Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

P aige shifted in her seat, her hands clasped tightly enough that she couldn't pull them apart. She chewed her lower lip hard enough that it hurt, and she tasted blood.

"You okay, babe?" Devon asked as the plane lowered in the sky.

"Yep," she said, her voice an octave higher than she'd intended.

"Paige, we'll get there. I hate that we had to stop in France, too, but this was your idea, remember?"

"Please don't remind me that picking up the hot vampire was my idea."

Devon crinkled his nose. "I thought I was your hot vampire."

"Whatever," she said with a shake of her head as the plane bumped along the runway before slowing to a crawl and meandering its way toward a hangar.

Luna, a smile spread wide across her features, bounced on her toes as she waited at the door, ignoring the advice to remain seated until the plane came to a full stop .

They lurched to stop, and Luna sprang forward to open the door. She chewed her lower lip as footsteps approached them on the metal stairs. A second later, a dark-haired man stepped inside the plane, running a hand through his shoulder-length hair.

The stubble on his cheeks made his chiseled features even more appealing. He scanned the group before he settled his eyes on Luna. "Hey," he said, his tone low and seductive.

"Wow," Paige said, her eyes going wide.

"Seriously?" Devon objected. "You're sitting next to your husband and you're ogling that creep?"

"I'm not ogling him, but…I can see why Luna likes him."

"Unbelievable," Devon said with a shake of his head. "Luna, sit down so we can get going."

"Okay," she said as she threaded her fingers through Caleb's and led him to the loveseat.

Luna introduced everyone. As the vampire shook Paige's hand, his lips tugging into a slight smile, she giggled.

"Hi." Her words came out more breathless than she'd expected.

"We're going to go talk alone for a little bit," Luna said as the plane finished its refueling and the engines roared to life. She dragged her vampire friend back toward the back room.

"Wow, Paige is smitten," Dewey teased.

"Unreal," Devon answered with a frown.

"No, I'm not." Paige shook her head to dismiss the idea, even to herself. Was she? There was something irresistible about him.

"Sorry, Dimples, but the muscles just aren't cutting it. You need the swagger, the aloofness, the sexy voice."

"My voice is fine," Devon shot back. "Also, I'm way hotter than him."

"Not according to Paige, you're not," Dewey answered. " Besides, even I can see why she likes him. Looks like I'm single again."

"You were always single," Paige said.

Drucinda let her head rest against the cushion behind her as she kicked her feet up. "Don't knock it, little man. Single life is exceptional."

Dewey took a seat next to her. "You do make it look good. But tell us, Drucinda, as a neutral party, who is hotter? Devon or Caleb?"

"Well, that depends. Body wise? Devon."

"Thanks, Dru," Devon said with a smile.

"But Caleb has that indescribable quality that just makes a woman pant when he speaks."

"That's disgusting, I'm not panting," Paige said.

"Oh, weren't you? Was it not you with the goofy look on your face and the breathy hello?"

"I…was out of breath. It had nothing to do with desire." Paige shook her head, an incredulous expression on her face. "I get the same way when I run upstairs, and I have no deep desire for the stairs."

"You're never breathy with me," Devon complained.

"That's not true. The first day when you opened your door shirtless…I was breathy. Pretty certain I was breathy."

"I'd believe that. The muscles play, bro," Dewey said with a nod.

"They do. I'll admit it. Your muscles are hot. Totally hot. Epic levels of hotness with the washboard abs. There, I said it." Heat rose in her cheeks as she replied to them.

"You think I'm hot," Devon said with a sly grin. "I think you're cute, too, babe."

"I knew it! I knew you were into the muscles," Dewey exclaimed.

"Thanks," Paige answered, settling her arms across her chest. "So, what's the plan when we get to Mexico? We have one, right?"

"Find Reed," Drucinda answered, her eyes closed as she lounged.

"Yeah, that's obvious. But how?"

Drucinda lifted her head, opening her eyes to slits. "We will go to the ruins, see how the compass behaves. If it indicates she is on-site, we will search for her and rescue her."

"Right," Paige said with a sigh. "Simple. Just a quick search and rescue."

Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she imagined finally being reunited with her mother. Would it happen or was she merely setting herself up for more heartache when she found nothing?

