A/N: Not much longer now...

CHAPTER 33: BURN

Izel wiped a damp cloth across her best friend's forehead. Coyolxauhqui felt hot to the touch, although the skinhead questioned whether that was from the strain of sobbing overnight or a budding fever. Or both.

"Teueltiuh," Izel said. "Please, say something."

Coyo buried her face in her arms, curling up further on her straw mat.

"We are moving the Tepiani today," continued Izel. She began rubbing Coyo's upper back and almost shuddered at how moist it felt. "Your people could use encouragement. Being without Xelihuiyan, no matter how temporary, is—" She sighed. "Will you not help?"

"Coyo is selfish," Coyo muttered.

"Uh," Izel smacked her lips together, "sometimes. Yes."

"I wanted him to stay." The Chieftain's arms obstructed her voice yet her words were clear. "I have seen his tribe. Know how close they are, how much they need him, how much he loves them and New York. Felt it. And I wanted him to stay."

"Well," Izel smiled, despite Coyo's whimpers, "Love is selfish."

"Love is pain, Teicu. Loving my parents hurt. Loving Huitzi hurts. Loving Leo…" Curled inwards, shoulders shaking and breath unsteady, Coyo hissed. "This is real. He—he left?"

Izel's smile fell. "Yes."

"I will never see him again."

"Not likely."

"And Mozallo will always feel this way. Like I am partial? Incomplete?"

Izel had no more answers; her throat swelled until tears threatened to spill. But she would not cry. The skinhead kept stoic while pulling her best friend close, and they rocked along the mat as Izel soothed Coyo's shakes by running several fingers through her wild hair. Soon, her sniffles stopped—not through comfort but through alarm. The ground shook. It started as a tremor—a subtle vibration in the bones—that increased until the rocks around the fire pit rattled and the hut swayed.

"An earthquake?" Izel questioned. She stumbled up, lifting Coyo along the way, and fought for balance when Tlaloc busted through the hut's curtain doorway. He looked ill, hair matted against his face, and panted.

"Wh—what is wrong?" Coyo asked hoarsely.

Tlaloc gulped.

"This is no earthquake, is it?" added Izel.

"They were not destroyed," Tlaloc said. A high-pitch pop sounded in the distance then screaming. "Xelihuiyan was down when they pushed through. They wield new weapons. Something horrible. The Teo. They are capturing the Teo. Burning us."

"No. You cannot mean—"

The man sent the Chieftain a sour look, answering, "The Yaoqui. They are here."

Leonardo waited, hidden in shadows, for the next delivery truck charted for the airport. A long car ride and few plane hops later, he'd be home—back with honking traffic, smoggy air, and pizza. And all of his own free will. He should be happy. Or relieved, at least. Yet the knot inside his heart would not let him relax.

It worsened whenever he remembered Coyolxauhqui's face. The hurt in her eyes, the dismay that contorted her expression, still sickened him. Back then, he could not trust himself to touch her. Had he succumbed, he never would've left. He would've held her, kissed her, admitted every thought and desire he had for her. Never before had he wanted someone so badly. He had found it scary and turned his voice cold to avoid it.

'I'll live with this ache forever, won't I?' he asked himself. Figures. 'I can't even send letters. Not unless Huitzi makes connections with other traders.'

Which was doubtful, especially since the K'ekchi planned to move Lord knows where…

"Yo, Enrique, you forgot a crate!" Some man dressed in weathered jeans and a tank top kneeled beside a wooden box not far from Leonardo. The mutant leaned further into the shadows, careful not to clank his katanas or carapace against the containers that surrounded him in a large cave. The man spoke in English, not the Spanish dialect used amongst the locals that Leo only half understood. "Another from the K'ekchi? That American woman has how many now?"

The man glanced up at Enrique, who spoke with a thicker accent, "Three. How heavy is that one, Wilfredo?"

Wilfredo strained to lift the crate's corner, sweat dripping from below the bandana tied across his forehead. "Shit. The hell do these people make?"

"More statues, probably. I'll get the lift."

