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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

Mama looked at us like we’d both grown a third eye in the center of our foreheads. “Children will be in the first groups we send to Azur, and that includes you both,” she said. “No exceptions.”

“But, Mama—”

She quirked an eyebrow, and my protest died before I could get it out. It was no use. When Mama had her mind made up, there was no changing it. After an awkward silence, she drew in a deep breath, and her face softened. “Maya, honey, you and Eleni have gone through so much already. You’ve both been so brave, but now it’s time to let the adults deal with the Lord of Shadows.”

Eleni quietly shoved green beans in her mouth and chewed slowly, like it was all she could do to keep from saying something.

“Your mother’s right,” Papa added as he pushed aside his plate. “We won’t be able to hold back the Lord of Shadows much longer. When he breaks out of the library, he will attempt to destroy everyone and everything in his path. It’s up to me and the other celestials to find a way to stop him.”

When he breaks out of the library, not if. The fork slipped from my hand and crashed against my plate. The celestials already knew that their plan would fail.

“How . . . how long do we have?” Eleni asked, her voice full of hesitation.

Papa stared at his hands, contemplating. “A week, maybe two at the most, though we’ve underestimated the Lord of Shadows too many times to count.”

“He draws energy from the universe, right?” I asked, rushing my words. “Could dark energy be used to create a vacuum in space to cut him off from his power source?”

“I wish it were that simple.” Papa pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes briefly. “Even if we could create a vacuum, it would still exist within the universe.”

I slouched in my chair. I was sure Shangó’s theory would be the answer, but it was a dead end.

“What if we all left earth?” Eleni looked up at Papa with fat tears in her eyes. “You and the other celestials could move everyone to another planet or even another dimension.”

Papa and Mama exchanged a sad glance, and I held my breath, prepared for more bad news. “Celestials and godlings might be able to come and go between worlds, but humans can’t, not without us changing the essence of what they are. They would be transformed in ways that no one could anticipate.”