The Bloodgate Guardian Read online

  As well as the man trying to understand the carvings on the delicate tile that had been buried beneath crumbling adobe. Ruin nodded gravely. Many had died that day, but many more would have died if someone had succeeded in learning the locations of each Gate which had clearly been marked on that precious tile.

  “The Americans plan to whisk Dr. Merritt away in a matter of minutes. With your leave, I’ll arrange a diversion that may enable your escape.”

  Drawing on the long-forgotten dignity and power he’d wielded as the High Priest of Chi’Ch’ul, he spread his hands open, palm up, and bowed formally back to him. “I thank you for your assistance.”

  Dr. Reyes ran for the door, cell phone in hand.

  “Jaid…” The other woman edged toward the door, her eyes wide with panic. “He was dead. I saw it. This isn’t possible!”

  “It’s all right,” she replied soothingly. “Trust me. If you can believe in the Gates, believe that this man is the Gatekeeper. He’s our only hope of saving my father.”

  “Forget him,” Ruin retorted. The other woman cringed at his harsh voice, but he didn’t care whether she trusted him or not.

  All he cared about was Jaid.

  “I won’t damn the whole world to save my father, but our goals are aligned to a common purpose. You want the Death Lords sent back. I want my father out. Let’s see if we can come up with a plan to accomplish both.”

  “I have my brother to deal with, too. He’ll try to use the codex to save his woman, and he won’t care what he releases. He believes this world deserves whatever it gets, especially me and all I hold dear. If he gains the White Dagger, he can persuade the Lords of Xibalba to do anything.”

  “What does the White Dagger give them other than a way to sacrifice their victims, which we already know they can do?”

  “You know that we infuse life into our buildings, yes?”

  The other woman had calmed somewhat, her interest in their discussion overriding her fear. Her scent changed. It was subtle and not something his human nose probably would have noticed, but his jaguar immediately sensed her eagerness, combined with a sense of falsehoods that tainted her scent.

  “K’ulel, soul-force.” Jaid’s eyes glinted with that now familiar spark of interest. He only hoped she didn’t say too much in front of the other woman. “There are ceremonies to ‘birth’ the building, and then each sacrifice adds power to it over time. That’s why we often find older structures beneath—you wanted to make use of the power already there.”

  “Think of the power living in the White Dagger. Think of the soul-force it carries.”

  The other woman sat down beside Jaid, her hands shaking. “Of course,” she breathed, her eyes wide. “It captures souls of those it sacrifices. But why—”

  “It contained your brother’s soul,” Jaid whispered, her eyes locked on him.

  He let her see the rage and self-recrimination in his eyes. “I tried, but I couldn’t free them all. I had my brother’s body, and with my sacrifice, his soul was freed. Because he’d entered Xibalba alive with my help, they cut out his heart with the damned thing. Afterward, I could make him walk and talk once more, but I couldn’t make his heart beat inside his body, because his heart is still gone. The thought of my brother’s heart trapped in some dark, fetid layer of Xibalba, still beating, while his body roams this earth…”

  Guilt tore at his own heart, beating frantically in agony. He shouldn’t have violated his sacred oath to save his brother, who was already dead, sacrificed, beyond this world. He’d committed an atrocity. He’d raised a monster. No wonder Wrack hated him so fiercely.

  Jaid stood and moved closer to him, the soft look in her eyes only putting more wounds on his guilty soul. “His heart is in Xibalba with Butterfly Star.” She touched him, that small hand on his arm again, and a shudder ran through him. She saw too much, this woman. Cared too much.

  “I never intended to keep the dagger, but once I had it in our world, I couldn’t send it back. Bringing the knife through the Gate killed me. It was the first time I died under this curse. It was that crossing that made the earth shake and the volcano spew, not when I first opened the Gate for my brother.”

  “Where is it?”

  He shook his head mutely.

  She cupped his cheek, her fingers gentle on his face, and she might as well have reached her hand into his chest and stroked his heart. His gaze locked on her smooth, dark eyes. “You can trust me with this knowledge.”

