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Back Maya and the Lord of Shadows Save as PDF
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

I didn’t miss the way Yemoja talked with absolute authority. It wasn’t Elegguá, can you please return the children to the human world? It was Elegguá, return the children to the human world. It was a not-so-subtle command that said that Yemoja was the new big boss. I got the feeling that with her now in control of the council, things were about to change around here.

“But we know the most about the Dark,” I insisted, as Papa started to gather us to leave. “My friends and I have been there recently. We can tell you what we learned.” I didn’t want to be left out, not after everything we’d done to help protect our neighborhood and the human world.

Yemoja smiled brightly. “If I should require your assistance, you’ll be the first to know.”

I got the feeling that she would be even stricter than the orisha council. I wanted to tell her so much now about the Dark, Captain Nulan, and the Lord of Shadows.

One thing was for sure, we might have captured Nulan, but that couldn’t be the end of it. It was still too easy. I would stake my entire Oya comic book collection that something else was going on—and I intended to find out with or without Yemoja’s blessing.

Six

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IT HELPS TO GET SOME FRESH AIR

PAPA OPENED A gateway back to the community center, but he didn’t come with us. Instead, he stayed to deliberate with the ex–council members and Yemoja. When we stepped out of the broom closet, we startled several people headed toward the main hall. It was bingo night, and the community center was hopping with the usual big shots.

Chief among them was Ms. Nichelle, the reigning champ and head of the Sassy Grandmas club. She screwed her face up into a disapproving scowl when she saw us. “What are you children doing in that closet? You better not be up to no good.”

“Don’t worry, Ms. Nichelle,” Eli said with a winning smile. “If we were up to no good, you’ll be the first to tell the whole neighborhood.”

“Watch your mouth, Eli, before I tell your grandmother you were in a closet with not one but three girls,” Ms. Nichelle threatened. “What do you think she’ll say about that?”

“We weren’t doing anything we weren’t supposed to,” Frankie said.

“Of course not,” Ms. Nichelle droned, her eyes suddenly glazed over and her voice robotic. “You’re good children.”

“Shouldn’t you be getting to the hall?” Eli quirked an eyebrow. “I’m sure your fellow sassy grandmas are waiting for you.”

“Yes.” Ms. Nichelle abruptly turned on her heels and walked away.

I snapped my head around to Eleni, who wasn’t even paying attention to the conversation. Fairy dust floated around her, and she looked distracted as she chewed on her bottom lip.