“What just happened?” Rodrigo asked from the ground after crashing into the barrier protecting Chaco.
Tania and the others began getting back to their feet, since none of them knew what had happened or where they were. All they could see were enormous canyons carved by desert erosion, while the ground was dry and covered with only a few shrubs. The moon lit the massive brown mountains rising in the distance.
“Tul, tell me... are you sure the last thing you used wasn’t sleeping powder?” Tania asked with a smile that was almost homicidal, while the rabbit goddess looked nervous, having realized her mistake in choosing the ingredients.
“Ch’úupal, I thought it was my energy mix of peyote with sik’ar and epazote... but I must’ve mixed up the ingredients,” Tul said, utterly nervous, and then immediately threw herself to the ground and prostrated herself. “I’m sowwy! It was my mistake!” she said in complete embarrassment.
“And how exactly do your mixtures work, Tul-chan?” Susanoo asked, stepping closer to the rabbit goddess with a broad smile.
“Well, every night I prepare medicines and little brews that I store in a pocket dimension, and this bag is how I get to it,” Tul explained. “But inside my bag I also keep my things for making medicine, like my molcajete, my knives, my little containers, and some emergency herbs too.”
The rabbit goddess stood back up proudly, planted her hands on her hips, and boasted, “Actually, I was named a dzac yah since I was very little.”
“And that... means what, exactly?” Tania asked, still unimpressed.
“A super expert healer. I know all the functions of the herbs around me, and I know how to use them to cure illnesses, both human and divine,” Tul continued bragging proudly.
“Then Tul, how could someone so expert in medicine confuse an energy brew with sleeping powder?” Tania asked, still not impressed.
“Uh!” Tul squeaked in surprise and quickly looked away.
“Don’t worry, Tania,” Menrva said while getting back up as well. “We’ve already reached Chaco.”
“Well, it seems that instinctively we were able to follow the route from your map, Menrva,” Tania said as she stood up.
“If I could keep this transformation for more than one minute, we wouldn’t have had to stop all the time or depend on Tul’s energy drinks,” Rodrigo said in disappointment.
“I can’t keep my manticore transformation for very long either,” Tania added. “We’re only just starting to surpass our limits, Rodrigo. Don’t feel bad.”
“And don’t you think... soldiers are approaching us with weapons?” Freyja asked, the moment she saw a crowd of Hisatsinom warriors surrounding them and aiming bows and spears at them.
“We did not come to cause trouble. We come in peace,” Anpiel said, raising his hands as he stood up, but none of the warriors understood him.
And then Rodrigo saw her.
It was Ana, dressed in a long white skirt fastened over one shoulder and tightened at the waist with a red sash. Her dress had black and red geometric patterns, and it reached all the way to her ankles, where she wore brown moccasins. The goddess’s beautiful dark hair hung loose, moving with the faint breeze in the air.
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Beside Ana stood the Talking God, wearing a white mask with a minimalist face painted upon it. His long brown hair fluttered in the wind beneath a crown of white-and-black feathers. He wore a brown tunic tied at the waist with a green belt, and around his neck was a necklace of bright blue beads. His arms were covered with gloves made of animal hide, and his feet with furry boots that looked like bear fur. Though his face could not be seen, it was obvious that the god was rather annoyed.
But before the Talking God could say anything, Ana ran to Rodrigo and hugged him, even though the young man was still sitting on the ground. Rodrigo could not help noticing that Ana looked thinner, her skin paler, with dark circles under her eyes and her hair disheveled.
“I knew you’d come back, Rui!” Ana said, squeezing him as hard as she could while tears streamed from her eyes.
“And Epona... is she okay?” Rodrigo asked.
At that moment, something inside Ana’s heart broke.
Couldn’t he ask about me first? she thought.
“She’s being treated. She’ll be as good as new very soon,” Ana said, letting go of Rodrigo and looking at him with eyes he had never seen on her before. It was a mixture of sadness and disappointment. Ana had not meant to look at Rodrigo that way, but she could not help it.
“I’m happy to see you too, Ana,” Tania said sarcastically.
“The feeling is mutual, Tania,” Ana replied.
“Well, I can see now that you truly are all friends,” the Talking God finally said, approaching the group, who were once again getting to their feet.
“My name is Haashchʼééłtiʼí, though you may call me the Talking God, and I am in charge of the military defenses of the Hisatsinom realms,” the Diné deity said. “I regret that Grandmother Spider, the ruler of this region, cannot receive you personally, but we shall do our best to provide all of you with proper lodging.”
Anpiel stood and bowed to the Talking God.
“We shall be deeply grateful, great Haashchʼééłtiʼí,” he said.
“Seriously? He pronounced it perfectly on the first try?” Freyja asked in surprise.
“I’ve been here for several days already, and I still can’t say that name,” Ana admitted awkwardly.
“One moment,” the Talking God said, studying Rodrigo and Tul more closely. “Are you not travelers from Tula and Mayapán?”
“I am from Mayapán, yes... from a kingdom called Cazumel,” Tul replied.
“I am not from Tula, though I have been told that I resemble an ancient king from there,” Rodrigo said.
“Yes, I told him he looks exactly like Kukulkán,” Tul said with a smile.
“It is just that it is uncommon for people from the south to come this far north, since an evil god called Coyote has taken control of that region,” the Talking God explained.
“I actually couldn’t even get past the Chichimeca kingdoms, though for some reason I ended up in Cahokia, to the north,” Tul replied sheepishly.
“Well, we can speak more calmly once inside Chaco. Please, come in,” said the Talking God, and at once the soldiers lowered their weapons and stood at attention.
Rodrigo, who realized too late that he had not asked Ana how she herself was doing, quickly rose and stepped toward the goddess.
“I didn’t ask about you because they told me Epona was in very serious condition,” Rodrigo said, trying to apologize. “But I want to know if you’re okay too, Ana.”
“I’m okay, Rui. Thank you for worrying about me,” Ana replied with a smile, though Rodrigo knew that inwardly she was deeply upset.
What was that? Jealousy? Ana thought in alarm. It’s only natural he’d worry first about the woman he loves, especially knowing she nearly died.
At that moment, Ana began to understand that she would never have reacted that way if Loki had not put such strange thoughts in her head.
That bastard, she thought. I’m gonna punch him when I see him again.
“Excuse me, Ana,” Anpiel said, stepping closer to the Irish goddess as they continued walking toward Chaco.
“Menrva told us that Epona was left in dreadful condition after her encounter with Anat. I would like to know whether she is truly out of danger,” he asked.
Ana fell silent and remembered the condition Epona was in. Although she trusted that the ritual would work, she feared that if the others saw Epona as she was now, they might blame her for not having done enough to help.
“She... she’s okay, Anpiel,” the Irish goddess said, forcing herself to smile.
“Then why do you look so exhausted?” the angel asked insistently.
Ana said nothing, but felt an overwhelming urge to cry, though she held it back.
Anpiel, for his part, understood the implication and chose not to press further. Still, he sensed how grave the situation she and Epona had endured over the past month had truly been.