❝ the serpents ❞

            Cataleya didn't know when she realized Seth had stopped following her, but she quickly became aware of his absence as she neared the family sitting at the table and noticed a certain hand hadn't made a grab for her wrist.

He must've followed his brother, she mulled, as she sat down in a huff. Groaning, she put her face in her hands. She couldn't believe she'd just done that; kissed the man that knocked her out for god-sakes. The same man who'd killed the other hostage.

She wasn't a hostage anymore, she remembered suddenly. So what was she still doing here?

The other three occupants of the table looked at her, concerned.

"Hey, Cataleya," Scott poked her arm, "you okay?"

She groaned again, removing her hands from her face and leaning back into the chair. "Not really, kiddo."

"Did you find Richie?" Kate questioned.

"No."

The word came out so quickly she wasn't even sure she'd said it. She'd just lied to Kate, and all because she couldn't even bear to hear his name right now.

Cataleya sighed. "Actually, yeah I did. But I didn't get a chance to talk to him."

The lies just kept coming.

"Oh." Kate's face fell.

"I'm sorry, Kate, you too Scott, and Jacob. I know y'all want to go home. I just... I don't really know what else I can do." Cataleya looked between the family members, taking in the frowns their faces held while trying her best to ignore the choking guilt.

Cataleya felt awful. She was supposed to ask Richie to help the family leave, but instead, she stuck her tongue down his throat. She groaned again, running her hands down her face. What the fuck is wrong with me?

Kate fidgeted with the small golden cross around her neck, eyes wandering until they settled on something far off over her brother's shoulder. "Cataleya?"

"Yeah?"

"You know anything about throwing knives?"

Cataleya tilted her head, a smirk playing on her lips at Kate's impish expression. "I might... What do you have in mind, Katey-Kakes?"

The young girl turned to her, a smile on her lips. "A little hustle, Kitty Cat."

Cataleya nodded, holding up her hand and high-fiving the clever teen.

"We'll be right back," Kate assured her father and brother before walking ahead of Cataleya, leading her to the brothers.

The two stood back at first, Cataleya saying it was to take note of what she was up against. In all honesty, she just wasn't sure she could face them yet. Now, every time she thought of Richie all she could imagine was the way his lips felt on hers. And every time she thought of Seth, his hurt expression tattooed itself behind her eyes.

The younger girl grew impatient and walked forward, brushing past Richie as she spoke. "Why don't we make it interesting," she offered, picking up a target and holding it over her head.

"What are you doing?" Seth questioned, looking at her in disbelief.

"Me and Katie here had an idea." Cataleya pushed her way through the small crowd that had formed around the brothers before picking up a knife from the table and turning it over in her hand.

"Cataleya wins, you give me the keys and let my family go," Kate suggested.

Cataleya felt Richie's stare on her. His eyes find eyes philosophy seemed all too real now, and she did everything she could to avoid looking up at him.

Seth scoffed as he looked between Kate and Cataleya. "And if she loses?"

"Well, then I guess I'm stuck here," Kate shrugged, "literally."

Richie leaned to his brother, muttering, "I'm not doing this."

"You don't really have a choice." Cataleya stared straight at the target as she spoke.

"It's her eyeball," Seth sighed. "Ladies first."

Cataleya pushed past the brothers to stand directly in front of Kate. She held up the knife, winding her arm back and sending it through the paper target.

"Damn it," she mumbled as it landed too far left.

"That's too bad. We all have our talents, sweetheart." Seth swiftly threw his knife, landing it on the edge of the bullseye. "Looks like this isn't one of yours." He smirked as he glanced down at her, the smug look faltering as he slowly looked away.

He's still mad.

Richie turned toward the table, reaching for a knife for his throw.

"Señor." The bartender parted the crowd, slowly making his way over to Richie. "You need to try this one." He opened his hand, offering up what was in it.

Cataleya's eyes widened as Richie turned toward her with the knife. The large eye etched into the side of it was an identical match to the medallion she kept carefully hidden under her shirt. Richie said he knew the symbol from it, but she didn't know how closely they resembled each other. Now, she definitely knew.

"Where did you get that?" she asked, looking him in his eyes.

"H-He just gave it to me." He was surprised she actually met his gaze.

"No, where did you get it" Cataleya questioned further, "like, the first time?"

"I told you, I won it," Richie stated. He stared at her a little longer, his eyes flicking down to her lips. His mouth opened slightly like he wanted to say something more.

But Cataleya didn't want to talk anymore right now. "Your throw."

