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CARR TRANSVERSAL/QUINTANA ROO C-1

COZUMEL, MEXICO

January 9

There were few other cars and vans on the highway. The moon was beginning to set, and whenever an occasional oncoming vehicle approached, the headlights were blinding. Suki and Jane Louise hunkered down behind the first-row bench of the van as it moved. It was the same van that the Roth family had escaped in a year ago.

Sarina was crouching behind Jorge’s seat, and the two were carrying on a conversation in rapid-fire Spanish. The vibration of the van on the highway was a comforting feeling. But Suki was still shaken. One moment, they’d been in the Jaguar Temple. Another, after whispering a word about the wind, they were sitting on a beach in Cozumel. And, to think, rescue had been waiting for them all along.

“We’ll stop by the orphanage for a change of clothes,” Sarina said over her shoulder to them, switching to English. “What we’re wearing right now will stand out too much.”

No kidding. While the traditional Maya garb fit well and was kinda cool, it certainly wasn’t something you’d wear sightseeing.

“How did Jorge know we were going to be here tonight?” Suki asked. Jane Louise was looking around with excitement, tugging on the ends of her hair.

“I’ve been planning the escape,” Sarina said. “This island is sacred to Ix Chel, the moon goddess. She’s been helping us all along.”

“Like how?”

“It’s difficult to explain. When I was sick with the DKA, I kept having visions of my grandmother. But it wasn’t really her. It was just the way Ix Chel manifested to me. Cozumel is a nexus of her magic. We can come and go to any of her shrines. There was one on the beach, hidden in the bushes. She’s been helping you and Jane Louise too.”

“Me too?” Jane Louise piped in with awe.

“She’s been comforting you,” Sarina explained. “With memories of your grandmother. And she helped me conceal myself from Jacob Calakmul.”

“By turning you old,” Suki said with a shudder.

Her mom laughed. “Yes, by turning me old. Jorge told me that one of the girls who grew up in Huellas de Pan now runs a snorkeling business for tourists. She’s got her own boat and will take us to Florida.”

“Why can’t we fly to Florida from the airport?” Suki asked.

“We don’t have any travel ID, credit cards, anything. Once we get back to the United States, we can try to get help. But I’m going to get sick again after we leave Cozumel. We’ll need to get to a hospital or urgent care as soon as possible.”

The news that her mom’s diabetic ketoacidosis still hadn’t been cured was alarming, but not necessarily surprising. Magic had saved her, and they’d be leaving a magical place.

Jorge clicked the turn signal, and they slowed to turn off the highway. Suki peeked up through the side window and saw a military truck roar past them with soldiers sitting in the back. She ducked down again, her heart racing.

The van took several turns. Suki was thoroughly lost, but then she heard the roar of a passenger jet and remembered how close Huellas de Pan was to the airport in Cozumel. They drove up to the gate, and Jorge parked and got out to unlock it.

“This feels weird,” Suki said, peering through the windshield. “I remember this place.”

“Déjà vu,” Sarina said. Sighing, she added, “It was a bit like that when I was in the coma. Everything was familiar, but not. My mother was there. My grandmother. My great-grandmother. All my family came from the Yucatán originally. Time is strange in that place. It felt like I was there for an hour at most before I woke up, but I could remember everything I’d seen and done. I learned about Kukulkán and his followers and disciples. About Chichén Itzá and the other ruins. There’s so much history that’s been lost, but I knew all of it.” She rubbed her forehead, her expression a little sad. “It’s fading now, though, like it was a dream.”

Jorge finished tugging open the gates and then came back. He was wearing a tracksuit and sandals, just like Suki remembered from their previous visit. He had a fluttery gray mustache and graying hair combed back. He drove through the gate and then parked.

“Vamos,”he said, getting out again. Sarina went to the sliding door and opened it and then helped Jane Louise climb out. Suki followed, and they all went to the main office building.

Suki’s stomach clenched with dread. In her mind’s eye, she could see the security people who’d hunted them down. Jacob Calakmul’s men. They’d murdered a doctor here. But she was surprised at the changes she saw. There was a playground that hadn’t been there before. And new buildings were being constructed where there’d once been a thicket of trees.

“Wow,” Suki said. “It’s been busy here.”

“They’re building a dormitory,” Sarina said. “So the older kids have somewhere to stay while they attend college.” Sarina reached and squeezed Suki’s hand. “Your dad made a big donation after you got back.”

