The 52nd (The 52nd Saga Book 1) (28 page)

“What lives in the Underworld?” I had seen more of the undead than I wished, but I needed to know what we were up against.

“Aztecs who died in battle against the Spaniards, the ones who were the most compelled, the die-hards, we call them. And the Mayans who had no sense of sin, the murderers and thieves who escaped punishment because of the community’s lack of moral order. Because their behavior disturbed the balance of good, they were damned to the Underworld. And lastly, the wicked warriors, kings, and priests; the Xibalban gods hand-select their executioners from those
ranks.”

Lucas looked away, dipped his finger in the snow, and twirled it in circles. “The executioners were created for one purpose,” he said, “and that is to capture the gods’ sacrifices. In all my life, the executioners have never returned to the Underworld empty-handed.”

His low tone made my eyes fog up with fear for my fate, but his hand moved suddenly to my
knee.

“Don’t worry. Things will be different this time,” he said encouragingly. He looked at his watch. “We better get you home soon. It isn’t safe for us to be out when it’s
dark.”

“Aren’t you worried about Solstice at all?” I asked, now twirling my hair obsessively.

“Are
you?”

“Extremely.”

My finger snagged in a knot. The tingle came on impact as his fingers touched mine. He moved my fingers away and untangled the snarl with speed and accuracy. I was disappointed when he backed away and stood seconds later. I needed him
now.

“It isn’t Solstice I’m worried about. It’s closing the portal.” The fear in his eyes this time transmitted painful electric arcs to my
body.

“How
come?”

“I have power over the creatures of the dead, but I cannot control what happens once the portal is closed. Technically, we will be committing an act of treason. That’s what scares
me.”

The chemicals surging in my body mixed badly, producing intense
nausea.

“What if we went to the Celestials for help and told them about the prophecy?”

He shook his head softly. “I’ve already thought of this. They wouldn’t believe it. They think witches are weak, and the prophecy comes from one. It’s too much of a risk. If they knew a human controlled the fate of all, I bet on my life that they’d give you over in a heartbeat.”

My stomach dropped. He heard that too, except he didn’t smile. He dropped to his
knees.

“Zara, listen to me. Look around you,” he said, and I glanced at the shimmering snow behind him. “Remember it. Let this be your out. When you feel your mind being tampered with, when you are in a place you don’t want to be, I want you to think of this place. Can you do that for
me?”

Suddenly his sapphire eyes were only inches from mine, fearless and determined. The icicles that hung from the church reflected in them like solid light. His brooding features seemed fairer here, almost angelic. I felt my lip quivering at this new, delicate perfection, far more appealing than winter’s charms. It was then, staring into the depths of his sympathetic soul, that I knew
he
was my utopia, my way out of battle—I no longer felt trapped, no longer felt like his prisoner. In some strange way, we were bound together.

My bond with Lucas was never about taking my freedom away. It was a bond of honor, and I trusted with my life that he would protect me because he honored me too. But how could he be so unselfish while I was so ungrateful?

“I’ll try,” I said, staring back with a newfound respect.

I knew that he understood my luminous moment. His now-humble eyes tightened as he smiled. “That’s all I need you to
do.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Solstice

The clouds were gray the next day as Lucas and I drove to his house. My thoughts were on the letter in my bag: I had written a message to Mae, not knowing if I’d see her again, and I just needed to mail it. When we arrived at the Castillos’ house, though, I broke out of my reverie. Gabriella was standing on a snow-layered boulder near the woods, bow in hand, her left arm extended forward and her right elbow bent by her ear. There was a tiny movement followed by a
boom,
and she reached for another arrow, tilting her head to aim into the woods
again.

A loud ringing broke the silence. I couldn’t help but watch the siren in the woods as I rooted through my bag for the phone. Her head snapped toward us at the second ring. Embarrassed, I finally thumbed the button and lifted it
up.

“Yes?” I answered, unable to contain my annoyance.

