Renato’s desk. Hawa was right. They had been at it all day. Her throbbing eyes were testament to how many pages she’d searched through.

Tara could be anywhere in the world, and they were just a few people in a library. No high-tech tracking equipment. Not even a clue where to start. Zanya hung her head and rubbed her eyes. For the first time, the idea of not getting Tara back became a real possibility.

Hawa rested her hand on Zanya's arm. “Hey…I didn’t mean—” Hawa pulled away and glanced at Arwan. “I think this is your, you know, area of expertise.”

Arwan drew Zanya close and rested his chin on the top of her head. “I think we should take a break.”

Zanya sniffled. “Do you think we’ll get her back?”

“Yes, I do. But you’ve been at this for hours. Come on, let me make you some tea. We’ll drink it on the veranda.”

Zanya followed him toward the door. She nearly stepped over a book lying on the floor, but decided to pick it up. Renato would go nuts if she left his precious library a mess.

She paused and flipped through the pages, stopping on one with an image of an ominous shadow rising from the ground. Zanya furrowed her brow as she read the caption beneath it.

We have assumed that Sarian was the worst threat to our existence. Today is a woeful day for man, for we have discovered there will be a being that, with the desire in his heart, could be far worse. The Star has fallen.

“Zanya.” Arwan waited for her near the door. “Tea?”

It could hold a clue. Instead of shelving the journal, she tucked it under her arm. “Yeah, I’m coming.”

***

Arwan

The following evening, Arwan sat at the table for dinner. Zanya made stir-fry from the fresh shrimp Hawa brought from the market. He leaned over the plate and inhaled the flavorful aroma of lemon, thyme, and rosemary. His mouth watered.

Peter limped into the kitchen holding his ribs. “I have an idea.”

“Peter. You shouldn’t be out of bed.” Zanya pulled out a chair for him to sit. Peter moaned, lowering himself into the seat. “What’s so important that you walked all the way here from the west wing?”

Peter leaned forward on the table, anticipation building in the room with a long pause. “We can go back.”

Hawa exhaled, picking at her food. “We already tried that.”

“No. We can go way back. Back further than Sarian thinks we can go. Just hear me out. This all started when Zanya's mother was captured by Sarian, right?” Peter looked at Renato. “How long ago was that?”

“Ellie left seventeen years ago. If we could go back—and allow me to bring emphasis to if—we would need to return to where I last saw her, our last shared link.”

Bending time was hard, and seventeen years was farther than Arwan had ever thought of going back. An hour, a few days, maybe.

“So what if we went back seventeen years,” Peter continued, “before she was captured. We can get the stone before Sarian does. I know it’s a long shot, but if Arwan can do it, if he can take us back that far—”

Zanya bolted out of her chair. “Peter, you’re a genius!”

Arwan’s gut wrenched. He tightened his jaw. It was a suicide mission.

She studied the faces of everyone in the room. “What? You guys are acting like you don’t think this is an amazing idea.”

Arwan ran his fingers through his hair. “Going back that far is dangerous. Not just for you, but for me as well. We would be stuck in the bend for too long. We wouldn’t survive it.”

“Are you trying to tell me you want to sit and do nothing when we have a chance to really make a difference?”

He narrowed his eyes. “If anyone wants to find him, I do. Trust that.”

Marzena placed her tiny hand over Renato’s.

“But…we can’t…If they—” Renato fumbled over his words.

What he wouldn’t give to know what Marzena was saying. Hopefully she was backing him up. There was too much on the line. They had to find another way.

After a few tense moments, Renato squared his jaw. “No. Absolutely not. We are not even going to attempt it.”

Arwan nodded. “We’ll figure something else out.”

“What?” Zanya gripped onto the chair. “It’s the best idea we’ve had since…ever!”

“Arwan is right,” Renato said. “It would be much too dangerous. I’m sorry.”

“Well, I’m not just going to sit here and do nothing while you guys shoot down every decent idea we come up with. You may not care about Tara, but I’m not going to just stand around while Sarian—”

“Stop,” Peter said sternly. “Don’t say it. I can’t…I can’t even think about it.”

Her features softened. “I’m sorry, Pete. I didn’t mean…” Zanya locked her eyes with Renato. “You brought me here to help find the stone. I agreed to stay. Now Tara needs us, and I’ll put her before anything.”

After a tense, quiet moment, Renato’s eyes softened. “Very well.”