“He what?”

Sarina nodded. “Jorge told me. It’s through a US charity, but the funds have helped Jorge expand. They don’t need to depend on the resort food to feed the children and families now. In fact, they’ve started a shelter in Cancún that feeds low-income families meals twice a day.”

“Es okay,” Jorge said, smiling with embarrassment. “Es okay.”

He unlocked the door to the main building and flicked on the lights for them. Inside his office were several bags of clothes. “I get food. Comida. To eat. You change. Hurry. Brenda is waiting at the boat.”

Jorge then shut the door to give them privacy. The clothes looked like the kind you’d get from a thrift store. They had that same smell too. Suki dug through one bag and found a pair of shorts and a black T-shirt with the San Francisco Giants logo on it. It reminded her of living in the Bay Area, so she decided to keep that one. There was also a sweater that was light pink with stains on it, but she figured it would be good to have that too.

“Am I really going to see my mee-maw again?” Jane Louise asked hopefully.

Sarina crouched down and hugged her. “Yes, sweetie. We’ll reach her as soon as we can. Then we can all go back home.”

Suki swallowed. Calakmul knew where they lived. Home wouldn’t be an option unless he was taken down. She also wanted to call Brice really bad. And her dad. Then she realized her mom didn’t even know she had a boyfriend.

“Yeah,” Suki said. It had been about two weeks since she’d been kidnapped, but she didn’t know if her family was still in Montana or in DC, like Calakmul had said.

They left the office, and Jorge brought them a tray of tacos.

After they’d changed and eaten, they went back with Jorge to the van. Some children from the orphanage had gathered around it.

“?Gracias!”some of them said with bright smiles. “?Gracias por todo!”

Sarina hugged each and every one of them. A few of the kids came up to hug Suki and Jane Louise too, which was awkward, but Suki permitted it. Then Jorge shooed the children away, and they got back into the van. Once they were through the gate, the kids shut and locked it behind them, and the van went trundling off into the night. This time, they all sat in seats.

Jorge took them to the main part of San Miguel, the prominent city on the west coast of Cozumel. It seemed like a party town. There were tourists everywhere and quite a bit of traffic, even this late at night. Suki recognized the dock where the ferry arrived from the mainland every hour.

Jorge hummed to himself as he drove, moving slowly. People kept crossing the street at weird times, and there were a lot of neon lights and loud Latin music playing. Once they made it past the ferry dock, the traffic lightened up, and they wound their way along the coast. There were so many boats in the various harbors. Then they were heading back toward the jungle again. By the time Jorge turned, they were the only vehicle visible on the road. He entered a marina that had a few streetlamps with bugs swarming in the light.

A woman stood waiting there, black haired, and probably in her early twenties.

“Es Brenda,” Jorge said, slowing down and then stopping.

Brenda opened the side door of the van.

“Hello, family!” she said brightly. “Come with me. You ready to go home?”

“Yes,” Sarina said. She exited first and hugged the other woman. “Thank you for doing this.”

“The Calakmuls are evil,” Brenda said. “If we can stop them, it’s all good. Welcome. You must be Suki and Jane Louise? I’m Brenda.”

“Your English is very good,” Jane Louise said and gave her a hug. Brenda was about as tall as Suki. She didn’t look old enough to own her own boat or run a business.

“Thank you! I work with tourists every day, so I get lots of practice. Do you like ceviche? I have some leftover from the tour earlier.”

“What’s that?” Suki asked.

“Ooh, I won’t spoil it by telling you. It’s delicious. We have lots of soda and water to drink and extra gas for the trip. Let’s get going, okay?”

Another set of headlights turned into the marina parking lot. Fear fluttered in Suki’s stomach. It was a police truck. On the side in big letters was the name of the state Quintana Roo. Had it followed them? They were so close to getting away ...

There was no way Jacob Calakmul could have alerted authorities. Right? Or did he also have ways of communicating over great distances? She didn’t know.

Brenda’s smile faded. “Jorge. Mira.”

The headlights began to sweep across the parking lot.

Sarina whispered a word under her breath, and Suki felt a prickle of magic go down her arms. Suddenly, the magic of the kem ?m was swirling around them in golden motes. But she hadn’t summoned it.

Her mother had.

“They won’t see us,” Sarina said calmingly. “Let’s go.”