Jaguar Sun (14 page)

“How are you?” he asked.

“Better,” I sighed. “Matt?”

“Yeah?”

“I want you to go ahead and do some guard duty with Richard.”

“Where did that come from?” he asked, propping himself up on an elbow.

“Well, when I overheard him speaking with Adriana in the other room, that’s what they were talking about. Adriana didn’t want me to worry about you. She was afraid it would break my concentration while I was working with her. Richard didn’t think so.”

“Well, will it? I’m all for contributing, but I don’t think I’d be helping out much by worrying you.”

“But you have a right to do it if you want to,” I argued.

“Sure, but that doesn’t mean that it’s the best thing for
us
. I can find other ways of helping out. There’s a ton of work that needs to be done around here.”

“Are you sure? Because Richard—”

“Hey, I’m not Richard. And I should have checked with you first. Right now we’re all on Team Maya. We need to be behind you.”

“Okay, well, just so you know it’s not always going to be that way.”

“I know, but for right now you’re just going to have to accept it or
else
,” he said, tickling me until I froze up in a little ball.

“I love you,” I said, snuggling into his chest.

“I love you, too, My.”

I lay there, awake and still thinking, long after I heard Matt’s breathing even out.

The weight on my shoulders was increasing. I had been a little nervous during the trip, but here everything around me seemed to remind me of what was expected of me (never mind the dangers). I mean, I had
guards
?
WTF?

Finally I decided to get up and call Grandma to let her know that we had arrived safely. The Yucatan peninsula ran only an hour ahead of New Mexico time, so I didn’t think it would be too late to call. I found my cell, opened the door quietly, and tiptoed out to the living room. All the lights were off, so I assumed that everyone had gone to bed.

“Oh, Maya,” she said when she answered, “I’m so glad you called. How was your trip down?”

“It was fine, just long,” I said, “How are you feeling?”

“Much better. I’ll be going home in the morning.”

“Grandma, isn’t there someone you could stay with for a while, so you won’t be alone?” I wanted to make sure that she would be okay after leaving the hospital, but I knew that deep down I was also worried about Toltec trying to get to her again. It still upset me to think about that first attack.

“I’ll be staying with Jack and his wife,” she said. “I think you’ve met them before.”

“I think so, once, a long time ago. I’m glad you have somewhere to go.”

“I’ll be fine. I don’t want you worrying about me. Are you settling in okay?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

She must have heard something in my voice. “What is it,
ts’unu’un
?”

“I’m starting to have more visions, Grandma. Really powerful ones. I could see and hear Adriana and Richard when they were talking in another room. Then I got so dizzy. I dunno. Adriana says we have to start working with
k’ul
right away.”

“I know it’s hard,” she said, “but try not to be afraid. When you are able to balance your energy better, those kinds of things will stop.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, honey, I am. Now you go and get some rest,
ts’unu’un
. You have a lot of work ahead of you.”

“Okay, Grandma. I love you.”

“I love you, too, sweetheart.”

I left my dad a quick voicemail to let him know we had arrived safely, then I turned my phone off. As I started to walk down the hallway, I stopped. A shadow moving in the kitchen startled me. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I realized that it was one of the shifters who had come in from duty after dinner. I could just barely make out the outline of his tall body and dark shoulder length hair. He said nothing as he turned and walked out into the moonlight.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

At breakfast the next morning, we all sat at the long table that ran directly down the center of the big kitchen, with Lyssa, Damian, Matt, and I at one end. We pretty much kept to ourselves. It was hard to get to know the other shifters, who lived in two big log cabin-style buildings at the back of the property. They were always taking their turns at guard duty, so when it came to meals, we sat at the table with a totally different configuration of people all the time. But this morning, I couldn’t help but notice the guy I had seen in the kitchen the night before. He was sitting across the table near the other end.

I watched him curiously as he tucked his hair behind one ear. He was very tan and was clearly Mayan or from some other Native American tribe. He was definitely tall, maybe a couple of inches taller than Matt, who was 6-1. I was wondering if he had overheard my conversation with Grandma the night before. Was I paranoid? He seemed much less threatening in daylight, but when he looked up and caught me looking at him, I quickly put my head down and grabbed my orange juice and took a long drink. When I looked back up, though, he was still staring at me.
Whatever
, I thought. I could appreciate that he was here to help, but he seriously needed to learn some manners. I looked at Matt, who was sitting to my right. He was looking directly at the guy.

After breakfast, boot camp started. Adriana led me down the hallway and through the room she shared with Richard. I was surprised to see that there was a sunroom off their bedroom. It was at the back of the house, so I hadn’t noticed it yet. The room was all windows except for the ceiling, and it was air conditioned so it was as comfortable as the rest of the house. And the view! It was beyond beautiful. There was a huge garden to the right where the most lovely irises, orchids, and plumeria grew, surrounded by guava, papaya, lemon, and orange trees.

“What kind of trees are the ones with the bright yellow flowers?” I asked Adriana.

“Those are called
lluvia de oro
. In English it means ‘rain of gold.’ But I think people call them golden shower trees.”

“I like the Spanish better,” I said, surprising myself.