“So, Mexico?” Max
said.

“You
coming?”

“Don’t know yet. I have
finals.”

“That’s what Mom
said.”

He was silent as I stared at the floor, sensing Gabrielle’s curious gaze from outside.

“Did you need something? I’m sort of busy,” I grumbled.

“Do I have to have a reason to talk to my little
sis?”

“Max, what do you
want?”

“I want to know what you’re doing with that boy. What has he done to wrap you around his
finger?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” I turned my back to Lucas’s smirk, but just ended up facing Gabriella on the other side of the window. I had nowhere to look but out the windshield, toward the foggy
lake.

Max’s offended laugh startled me. “Mom told me how she listens to you cry at
night.”

My next breath was stolen from me. The clever smile across the car that I had grown to love vanished. The fact that he now knew the truth horrified me. I couldn’t break away from his shocked gaze as guilt turned me to
stone.

“So I
am
right,” Max heckled on the other end. “And when was the last time you thought about applications for another college? Jett says you don’t talk about it anymore, and that’s all you used to talk
about.”

I was suddenly depressed. Instead of racing as it usually did in Lucas’s car, my heart had slowed to a near
halt.

“I’m working on that,” I muttered.

“With
him?”

“No. I’m doing it on my own, when I have free time,
without
him,” I blurted without thinking.

Lucas’s door slammed. He joined Gabriella at the hood of the car and unleashed an anguished yell I felt responsible
for.

“Look, I’ve got to go,” I said, watching as Gabriella defended herself against Lucas’s sudden
temper.

“I’m watching out for you, sis.”

“Tell Casey
hi.”

Guilt flooded the car the moment I hung up. I had lied to Lucas about my misery by keeping it from him. But it wasn’t that, the disgrace written all over me. For the first time since I’d met him, I had spoken of an independent future as if he didn’t
exist.

“Why didn’t you tell me she was crying?” I heard Lucas say to Gabriella.

She replied in quick Spanish as I eased out of the car. When Lucas didn’t acknowledge me, shame wrinkled me like a raisin. I wanted to disappear.

“Max and Casey would love you if they had a chance to know you,” I said, hoping to make up for the
lie.

He turned a wall of sarcasm to me. “Let’s hope they can make the trip to Mexico, then.”

“Would the executioners go after them if they don’t get me?” I asked, my heart seizing
anew.

Gabriela shrugged. “It’s possible.”

“What?”

Lucas exhaled in a rush. “Relax. They don’t have a choice. One of us will drive to Reno and take care of
it.”

Although that was good news, I stormed to his car, grabbed my stuff, and headed inside. I beat him through the door, but he whisked past me to block the basement
stairs.

“Get out of my way,” I ordered
rudely.

“Make
me.”

My blood boiled when he planted his feet and grinned selfishly.

“If I am such an inconvenience to you, why go through all this trouble to save me?” I
argued.

He laughed, oddly loud. “If
I
am such an inconvenience to
you
, why ask me if I am coming back to Tahoe after we close the
portal?”

“You are such a
jerk!”

“And you are a confused, stubborn woman!” His voice echoed throughout the house. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were so unhappy?”

Dylan materialized out of the basement. “What’s going
on?”

“Stubborn? Me? No, no, no. That’s all you!” I stabbed a scornful finger at
him.

“Because I am trying to protect
both
of us!” he shouted, a slight accent emerging from his unbelief. “Admit it, you can’t stand relinquishing your independence to be saved. If it weren’t for my
stubbornness
, you wouldn’t trust me, and we both would be worse
off!”

“I am done here.” I threw my arms up and flipped around, heading straight for the
garage.

“Oh, oh, oh,” he chortled. “Don’t let me deter your happiness, Your Majesty. Excuse me for
caring.”

Gabriella and Dylan were already waiting by her winter car, a sparkling pale-gold Escalade, but Lucas had not joined them. Gabriella walked delicately to
me.

