Mayan Blood (10 page)

Chapter Ten

Zanya

Zanya darted up the stairs to her room, where she found a note tacked to her door.

The seeker has arrived. Please come see me as soon as you get in.—Renato

She didn’t care about the seeker, or Renato’s note. All she wanted was to see her best friend, tell her about what happened, and hopefully make some sense of it all.

He wanted to kiss her.

Why?

More importantly, why did she want him to? She’d leaned into him.

Zanya palmed her forehead. “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.”

She walked through the house, into the west wing—the most likely place Tara would be. But she was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Peter.

Something thumped overhead from the floor above. Zanya's gaze climbed the stairs that led to the bedrooms. “Tara?”

There was no reply.

She slowly scaled the steps, listening when she reached the second floor. “Tara?” She knocked on one of the doors. Zanya's gut wrenched. Just because her friend believed Peter was respectable, didn’t mean it was true, or a risk Zanya was willing to take.

Another noise thumped from inside another room. Zanya crept to the next door and listened. “Tara?” More shuffling noises. If her friend was in trouble, invading their privacy was the least of her concerns. Zanya turned the knob and shoved open the door.

Her skin turned clammy and the warmth drained from her face.

A boy with dirty blond hair and crystal blue irises shot up to his feet, his strong arms and lean body tense.

Zanya's eyes widened and she stumbled back, slamming her back into the wall. “Jayden.” She slid down the wall and cradled her head in her hands, swallowing down the nausea clawing up her throat. It had to be another bad dream. This couldn’t be happening.

“Zanya, are you all right?” Jayden crouched beside her and rested his hand on her shoulder. Her gaze dragged from his hand and up his forearm, now covered in tattoos.

“Do. Not. Touch. Me.” She narrowed her eyes as, raw, untamable heat bellowed in her gut. She slapped his hand away. “I said, don’t touch me!” She pushed to her feet, hands balled into tight fists. “Don’t you ever touch me! What the hell are you doing here? Who brought you here? Is this some kind of sick joke?”

“No, Zanya, calm down and I’ll explain.” He backed up a few steps, out of striking distance.

She jabbed her finger in the air. “Don’t you dare tell me to calm down! You just disappear one day without so much as a good-bye, a note, a screw-you-I’m-leaving, and
you’re
telling
me
to calm down?”

Arwan was the first to reach them, followed close behind by Tara and Peter. When Tara rounded the corner, she came to a screeching halt. Her jaw dropped open. Peter ran into the back of her in the crowded hallway.

“Okay then.” Jayden turned his attention back to Arwan. “Since we’ve had the great pleasure of meeting already, I guess introductions aren’t necessary.”

“Am I the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on?” Peter asked.

“Apparently so. I’m Jayden, the seeker. Your boss asked for my help to find the stone.”

“How did you find this place?” Arwan said.

“Well, that’s a funny thing.” He squared his stance. “I called to see how things were going, and your boss told me Zanya had been here for a few days already.”

“You know each other?” Zanya’s gaze darted between Jayden and Arwan.

Jayden scoffed. “Unfortunately.”

Suddenly the heat fueling the fire in her chest fizzled out, replaced by a fierce cold that left her trembling and unable to stand. She slumped against the wall, the reality of the situation slowly sinking in. Tara shoved through the hall and hooked her arm around Zanya's waist, supporting her the best she could.

Jayden shifted toward Zanya and reached out.

“Don’t, Jay.” Tara held her hand out in front of her. “Just, don’t.”

He lowered his arm to his side. “I didn’t mean to scare anyone.”

Arwan shifted closer to Jayden, his glare intensified. “I don’t know why she’s so upset you’re here, but if you bother her, you will regret it.”

After a few tense moments, Arwan turned toward Zanya.

Zanya’s body trembled. “I really can’t do this right now.”

“I don’t understand,” Arwan said.

“Yeah.” Tara cleared her throat. “About that.” She leaned in and whispered in Arwan’s ear.

***

Arwan

Arwan waited in the study with the rest of the group. He glared across the room at the seeker. The same seeker he hadn’t wanted there to begin with, even before Tara told him who he really was.

Zanya's ex-boyfriend.

No wonder she was hysterical. Now it all made sense. Her apprehension. The fleeting comments of still having a broken heart. The seeker had hurt her.

Tara was the first to arrive, Zanya following close behind. Arwan stood and walked toward them. Her eyes were red and glossed over, no doubt from crying.

Zanya stared over his shoulder. He turned to see the seeker walking toward them. Arwan’s jaw tightened. If the seeker were smart, he’d watch every word that came out of his mouth.

Arwan’s attention snapped back to Zanya. He sensed her heartbeat now in rapid fire.

Something was wrong.

“She has a small problem with panicking,” Tara said discretely. Zanya swayed on her feet. “Okay, maybe not so small.” Tara steadied Zanya. “Just think of something else—one of your music pieces. What’s the name of that one you like so much, from that Gadsuit song?”

Zanya clutched her chest. “
The Gadfly Suite
.”

“Whatever. Think of that.”

Jayden pushed between them. Arwan stepped aside, more for Zanya's sake than anything. They may have needed the seeker’s help, but if he caused any problems, Arwan wouldn’t hesitate to force him to leave. A part of him wanted it to come down to that.

“Zanya.” Jayden leaned and spoke in a low voice. “I know this is a lot for you, but I can explain if you just give me a chance.”

Zanya jerked away from his touch. Arwan stepped closer. “Not right now.” Zanya clung to Tara. “I really need to sit down.”

