marks in his skin. Again. He certainly had plenty of scratches from last night, and I guaranteed we weren’t enjoying this as much. The tunnel was wide enough for me to walk beside him if I scrunched against his side. I could only hope he didn’t need room to fight.
Damp rot filled my nose—the stench of crumbling coffins, rotting cloth and flesh and moldered rats’ nests. As we entered the main chamber, I saw all that and more. Skeletons tumbled out, broken and mixed beyond recognition. It looked like the coffins had just exploded. Or perhaps something had torn them apart. Dark earth was scattered about, mixed in with the bodies.
Fresh dark earth.
I clamped my jaws together to keep my chattering teeth from clanking together.
“Something tore this place apart,” José said. His hands shook as badly as mine.
“The creature from last night must have passed through here.” Técun scanned the flashlight about the cavern, noting the different patches of fresh earth. Holes of light gleamed down from above. “Several others, I’m afraid. Although where they’ve gone we can only guess.”
“But you can kill them easily, right?” I sounded like a squeaky toy again. “You just ripped the thing’s head off last night. No big deal.”
“Because it was fresh from the grave. It hadn’t yet gained enough strength to truly cause harm.”
I probably didn’t want to know, but I had to ask. “So how does a fresh zombie gain strength? Braaaiiiins?”
He must not have gotten my joke, because he answered very seriously. “Preferably more blood than brains, although it’ll feast on any tissue—human or not, although it definitely prefers human—it can get its claws on. As soon as we return to the surface, we must inquire about any murders or disappearances last night. In this journal, did Leonor say where she’d buried Alvarado?”
“She said there was a Mayan temple beneath the cathedral. She said something about an altar and a hole or cave that they used to communicate with their ancestors.”
Técun shook his head. “Then we must go deeper.”
Barely biting back my cry of dismay, I latched on to his arm again. These stairs were slick with moss. Bugs and worms slithered everywhere. I shrank as tight and small as I could, pressing tightly to Técun. The skittering of claws and wings made my skin crawl. So many bugs. My stomach rolled.
“Loathsome things.” He scooped me up into his arms, and I couldn’t even protest the display of my weakness before his men. If one of those millipedes touched me, I’d run stark raving mad until I reached the United States again. Or maybe I’d keep running right on to Canada. “Whatever’s down here draws the creatures of darkness to him. Marco, Jorge, take the lead. Alert us to a possible ambush.”
The two Rojases brushed past us, one hand loaded with a flashlight, the other with a semiautomatic gun. I hoped guns worked against a zombie.
I pulled back to glare up at Técun. “Why don’t you have a gun?”
“My magic is more powerful than any human-made technology. Besides, I have the spear.” He touched a leather pouch strapped across his chest. “I hope to find Alvarado quickly, but I expect he’s already gone. He shall not be so easy to kill.”
I averted my eyes, pressing my face against his neck. I didn’t want to think about that spear. How I’d gotten it out of limbo or wherever my distant ancestor had hidden it. Let alone what the spear had done to him in the first place. “I still don’t understand why you need the weapon that killed you.”
“My blood makes it a powerful weapon, Cassie.” He shifted me lower and ducked against me. The tunnel must have gotten even tighter. Or maybe there was something extremely nasty that even he didn’t want to touch. For a moment we were falling and I almost screamed, but then his feet thudded hard, jolting my teeth.
He continued talking as if he hadn’t just jumped several feet. “This weapon gained some
Damp rot filled my nose—the stench of crumbling coffins, rotting cloth and flesh and moldered rats’ nests. As we entered the main chamber, I saw all that and more. Skeletons tumbled out, broken and mixed beyond recognition. It looked like the coffins had just exploded. Or perhaps something had torn them apart. Dark earth was scattered about, mixed in with the bodies.
Fresh dark earth.
I clamped my jaws together to keep my chattering teeth from clanking together.
“Something tore this place apart,” José said. His hands shook as badly as mine.
“The creature from last night must have passed through here.” Técun scanned the flashlight about the cavern, noting the different patches of fresh earth. Holes of light gleamed down from above. “Several others, I’m afraid. Although where they’ve gone we can only guess.”
“But you can kill them easily, right?” I sounded like a squeaky toy again. “You just ripped the thing’s head off last night. No big deal.”
“Because it was fresh from the grave. It hadn’t yet gained enough strength to truly cause harm.”
I probably didn’t want to know, but I had to ask. “So how does a fresh zombie gain strength? Braaaiiiins?”
He must not have gotten my joke, because he answered very seriously. “Preferably more blood than brains, although it’ll feast on any tissue—human or not, although it definitely prefers human—it can get its claws on. As soon as we return to the surface, we must inquire about any murders or disappearances last night. In this journal, did Leonor say where she’d buried Alvarado?”
“She said there was a Mayan temple beneath the cathedral. She said something about an altar and a hole or cave that they used to communicate with their ancestors.”
Técun shook his head. “Then we must go deeper.”
Barely biting back my cry of dismay, I latched on to his arm again. These stairs were slick with moss. Bugs and worms slithered everywhere. I shrank as tight and small as I could, pressing tightly to Técun. The skittering of claws and wings made my skin crawl. So many bugs. My stomach rolled.
“Loathsome things.” He scooped me up into his arms, and I couldn’t even protest the display of my weakness before his men. If one of those millipedes touched me, I’d run stark raving mad until I reached the United States again. Or maybe I’d keep running right on to Canada. “Whatever’s down here draws the creatures of darkness to him. Marco, Jorge, take the lead. Alert us to a possible ambush.”
The two Rojases brushed past us, one hand loaded with a flashlight, the other with a semiautomatic gun. I hoped guns worked against a zombie.
I pulled back to glare up at Técun. “Why don’t you have a gun?”
“My magic is more powerful than any human-made technology. Besides, I have the spear.” He touched a leather pouch strapped across his chest. “I hope to find Alvarado quickly, but I expect he’s already gone. He shall not be so easy to kill.”
I averted my eyes, pressing my face against his neck. I didn’t want to think about that spear. How I’d gotten it out of limbo or wherever my distant ancestor had hidden it. Let alone what the spear had done to him in the first place. “I still don’t understand why you need the weapon that killed you.”
“My blood makes it a powerful weapon, Cassie.” He shifted me lower and ducked against me. The tunnel must have gotten even tighter. Or maybe there was something extremely nasty that even he didn’t want to touch. For a moment we were falling and I almost screamed, but then his feet thudded hard, jolting my teeth.
He continued talking as if he hadn’t just jumped several feet. “This weapon gained some
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