Sun God Seeks...surrogate? (33 page)

It was worth a try.

CHAPTER 36

I didn’t know exactly what to expect when I entered Kinich’s room. Part of me had pathetically hoped he’d changed his mind and stayed. Part of me kicked myself for wanting him to stay at all. I deserved better. I deserved to come first. Or even in the top three.

But it didn’t really matter anymore how I felt, because his bag was gone, the room empty.

I walked to the glass door and looked outside. The miles of lonely desert now seemed bleak instead of calming. The sky, a perfect crisp blue, only reminded me of what we were all going to lose.

I needed to take a walk and clear my thoughts.

Still barefoot, I turned to retrieve my boots in the closet and ran straight into Zac. I jumped from my skin.

“Jeez, you scared me.” I placed my hand over my thumping heart.

“My apologies. I came to tell you that Kinich paid me a visit.”

“You saw him? He’s still here?”

Zac shook his head. “No. He left me a note with instructions and asked me to give you this.” He held out a clean white envelope.

“Any clue what it says?” I asked.

“No.”

“What did yours say?” I asked.

“He requested I care for your…needs in his absence.”

“Needs?” The way he’d said that word implied all sorts of things. Very sexual things. Doubtful.

“There was also mention of making the asshole who burnt the inside of his one point seven million dollar car pay dearly.”

Yikes. One point seven? Well, serves him right!

I took the envelope. “He didn’t say anything else?” There was that dang lump in my throat again.

His ice-blue eyes turned to azure blue. “I’ll be in Kinich’s study if you need me.” He gave my shoulder a squeeze then turned to leave.

“No. Wait. Don’t go.” I suddenly didn’t want to be alone for this.

I ripped open the envelope. Inside was a small sheet of crisp paper and the words,
Forgive me for not saying good-bye. I leave you in the care of my brother. Zac has sworn to protect you and be your Right Hand.

May the sun always shine upon you.

—
Kinich Ahau

I looked up at Zac. “So, he made his choice. He left. He really left.”

Zac reached out and clutched my hand. “I am…sorry.”

“Did he say where?”

Zac shook his head. “We know not. But perhaps he left because he is ashamed. In his new fragile state he is unable to be of use in battle. Perhaps he simply wishes to enjoy his new life as a human.”

My knees trembled, threatening to give out.

I quickly pulled it together and straightened my back. “Fate has spoken.”

His head dipped. “I see you’re catching on.”

I unexpectedly felt dizzy again and the room turned black.

CHAPTER 37

“She’s coming around,” I heard a female’s voice off in the distance. “Penelope! Can you hear me?”

Someone tapped my cheek. “She’s in shock,” I heard the same female voice whisper. “I can’t believe he left her. What kind of moron leaves a pregnant woman?”

“He was not informed of the news,” argued the man.

“She didn’t tell him?” said the woman.

“She did not have the chance,” the man replied.

“You idiot. Why didn’t
you
tell him?” she asked.

“I did not see him, and if I had, it is not my place to meddle.”

My mind fell into place. As it did, I wondered if I really wanted to come around. Reality was waiting for me, and it was a place far too painful to be at the moment. I’d had about all I could take.

“Penelope. Please wake up.” I realized it was Emma speaking. “They’re getting ready to attack. I’m going to the Command Center to monitor everyone on the satellite.”

I lifted my lids slowly; they felt like they had lead weights attached.

“Did he really leave? Or was it a dream?” I asked, my mind foggy and slow.

Emma brushed the hair back from my forehead. “Yes, honey. He’s gone. I’m sorry. And I’m even more sorry because I know your heart’s been broken. But you have to be strong. Too much is at risk.”

The bedroom came into focus, and as it did, the starkness of the situation hit home. But I’d already had a heart-to-heart with myself, so I knew I couldn’t let my broken heart distract me.

“Well, I guess the bright side is,” I mumbled, “that now I have one less problem. I’m down to four.”

Emma chuckled. “That certainly is something.”

Zac appeared behind Emma, his blue-green eyes glowing with warmth. “I happen to agree. I once tried to count mine, but got bored after number five thousand two hundred and twenty-two. Four is good. Very manageable.”

