Bruja

by Aileen Erin

  He set down his fork. I’d momentarily wondered why the locals hadn’t flinched when he ordered enough food for four people, but I’d forgotten to think about it after tasting the food. Now I was back to thinking about it. How much did the locals know about the pack? And if they knew about the pack, then why didn’t they know anything about the mages?

  I didn’t expect anyone to point me straight to ancient magic, but surely someone should have heard about the local covens or maybe some old shrine where locals went to pray. I’d take any lead I could get right now.

  “A hike might solve nothing,” he said. I started to speak, but he kept on talking. “But it might give us some clues. You’ll get a better view from up high. If you look down and sense energy somewhere, then I can lead you there.”

  I sighed. I’d liked the idea of staying in the village. The people were nice and exploring was more fun on flat ground. But Lucas had a point. “Okay. A hike sounds doable.”

  “Good.” He started in on his second plate of food.

  “So how much do they know?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Does who know?”

  “These people.” I gestured around the room. Most of the round tables were empty, but the people at the few occupied ones all stared at us. Some were more subtle than others, but most kept glancing our way. I fiddled with the edge of the colorful tablecloth.

  Combine the looks with the way everyone in the market treated Lucas, and something was obviously up. These people knew him. If not because he was a wolf, then for some other reason.

  He didn’t answer me, but I wasn’t giving up that easily. “Who are you to them? A wolf? Or something else? Because I feel like you’re getting special treatment everywhere we go, and it’s not just because of your looks.”

  His grin transformed his face from handsome to godlike. It was breathtaking. “How do you think I look?”

  I laughed. He was just like every other boy I knew. “Come on. You’re a wolf. It comes with the territory, right?”

  He shrugged. “I guess so. I never really thought about it.”

  “So?”

  “So, what?”

  He was starting to frustrate me. “Don’t be so obtuse. Answer the question.”

  “They don’t know about the pack exactly. What they do know is that some of us in the area live a very long time and work hard to protect them from anything bad. There are a lot of predators in these mountains—both supernatural and not—and we make sure the locals get to live without the drama that people face elsewhere in the country.”

  “So why this one? Why not one of those other villages?”

  “Mostly because of proximity to our own stronghold. Also, because of legacy. These are the supposed descendants of the old mages and that’s why we’re here in the first place.”

  I guessed that made sense. They couldn’t exactly protect all of Peru. No pack could handle so much territory with so many mountains. So the village closest to their home would reap the benefits of being close to the pack. “Then why don’t any of them know about the mages?”

  “Because they don’t exist to modern humans. These people might know their fairytales and legends, but their knowledge is just a memory from a dream. That’s why I said this wouldn’t be easy.”

  “Right.” I took another bite of my quinoa before asking the next question. “So, they know how much you eat?”

  “They know enough to not question when we ask for something. I won’t waste their food. There’s a trust there that goes both ways.” He paused, watching me as he waited for something. “No more questions?”

  My face heated and I fought it as best as I could. “Not at the moment.”

  “Good.” He started eating again, and we settled into a comfortable silence.

  It was always a measure to me, if I could just sit and be with someone in silence. If I felt the need to talk or sensed awkwardness from the silence, then it was a sure sign that the friendship wasn’t meant to be. But I felt neither of those things with him. Just being next to him was comforting.

  It was odd. The only people I’d felt this way with were Raphael and Daniel.

  One of them was gone forever.

  And my brother… I focused on my plate of food, blinking away the tears that formed.

  “Hey. You okay?” Lucas said.

  “Fine.” I lifted my fork, but couldn’t bring myself to take a bite.

  Lucas reached under the table, and his hand squeezed my knee. Heat rushed through my body and it was almost enough to distract me from the thought that Raphael might not make it. “It’s going to be okay,” Lucas said.

  “Yeah,” I said the word, but without much faith behind it.

  “I mean it.”

  When I met his gaze, his aura had brightened a little. Gotten more intense. For whatever reason, I could pick up on that subtle difference. “I know you do.” I just wished I fully believed it.

  “Don’t get down. Not yet. We’ll find the answer.”

  I nodded, and he moved his hand. I instantly missed the feel of it there. His touch soothed my soul and made me feel like I wasn’t alone.

  If I made it through this without embarrassing myself in front of him, that would be a miracle.

  ***

  Lucas claimed we were on a hiking trail but that seemed dubious at best. Nature had encroached on almost every inch of the essentially nonexistent path. Branches scraped against my arms and legs as we pushed forward, and I was glad that Meredith and Teresa had made me go shopping. My beloved flip-flops wouldn’t have cut it for a second. The hiking pants and thick fleece jacket were much better suited to Peru. I probably should’ve bought the hiking shoes that Dastien had picked, but they were so ugly I’d gone with the less sturdy pink and purple running shoes. Hopefully that choice wouldn’t earn me a twisted ankle.

