The explosion rocked Xibalba to its core. Jagged cracks shot through the floor. Pyramids crumbled like Jenga blocks, and stalactites began falling down like missiles to spear the broken floor. But that was only the first taste of the destruction. Far across the cavern, the wall separating Bat House from the ball court had disintegrated, unleashing a cloud of dust and a wall of flame that was now rolling across the city faster than a freight train.
Maddock scrambled to his feet, slipping on the lichen-covered floor, almost stumbling again. The pool was close, but the fire behind him felt even closer.
There was no sign of the others. He hoped that meant Bones had gotten them out in time.
A cry tore from his lips as the heat flashed to searing intensity. The blue lichen—the Light, though its glow was now wholly overwhelmed by the brilliance of the flames rushing through Xibalba—darkened and withered to ash all around him. The fire scorched his back; he thought he could feel his skin blistering and bubbling under his shirt. But even as it burned him, the fire was also his deliverance. The superheated air pushed him from behind, a hot wind driving him forward toward the pool and salvation.
As he fell forward into the water, he sucked in a desperate breath. The air, full of smoke and dust, burned in his lungs. He knew it would be his last breath for a while...maybe the last breath he would ever take. The water however was an instant relief, cool and embracing, quenching the heat and soothing his burned skin.
The fires above lit up the depths like daylight, revealing the underwater cave at the bottom of the pool, almost directly under the crashing waterfall. Maddock dove deeper, pulling himself toward it. Then the current caught him and he was sucked into the cave, swallowed by the darkness.
He could feel the sides of the submerged passage rushing past, scraping against him, and knew the most immediate danger was of being knocked senseless by a rocky protrusion, so he curled into a fetal ball, letting the river take him wherever it chose.
Time lost all meaning. Under normal circumstances and with adequate preparation, he could hold his breath for well over two minutes without discomfort, but the miasma he had breathed last in Xibalba was an unknown quantity. He could feel the acid burn of too much carbon dioxide in his bloodstream, and the spasms of his body demanding he exhale and replace it with fresh, oxygen-rich air. He fought the urge as long as he could, tried every trick he knew to fool himself into believing that he could hold out a little longer, and then, when he could fight no longer, he opened his mouth and blew out the foul breath in a final silent shout of defiance.
“Maddock!”
The shout brought him most of the way out of the dark void of unconsciousness. The slap did the rest.
He opened his eyes and found Bones staring back at him, so close their noses were almost touching. Drops of water were falling from Bones’ hair like raindrops, landing on Maddock’s cheeks and running into his eyes.
“If you were your sister,” Maddock mumbled, “I’d kiss you.”
Bones grinned. “Angel. He’s asking for you.”
Maddock blinked the water away and sat up...tried to sit up. A spasm of pain gripped him like a giant’s fist.
“Easy, partner,” Bones said. “You’ve probably got some bruised ribs. I know I do. That was some ride, huh?”
Maddock took a couple breaths and then tried to sit up again. He could see rough stone overhead, the ceiling of a cave, but the air was too fresh to be the trapped atmosphere of a closed environment, and the light was too bright to be from any artificial source. When he finally managed to bring himself to an upright position, he saw that the reality was something in between. They were in a cave of sorts, an open-air grotto where the subterranean river that had carried them out of Xibalba broke from the earth and spilled out into the Guatemalan rain forest.
He found Angel, sitting with Kasey and Miranda nearby. All three were shivering, probably coming down from their adrenaline high. For a long time, no one moved or spoke.
Bones finally broke the silence. “I’m afraid we ducked out before the credits rolled. What the hell happened?”
“I’m not really sure. There was an explosion. I don’t know what caused it.” He glanced over at Kasey.
Kasey shook her head. “Wasn’t me. I never got the chance. It must have been Isabella. I wonder why she changed her mind.”
“Maybe she realized what was at stake,” Maddock said. “I guess you can report back to Tam, mission accomplished. Any idea where we are?”
Bones shook his head, but the question prompted him to stand. “Wherever it is, we’re gonna have to walk out of here. It’s going to be dark soon, so we should get moving.”
Maddock stood as well, ignoring the groans of protest from his battered body. He reached out a hand to Angel, helping her up first, then turned to Miranda.
Her blond locks were plastered to her face, giving her a haunted, desolate look, like a war refugee, but when she gazed up at him, he saw no trace of anger in her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he said, offering his hand.
“I know.” She took the hand, letting him draw her up. “I heard what you said to Scano. I think my father figured it out, too. He knew he was sick and that there wasn’t a cure. He was telling us to leave him.” She took a deep breath, let it out in a sigh.
“He was right about everything,” Maddock said, hoping she would find some comfort in that. “The City of Shadow. Xibalba. At least he got to see it before...”
She nodded and managed a wan smile. Then, she turned to Bones and with no warning whatsoever, threw her arms around him, pressing her cheek against his chest.
“Whoa!” Bones’ look of surprise quickly became a grin of mischief. “Hey, I didn’t think you liked me that way.”
“Bones!” Angel hissed in a stage whisper. “For once in your life, shut up.”
“Thank you,” Miranda murmured, still holding him. “For trying to save my father. After everything. I can’t excuse what he did, but I’m glad he got to see Xibalba before it was over.”
Bones’ grin softened. Maddock thought he actually looked a little embarrassed. “Oh, sure. I mean, he didn’t really...”
“Shh,” Miranda whispered. “Listen to your sister. She’s a smart girl.”