"I parked it by the—hey, hey!" Wilfredo stood to beat Enrique's bicep.

"What?" Enrique snapped.

"Is that fog or smoke?"

"Where?"

"There!" Wilfredo pointed towards a mountain. Thick clouds plumed sideways from its crest and coated the ridge with grey shades. "Is that fire?"

Enrique sidestepped, giving Leo a better view as he scoffed. "Si. Fucking gringos. Ignoring laws, trespassing on government-sanctioned land. I hope whatever natives live up there make examples of those American-born-sons-of—"

"If the natives are okay." Wilfredo dropped his arm with a sigh.

"These are some of the last aboriginal tribes in the Amazon," countered Enrique. "Who would destroy that?"

Wilfredo shook his head, pulled out his cell phone. Leonardo tuned out the call, though. He was too focused on the increasing orange-red blaze below the rolling smoke and the realization that it focused around the upper valley where K'ekchi Village sat.

Everything burned: the air, the village, Coyolxauhqui's hope. The chief stood in the streets brightened with fire, its heat tightening her skin like caked mud. She could hardly hear her peoples' wails or the roar from the inferno, but all that must have been a trick played on her by her ringing ears.

None of this could be real. The flames that towered towards the clouds were an illusion. The bodies scattered throughout dilapidated huts were dolls. The Yaoqui that stormed the gates were ghosts. It was all a waking nightmare. Right?

Something touched Coyolxauhqui: a hand. The woman looked down at Icnoyotl, watched tears fall from his red face. He tried to speak yet croaked, clearing Coyo's conscience with his sobs and tight hold. This was real. The Yaoqui were set on genocide, and they targeted her people.

"My—my sister," Icnoyotl said.

"Forgive me," Coyo told him. She squeezed his shoulder then glanced around. "You must find somewhere to hide."

Like where? If flames did not consume the K'ekchi, the armed villains outside their walls would. They were surrounded and the longer they took to find an escape, the closer their enemies came to the village's heart.

'They want us centralized, herded like pitzol,' Coyo thought. 'Bastards.'

"Oh, Chief!" A gruff, sing-song voice cut through the chaotic noises. It came from everywhere, disembodied and in English, and the woman pulled Icnoyotl closer with a frown. "Please, report to the huge-ass hut pronto. Otherwise, I'll start shooting random people." A laugh followed then something like a screech and a man's cry. "Sorry, I mean and I'll start shooting random people until you do. Ya got, uh, I dunno, however long it takes me to run out of bodies. One for each ten seconds ya ain't here. Better get movin'; your tribe ain't as big as it was an hour ago."

"Tlacatetza!" Coyolxauhqui screamed. Whether or not Agent Rook heard mattered little; her focus lingered on those trapped inside Tlahcoyan and if Izel and Huitzi were among them. "Come," she told Icnoyotl.

She pulled the boy along as she raced through the ashy streets. He said nothing of his discomfort or the reason why. Guess he understood that no matter where he ran, he would face danger. Good. The K'ekchi continued until the fire's heat decreased and its smoke thinned into a shower of cinders. Several Yaoqui stood outside Tlahcoyan with what Leo had called 'plasma guns.' They grinned, parting to allow the duo safe passage.

"Five down," one Yaoqui said. "How many you got left to spare?"

Coyo snarled yet had no time to waste. She weaved through the massive pillars then stopped short at the hut's center with a gasp. Her poor villagers crowded together, whimpering while their stronger members formed a protective ring from the monsters around them. The ring, however, was broken by five unmoving bodies with blackened wounds in their chests.

'Ollin,' Coyo thought. 'Sacnite?'

They were dead. As were two Elders and a young boy. Tlaloc slumped, out cold, beside Huitzi and Izel, which left Coalt and Huemac as the last Tonalquizca to stand guard. And the young men trembled.

"Sixty," Agent Rook said, aiming his gun at Coalt.

"Stop!" Coyo yelled. She released Icnoyotl to kick Rook's gun. The plasma shot fired into the red-gray sky, and she placed herself between the Yaoqui leader and what remained of her tribe. "Enough!"