Sure. I’d accidentally become the “surrogate” Sun God, was carrying the real Sun God’s baby, my mother was still a captive of the Mobscuros, and the world was ending. Not that I was complaining…
’Cause it’s still just four.

“Piece of cake.” I sat up slowly. The room still wobbled unnaturally, but at least now I understood why.

Pregnant. Wow.

“Is everything ready?” I mumbled.

“Everyone is almost in position. Every Uchben soldier, vampire, and allies of the gods. Even the others.”

“You keep mentioning the others. Do you mean leprechauns?”

Zac chuckled. “No. They don’t fight; they are peaceful people.”

“Maybe you should try taking away their clothes. I hear that makes them angry.”

He raised both brows. “I do not wish to know how you came into possession of that knowledge.”

“So who are the others?” I questioned.

“Why don’t we save the debriefing on immortals for another day. You need nourishment,” he replied.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Penelope,” Emma pointed out, “you can’t think just about yourself.”

She was right. I’d almost forgotten. It was all very new. “All right. I want egg rolls, sourdough bread, and spinach salad.”

“I will obtain your meal,” Zac said and disappeared.

“I think he likes you, Pen,” Emma whispered.

I rolled my eyes. “I think I’m pretty much done with men for eternity.”

“All right. But he’s hot.”

“Emma! I’m not exactly on the market; Kinich has been gone for an hour, the world is going to end in eight months, I’m also pregnant.”

She held out her hands. “Actually, you were out for five hours, so…Kinich has been gone a little longer.”

I growled.

“Okay. But Zac’s really hot. And ain’t nothin’ wrong with a little rebound romp.”

“Emma. Seriously?”

“I’m just sayin’.” She smiled with a goofy grin.

No, she wasn’t serious, but I appreciated the effort to make me laugh.

“All right, my little goody-goody.” She stood up. “After you eat, Zac will drive you to the camp. I’ll see you in the Control Room.”

“So this is it? We’re going to attack? So fast?”

“The troops were already on standby. They mobilized five minutes after the meeting concluded. They should be hitting the Maaskab village any minute.”

Emma turned to leave.

“Hey,” I called out.

She froze with her back to me. I noticed that today she wasn’t wearing one of her usual girly outfits, but the standard Uchben uniform: black tee and cargoes.

“Are you okay?” I asked. “I mean, with what Guy’s about to do?” Yes, Guy was a god and immortal, but that didn’t mean going head-to-head with the Maaskab wasn’t dangerous. Who knew what those monsters had up their sleeves? After all, look what they’d done to Kinich.

She shrugged without looking my way. “A god’s gotta do what a god’s gotta do. Especially the God of Death and War.” She left without letting me see her face. I understood why. Tears didn’t serve any purpose at this point.

I took a slow breath, trying not to let it all tear me up. The world now hung on a razor-sharp edge.

Selfishly, I could only think of Kinich.

***

At twenty minutes to midnight I followed Zac through the vacant lobby of a two-story office building situated at the edge of the Uchben camp. This didn’t seem like the sort of place where strategic world decisions were made.

We walked down a long, narrow hallway with glass walls and empty, dark conference rooms on each side. We turned the corner and encountered two heavily armed guards next to a harmless-looking elevator.

“Sir,” one of the men nodded stiffly when we stepped inside.

Zac, like the other gods, towered over any human. Hardened, battle-seasoned men looked miniature sized in his presence.

“God of Intimidation?” I asked.

He smiled with that knowing, insanely charming smile. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

He pressed the Down button, and I realized that the modest structure we’d entered was a façade. The heart of the operation was buried twenty stories belowground, given that he’d pressed B-20.

After a short ride down, the doors slid open. As we stepped out, perhaps due to the absolute silence of the long, dark hallway illuminated by red bulbs, I felt intensely aware of Zac—a god who didn’t know his path or purpose, yet glowed with confidence. He exuded absolute comfort with his place in the universe.

Funny how one man could flourish in the face of uncertainty while it crippled others.