He furrowed his brow as she looked away from him, watching as she shoved her hands into the pockets of his jacket she still wore.

Richie stepped up, staring at the target. Kate took a deep breath as Richie steadied himself. He threw, and it landed just shy of the bullseye. The small audience erupted in cheers. He smirked, looking down at Cataleya.

"Guess that means–"

"Ah," she held her finger up, shushing him. "Who said I was done?"

Cataleya was swiftly handed another knife. She looked down at it, throwing it up and bouncing it off her forearm before catching it again and twirling it around in her hand.

The brothers looked to each other in surprise before turning back to her.

She looked towards Kate, the young girl nodding that she was ready. Cataleya steadied herself, again pulling her arm back and throwing the knife forward.

The paper target tore as the knife sliced through it; a perfect bullseye.

"Brother," Richie sighed, his eyes flicking from Cataleya to Seth, "I believe we've just been hustled."

"Seems that way..."

"Keys," Cataleya sarcastically smiled, holding her hand out to Seth as Kate walked over.

He dropped the keys in Cataleya's open palm, looking at her incredulously. "Who even are you?"

She shrugged, placing her arm around Kate's shoulders. "Wouldn't you like to know."

The two turned to walk away from the group when the bartender returned. "You all need to sit down," he commanded, "now."

The four made their way to tables surrounding a catwalk stage. Kate found her father and brother and sat with them, offering Cataleya the chair next to her. Cataleya declined, casting a sideways glance at the brothers who'd taken a table close by.

She walked along the edge of the stage, finding an empty seat a few tables away from the Geckos. She hoped she was hidden from their view behind a group of leather clad bikers, but when she turned she was immediately met with two pairs of eyes staring back at her. Cataleya quickly turned away to look up at the man speaking into a microphone.

"–for tonight... is a very special night," the man's accented voice elaborated. "Please welcome the Mistress of Macabre. The Queen of the Night... Santanico Pandemonium!"

The crowd cheered as the thick curtains parted.

A woman emerged from the shadows the overhead lights created, a silhouette trimmed in a long cloak and headdress. Her body slowly came out from the darkness, and as her face glowed under the spotlight, Cataleya's breath hitched in her throat.

It was her. The voice. The woman from the vision. She was real.

Cataleya could have burst into tears right then at the sight of her. This Santanico Pandemonium, as she was called, was one of the main reasons she got out of Las Visiones alive. In some ways, she owed this woman her life.

Cataleya studied her as she sauntered down the stage, her movements hypnotic and smooth. She looked up at the woman as she moved, thinking to herself that every man and woman inside this bar was her subject. Up there, Santanico looked like a queen.

Rock music swelled as she shrouded herself with the cloak again, pulling it away and revealing that her headdress was gone. Instead, a two headed serpent draped itself around her neck. Her movements matched the slow undulations of the snake that clung to her, commanding the eyes of everyone in the room.

The woman looked over her shoulder, her eyes landing directly on Cataleya. The two held each other's gaze while Santanico continued her dancing, the serpent slithering between her legs.

The spotlight drew away from her and returned to an empty stage. The crowd gasped as the spotlight traveled beside Richie, revealing Santanico in full headdress. Again, the spotlight flashed and Santanico appeared back on stage, headdress and snake gone as she swayed to the music.

Cataleya watched, almost dazed, as the woman pulled herself up a pole and spun. She stepped down, slowly sashaying towards the brothers' table.

Richie stared up at the woman, completely entranced with her and her hypnotic movements.

Cataleya couldn't help but feel the slightest knot of jealousy in her stomach.

Santanico grabbed a bottle from the table and lifted her leg to Richie's mouth, pouring the liquor down it. She pulled her leg away, licking it before sipping straight from the bottle.

Lowering herself, the woman crawled towards Richie, and from Cataleya's angle, it looked like she was kissing him. From the expressions on Kate and Seth's faces, she could only assume it was true.

Cataleya looked away from them, anxiously twirling the silver ring on her finger.

Who was she kidding? That kiss didn't mean anything. Not to her, and definitely not to Richie. I guess this is how Seth felt. But, why would he feel that way unless–

Richie's yell caused her head to snap in his direction, to a man whose face she couldn't see holding a gun to his head. She winced as her eyes traveled to Richie's hand, a large knife stabbed straight through his wound.

"He dies, you die." Seth quickly stood, cocking his gun and pointing it at the man.

The spotlight traveled around the room, and as it shined down on the man seconds away from shooting the brothers, shock crawled its way onto her face.

