“I don’t know which one it was.”
“He left me briefly. That’s why my head hurts so much.” Justin actually looked delighted. “No one’s ever seen him. Or them. Do you know what that’s like? To finally not be the only one to see them?”
“You said you believed in them, though.”
“Yeah. Mostly. But it’s still a relief.”
“I don’t know how to handle what’s happening,” she said bluntly. “This. What my mom said. In one day, everything I’ve accepted about my life is gone. I kind of wish I was crazy.”
“Yeah, I’ve wished that a lot too.”
“How do you handle it?”
“One moment at a time.”
“You told me your dream…but what do you really know about all of this? The bigger picture?”
He shook his head. “I’ve been trying to figure that out for almost five years. Cope. Lead a normal life. Learn as much as possible. Unfortunately, there’s no real authority to go to for this. Callista’s helped a little, but there are still so many questions.”
Slightly calmer, Mae was able to focus more on him and noticed his shoulder, where long bloody lines cut through the shirt. “She…she scratched you with her, um, claws.”
“Got my back too,” he said with a wince. “And she did that even before the transformation.”
“You should see a doctor.”
He scoffed. “No way. I’m glad you and I had this breakthrough, but there’s no way I’m talking to a professional. It’s not that deep. You can do a field-medic job on me back in the room.” The mention of his room brought back the memories of their brief moment of passion. “Mae—” he began.
She didn’t want to hear whatever was coming and quickly pushed another topic. “That…thing that seizes me had a weird reaction to the jaguar. Almost as though they didn’t want to fight each other.”
Justin wisely followed her lead, though he looked reluctant. “Competing gods, maybe. I want to know what the police get on her. I want to know who sent her.”
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? The group behind the murders.”
“I don’t know…jaguars and obsidian. That’s not their style. Why didn’t she use a silver dagger on you?”
“Maybe they only save them for special occasions.”
He gave her a long, level look. “You do realize now that this is all tied together? You, the victims, your goddess. You’re connected, no matter what Leo’s tests say.”
Mae started to protest when she noticed Tessa coming toward them. The girl caught the tail end. “Are you talking about goddesses?”
“SCI talk,” Justin said quickly.
Tessa looked skeptical, but she put that aside as concern seized her. “Are you guys okay? I saw what happened from the roof…in the park….” She looked more surprised than appalled, probably because of the common nature of Panamanian shootings. “I heard a policeman saying that woman attacked Justin.”
“Kind of,” said Mae. “It’s a long story.” Suddenly, she remembered the beginning of her earlier conversation with Tessa. “What happened to you? And being accosted?”
Justin’s head jerked up. “Accosted?”
“Bad word choice,” said Tessa. No one was nearby, but she still looked around nervously. “I think we should go upstairs. I’ve got something kind of important to show you.”
CHAPTER 32
DESPERATE TIMES AND ALL THAT
“Something important” was kind of an understatement.
Justin never would’ve believed Mae’s genetic past and subsequent fight with a shape-shifting woman could be trumped by anything. Apparently, it was one of the rare times he was wrong. Equally incredible was listening to Tessa put together facts in the interview with the old man. Justin had known she was smart, but even he was amazed at her ability to ask the right questions. She’d had no idea how it all worked together, but her gut had told her to just keep gathering information.
Even prodigies needed sleep, however, and in the middle of her video’s third viewing, he saw that Tessa was exhausted. He sent her off to bed while he and Mae held a war council in his room, both of them pointedly not sitting on the bed. Exerzol had given Justin a second wind, though he was so wired by the flood of data tonight that he couldn’t have slept anyway. Mae, although not technically tired, had a weary look on her face, the expression of someone who was mentally drained.
Justin paced the room. “It’s here, Mae. There’s always a pattern, and we’ve almost got it.”