Page 126 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

“She sends people there?”

“Only in extreme cases. When the gods feel like they’ve given more than enough time and opportunities to see if there’s a chance for redemption or rehabilitation, and the creatures have the ability to affect and expose the supernatural world to humans. Think magical, uncontrolled serial killers but through multiple reincarnations.”

“So, what’s your theory?” I asked, already getting a headache.

“Well, there’s no one way out of the plane, but tears in the barriers can happen. Usually, though, this only happens in places of great significance on earth, places where wild magic or residues in great concentrations can be found. The magic attracts them, like catnip, and eventually, one of these creatures manages to break through if they find a weakness in the barrier. This is why it is perplexing to know one is in your woods.”

“You think there’s a tear somewhere nearby?” I guessed.

“No. I think someone created the tear.”

“What do you mean?”

“The council could never figure out where the rogues came from, or why there were so many in one location and attacked as a group,” Uncle Helios reminded me.

“You’re saying the rogues who attacked my pack last year, came from the Forsaken Plane?”

“That’s my theory.”

“How? Why?”

“Dark blood magic, but it’s been centuries since I’ve known of anyone doing it. The gods don’t look kindly to people trying to break these creatures out. Their magic is nulled once they step through, so even if they let someone open a tear, they tend to never be seen again. The why? I don’t know. If we are to believe Nochehuatl’s last words to mean he was attacking you, then it would make sense that he or Tezcatlipoca somehow organized the attack, and had someone open a hole big enough for the rogues to step through before a guardian could find it and close it.”

“Guardians?” I asked, rubbing my temples.

“Every plane has guardians that protect it. The Forsaken Plane has them to protect the other planes from the creatures that reside inside it. They can sense when a tear appears and can mend it with their magic.”

“So, this thing has been in my woods since the night the rogues attacked?” I asked, wondering how I missed such a threat in my own damn woods, for almost a year.

“I don’t know. If someone opened the hole at the time of the attack... well, opening it requires a significant amount of dark blood magic. It could be the chupacabra found the traces of the residual magic and broke through in search of it.”

“You’re saying there’s an opening to another plane of existence someplace in my woods right now?”

“The guardian would have hunted the chupacabra down before closing the tear, so if it’s still running loose, it’s possible.”

“If there’s a hole open to another plane, why haven’t I seen it?”

“Because it’s invisible to everyone but the guardians.”

“Of course it is,” I breathed out.

“I could be wrong, Bells,” Uncle Helios added.

“But your theory makes too much sense to ignore, doesn’t it?” I asked.

“Pretty much,” he mumbled.

“What can I do?”

“Hunt it down, and hope the guardian shows up pretty quickly. Keep your people out of the woods as much as you can.”

“Okay,” I answered, hanging my head as a migraine threatened to destroy my head.

“Bells, do you still have the bracelet I gave you when you turned thirteen?”

“The mal de ojo?”

“Yes.”

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