TWICE A HERO By Susan Krinard

Waiting for the pendants, the keys, he had asked her to return to the jungle. The keys he’d said would open the way back to the future. She’d shown the pendants to him, and he’d nodded and smiled and said nothing more, as if he’d always had utter faith in her ability to obtain them.

He hadn’t asked about Liam. Mac had the feeling he knew Liam wasn’t going to turn up. Fernando had simply minded his own business and set about his job of getting Mac to the ruins in one piece.

The Maya had done his job well. Their tiny expedition—Fernando, another muleteer, herself, and three mules—were nearly to the ruins. They’d passed through Tikal less than an hour before. Mac knew where they were; she didn’t think she’d forget as long as she lived. It had all started here.

And here it would end.

The trail Liam had cut through the jungle had already become overgrown, almost indistinguishable from the rest of the forest. Mac batted at the slight indentation with her walking stick. It was still the path of least resistance, and she knew exactly where it led.

She hitched up her loose cotton pants and adjusted her headband. No point in putting it off; in an hour she’d know. In an hour she’d either be back to her own time or…

Forget that. There wasn’t any “or.” There was only forging on into the unknown. She straightened, lifted her chin, and waved Fernando ahead.

The ancient, vine-covered buildings waited for her, tranquil and unchanged, as if they had known she would return. There were a few more leaves covering the crumbling walls, a little more undergrowth to wade through. But she was there.

She went to the mules and began to untie the bundle that contained her backpack, a packet of food, and her faithful flashlight. She’d come to the past with so little; she was taking almost as little back. She had her old worn jeans and T-shirt packed into a roll hung to the backpack. She had the odds and ends she’d once used to try to convince Liam of her origins.

All but the watch. She’d never gotten it back, and now it was too late. Hell, she could always buy another. And Liam couldn’t change history with a single waterproof watch. She’d had enough thinking about time to last her an eternity.

An eternity without Liam O’Shea.

“Bueno, señorita.”

She turned to Fernando, who regarded her with solemn attention. “Si. This is it,” she said. She tugged the two pendants from under her loose shirt. Fernando’s gaze rested on them a moment and returned to her face.

“Vuelve a su casa.”

“Si, Fernando. I am going home.” The pieces clicked as they touched each other, still nothing but cold stone under her hand. “If I understood you correctly, I need these to go there. I know you wanted them back—”

He shook his head. “No las necesito, señorita. I ask one thing. When you are on the other side, you give las llaves back to the people.”

The people. His people, she thought. Like the guide who had led her to the ruins in the first place.

Crazy thought. But if she couldn’t find someone to return them to, she’d leave them in the temple. God knew she didn’t want to mess with them ever again. There were too many questions, and her heart was too heavy to contain even a single answer.

“I will,” she said gravely. She pulled a leather pouch from her pocket and put it into his hand. “Gracias por su ayuda. I wish I could give you more.”

He didn’t even weigh the contents or check the number of coins but simply held the bag and stared at her with something like sadness. Mac offered her hand and found his return grip firm and warm.

She almost mentioned Liam, almost asked Fernando to tell him, if he ever came back to the jungle…

No. It was over.

“Well,” she said, giving Fernando’s hand a final shake. “Adiós, then.”

Abruptly he caught her hand again and put the pouch in her upturned palm. “Vaya con Dios.”

He gestured to his fellow muleteer, caught the bridle of the lead mule, and never looked back as he vanished through the green wall of undergrowth.

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