Montero

Not part of Riordanverse The following article/section is from the Storm Runner/Shadow Bruja continuity under Rick Riordan Presents and not the Riordanverse canon.

Valentina Montero
Biographical information
Gender	Female
Age	11
Alias	Monty
Family	Itzcoatl (ancestor)
Affiliation	Montero Family
Item	Bow and Arrow
Status	Alive
Physical description
Eye	Dark
Hair	Dark
Behind the scenes
Appearances	Lords of Night

“	I only get one shot. That’s how it’s always been. For five generations, no one in my family has won a quest. Some have never even gotten a chance to try. So I’m super grateful for Mr. Ah-Puch here. I really have to make this work, and I promise I won’t get in the way or anything.	”
–Monty explaining her family's customs, failures, and her excitement on joining the quest in Lords of Night.

Valentina Montero (goes by Monty) is an Aztec hunter, a Jaguar warrior in training, who helps Ren Santiago stop the Cinco.

History

Monty was born into the Montero family, a family who have trained to be jaguar warriors for the past five generations. However, they have failed to complete their first assignments, resulting in them giving up their bows to the next in line. She was also taught to never reveal her name to anyone outside her family, she would lose her powers.

Shadow Bruja Duology

Lords of Night

Monty hides in the jungles of the Shaman Institute of Higher-Order Magic and fires an arrow at Ah-Puch, who catches it and calls her over to introduce herself to Ren and Edison. Monty explains how her powers and arrows work, as well as the limits and risks she has on her if she fails the quest or reveals her name. Monty explains how she penetrated Edison's barrier because he was unaware of her as he thinks of ways to be prepared for all possibilities. Edison then demonstrates his offensive capabilities by firing a concussive blast at a nearby tree and explains how his magic works. After Ah-Puch says they need to know where the third lord will awaken when Ren suggests Hollywood. Ah-Puch says they cannot afford to go on guesses when Ren suggests they can use Monty's magic to track down the Cinco by the belongings they left before. The four go to Serena's tree house and find it locked. Ren, Ah-Puch, and Edison fail to open it before realizing that her magic Aztec arrows could unlock it. The girl succeeds and they enter. Monty finds Serena’s shirt and works her magic before collapsing with a fever. Ren catches Monty and says she should not be part of the quest when she says it is her magic working and says Serena is in Hollywood. Ah-Puch tells the others to go as he has will try to figure out how to stop the rest of the lords from waking.

As they walk to the gateway, Ren explains that they have to three-hour layover in Boring, Oregon as Edison stops a monkey from jumping on Monty. They arrive in Boring and have lunch at a pizza parlor and talk about the Cinco's strengths and why they might have defected. Monty theorizes Serena might have other motives for defecting. After taking the gateway, the three end up in a changing room of a women’s clothing store. Edison teleports away and the girls exit the dressing room before a woman spots them. Ren fears she will see Monty’s arrows but they leave without her noticing. They leave and Monty reveals only godborns and sobrenaturals can see her arrows. The girls search for Edison and, after getting on an escalator, Monty says they are north of Hollywood in Century City. Soon Ren hears a notice and Monty's, who appears oblivious to it, arrows start to glow. Unaware that time had froze for all but Ren, she finds Ren, who has just spoken with Tezcatlipoca, missing from the escalator and, after finding Ren, goes over to her and questions Ren on what happened as Edison appears. Ren explains everything to them as she calls a ride share and they drive down Sunset Boulevard. After explaining everything, Edison and Monty theorizes the lords are unaware of them and they have the element of surprise. Edison also theorizes that the astral traveler might be more of a threat then the lords due to Monty’s arrows glowing for her and not the lord, something they only do for danger. After Ren mentions the trap, Edison says it is only a trap if they are unaware of it.

The driver lets them out as Monty insists she go on alone to track Serena. Ren reluctantly agrees and watches Monty vanish into the crowd. Soon Monty locates Serena outside a wax museum and calls her friends. The two meet up with Monty as she is hiding behind a car and join her. They sees Serena along with two other members of the Cinco, Kenji, son of the Mayan bee god Ah-Muzen-Cab, and Diamante, daughter of the Mayan wine god Akan who was killed shortly before the gods were kidnapped. Edison sees a demon in disguise with the three and says he can sniff him out. Monty says she can paralyze and knock out the demon, but it will give away their position. Ren tells Edison to leave but stay close and Monty lends him her cellphone. Edison sneaks away and Serena creates an illusion around the museum. Monty takes out the demon and the girls sneak in. She berates Ren for picking up her phone when her friend calls her and is panicked when she thinks Ren goes into shock. Soon the girls come upon the Cinco. They see Serena and the other two godborns performing a ritual. They hide and watch as Serena creates an illusion of a desert and see the symbol from the shell and cornfield burned onto Serena’s palm. A fourth person, a girl, soon appears and places an azure stone partially painted like an eye, into a disk and the illusion dissipates. After it is done, Ren remembers the girl's name is Ezra, daughter of Yohualli, the Mayan spells and magic. The illusion vanishes and the girls are spotted. Ren tries to create cover, but fails and Monty is taken and knocked out. After Ren and Edison are in a suspended net, the Cinco demand they leave with Monty and not be followed or she dies Ren agrees but Edison, speaking in an authoritarian tone, says they have to minutes to hand over Monty and leave before he attacks and Ren tries to get him to back off, fearing for Monty’s safety. Ren encases her in shadows as Edison breaks free of the net. Ezra drops her and Ren chases after her as she still has Monty's arrows. Soon Kenji unleashes countless bees that sting her and her friends.She and Ren are fatally stung, but saved after Ren makes a deal with Piltzintecuhtli.