“I’m sorry, but I cannot be around him for another minute,” I sniffed.

She took my bag and opened the passenger door without question. I slid in and slouched, laying my forehead on the cool dash. Gabriella and Dylan exchanged a few words, kissed quickly, and the next thing I saw was Niya and Malik running alongside the car until we passed the
gates.

“Want to talk?” Gabriella asked once her house was out of view—or, rather, once Lucas’s ears were out of
range.

“Why is he such a jerk sometimes?”

She cackled. “Lucas isn’t a jerk. He’s stupid, but far from a jerk. He’s too smart for his own
good.”

I covered my mouth as a hiccupping laugh tried to escape my throat. She gave me a knowing
look.

“Stupid?” I
asked.

“He takes what he feels in his heart and puts it all in his head. He isn’t much better at home either. He’s uptight around us too. I don’t like it. He’s never been this way.” She looked at me. “I’m sorry, but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t you that makes him this
way.”

The guilt sank into me like a heavy chain I couldn’t lift. “He did admit yesterday that I made him
crazy.”

She laughed. “He’s created his own hell with his professional book-smart thinking, hasn’t
he?”

“Just how book smart is
he?”

“Would two masters, four bachelors, and degrees in medicine and law
count?”

My breath stumbled out in small gasps. “Did he ever practice anything?”

“Not
once.”

“Why?”

She gripped the wheel gently with her delicate hand. “Because he couldn’t focus. His life revolved around finding
you.”

I slid my hands between my knees and shivered, feeling more selfish than ever. “Do you think this is permanent?”

“I don’t know. He’s too worried he could ruin everything if he involves himself with
you.”

“And I’m
not?”

Her eyes narrowed at me. “Good
point.”

Gabriella pulled onto my street long before dusk. The snow that had piled over my wagon was gone, and two snowmen had appeared on my neighbors’ lawn. I was glad my car was useful for something.

“Anyway, Dylan and I think it’s a good idea if you two take some time off from each other. I can take you to school until we get out for winter
break.”

“Thank you, Gabriella.”

Her smile was comforting.
“De
nada.”

Dark clouds covered the valley the next morning when Gabriella and Tita showed up promptly at seven. Gabriella was dressed appropriately today, with black boots over shrink-wrap pants and a long sweater woven with gold thread. I looked twice at my last-year’s clothes: a white sweater and jeans so thin there were holes at the
knees.

At lunch, I told Tita I needed a break and sat with my friends. It was nice sitting with humans. Their conversations were normal, nothing to do with blood or power, or about how different I was. I felt my life coming back until Ashley began asking strange questions.

“So Zara, is it true that Lucas imports his shampoo?” she
asked.

“What?”

“Well, he does have the best hair in school—sorry, Hayden.”

Hayden reached for his hair, a hamburger in his other hand, and humphed. Tana leaned in enthusiastically. Her hair was curly and stiff with way too much hairspray.

“I heard he imports it from Brazil and that he pays a hundred dollars a pop,” she
said.

“What? No, you’re wrong. Who would do that? That’s ridiculous,” I remarked.

I glanced at where they waited on the other side of the cafeteria. Gabriella was trying to contain a laugh, while Lucas looked
upset.

“He’s crushing on you like mad,” Tommy noted from the far side of the
table.

A cough erupted from the back of my throat. I chugged a big gulp of juice and cleared my
throat.

“No, he isn’t,” I said, but blushed with mortification when I noticed Lucas’s mouth crack and form soft dimples in his cheeks. I looked
away.

“Zara, what is the deal with their tattoos?” Jett asked before shoving a handful of fries into his mouth. I’d forgotten that eating with boys was sometimes like feeding time at the
circus.

“What do you mean, ‘what is the
deal’?”

“What do they mean?” he clarified.

“I don’t know, Jett. That’s a good question. Why don’t you ask them yourself?”

My response shut him up for the moment, but then he asked, “Is something wrong with your
car?”