"Madame Chief, about time," Rook said. "I was worried you wouldn't show. Brought another straggler, I see. Gracias. It's been a bitch gathering everyone, ya know?" The silver-haired tlacatetza laughed when Coyo growled. "Did you know only, like, three of you guys speak English?" he continued. "Thank God for translators. Your Spanish is weird."

"Coyo here," Coyo said. "Release K'ekchi."

"Que? We never made that deal. Did we?" Rook sent his underlings an amused look, and they chuckled while he tapped his gun on his large shoulders. "Don't think so."

"Why bring us together?"

"Thought you liked being together. United in your cause and all that."

Coyo stepped forward. "You murder us!"

"Si. Si. But can you blame me? I mean, you did convince Hyde to drown us in our own fucking facility."

"Psychic do poor job," Izel interjected.

She made a point. Coyo had hard the groaning metal as water flooded the underground base. She remembered the pressure of air being sucked in behind her and the push of Xander's psychic powers as he ushered the Tonalquizca out an emergency exit. How had the tlacatetza survived that?

Rook grinned, spreading apart a healing gash across his lower cheek. "I'm a tough son-of-a-bitch. Gotta say, I never expected Hyde to listen. I didn't. And I'm pissed at the damage he caused. That said"—his grin widened—"I'll let bygones be bygones. If you accept my offer."

"Offer?" Coyo asked.

"It's a great deal."

"For Yaoqui."

"Come on. Have you even brought it up with the others? What do you owe those Jinchos, anyway? You give and give for what? The 'honor' of protecting them?"

"Yaoqui never understand," Izel spat.

Loose soil shifted behind Coyo, but before the skinhead stood, Rook rested his gun at his hip. "It's your only chance," he said. "We've already rounded up the Jinchos, and we can't let you go. You know too much. But if you worked for us? That knowledge could be your saving grace."

"You mean trade guardianship for slavery?"

"Izel," Coyo warned. She glanced over her shoulder then shook her head.

"We no traitors," the skinhead added.

"What if we refuse?" Huitzi asked. "Will you destroy us?"

"Not quite. See?" Rook began pacing, his gun never once aimed anywhere except Coyo's gut. "I believe in poetic justice. I know, I know; you look at me and think 'really?' But it's true. You'll be slaves either way. Just not before you see this big-haired mariconsita ripped apart by the same tool she used against me."

Tool? As in Xander? Had he survived as well?

"Funny how he's to blame as much he's to thank," Rook continued. "His survival instincts saved his sorry ass whether he wanted them to or not. Agent Vance and I were lucky enough to be within range."

"Ocean destroy awful place," Coyo said. "You—"

"Floated up. I'm not without battle scars, either. Look at my pretty face."

The woman glowered when she did. "Why Xander help Yaoqui again?"

"Let's just say he's not all there anymore." Rook tapped the side of his head with a crooked grin then chuckled. "Puñeta, listen to me ramble. You must think I'm such a cliché, up here damn-near monologing."

Coyo had no idea what the Yaoqui meant by that; mostly because she failed to understand half the terms he used.

"Back to my point, Chief. In a few hours, your home will be ash. Those Jinchos will be caught. And your people can either join us or donate themselves to our Science Division. Simple as that."

Slowly, Coyo's head shook.

"Seriously? After all this?" The tlacatetza scoffed yet smiled, aged skin crinkling. "It must've been quite the shock, huh? Seeing us march towards the village with tanks and guns. You thought you wiped us out, but never considered I had already asked for backup weeks ago."

A mistake on Coyo's part, one she regretted.

"I can only imagine how much that sucks. In a blink"—Rook snapped his fingers—"hope dies. Your Barrier falls, your world burns, and you would deny your people a chance to live?"

"Why care?"

"Because your knowledge is more valuable than your corpses! Except for maybe…Huh. Where is that shelled freak?"

A lump formed in Coyolxauhqui's throat as Rook spoke with an underling beside him. "Le—Leo gone," she said.

"Gone? As in left?"