  The air was getting thinner and cooler. I zipped up my fleece and hooked my thumbs in the little holes at the end of the sleeve so that my hands were nearly covered. It felt like I’d walked miles since we left the van. “Have you been up this way before?”

  “Once or twice.” Lucas held some branches out of my way. “Don’t worry, I know these mountains well. I’ve spent most of my life here. Although I usually travel this area as a wolf. It’s much faster that way.”

  “But you haven’t lived here all your life? You don’t have an accent.” Now that he’d revealed one little piece of himself, I wanted more.

  “No. I’ve traveled quite a bit. Most of us roam a few decades once we’re in our thirties. I lived in the US for a while, but the mountains called me home in the end.”

  “And you don’t miss it?”

  “America? Nah. We’ve got a McDonald’s in Cusco’s town square. Good enough for me.” He winked at me.

  He had to be joking. “McDonald’s is all you miss?”

  “Doesn’t everyone? It’s the epitome of America, right?”

  I scrunched up my nose. “I don’t know about that. After the truth about the pink slime came out…” I teased him.

  “Pink slime?” He asked.

  He didn’t know about the pink slime? It had been all over the news, but if his village was this remote, he probably wasn’t that in touch with the rest of the world. “It’s this meat-like substance they use in their burgers. It’s basically dog food.”

  He stopped walking for a second. “I ate there last night.”

  I shrugged. “Maybe they use real meat here. But yeah, in America, it’s pretty disturbing. I wouldn’t touch the stuff. And that’s what you miss?”

  “Not anymore.” He shook his head as he walked. “You’ve ruined it.”

  I grinned at him to lighten the blow. “Sorry.”

  “You should be. I used to sit up here and dream of their burgers.” He sighed, wistfully.

  “Now, Whataburger. Those are something you can dream about.”

  “Whataburger?”

  “Haven’t you ever visited the pack in Texas?”

  “Eh. It’s been a
while.”

  “It’s been around for decades.” Oh my God. How old was he?

  “Yeah,” he said slowly. “It’s been a really long while.”

  Oh man. I was really losing it. There were so many reasons he was off limits, and age just added to the list. If only he didn’t look like he belonged on a Calvin Klein billboard.

  “Almost to the top,” he said, and I was grateful for the change in subject. “See that tree up there with that big branch on the right that arches down?”

  I tried to follow where he was pointing, and saw a massive tree. The bottom right branch arced down, and from here it looked like it almost touched the ground. “Sure.”

  “There’s a really good look-out point there. You should be able to see the surrounding valleys. There are a few villages we could check out, or maybe you can find an old ruin or two.”

  I took his word for it on the look-out spot. There didn’t even seem to be a break in the forest. I stepped forward to look closer and almost ate it. Lucas caught me just before my face planted into the ground. My breath caught as he held me.

  The way he looked at me, with his aura shining down, I sensed that he wanted to say something important. The feeling was slight. If I hadn’t been able to feel his aura, then I might not have noticed the yearning in his eyes. But I did notice it.

  And it took my breath away.

  He gently set me on my feet in front of him. “You okay?”

  I brushed myself off as I tried to pretend that nothing had happened. That I hadn’t seen the desire for something more in his eyes. But my hands were shaking. “Yeah. Fine. Sorry.”

  “Do you need a break?”

  “No. I’m just clumsy sometimes.” I wiped my hands on my pants one more time to get the last of the dirt off, and then motioned for him to keep going.

  “Okay.” He started walking again, and I followed. This time I made sure I didn’t trip over fallen branches.

  Get yourself together, Claudia. You need to work with this man. Not drool over him.

  Wanting things to be different wouldn’t change them. Even if Lucas wanted to be with me, there were so many obstacles to overcome—the least of which was that he was a wolf and I was a witch. Whatever happened in these mountains, those two things didn’t mix in my world. The only reason I was getting any help from him was because Teresa was my cousin. She was the tie that bound our two groups together. And then there was that little battle we had coming…

  Not to mention Matt. I had enough on my plate just trying to get rid of him. I’d thought telling him straight out that we were over would be enough to put him off, but apparently not.

  I focused on Lucas, but it was hard to follow him without watching his back muscles moving against his shirt. Or his butt. Because that wasn’t a good idea. Not at all.

  He made me forget all those reasons why it wouldn’t work. In either case, I was getting ahead of myself.

  Did he like me? Was that what the yearning was all about? Or was I just projecting that on him? I didn’t think so, but it wasn’t like my judgment had been completely reliable in the past.

  For a moment, I decided to let go of all those reasons. To throw them out the window.

  For just this little while, what was the harm in appreciating the scenery?

  A few more minutes, and we reached the spot he’d mentioned. “Here you go.” He moved the branches out of the way, and all of a sudden it was like I could see Peru spread out in front of me. It was just a small piece of the country, but it felt huge.

  Then I looked down and all the air left my lungs. I grabbed Lucas’ arm as my stomach flip-flopped. “Oh God. We’re so high up…” And the edge was right there. One misstep, some loose dirt underfoot, and that would be it. I’d fall down the side of the mountain.

