Bruja

by Aileen Erin

  “I didn’t stray in the first place,” I muttered the words, not that Lucas would appreciate the distinction.

  Something brushed against my legs and I lowered my hand. Lucas stood in front of me in his wolf form, speckled black and brown. Maybe I should’ve been cautious, but he looked so soft. Before I could stop myself, I was brushing my fingers through his fur.

  I knew that wolves didn’t purr, but Lucas came close, making a deep rumbling sound at the back of his throat.

  As we walked back to our campsite, Gobble flitted around us in his little pixie form. I couldn’t stop thinking about Gobble identifying me as Lucas’ mate. I hadn’t let myself think about it too much, but what did that really mean? Was I really considering turning?

  If I didn’t, what would that mean for Lucas? Would he end up being like Muraco? Alone for centuries because his mate chose not to risk being bitten? Could I do that to him?

  Did I even want to be mated to a wolf in the first place? It was a serious decision that needed a lot of thought. Mates didn’t divorce, as far as I knew. It was a serious commitment and if the mess with Matt had proven anything to me it was that rushing in didn’t work.

  Then again, comparing Matt and Lucas was impossible. They didn’t compare. Not in any way. I trusted Lucas.

  But was I ready to commit to more than that?

  Lost in my thoughts, I almost tripped over a root, but Lucas was there before I could fall, pushing against me with his fur.

  “Thanks.” I brushed a hand against his head and he made a rumbling noise. I didn’t speak wolf, but I could guess what he meant. “I’m fine. Just a little tired.”

  It was way more complicated than I could handle right now. The long day of hiking through the mountain, the stress of worrying over Raphael, and now this fey kidnapping added up to a whole bunch of exhaustion.

  When we got back to the tent, I crawled straight inside. There was a blanket, and I spread it over my body, not caring about changing. Lucas butted inside in his wolf form, and settled down half on top of me. He rested his head on my stomach.

  I knew that this wasn’t a big dog—that it was Lucas—but my brain was too tired to register it or care anymore. I scratched behind his ears and closed my eyes.

  “Good boy,” I said, as I fell asleep.

  I felt a wet lick against my cheek just before darkness took hold of me, but I couldn’t move enough to do anything about it if I wanted to.

  Chapter Nineteen

  I woke to the sound of Lucas’s voice. The sun was just breaking over the horizon. Rays of sunlight cut through the leaves, making it seem like God was shining light down on the mountain. My back ached from sleeping on the hard ground and I wished there were a hot shower in my future, but that wasn’t happening. Probably not until I was back with Raphael.

  That thought jolted me all the rest of the way awake.

  No time to waste. I threw off the blanket and got up. I didn’t remember taking off my shoes, but they were lined up in front of the tent. I slipped them on and double knotted the laces.

  “Ready to go?” I asked.

  Lucas nodded. “I’ll pack our gear.” He handed me a protein bar as he brushed past. His fingers lingered on mine for a just a second before he started folding up the tent.

  He was always doing that. Giving me lingering touches. More and more. I watched his back as he moved, enjoying the view a little. I quickly ran my fingers through my hair before redoing my braid, and then dug into the protein bar.

  The crumbly texture made me thirsty. I grabbed a water bottle from the side pocket of Lucas’ pack, and took a long drink. “It’s cold.”

  “I went to the falls to fill up. They’re not far.”

  I nodded, but my stomach soured. What about parasites? If I got some kind of worm from this… I stared down at the bottle in disgust.

  He chuckled. “Don’t worry, city girl. I cleaned the water. It’s safe to drink.”

  Easy for him to say. “I didn’t grow up in the city, but we had clean, running water.” I took another careful sip, then almost gasped when it hit my tongue. It might be the best tasting water I’d ever had.

  I quickly inhaled the rest of the protein bar and drank some more water before putting the bottle away. I stretched, and my ribs still ached. It was bearable, but if I thought about it too much—about Matt—the anger would overwhelm me.

  Gobble had shifted back in his tiny form and he sat in the tree above the tent, watching us move around. It made me nervous when he stayed quiet like that.

  The sound of Lucas zipping up the backpack caught my attention. “All right. Let’s go,” he said as he slipped the first one on his back. “The mine is this way.” He slipped the other one across his chest and started walking.

  Gobble flitted down from the tree and settled on my shoulder. The image of tiny little teeth tearing into my ear raced across my mind, and I stiffened.

  Lucas spun toward me. “Why are you—” He didn’t have to finish his question. “Get off of her. She doesn’t like you sitting there.”

