They Who from the Heavens Came (The Wisdom, #1)

Itzy was speechless. On either side of her, Aidan and Myra had backed away, perhaps unconsciously. Her mother and her boyfriend were afraid of her.

‘No, I – I’m nothing,’ Itzy managed to say.

Quetzal cast a sad gaze over her. ‘Why do you say that, child? How can you not feel what lies within you?’

Seth’s words flashed through her mind:

Don’t do that. It would be like forgetting you’re incredible.

Had he sensed something, without knowing what it was? Had everyone? She felt like the punch line to a hideous joke. Because that was what it was. It had to be a joke. There was no way Quetzal was being serious.

‘But – but what lies – I don’t understand,’ Itzy said, near hysterics.

To her horror, the Ancient came for her. She thought if he touched her, she might scream.

Quetzal stopped a foot in front of her and knelt down. His cloak spread around him like golden wings. It was clear to see he was Aidan’s father. He must have used his own blood to make the Ancient side of Aidan. It explained Aidan’s perpetual golden tan.

‘Itzel Loveguard,’ Quetzal addressed her.

There was reverence in his voice. That was most terrifying of all, that this giant should almost be bowing to her, as though she were – she were –

‘You hold the key to the mysteries of the universe,’ he told her. ‘You alone have the knowledge of our Creator. That’s why I came here: to bring you back with us. To save us.’

Something seemed to snap in Myra’s head. In a flash, she was at her daughter’s side. She held her hand so tightly Itzy thought she might break her fingers. ‘You’re not taking her anywhere,’ Myra told the Ancient. ‘Whatever you think she may be, she’s staying on Earth.’

Poor Myra. She sounded like she truly believed this.

‘Why….’ Itzy swallowed, her mouth parched, and tried again. ‘Why do you need saving?’ she asked.

Quetzal’s face grew agonisingly woeful. ‘Our world is plagued with shadows. Strange violent creatures have invaded, and my people have turned against each other. Some say it’s a sign of the end of days, while others believe it’s because the Wisdom has been lost for so long. I fall in this latter category, for we were once a great race, but we’ve been rapidly disintegrating ever since we lost faith in our own legends.’

He gave the Descendants a meaningful look and said, ‘I’ve seen the effects of it here on Earth, too. I’ve picked it up on my cube.’

‘The splitting,’ Itzy heard herself whisper. ‘There’s an incompatibility in the DNA types of Descendants.’

‘Perhaps,’ Quetzal answered her enigmatically. ‘But whatever it is…I know you can fix it.’ His expression was one of religious rapture.

Aidan seemed to wake up, then. ‘Itzy,’ he pleaded with her. He turned her head so their eyes met. ‘Itzy, No. Ya can’t leave me.’

‘You see,’ Quetzal said. ‘He can’t exist without you.’

‘You programmed him well,’ Itzy bit out as she fought back the tears threatening to spill from her black eyes.

‘It doesn’t matter how much you beg,’ Quetzal told Aidan. ‘You’ll see. She’s already made up her mind to come with me. She just hasn’t realised it yet.’

‘Yer wrong,’ Aidan said. His deep voice dripped with defiance. ‘She hasn’t decided anything. She won’t. She can’t.’ There, the defiance fled from him, leaving dread in its wake.

Quetzal shook his head as if he were dealing with a rebellious child. ‘You can’t stop this. I’ve already called them.’

‘Called who?’ Itzy whispered in fear.

‘My people,’ He told her. ‘The Director, Charon, knows all about you. Nibiru is on its way here, this very moment.’

Silence reigned in the room. Then, like waking from a dream and only just becoming aware of their surroundings, they heard the sounds bellowing outside. There was a series of loud crashes, and the ground vibrated beneath them. Then there was screaming.

‘What’s happening?’ she asked Quetzal. ‘You mentioned something about a companion…?’

His expression turned stormy. ‘Yes. Let’s say we share…different views on your race. Here. I’ll show you.’ He stared into his cube as if communicating with it. A moment later, he passed his hands over its surface and a translucent image appeared in the middle of the room. It was like watching a film projection.

They saw fire. Heaped across the streets were cars that had fatally collided into each other. A house had been caved in and something wriggled in the mess, like it was trapped and couldn’t get out of the grave it had made for itself. A wall divided one side of the road from the other, which Itzy was certain hadn’t existed before. Strangest of all, there was an enormous serpent like something out of Aladdin, and what looked like a dinosaur skeleton.

‘Oz,’ Itzy whispered. To Quetzal, she said, ‘My brother would never think to use his powers unless he had to – unless there were something to fight.’ She felt her mother’s questioning gaze, but she didn’t have the energy to explain.

Quetzal’s curiosity was aroused. ‘Is he the death raiser?’ Then a smile crossed his golden lips and he said, ‘Ahh, Osiris. I understand, now. That was a nice touch, Itzel.’

She really didn’t like the way he said that.

‘What do you mean?’ Myra demanded.

The Ancient stared into the projected image and said nothing.

‘The moon,’ Aidan almost whispered.

Itzy noticed he was staring out the window, behind them. ‘What is it?’ she asked softly.

He spoke as if half-asleep. ‘It was full, an hour ago. But now it’s dark.’

Itzy and Myra turned to look. He was right. The glowing satellite had been bitten into by shadow – and that shadow was growing.

‘What does it mean?’ asked Myra, frantic.

It was Itzy who said, ‘Something’s coming.’