Page 2 of Faithless
Don’t be afraid, Santos. I will not harm you.The voice was vast and deep, penetrating my ears while also rolling over my skin; as comforting as a hug, and powerful as a building collapsing on top of me.
“What?” I whispered, then I really did fall to my knees. I hadn’t heard my given name spoken to me in years, even before my time as a gladiator. The Ghost was the only one who knew it, but he couldn’t call me that name here. Anything that gave us identities and humanity was forbidden.
You are under my protection, my dear son.
The voice was just as ancient and timeless as the energy I felt from this being. I was humbled in the presence of someone, or something, great but no idea what.
“Who are you?” I said, lowering my eyes to the sand. If the crowd was still going, I couldn’t hear it past the pounding of blood in my ears.
In the simplest terms for you to understand, I am a god. You know one of my names.
“Tezcatlipoca.” The strange word that had stamped onto my brain now rolled off my tongue, despite it being in a language I’d never spoken before. “The Smoking Mirror. Ruler of the North.” I dared to lift my gaze to the golden eyes of the feline in front of me. “Have you come to free us?”
It is not that simple, Santos. There is much to be done.Many pieces must come together at the right place. The right time.The jaguar’s tail flicked as he regarded me.I have two primary roles in this manifestation. One is as your protection. I will be your guard and invisible shadow, Santos. Follow my guidance, and you will reach the freedom you seek.
I released a shaking breath, unable to believe this was happening, that this nightmare I lived every day could actually come to an end.
“And your other role?” I asked.
A wave of scorching heat passed over me, oppressive and painful. It constricted my throat and forced my palms down to the burning sand. The weight of something impossibly heavy, like the entire colosseum filled with people, seemed to press down on my back.
I realized this was the weight of Tezcatlipoca’s anger.
Vengeance, the god answered.
1
RORI
“Whew!” I slammed the shot glass facedown, tilting my head back to savor the burn of liquor down my throat until it turned to warmth in my belly. Releasing the glass, I pointed to Lily across the table. “One more shot for the birthday girl!”
Flushed and giggling, my friend shook her head. ‘No, I’m done!’ she mouthed while her hands moved in fluid sign language.
“Aw come on, Lil!” I was proficient in signing but at the moment, was too drunk to move my hands in any eloquent way, let alone remember the gestures. She got my meaning, though. Plus, I was loud enough that she could probably hear me with her hearing aids. “Is your birthday,” I slurred. “You gotta go all out.”
Lily’s boyfriend, my twin brother Daren, pushed a tall glass of water toward her. “Stay hydrated,” he reminded her in a warm, gentle tone that reminded me of the way our fathers spoke. “I’ll share the last shot with you,” he added with a smile. His sign language was just as fluid and effortless as Lily’s, which made sense considering they’d known each other since they were five years old.
Lily accepted the water and gulped it down, a coy look on her face while Daren and I waited for her verdict. “Okay, fine. One more, only if you’ll share it with me,”she relented.
I slapped my palm down on our table as I slid out of the barstool. “I’ll make it a double, then.”
But the happy couple were too wrapped up in each other to catch what I’d said. Lily leaned against Daren’s shoulder and his arms went around her with a kiss on her forehead. I headed for the bar, shoving down the pang of longing in my gut.
I loved them both dearly, but sometimes I envied that they had found each other so easily. Lily had been new in Daren’s kindergarten class at school, which wasn’t equipped to accommodate her needs right away. She didn’t know anyone yet, and my shy twin was determined to be friends with her. They’d been inseparable ever since.
Lily spent so much time at our house that our parents learned as much sign language as they could to communicate with her. To no one’s surprise, she and my brother started dating in high school.
Fast-forward to now; we were all twenty-three. Daren and Lily had an apartment together and were planning a wedding. He was the head mechanic at our dad Jandro’s auto shop and was set to take over the business when dad retired. Lily was now an ASL teacher and interpreter.
In both love and life, the two of them just seemed to have it so…easy.
I shook the thought from my head as I pushed my way through the crush of bodies in the bar. I was drunk and in my feelings. No one deserved forever love and success more than those two. They were my best friends, my family. I wanted only the best things for them, honestly.
As for me? I was a hot mess by comparison. Daren and I might’ve been born minutes apart, but we couldn’t be more different. He had always been quiet, calm, and studious. I was loud, boisterous, and impulsive. A tornado of sunshine, as my mother called me.
And unlike my twin, no prospects for love or career had fallen into my lap. It wasn’t for lack of trying. Just nothing, so far, had seemed to work out. I wasn’t all that bitter about it, but some guidance from the universe would be nice. I wouldn’t say no to a clearly laid out path with a neon sign that said,Here, Rori. Do this, and you’ll live happily ever after.
I knew life didn’t work that way, but again, I was currently in my feelings.