  “Sure the tasty does.” His tiny voice screeched in my ear.

  Lucas’ eyes flashed bright. “And she doesn’t like you calling her the tasty,” he said, with a low rumble in his voice.

  They started arguing back and forth as we walked.

  The day had just begun and I was already getting a headache.

  ***

  Lucas had been dead on when he said it would take two hours to get to the mine. We stopped for a rest when we arrived. Weeds and branches covered up most of the entrance, blocking it from view. Without the map to tell us where to stop, we might’ve walked by it a million times and never seen it. It was too dark to see all the way inside, but a set of rusted and broken cart tracks ended at what looked like the mouth of a very long cave.

  Lucas reached into his bag, grabbing out two flashlights. I took one, thankful for it. I hadn’t thought to bring one. It was rare that I found someone more prepared than I was. I kind of admired that quality in Lucas. It was nice.

  As we stepped inside, the air grew thick and heavy. It smelled stale and earthy, like no one had entered in a good long while. Spider webs ran down from the corners of the braced walls, and I moved to walk behind Lucas.

  He glanced back to me. “Don’t like spiders, huh?”

  “Does anyone like them?”

  Gobble flew in front of my face. “I like them just fine. Tasty,” he squeaked.

  “Right.” That didn’t surprise me in the least.

  One of the branches off this mineshaft exited to a secret valley between the mountains, but I had no idea which part or how we were supposed to find the right path. The map didn’t show anything about the inside of the mine. My only lead was magic. The mages’ auras had stuck to the map. If they’d used the mine to access their temple, then it stood to reason that there would be more traces of pure white to follow. I just had to find them.

  We moved past a line of five rickety mine carts. The metal bits were rusted and the wood looked like it might disintegrate if we breathed too hard.

  “Hop in,” Lucas said when he reached the last one.

  I stared from him to the cart and back again. “In that?”

  “Yes.” When I didn’t move, he continued. “It’ll be faster. You just tell me when you see the aura you’re looking for, and we’ll head that way.”

  I knocked my fist against the side of the car. It didn’t collapse, but I still wasn’t convinced. “Is this safe?”

  Lucas blew out a breath. “Honestly, I’m not sure.” He placed the backpacks in the cart before hopping in with one graceful move.

  Yeah. I wasn’t going to be able to get in it without making a fool of myself.

  “There are miles of tunnels down here. We’ve got to narrow it down or it could take days.”

  I closed my eyes and thought of Raphael. Every time I did, he felt father away. Our twindar used to bind us tight. If he was hurt or feeling something strongly, I could feel it,
too. That had faded over the past few days and I didn’t think it was because of the distance. Now, my sense of him was almost gone. Thinking about what could happen to him made stabbing pain shoot through my chest.

  “Fine,” I said. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Lucas leaned down to grasp me around the waist, and then easily lifted me into the cart. It shouldn’t have been a surprise or anything to overreact to, but it made me feel safe. Protected. Even in this rickety thing.

  Gobble flitted over to sit on my shoulder, but this time I didn’t stiffen. I was too worried about what was going to happen as Lucas started pumping the lever on the car. Slowly, we all rolled forward.

  “Let me know as soon as you want to stop or if we need to take a turn.” Ahead of us, the tunnel split in three directions. “Like now. Which way?” Lucas asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Come on, Claudia. Which way?”

  “I don’t know. Gobble? Do you know?”

  “You want Gobble’s help?” He flitted in front of me to grin with those sharp teeth and I suddenly felt hesitant. From what Cosette said, I shouldn’t make a deal with him. Not unless I really, really, really needed it. I wasn’t that desperate. Not yet, at least.

  “You can do this, Claudia. Trust yourself.”

  But I didn’t. I couldn’t see any auras at all. It was all darkness ahead.

  I moved the flashlight around, trying to see anything else, and then I realized I was an idiot. I couldn’t see anything past the beam of light.

  I clicked it off. Once the glare was gone, I could see a faint glow somewhere ahead. “To the right.” I clicked the flashlight back on, and Lucas hit the lever for the right tunnel.

  “Good work.”

  I breathed out a sigh. “Thanks.”

  The next hour was more of the same. We moved from tunnel to tunnel, taking twists and turns. Then our cart started picking up speed as we went down a hill.

  We hit a bump and gained some air. My feet landed on the cart floor with a jarring thud. “Slow it down. You’re going too fast.”

  “I know,” Lucas said.