  Could he? Staring into her eyes, he wanted to trust her. Every bone in his body ached to believe in her.

  Jaid nibbled her lip in thought, her hand still on his face, and every muscle in his body tightened with longing, shocking him. He had not felt such fierce desire for a woman since…

  Since his brother had wed the woman he loved, forcing him to watch from afar the powerful but unloved queen until she died in childbirth.

  Jaid’s muscles tensed sharply, and then she relaxed so fully she leaned against him as though her knees couldn’t hold her weight. Her eyes met his and he saw the knowledge gleaming in those depths. Gently, he placed his finger across her lips and willed his eyes to speak.

  Don’t say it. Then I won’t have to silence you.

  Stolen power resides in the Eye of Heaven.

  Jaid could see her father’s journal page in her mind. The Temple of Days in Iximche was one of her first translations for him. The glyphs had waited for over a decade until she was old and knowledgeable enough to help him.

  The Eye of Heaven could only be the Sacred Cenote at Chich’en Itza.

  Tension strained in Ruin’s cheek beneath her palm. His eyes pleaded. For what?

  Slowly, she dropped her palm from his face. She shouldn’t have touched him. She shouldn’t be remembering the way he’d helped her through her panic attacks about entering his ruined city, after years of therapy had done nothing for her. She shouldn’t remember the feel of his powerful arms around her as he’d carried her through the tunnel. Or the way he’d charged the guard and taken a bullet in the head. For her.

  Geoffrey had been a calculated and acceptable risk. As the university’s golden boy, he’d been attractive, gentlemanly and well respected, but he’d not exactly been earth shattering in bed. That had been her lack, not his. She’d known he’d never rock her world. That’s exactly why she’d chosen him. He hadn’t touched her heart, so it’d been impossible for him to distract her from her ultimate goals.

  This man before her distracted her on unheard-of levels. Ruin radiated heat, power, and animal magnetism. With hands as large as her head and his eyes gleaming like trapped suns in his dark face, he emanated danger.

  And her stupid heart kicked into high gear.

  He made her want to pull that T-shirt off his impressive body and lick every single tattoo. Heat swirled in her abdomen, a warning as clear and threatening as the message in his codex about the gods’ wrath if someone tampered with the Gates. Desire for him would destroy her, just as the volcano had destroyed his city.

  Firmly, she turned away and walked over to the large map of the entire region. I won’t touch him again. “Madelyn, do you have any notes in your office? Anything that might help us?”

  The older woman gave her a tight, worried look, as though she didn’t want to leave Jaid alone with this man. “Sure, let me see what I can find. I might even have a change of clothes stashed away.”

  Madelyn carefully cracked the door, stuck her head out, and then hurried down the hall.

  Known ruins were preprinted on the map, with Dr. Charles Merritt’s additions scribbled in with a Sharpie. Chich’en Itza was in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. How could they get there when they were held prisoner by Venus Star and couldn’t even get out of this compound?

  In case this room was bugged too she tried to keep the details vague. “How do we get the White Dagger out?”

  “You can’t,” Ruin said, his voice hard and tight. “It’s protected by the Gate itself. It’s not wholly in t
his world.”

  Basically, only he could get it out. And if he wouldn’t divulge that information…

  “I have my codex notes and the snapshots of all the pages. I also have Dad’s notes. Between the two—”

  “No.”

  She could feel his anger like a swarm of wasps dive-bombing her head. Her skin prickled hot and cold. Did he have the ability to use magic on her? She didn’t turn to look at him. Instead, she ignored him.

  She felt him stalk closer. The room shrank to the size of a closet. “Did you forget the guards? They’re not going to let us leave this compound without a fight.”

  “Dr. Reyes—”

  His palms slammed down on her shoulders, his grip relentless as he whirled her around to face him. “You can’t retrieve the dagger. There’s nothing you can do to stop the Lords of Death. Don’t you understand? If you go anywhere near them, they’ll kill me and torture you into becoming their priest. They must have already taken some poor soul to commit their evil in the church. I don’t want you to be next!”