"Freddie?" Cataleya called out timidly, testing the name she hadn't uttered in years.

His head turned towards her, eyebrows furrowing as he studied her. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get out a single word Santanico leaped from the stage and attacked him.

She snarled, her face transforming into something scaled and serpentine. Fangs protruded from her mouth as she hissed at him and roughly pinned him down. She looked like something of nightmares.

Santanico threw the man across the room, and Cataleya yelled out.

"Freddie!" She tried to run for him but Seth grabbed her, pulling her closer to him as he shot at the monsters that seemed to come from every place in the bar.

Cataleya kept glancing in the direction of the man, worried about him. He looked different from the last time she'd seen him; a long six years ago. But she recognized him all the same. She'd never forget the face of her own brother.

More and more of the dancers transformed into the scaled creatures, roaring and attacking the occupants of the bar.

"What the hell kind of floor show is this?!" Seth shouted in panic, his arm tightly wound around Cataleya as he pointed his gun forward.

Cataleya watched as Santanico tore into a woman's neck and she looked away, feeling tears sting her eyes.

No. You are not doing this right now. Cataleya grit her teeth and pulled from Seth's hold, grabbing one of her brother's discarded guns and holding it out in front of her as well. She stepped closer to Kate, shielding the young girl.

Metallic clanging surrounded them as bars began shutting off every exit, trapping everyone inside the blood bath.

"Richard, get your balls on!"

Richie looked over at Cataleya, and she turned away to shout at the family. "Get under the table!"

The family cowered beneath the table as the chaos surrounded them, the bloodshed and mayhem rivaling that of judgment day. Screams of pain erupted from around them; the sounds of fear and death came from everywhere.

Cataleya noticed a group of men watching the mayhem unravel, laughing and drinking as if all the death was a show to them. She took a few steps toward them when she heard Richie yell her name.

"Cata, watch ou–"

Cataleya grunted as the dancer from before knocked her to the ground, the gun in her hand sliding away from her. She blindly reached for it in hope it laid close by, because now she was left virtually defenseless as the woman above her pinned her down.

The monster leaned in, blood dripping down her mouth onto Cataleya's face as she spoke. "You smell so delicious, I just can't help myself." Her clawed hands ripped at Cataleya's shirt, pulling the collar of the jacket to the side. "I can't kill you, but maybe just one taste..."

Cataleya couldn't even scream before the woman bit down, fangs breaking through the soft flesh of her neck.

Cataleya strained, trying her best to shove the woman off of her. She could feel her blood leaving her, making her weaker, and Cataleya couldn't afford to be weak right now. In a last attempt to get the woman off, she let out a yell before reaching for the woman's neck.

Before she could do anything the woman quickly pulled away, spewing a black liquid onto Cataleya as she coughed. She croaked out noises, clawing at her own throat as she fell to the side and writhed in apparent pain. Cataleya sat herself up, hand flying to the puncture wounds as she watched the woman stiffen and turn into ash with wide eyes.

"What the fuck?" Cataleya panted, scrambling to pick herself off of the ground and find another weapon.

She didn't even have time to process what she'd just witnessed before Seth ran to her.

"Hey, Cat, are you okay?" Seth breathed as he helped her stand, frantically surveying every inch of her. He grit his teeth as he noticed red dripping from her neck and down her wrist. She was bitten.

Cataleya didn't really have time to worry about herself. "Where's Kate and Scott? I promised them–"

She tried pulling away from Seth, but he kept his grip on her tight. "You are not leaving my side."

He wasn't going to let anything else happen to her. He couldn't. It didn't matter how upset he still was over what happened between her and his brother, because he just needed her safe.

"Seth, I need to–"

He looked down at her, his eyes boring into hers as he let worry leak into his expression. "Listen, sweetheart, I know you're really fucking stubborn, but for once I'm gonna need you to listen to me. And I am telling you that you are staying. with. me."

Cataleya stared up at him, slightly taken aback by his severe tone.

"Fine." She slowly agreed, letting Seth pull her along with him. He shot out at creatures that crossed their path while making his way back towards his brother.

"Richie, talk to me!" Seth yelled as they neared. "I got a feelin' you know what these things are."

Seth pulled Cataleya behind him, the brothers shielding her from the bloodshed happening around them.

Her breaths came fast as her eyes wildly searched for any sight of the family she'd promised to protect. Her heart beat quick, her blood pumping quicker. She could feel the wet warmth of it still dripping from her neck, but right now she couldn't care less.

