Page 129 of Cemetery Boys

Yadriel buried his face against Julian, letting his smell linger. The sobs slowly subsided until Yadriel was left weak and sniffling.

Then he noticed something thrumming, pressed against his side. Gingerly, Yadriel pushed himself up. The jaguar amulet lay on the stone slab. It trembled and sparked with light, wafting heat and energy.

The ritual was complete. The amulet still held the spirits of Miguel, the two others. Julian’s spirit. They were trapped inside and would remain there, unable to cross over to the afterlife.

He wouldn’t allow it.

He needed help. He needed Lady Death, but how could he summon a god? Yadriel’s mind raced. He remembered how Tío Catriz stood at the cenote, the gateway that connected this world to Xibalba. He remembered how his tío had sliced open his own hand, had used his own blood. Only something as powerful as brujx blood could call upon a death god.

Yadriel quickly pulled out his dagger, gripping where Lady Death had been painted onto the hilt. Their portajes connected them to her.

“Yads?” Maritza said tentatively.

With a quick slice, Yadriel cut open his palm with his dagger.

“Yadriel!” Maritza shouted.

This was the only way he could think to get Lady Death’s attention. He needed this favor. He squeezed his hand into a fist. Blood spilled through his fingers. “Lady Death!” he called out. “I need you!”

A bright light exploded in the crypt. Maritza stumbled back. Yadriel threw his arm up to shield his eyes.

Marigold petals showered down around him. They twisted and sparked, tickling his face as they cascaded to the floor. The sweet smell of apples filled his nose.

The light faded. Tall and glowing with a warm light, Lady Death stared down at them, her expression calm. Her skin was smooth as stone, milky white and translucent. Through it, Yadriel could see her golden skeleton.

Parts of her ghostly flesh were missing from the left side of her face. An uneven line curved around her eye and down the side of her jaw, revealing some of her golden skull, teeth, and neck.

Lady Death’s hands pressed together, as if in prayer. The left one was only bone. Her white dress billowed out gently around her, like she was underwater. The hem swept along the tops of her bare feet.

Yadriel caught a glimpse of thick, black hair under her gilded lace mantle. A crown of marigolds rested upon her head, their petals gently falling around her. Bright and undulating, her right eye looked as if it had been filled with molten gold, while the other was just an empty, gleaming socket.

Yadriel openly gaped at her, barely even registering the throbbing pain in his hand.

“Mi hijo, Yadriel Vélez Flores,” she said, watching him carefully. Her voice was beautiful and melodic, like a song but with the echoing weight of stone. She spoke with an accent that Yadriel couldn’t place, like each syllable hit his ear with a ring from every Spanish voice he’d ever heard.

“Holy shit,” Maritza breathed, open-mouthed and staring.

Lady Death’s golden eyes slid to her. Her black-painted lips curled into a small smile. “Mi hija, Maritza Selena Escabas Santima.”

Her eyes bulged. “Holy shit.”

Yadriel was in shock. He couldn’t believe it had worked.

Lady Death looked around the crypt. Her gaze landed on the cenote, the blood on the floor. “You stopped a terrible thing from happening here,” she said, slowly shaking her head and sending more marigold petals cascading to the floor. “Without you, Bahlam would’ve escaped his prison.”

“My tío, is he…?” Yadriel trailed off.

Lady Death nodded somberly. “Bahlam has taken him to Xibalba.”

Guilt ripped Yadriel in half.

“It is not your fault,” she said gently. “Greed and hurt drive people to do horrible things.” Lady Death turned to the bodies lying on their sacrificial slabs. “My children were taken from this world before they were meant to go.”

“Can’t you bring them back?” Yadriel asked, desperation leaping in his chest. Miguel. Julian. The other two whom Yadriel didn’t even know.

But Lady Death was already shaking her head. “I am sorry, but I cannot bring them back,” she said gently.

“Please,” Yadriel begged, panic clawing up his throat once again. “Please, they didn’t deserve this! Like you said, they weren’t meant to die! They shouldn’t have lost their lives like this—just to be sacrificed for this!” He grabbed the jaguar amulet in his fist.