As she walked toward the sitting area, the seeker grabbed her by the arm and spun her around. “Zanya, I—”

Arwan clenched Jayden’s forearm so tight, the color flooded from his knuckles. The seeker let go of Zanya, his eyes narrowed at the vise grip.

“She said no.” Arwan silently dared him to protest. His mother had told him to protect the guardian, and he would, against
anyone
.

Jayden’s sharp gaze met his. “I suggest you let go of me, right now.”

Arwan tightened his grip. “Or what?”

“Gentlemen.” Arwan looked over his shoulder at Renato, who stood beside his desk, pipe in hand. “Shall we get started?”

Arwan released the seeker. Jayden gave one last threatening glare, then turned back to Zanya. “We’ll talk later, when we have a little more privacy.”

They all sat—everyone on edge and waiting for an explanation. Renato finally broke the silence. “As you are all aware, the seeker has arrived.”

“Excuse me,” Tara eyed Jayden like some kind of alien life form. “But what is a seeker, exactly?”

Jayden laced his fingers and leaned forward. “A seeker can see someone, even if they’re far away. Not the past or the future. I can only see what’s happening right now, in the present—anyone at any time, the only restriction being that I need to have a solid memory of that person. They call it
seeking
.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me who you are?” Zanya said.

“I wanted to, but I couldn’t.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Why not?”

“First of all, you never would have believed me. How was I supposed to tell you I can see people who are thousands of miles away? You would’ve thought I was crazy.”

“At least I wouldn’t think you’re a liar.” Her words were laced with clear resentment. The seeker looked away. “So you ran away from the orphanage, and then what? Renato said he asked for help, so how does he know you? And how did you know who I am? I mean, who I really am?”

Arwan’s shoulders grew heavy with dread. Everyone in the room understood what she meant, but only he and Renato knew the depth of their search for her. How much it took, and how many people were involved.

“I was sure you were the guardian from years of tracking,” Renato explained, “but until Jayden reported back with the confirmation, and I then confirmed myself when I posed as your music teacher, I couldn’t be sure. You have to understand.” Renato ran his hands down his face, fatigue deepening the creases etched around his eyes. “All of the false leads. All of the years of searching, wasted. We had to be sure.”

Zanya shifted in her seat, her gaze darting from Jayden to Renato. “What do you mean he had to—” Zanya lips parted.

Arwan had never been truly disappointed in his mentor, but setting her up for this wasn’t right. Even if it was a small sacrifice for the greater good.

“You planted Jayden in the orphanage to spy on me?” Her voice cracked.

Jayden slid to the edge of his seat. “Zanya, it’s not like that.”

“How could you?” She shot out of her chair, glaring viciously at Renato. “You told Jayden to get close to me. To make me care about him just so he could identify me? And then…” She covered her mouth with her hand. A tear rolled over the bumps of her fingers. She looked at Jayden. “That’s how you left. You never really cared.”

***

Zanya

Zanya ran out of the study, through the house, and all the way to the beach. She sprinted as quickly as she could, pouring her anger and confusion into fueling her feet to move faster than she thought possible.

Once she passed the cliffs, she slowed her pace. Her lungs burned, and a sharp pain stabbed into her ribs. Ahead of her were caves, casting a shadow over the sparkling sand. The gaping mouth of the entrance greeted her with an eerie chill. Nearly as tall as a two-story building, it was an enormous hole with only darkness to fill it.

She huffed and sat on a rock near the opening. Some alone time was good. Necessary, even. Her life had gone from a nightmare to a fairytale, to being the punch line of a cruel joke.

The first boy she’d ever loved was a spy. He probably never even cared about her. It was all just part of the job. A searing pain thrashed through her chest as she remembered how badly it hurt when he left. Just like that, in the middle of the night. No good-bye. No explanation. She lived in a haze of shock for weeks after, though in hindsight, the shock was better than the tidal wave of emotions that followed. She’d take shock any day.

She rested her hand over her heart and hung her head. None of it mattered now. She didn’t know him anymore. Maybe she never had.

Zanya picked up a few pebbles and tossed them into the sea. The last one was light, dry, and porous. She held it up and rolled it between her fingers. Driftwood maybe. She buried her feet into the silky sand and unearthed more shards like it. Her foot bumped into a large piece, and she pulled it up, only to drop it back to the ground.

Long bones, buried in the sand—splintered, chewed, and very much human.

Bile rose in her throat. She jumped and frantically teetered over the maze of uneven rocks, but lost her balance and slammed to the ground.

Wheezing seeped from deep inside the cave’s darkness. A foul stench filled the air. Her heart dropped at the sight of a brown, shriveled form crawling into the sunlight. It dragged its body over the jagged rocks. The creature’s white, veiny eyes darted about in search of its target.

Zanya screamed and bolted in the opposite direction. She made it only a few steps before it caught her by the ankle and yanked her back down. Dragging her through the sand, its gurgles formed into barely discernible words. “Ssstone Guard-ian.” Thousands of pointed, stained teeth lined the inside of its mouth like a monstrous shark. The beast stood to the height of two men, its bony chest sunken in, covered with thick skin that was wrinkled and split.

Zanya screamed and kicked, trying to break free as it dragged her toward its froth-smeared jaws.

A booming voice sounded like a clap of thunder. “
Muertos vivientes
!” Arwan stood with his weapon—a long, wooden stick with a curved blade on the end, glinting with the sun’s reflection. The creature released her ankle and dragged its long arms back to its body.

“Who has raised you?” Arwan demanded.

The monster’s voice slithered from between its teeth. “Sarian brought me forth.”