Page 122

After a minute, he snickered again, his belly jiggling with laughter. Paige shook her head and closed her eyes again, nestling farther into the pillow and tugging the blanket higher.

Another snorted laugh sounded, followed by an amused sigh.

Paige snapped her eyes open. “Okay, what is so funny?”

Dewey’s gaze cut to her, and he waved a hand, offering a tight-lipped wince. “Oh, nothing.”

Paige sat up, flinging the blanket off. “It’s not nothing. You’ve been giggling over there for five minutes straight.”

“It hasn’t been that long,” Dewey argued.

“It has,” Paige countered, pushing herself up to sit. “Now what’s so darned funny?”

She rose and stalked toward him.

He clutched the RP close to his scaly chest. “It’s nothing.”

“Seriously? What are you watching? Cartoons?” She snatched the RP from his hands.

“Paige, wait,” Dewey shouted as she studied the video on the screen.

Her features froze in an unimpressed stare as she watched the video play. Titled “SmartMart people,” it showed a montage of odd behavior from people patronizing SmartMarts across the country. Paige puckered her lips in irritation as the third mark in the video began. Large neon-green letters scrolled across the screen announcing the situation.

“Crazy lady talks to purse in SmartMart,” she read aloud as she watched herself wander around the SmartMart, talking to Dewey via the communication device hidden in her purse. “Very funny.”

“I thought so,” Dewey said, kicking his little feet as he chuckled again.

Paige poked a finger at him before stalking back to her seat. “It’s your fault they think I’m crazy. All because you needed those Energy Dragons.”

“Yeah, but now you’re famous. Like TikTok famous.”

“My dream come true,” Paige said, tugging the blanket over herself and collapsing into the pillows again.

* * *

The plane jerked as the wheels bounced against the runway. The screech of the wheels hitting pavement along with the jarring bounce that accompanied it woke Paige from her sleep. On the love seat, Dewey rubbed his eyes and sat up, stretching his small arms overhead.

Paige yawned and stretched, rolling her neck back and forth to loosen the stiff muscles. “Are we here?”

Dewey darted to the window and glanced out. “Yep. Chichen Itza.” He clapped his hands together and rubbed them. “I can’t wait.”

Paige wrinkled her nose at him as she tugged the ponytail holder from her hair and finger combed it before braiding it. “How are you this excited to potentially run into werewolves? I’m pretty sure my last experience was enough to last me a lifetime.”

“Better get over it, Paige,” Dewey said, hopping into his carrier. “You’ve got a lot more years and a lot more creatures to run into.”

He tugged the zipper partially closed before poking his head out of the opening. “Besides, this is my first field mission. I can’t wait!”

He ducked inside and pulled the zipper closed.

Paige tucked the talisman under her hoodie before she swung the carrier strap over her shoulder. “Well, at least one of us is excited.”

She shielded her eyes as she stepped from the plane. The early morning sun, already blazing, threatened to send temperatures soaring into the nineties.

“Whew, it’s hot already,” Paige said as she lumbered down the steps to the tarmac. She fanned herself and tugged at her hoodie. “Should have brought different clothes.”

A dark-haired, dark-skinned woman waited at a car with her hands clasped in front of her. She looked significantly cooler in her outfit than Paige. Next to her, a dark-haired, dark-skinned man grinned at them as they approached.

The woman stuck her hand out first. “Hello, Ms. Turner. I am Ana May, and this is my brother, Juan. I am the librarian in the area. Juan is my archivist.”