  “If I hadn’t translated the codex, then none of this would have happened. My father would want us to stop it.”

  His fingers tightened, digging into her skin just this side of pain. “Remember who and what I am. Remember what I did to save my brother. Do you think I’ll allow you to make the same choices? I was determined to save him at any cost. Now I must pay any price to stop him. Are you prepared to pay the cost?”

  “I’ll do whatever I must to save my father.”

  “Your father was a fool. He attempted to control magic that he didn’t understand. Will you do the same? Will you damn the world to death and disease?”

  His words stung, boiling in the pit of her stomach like acid. “Like you did?”

  He recoiled, his mouth tight and grim. White lines grooved his mouth.

  “All you cared about was your brother. You doomed your city and people. The volcano killed them, and those who survived were later killed by the Spaniards. How is that not death and disease? Was it worth the cost?”

  Hands fisted, he breathed hard, nostrils flaring and eyes blazing. “Yes, damn you, damn me, damn the world. I’d do it again for him, and that’s exactly why I’m cursed. I loved him, more than I should have. I loved him more than my duty, my people, even myself. So I was the fool.”

  His voice broke, a flood of rage and heartache that shook her in its wake. Had she ever loved someone so completely? He’d given up everything, risked everything, for the love of his brother.

  Very much like my mother did for me.

  Throat aching with unshed tears, she laid her hand against his cheek. She’d sworn not to touch him again, but the raw emotion tearing across his face moved her like nothing else. Her touch moved him, too, if the flare in his eyes was any indication. Fury and self-recrimination bled to something hotter. His gaze dropped to her mouth.

  He might as well have stabbed her. The sudden thrust of desire stole her breath, left her trembling, staring into his feral eyes. Before she could stop to think of all the reasons this was stupid, she lifted her mouth to his.

  For a big, hard warrior, his lips were incredibly soft. His breath rushed out, hot against her. His lips parted, inviting her deeper, and she sank into his warmth and strength. With a jaguar living inside him, she’d expected raw wildness and danger, but he simply pressed his palms against her back, stunning her with his gentleness.

  His scent rolled over her, raw musk and jungle. She slid her tongue into his mouth. Shuddering, she tasted him, dark chocolate, man, hot and wet. Still, he remained passive, only responding to her kiss, not leaping to take control. In fact, he made her kiss him thoroughly, every inch her own choice.

  Releasing his mouth, she laid her head on his chest. His heart thundered beneath her cheek. He wrapped his arms around her, not crushing her but definitely locking her in place. His breathing was ragged, but his voice was soft when he spoke.

  “I thank you.”

  But. The word echoed in the room like a mournful sigh between them.

  She knew it was a mistake to get any closer to him, let alone kiss him. He had a duty to his gods as the Gatekeeper. She had a duty to rescue her father and right the nightmare they’d accidentally released. That duty involved the Gates at cross-purposes. Eventually, she’d be forced to make a decision to which she knew he’d object.

  He might even be forced to kill her.

  She remembered her mother’s face down in the cave, streaked with dirt but so beautiful. All her life, Jaid had struggled to understand that kind of love. That kind of sacrifice.

  This man knew that sacrifice.

  She tilted her head up and gazed into his solemn eyes.

  “This is my last fight, my last sacrifice. One way or the other, I will end my brother’s torment. When he dies, so will I. My curse—”

  She reached up and placed her fingers against those soft, full lips. “I understand.” Forcing a wry smile, she pulled away. She turned back to the table and continued to shove more notes into the carryall. The leather sides bulged, but she got it all inside. With some hard work somewhere safe, she’d figure out how to open that damned cenote and retrieve the White Dagger. What she’d do when she had that knowledge, she wasn’t sure.

  An explosion rocked the compound. The floor shook beneath her feet. “The volcano—”

  “No.” Ruin peeked into the hallway. “I would have felt the gods’ warning.”

