Page 31

THE WHITE HOUSE

WASHINGTON, DC

January 10

“No!” Sarina said adamantly. “If anyone is going back down there, it’s me. He’s my husband. And I know the compound. I’ve lived there for the past year.”

“Mrs. Roth,” Director Wright said, “I think we should discuss all possibilities before discounting any.”

“It has to be me,” Suki said to her mom.

“I’m not going to let you,” Sarina said. She still looked fatigued from their journey. Suki could see that her mom was still recovering from the ordeal her diabetes had put her through, and any more physical stresses at this point would set her back.

“Mom, you’re too sick. You’ve been through so much. And so have I. You need to be here for the boys, for Jane Louise. I know the compound enough. I could find my way to Dad. And the longer we waste time, the greater chance he’s going to die.” She felt her throat start to catch. “I can’t let that happen. Not if I can stop it.”

“She knows how to take down their shields,” Lund said to Director Wright. “That gives us a chance to use weapons we couldn’t before.”

Sarina shook her head, but Suki could sense her resolve wilting. She was too much a nurse to ignore her own symptoms. They hugged each other. “It’ll be okay,” Suki whispered. “Ix Chel has been preparing me for this. I trained with that horrible lady, remember? The one who liked to whip my legs? I can use the kem ?m better than you can.”

“Maybe so,” her mom said, “but I can use it well enough.”

“It’s supposed to be this way, Mom. Can’t you feel that it’s supposed to be this way?”

It wasn’t just talk. The rightness of it filled her like moonlight. The shimmer of tears in her mother’s eyes told her she was right.

“I can tell you feel it too,” she pressed. In her peripheral vision, she saw Jane Louise’s shallow nod.

“You’re not a little girl anymore,” her mom said, lifting a hand to her cheek. She allowed it, because right now she needed the bolstering of her mother’s touch, if only for a second. “But you’re still my daughter.”

“I’ll always be your daughter. I need to do this, Mom.”

“You need to be safe. If anything—”

Her voice broke, but Suki was already shaking her head.

“Nothing bad will happen to me. She’s on our side, and I have the power to do this. I know I do.”

“You’re strong enough,” her mom said, her voice still shaking. “You’ve always been strong.”

“I just need some people who can go with me.” She looked hopefully at Uncle Steve and Director Wright.

To Suki’s surprise, the US government wasn’t keen on trusting a seventeen-year-old girl with the nation’s future. So she had to give them a taste of the power of kem ?m.

She blocked both ends of the corridor with shields so the marines could try—and fail—to get past it. One of them had been repelled a dozen feet. She levitated paperweights and knickknacks from office desks and sent them in orbit around the FBI director just like she had with the rubber balls in the arena. Her brothers thought that was pretty sick. Her mom looked nervous but accepting. Director Wright, standing in the hallway among floating staplers and snow globes, looked bewildered.

Suki put the items back where she’d found them and released the barriers in the corridor. Tilting her head, she looked at the director. “It can do other stuff too,” she said. “I know healing glyphs that can mend injuries. I healed Calakmul’s assistant while we were flying back from—”

“W-wait,” Lund interrupted, holding up his hand. “You can heal injuries? Like what kind?”

“All kinds,” she said. “An FBI agent shot Calakmul’s girlfriend in Bozeman. He was pretty upset. The bullet went through her and nearly killed her, but the magic helped her.” She thought about telling them about Aztlán and how the magic could even reverse someone’s age but thought better of it. The government might be interested in learning more about that one—but to what end? The magic was uncanny, unnatural, and everything within her revolted against the idea of it being used recreationally. Besides, she was far from sure she could find it again. She didn’t know where it was beyond that it was in a canyon in southern Utah.

“Monica and Jordan,” Lund said to Director Wright. “Can I bring her to the hospital?”

“Monica’s the FBI agent who was helping Dad and the twins, right?” Suki asked.