They are brought to one of Ah-Puch's safe house near Lake Tahoe and, upon seeing Ren, Monty explains that she failed as Ezra broke one of her arrows and the rest will be out for her blood. As Ah-Puch asks Ren how she survived, Ren stalls until she demands Ah-Puch tells her about the symbol. Just then Marco, who left to change into clean clothes, returns and asks what is going on. Ren tells him Ah-Puch was about to talk about the symbol as Ah-Puch says Ren is going to talk about what happened to her while she was unconscious. The two stare each other down as Ah-Puch gives in and tells them about the Time War, but not before giving them a final warning to back off or live a life of even more danger. Ah-Puch summons Saás, the all knowing orb from SHIHOM, to explain it for him. She is reluctant at first, but Ren convinces her to tell it after explaining they are facing the Lords of Night and they could replace her with another model. Saás agrees to do so after scanning one of her arrows. She says the war involved the Mayan gods fighting an enemy older then them. Saás explains that the god defeated the enemy, who they called the unknowns, and kept a handfuls alive in prison while killing the others. Eventually the gods released them for help in creating humanity. Soon they were allied, but the alliance came to an end after learning that the unknowns were interbreeding with demons, with the resulting offspring being able to overthrow the gods. Ren asks how they are linked to the lords and Saás says the unknowns put the lords to sleep, but cannot answer why Serena knows how to wake them. After the unknowns fled but returned to check on their descendants. Monty reveals her parents told her about the lords and gives vague information on them. Ren asks about their queen, but Saás says the lord have none. Saás says the only way to put the lords back to sleep is with the obsidian blade. Ah-Puch claims to does not exist as Edison reveals it does and he knows where it is, The Dark Mercado.

Edison explains that The Dark Mercado is a shady marketplace where, to get out alive, one must give up something valued in return. He also says that to get there, one must pass through the Maze of Nightmares, a maze designed to trap those init for eternity. As Edison explains everything, Ah-Puch becomes fearful. Marco is skeptical of the idea while Ren and Monty think it is worth a shot. Ah-Puch is against it and says the maze shifts every new moon before revealing he created the maze and the market. Ah-Puch explains he created the market place to gain power, but it grew out of hand and he created the maze to contain it. After Ah-Puch says he cannot destroy the maze in his current state, he reveals their only option is to fight the Cinco and the lords, something only Marco agrees with. As Ren protests that they can find an alternative, Ah-Puch demands she tell them what happened when she was out cold. They go outside and Ren reveals she made a deal with the Prince Lord to become the lord's queen if he saves Monty. Ah-Puch scolds Ren for giving the lords what they want and, in a state of panic, Ren unleashes her shadows and is unable to recall them. As Monty’s arrives glow, Edison uses his magic to calm Ren's. Ah-Puch asks Ren to speak with him alone and she and the others go back inside. Ren and Ah-Puch return to the safe house and explain everything to the others and how Ren agreed to be the Lord's queen and the only way to stop them is to find the Obsidian Blade. Edison and Monty agree to join her, but Marco jumps ship. Ah-Puch takes them to the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave system in Belize where they are greeted by the remains of the Crystal Prince. Ah-Puch reveals he cannot go with them as his presence would cause the maze to collapse and gives them complicated instructions. Ah-Puch instructs all but the Crystal Prince to speak or touch anything as they will lose a voice or body part if they do. He also tells them the maze will mess with their minds and instructs them to not follow their instincts. Once they reach the market, they are not to use any magic as the will be sent to Xib'alb'a, and the blade will call out to one of them and demand an unknown price. Everyone accepts the terms and Edison and Monty follow the Crystal Prince into the maze as Ren joins them momentarily. The Crystal Prince leads the three to a staircase leading to the maze and informs the three they must not talk until their feet touch all one hundred steps. The prince vanishes after saying no one has exited the maze in the last century and the three descend. After the three reach the bottom, Ren tests to see if it is safe to take and finds it is safe. Monty complains about a foul smell as Edison senses strong magic coming from the maze. Monty wants everyone to swear to watch out for the others but put the quest first. Ren and Edison cannot bring themselves to do so and they enter the maze.