  Gunfire. Maybe this was Reyes’s diversion?

  Madelyn rushed inside with a duffle bag, her eyes huge. “What’s happening?”

  “Stay here,” Ruin ordered. “I’ll scout out the best escape route. Don’t leave without me.”

  As soon as he was gone, Madelyn snapped, “What’s going on, Jaid? Who is he?”

  “He’s the Gatekeeper.”

  “But what does that mean? He’s dangerous, and I don’t think you should trust him.”

  Jaid looked inside her heart and whispered, “I trust him with my life.”

  “When did you meet him?”

  “The first night I was here, someone attacked me on the way to my cabana. He saved me.” She didn’t try to explain that he’d been a jaguar, or that the only reason he’d saved her then was to stop his brother from killing her. “He’s going to help me get Dad out of Xibalba.”

  Madelyn’s eyes narrowed as though she wasn’t quite convinced. Truth be told, Jaid still wasn’t sure how she’d convince him to help her. He would. He had to. She didn’t think she could do it on her own.

  Muttering beneath her breath, Madelyn squatted down and rummaged in her bag. “This is ridiculous. What are we going to do, Jaid? I still don’t know how the Gate works, not exactly.”

  “What time did Sam leave yesterday morning?”

  Madelyn shrugged, jerked the bag closed, and very deliberately avoided her gaze. Standing, she slung the bag over her shoulder and began pacing. “I don’t know.”

  Something wasn’t adding up. How well had her father known this woman? If he hadn’t told her anything at all about his plans to re-enact the ritual, he didn’t trust her. But he didn’t tell me either. Musing aloud, Jaid said, “Sam left, then the codex was stolen, and the massacre happened at Santiago Atitlan. What’s going on here, Madelyn? Why should I trust you at all? Dad warned me to keep the codex absolutely secret—not to discuss it with anyone. He specifically said not to give it to anyone at Venus Star. Who, exactly, do you work for? He didn’t tell you about it, did he? Or Sam. He also never mentioned you to me. I’ve never even heard your name from him. So maybe you’re the one he was concerned about.”

  “Grow up, Jaid.” Madelyn stiffened, her features haughty and cold. “We were going to discuss our relationship with you in person as soon as he could arrange a trip back to the States. You ended up coming here, which he would have loved.”

  Bitterness coated Jaid’s tongue. “Yeah, right, that tells me more than anything how little you know. Dad never wanted me to come on a dig. He ce
rtainly never planned to introduce you to me in the States. He couldn’t bear to tear himself away from this dig.”

  Ruin stuck his head in the door, and his golden eyes immediately locked on her. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. Can we go?”

  He didn’t push her, but he seemed to read her shock and grief in her eyes. She didn’t dare say more in front of the other woman. It might already be too late. Mentally, she made a tally of everything she’d said and demonstrated before Madelyn and Sam. She’d asked about the White Dagger. If Madelyn remembered that journal entry about the Gatekeeper, then she might also remember the line about the Eye of Heaven.

  And Sam. What if all his awkwardness the last few months had nothing to do with the night she’d kissed him, and everything to do with his involvement in whatever Madelyn had planned? What if he was trying to steal the site out from under her father? Dear God, what if that really had been him entering the church?

  Impossible. That would be like finding out that Geoffrey had really been a serial killer.

  “Guerillas have attacked the compound,” Ruin said. “The guards are defending the perimeter. If we can reach my city, I know a tunnel in the ruins that we can use to escape the compound unseen.”

  From there, I’ll figure out how to get to Chich’en Itza—and make sure that Madelyn doesn’t.

  “Keep low and close to the wall. We’re going left, staying tight to the building, until we can make a break for the ruins. Ready?”

  Jaid nodded. He stepped closer, took her arm, and drew her close to his body.

  In the hallway, the shouts and gunfire outside were loud. Surely the guards were too busy fighting the guerillas to worry about two female professors making a break for it, especially after their panicked response to “the hole,” which even she had to admit hadn’t been that horrible of a holding cell.