“No.”

“Then why are you riding to school with Enrique every
day?”

I pursed my lips, bothered by the name-calling.

“You seem to be awfully quiet for someone who spends a lot of time with them,” Tommy
said.

The sip I had just swallowed got stuck as my throat contracted. It inched its way down with painful slowness. Afterward, when I could breathe again, I stood
up.

“See you guys later,” I
said.

Jett looked confused. “Where you
going?”

“For a
walk.”

Tita had already turned toward
me.

“It’s a blizzard out there,” Jett stated, bewildered.

“Well then, nothing will change, will
it?”

I pulled my coat on, gathered my stuff, and walked outside. I hadn’t expected this storm from such a calm morning. Strong wind pushed me toward the outside tables. I heard a whisper and spun to follow it, but the whizzing flakes created an opaque
wall.

Something grabbed my left arm, and I screamed.

“Zara!” Tita’s voice was almost mute in the storm, and I could barely see her through the tangled flurries. “Come
inside!”

She escorted me inside to an empty hall, where Lucas leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. He looked so dashing, all in black with his bright blue sneakers, and a part of me was mad that I was excited to talk to him
again.

“I let you go for one minute, and see what happens? I’m sorry, but I cannot grant your wish. You are stuck with me until this is all over. You’re coming home with me after
class.”

“Whatever.” I started walking in the opposite direction.

“Where are you going?” he
called.

“Back to class. I still have two more hours of
school.”

A gust of wind blew the damp hair off my shoulders. Lucas suddenly appeared in front of me, so close that I could smell his imported shampoo. There was spice in it. I took another deep breath to identify it as he leaned in with a
smirk.

“It’s the ginger,” he said with lazy eyes. “And no, I don’t import my shampoo from Brazil. You forget that I can hear
you.”

“Actually, I did
not
forget.” I rolled my eyes and pushed past him. He stopped in front of me again with another gust of wind, leaning in closer this
time.

“You are coming with me right now,” he ordered.

“What’s going on?” Jett remarked.

Lucas and I glanced at him, the snowflakes waging war behind his back as he approached. I stepped sideways.

“Nothing, Jett. Go away,” I
said.

Jett stopped at Lucas’s side and looked up with a territorial look. “Leave Zara
alone.”

Lucas raised his eyebrows with disbelief when I grabbed Jett’s arm quickly. “Jett, just go. Please.”

He shrugged my hand away and got in Lucas’s face. “
Comprende,
Fernando?”

“Jett, stop!”

Lucas tucked his fingers into fists. “If you ever touch Zara again, I will hurt
you.”

They were ridiculous. Blue versus green. It was a Jedi battle waiting to happen, both fighting over the same
possession
—though I was certain Jett would lose, and fairly quickly. Jett finally stepped away, preserving the remainder of his dignity, and turned to me with a bewildered expression. “I’m looking out for you, Zara. Be careful.” Then he turned back into the slushy wind and disappeared.

“We’re leaving. Now,” Lucas insisted.

My knees suddenly went weak. “How?”

He perked up, almost laughing. “I can carry you, or you can walk,” he
joked.

I groped for words as I followed him outside to the parking lot, where he shielded me from the storm with his jacket. It was toasty inside the car, but I observed that the storm gave us privacy as well. I couldn’t see past his speckled windshield.

“I’m sorry,” he said as he cranked the heat to the highest setting. “I never should have reacted the way I did. And I’m sorry I ever made you
cry.”

His eyes were swelling, but he chuckled ironically, tilting his head back as he looked up at the padded ceiling while his Adam’s apple moved slowly downward. He reached for his dark hair and tugged. “Know what’s funny? You wish to be rid of me, and I wish to be with
you.”

“Lucas, I don’t . . .”

He turned to me in our bubble. “My family admitted to me last night how much you cried. All those nights—” He choked. The lump in his throat stilled. He turned to the whiteout outside.