“Coya! Are you all right?” Anthony grabbed my head and peered into my eyes.
“Riley, where are you hurt?” Michael circled me, looking me up and down.
“Did they get you?” Elias grabbed my hand and looked over my arm.
“Guys. I’m okay. I’m bruised but mostly from the wreck, not the fight.” I jerked my hand away from Elias and pulled my head away from Anthony. “I thought these were supposed to be trained fighters from the Junta? The two humans were easy to take out. I expected more.”
“I doubt they knew we had Michael with us.” Elias said. “Without him, we might’ve lost this fight. And I’m positive they had no idea that you could fight like you did. They tend to underestimate humans anyway, especially human women. However much they suspect you have Unseen lineage; you still don’t show any supernatural skills or abilities. I assume they sent human men to capture you in an attempt to make you feel connected to them.”
Made sense. “Now what? Our car isn't drivable.” I walked over to the poor, crushed little car.
“We’ll have to take theirs. Elias, can you look for the tracking device?” Anthony took control, as he seemed to want to do most often. I climbed into the SUV and let the guys deal with grabbing our stuff out of the ruined car.
“Are we going to leave dead bodies that are definitelynot humanlying around?” I asked with my head out the window.
Michael chuckled. “I guarantee they’ve got a cleanup team on standby. They expected one of us would kill another. They’ll be here soon, but they’re not equipped to fight. They’ll wait until we leave. Another fight team is most likely also on their way, so we need to go, and now.”
Chapter 12
My body was sore, and I was still sleepy, yet we were headed for the Isla Del Sol, an island in the middle of Lake Titicaca. We were driving a cheap car that Anthony traded for the damaged SUV in a questionable used car lot. We’d slept in rotations. The sun was beginning to pink up the horizon.
The Inca believed that the Isla Del Sol was where the sun god, Inti, was born. “Why do we keep visiting sites tied to Inti?” I asked, irritated. “Surely there are sites to be found that are more closely tied to Supay.”
“We haven’t found any indication of where the first Supay was born. We have lots of lore about Inti, so I figured we would check those sites first. Maybe both Inti and Supay were born to this world at the same time, in the same place,” said Michael.
“Legend tells us that deep in the earth, theUku Pacha, or as we call it, underworld, was tied to the realm of Supay via a spring,” said Anthony from the driver’s seat. “That’s the spring known as the Spring of Life. Most likely, based on what legends we do have, we'll find the entrance to the underworld in a cave in the Andes.”
“So, we're only going to the island to eliminate it from the list?” I asked.
“Yes,” said Elias. He turned in the tiny car and gave me a tight smile. “We knew this could take some time, Ri. We’ll find it eventually and get back home.”
I stared out the window, pouting. I didn’t understand why we weren’t starting with the most likely places, rather than the least likely. I pulled out an empty blood bag and stuck a needle in my arm to add to their stash. It made me a little queasy at first to tap a vein, but I'd gotten good at it. With my little donations and their rationing, we were staying ahead of their blood intake. Elias's eyes dilated as he watched the blood drip into the bag.
“So, the bad guys, last night. They said I’m definitely Unseen. Theysaidthey didn’t want to hurt me. So, I have to assume they want to breed me.” I contemplated the passing landscape and ignored the look I could feel Elias giving me.
He changed the subject, clearing his throat and turning his body away from the sight of my blood. “The Inca believed that the sun and moon were born from this lake. That’s why I added it to our list of places to check.” He reached back and squeezed my knee. “Obviously, we know the sun and moon were not born in a lake on Earth, but it could’ve been that in the retelling of the legend, Inti and Supay were replaced by sun and moon.”
Michael slid his arm around my shoulders and kissed my forehead. “Besides, there’s a library in one of the villages here that's rumored to have ancient texts. I’m hopeful we'll find a lead in one of the books there.”
I settled in for the rest of the eight-hour car ride. We needed to stay out of sight for a while, so staying on theIsla Del Solwas a good option. If we were lucky, the Junta would think we’d given up or were still hiding in Cusco.
At least they let me stop for some bedding.I fluffed my pillow and tucked in against Michael. My eyes closed easily—I wanted to sleep away the nightmare of the past few days.
My sleep was fitful and full of confusing dreams. I couldn’t remember what I experienced in my sleep, but I awoke several times. Anthony’s voice crept into one of my dreams. “Sleep, Coya,” he said. “You are safe. We would die to protect you, my beautiful queen.”Calm washed over me, and I remembered nothing else.
I slept straight through the rest of the drive, including two pit stops to let the cramped men stretch their legs. I awoke lying against a sleeping Elias, the early morning sunbathing his hair in warm gold.
“Wake up, Coya. We're here,” Anthony whispered in my ear.
“Where is ‘here’?” I blinked at my surroundings; my brain still fuzzy.
Michael opened the back door and offered his hand to help me out of the car. I was stiff from my fight the day before and the long sleep lying in one position. “We’re on the coast of Copacabana, in Bolivia. You even slept through the border. The border guard was unconcerned with three men transporting an unconscious woman covered in bruises.” Michael rubbed my shoulders as he explained. “Anthony didn’t even have to calm his mind. He took our papers and gave us the appropriate ones and waved us on.”
I yawned and stretched. “Did you calm me in my sleep?” I asked Anthony as he stepped out of the car.
“I did, Coya.”
“How? Without pain, I mean.”
