Free Jaguar Sun by Martha Bourke Page B

truly touches your soul. It’s incredibly powerful. Do you know the human expression ‘soul mate’? That term was originally used by shifters. In reality, we come much closer to it than humans ever could because of our strong k’ul . The expression just sort of caught on. We also feel the instinctual pull of our naguales to mate. So you see, Maya, what you’re going through is perfectly natural.”
    “Oh.”
    “You look like you could use a diet Coke. Let me get one from the kitchen. Are you hungry? I can fix a snack.”
    “That would be great.”
    When she went into the kitchen, I stood up and walked around the room, taking in all of the amazing pieces from Mayan history. I knew I probably shouldn’t touch, but I picked up the vase with Balam on it. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I felt a chill run down my body followed by a crippling nausea. Then there came a flash in front of my eyes that made me suck in my breath.
    ...I’m sure that she’s more than a shifter , I somehow heard a voice saying . The grandmother trusts me. She has told me that Maya is having visions. But I need more time. If she is who we think she is, this has to be done right. It was Victrixa’s voice. She was talking to a group of others who were hidden in the shadows.
    Time is running out, Trixa, said one of the obscured faces.
    Don’t worry. She’s incredibly naïve. I’ll have her right where I want her very soon.
    I was suddenly aware that I was panting so hard it was like I had forgotten to breathe for the last ten minutes. But it hadn’t been that long, nowhere near it. I looked around the room again. Victrixa was still in the kitchen. Damn—I had to get the hell out of there, but how? I put the vase down and practically ran back over to the couch.
    That’s exactly when Victrixa walked back into the room. “Here we are,” she said. She was carrying my diet Coke, a glass of wine, and some kind of fancy cheese with crackers. She put the tray on a small table and turned to me. “So,” she paused, “Rosa tells me that your mate followed you into the phase.”
    Huh?
    “Oh, that’s just an expression shifters use to describe it when someone who would not normally have phased otherwise follows a Tribal Elder or another who possesses great k’ul .
    Shit. I had no idea how to get out of there without answering more of her questions. “Oh, right,” I said, nodding. If I nodded again, I was sure my head would bounce off my neck. A thought arrived. “You know,” I said, talking fast, “I just got a text while you were in the kitchen. My math tutor needs to meet with me a little earlier than usual. I’m sorry,” I said, “but math is really tough for me.”
    She looked slightly miffed. “That’s fine,” she said. “We’ll continue this next week then.”
    She walked me to the porch and waved as I drove away. Oh, man, had that been believable? Did she know that I was onto her? And just what was I onto? Why was she so interested in finding out more about me? As soon as I was out of sight of her land, I slammed my foot onto the gas and bolted to the highway. As I drove, my head spun. Then my stomach gave me its usual poke, letting me know that my stress level was off the charts again. All I could think was that Victrixa was Grandma’s friend. Or, at least, she was pretending to be. But if not, then who was she? And what had she meant when she said I might be more than a shifter? It just didn’t make any sense.
    Well, in a way it did. Everyone seemed pretty much in agreement about two things. Matt had followed me into the phase (or whatever the hell it was called) and it was not normal for your basic everyday shifter to have visions. And here I’d just had another one. Crap. One thing was for sure—Victrixa wasn’t who she said she was. End of story.
    I was so busy trying to figure it all out that I almost missed my exit. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately. At first I headed toward home, but instead I hung a quick left and