Most of all, Ren. He'd given her his heart ... the only part of himself that still belonged to him.
The one part he'd never given to anyone else.
In that heartbeat, she saw herself as a young teen in the cemetery with her grandmother on Memorial Day. They always went there to put a red, white, and blue rose on the grave of Kateri's grandfather. And her grandmother, who was tougher than nails, who never shed a tear for anything, would stand there and cry for the husband she'd loved so dearly.
"How will I know when I love someone like you did Grandpa, Grammy?"
"Oh baby," she'd said, brushing Kateri's hair back from her face, "that's an easy answer. When you know you'd be willing to lay your life down to save theirs without thought or hesitation. When five o'clock comes, and they're not home like they said they'd be, and you panic and can't breathe for fear they're not coming through that door ever again. When the thought of laying them in ground hits you so hard, you can't breathe for it. Most of all, when something good or bad happens to you, and they're the first one you want to share that news with. That's how you'll know it's love, baby. There won't be any doubt whatsoever."
Kateri had never fully understood her grandmother's explanation. Not until she looked into a pair of shockingly blue eyes that carved one man's name into her heart and soul, and made her realize that her life that had seemed so perfect and happy, had one thing missing from it.
Ren.
And if she didn't seal those gates, the things it held back would come for him.
Hoping she lived to regret this blatant act of stupid, she headed for the caves. She thought she was running alone, until Nick grabbed her an instant before a ball of fire exploded next to her.
More demons came at them, cutting them off.
Crap. It was no use. All she'd done was move them from cover and left them exposed to die.
I'm so sorry.
"Need a hand?"
Her heart pounded at that deep, familiar voice as Ren appeared next to her. "You're here!"
"Where else would I be?" Ren frowned as he surveyed the madness they were knee-deep in. "Why are you under such heavy fire?"
Nick gave him a droll stare. "Oh, I don't know. But we're really enjoying it. Fear has such a wonderfully romantic scent to it that they ought to turn it into cologne and deodorant. Eau de Ew. Let's all just take a minute, and bask in it."
While he could be annoying, Nick had moments of profound sarcastic humor.
Cabeza cleared his throat as he appeared beside Jess. "We have five minutes, people. Then, it's going to get a whole lot worse."
Ren held his hand out to her. "You ready?"
"Absolutely."
She placed her cold hand inside his that was so warm, it sent chills over her. The strength of him was electrifying. And if she had to die tonight, she was glad his would be the last face she saw.
Ren flashed her into the cave effortlessly. Having spent centuries here, he knew every inch of this valley like the back of his hand, and he knew exactly which cave held the mural they needed for the Reset.
But it was so dark inside, she couldn't see anything at all. Not even her own hands.
Until Ren used his fireballs to light the torches, which were spaced out every few feet on the earthen walls decorated with thousands of prehistoric glyphs. They were beautiful. Fernando would be in his glory to explore something this pristine.
"The thunderbird is over here." Ren led her to the other side of the cave, to the flattest wall there.
The whole expanse of it had been painted with a colorful mural, which told the entire story of how the world had been saved by the first Ixkib when she'd faced down an angry god.
It showed Ahau kin gifting the Kinichi to her.
But Kateri didn't see what she was looking for. And time was ticking way too fast. They had a mere handful of seconds before the gates unlocked. "Where does the Kinichi go?"
Ren pointed up toward the ceiling where a giant thunderbird rose above the scenes below. Over the thunderbird's head was a tiny hummingbird. You couldn't tell if the thunderbird was following or pursuing the hummingbird. Were they friend or foe? It was impossible to tell. But it was positioned right between the thunderbird's open beak.
Kateri wanted to weep in frustration. "Well ain't this a bitch? How long did they think my arms would be for me to reach into the mouth of that hummingbird? I don't suppose you have a vat of radioactive isotopes I can throw myself into and quickly mutate, do you?" It always worked in the movies.