They find themselves in front of a pyramid of mirrors sitting on a lake as Edison reveals it is made of a rare substance from Xib'alb'a. They find a boat and paddle. Edison says he cannot use his magic as the energy surrounding them will have catastrophic results if he uses it. As they pass by the pyramid, Edison says the mirrors will show their most likely future. As Edison and Ren see Ren wearing a crown and stabbing him, Monty spots a passage and they go through it. Ren looks at another mirror, but looks away as her necklace heats up and Pacific appears. The goddess says the Time Rope called to her and she reclaimed it temporarily to learn what her daughter has been up to. Pacific reveals she cannot intervene to a greater extent or destroy the maze, but tells Ren that the maze feeds gets angry if people take too long to decide and to give the maze what it wants. Pacific returns the Time Rope and leaves. After a few seconds of cursing her mother, Ren realizes what she means and has Edison use his magic and Monty fire all her arrows. The others realize what she means and they overload the maze. Eventually they destroy it and Edison creates a barrier. Once the maze collapses, the girls realize Edison is gone and a door appears that is quickly vanishing. She fails to urge Ren to put the quest first, but Ren refuses and enters. Ren finds and grabs Edison as Monty helps. She gets out with Edison, but Ren trips and gets locked inside as the door vanishes. Ren soon appears unconscious before them. Ren wakes up and they realize they are at the market. Ren says they have an hour to find the blade and to follow the gold arrows to get out. They split up after promising not to use magic. After Ren unintentionally uses magic, she activated her power boosting ability and saves Ren from the vendor keeping her hostage and frees her. Ren revealed she has the blade and the girls meet up with Edison, who shields the three of them, and they find a gold arrow. However a shadow bird appears soon after.

The bird flies around but, as Edison is about to scan it’s magic, he falls asleep. The bird calls him rude and, after introducing herself as Zyanya, she tells Ren to wake Edison by placing the blade on his left and right eyes in that order. After Edison wakes up, he says Zyanya has an ancient magic and Zyanya is pleased with her response. Zyanya explains that she is the source of the blade's power and can put anyone to sleep instantly, but they must be awakened five minutes later to they will sleep for the rest of their lives and she needs a ten minute recharge after every use. The teens are uncertain about the recharge period as they worry what the enemy can do in that time and theorize they could put a lord to sleep a day. They call Ah-Puch for a pickup as Ren says they are in White Sands, New Mexico. After returning to the safe house, Ren and Ah-Puch talk as she and Edison clean up.

Monty tracks the Cinco to Lake Zirahuén in Southern Mexico and they search for their hideout. They eventually find a stone building surrounded by the gate. Ren says they should split up with Edison and Monty taking out any guards as Ah-Puch acts as lookout. Just then, Marco arrives with his father and the war god says there are demons on the property along with bees, enemy godborns, and the Lords. Marco agrees to take out the demons as Ren creates shadow butterflies to handle the bees. She is the only one of her friends not captured or killed and meets up with Ah-Puch as the sun rises. After meeting up with the death god, he tells the girl of his promise he made to Ren to kill the godborn if she became queen and Monty reluctantly agrees to help. Monty climbs into a tree and they see Ren step out of the forest wearing a silver dress and accompanied by the male lords. After hearing some of their dialogue, Ah-Puch realizes they plan to marry Ren to the Prince Lord. Monty notches an arrow and aims it, waiting for Ah-Puch's signal and, when he does, she fires her arrow, piercing Ren's heart.

Appearance

Monty is an adolescent Hispanic girl with dark hair styled in braids and dark eyes with a dark complexion.

Personality

Monty is a determined warrior in training. She is reliable to her friends and ferocious to her enemies. Despite her loyalty to her friends, she is always willing to put the mission first, albeit solely out of duty.

Abilities

• Archery: Monty is a skilled archer.
• Tracking: Monty can track people if she touches something that belongs to them.
• Power Amplification (limited): When put in dire situations, Monty’s powers increase.

Items

• Bow and Arrows: Monty's arrows are capable of either stunning or killing her targets and can return to her once they hit their mark as long as she lets lose an arrow. When they sense danger, the feathers on them turn blue. They are invisible to all non sobranaturals.

Etymology

• Montero is a surname of Spanish origin meaning "beater" or "assistant to the hunt".

Trivia

• Monty is a vegetarian and will refuse to hurt an animal.