The grandmotherly woman’s face split into a wide grin. “Riley Elizabeth Collins Effler. Daughter of David and Blanche, dead in a car crash when you were eighteen. Two children, sons, David and Daniel. Married to Michael Effler, deceased,” she stated. Her voice was deep, almost masculine. Michael took a small step forward. “Not deceased. I’m right here, old woman. Why are you following Riley?”
“You may call me Mama Pacha, Riley, daughter of Blanche. I've come to save you, so that you may save me.” She beamed. “I'm going to guide you to the entrance toUku Pacha.It is my home, and I've missed it greatly.” She shuffled toward me, causing Michael and Elias to step in front of me. “Brave boys you are,” she hissed. “Don't anger me, children. The only one I need alive is Riley.”
I stepped around the side of Eli, knowing he wouldn't move out of my way. Anthony moved to shield me again, but I held up my hand.
“Enough. She either has the power to hurt me or she doesn’t. Stop blocking me, I want to hear what she has to say.” I turned my head and gave each man a glare. They looked furious.
“Mama Pacha, I willnothelp you if you harm any of these men. They’re protective of me. I wouldn’t be here if not for their help.”
She closed her eyes. I met Michael’s eyes and shrugged as she stood there, unresponsive. Her head turned to each man and paused briefly on each of them.
She opened her eyes and cocked her head at me. “One of these men isn't quite what he seems, but I can't pinpoint what's off. I can only tell something's not right. I've been away from home for such a long time, and my powers have weakened considerably.” Her face grew sad, and her shoulders slumped a bit. “Once I would’ve been able to tell you the most private thoughts of these men of yours. But now I'm weaker than the average Supay.” She squared her shoulders and grabbed my hand. “I need you, Riley. If it means putting up with these overprotective buffoons, so be it.”
Three sets of hands tried to jerk me away from her grasp at the same time. “Riley,” said Michael. “We have no idea who she is. This could be a trap. She’s probably the one that led the Junta to us to begin with.” Elias and Anthony nodded their heads in agreement, both staring a hole through Mama Pacha.
I was calm. I was safe. She gave off a sense of familiarity, like an old friend or distant relative. I turned to Mama Pacha and grabbed her hand again. It was warm, soft. Warmth spread up my arm from her gnarled fingers. When the warmth reached my chest and heart I gasped. I could actually feel her life. I looked into her eyes and saw centuries reflecting at me. I saw snatches of earthquakes and ritualistic sacrifices. I saw death and destruction. I also saw life—births and celebrations. I saw joy, and I saw intense pain.
Three bodies crowded me, shouting. I wasn’t so lost in her memories that I couldn’t reply. “Relax guys, she’s showing me…stuff. So much,” I whispered. Anthony couldn’t stop himself and ripped her hand out of mine. My body crumpled. Mama Pacha didn’t fall, but she did stumble a bit. Michael caught me and Anthony steadied her. He stared down at the seemingly frail woman.
“Why did you help her if you are so distrustful of her?”
“I was raised in the south, Coya. I don’t let a woman fall to the ground,” he replied, almost apologetically.
“I’m glad you did. We need her. We need her more than I can possibly explain here in an alley. Get us to our room, please.”
Chapter 14
Michael scooped me up and I feigned unconsciousness while he navigated the crowded streets. I had no idea if Mama Pacha was with us.
“Is she coming?” I asked, my eyes closed, and my head tucked into his shoulder.
“She disappeared. She moves fast, like us. I watched her go toward our hostel, but humans wouldn’t have been able to see her moving,” he replied, barely moving his lips. “Riley, what did you see? What is she?” he asked.
“Michael…she’s a god.” He kept moving, speechless. The statement was unbelievable. I wouldn’t have believed it either—except I saw it. Even in this new world where vampires and werewolves and Cthulu existed, meeting a god in a market in Bolivia was hard to stomach.
I began to feel stronger. “I think I can walk, Michael,” I said.
“No, I’m carrying you. I’m far too freaked out to put you down.”
“I second that.” Anthony’s voice came from behind us. Eli walked ahead, and I was sure they chose that formation to keep me in the middle. When we reached the front door to the hostel, I insisted Michael let me walk. I didn’t want the proprietress asking any questions.
Mama Pacha sat on one of the sofas in the lobby, alone in the room. She stood and turned to us when we entered. “I put the idea in the nosy woman’s mind that it was imperative she have a nap. She should be asleep for several hours. Lead the way.” She stepped back to allow us to pass by her and up the stairs to our room.
We crowded in, and I sat beside Mama Pacha on one of the beds. Michael sat on the cot, already stuck in the corner. Elias and Anthony sat on the other bed, as close to me as they could get without crowding onto the bed with me.
I stared at Mama Pacha, a little bit in love with her. “SheisMama Pacha, guys. SheisMother Nature.” They shifted and also stared at her.
“I have so many questions. Why are you here? Why do you need me?” I asked, full of a million more questions.
“Calm down, child. I have much to tell you and much I won't tell you.” She gave each man around her a meaningful look. “I won't tell you certain things until I discover which of these men give me the heepie jeepies and why.” I snorted at her botched use of the term “heebie jeebies.”
“I’ve been so far removed from my home for so long that I can't trust my intuition as I once could.” Her eyes took on a dreamy quality as she remembered. “I was beautiful once. I'm ancient, child. Much older than any of you will ever be able to reach.
“Riley is right. Once, I was a goddess. I was Mother Earth, Mother Nature. I was worshiped because they believed I blessed their harvests. I was the Inca’s goddess of fertility.” She sighed and lost the far-off gleam in her eyes.
“But it was a sham. I’m no goddess, never was. I was powerful, yes. I allowed the people to worship me, of course. I was showered with gifts. They performed sacrifices in my name. They went on pilgrimages to find me. I ruled my small part of the world fairly. Yet terribly, since I had no right to rule. And then the portals closed, and I couldn’t go home.”
She shrugged and she gave us a half smile. “Supay tried to warn me that they'd be closing, but I was too driven, too consumed with my power in this world.” Her eyes filled with tears, and she took my hand again. I was able to see her memories reflected in her eyes as warmth spread across my body.