“Yeah, she’s really nice,” Lucas said.

“The jaguar priest threw her into a wall,” Brillante said darkly. “He hurt Jordan too.”

“I can help them,” Suki said. “I can’t raise anyone from the dead, but the magic can heal injuries. I’m the person who should go rescue Dad too.”

Sarina shook her head. “Suki, it would be very dangerous. The warriors are very skilled. And the jaguar priests—you’ve already seen what one can do. Not to mention Jacob himself. He could undermine your ability to use the magic just as you could with him.”

“Hold on, I’m not suggesting we start a suicide squad, Mom. We go in, rescue Dad and the other hostages, then get out.”

“We could only bring up to thirteen people total,” Sarina said. “That’s the limit of the magic for that spell. You can’t move an army. That limits the size of the team.”

“Why thirteen?” Suki asked.

“Thirteen is a sacred number to the Maya. And that spell only works while the moon is visible. You’d have a limited chance to get in and out.”

“A limited chance is better than no chance, Mrs. Roth,” Lund said. “I was thinking a SEAL team, a small group, just to protect her and the hostages. But I’m more familiar with the 82nd Airborne. They’re trained to get in and get out and fulfill a mission no matter what.”

Director Wright pursed his lips. “This is incredibly dangerous. I’m not sure the president will authorize a mission involving a teenager.”

“You heard Uncle Steve,” Suki said. “A limited chance is as good as you’re going to get right now.”

“You can get through their shields,” Wright said thoughtfully. “That means bullets would kill them. But if they ganged up on you, then everyone would die.”

Suki had already realized that part. “As long as we do it at night, I can get us out of there too. I don’t think they have that power. They have to use the mirrors to get around. And I don’t care if the president doesn’t authorize it. If I can save Dad, then that’s all the reason I need. I mean, I just need Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas, and I’ll be good.”

Lund chuckled. “My employee Jordan Scott was in the 82nd Airborne. He won best warrior for the state of Maryland after he left the army. If you can heal him, he’ll go with you.”

“I can try,” Suki said. “Why don’t we start there?”

Wright put his hands on his hips and sighed. “Let’s get you to the hospital. I’ll call the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We already have authority to strike the temple in the Yucatán. Maybe that’s all the permission we need to get.”

“What about the attorney general?” Lund asked. “Don’t you think your boss would want to know?”

Wright smirked. “I already know what he’d say. That’s why I can’t tell him.”

An armored SUV brought them to the hospital where Jordan and Monica were being treated. Even though the traffic was heavy in downtown DC, they bypassed all the red lights and drove at ambulance speed.

Sarina squeezed Suki’s hand. She looked fearful. “I don’t want you doing this, mija,” she whispered.

Suki bit her lip. “You know I have to save Dad,” she answered. “It’s Ix Chel’s plan.” The boys and Jane Louise were in the back seat, and Lund was riding shotgun, with another FBI agent behind the wheel. Director Wright had stayed back at the White House to make some calls and see what he could manage on short notice.

“Can I go too?” Lucas asked. “We can see the glyphs now.”

Suki looked back at him. “Sorry, bro. You don’t meet the height requirement for this ride.”

“That’s not fair.”

“I know. None of this is fair.”

When they reached the hospital, Lund got out first. He checked the sides and then opened the door for Sarina and Suki to get out. The other kids climbed out too, and they all walked into the hospital.

The smell reminded Suki of their time in Naples, but she didn’t sense danger this time. Still, the urgency of the situation was weighing on her. The sun had already gone down. How soon before Calakmul would start the human sacrifices? Would he wait until midnight?

Lund secured the elevator, and they all went inside. He pushed the button for the third floor, and a little thrill shot up her spine as they started up. Elevators had always made her feel giddy. Once inside the ward, they went down a corridor crowded with doctors and nurses and the chirping and beeping of equipment. The smell of sanitizer was strong.

