Bloodrose

stirred my blood, its sound both an invitation and a warning. I didn’t want to admit it, but the ocean was unsettling. Wolves didn’t belong in the water. Still, the mystery and beauty of endless waves tugged at something inside me. Maybe its very strangeness gave it an inexplicable appeal.

“You going for a swim, Calla?” Connor nudged me with his elbow. I’d been staring at the ocean so long I’d fallen behind. The others were heading for a ramshackle house that looked like it was on the verge of tumbling from the forest line onto the beach in a heap of wood planks and shingles. A long dock stretched from the deck of the house out into the ocean, where three boats bobbed up and down, moored to the rickety structure. I could make out the shape of a man in one of the boats. He didn’t look up at us, too busy with his own tasks to note our arrival.

A woman with long, dark hair stood on the deck, waving to us. When Ethan reached her, he wrapped her in a fierce embrace. She grinned at him but quickly turned her eyes on the gathering wolves. Shay paused in front of her, returning to his human form.

“It’s good to see you again, Scion.” She smiled, and I realized she’d been one of the Guides who had been meeting with Shay and Anika without the rest of us. Her eyes moved to the sword on his back. “And very good to see that.

“Bienvenido, lobos,” she said, gazing at me and my packmates. “I am the Eydis Guide, Inez. Please tell me you don’t bite.”

Ren shifted forms. “Since you asked so nicely, we’ll make an exception.”

The rest of the pack followed Ren’s lead. I wanted to laugh as I watched my friends attempt to look nice instead of menacing as we introduced ourselves.

“Guardians have a sense of humor. Who could have guessed?” She laughed, a belly-deep, genuine sound that made me smile.

“They’re full of surprises,” Ethan said, but went red in the ears when Sabine arched an eyebrow at him.

“Indeed.” Inez threw Sabine a surprised glance. “Come inside. We’ve prepared you some food. We’ll go over the mission parameters while you eat.”

“I love Eydis,” Connor said, throwing his arm around the woman. “Inez never disappoints.”

“We make the most of what we have.” She smiled at him and gazed inquiringly at Silas. “Anika informed me you’d be coming. It’s rare to have a Scribe among us.”

“I merely do what history requires,” Silas said.

Connor shoved Silas toward the door to the house. “Please get to the table so you can eat instead of talk.”

Like the Haldis outpost in Denver, this hideout was built for function-though that function caught me off guard.

“Is this a dive shop?” Shay turned in a circle to look at the masks, fins, and tanks that lined the walls.

“We don’t get a lot of business, but it’s a good cover.” A young man with curly black hair and sparkling eyes answered. “Look at that sword! You must be him.”

“Nothing gets past you, does it, Miguel?” Connor, laughing, hugged the new arrival. “Good to see you, friend.”

“And you, amigo,” Miguel answered before greeting Ethan. “How’s Grumpy?”

“I’ve been worse.” Ethan grinned.

“Can we cut the class reunion short?” Adne’s hands were on her hips. “I’m starving and the clock’s ticking.”

“Class reunion?” I asked.

Adne gestured to three men, who were huddled together, whispering and laughing. “The Three Amigos over there were in the same Academy class. They had quite the reputation.”

“Had?” Connor looked up. “When did our reputation become past tense?”

Adne rolled her eyes, but Inez put an arm around the girl’s shoulders and led her into the next room, beckoning us to follow.

After our Italian meals I expected all future food to be a disappointment. I couldn’t have been more wrong. A feast of sopas, pa-nuchos, and delicately seasoned, unbelievably fresh fish was spread before us. Every bite was heaven. I wanted to gorge myself on the food-which was unlike anything I’d ever tasted- but my mind quickly fixed on the battle ahead. Inez, seated at the head of the table, spoke to us as we ate.

“Once you’ve finished, we’ll head out,” she said. “Gabriel is making preparations now.”

“What kind of resistance are we expecting?” I asked. “More Guardians?”

“There are Guardians here,” Miguel said. “Yaguares.”

“Yaguares?” Nev asked. “You mean like panthers?”

Inez nodded. Ren and Nev exchanged a glance.

“I was kind of hoping for more bears,” Nev said. “Cats are gonna suck.”

“We’re fighting cats?” Mason’s face squished up. “Yuck. They taste terrible.”

“You ate a cat?” Shay asked. My stomach twisted. I could imagine little more disgusting than cat meat.

“Not ate,” Mason said. “Bit… and killed.”

We all stared at him.

“Hey-” He held his hands up defensively. “It attacked me. Crazy feline.”

“If all goes well, you will not face las sombras,” Inez said. “Our plan is to avoid them. It is never easy to fight in the jungle, and it is where las sombras are deadliest.”

“Las sombras favor the trees,” Miguel said. “They drop from above.”

“How many?” Ren asked.

“Like the bears, they prefer solitude,” he replied. “But still, they are deadly.”

“So what do we do?” I asked. “Same as Tordis? You lure the kitties away while we head into the cave?”

Miguel shook his head. “It is no cave. Es un cenote.”

“Oh, man.” Shay shuddered. “Seriously?”

Miguel nodded.

“What’s a si-note-ay?” Mason fumbled with the word.

Shay had gone slightly green. “It’s where the Mayans made sacrifices to their gods-deep sinkholes that run for miles beneath the surface. Sometimes they lead into networks of underwater caves. They’re all over this region, right?”

“Si.” Miguel’s face was grim.

“The Spanish called them sagrados,” Silas said. “Wells of sacrifice.”

“Wells of sacrifice?” Sabine’s eyes widened.

“They threw people in,” Shay said.

“And Eydis is inside one of these sacrifice wells?” I asked.

“Yes,” Silas said.

“Does that mean we have to climb down into a sinkhole?” Sabine asked. “’Cause that doesn’t sound like fun.”

“Las sombras watch from the branches,” Miguel said. “We would not have time to rappel into the cave before they attacked.”

“What about that thingy Adne can do?” Mason asked. “Can’t she open a portal down inside the cave? Like in Eden?”

“Sorry. No can do.” Adne shook her head. “We don’t have any idea what’s down there. We’d be in serious trouble if I ended up accidentally opening a portal underwater. Or on the wrong side of a sheer drop. We don’t have any descriptions to go on. In Eden, I had Ansel’s experience working for me. I used his story to open the door.”

“Then what’s the plan?” Shay asked.

“Gabriel found another entrance,” Ethan said, though he didn’t look too happy about it.

Inez’s mouth had an equally grim set. “He’s been scouting it for the past three days. It is our best option.”

“Another entrance?” Mason asked. “But won’t the panthers be guarding that one too?”

“No,” Miguel replied, meeting Ethan’s stony gaze.

“They won’t?” Shay frowned.

“No.” Connor rolled his shoulders back. “Because cats hate water.”