The beast's smile returned and Coyo raised her chin, despite her nausea and weak legs. It was the one comfort she had now, to realize whatever end the K'ekchi faced, Leonardo would share no part in it. He was safe. She could join Ometeotl's side in peace knowing that.

"Rook, Sir, look who we found trying to sneak in," a female said. Two sour-faced brunettes pushed a large body towards their leader and the paler of the two kept a foot on his humped back. She must've been stronger than her slim figure suggested because otherwise, Leonardo could've escaped.

"L—Leo?" Coyo whispered. "Wh—how? Why?"

The turtle-man glanced up from the ground. Fine dirt dusted his body and he panted, yet he managed a smile that gripped the woman's heart.

"You came back," she added.

"I saw the smoke," he said. "Sorry. Barrett has an unfair advantage."

The pale brunette pushed her leg down harder, causing Leo to hiss.

"Stop!" Coyo screamed.

"Guess your boy wasn't as far gone as you thought," Rook said. "Good job, ladies. This day keeps getting better and better."

"Better?" Coyo choked on her words. "You think day good? With torture? Murder? Fire? Fear?"

"We won, so yeah."

"You have not won."

"Please, if you see a disadvantage, point it out. Seems to me the only card you had left to play was this tortuga. No one else can help, can they?"

No. The Tonalquizca were almost non-existent. Xelihuiyan was broken. Xander hunted the Teo. And the Pesto Tribe had not answered her letters.

"Thought so," Rook added. "If this is how you wanna play, so be it. I have loopholes in Bishop's orders I want exploited. Starting with him."

"No touch Leo," Coyo spat. She lifted her foot to step forward, but someone grabbed her ankle from behind. Izel or Huitzi, perhaps.

"Oh, I won't be touching him, Chief." Rook redirected his gun towards Leonardo's skull, and Coyo's stomach sank.

With a snarl, she back-kicked then felt her heel split someone's lip. Their cry drew Rook's attention enough that the Chieftain could grasp his weapon. She pushed it towards his chest to unbalance him but he countered with more power than expected. She landed on her back and shielded Leo with her body as she regained her breath.

"I wanted Xander to do this," Rook told her. "Guess I'll settle."

Coyo stood firm, no matter how many times Leo commanded her to move. She stared at the gun, stoic, as Rook narrowed his eyes.

"Awk! Amo cualli! Amo cualli!"

A colorful blur dove between the Chief and Yaoqui, and Coyo grew cold. She watched Rook snarl as Yolotli scraped his wounded face with thick talons.

"Yo, no!" she cried. "Please, you—"

"Maricónsito!" Rook swiped an arm at the cochotl.

His fist met Yo's breast yet Yo continued his assault, flapping, squawking, and maiming. Coyo reached towards her friend to stop him before Rook regained control. Strong arms slipped under hers, though. They pinned her against someone bitter-smelling and her legs flailed for leverage.

"Yo, fly!" she screamed in Nahautl. "Please! He will—"

"Cállate, puta!" Rook—now bloodied and unamused—pointed his gun at Coyo.

He fired a shot that the woman never felt. She saw it: saw it burn through Yolotli's talons and feathers with white-hot heat and a crackling noise. The cochotl screeched as he hit the ground then stopped moving altogether. Coyo froze, willing Yo to flinch or make some noise. He did not.

"No, no, no, no," she whispered.

"What annoyances," Rook said. "Thought we got rid of them years ago."

"Yo? Yo, please."

"That thing belongs to you?" The Yaoqui spit blood onto Yo, turning Coyo's tears of shock into tears of rage. He laughed when she spouted curses and stepped closer while her captor tightened their hold. "Now, I don't speak native, but I get the feeling you're a little hostile."

"I will kill you!" Coyo snarled. She meant it and it scared her. "I will kill you!"

"Not today, Chief." Rook glared through the blood smeared over his face as he shot the woman across both ankles.

She hissed as the skin bubbled, gasped at the sting around the wounds that swelled like hives.

The tlacatetza chuckled. "Good luck walking on those anytime soon," he said. Then he pushed his gun right against Leonardo's skull.