"I've seen 'em in a vision, but I have no clue what these things are," Richie replied, brandishing his knife high.

The brothers both instinctively threw their hands back to grab hold of Cataleya as a body flew their way. Cataleya peeked from around their shoulders to see the man from the doorway, his face covered in thick scales, and a group of men who looked just the same surrounding him.

"Miss me, mijo?" He teased, his hands motioning for Seth to near him.

Seth groaned, exclaiming, "Shit!"

"This is a perfect example of Karma," Cataleya nervously laughed, flinching as one of the men flung a table in an effort to get to them quicker.

Richie grabbed Cataleya as Seth ran ahead to throw a punch into one of the monster's faces. Richie then ran forward with her, handing her off to Seth as he struck out with the knife in his hand. The two traded her off, shielding her with themselves as they fought.

Cataleya soon grew tired of playing hot potato.

"I can take care," Cataleya pulled away from Richie to throw a punch at one of the creatures, immediately sending it down to the ground, "of myself." She huffed.

The brothers shared a quick glance, shrugging before the three returned to throwing punches.

Seth looked over at the man from the door, his head lowered to the neck of some poor soul.
"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say these things are vampires."

A monster lunged for them, and Cataleya grabbed Seth's arm. "Throw me."

"What?"

"Throw me!"

Seth did as he was told, swiftly turning as Cataleya kicked out at the face of the creature. It fell to the ground and Seth shoved a broken chair leg into its chest. The creature gurgled, blood spraying from its mouth before it disintegrated into ash.

"Yeah, definitely vampires. Go for the heart."

Cataleya picked up a shard of wood from the floor, clutching it in her fist defensively as she looked around. The sharp smell of blood slammed into her as she witnessed more and more of the occupants be torn apart. Deep red liquid sprayed from their wounds as the vampires drank from it, shrieking in pleasure.

She'd been running from bloodshed only to run right into something so much worse.

The group of men still watched in amusement, and Cataleya thought it was disgusting that they found the havoc being wreaked enjoyable. They laughed as a man's head was torn clean off, his body thudding to the already blood soaked floor. Cataleya's face twisted in disgust.

"Cat!"

She swiftly turned just as a vampire lunged for her, thankfully jumping directly onto the makeshift stake she held out in front of her.

It sputtered, eyes wide as she shoved the stake in further, feeling it pierce the undead thing's heart. "Night night," Cataleya deadpanned, watching the creature's ash slowly float to the ground.

She wiped her face with the back of her hand, smearing the blood that spotted her skin. A hand falling on her shoulder caused her to swiftly turn around, her stake brandished high in defense. She breathed a sigh of relief upon noticing it was only Richie and followed him back to Seth.

Cataleya was getting tired. Her fists ached from making contact with the hard skin of the monsters, the stitches of her wound were probably ripped, and splinters of wood stabbed at the backs of her legs from her fall. But she couldn't stop now. Not only did she need to protect herself, she promised to do the same for that family.

And her brother.

Her heart quickened even more as her eyes quickly scanned the bar, seeing her brother marching towards them with determination. He was thrown back again as Santanico reappeared.

Cataleya moved to go toward him, but a horde of vampires blocked her way. She did her best to clear a path, striking out with her stake at every monster that dared block her from her brother.

Cataleya shoved through the bodies just in time to see Santanico bite into his neck.

"No!" She cried out, dropping to her knees as Freddie disappeared through a hole in the floor.

"Thank you! Good night!" The band finished and the creatures slowly retreated into the depths of the bar, hissing as they went.

Cataleya couldn't force herself to look away from where her brother had fallen through.

The woman responsible stumbled out, wiping the blood from her face. "It's alright, Richard, it's me. I've been waiting for you."

Cataleya laughed emptily. She couldn't believe how in awe of this woman she used to be. Santanico wasn't her savior, she was a murderer. Cataleya shook her head, mumbling to herself. "You lying bitch." She stood while raising the stake high as she prepared to bury it into Santanico's back.

But the monstrous woman stumbled backward after being shot, Cataleya soon realizing Seth held the gun.

"Stop! Why'd you do that!" Richie exclaimed, seemingly frustrated with his brother.

"Richie, she's a goddamn monster!" Cataleya shouted back, wiping the sweat that had formed on her upper lip.

Cataleya watched Santanico run backstage, disappearing and escaping the girl's would-be wrath. For now.

"Now, you answer me this." Seth cocked his gun and shoved it in his brother's face. "Why has she been waiting for you."

