“I said no touching,” a woman’s voice said.
What the…?
Ren said, “Sorry. I forgot. You’re just so cool.”
“Is that thing alive?” I asked.
“Did you call me a thing?!” the globe asked, spinning back to the center of the room.
“Not a thing,” I said, trying to erase my mistake. I mean, who wants to get on the wrong side of a talking globe? “I meant…” I fumbled for the right words as I went over to get a better look without touching the orb.
“You meant that I am a highly advanced achievement,” the globe said. “With access to more knowledge than your puny brain could ever hope to contain.”
“Exactly what he meant, Saás,” Hondo said, sipping his coffee like he was enjoying this exchange.
“Her name is Sauce?” I asked.
“S-A-A-S. Mayan for light,” Brooks said, with a dropping tone on the last a as she came back with a pile of chocolate donuts. She tossed one into the air for Rosie to snatch up.
“Watch this.” Ren’s smile lit up her whole face as she leaned close to the orb. “Saás, what is Jupiter?”
“Why do you waste my talent with such simple-minded questions?”
A holographic image of the planet appeared above the globe along with a bunch of text about Jupiter being the fifth planet from the sun, how much it weighs, et cetera et cetera.
“Cool, we’ve got an Alexa globe,” Brooks said, handing me a donut. “Now can we look for the information we came for?”
“My name is not Alexa,” the globe said. “So insulting. Alexa wishes she were as erudite as I am. She is a mere knockoff. Of course, many of the Maya inventions were copied and our advancements were never…Oh, never mind.”
Hondo held back a smile. “I’ve got a better question, Saás. Who is the greatest wrestler of all time?”
“I will not be tricked,” Saás said in a more annoyed voice. “Which standards are we using to measure? Career highlights? Look? Marketability? In-ring ability?”
I munched on my donut. The chocolate icing was glossy and as smooth as velvet. But it was the way it melted on my tongue and the nutty dark sweet flavors burst in my mouth that stole a breath. Literally.
“Whoa! This is…”
“Crazy delicious?” Brooks said, polishing off hers and licking her fingers clean. “Now can we get back to why we’re here?”
Hondo said, “The first thing we have to do is find out if one of Ix-tub-tun’s stones is missing.”
Ren nodded. “If it is, Adrik and Alana may have…may have had a stolen stone. Unless Ix-tub-tun gave it away.”
“Which makes no sense if the twins’ dad was, you know…” Brooks peered at us through dark curls that had fallen over her left eye. “If their dad was with Ixtab.”
Hondo raised his eyebrows and nodded appreciatively. “Wow, Capitán. I love how your mind works. It reminds me of—” He stopped himself before he said Quinn. “Er, reminds me how smart and calculating you are and—”
“Hey, Saás,” I said. “Where can we find information on Ix-tub-tun’s stones?”
Saás sighed. “This again?”
“We already tried that.” Ren sipped her cocoa. “She could only confirm that Ix-tub-tun spat out a lot of magic stones.”
Right. Nudging my chin toward Saás, I mouthed, Is she recording us?
Hondo said, “That’s what I want to know. She could be blasting our convo all over the galaxy.”
“As if anyone would care,” Saás said. “All of you are insignificant. Except, maybe, the dragon.”
“Dragon?” I echoed.
“Only one with the power of the dragon can unlock the knowledge in this sacred place,” Saás said.
I thought the globe was malfunctioning until I remembered something Itzamna had told me that night in Cabo: All the writers I deem worthy have the power of the dragon.
Saás sighed and added, “Zane Obispo, surely you know that Itzamna deemed you worthy many moons ago.”
“Zane has the power of the dragon?” Brooks said in a tone that bordered on impressed.
“So cool,” Ren uttered.
I screwed up my face and cocked my head. “No, I did not know. If he did…I didn’t agree to it.”
“You should be honored,” Saás said. “It isn’t every decade or even century that this power is bestowed, so get a better attitude.”
I rubbed my right temple in slow circles. “What does it even mean?”
“The truth contained within this temple is highly valuable to our history, our origins. It cannot be seen by just anyone, not even the gods. Only those with the magic of the dragon can call up the words and share them with others. Those who came before you were much more appreciative of the honor.”
Hondo, Ren, and Brooks stared at me expectantly. “Okay, fine,” I said. “How do I do call up the words?”
“Just ask.” Then Saás, with a sizzling pop, vanished in a single beam of light.
“W-wait!” I stammered.
“Technogics can be moody,” Brooks said with a light shrug. “And before you ask, technogics is a combo of magic and technology.” She looked around. “Hey, maybe you’ll find a chapat here.”
“Chapat?” Hondo asked.
After I told him and Ren about the Fire Keeper’s message and the warning from Ixkik’, Hondo stroked his chin like a professor, considering something super deep. “‘Are your eyes wide open?’” he repeated. “That isn’t creepy at all.”
“Weird,” Ren said as a small rabbit shadow-hopped around her. “I had a bad dream, too. An alien took me to a magical metal shop and asked which materials were best for a spaceship, because she had to get to a cave of teeth. Or was it crystals? It was definitely crystals.” She shook her head. “The strangest part? The alien had my mom’s voice.”
Brooks said, “Maybe those tree houses mess with godborn brains.”
That was a seriously disturbing thought. “Come on, let’s stay focused on the stone.” I looked around. There were no signs defining the sections. “There are thousands of books here, and categories. Where do we even begin?”
“S for stone?” Ren suggested. “Or I for Ix-tub-tun?”
“Or Z for Zotz the loser?” Hondo said with a sneer.
“Maybe there’s a catalog of stones,” Brooks said. “Look for a really, really fat book.”
Yep. That definitely narrowed it down. As far as I could tell, all the books looked fatter than double-stuffed encyclopedias. But at least encyclopedias have numbers and letters on the spines. These books only had worn symbols that were hard to make out because the bindings were so old and tattered. Almost as ancient as the scrolls lodged in the cubbies that were scattered between shelves.
Brooks raised her eyebrows. “Well? Go ahead, Zane. Call up the words.”
I felt stupid. Stupider than stupid. “Hey!” I brightened. “Maybe I can just summon the right book.”
Hondo folded his arms over his chest. “Now would be good.”