Nick took the copilot’s seat and reached for his seat belt while Ari maneuvered the plane toward the end of the grass runway. The tires bounced along the uneven ground, jostling them in their seats. “They’re going to be through those trees any minute.”
“I know, I know,” Ari repeated, hands gripping the wheel.
“You’ve got a fucking problem, psycho.”
“I’m saving your ass, aren’t I?”
“Barely,” Nick tossed back. Son of a bitch, he should have called the damn Argonauts instead of this nut job.
“Ah, Nick?” Cynna said from the backseat, fear filling her voice.
Nick whipped around and glanced over his shoulder, out the window. The sun was just starting to come up, casting an eerie white light through the jungle. But he easily saw what she was looking at. Two trucks emerged from the trees and barreled toward them, the beds filled with men carrying automatic weapons.
Nick’s jaw ticked. “You better fly, Ari.”
“Flying high’s what I do best.” Ari turned the plane toward the runway and punched the engine. “Hold on, fuckers. This is going to be one hell of a takeoff.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Cynna’s whole body was stiff and sore. Rolling to her back, she lifted her arms over her head, stretched, and blinked several times. Slowly, her vision cleared, and she focused on a gigantic iron chandelier hanging from old-world beams and a high-pitched ceiling.
Confused, she sat up and looked around. She lay on a mattress. Fuzzy blankets covered her legs, and a fire crackled in the biggest stone fireplace she’d ever seen. But a shiver rushed down her spine, and, looking to her right, she realized it was because the glass in the tall arching windows was shattered and broken, letting in a cool breeze that sent a chill through the gigantic room.
Tossing the covers back, she pushed to her knees, then climbed to her bare feet. She’d been thankful they’d escaped those drug lords with barely a scratch, and had slept most of the flight. By the time Ari had finally landed the plane, she’d been groggy and out of it. She remembered being in a car. Then walking through something dark, but that was about it. Moving toward the broken windows, she crossed her arms over her chest to ease the chill and looked out at the view, then drew in a surprised breath.
Cliffs opened to a wide lake, which spread out before her like a crystal-blue blanket. Purple-green mountains rose all around the lake, melding with a steadily darkening sky. The first twinkle of starlight flashed high above, telling her it was early evening and that she’d slept longer than she’d thought.
Her gaze drifted down to her arm, covered in a white bandage. She tugged the edge free and studied the cut underneath. A thin red line marred her skin. Reaching for the edge of her bloodstained shirt, she pulled the cotton up and found the same on her side where she’d been pierced by that satyr’s blade.
Ari had succeeded in healing her. Fuzzy memories of that whole ordeal whipped through her head. Turning away from the view, she wondered where the strange Argonaut had gone. There was no sign of him in this room. She looked around, searching for Nick, only there was no sign of him either.
Unease filtered through her chest, but it calmed when she caught sight of Nick’s weapons in the corner of the room. He wouldn’t have left without them. And the fact he wasn’t carrying them now meant wherever they were—and she was confident they were no longer in the Yucatan—there was no immediate threat.
She breathed easier as she moved past the mattress, intent on finding him. Little furniture sat in the giant room besides the makeshift bed. A pile of wood lay scattered in the corner. A couple of couches were overturned, the cushions sliced, stuffing littering the ground. And one whole wall was blackened, as if a fire had roared through this part of the building.
This wasn’t a house or even a compound. It was some kind of ruins. An archway opened to a wide hall with scuffed walls and crumbling stucco. Ahead, a giant curved staircase—or what was left of one—disappeared to upper levels. Boards were missing. What had once been intricately carved wood was now blackened and covered in soot. Another set of dilapidated stairs dropped to floors below, but she couldn’t see where they led.
She stilled. Listened. Couldn’t hear anything but the cry of a bird somewhere through the broken windows. Whatever this place had once been, it was clearly now abandoned.