The Smoking Mirror (17 page)

“
Yes, very astute. Cede control to me, boy. Sit back and watch as I wreak havoc with your own hands
.”

Johnny-as-Huitzilopochtli reached up with his free hand and snapped a stalactite off the ceiling. It was like being a marionette. His limbs moved against his volition. His demigod body took several steps toward his mother, arms cocking the stalactite back like a baseball bat. His eyes focused on the woman at his feet. He felt a sick smile spread across his corpse-blue face.

No!

“
Oh, yes. She will die by your hand, boy
.”

Johnny gave a wordless howl of frustration. Clinging to his
tonal
, he reached deep, tapped the savage magic, channeled it against Tezcatlipoca’s
cehualli
intrusion. The god redoubled, tripled the strength of his magical puppeteering. Desperate, Johnny dug in his soul, frantically sweeping away everything that impeded the flow of
xoxal
: memories, emotions, identity. He became an unthinking conduit through which the savage magic swept like a massive flood, ripping at the foundations of his very self.

Blue energy erupted like a geyser from his flesh, knocking Tezcatlipoca down, ripping through the rock above their heads, tunneling upward through the roots of the World Tree to bore like a laser into the starry sky far above.

“
YES!
” Tezcatlipoca shouted, triumphant. “
Let it flow, Boy! Tear open a hole in heaven and let the end BEGIN!
”

The boy was a beacon. Power burned him clean of anything else but this. He saw the woman, twisted on the ground. He saw the girl, lifting herself up on her elbows, eyes full of tears. He saw the universe buckle. Soon it would crack. The boy saw no reason for it not to. Let it crack. Let it burn. Let darkness fall forever.

Then a small voice whispered. The boy ignored it, but it was insistent. Over and over it whispered a phrase. He listened, hoping that his attention would silence it.

At the end, remember who you are.

The boy thought for a moment. He could not remember who he was. He was the beacon, the conduit, the tool. That was all.  

The most important gift. It already lies within you.

But what was the gift? The boy had no idea. He did not know who he was. He had been burned clean of any gifts.

The universe groaned, ready to split asunder.

And then came a song. A beautiful, beautiful song, sung in bereft but loving tones by a familiar voice.

¡Oh madre querida!
¡Oh madre adorada!
Que Dios te bendíga,
aquí en tu morada.

Que Dios te conserve,
mil años de vida,
feliz y dichosa,
¡oh madre querida!

Sí estás dormidita,
escucha este canto,
que todos tus hijos,
convierten en llanto.

Tú que por tu hijos,
vives implorando,
en ti madrecita,
vivimos pensando.

Recibe el cariño,
de todos tus hijos,
que nunca en la vida,
podrán olvidarte.

Sí estás escuchando,
podrás alegrarte,
que todos tus hijos,
vienen a cantarte.

Tú nombre es María,
y no hallan que darte,
se sienten dichosos,
al felicitarte.

And with a shuddering rush, the boy recognized his mother, the woman who had loved him more than anyone for as long as he had lived. She had given him his name, and she would whisper it to him every night, thinking him asleep.
Te quiero, Juan Ángel
.
Tu madre te quiere mucho.

“I remember who I am,” he muttered wonderingly, looking at Tezcatlipoca, whose smile began to fade. “I’m Juan Ángel Garza. Son of Verónica and Oscar. Brother of Carolina. And the gift I already have…it’s their love. Their
love
. And…the love I feel for them. You can’t touch that, can you?”

Tezcatlipoca stood but said nothing. Taking the love Carol’s singing had awakened, Johnny shut off the savage magic. Dropping the stalactite, he shifted back into human form and tossed the shield aside.

“Kill us if you want,” he said quietly. “But I’m not going to help you destroy the universe. You lose, freak. Game over.”

Tezcatlipoca stared at him wordlessly for a moment. Then he drew his hands out from beneath the jaguar robe. In his right he gripped a long, curved obsidian knife. Johnny looked down at his mother, knelt beside her. She was still breathing. Carol, pulling her t-shirt back on, crouched beside him and smiled sadly.

“Thanks,” he told her, reaching for her hand.

She nodded. Looking over his shoulder at Tezcatlipoca, she addressed the dark god. “We’re ready. Get it over with.”

His laugh was not unexpected. Johnny ignored it, stroking his mother’s tangled hair.
Soon we’ll find out what our path to Beyond is, Mom. The three of us, together.

Moments stretched into minutes. Unexpectedly, the thrumming of the mirror began, and Johnny turned to see Tezcatlipoca activating his portal.

“
I see by the look in your eyes that you are utterly bewildered. Good. My faith in your stupidity is not unfounded, I see. You believe that I have lost, that this ‘game’ has concluded. Eventually you will comprehend that everything that has occurred has been according to my plan. I have orchestrated your every step.
”

Johnny quailed inwardly, but scoffed and spat. “Whatever. You almost brought about the star demon apocalypse or whatever. We shut you down. Period.”

