The Storm Runner

Brooks is a shape-shifter who can change into a hawk. In human form, she dresses in all black and has a healthy glow. These attributes make her look like “an assassin-for-hire who [takes] really good care of her skin” (21). Aside from acting as a love interest for Zane, Brooks also represents The Journey of Self-Discovery, and many of her actions likewise demonstrate the myriad effects of Choices and Their Consequences. Brooks’s character prone to making difficult choices and telling lies. She spends much of the book telling partial truths to get Zane’s help, not wanting to reveal the truth about her sister and the difficulties she faces in trying to free her family. Brooks’s actions therefore demonstrate the inevitable trouble that results from deception, for her lies precipitate one bad situation after another. Being truthful up-front would allow Brooks and Zane to work together and come up with a mutually successful plan without freeing Ah-Puch, but Brooks is too afraid to trust Zane because she has already lost so many people in her life. Despite these setbacks, Brooks acts as a reliable guide for Zane by using her superior knowledge of the Mayan world to help him in his efforts against Ah-Puch. At the end of the novel, Zane and Brooks come to a new understanding and reinforce their bond of friendship, which allows them to move forward as teammates.

Ah-Puch is the main villain of the novel, and he is also the Mayan god of death, destruction, and disaster. In the original mythology, he is one of the many lords of Xibalba. Within the context of Cervantes’s story, Ah-Puch is motivated by greed and the desire for revenge. Long before the book begins, Ah-Puch was imprisoned for crimes against the gods, and a prophecy was made that Zane would one day free him. At the beginning of the book, the circumstances leading up to the prophesied moment have been triggered. This allows Ah-Puch to influence Zane toward the outcome the god wants—being freed. However, Zane doesn’t completely fall prey to his tricks; he only frees Ah-Puch to save Brooks, and this motivation highlights the key differences between Zane as a hero and Ah-Puch as a villain. Once freed, Ah-Puch works toward destroying the other gods and increasing his own power. Zane ultimately defeats him by sending him into a void between worlds. While this moment provides a conclusion to the plot, it also suggests that Ah-Puch will reappear in the sequels, given that he has not been completely destroyed.

Ixtab is the Mayan goddess of suicide by hanging. In the book, she takes control of Xibalba in Ah-Puch’s absence. This development is Cervantes’s way of representing the shift between different eras of Mayan beliefs. Ah-Puch’s reign calls to the older stories and the idea that the original forms of myth are the purest. However, Ixtab’s rise to power symbolizes the fact that myths inevitably change over time as stories are passed down, rewritten, and even altered by outside influences. Like Brooks, Ixtab tells many lies, all of which are intended to maneuver Zane into the Old World where he can defeat Ah-Puch. Ixtab therefore represents the workings of the gods behind the scenes. In the final chapters, Ixtab is revealed to be Zane’s protector and his strongest line of communication to the Mayan world, which suggests that she will return in the sequel.

Hurakan is Zane’s father and the Mayan god of storms. In the original mythology, Hurakan plays a direct role in the gods’ first three attempts to create adequate humans. His name roughly translates to “one leg.” He is often represented as having one human leg and one leg shaped like a serpent. Hurakan derives his power from his serpent leg, and this similarity between him and Zane is what ultimately allows Zane to come to terms with his disability. Hurakan represents the influence that even an unknown parent can have on a child. In earlier chapters, Zane is angry at Hurakan for being absent from his life, and this sentiment intensifies when the Mayan world becomes a threat to his safety. Later, Hurakan steps up and becomes the helper and protector that Zane wants him to be, which helps their relationship grow to the point at which Zane is willing to put himself at risk to rescue his father from imprisonment.