They reached the first room, and Lund knocked before entering. Jordan was propped up on a hospital bed. His leg was wrapped in bandages, and he had a bruise and lacerations on his cheek. His arm and hand were also wrapped up. He looked like he’d fallen off a building and survived.

“Hey,” Jordan said in a scratchy voice, sounding dejected but trying to be cheerful.

Suki had never met him, but her brothers had told her about him—that he was funny and brave and had a serious crush on Monica Sanchez. The twins looked devastated to see him like this. They inched closer, looking fearful, unsure of what to say.

“You’re pretty messed up,” Brillante said.

“I can’t exactly play video games on my phone anymore,” Jordan answered, his expression at odds with the tone he was trying to convey. He knew about Monica, no doubt. “But yeah. Pretty messed up. The swelling needs to go down before they can fix me up.”

“Are you in a lot of pain?” Lucas asked.

“Not really. That’s a positive. Sorry I let you guys down.”

“You didn’t,” Lucas said, shaking his head. “Don’t think that.”

“We wanted to see you,” Lund said, stepping around to the other side of the bed. “But we also came to help.”

“Did you bring a Mountain Dew? That would really help,” he groaned, shifting on the bed.

Lund looked at the girls. “Suki? Sarina? Want to give it a try?”

Her mom looked at her. “Let’s hold hands as we did before.” Then she glanced down at Jane Louise, who’d come in with them. “With all three of us, the magic is stronger.”

Jane Louise held Sarina’s hand, and Sarina held Suki’s. Suki reached out tentatively. Jordan looked at her like she was acting a little weird.

“I don’t get it . . .”

“Just ... wait,” Lund said. “They’re going to give you a Maya blessing.”

He settled back against the pillows and closed his eyes.

Suki’s hand hovered over his leg. Should she try to heal that first? He was broken in many places. The idea came to hold her hand above his head and touch him there, so she pressed her hand against his stubby hair. She felt the power well up before she even uttered the word. Strength flowed into her, coming from Jane Louise and her mom, but she was the outlet.

“Kunaj,”Suki whispered. Back on the Pegasus jet, when Jacob was trying to keep Angélica alive, he’d whispered a healing word—utzirisaj—over and over. The Mayan word for healing, to make whole. He’d taught it to Suki and told her to use it. But his power came from death, not life. When Suki had tried to heal Angélica, another word had come to mind. A whisper from Ix Chel: kunaj. It was a stronger word, and it had immediate effect in reviving Angélica.

This time, saying that word with her mom and Jane Louise, the power manifested even more quickly. More powerfully. Suki felt a rush from the magic and a peaceful feeling.

Jordan stiffened in surprise.

“Whoa,” he said, opening his eyes as she pulled her hand away. He looked at Suki in wonderment. Then at Lund.

“I’m better,” he whispered in shock.

“You feel better?” Lund asked hopefully.

“No, I’m better. Like ... completely better. Like ... I haven’t felt this good since ... well, better not say that here.” He swung his legs off the edge of the bed. Then he started ripping off the IV tape and pulled the needles out of his arms. The alarms went off.

Suki backed away, smiling in surprise.

Then he got off the bed and dropped to a low squat, holding both his arms out. His leg had had a compound fracture. It shouldn’t have been able to support his weight at all.

“Dude!” Lucas and Brillante gasped simultaneously.

Jane Louise grinned.

Lund watched, seemingly stunned into silence, as Jordan began ripping the bandages off his hand. “Seriously, I could do the Tough Mudder, like, right now,” he exclaimed. He was partway through his leg bandage when a nurse came in and gaped.

“What are you doing out of bed?” she said. “How are you even standing!”

Jordan stopped, looked pleadingly at Suki. “Can you ... can you heal Monica too?”

Suki still felt pretty fresh. With the three of them working together, it had been easy. “I’m pretty sure we can.”

“Better put on your clothes first,” Lucas suggested. “Your butt’s hanging out.”