“
Foolish boy. Do you not understand that you would have been destroyed by so much
xoxal
long before you could have broken open the Tzitzimime’s prison? You are not strong enough to fulfill the destiny I have prepared for you. But you are much closer than you were scant days ago. With time I will shape you, boy, into precisely the tool I require. And when you are ready, I plan to wield you effortlessly. In fact, I suspect you will beg me to use you to bring about the end of this world that my brother so stupidly strives to preserve. You will turn your back on him, on your sister, on your parents, and willingly aid me
.”

Johnny stood, his eyes stinging. “It’ll…it’ll be a cold day in hell…” he began.

“
Indeed it will.
” Tezcatlipoca pulled his jaguar cape tight about him and stepped into the smoking mirror, disappearing in a black swirl.

In the silence that followed, Johnny turned to Carol, tears streaming down his face.

“Never. You hear me?
Never
. I’ll kill myself first. And if I can’t, you’re going to have to, Carol.”

Chapter Nineteen

Carol balked at her brother’s request.
I couldn’t ever kill him. Not even if he were about to destroy the planet
. When she’d seen him standing there, that column of blue light bursting from his transformed body, the shape of Huitzilopochtli that he had so stupidly assumed, she had felt only fear for him. She loved him too much to do anything but try to bring him back with her
cuicuani
singing magic. The thought of using her abilities to end his life…it was impossible.

“No one,” their mother breathed, “is going to kill anyone. Not even themselves.”

She shifted briefly into her jaguar form to heal her wounds, and then she became human again. Her hair hung straight and long, and her skin glowed beautifully. Sitting up, she brushed dust from her blouse.

“That monster kept me from shifting for months. I feel much better now. Still could use a hot shower,
pero ni modo
.”

They helped her to her feet. Johnny ducked his head in shame.

“Mom, I’m sorry.
Perdóname.
”

“Shh
. Ya.
We’re all fine now.”

“But you heard what he said,” Johnny whispered. “He planned all of it. And he’s going to do more. He’s going to make me…”

She put two fingers against his lips, silencing him. “He can’t make you do anything you don’t want to, Juan Ángel. And when it comes time to face him again, you won’t be alone. There are many people that fight his schemes. You are in good company, I promise you.”

Carol felt weirdly jealous.
Why didn’t Tezcatlipoca attack me with
cehualli?
Why was he so totally focused on Johnny? Is it…because I’m a girl? That’s really stupid.

Johnny seemed to sense her jumbled-up emotional state. “Carol, I think he knew he could make me snap faster, you know? That’s why he focused all his attention on me. And he knew you are my balance, so he tried knocking you out. Doesn’t know how stubborn you can be, though. Thanks.” His eyes went serious but soft. “I would’ve burned myself out from the inside. I had no control. But you sang for me, Sis. You made me focus on Mom and stuff. You saved me.”

Without warning, he threw his arms around her and squeezed. “Thanks,” he muttered thickly into her hair. Carol hugged him back.

“Okay,” she said, looking at her mother. “What’s next?”

“Well, we need to get out of here.”

“Like Carol said, we can’t go back,” Johnny warned.

“I know. So…” Their mother gestured at the opening in the far wall. A dark path made its way to the threshold and beyond. “Let’s see what’s at the very center, kids.”

The passageway they entered was brief. It opened onto an even vaster chamber ceilinged in living wood.
The World Tree
, Carol realized.
We’re right beneath it
.

There were three other passageways that debouched into the cavern, and from each a different path emerged: red, green, white. All the paths, including the black one they had been following, converged at the center of the chamber, which was dominated by an enormous stone-lipped well that coruscated with light from deep within and illuminated the entire space with a dappled glow. As Carol watched, dozens of brilliant, sparkling masses came streaming along each path and poured themselves into the roiling luminosity at the very heart of Mictlan.

“They’re souls, no?” Johnny muttered. “Passing Beyond. Everything Tezcatlipoca made people fear is a lie. They aren’t destroyed. He can’t snuff them.”

Carol heard something then. Tilting her head, she tried to listen more closely.

“¿
Qué pasa, amor
?” her mother asked. “Are you okay?”

“Don’t you hear that? It’s…music.”

The portals of her soul opened, and the song rolled in on majestic swells of sweet bliss. There were no words. It was a hymn of completion, of satisfaction, of long-needed rest.
Hope
, she felt.
And love. Eternal epiphany. Unity. Peace.

Dropping to her knees, she stared at the well, overcome.

“What?” Johnny asked, crouching beside her, worry on his face. “What’s wrong?”

She looked at him and smiled. “Nothing, Johnny. Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s going to be fine. No matter what comes. We’ll all be okay.”

Her mother tousled her hair lovingly and looked around. “I’m not sure what road we should take, kids. Any suggestions?”

