Quint helped Pedro catch her before she hit the ground. The two of them carried her to the stone they’d shared earlier.
“What’s wrong with her?” Angélica kneeled in front of Daisy, whose eyes were now closed. “Is she okay?”
“She was having one of her … uh …” he paused.
Pedro was watching him with a narrowed gaze. Shit. Might as well tell it like it was. Pedro had already witnessed it all.
“Someone was using Daisy as a channel again,” he said.
Angélica leaned back, her hand going to her chest. “Was it Mom?”
He shook his head. “She kept calling me ‘Kimi.’ I think it was the same visitor as before.”
“What is going on?” Pedro asked, watching both of them now. “No fairy tales, Angélica,” he warned.
“I’ll explain later, Pedro. In private.” Angélica turned to Quint. “Call her back.”
“How?”
“I don’t know, but if she was channeling a message for you, then your voice might bring her back.”
“Daisy,” he whispered.
“Louder,” Angélica ordered.
“Daisy!”
Her eyes flicked open, her expression confused for a couple of beats before recognition settled into place. “Quint? What happened?”
“You zoned out,” Angélica said, taking Daisy’s hand in hers. “Are you okay?”
Daisy nodded, and then her focus moved behind Angélica. “Wow! Look at them all. They’re so beautiful.”
“What’s going on?” Juan asked as he limped up tothem. “Is Daisy okay?”
“I’m fine, Juan. I just got a little chill there for a moment and must have stumbled into poor Quint.” Daisy pointed at the birds, smiling with wonder. “Look! What an honor to be among so many kings. You think they’re admiring us the same as we are them?”
“Maybe,” Angélica said, aiming a raised brow at Quint.
“I need a drink,” Pedro said, stepping back and fanning his shirt.
“The one perched on the skull pile is the largest,” Juan said. “He must be king of the kings.”
And the deliverer of the message?
Quint rubbed the back of his neck. This was so fucked up. Maybe the heat was melting his brain.
As they watched, the “king” flexed his wings wide. They must have spanned over six feet! The vulture wheezed out a scratchy call of sorts, snapping its beak several times.
A great flapping racket followed as the thirteen vultures on the wall all lifted off at once. The king followed last, shoving off the pile so hard that several of the skulls rolled to the ground.
“Cristo,” Pedro said. “Look at them go.”
Daisy clapped, seemingly unaware that she’d knocked the wind out of the rest of them with her show-and-tell act. “What a wonderful way to start our day!”
Quint met Angélica’s worried gaze, rubbing the half-moon indentations Daisy’s fingernails had left on his forearm. What had it all meant? Who was sending the messengers to him?
Movement behind her drew his gaze.
