Jaguar Sun (19 page)

“Sure. I’ll wait for you on the sun porch.”

I headed across the hall, grabbed my cell and started dialing.

“Maya, oh, honey,” she said when she picked up, “I’m so glad you called. I’ve been worried something might happen to you.”

“I’m sorry, Grandma. Things have just been a little crazy here.”

“I’m sure they have. How are your studies going?”

“Okay, I guess. I’m learning about opening and closing portals and the different amounts of energy I need to do different things.”

“It sounds like you’ve been working very hard,
ts’unu’un
.”

“Yeah.” I paused. I had to tell her more. “And then there’s some, well, weird stuff happening. Like today I found out that I can speak pretty much any language.” I felt myself trying to hide the sudden fear I felt at saying it out loud. Seriously, I think it would have freaked anyone out, but me? Come on. After three years of Spanish, I could barely remember how to do basic greetings. Now, suddenly I have mad skills? I mean, some things just go against nature.

“Are you all right, Maya? There’s no need to be afraid, sweetheart. You have been very blessed.”

“Grandma, I…I’m scared.” My eyes were growing watery and a huge lump was forming in my throat. “Everything’s happening so fast. I feel like I don’t even recognize myself anymore.”

“Are you asking
Balam
for the strength to bear your gifts?”

“I guess I haven’t been.” As we talked, I left out the part where someone was trying to break my connection to Balam. It was over now, and I didn’t want to worry her.

“Try to remember to ask
Balam
, honey. You will need great courage and strength of spirit to accomplish all that is being asked of you.”

“Yeah, that’s what scares me the most. The solstice is a little over a week away. What if I’m not ready? What if I can’t do it?”

“Everyone fears the future sometimes,
ts’unu’un
. But you must choose faith over fear. Faith that you’ve been chosen because you can do what is being asked of you. And most of all, faith in yourself.”

“I’ll try,” I said.

“I know you will,
ts’unu’un
. I love you.”

“I love you too, Grandma.”

As soon as I hung up, I found my incense burner and filled the little tray with
copal
. As the resin melted, I purified myself with its sweet incense.

“
Balam
,” I whispered, “you are my spirit guide. I ask that you send me the courage to accept your many gifts. Help me to be worthy of your blessings. Lend me your strength when I am afraid.
Balam,
show me how to leave the past behind and teach me how not to be fearful of the future. Please make me worthy of the trust of my friends and the love of my mate. And may I continue to be one with my Jaguar soul.”

As I finished, I began to feel a lightness of heart, and a new strength of spirit filled me from head to toe. I realized then that what had happened during the attacks really had damaged my connection to my guide. I was so glad to have it back, I actually caught myself grinning at nothing in particular. I blew out the little candle and set the burner on the windowsill to cool.

As I walked back to Adriana’s sun porch, I felt hopeful and energized. It was as if all the fear had left me and been replaced by a new determination. I walked through the bedroom and out onto the sun porch. As always, the garden greeted me with its burst of colors. Adriana was sitting on the floor, her eyes closed. I sat down quietly and waited for her to finish her meditation. After a few minutes, she opened her eyes and smiled.

“Thank you for waiting, Maya. You look like a whole new person. That must have been a good talk you had with your grandmother.”

I smiled again. “Yeah, and I took a few minutes to reconnect with my
nagual
too. I guess the physical damage from the attacks was pretty obvious, but now I feel so much better, you know, spiritually,” I said.

“I’m glad. You’ve come a long way in a very short time. Okay, today the first thing we really need to do is talk about what December 21
^st
is going to be like. It’s approaching fast. I want you to start preparing yourself. So let me share what our plans look like, and if you have any questions, feel free to jump in, okay?”

“Okay.”

“This compound is southeast of Valladolid. Right at sunup we’ll head to the Chichen Itza museum. On any solstice, the grounds would be teaming with people. But on the day the Mayan Calendar ends, it’ll be wall to wall. But that’s actually going to work in our favor. It will be more difficult for Toltec’s people to spot us.”

“That makes sense,” I said, but my stomach gave a squeeze.

“Now, most of the shifters will already be at the museum when we get there. That way, they can enter in a scattered manner with the rest of the crowds. You will enter the museum with Matt and Cesar. Richard and I will be waiting for you at—”

“Wait, wait. I’ll be with Matt and Cesar? Is that a good idea?”

“Cesar is by far our most capable shifter. He also grew up near the museum, so he knows every inch of that park. And I think we both know that neither one of them would do anything to put you in danger.”

Huh?

“Look, I know that you and Matt are mated. Cesar knows that too. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about you.”

“But, how is that possible? I mean…shifters mate for life, right?” I was starting to get all squirmy and uncomfortable.

“That’s right. But Cesar hasn’t found his yet. He will in time, but until then, he’s entitled to his crush as much as the next person.”

His crush?
Totally mortified, I felt my face get all hot. I did the only thing I could. I changed the subject.
Fast
.

“So where will you be waiting for me?” I asked, oh, so smoothly.

She handed me a folded sheet of paper. “Here, I brought Richard’s map just to give you an idea of how the museum is laid out. We’ll be waiting here, inside the Jaguar Temple by the Great Ball Court. We’ll be right there, on the first floor. It’s not far from the museum entrance. It’s just across from El Castillo.”

“That’s the main pyramid, right? The famous one with all the stairs?”

“Right. That’s your target. Together, Matt, Cesar, Richard, and I will get you to the bottom of El Castillo. And that’s where things get tricky…. No one has been allowed to climb up the steps to the top of the pyramid for the last five years. For safety reasons.”

