Accidentally in Love With a God (2012) by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

off Arturo who was about to answer, “All I can tell you is that my sister was sent away when she was five. The elders feared she’d be taken.” She glared at Guy as she spoke. “Shortly after, the Maaskab began watching our village. They still do. And when we saw Emma, we recognized her immediately and called the other elders to decide what to do.”
    “Who’s your sister?” I asked Rosa frantically.
    Guy held up his index finger to silence me. I was about to give him a few choice words, but he cut me off with his powerful, lulling voice. “Are women still being taken”—he paused—“by the man ?”
    The man? Great. More secret code. This is getting ridiculous.
    The couple shook their heads. “No,” Rosa said. “But we hear the Maaskab have been taking young women from remote villages as far south as Nicaragua.”
    “Or they hunt anyone who carries the gene,” Arturo added, looking directly at me. “Although, I imagine there are few left.”
    I swallowed hard. “Will someone please explain what the hell is going on?” I whined.
    Rosa placed a warm hand on my arm. “Your grandmother, Gabriela, was born here. She was my older sister. The Maaskab want you because like her, you are a first born female. You carry the bloodline of—”
    “Enough!” Guy slammed his fist on the table.
    Enough? I carried something in my blood. Guy’s “bad people,” who I assumed were the Maaskab, wanted me for some horrible reason. And this woman was apparently my missing grandmother’s sister. But he was yelling “enough”?
    “You have no right,” I screamed. “I need to know what’s going on!”
    Arturo shook his finger at Guy. “You’ve brought the girl back here! The Maaskab probably spotted her already. And what they can’t see, their wards will detect.”
    “She’s in no danger from a few crazy priests as long as she’s with me,” said Guy.
    “Humph!” huffed Rosa. “You arrogant fool. Where have you been, locked in a cave?”
    “Actually, a cenote,” I pointed out.
    “Since 1940,” added Guy.
    I turned to him. “Since 1940? Why am I not surprised you left that detail out?” I did some quick math. That would mean he’d met my grandmother when she was a small child.
    Guy flashed me an irritated look. “Sorry to have forgotten such an important detail, Princess Emma, but I was busy…being cursed underwater!”
    “So? Why the hell does that matter?” I replied. “It’s not like you were doing anything other than annoying the crap out of me…” my speech trailed off as my mind hit a wall. Had he really been trapped underwater for seventy-plus years? What the hell was he? And what the hell was going on? This couldn’t be real. It just couldn’t be. Maybe I was still back in New York, lying comatose in a hospital and this was all a dream.
    Rosa shook her head. “The Maaskab have grown. There are thousands now—not including those who are loyal to them. The only thing keeping this girl safe was that they didn’t know she existed. But now, that’s likely over, and they’ll track her.”
    “Sure. Why the hell not?” I threw my hands in the air.
    “Haven’t the others been trying to stop them?” Guy asked cryptically.
    “Others?” Rosa questioned. “What others? We haven’t seen any of you for sixty years, maybe longer.”
    Guy rubbed his stubble covered chin. “I need to return,” he said. “I have to find out what’s happened to them.” He stared down at me, his bright, turquoise eyes narrowing in contemplation. “I need to put you somewhere safe. You can’t stay here.”
    “This insane conversation is going nowhere. You people aren't interested in giving me any answers, so I see no point in sticking around, either. And since I’m pretty sure none of this is real anyway, I’ll just be dreaming my way home now. If I’m not dreaming, then I’ll need a good shrink. There are plenty in New York.” I started for the door.
    “Emma, this isn’t a dream,” he lowered his