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Giant who escaped the gods and now guarded K’iin. Check.

Four hundred ghost boys who were supposed to be stars. Check.

Now that I had all that straight, we needed to get back to the reason we were here. People were counting on us. Itzamna was trying to hold off bloodthirsty demons, and our family and friends were hiding out in Montana. And the time thread? It looked like it was going to jump out of Ren’s grasp again any second.

I clutched Itzamna’s sunglasses, wondering if I should bring the god in on all of this.

Zip shook out his hand and blew on it. That’s when I saw a wicked red slash across his palm.

“Is it getting better?” Ren asked.

Zip winced and said to me, “I made the mistake of touching her time thread. Sent me ten feet into the air, man. That’s some wicked energy right there.”

“It must be some kind of security measure,” I said. “Maybe that’s why no one can take the time rope from Pacific—it’ll deep-fry their brains.”

“Guess so,” Ren said with a hint of pride in her voice.

“So, can you take us to K’iin?” I asked Sipacna, my hope rising.

“Not exactly,” Ren said.

“I’m sorry again for trying to kill you,” Zip said to Ren gently.

“He tried to kill you?!” I almost tried to summon my Fuego spear before Ren said:

“That was before he knew who I was, Zane!”

“Actually,” Zip said, “that was before she saved my life by ripping the thread out of my grasp.”

“He made a promise to guard K’iin,” Ren argued. “He’s just doing his job.”

“But you’re Pacific’s daughter. He and she go way back!” I turned from Ren to glare up at the giant. “And we’re trying to defeat the rotten twins who killed your dad—who ruined your life! Doesn’t that count for something?”

Zip gave me a curious look, then said, “My life is better now than it ever was. I like it here.” He watched the ghost boys fondly as they continued to roughhouse in the sand.

“But if we don’t find K’iin, you’ll lose everything,” I argued. “And so will we.”

His face fell, and I felt sorry for the guy. “I took an oath. That means something to me.”

Ren nodded in understanding, and my hope was extinguished. We’d come here for nothing.

Then the giant took a deep breath and added, “I can’t tell you where K’iin is,” he said, “but if you can find it, I won’t stand in your way.”

“Incoming!” one of the ghosts shouted.

Alana rocketed out of the time tunnel, followed by a screaming Louie.

Ka-splash!

A couple of ghosts jumped into the water to haul them out.

“Get ready to freeze,” I warned, looking up at the sky for the first sign of snow.

Ren shook her head. “None of our godborn powers work here.”

“It’s a precaution,” Zip said, stroking his chin. “Keeps the scales balanced in my favor.”

“Good thing Pacific’s do,” Ren added with a small smile. She tugged on the still-aggressive thread.


Tags: J.C. Cervantes, Jennifer Cervantes The Storm Runner Fantasy