She fidgeted in her seat, trying to pass the time with anything from fiddling with the new rings on her finger to imagining what she'd say when she reunited with her mother.

As the plane finally descended, she wrung her hands, eyeing the landscape spreading out in front of her. Her insides twisted in knots as she wondered if this would be the day she dreamed of or another dead end.

The wheels touched the ground, jarring her and her stiff muscles. Rochelle and Ronnie had arranged for transportation to be waiting for them when they arrived, and within minutes of touching down, they piled into the two vehicles to set off for the ruins.

With Drucinda behind the wheel of the first car, Paige and Dewey climbed inside, leaving Devon with his sister and her paramour.

Paige glanced in the side mirror, studying the vehicle that followed them. "How do you think it's going back there?"

"Terribly," Drucinda answered. "Devon hates being challenged. Caleb challenges him in every way. "

"He's not that hot," Paige answered. "He's sort of creepy, actually. It's like…he's too sexy."

"Is that possible?" Dewey asked. "I'm asking for my book. I'd really like to add him as a side character. I mean, there's just so much potential there. The gravelly voice, the piercing eyes, the swagger."

"Please," Paige said with a shake of her head, "whatever you do, don't make Paige fall for him. Because that would never happen."

"You said Paige would never fall for Devon, but now you've admitted you are attracted to his beefy muscles."

Paige shook her head before letting it fall into her palm. "Let's concentrate on finding my mom, okay?"

"You're the one who brought it up, Paige," Dewey said with a wrinkled nose. "You're super concerned about what's happening in the vampire vehicle."

"I'm just being nice," she shot back.

"Call it what you want, but you brought it up." Dewey shrugged.

Paige rolled her eyes as the ruins came into view. Drucinda brought the vehicle to a stop, and they climbed into the damp heat. Paige craned her neck to stare at the pyramid rising in front of her.

"Remember the last time we were inside one of these?" Dewey asked as he landed on her shoulder.

"Yep," Paige said with a bob of her head. "Not an experience I'd like to repeat.

"Me either. You fell into all those skulls, and I had to save you–"

"I really don't want to remember it that much."

"If you two are done chatting, what's the compass say?" Drucinda asked as the others joined them.

"Oh, right." Paige dug it out of her pocket and clutched it in her hand, her heart fluttering as she focused her energy on it.

The needle pointed directly at the pyramid. She flicked her gaze to it again. "Inside?"

"That's what it looks like. We'll need to follow that carefully to see where it leads," Drucinda said. "And we'll need a way in."

A branch snapped in the trees behind them. All eyes turned toward it. "Why don't you vampires keep a lookout whilst we head inside."

"I could keep a lookout," Dewey said. "I'd really rather not go into the pyramid there given what happened the last time we were inside one of these things."

"Dewey!" Paige said with a wrinkled nose.

"She's right, little man. You should be with her. You are her best friend, and you're too tiny to effectively help when it comes to defensive moves."

"I have teeth and claws."

"You barely could break the skin. Sorry, you're coming with us. Let's go." Drucinda trudged toward the many steps leading upward. "We should find an entrance on the top."

Paige stared up at the small rectangle poking from the pyramid's summit. "That's a lot of stairs."

"Start climbing, Paige." Dewey patted her head as she mounted the first.

She stared up, noting Drucinda already a quarter of a way up them and showing no signs of slowing.

"I really hate how good at everything she is."

"Hurry up, you're falling behind."

"You didn't even want to go inside!"

"Yeah, but now that I have to, I don't want to be the last one to see anything cool."

Paige puffed out a breath as she pushed her burning thighs to continue without stopping. "This is ridiculous. Why did they put so many stairs?"

"I'm pretty certain the thought process was bigger is better, but I could be wrong," Dewey said.

Paige stopped halfway up, collapsing to sit and stare out over the landscape. "This is pretty."

"Stop admiring the view and let's go. I'd like to find Reed before sunset," Drucinda called from the top.

With a heavy sigh, Paige pushed herself to stand and continue her trek upward. She reached the top completely winded and balanced her palms on her thighs as she tried to catch her breath.

