Joseph that, like Carmen, she had found the mummies a bit freaky and that was why she had leftthe museum before the others. Luckily he hadnât seen her bawling her eyes out on the pavement.
âIs there an Internet café in Guanajuato?â Vanessa asked now.
Joseph was in the process of downing a can of Coke in one swallow. He finished it before answering.
âYup. Do you need to use it?â
âThat would be great. I promised to send an email to Dad and the boys when I spoke to them the other evening. You donât have Internet at the ranch?â Vanessa knew the answer already.
âNot Fridaâs thing, really,â Joseph replied breezily.
âOh, look, here come the others now.â
The Internet café was absolutely tiny with no windows. Instead of a door there was just a curtain of beaded strings. How did they lock the shop up at night? Vanessa wondered.
Luckily there were plenty of terminals available, and the three girls took their seats. Armado had decided to go to the bar with Joseph and meet them back at the truck later.
The first word she typed into the search engine was
nagwaal
.
Above the results list, the question âDo you meannagual?â prompted her. So that was how you spelled it. She opened up the first item.
A nagual is a type of brujo, or witch. It is a shape-shifter who can take on the body of an animal. They are the powerful ones in a community, usually evil and greatly feared. Ordinary people canât necessarily identify naguals in their community, but naguals can recognize each other.
Vanessa froze. Shapeshifters? Someone turning into something else? Hadnât she just seen dead bodies turn into animals at the museum? And what about the woman who turned into a bird at the airport?
And what about naguals being able to recognize each other? Did that mean the young girl was one and thought Vanessa was one too? Could she be one without knowing it? Maybe that was why she was having all these strange visions. Except she wasnât the one turning into an animalâshe was seeing others shapeshifting. That was different. Wasnât it?
Carmen had said that the turtle girl spoke the local language. Maybe it had something to do with that Mexican tribe, the one that Izel belonged to.
Nahwha, wasnât it?
Once again the computer corrected her. Nahua.
The Nahua people in Mexico date back to pre-Columbian times and are considered the direct descendants of the Aztecs. They mostly live in central Mexico, and it is estimated that 1.4 million people speak the language Nahuatl. They are amongst the many tribes in Mexico that practice shamanism. The traditional Mexican shaman is a powerful individual within the community who has magical and spiritual powers that come directly from supernatural beings through spirit possession, visions, and dreams.
The shaman. The shaman just kept on coming up somehow. Was there a connection?
âWe have about ten minutes before we meet Mado and Papa.â
Vanessa was concentrating so hard on the screen that Carmenâs words barely registered. She had one last word to look up. Izel had given her the correct spelling.
The xolo (pronounced sholo) is a rare hairless dog native to Mexico. As a breed these dogs have been around for three
thousand years and were considered sacred by the Aztecs, who used to eat their meat. In some parts of rural Mexico the meat is still sold, although it is against the law.
Vanessa stared at the screen, her heart quickening beneath her breastbone. Yuck! How could people eat a dog? No wonder Xolo was wary of people.
The xolo is known to be an excellent watchdog, but it is also thought to have curative powers, curing rheumatism and fevers as well as protecting against evil spirits â¦
Vanessa stopped reading. She saw from the corner of her eye that Carmen had stood up and gone over to Nikkiâs computer.
If Vanessa was going to email Lee, she would have to do it quickly. Her
âIs there an Internet café in Guanajuato?â Vanessa asked now.
Joseph was in the process of downing a can of Coke in one swallow. He finished it before answering.
âYup. Do you need to use it?â
âThat would be great. I promised to send an email to Dad and the boys when I spoke to them the other evening. You donât have Internet at the ranch?â Vanessa knew the answer already.
âNot Fridaâs thing, really,â Joseph replied breezily.
âOh, look, here come the others now.â
The Internet café was absolutely tiny with no windows. Instead of a door there was just a curtain of beaded strings. How did they lock the shop up at night? Vanessa wondered.
Luckily there were plenty of terminals available, and the three girls took their seats. Armado had decided to go to the bar with Joseph and meet them back at the truck later.
The first word she typed into the search engine was
nagwaal
.
Above the results list, the question âDo you meannagual?â prompted her. So that was how you spelled it. She opened up the first item.
A nagual is a type of brujo, or witch. It is a shape-shifter who can take on the body of an animal. They are the powerful ones in a community, usually evil and greatly feared. Ordinary people canât necessarily identify naguals in their community, but naguals can recognize each other.
Vanessa froze. Shapeshifters? Someone turning into something else? Hadnât she just seen dead bodies turn into animals at the museum? And what about the woman who turned into a bird at the airport?
And what about naguals being able to recognize each other? Did that mean the young girl was one and thought Vanessa was one too? Could she be one without knowing it? Maybe that was why she was having all these strange visions. Except she wasnât the one turning into an animalâshe was seeing others shapeshifting. That was different. Wasnât it?
Carmen had said that the turtle girl spoke the local language. Maybe it had something to do with that Mexican tribe, the one that Izel belonged to.
Nahwha, wasnât it?
Once again the computer corrected her. Nahua.
The Nahua people in Mexico date back to pre-Columbian times and are considered the direct descendants of the Aztecs. They mostly live in central Mexico, and it is estimated that 1.4 million people speak the language Nahuatl. They are amongst the many tribes in Mexico that practice shamanism. The traditional Mexican shaman is a powerful individual within the community who has magical and spiritual powers that come directly from supernatural beings through spirit possession, visions, and dreams.
The shaman. The shaman just kept on coming up somehow. Was there a connection?
âWe have about ten minutes before we meet Mado and Papa.â
Vanessa was concentrating so hard on the screen that Carmenâs words barely registered. She had one last word to look up. Izel had given her the correct spelling.
The xolo (pronounced sholo) is a rare hairless dog native to Mexico. As a breed these dogs have been around for three
thousand years and were considered sacred by the Aztecs, who used to eat their meat. In some parts of rural Mexico the meat is still sold, although it is against the law.
Vanessa stared at the screen, her heart quickening beneath her breastbone. Yuck! How could people eat a dog? No wonder Xolo was wary of people.
The xolo is known to be an excellent watchdog, but it is also thought to have curative powers, curing rheumatism and fevers as well as protecting against evil spirits â¦
Vanessa stopped reading. She saw from the corner of her eye that Carmen had stood up and gone over to Nikkiâs computer.
If Vanessa was going to email Lee, she would have to do it quickly. Her
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