“How do you make the whole ‘not knowing’ thing look so easy?” I asked.

He gently placed his hand on my lower back to guide me along. “When we each came to light, most knew right away which gifts they carried while others merely felt power, but were unable to command it. Over many centuries, those gods spent all of their time honing their gifts.”

“But not you.”

We continued along the eerie, dark hallway until we reached an iron door.

“No,” he replied. “This is why I spent my time developing in other ways. Finding peace was one of them.”

He truly had a Zen-like outlook on life. I was jealous.

“Are you saying,” I asked, “you’re okay with never finding your gifts?”

“No. But it will happen when it is meant to be. And I believe I am close.”

“Really?” I asked. “How do you know? Do you get a tingle or a special feeling?”

“A god finds his powers when he or she experiences the strength that they house. Acan didn’t know he was the God of Wine until he tried it about two thousand years ago.”

Zac punched several numbers into a keypad beside the steel door. The pad beeped and the panel door slid open.

“How exciting. So, if you took a stab, what would you guess your power will be?”

He looked straight ahead. “It is something I’ve only recently discovered: love.”

***

Zac’s little comment boggled the mind,
my
mind.

The God of Love?

It made sense. From the get-go, I wasn’t able to articulate or rationalize how it was physically possible for me to feel anything for a man I didn’t know from Peter or Paul, but I did. I felt nothing but warmth and affection in his presence.

Yes. It made perfect sense. Suicide made me angry and depressed. Acan made people want to party—not me, for some weird reason. Zac made me feel loved.

Except that Kinich gave you the anti-god whammy. You’re immune to their powers.

Nooo. It must’ve worn off.
I wasn’t that sort of girl, the kind that hopped from one lily pad to the next. Kinich was, without a doubt, the one I loved.

He left you. Don’t forget that.

“Ready?” Zac’s towering frame turned to the side as he held the door open.

I shook my head. “Not really.” I paused in the doorway and looked up into his arctic-blue eyes. They had specs of green that seemed to dance around the pupils.

Mesmerizing.

“Zac, can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” he replied.

“Do you really think this is the end if we don’t win?”

His warm smile melted away. “Yes.”

“I see.” I turned away and continued until we reached yet another door. “Then we better kick ass.”

The door swung open in front of me. “Penelope! Where have you been?” Emma barked. “They’ve started! Oh my god, it’s a fucking mess!”

“Shit!” I followed her into a large stadium-style room. There were ten tiers, each one about ten feet wide. Each tier had a station every five feet with a computer bank, monitors, and a person frantically speaking on a headset or typing into a keyboard. A giant floor-to-ceiling screen was situated in the front of the room displaying an infrared satellite feed with little, moving, colored dots.

Emma darted to a station at the top tier’s center where a woman with golden spirals stood frantically talking with a man.

“Helena. Andrus. This is Penelope,” Emma said.

“We’ve already met.” We exchanged polite nods.

Helena, a petite, little thing, looked up at me with her bright blue eyes. “They are getting their asses handed to them. We have to do something! The Maaskab are sifting in and out of their portals so fast we can’t kill them.”

Andrus shook his head. “They must have turned. Every last one of them—only vampires move that fast.”

Yes, we’d known that the Maaskab had joined forced with the Obscuros; but that they’d all turned into vampires? Christ, that was bad. According to Gabrán, the Uchben were a strong match against the Maaskab, and Niccolo’s vampire army could take down any Obscuro. But we were unevenly matched if the enemy had all turned into this hybrid army of sorts.

“Where’s Guy?” I asked Emma and pointed to the screen. The dots were moving so fast, I couldn’t tell who was who.

“He went inside a portal with Niccolo and two hundred vampires to flush out the Scabs.”

“Why can’t we see them?” I asked. “I thought the satellite could pick them up from anywhere?”

Emma bent over, panting. “We don’t know. They faded off the screen the minute they jumped inside. Then the Scabs started flooding out of their portals like angry swarming bees.”

This was, without a doubt, an occasion that called for a very, very strong word. “Fuckitty-fuck.”