Around two in the afternoon that day, sirens went off. Godborns around me in the biblioteca immediately dropped whatever they were doing, grabbed their weapons, and raced out. I followed, Fuego in hand. Ixchel and Itzamna had installed the alarm system after the battle with the Hero Twins and their madre, to warn us of any unauthorized figures approaching campus. I had never even heard them go off except for a test run when they were first put in.

As I ran with a group of godborns towards the amphitheater, I resisted the urge to cover mis odios. The alarms were like the ones on a fire truck, except louder. They were alternated with Ixchel's voice: "*siren* All godborns and teachers, please arm yourselves and make your way towards the amphitheater! *siren*"

Somehow in the chaos, I found Brooks.

"Where?" I asked.

"Beach," she said. "I think."

Itzamna approached us. "Brooks, Zane, come with us."

"Who's us?" I asked, but then Ixchel, Hondo, Ren, and Rosie walked up.

Marco and Louie were left in charge of the rest of the godborns. We ran through the jungle to the beachhead. I half-expected to see un gran army of demons coming for us.

Instead, I saw two figures falling through the sky. A girl landed near us, gently placed on her feet by a wind spirit, who showed her face for a split second, winked, and then disappeared.

The girl had light skin, wispy blonde hair, green eyes, and countless freckles across the bridge of her nose and under her eyes. She looked about my age but was several inches shorter. She wore a low-cut white t-shirt with golden polka dots and a matching skirt that went down to mid-thigh.

"Whoa," she breathed, smiling, and revealing perfect white teeth. "That was amazing!"

"Are you okay?" Ren asked. Leave it to Ren to be super nice to a stranger who just fell from the sky.

The girl beamed. "I'm great! The view from up there is amazing. But would someone please explain what in the world just happened?"

"What do you remember?" Hondo asked.

"I was on a picnic with my family in the mountains. I went to throw away some trash, and the second I was out of sight, this wind picks me up and puts me down... wherever here is."

Surprisingly, she didn't seem too surprised about this, just a bit confused.

"You're at SHIHOM," Ixchel said. "The Shaman Institute of Higher-Order Magic."

"Magic? Cool!" She said. "By the way, I'm Claire Eadrich."

"I'm Ren," Ren said.

Itzamna stepped forward. "Welcome to the Institute, Claire. I am Itzamna. I'll show you to the main campus."

"Zane!" Brooks called from a few yards away. She knelt next to the other figure, another niña, unconscious. The air spirits had not been so gentle with this one.

I ran over with Rosie and Ixchel, as Ren, Hondo, and Itzamna led Claire back to campus.

The girl, unlike Claire, was dressed in all black— an oversized black hoodie, black leggings, black leather boots, and even black nail polish. She had long wavy black hair with a black bandana headband and coppery skin. Two twin black chain bracelets were on her wrists, and around her neck was a pair of black wireless headphones and a black cord, from which hung a clear stone (real or fake, I couldn't tell) set in silver.

Brooks nudged her shoulder, and immediately the girl flew upright, coughing and dusting the sand off herself. Her eyes were the color of the midnight sky, so dark that they didn't even look to reflect any light, and they were framed by even darker lashes.

She fixated her gaze on me, her eyes hardening as if it was my fault she'd been thrown onto a playa. Well, from certain perspectives, it could be my fault, but I decided not to think about that.

"Who're you?" She asked, glancing from me to Brooks to Ixchel to Rosie.

"Zane," I said, trying not to sound too intimidated. "Zane Obispo."

Her eyes narrowed, and she reached into the large kangaroo pocket of her hoodie. She pulled out a libro from it (how it had fit in there, I had no idea).

But of course, it wasn't just any old libro, since things always had to be complicated in my life. It was the last book I had written about my adventures, which Itzamna had dubbed The Shadow Crosser.

"So, you're Zane," she said, her eyes flicking from the book to me and back, then to Brooks. "So that makes you Brooks, the ha'nawal, the dog Rosie, and you..." her gaze went to Ixchel. "I don't remember you."

"Ixchel," Ixchel said. "Principal of SHIHOM."

Some of the godborns I'd rounded up had recognized me from the books, but that didn't make it any less unsettling, having a random stranger just instantly know everything about you. This case was no different.

"So that would make this place the Shaman Institute of Higher-Order Magic." The girl said, rubbing her temple. "Oh gods, don't tell me it's actually real."

"It is," Brooks confirmed. Rosie barked as if to emphasize the statement.

"Congratulations, kid," Ixchel said. "Your mom or dad's a Mayan god or goddess, and Zane's magic called to you, so here you are."

"Do you people rip out people's live hearts and sacrifice them to the gods?" The girl asked.

Brooks made a face. "Not anymore."

Ixchel sighed. "I do miss the old sacrifice parties..."

I glared at her, like Not helping!

"And..." the girl said, looking back down at the book. "I don't assume I can just go back home?"

"Not unless you want to be hunted down by demons," I said.

"Where are you from?" Brooks asked, helping the girl to her feet.

She was quiet for a minute, obviously debating whether or not to trust us.

"We don't need to know," Ixchel stepped in quickly before it got too awkward. "For now, let's take you to campus. Hopefully tonight, you'll be claimed."

The girl slipped the book back into her pocket. "Fine. But if my godly parent turns out to be the grande god of blowfish, I'm going to swim back home and take my chances with the demons."

"We don't have a god of blowfishes," Ixchel assured her.

"I was being sarcastic," she said before Ixchel guided her away.

Brooks facepalmed. "We didn't even ask her name."

"I have a feeling we'll learn soon enough," I said.

"Guess so," she said, turning her back to me. "C'mon, we'll fly back."

I took hold of her shoulders, and she shifted into her grande hawk form. With a loud cry, she took off. Rosie disappeared in a cloud of smoke, teleporting back to the amphitheater, or so I hoped. Maybe she was going to play tag with the monos.

I glanced down. The jungle was a blanket of green below us with a few bursts of red, orange, and yellow here and there. The deciduous trees were kind of weird since we were in a semi-tropical climate. But, since we were in the branches of a World Tree, I guess anything could grow here.

Brooks set down right outside the amphitheater. Rosie reappeared, and Marco spotted us and ran over.

"Any demons?" He asked.

"Nope," I said. "Just-"

"Students!" Itzamna called. He, Hondo, Ren, and Claire appeared from the brush, with Ixchel and the other girl right behind them.

"We have two new godborns!" Itzamna continued.

Claire waved as the others stared at them and whispered, but the other girl pulled her hood over her head, the cloth so big it covered her eyes.

"They will be assigned dorms and given tours this afternoon," Ixchel said. "And tonight, we'll see who their godly parent is. You are all dismissed."

Everyone filed out, but Brooks caught me by the shoulder. "You going back to the library?"

"Yep. I've got this super fun algebra assignment to finish," I said, lacing my voz with sarcasm.

"Mind if I come with?" Brooks asked.

"Sure," I said. "What for?"

She glanced towards the sky like she expected another godborn to come falling towards us any second. "I need to send a message to Hell."