Arwan sat up straight. “This is not an option.” He did his best to ignore Zanya’s quickening pulse. She was afraid, and she had every right to be. Her best friend’s life was on the line, but he would do what he had to in order to keep Zanya safe. “I won’t do it.” Arwan stood, his shoulders tense.

“What do you mean you won’t do it?”

“It’s too dangerous. Don’t you remember how it was to stand in the bend?” The heavy weight on their chests. The strain on his muscles, tearing them from the inside out. It was agony.

Zanya shifted her weight, her eyes pleading. “If we don’t try, the stone could be lost and Tara will die. We will all die. Sarian will eventually break the obedience spell. Once he does, this’ll all be over. We’ll be outnumbered and overpowered.”

“I can’t…” Arwan shook his head. “I won’t do it.” He left the room.

“You should go talk to him,” Peter said from the kitchen, just loud enough for him to hear.

No amount of talking would change his mind. He walked through the halls to the west wing, and up the stairs.

“Hey, wait a second!” Zanya’s voice called from the bottom floor.

“Leave me alone, Zanya.” He clenched his jaw to the sound of her footsteps pounding on the stairs.

“To hell with that. You have to talk to me.”

He walked into his room and shut the door. Talking wouldn’t change anything.

She flung the door open, crashing the handle against the wall. “What is wrong with you!”

Arwan turned to face her and ranted in Spanish.
“Ever since you showed up, life as I know it has changed. Drina thinks I can save you somehow, but I can’t even save myself. My mother tells me to protect and embrace you, but all you do is pull away. I scare you. And you should be frightened. You don’t know me, and you never can. So if you really want to know what’s wrong with me, it’s that I’m completely wrong for you, and I know it, but I can’t stop wanting you.”

Zanya stood with her arms crossed, fingers tapping on her biceps.

Arwan snapped his jaw shut and composed himself. Thankfully she didn’t understand a word, though a part of him wished she had.

“Are you finished?” she asked, glaring.

He ran his hands through his hair, pulling it out of his face. “What do you want from me?”

“I want you to listen.” She stepped toward him. “You’re not going to help because it’s too dangerous. I’m bound to run into danger. It’s my job to protect the stone.”

“If you run into danger, it won’t be by my doing.”

She threw her hands in the air. “Well, you can’t protect me from everything. I’ll go after Sarian with or without you. My chances are better with you. So…please.”

The darkness inside of him clawed through his gut and wound around his spine. He tensed and clenched his fists, fighting it down. “Do you have any idea what would happen to us if I failed to keep the ripples intact? We would all die, and not pleasantly. Do you think it’s how you see it in the movies? You pull a lever on a time machine and suddenly you’re standing in the past? It’s much more complicated than that.”

Zanya’s eyes narrowed further, this time accompanied by flickers of energy darting over her skin. “We don’t have any other choice.”

He inspected the pulses of electricity dancing over her skin. It was as if she was covered in diamond dust, glittering and changing with every movement.

She was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen.

He slowly closed the distance between them and ran his fingers through her strands of dark, wavy hair. Sparks of energy jumped over his hand, cooling his skin. “Don’t you get it, you stubborn girl?”

Her gaze was defiant and strong. “That you’re refusing to help? That you’re running away when I need you the most?”

He dropped his hand to his side, her energy slipping through his fingers. “I won’t do it. You’re asking me to assist you in a suicide mission.”

Zanya turned away from him and paced the room. His gaze drifted to the back wall, to the sketches of his mother. It was so strange to think he had just seen her, and yet she was so far away. Her dark hair was pulled back, showcasing her heart-shaped face.

He’d spent so many years believing she was ashamed of him.

Zanya must have noticed him admiring the drawings. She turned and looked at them. “Are those the drawings of your mother you mentioned on the beach?” He didn’t reply. Zanya examined them more closely. “You have her eyes, you know. She was lovely.” She turned to face him, and the desperation behind her gaze nearly broke him. “I know how it is to grow up without a mom around. It leaves you feeling kind of…empty, huh?” She sighed and rested her hand on his arm. The warmth of her skin spread through him. “I know you think it’s your job to protect me.” She huffed. “It’s kind of obvious I’m not exactly excelling at my job description. But just for a minute, consider what you’d do if you had the chance to see your mother one last time. Even if it were just for a second. Just to know what it’s like to be hugged—” Her throat closed around the word, tears welled in her eyes.

Because of his mother, for the first time since he could remember, he was given a choice. A choice to either continue to run, or do what his mother said he was set on this world to do.