Michael Vey 3 ~ Battle of the Ampere Read Free Page A

Monster.”
    I looked at her quizzically.
    “It’s just that everyone at the academy has talked about you for years. But I never thought I’d ever really meet you. Especially not in the middle of the Amazon jungle.”
    “I never thought I’d be in the Amazon jungle,” I replied.

I followed the young woman back to my hut. When I got there, there were two stone bowls on the ground next to my bed. One had a thick, green substance in it. The other one also held liquid, but it was dark and watery with purple flowers floating in it. There was also a pile of fresh leaves next to the bowls.
    “Dzwo,” she said, pointing to the mat.
    I guessed she was telling me to sit, so I sat down. She knelt down, untied the jute twine, and peeled back the leaves around my ankle.
    “Fang sya,” she said.
    “What?”
    She pushed back on my chest.
    “You want me to lie down?” I asked. I partially lay back. “Like this?”
    She laughed and pushed me again. “Fang sya.”
    I lay back. She set the leaves aside, then began peeling the hard clay from my foot. When it was all off, she washed my foot with warm, sweet-smelling liquid, then began rubbing some kind of salve on it. She kneaded my foot for nearly an hour. The massage felt really good, and the concoction she was rubbing into my ankle made my skin tingle. I started to sit up to look, but she gently put her hand on my chest to stop me. “Ching bu.”
    “Sorry,” I said. “Just looking.” I lay back and closed my eyes. After my ankle was fully coated she wrapped it in fragrant leaves, then gently tied it with the same cord as before. Then she came around and began running her fingers through my hair. “This is, like, better than a day spa,” I said, even though I’d never actually been to one and she couldn’t understand me anyway.
    She didn’t speak any more but continued to massage my scalp and gently tug on my hair. I had no idea what this had to do with healing my foot, but it felt really good.
    After a few minutes she began to sing.
    Hen ke aide,
    bu syi huan wo,
    tai ke shi,
    yin wo ai ni.
    Hen ke aide,
    Wai gwo haidz
    Ho ni li wo,
    hwei ni syang wo,
    Wo syi wang, hwei
    yin, wo ain ni,
    jye nyu haidz
    hwei syang ni.
    She sang the words over and over. I had no idea what she was singing, but it was pretty and soothing, and she seemed sad singingit. At one point she got particularly emotional. I partially opened one eye and saw that she was crying. She was still singing when I fell asleep.
    *
    I had another dream. I was alone in the jungle when a tiny Peruvian man with a wooden leg came to me. “We must hurry to someplace safe,” he said. “ He is coming.”
    “Who’s coming?” I asked.
    “El Chullanchaqui.”
    “Who is that?”
    “No time to explain,” he said, running off into the jungle. In spite of his size and wooden leg, he moved quickly as I ran after him, deeper and deeper into the trees. The farther into the jungle we went, the darker it got, until it was nearly dark as night. Finally we stopped in a place that was too thick to hike through. The branches of the trees around me were snakes, snapping at me.
    I looked at the man fearfully. “I thought you said you were taking me someplace safe.”
    “There is no safe place anymore.”
    “Who is El Chullanchaqui?”
    He looked at me and smiled. “Me.” Then he disappeared.
    I woke, gasping. It was dark around me, and the hut was slightly illuminated by the glow of my skin. The girl was gone. I took a deep breath and rubbed my forehead. I’ve got to stop dreaming , I thought.
    *
    It was about a half hour later that the young woman returned. I could see her silhouette in the entranceway. She wore flowers in her black hair and dozens of red and purple beads, which shone against her bare shoulders and neck. She looked pretty.
    “Hen keaidi, ni laile .” She reached her hand out to me.
    I took a step toward her and realized that my foot felt completely better. I touched it, then looked at her and