“Me, too,” she agreed. “Well, I thought this would be the best place for us to work. It’s secluded, away from all the comings and goings of the rest of the house. And being surrounded by nature can often help us to connect to it. Now we’ve worked on some centering and meditation. The idea is that you need to learn to calm your inner noise, your thoughts, so that you can recognize the
k’ul
that flows through your body. Once you can do that, you will learn how to build power and use it.”

“That will stop it from going all wonky?”

“That and so much more, I promise. Today we’re going to work on grounding. It’s important to stay balanced so you stay in control. But first I want to explain portals.”

“Portals?”
Why did that sound familiar?

“Yes. When you activate a portal, you create a space that is sacred. That sacred space lets you pass into the celestial realm. That realm is where your personal
nagual
exists. Each time you phase, you are actually calling the spirit of your
nagual
through a portal so that it can share its power with you. Shifters have enough
k’ul
to be able to do that at will. Maya, you have an incredible amount of
k’ul
. I believe that you will be able to summon and use a portal or possibly even multiple portals any time you wish.”

“Really?” I was stunned. It finally came to me when I had heard about portals before. Grandma had mentioned them. But hadn’t she said that even the Elders needed to use ritual to open them?

“Wouldn’t I need to use a ritual to use a portal for something other than phasing?” I asked.

“That’s the traditional way to open one, but you will be able to do it without any ritual at all.”

“How do you know that?”

“I believe the portals are the source of your visions. They’re also what allowed you to be able to see and hear me talking to Richard yesterday. I think you’ve been opening portals without even realizing it. First, you learn how to harness your
k’ul
and open and close these portals at will. Once you can do that, you’ll be ready for what you’ll need to do on the day of the winter solstice.”

“The last day of the Mayan calendar.” I suddenly felt my stomach starting to churn.

“Exactly. You know, I’m picking up on a lot of stress coming from you. Let’s just forget about the solstice and focus on the task at hand, okay? I know that it’s scary, Maya, but once you get things under control, I think you’ll feel better.”

Maybe Adriana was right. I prayed she was right.

“Let’s start working on grounding. First, stand perfectly still. Don’t slouch. Stand up to your full height, like there’s a marionette string attached to the top of your head and holding you up.”

I straightened up. “Like this?”

“That’s perfect. Now close your eyes. Notice your breath as you breathe in clean air and breathe out what your body no longer needs. As you breathe in, visualize the air going down through your body, down your legs, and out through the bottoms of your feet. Imagine it connecting you to the earth and all the life that the soil contains. Continue downward, as though your connection to the earth is in long tendrils, like the roots on your mark. Okay, now imagine that your roots are opening up and allowing the earth’s energy to begin to move through them. Let it come up through your roots, entering your legs. Follow it through your torso and up into your arms. Can you feel it?”

Could I feel it?
I was positively vibrating. And it was collecting in me, stronger by the second. “Uh, Adriana, how much should I be feeling this?” I asked.

“It should feel like a gentle thrumming.”

Gentle? Not so much. I was totally suffused with power. The feeling was most intense in my hands. Without thinking, I opened my eyes and looked at them. They were
glowing.

“Uhh…Adriana,” I said, my voice filled with panic.

Adriana opened her eyes and looked at me. “Okay, I want you to lie down on the floor. Quickly. Put your body in contact with the ground as much as possible. Let any extra energy go back into the earth.”

I got down on my stomach and put my head down, my cheek against the floor. I watched as my hands slowly returned to normal and the pressure inside me calmed. After a couple of minutes, Adriana told me that I could sit up normally. I sighed with relief.

“Was that supposed to happen?”

“I’ve never seen it happen before,” she said, “but clearly you are capable of harnessing an amazing amount of energy.”

“Is there such a thing as too much
k’ul
?” I asked.

“There is, yes. Too much
k’ul
can be harmful, especially if you’re out of balance. But you weren’t, Maya. You were completely grounded. Clearly, you are strong enough to contain it.”

“What would have happened if I hadn’t sent it back down into the earth?”

“If you knew how to control it, you could use it. But you’re not there yet. Now that you’ve let go of the extra energy, can you feel a gentle thrum in your body?”

“Oh, yeah,” I said.

“Okay. Cross your legs and focus. Follow your breathing.”

I followed my breath as it passed in and out of my body. Slowly, my mind cleared.

“Tell me what you see,” Adriana said.

“I see…Matt. He’s over by the eastern wall. He’s talking to that shifter with the long dark hair.”

“Cesar? What are they saying?”

I let myself go deeper into the vision. They were…arguing.

“You heard me,
Matt was saying
. I wanna know what your deal is with Maya. You were staring at her at breakfast, and it’s not the first time.”

“So because you’re her mate you own her? Is that it?”
Cesar answered in accented English.

“No, I don’t own her. But if you’re doing something that I don’t like, I’m sure as hell gonna let you know.”

“And what exactly do you think is going on?”
Cesar asked.

“I’ve seen you watching her and I wanna know why,”
Matt repeated
.

“Is this a joke? So I looked at your mate. What are you going to do, gouge my eyes out?”

“Damn right!”

I could sense the energy coming off of him. “Oh, my God,” I exclaimed. “He’s gonna phase!” I ran to the porch door and pushed through it, then dashed in the direction of the eastern wall. I ran around the corner just in time to see Matt become Gray Wolf.