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Back Maya and the Lord of Shadows
Chapters (34)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. One
  4. Two
  5. Three
  6. Four
  7. Five
  8. Six
  9. Seven
  10. Eight
  11. Nine
  12. Ten
  13. Eleven
  14. Twelve
  15. Thirteen
  16. Fourteen
  17. Fifteen
  18. Sixteen
  19. Seventeen
  20. Eighteen
  21. Nineteen
  22. Twenty
  23. Twenty-One
  24. Twenty-Two
  25. Twenty-Three
  26. Twenty-Four
  27. Twenty-Five
  28. Twenty-Six
  29. Twenty-Seven
  30. Twenty-Eight
  31. Twenty-Nine
  32. Acknowledgments
  33. About the Author
  34. About the Publisher

Together we’d kicked more darkbringer butt than I could count. The staff was a conduit that helped me direct my magic. But Ogun said it gave me an unfair advantage over the other godlings, so he never let me spar with it. Staff or not, I wasn’t going down without a fight.

Pivoting on my right foot, I lunged at Zeran and jutted out my elbow. I had intended to hook him in his side, but he was ready for my move. When he predictably stepped back to dodge my attack, I shoved my palm into his chest and concentrated hard on drawing out my magic. It was so much easier with the staff. I could snap my fingers, and BAM . . . it was there. This was like trying to pull a loose tooth that still refused to budge. Instead of the big bang I was hoping for, sparks of magic lit up my hand for a hot second, then quickly fizzled out.

“Ouch!” Eli cringed on the sideline, where he, Frankie, and Eleni stood watching our match. “Come on, Maya! You’ve got this!”

Winston and another group of kids on the bleachers burst into laughter, and I cringed in embarrassment. Tay whispered something that made Winston laugh even harder. Candace yawned like Zeran and I were boring her to tears. Despite everything that went down last summer and at the beginning of the school year, some of the godlings weren’t taking the threat from the Lord of Shadows seriously.

Ogun stood underneath the basketball rim with a clipboard in his hands, wearing a blue-and-white tracksuit. General, his massive bloodhound, slept at his feet with one floppy ear draped over his eyes. Ogun scribbled something down. He was always taking notes. I wondered what he’d written about me today. Maya Abeola continues to struggle to call her magic without her staff. How disappointing.

A knot was growing in my stomach just thinking about it. I had to get my head right. My very reputation was at stake. Zeran and I had a bet to see who won the most matches whenever we were paired up. Best of three. I’d won the first round, but this second match was not going as planned.

“Is that all you got?” Zeran asked mockingly, as he went on the offensive.

When he came at me, I ducked and swept out my leg. This time I connected, and he hit the floor, landing hard on the mat. He grimaced as he pushed himself up again. “Who’s lucky now?”