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Authors: David Bowles
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their predicament, to her concern about her mother, to her confusion about the trials ahead.
Gritting her teeth in frustration, she groaned and stomped her foot. “Gah! I can’t do it. I can’t focus.”
“It isn’t about focus, girl, but about a lack thereof.”
Carol glanced at Johnny, whose face was twisted up so comically that she almost laughed despite herself. After a few more seconds, he muttered a curse and opened his eyes. “Forget it. I got nothing.”
Xolotl bared his teeth in a feral gesture. “What you need is to confront the perils of this place head-on. That’ll knock you free of your comfortable mindsets.” He sounded positively angry. Carol was rather taken aback. “The danger you’re in, that your mother is in, that we are all of us in, hasn’t really penetrated your barely adolescent brains. You act as if this were a game. You’ve never had to face a real trial in your lives. You’re complacent.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Johnny was livid. “Complacent? No trials? What do you think we’ve been living the last six months, huh? Not knowing where our mom is, watching our dad get drunker and drunker every day…you’re not being fair, man.”
“Fair? Johnny, fairness is irrelevant. If you can’t transform, you can’t save your mother . If you think I’m being unduly harsh, I suggest you imagine her dying in the dark, all alone, because you couldn’t free yourself from your own self-control.”
They stood in silence, regarding one another. So much for humor and joy, huh?
“Well, come on,” the hellhound said finally. “Let’s begin. First you will cross this range, the Tepeme Monamictia or Crashing Mountains. Then come the deserts: blackness, bats and jaguars, cold, haunted ruins, lava plains, ashes, heart-eating demons, obsidian winds and a putrid lake. Then you stand before the Lord and Lady of Death, and once past them you finally confront the villain who holds your mother prisoner. The tzapame have given you some tools; I am providing you some assistance. But in the end it is the two of you who must rise to the challenges and overcome the obstacles.
“Words of warning: you will neither feel hunger or sleepiness. You may nonetheless be tempted to eat or sleep. Do not . Even though you will become physically very tired, you cannot afford to rest much. The time is short. Your enemies know you are here. Move quickly and face them with courage.”
He began to lope toward the hills. The twins exchanged a look and dashed after him. At first they kept a decent pace, crossing the sandy plane with flying strides. At the hills they slowed somewhat, bounding from rock to rock, avoiding fissures and scree. As the hills began to become the roots of the obsidian-rich mountains, their path grew steeper, and they had to use their hands more and more, nicking themselves occasionally on sharp points and edges. Carol heard more and more muttered curses coming from her brother, so she looked down at his feet. His socks were stained red with blood.
“Stop!” she ordered. “Johnny, your feet! My God…Xolotl, look at his feet!”
The hellhound gave a low snarl. “I told you what you needed to do. That you refuse to comply is another matter entirely.”
Johnny sat down heavily on the flinty slope and examined the soles of his feet. “This sucks, big time.” He closed his eyes, lay back, and folded his arms across his chest.
“What are you doing?” Xolotl demanded.
“Going to sleep, man. That’s the only way I know to shift.”
“I’ve told you, you can’t sleep in Mictlan, child.”
Johnny’s eyes shot open. “You know, I’m getting real tired of your freaking attitude. I mean, yeah, you’re the shadow soul of Quetzalcoatl or whatever, and you helped us cross the humongous river, but could you just back the heck off?”
Xolotl’s blue eyes seemed to glow like burning alcohol. “I see that what you require are very drastic measures.”
The hellhound
Gritting her teeth in frustration, she groaned and stomped her foot. “Gah! I can’t do it. I can’t focus.”
“It isn’t about focus, girl, but about a lack thereof.”
Carol glanced at Johnny, whose face was twisted up so comically that she almost laughed despite herself. After a few more seconds, he muttered a curse and opened his eyes. “Forget it. I got nothing.”
Xolotl bared his teeth in a feral gesture. “What you need is to confront the perils of this place head-on. That’ll knock you free of your comfortable mindsets.” He sounded positively angry. Carol was rather taken aback. “The danger you’re in, that your mother is in, that we are all of us in, hasn’t really penetrated your barely adolescent brains. You act as if this were a game. You’ve never had to face a real trial in your lives. You’re complacent.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Johnny was livid. “Complacent? No trials? What do you think we’ve been living the last six months, huh? Not knowing where our mom is, watching our dad get drunker and drunker every day…you’re not being fair, man.”
“Fair? Johnny, fairness is irrelevant. If you can’t transform, you can’t save your mother . If you think I’m being unduly harsh, I suggest you imagine her dying in the dark, all alone, because you couldn’t free yourself from your own self-control.”
They stood in silence, regarding one another. So much for humor and joy, huh?
“Well, come on,” the hellhound said finally. “Let’s begin. First you will cross this range, the Tepeme Monamictia or Crashing Mountains. Then come the deserts: blackness, bats and jaguars, cold, haunted ruins, lava plains, ashes, heart-eating demons, obsidian winds and a putrid lake. Then you stand before the Lord and Lady of Death, and once past them you finally confront the villain who holds your mother prisoner. The tzapame have given you some tools; I am providing you some assistance. But in the end it is the two of you who must rise to the challenges and overcome the obstacles.
“Words of warning: you will neither feel hunger or sleepiness. You may nonetheless be tempted to eat or sleep. Do not . Even though you will become physically very tired, you cannot afford to rest much. The time is short. Your enemies know you are here. Move quickly and face them with courage.”
He began to lope toward the hills. The twins exchanged a look and dashed after him. At first they kept a decent pace, crossing the sandy plane with flying strides. At the hills they slowed somewhat, bounding from rock to rock, avoiding fissures and scree. As the hills began to become the roots of the obsidian-rich mountains, their path grew steeper, and they had to use their hands more and more, nicking themselves occasionally on sharp points and edges. Carol heard more and more muttered curses coming from her brother, so she looked down at his feet. His socks were stained red with blood.
“Stop!” she ordered. “Johnny, your feet! My God…Xolotl, look at his feet!”
The hellhound gave a low snarl. “I told you what you needed to do. That you refuse to comply is another matter entirely.”
Johnny sat down heavily on the flinty slope and examined the soles of his feet. “This sucks, big time.” He closed his eyes, lay back, and folded his arms across his chest.
“What are you doing?” Xolotl demanded.
“Going to sleep, man. That’s the only way I know to shift.”
“I’ve told you, you can’t sleep in Mictlan, child.”
Johnny’s eyes shot open. “You know, I’m getting real tired of your freaking attitude. I mean, yeah, you’re the shadow soul of Quetzalcoatl or whatever, and you helped us cross the humongous river, but could you just back the heck off?”
Xolotl’s blue eyes seemed to glow like burning alcohol. “I see that what you require are very drastic measures.”
The hellhound
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