Vampires Need Not…Apply? (Accidentally Yours #4)(63)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

“About eighty years ago,” she said, “I accompanied my father, an archaeologist, on a dig in southern Mexico. It was a terrible time in our lives; my mother had passed away only a few months earlier, and unknown to me, my father had become obsessed with bringing her back. Also unknown was that the tablet he’d discovered”—Maggie looked at Antonio—“was no coincidence. Cimil planned for him to find it and made sure he believed it could resurrect the dead.”

“Can it?” asked Penelope.

Maggie nodded. “Yes. It can, though not the way you think; the tablet has the ability to open portals to other points in time in addition to other dimensions. So if one wanted, they could go back and save someone before they die. The problem is returning. The portal only stays open for a short while. So if one doesn’t carry another tablet or have someone to reopen the portal from their point of origin, they might not return. That said, my father never got far enough to figure any of that out. He died before he had the chance to open it.”

“Did Cimil kill him?” Penelope asked, appearing horrified.

“No. Chaam did.” Maggie dropped her head and appeared to be struggling not to cry. “My father had been missing for several days, and I’d been searching the jungle for his excavation site—he’d kept it a secret. Then I got lost and, unfortunately, bumped into a very angry jaguar. When I ran, I fell and hit my head. That’s when Chaam found me.

“At first I thought I’d lost my mind. He told me he was a god, and while I didn’t believe him initially, every time we touched, I saw things. Visions. It took less than one day before I realized the truth; we were meant to be. He knew it, too. But what we didn’t know was that our meeting was all part of Cimil’s plot.”

Antonio now began to feel anxious. There were simply too many parallels to his story, including Cimil’s direct involvement with his finding the tablet, which ultimately led him to Ixtab.

“The details aren’t important,” Maggie explained. “However, Chaam eventually found my father. He’d gone mad and was about to kill a young woman—a friend of mine named Itzel. Chaam was forced to kill him, and Cimil made sure I was there to witness everything.”

“Why would Cimil want all this to happen?” Kinich asked.

Good question. Because apparently whatever Cimil was up to definitely involved him and Ixtab, too. Bottom line, he didn’t like where this was going.

“Because the events triggered the portal, which sucked me in,” Maggie explained. “Then Cimil told Chaam I’d died only to make him suffer more. Everything she did was so his bond with the Universe would sever. Then she got inside his head and made him do horrible, horrible things, including trying to end the world—which she’s still planning to do. That’s what this is all about! Everything she’s ever done was always about this.”

Antonio found it very difficult to believe that finding the love of his life, Ixtab, would in some way contribute to the end of the world. No, something felt very… off.

“Do you have proof of anything you’re saying?” Kinich asked. “Your accusations are extremely serious.”

“I have another witness.” Maggie turned toward the door of the room and pointed. “Máax saw everything, too.”

The entire room gasped.

“You!” Fate screamed. “How dare you bring him here! He is not to be spoken of by anyone! He is dead to us!” She turned her back.

“Who the hell is Máax?” Antonio didn’t see anyone.

“Máax is just another victim in all this,” Maggie exclaimed. “How many deities will you allow to fall victim to Cimil? Huh? First Máax, then Chaam. Even Kinich and Zac. How about when you were imprisoned inside your own cenotes! Seventy years! While Cimil roamed free. Why can’t you see? She’s been playing with everyone. Listen to Máax. He will tell you the truth! He’s incapable of lying!”

“Who the hell is Máax?” Antonio demanded loudly.

“He is the God of Truth,” Maggie replied.

“No! He no longer bares that title,” Fate barked. “He is the One No One Speaks Of. He broke our most sacred law. He is dead to us. Banished forever.”

“Enough!” Kinich commanded. “We will listen to what Máax has to say. We need to know the truth.”

“You are no longer a deity, brother. You do not command us,” Fate said to Kinich.

“Yes, he does!” Penelope chimed in. “He is my husband. He and I are bound. Therefore, we are one and now share the role of Ruler of the House of Gods.”

“I love being a deity. This is getting interesting.” Belch poured another martini and leaned back in his chair with a giant grin.

Interesting? Interesting is what one might say about a person with two thumbs on one hand. This was a f**king circus. And they all seemed to be sharing the same goddamned delusion, fighting about someone named Máax who wasn’t there.

“When did you marry?” asked Bees sweetly.

Penelope blushed. “Yesterday. We stopped over in Vegas on the way here. We wanted to wait to tell everyone since there’s so much going on.”

“That is lovely news,” Bees said. “Have you registered yet?”

“No. We haven’t had the chance,” Penelope replied.

“How about a llama? Everyone needs a llama,” Belch offered with projectile spittle.

“Are you people for real? You’re like children on a sugar bend,” Maggie said. “Can we please get back to the conversation?”

“Puta madre! I couldn’t agree more,” Antonio added impatiently.

Penelope cleared her throat. “Sorry. That’s how they roll around here. I guess it’s rubbing off on me. Yes. We would like to hear what Máax has to say. Where is he?”

Máax’s deep voice rang out across the room. “I am here.” Penelope jumped out of her skin.

“What the hell?” Antonio said.

“Máax was banished and therefore invisible,” Kinich stately calmly.

Yes, a pinche loco circus, complete with invisible clowns.

“The girl speaks the truth,” Máax said. “I have witnessed Cimil’s actions.”

“Traitor,” Fate hissed at Máax, paying no attention to what he was trying to say.

“I did what I must. I do not regret it.” Máax’s deep voice held no intonation, no emotion, no room for debate.