She didn’t pretend to misunderstand the deeper question, especially in view of the concern lining his brow. “We can’t rule that out. But it also could have something to do with Daisy, who has been at both sites, as well as you.” She bumped her knees against his. “And we bothknowshe is some kind of channeler.”
“That’s true.”
She looked down at where his thumb was rubbing over the back of her hand. “Tell me again what she said to you aboutkimi.”
There was something about Daisy’s words that kept replaying in her mind—beyond the obvious eeriness, of course.
She closed her eyes while Quint recounted the conversation about Daisy predicting without a doubt that someone would get hurt at the site, and then the bit about there being too many whispers and asking if he could hear the ancestors speaking to their guardian about death, which was smeared all over him. He wrapped up with the part where Daisy said “he” must not be left alone.
“And that was it?” Angélica pressed.
“Yeah, well, except the rainbow part.”
She opened her eyes. “What rainbow part?”
“Daisy claimed to have seen rainbow colors in her head during all this.”
That was … interesting. “Rainbow colors or a rainbow itself?”
“She didn’t clarify. Just said the colors were vivid and beautiful, and that she got so focused on them that she forgot what we were doing.” He tipped his head slightly. “Why are you looking like that?”
“Like what?”
“All cloudy with a chance of rain from here to here.” Quint pointed at her forehead and then her chin.
She hesitated, not sure if she should tell him, or if it even mattered. Maybe she was allowing this supernatural stuff to rent too much space in her brain.
“Spit it out, Angélica.”
“Okay, but just keep in mind this is Maya mythology based, not facts, and various subsets of the Maya civilizations had different names and slightly altered beliefs for their gods.”
He waved for her to continue.
“The Maya believed in a goddess of rainbows.”
“That sounds like a nice job. Does she get to ride unicorns around?”
She grinned. “What is it with you and unicorns?”
He shrugged. “They’re pretty.”
“Anyway, most western civilizations are accustomed to rainbows symbolizing happiness and good luck.”
“And pots of gold.”
“Bingo.” She took another sip of water before continuing. “But the goddess of rainbows for some of the Maya should not be confused as a being full of goodwill, because some groups had a different belief when it came to rainbows.”
“Let me guess, they thought rainbows were a warning sign that the god of death was coming to visit them?”
“Close. Rainbows were sometimes thought to be the flatulence of demons, and they brought bad luck.” She took another drink. “Oh, and they caused disease, too.”
“Huh. That’s a bizarre twist on something so pretty.”
Setting her water down, she continued with her point. “I’ve told you before that Maya gods often have dual roles that play on the duplicity of Maya beings.”
“Yeah.”
“The goddess of rainbows is no different. She has a beautiful, youthful form, in which she represents fertility and childbirth.”