“I’d opt for the Green Road, were I you.”

Carol lifted her eyes. Walking through the entrance along the green path was Xolotl in his human form. His blue eyes twinkled in the shimmering light. Souls streamed past him on either side.

“Nice of you to join us,” Johnny said with a smirk. “I mean, I guess I understand. Mrs. Four-in-One told us you couldn’t make it through Xibalba. But, man, we sure could’ve used some help.”

“Johnny,” muttered Carol. “That’s not fair. We had lots of help.”

“And the rest you handled splendidly.” Xolotl gestured for them to approach him. Carol stood and the three walked in a semicircle around the Well of Souls. “You were incredible. Despite all that assailed you, you held fast to your own identities and to the love that makes your family strong. You are truly heroes, my children, and we are proud of your steadfastness.”

“Yeah, uh, we also kicked some major butt,” Johnny added with a half-smile as they reached Xolotl’s side.

“That you did, Juan Ángel. That you did.”

Their mother was staring at the man with eyes wide. Carol noticed with surprise that her bottom lip was actually trembling.

“Are you…
Him
?”

Xolotl eyes grew soft, and he reached out to touch her head in a fatherly gesture. “No, Verónica. Or, rather, just a small part of him. But he sees you dear. And so does his mother. They’re ever watchful.”

Carol wasn’t sure what the two of them meant, but there was little time for deciphering. Xolotl nodded firmly and turned away.

“We’ve a need for speed, so you’ll have to cling tightly. Riding the Green can be…treacherous.”

He shifted into his giant hound form, and Carol soon found herself boosted into place upon his broad back, her mother and brother behind her.

“Say goodbye to Mictlan, children. I suspect you’ll never tread this realm again.”

Scoffing, Johnny said, “Good riddance.”

Their mother whispered something unintelligible.

Carol was silent, but as the massive dog began to run along the green path, through the strange caverns of Chicunamictlan, she thought she might not mind taking this road Beyond. At the very least, she hoped that Tezcatlipoca’s hold on the place would loosen now so that its ancient function—preparing souls for the next stage—could continue in peace.

Then they were at the circular lake, and the water surged green and pure from the inky depths, lifting Xolotl high and bearing them at impossible speeds back along the Nine Deserts. Each of those levels of Mictlan became a blur beneath them, muted by speed and the foaming liquid. Carol clung tightly to Xolotl, burying her face in his short, red hair. Her mother’s arms were about her. The wind whistled by loudly. It was impossible to hear anything, except the echoes of that haunting song that had risen from the Well of Souls.

~~~

Finally, the wave slowed and dipped, splashing broadly into the waters of Chignahuapan. Xolotl paddled the rest of the way to shore, where the Green Road terminated in the strange, roiling curtain that divided this dimension from theirs.

“I wish this could be the end of it for them,” their mother said, somewhere between stern and hopeful. “Johnny is very worried about the lies Tezcatlipoca told him.”

Xolotl nodded his shaggy head. “I understand. But they are special. You knew it when they were born. We will work to protect them, to keep the struggle far away. But the Lord of Chaos has designs for them, and they must be prepared.”

“I can prepare them,” their mother said, nodding to herself. “I’ll teach them everything my mother and the
tzapame
showed me.”

“I had assumed nothing less. But, Verónica, you know nothing of the savage magic they can wield. No one does. Not I, not Tezcatlipoca, not Quetzalcoatl or the Blessed Mother. We have inklings of how it might be triggered, we understand its implications for this world, but we cannot use it directly. Even if were permitted to us, we do not have the lore required.”

Carol could sense the frustration in her mother. The woman shook her head in disbelief. “Well, who does?”

Xolotl glanced upward. “You would have to ascend to uppermost branches of the World Tree, to Omeyocan itself, to find an answer to that question.”

Johnny made a dismissive sound and smirk. “In other words, we’re on our own.”

“In terms of learning to wield
xoxal
, yes.”

Carol felt impatience rising in her. She touched her mother’s arm. “We’ll figure it out together. But there’ll be time for that. Can we please just go home? Dad’s probably freaking out.
Tía
Andrea, too.”

Verónica nodded. “So what do we do?”

Xolotl nudged the gray curtain with his muzzle. “Push through at this point. You’ll emerge in the mountains again, close to Monterrey.”

Carol reached out and touched the hound’s short, red fur. “Thank you, Xolotl. We owe you.”

Their guide grinned. “Oh, the debt is mine, child. Ours. You have risen to the challenges and foiled the dark plans of chaos for a time. Now, go. Enjoy your lives. Love one another. Rejoice in the beauty of the world you’ve protected.”

Johnny stepped toward the curtain, reaching back for his mother’s hand. She grabbed a hold of him and clasped Carol’s hand as well.

“Goodbye, Mictlan,” Carol muttered. She felt the slightest inexplicable twinge of regret.

Then Johnny pushed through the gray, pulling them after him.