Cataleya's fist loosened at her side, the stake falling to the ground. She soon found she couldn't bear to stand anymore, her vision slightly blurring. She brought her hand to her neck to the wet warmth that remained there. She was still bleeding. "Shit," she moaned, leaning against a nearby table for support.

"Answer the question," Seth pressed.

"Get that gun out of my face."

"Says the guy who put a knife to my neck."

Cataleya started seeing spots as her head spun. Blood loss is a bitch.

"You know, all this time, I thought I was the one that brought us here, that I did the deal with Carlos. Turns out you've been a part of this club before I even knew it existed." Seth finished, gun still raised to Richie's face.

"Are you kidding me right now? After everything I've done for you? Sonny doesn't betray Michael, Seth," Richie stressed, "that was Fredo."

"Explain the knife."

"It's a blade, it cuts things. Do I really–"

"Will you two quit it?" Jacob chided, walking towards them as his children followed close behind. "We don't have time for you to play Cain and Abel. We just got attacked by the devil's legion."

Cataleya weakly laughed. The devil's legion...

Kate and Scott ran over to her as everyone else turned to stare. The younger girl and boy placed Cataleya's arms around their shoulders, supporting her.

"We need to find a way out," Cataleya spoke, her voice shaking almost as much as her legs. "Now, I may not have a lot of blood in me right now, but I do have quite a bit of pent up rage, so that's just gonna have to do."

Jacob and the brothers watched as the two kids carefully sat her down in a chair. Cataleya took a deep breath, looking between who she thought to be the last living occupants of the sorry ass bar.

"We are finding a way out of here. Even if it just happens to be the last thing I do."

° ° °

Shots echoed loudly through the empty bar as Seth aimed his gun at the locked door, determined to get through with only gun powder and brute force.

The loud clanging grew too much for Cataleya's aching head.

"Seth, stop! Stop! It's not working." She held her temples, rubbing them in an attempt to ease the pain.

Richie walked up to the door, inspecting the locks up and down. He sighed. "Looks like they've got tempered steel deadbolts all the way up and down."

"So there's no way out," Jacob groaned.

Cataleya leaned forward against the table as she rested her elbows on it. There had to be another way out. There had to be.

Kate and Scott returned from their search, defeat painted across their face as they addressed the group.

"We checked everything backstage," Scott stated, "there's no windows, no nothing. Not even access to a kitchen."

"This place is sealed tighter than a drum," Jacob finished.

Kate sighed, crossing her arms. "So we're stuck in here with those... whatever they are."

"Why don't you ask Richie what they are?" Seth gestured to his brother, annoyance in his tone. "He's seen 'em before."

"In my mind."

"Bullshit! Played me like an 8-track," Seth huffed.

"Seth," Cataleya softly began, "give him a break. He didn't know." She wasn't in the mood to hear another argument between the two.

He scoffed. "And how would you know? Did he tell you that while you two were off playing tongue hockey in–"

"Seth," Richie warned, noticing the growing embarrassment on Cataleya's face.

Kate's lips parted as she looked over at the older girl. "What?"

"Kate, I–"

"You said you didn't get a chance to talk to him. You lied to us," the small girl grew angrier by the second. Cataleya knew she had every right to be.

"It's not what you think," Richie tried defending. But it only made things worse.

"Then what is it?" Kate crossed her arms again. "I saw you two holding hands back in the hotel room, too. Have you been together this whole time?" She turned her glare to Cataleya, her voice quieter. "Have you been lying to us this whole time?"

"No," Cataleya blurted. "We aren't together. And I promised you I wouldn't let anything happen and I intend to keep that promise."

The young girl searched Cataleya's face, debating on if she should believe her or not.

"Well," she stated, "you don't have to worry about that promise anymore. We can take care of ourselves just fine."

Cataleya frowned and turned her head to glare at Seth. Being mad she could see, but petty? He didn't seem the type.

"What?" He exclaimed, wildly gesturing with his gun as he spoke. "I outed you and Richie's little affair. Big whoop. Doesn't change the fact that he knew, the fact that probably both of you knew, what would happen tonight."

Richie shook his head, looking at his brother incredulously. "How could we possibly know that everybody in this bar was gonna turn into a–"

"They're vampires, aren't they?" Kate asked.

"No," Cataleya shook her head, "I don't believe in vampires."

"Don't seem to believe in telling the truth either..." The younger girl mumbled, looking away from Cataleya.

