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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

“You know what we call it on the rare occasion when we get to feed to our hearts’ content?” The new Black Mamba opened the window, and a dozen fireflies careened into the room. “No clue?” he said when we didn’t answer. “It’s called bloodlust, because once we start, it’s nearly impossible to stop.”

“Nice to know, but we have to bounce.” Three fireflies moved in front of my gateway and quickly transformed into their natural state. The rest of the adze changed and surrounded us.

“Whew, we’re going to feast today,” the new Black Mamba said.

Zeran cracked his knuckles. “I guess you want to do this the hard way.”

The window exploded behind the new Black Mamba. Glass sprayed everywhere. One of the darkbringer recruits threw up a shield just in time to protect us from the shards, which fell harmlessly at our feet.

Two adult darkbringers stood in front of the shattered window. My heart raced. I would never forget the face of the man who had chased my friends and me across the Dark. The man who looked like an older version of his sons: Commander Rovey.

“Father?” Zeran said in shock.

“Mother?” Billu said as he stared, wide-eyed, at the woman.

Neither of their parents answered. The woman held up her hand, and all the adze fell to their knees like they were locked in invisible chains.

Commander Rovey glared at me before he turned on Black Mamba, who was struggling without success to free himself. In a voice as icy as Antarctica, Commander Rovey said, “Give me one reason why I should spare your miserable lives.”

Twenty-One

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THE UNEXPECTED

OSHUN’S SECOND RULE was expect the unexpected. I never in a million years thought that Commander Rovey would show up here—let alone come with Zeran and Billu’s mom. The two stood side by side in front of the broken window. They both wore all black, like spies straight out of an action movie. Zeran and Billu had their dad’s cobalt-blue skin and black hair, and they had their mom’s horns, only hers were much larger and sloped in an elegant arch away from her face.

Commander Rovey had dark circles underneath his eyes, and his cheeks were sunken. He almost looked remorseful, but I couldn’t forget that he locked Zeran in a cage as punishment for joining the Resistance.

“That’s our mother,” Zeran whispered to me. “Sidda Rovey.”

“This little family reunion is all touching and whatnot,” the new Black Mamba said as his shoulders twitched. With his arms still pinned to his sides, he rockily climbed to his feet. “But we have a deal with the Lord of Shadows, and y’all breaking it.”