Pax breathed in the evening air and drew back his lips as he found the scent he had been looking for. The yelp of pain came only a moment later, and then he knew he was right: that fool Teoxi's voice was unmistakable. "Follow me," he whispered to his pack, who had gathered around him. "We take back the girl and kill the rest." Shifting into his upright form, he unsheathed his claws and started to hack through the foliage with loud, powerful swipes.
One of the jaguars dared to speak up. "Should we not move quietly, master?"
They all recoiled as he whirled back around; his eyes were bloodshot from the stress of the day, and the long scar sloping down his face was looking more red than usual. "I said follow me," he snarled.
Ofelia burst into the clearing with Teoxi at her side. "We need to get out of here!"
The twins, Zuma and Metnal looked up at her and fell silent. Huitzil's eyes nearly popped out of his skull as a scream tried to escape his throat. "W-W-What do you mean?!"
Teoxi glared at him. "No time for any of that. The pack's on its way."
They all jumped to their feet at that, the spirits huddling together as Vicente gathered up what little supplies they had and shoveled dirt on the fire to snuff it out.
"How close are they?" Gabriela asked.
"Close enough that you shouldn't waste time arguing with us!" the ocelot snapped at her.
"But then trying to run won't do us any good, will it?"
"So what should we do instead, hide and wait for them to sniff us out?"
"I'm not…" Gabriela squinted and shielded her eyes from the sudden spot of light that seemed to come out of nowhere. "Vin, put that away!"
Vicente was fumbling with the lens that popped out of his telescope. "I'm sorry, I was just trying to clean it!"
"Wait." Approaching her friend, Ofelia took the lens and examined it. As she held it up, the glass caught the rays of light from the sunset and bent them into a small, bright dot that flickered across the ground.
The hints of a smile flickered across the girl's lips. "I think I have an idea."
When the bulk of the jaguar pack came tearing into the clearing, all they found was the smoldering, dirt-covered remains of a campfire. No belongings dropped in haste, nor any footprints leading away. The prey seemed to be long gone.
The pack dispersed at the sound of Pax's footsteps, shrinking away from the reach of his claws as he entered the clearing. His eyes and nostrils flared at the sight before him. "Where are they?"
"They've gone, master – "
The unlucky creature let out a shriek as Pax lunged out and slashed him across the face, drawing forth thick rivulets of blood. In the branches above, the seven figures nestling together flinched in unison.
"Mortals cannot move that quickly," he hissed. "Certainly not children."
Vicente felt Ofelia grab his hand in both of hers. "Now?" he whispered as he tightened his grip on the lens of the spyglass.
"Now."
A number of the jaguars abruptly perked up, their eyes growing wide in wonder as they all stared in the same direction. "Master!" one of them cried out. "Look at that!"
Dancing across the ground was a tiny, glowing creature that bounced with an enticing rhythm. The jaguars all stopped and stared at it, their heads moving in tandem as their gaze followed the strange new plaything.
Even Pax found that he was not quite immune. Shaking himself out of the trance, he lunged forward and brought a paw down on the creature, intending to crush it. But one moment it was there, and suddenly it was not. His paw seemed to have passed right through it, or perhaps it could flee from him just that quickly. There it was again, a few feet away, still carrying on with its merry dance. Again he launched himself at it, now reaching out with both paws, and again it was able to dart off in the blink of an eye. The trance was coming back, if it had ever left.
Surely it must be some sort of illusion, Pax thought. Something which those infernal spirits had conjured up to trick him with. Or that water spirit traveling with the three mortals, she might have some magic left in her. But none of them would have magic powerful enough to hold the attention of his pack, not for this long.
The pack! As soon as he thought of them, his worst fear suddenly came true. One of his warriors simply couldn't control himself any longer; he ran past Pax and pounced on the creature, yowling with claws and teeth bared. And that, it seemed, was all that the rest of the weak-minded fools needed to break apart. They all went charging after the glowing creature as it seemed to dart away into the jungle, trampling over each other and mostly over their master.
By the time Pax was able to pick himself up out of the dirt, the other jaguars had gone with only their rapidly fading cries pointing out their path. That and the shredded foliage lying in the wake of their madness.
Choking down the yowl of rage building in his throat, he dropped to all fours once again and ran off after his warriors. For a few precious moments, the matter of the missing girl had been forgotten.
Huitzil emerged from his hiding place first, falling out of the tree as he gaped at the scene which had just played out before him. "Why, I-I've never seen such powerful magic!"
"Oh, that's nothing," Gabriela said, the next to slide down. "You should see my papa use that to start a fire and – "
She yelped as Huitzil nearly tackled her. "Teach me," the potoo whispered as though he had just learned of a magnificent secret.
Metnal resisted the urge to laugh. "Perhaps later."
Vicente followed Teoxi and Zuma back to the earth, helping Ofelia along as he did so. "I'd say that will keep them busy for a while yet," he said, grinning.
"You really think so?" Her hand still gripped his, but her fearful expression had softened
"Ay! If your papa could have seen it…" He trailed off. "…Lo siento."
His friend seemed not to heed the careless words. "We can tell him about it when we find him," she answered. "I know we will."
Then she smiled – just a little one – and Vicente couldn't find the words for what a welcome sight it was.
Metnal sniffed the dirt, crinkled her face and then proceeded to plunge her whole snout into the dark earth. When she resurfaced, her body was rigid and her expression determined. "We need to head southeast at once."
"What did you find?" Gabriela asked.
"The leyline's growing stronger. You can feel the magic all heading in one direction now. We mustn't be far from Tehuantepec."