The Bloodgate Warrior Read Online Free Page B

first found him when I hit my head and fell unconscious into the lake.
    Wait a minute. If all it took was blood and water, why couldn’t I bring him through using a bathtub? Before I could convince myself that I’d truly lost it, I plugged the tub and sat down on the edge. I held my silly pink razor, stared at my shaking hand, and decided maybe I’d better lay out some bandages before I cut an artery open.
    Usually when I shaved my legs I ended up with at least one wad of tissue paper stuck to my flesh until the bleeding stopped. Today I actually had to grind the razor pretty hard against my thigh before I cut myself. Deeper than I intended, too. Shit, it hurt despite being such a little cut.
    Plop by plop, blood dripped onto the water. I held my breath until I was dizzy, swayed, and nearly slipped off the edge to bang my head on the tiled floor. I could just imagine trying to explain that one to Natalie.
    Well, you see, I was trying to bring the legendary warrior Técun Úman through an invisible gate in the bathtub, so I cut myself with a razor and then I slipped and hit my head.
    She’d probably have me committed.
    My stomach pitched so hard I doubled over and clenched my teeth to keep from vomiting all over the floor. Mom had committed suicide. What if…
    No. I took deep breaths to calm myself down. A drug overdose had killed her. She hadn’t slit her wrists…or stupidly tried to bring a dead Mayan warrior through her bathtub.
    I stuck two Band-Aids on my thigh and glared at myself in the mirror. No more dreams of helpless surrender to my big, bad warrior. No more pretending that a man who died centuries ago would stride into my life and conquer all my demons.
    I’ll prove once and for all that Técun Úman is dead and buried by finding his fucking grave.

Chapter Three
    1524 Luisa Xicoténcatl Tecubalsi
Translated into Spanish by Leonor de Alvarado y Xiotenega Tecubalsi
Translated by Carla Guzmán Gonzales, 1970
    Our savior waits on the other side of the gate. Through water and time, he will pass and walk our world once more. As he has come many times before, he shall come again, but now, only to the call of Tecubalsi magic.
    Oh distant daughter who is destined to call him, use the magic in your blood. He is bound to our blood for all time. When your need is great and the day is dark, only he can turn back the tide of the greatest evil. Nothing dare stand against him.
    The earth will tremble before his power and the volcanoes spew ash and fire at the thought of his majesty. When the sun is cloaked in darkness, Great Feathered Serpent will shine bright, spreading his quetzal wings across the sky.
    He will rise for Tecubalsi. He will rise for you.
    * * *
    Natalie frowned down at her travel guide I’d filled with color-coded Post-it notes for each vacation day. “I only caught a glimpse of Antigua so far. Are you sure you want to drive so far when we have interesting things to see around the hotel?”
    José glanced in the mirror, checking to ensure he had my attention. “In Antigua, the last earthquake further damaged our sites. There’s been sickness, too, although not as bad as Santiago Atitlán.”
    I’d heard an epidemic had broken out in the small village on the shores of Lake Atitlán, but I didn’t know the details. I’d gotten all my shots before coming, so hopefully we’d be safe.
    “Very bad things have been happening. Some say that demons walk the land once more.”
    My scalp crawled. In the dreams, Técun had warned of a great darkness. He was never called without an end-of-the-world sort of fight ahead of him.
    “So what’s in Olintepeque?” Natalie asked.
    I caught José’s gaze in the rearview mirror and felt a weird vibe from him. Like he knows exactly what I’m looking for . My instincts were rarely wrong when it came to people. I’d taught myself to tell within a few minutes whether a prospective couple would enjoy our timeshare program or hate it, whether they’d buy or go on