darkness.
âThatâs the way, Ethan,â Rory said, anger and sorrow filling his voice. âAt least you took one of the bastards with you.â
Despair washed over him in a black wave. Ethan was gone. The professor was somewhere inside the temple, dragged there by Ix Chel herself, most likely for some sadistic ritual.
That left him and Elton Harrison, and it didnât look good for them, waiting their turn to be thrown into the bottomless well.
Veracruz let out a short exclamation of fear and stepped back from the opening. Dark spatters of liquid ran down the manâs face, and a larger stain stood out on his green shirt. Something flew out of the hole and bounced off the stone wall surrounding the cenote . It took Rory a moment to recognize the object, and even then he couldnât believe it.
Popiâs head?
A bellow of pure rage sounded within the cenote . The insensate anger in the long, drawn-out cry brought terrified howls from the jaguars in the jungle.
A figure emerged from the pit, flying upwards into the night sky. Wide, leathery wings blotted the stars as the creature banked and turned back towards the gathered humans.
âGood Lord!â Harrison fell down and threw his arms over his head.
Hector Veracruzâs shotgun roared once, twice. The smaller, sharper reports of Luzâs pistol followed, both men trying futilely to aim at the swooping, soaring figure overhead.
There was a pause while the two men reloaded. In that instant, the dark figure landed in front of Luz. Muscular arms, covered in lizard-like scales, shot out and long, curved talons stabbed into the manâs neck and chest. The snarling beast pulled him forward to where a gaping mouth full of triangular teeth waited.
Luz had time to utter a single bleat of terror before monstrous jaws closed on his neck and tore it away. Blood spurted in all directions. It splashed across Hector Veracruzâs face, and he dropped the shotgun to wipe frantically at his eyes with both hands.
The creature tossed Luzâs corpse to the side, and Amos was finally able to get a good look at it.
It stood well over six feet tall, on powerfully built legs. Under the tattered remnants of a tan safari shirt and pants, its chest was broad and hairless. A fine patina of scales covered the entire body, reflecting the torchlight in a myriad of tiny starbursts.
On top of the thick neck sat a head with a massive, broad snout like a bearâs. Tall, pointed ears rose up on either side of its head. Its eyes burned red as coals, aflame with a malevolent hate that turned Roryâs legs to rubber.
Veracruz fell to his hands and knees. He scuttled backwards, shouting âDiablo! Diablo!â
The demonic presence looked past the jaguar cultist and spoke, its rough voice thick and clotted with Luzâs blood, its words bent into strange shapes from being forced out of an inhuman mouth.
âRory, go back to the temple. Find the professor and Jenny. Iâll take care of Ix Chel.â
The creature grabbed Veracruz with one clawed hand, unfurled its wings, and rose swiftly into the air.
âDid you hearâ¦those clothesâ¦itâs not possible.â Harrison grabbed at the wall of the cenote to support himself, still staring in the direction where the monster had disappeared.
âWeâve seen a lot tonight that isnât possible. Whatever, whoever , that thing was, it had the right idea. Weâve got to save Jenny and the professor.â
âThe professorâs dead! And so is Jenny.â Harrisonâs voice trembled with a note of hysteria. âWhat weâve got to do is get the hell out of here beforeâ¦that thing comes back for us.â
Rory wrapped two fists in the scientistâs shirt and hauled him forward. âYou can either come with me or stay here. But Iâm not giving up yet.â
He let go of Harrison. Although the cenote lay at the far edge of the city, he could still see the