"Well, neither do I, sweetheart. However, setting aside the sheer absurdity of this conversation, they have fangs and they die when you stab 'em in the heart," Seth ranted.

Cataleya stared. And when they drink from me, apparently.

Seth continued, "so I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say Mexican Dracula."

"Is this judgment day, Daddy?" Kate quietly asked, looking up at Jacob.

"Don't ask me," he looked away from his daughter to Cataleya and to Richie as he sat down across from her, "they're the ones with the gift of sight, apparently."

Kate frowned. "Yeah, I don't really want to talk to them right now."

Cataleya stared down at the table again, leaning back in her chair. She should've just told the young girl what happened, but for some reason she just couldn't bring herself to. It was like she didn't want to admit the kiss happened, despite it being probably the best one she'd had in a while.... No. She scolded herself. Stop it.

She glanced across the table to see Richie staring down at the table too, presumably deep in thought. Cataleya sighed.

Richie looked up right as Cataleya turned away and he let his eyes sweep over her. He just needed her to look at him. Just one more time. But her eyes were trained on Seth as she watched the older man run a hand down his face in frustration.

"I think they might be Mayan or Aztec or something," Scott nodded to himself.

"Scott–"

Seth interrupted Kate's scolding. "Wait. What did you say?"

"Given that we're in Mexico and all," the boy shrugged, "it makes sense that these things might be Mayan or Aztec. I mean, those guys always have snakes in their art, and I read about an ancient race of blood sucking reptiles."

Cataleya ignored Richie's quiet groan and turned to listen to Scott.

"They terrorize people– hunt at night, tear 'em apart limb from limb. With fangs. And scales, and wings..."

Seth stared at the boy, his eyebrows raised in disbelief.

Scott looked down, continuing his descriptions. "Just like frog legs..."

"What?"

Everyone seemed even more confused than the last.

"Oh, my god, Scott," Kate groaned, "this is from your stupid wrestling magazine, isn't it?"

Seth shook his head. "Really, kid?"

"Actually," a new voice from behind Jacob spoke up, "the kid's not far off."

Seth immediately raised his gun, pointing it straight for the man.

Cataleya rolled her eyes. She'd forgotten about this asshole.

"Whoa! Easy there, Tex. Put down the gun." Sex Machine fanned his hand, gesturing for Seth to lower his gun.

"I should say the same thing to you," Seth's eyes flicked down to the man's weapon.

"Who is this person?" Jacob questioned.

Cataleya spoke up. "Calls himself Sex Machine."

Richie chuckled. "Subtle."

"He tried hitting on me earlier. Didn't quite work out for him though."

Seth raised his gun again and stepped closer, prompting the man to raise his hands in surrender.

"Now, wait. Hold on. The name's Aiden Tanner. Professor Aiden Tanner. I'm undercover as Sex Machine."

"You're a professor?" Kate laughed.

"Yeah. Department of Archeology, Alamo State. I was consulting with one Ranger Gonzalez about a series of bloody killings along the U.S.–Mexico border, and when he left I realized... he was on the trail of something."

"Wait," Cataleya interrupted, "did you say Ranger Gonzalez?"

"Sure did, hot stuff–"

"Okay, stop," Seth commanded, "what do you mean the kid's not far off?"

"What I mean is–"

"These are Mexican Dracula." Richie stared ahead at the professor.

"Exactly. Ladies and gentleman, we are standing in the domain of the Waxaklahun Ubah Kan, or Los Culebras. Which in spanish means–"

Cataleya finished, "Serpent."

Tanner nodded. "Yes. Now, I been studying this cult for over ten years. They worship the Vision Serpent."

He gestured to the stone eye carved into the wall, and Cataleya's hand flew to her necklace. Vision Serpent? What did her father have to do with that?

"We are standing on sacred ground," Tanner exclaimed, spinning around to stare at the art scattered across the stone walls. "This is a place of immense power for these people."

Seth raised his eyebrows. "People?"

"When they wanna be."

°°°

author's note;

So my libra ass is super conflicted. Idk if I should post the next chapter tomorrow – considering how this one ended – or if I should just wait until next Friday. This chapter was hella long but I feel like nothing happened 🤔 I might just update again later on this weekend.

ALSO PLOT TWIST !! Did y'all see Freddie being her brother coming? And what do y'all think about them being siblings? Their relationship will come more into play later on because I'm secretly a big Freddie stan lmaoo he's honestly so underrated.

Hope you liked it :) This is already super long so I'm just gonna cut it off here. Thanks so much for reading and don't forget to vote if you liked it!

;tabitha