  Lucas pulled me close, until my back was pressed to his front. His arms wrapped around my waist, and I leaned back into him. “Don’t worry. I got you. You won’t fall.”

  I tried to get my breathing under control.

  “Close your eyes.”

  He didn’t have to ask me twice. The view was breathtaking, but terrifying.

  “Now, take a deep breath and feel my arms around you. Trust me to keep you safe.”

  I let out the breath slowly.

  “You feeling better?”

  I was. Lucas made me feel safe. Taken care of. No one had ever made me feel that way before. “Yes.”

  “Now, instead of looking down when you open your eyes, look out. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Remember. I’m right here. I’m not going to let you fall.”

  “Okay.”

  “Open your eyes.”

  I followed his command. This time, when I looked out, I felt a sense of calm and peace. I could enjoy the beauty of the area. There was so much green. The peaks of the Andes touched the clouds as far as I could see.

  “When you’re ready, look down. Maybe you can sense something no one else can.” Lucas’ deep voice rumbled against my back.

  I prepared myself to lose it before I looked down, but when I did, I was surprisingly okay. I could see a long, winding road that cut down the side of the mountain we were on. Other roads intersected in the valley below. The village we’d been in this morning was just down the way.

  My sight wasn’t something that I had to turn on. It was always there. I chose to ignore it sometimes, but it never went away. I focused on the hints of color around me. This land was so spiritual. Full of life. It was like everything had an aura, but none of the white notes I spotted were as pure as what I’d expect from the mages. The energies weren’t even shadows of the flashes I’d gotten from the villagers.

  I turned to say as much, but a flare of white aura caught the corner of my eye and I froze. It was far away and dim, but it was there. I stepped out of Lucas’ arms, and he let me go. It was pure and white, just like the flash I’d gotten from the villagers. I took a couple steps before he grabbed the back of my fleece.

  “Whoa. Watch your step.”

  I looked down and my vision swam. Before I could faint, Lucas pulled me back against his chest and covered my eyes with his hand. “You got a little ahead of yourself there, huh?”

  “Yeah,” I said as my breathing stabilized once again. “But I feel… There was an aura. It was faint but it was there.” I pushed his hand down, and turned to look at him. “Can we go? Now?”

  He frowned. “Where exactly did you see it?”

  I pointed at the spot, just around the side of the mountain. It was barely visible from where we were standing, but if he knew the area as well as he said he did, then he should be able to get us there.

  “Are you sure?”

  I nodded. “Absolutely.”

  He looked back over where I pointed, and sucked in a sharp breath. “It’s impossible. Not there. I just…”

  “What’s impossible? Why is it impossible?”

  He closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them again, his dark eyes had warmed to a glowing chocolate color. “A sect of brujos is based in that area. They live like monks—”

  “That’s them! Those are the ones we’re looking for.” Hope filled my heart. The answer to all of my problems was right there. So close.

  He shook his head. “They’re evil, Claudia. Pure evil.”

  My jaw dropped open before I could stop it. The hoped I’d been feeling smashed into a million pieces. “No. They can’t be.” I looked back at the spot. The pure white aura was there. A bit of darkness surrounded it if I really squinted, but the center of the aura looked like freshly fallen snow. “It’s white. What I see is white. White magic always means good magic.”

  “I can’t explain why you’re seeing what you’re seeing, but I know those mages. They’re beyond bad. We’ve had a few run-ins with the foul things they’ve summoned, and they weren’t pretty. I can’t take you there.”

  I chewed on my lip as I thought it through. There was only one possibility that made sense. “Regardless of
whether they’re evil, they must have something that belongs to the white mages we’re looking for. I have to go check.”

  Lucas grasped my arms. “I meant that literally. I can’t take you. The second I step on their land, they’ll know I’m there. Even if I could bring you there, they won’t help you or give you what you want. There has to be something else. Take another look.” He spun me around. “Please.”

  I looked, methodically scanning the view and hoping for once there was a solution that didn’t involve me reaching out to dark mages, but none of the energies out there came close to pure white. Except that one spot. “No. If we had a better lead, I’d take your advice, but I don’t have that luxury. There’s nothing else.” Someday, I’d be allowed to make a choice that wasn’t a last resort, but until then…

  If had to go through more dark magic to save Raphael, then I’d do it.

  Regardless of the cost.

  “I can’t take you.” He let go of me, and ran his hands through his hair, pulling it for a second before letting go. He looked down at me with resignation. “Nothing will change that.”

  Then I remembered something that made everything that much more awful.

  Boy did I not want to do this. But if Lucas wouldn’t—couldn’t help me, then I had to find someone who would. “There’s another way I can get in.”

  His expression changed from resignation to anger. “Please tell me you’re not talking about that asshole from this morning.”

  I winced. “He’s the next in line to his coven in upstate New York. He knows all the other coven leaders. They have meetings over winter solstice. He can get me in for sure.”