"How do we get in?" Dewey asked as he buzzed in the air.

Drucinda circled the platform in search of a way to enter. "There is a door on the other side, though I haven't found the trigger yet."

"Try pushing some of these symbols," Dewey suggested as he fluttered closer to the carved stones and pressed on them.

"Don't just press things, little man, we have no idea what that could do."

"Well, we can't just break the door down," Dewey shot back as he continued his mission to touch as much as he could.

"Speak for yourself. I could manage to knock it in," Drucinda said.

Paige straightened, forcing herself to continue onward after a check of the compass. "Maybe you should. That would be the easi–"

Her words cut off as the stones under her feet shifted. She shuffled, shifting her weight in a desperate attempt to stay upright, but instead, she plummeted into a black hole.

"Paaaaaaaiiiiige!" Dewey's voice called, sounding miles away .

She smacked hard into a stone floor, landing in a heap. With a groan, she stared up at the dot of light above her.

She scrambled to her feet, brushing the dirt off of herself. "Dewey! Get down here. I'm not getting stuck in this stupid tomb alone."

"We'll be right down as soon as–"

"Get down here now! And bring a flashlight. It's pretty dark in here."

"Uhh, thing is…I really would prefer to stay up here with Drucinda until we figure out another…safer way in."

Paige's jaw flexed as she crossed her arms. "Dewey," she said her voice a low warning.

"Right, I'll be right down," he answered.

Unintelligible voices floated down to her as she stood in the near blackness, drumming her fingers against her forearm. Her heart thudded against her ribs as she stared up at the small bit of light piercing through the darkness from above.

If that closed up with her down here alone, she'd go out of her mind.

After what seemed like an eternity, Dewey buzzed down from the hole with a flashlight in hand. He swung it around, letting the light bounce off the stones.

"It's creepy in here."

"Yeah," Paige said. "Imagine me standing down here by myself all that time waiting for someone to get down here with a flashlight."

"Must have been horrible. I'm ready to cut and run now and we're together." Dewey landed on her shoulder, handing off the flashlight.

Paige slid the beam around, searching the blackness for anything.

"What's your compass say?" Dewey asked.

Paige pulled it from her pocket and studied it. "It's just spinning around wildly, and I can't read anything on the outside. We should have brought Luna down here."

"She's too busy ogling the sexy vampire."

"She's supposed to be helping us find my mom." Paige took a few steps forward before she let her eyes rise to the top of the pyramid again. "Where is Drucinda? We need to move on."

"Trying to figure out a way to open the door up there and come down a normal way," Dewey answered. "Let's explore while we wait for her."

"Yeah, I'm a little nervous about that." Paige plopped down on the floor in a cross-legged seat. "I'm going to sit right here and watch that opening to make sure it doesn't close."

"What difference does it make if it closes?" Dewey asked. "I mean, what are you going to do? Scale the wall and open it yourself?"

"Maybe," she answered. With a roll of her eyes, she climbed to her feet and aimed the flashlight into the darkness. "Fine. We'll look around."

"Maybe we'll just find your mom hanging out in a dark corner, and then we can get out of here," Dewey answered as he fluttered around within the light beam's reach.

"Yeah, I'm sure she's just sitting in the corner," Paige answered. "She's just being really quiet in case we're the bad guys."

"Look, Paige's mom, we're not the bad guys. We're the good guys. So, if you're hiding somewhere here, just come out. We won't hurt you."

"That'll do the trick, I'm sure," Paige said as she shuffled across the floor, shifting the light beam left to right as Dewey settled on her shoulder again.

"Nothing so far," Dewey answered. "This is getting tedious. "

Paige rubbed her hands against the stone walls before she pivoted and searched in another direction. "You didn't think it would be easy, did you?"

"Yeah," Dewey answered. "I thought the soul compass would just lead us right to her. You'd cry a little, not a lot. Enough to tug at the old heartstrings, but then you'd get yourself together, and we'd go on with life."

Paige screwed up her face as she twisted to study him. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously. I did not think we'd be back in a temple, wande–" His voice cut off as the ground dropped out from underneath them.

A scream escaped both Paige's and Dewey's mouths as they plunged deeper into the temple.