“Then how will I be able to do it?”

“By that time, all the shifters will have collected at the base of the pyramid with us. They will find you an opening, and once they do, you’ll have to make a break for it.”

“You mean…run up the steps?” Clearly she had no idea who she was talking to.

“You’ll have to. Carefully. And it’s not going to be easy. The steps are steep, and there are almost a hundred of them.”

Holy hell
. I had a sudden flash of myself trying to run the bleachers in gym class, and it wasn’t pretty. I wasn’t like Matt or the twins. I’d never been what you’d call athletic.

“Once you get to the top,” Adriana continued, ignoring my reactions, “you will have to go into the High Temple at the top where you can’t be seen. There you will open a portal and move yourself to its roof.”

“Wait.”
What?
“But I never know where anything I move is going to end up. I can’t control it like that.”

“But you will. You’re almost there now.” She gave me a reassuring smile.

Grandma had told me to rely on
Balam’s
strength. “Okay,” I finally said.

“Actually,” Adriana said, “I wanted to move forward with that today. I’d like you to work on focusing on an object in a remote location, opening a portal, and bringing it to you. So let’s start out by grounding ourselves, and then we’ll begin.”

It didn’t take long for me to realize I was going to have some trouble grounding my energy. After what we’d just talked about, I couldn’t seem to focus. Images of what the solstice might be like kept coming to mind and I would have to push them away again. I was pretty sure that Adriana could tell, because it took me longer than usual to center myself.

“All set?” I heard her ask.

“I think so,” I said, feeling the energy surging through my body.

“Okay. I want you to think of something in your room. Don’t make it too hard. Choose something that’s in a very obvious place.”

I pictured my hair brush on the bathroom counter. “Okay, got it,” I said.

“Now build your power while continuing to focus on the object.”

Moments later I heard a thunk. I opened my eyes. My brush had landed right at my feet!

“Excellent, Maya! That was great, really great!” Adriana wrapped her arms around me.

“Yeah, not bad.” I had to admit it, it was pretty awesome. I hadn’t expected to get it on the first try.

“Tomorrow, you get to move
you
,” she said.

That sent chills down my back. We practiced for a while longer, but we were interrupted when my cell started to ring. I picked it up and looked at it. “It’s my dad,” I said. “I need to take this.”

Adriana nodded and left the porch.

“Hey, Dad!”

“Hi, honey! How are you? How’s the trip?”

“It’s been just…really, really busy. And exciting! I’m so sorry for not trying to call you more.”

“It’s fine, sweetheart. Rosa has called a couple of times when you’ve been on day trips to let me know that things are okay.”
Yes! Way to go, Grandma!

“It’s been…a real experience, Dad. I’m so glad you let me come.”

“That’s great, Maya. Listen, I’m pulling into the lot on campus. Make sure you take lots of pictures and stay safe.”

“I will. I really miss you, Dad.”

“Miss you too, honey. Bye-bye.”

Man, was he in for a shock when I had no pictures of my long-lost Mayan relatives to share when I got home. I still felt so guilty about lying to him, and I knew that there was a possibility that he would never trust me again. The fact that Grandma knew and he didn’t was going to make it all even harder for him to swallow. All I could hope for was that he would understand that I really had no choice. It wasn’t like there was an understudy or some kind of alternate waiting to take my place. I was it. (You lucky world, you!)

After a minute, I headed inside and met the twins in the kitchen to start dinner. Since Ana was gone, it had been decided that we were all going to pair up and cook one night a week. That gave poor Alma some well-earned down time. Tonight I wanted to put together something really great. I guess I still felt partly responsible for what had happened with Ana. Don’t ask me why.

“Okay, chef,” Damian said, “what are we cooking tonight?”

“Pasta with homemade sauce, salad, and garlic bread.”

“You’re making the sauce?” Lyssa asked.

“It’s not as hard as it sounds.”

“What’s for dessert?” Matt asked, coming up behind me and kissing my mark.

“I had Liam pick up some
churros
in Valladolid this morning.”

“Hmm, not what I had in mind,” Matt said.

“Oh, for cripes sake, go take a shower,” Lyssa said.

“And make it a cold one!” I called for good measure.
Yeesh.

The cooking went faster than I had planned. With both twins helping out with the basics, I was able to concentrate on the sauce. And cooking was totally changing my mood. It wasn’t just that I enjoyed it. It seemed to have a very soothing effect on my nerves. It really took me out of my head. And with all the time I spent in there, that could only be a good thing.

“You put carrots in spaghetti sauce?” Lyssa asked. She was chopping up veggies for the salad.

“Don’t question the master,” Damian said.

“It’s my secret ingredient,” I told her. “Some fine shavings help to balance the acidity of the tomato.”

“But don’t tell anyone,” Damian whispered very dramatically. “’Cause then she’d have to kill you.”

I raised my wooden spoon with equal drama. “All right, you goofs, let’s get the table set. Round one is due in any time.”

I always knew that I could cook, and obviously the shifters didn’t get treated to Italiano every day, but the compliments on the sauce were awesome.

“Well, I really had a lot of help,” I said, flushing. “And the fresh vegetables from Alma’s garden really put it over the top,” I added, giving her a big smile. When I looked across the table and caught Cesar staring at me, I blushed all over again. After dinner, we all ate our
churros
. We had a blast dipping the long cinnamon pastry sticks into the rich chocolate sauce. That was the most fun I’d had preparing and eating a meal in a long time.