  A dip was coming up ahead of us—at least I hoped it was a dip. The closer we got, it looked like it was more drop-off than dip. I couldn’t see any tracks beyond it.

  Oh my God. The tracks were ending. We were going to fall. And who knew how far down we’d fall. It could be miles.

  We could die.

  I grabbed Lucas’ arm. “Lucas.”

  “I see it.”

  “See what? The tracks freaking disappear!” My fingers dug into his skin. “Lucas! Stop the car. Now. Right now. We’re going too fast and that dip is way too sharp. We’ll fly off the track.”

  “I know. The brake is broken, and we’re going too fast to jump.”

  A cold sweat broke out across my brow. “You didn’t check the brake?” Why hadn’t I thought to check the brake?

  “No. I didn’t check the brake.”

  We sped closer and I finally got a good look. The dark spot ahead was a giant cave. The tracks ended over the yawning hole. “Oh my God. We’re going to die.” I griped him tighter, bracing for whatever impact we were headed for.

  Gobble screeched and dug his nails into my shoulder. Then he let go, flitting off. Leaving us both to our fate.

  I huddled down in the bottom of the cart, hoping for something to hold on to, but there was nothing.

  “Hold on to me.” Lucas threw his body over mine, as we fell down. I wrapped my arms and legs around him as I screamed so loud my throat ached. And then I screamed some more.

  It felt like we fell forever before we hit the ground. Somehow Lucas timed it, exchanging our positions so I landed on top of him. He grunted as we hit the bottom of the cave, but he didn’t make another noise.

  Our breaths still came fast as the cart slowed down. But we were alive.

  I pulled back enough to see Lucas’ face. “Are you okay?” I asked as I cupped his cheek in my hand.

  Lucas leaned into my touch. “I’ve survived much worse,” he said as he wrapped my braid around his hand, and then raised his mouth to meet mine.

  At first, the kiss was a soft brush of lips, but it slowly turned into more. My body heated, and I tightened my arms around him. He felt safe. Good. And I wanted more. His tongue touched mine, and I moaned, unable to stop myself. And not caring in the least. He growled, and twisted my braid tighter, as he devoured me. I ran my hand under the back of his shirt, and his muscles tightened. I wanted to be closer, but—

  Gobble’s tiny hand swatted my cheek. “Stop messing about and look around.”

  I pulled away from Lucas, completely out of breath. I’d only been kissed once before and it didn’t count. Not really. Daniel and I had been bored and I wanted to know what it was like.

  The thing about growing up with everyone on the compound was that they all started to feel like family.

  But Lucas, he was an unknown. Someone new. And it wasn’t just the newness that was affecting me. It was everything about him. Even with all the reasons I had to pull away, I couldn’t stop my feelings from growing.

  I stared at him, not knowing what to do or say as he quietly watched me. And then I started laughing.

  I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was the ridiculousness of the situation. I’d thought I was going to die. Then I was kissing the hottest guy I’d ever seen. The guy I wanted more than anything, who was slowly becoming everything to me. It was absurd, but I would’ve kept kissing him if not for the creepy little Tinkerbell hitting me.

  Yes. Absurd was the right word. My life had taken a turn for the completely absurd.

  Using the lip of the cart, I slowly hoisted myself up and Lucas followed suit. I started to climb out, but he stopped me, grabbing my hand. He moved his other hand to my cheek and slid his thumb along my skin.

  Something intense burned in his eyes and I wasn’t sure what to say. What was really between us? Before I could decide, the look was gone and he was lifting me up and out of the cart.

  “I think we’ll be walking from here,” Lucas said.

  I laughed. “No kidding. I feel like living out the rest of my life, thank you very much.” I watched him as he grabbed up the backpacks again, and was kind of in awe.

  At first, he’d been Mr. July to me. Just a pretty face.

  He’d proven he was so much more than that. Lucas was kind and caring. Patient and protective. Yet, not overbearing.

  Was perfection a wolf thing? Watching Dastien and Donovan, I’d thought they were a fluke. But now I wasn’t so sure.

  Because Lucas was pretty perfect. At least to me he was.

  “Look at all the pretties!” Gobble said. For the first time, I really looked at where we’d landed. We stood at the edge of huge cavern. I could see the tracks that we’d fallen from, but in the dark, I couldn’t see where the ceiling of the cave was. I turned in a circle, taking it all in. Every surface sparkled. It was like giant diamonds encrusted the rock walls and we’d landed inside a massive geode.

  “Flashlight,” I said. Lucas handed me one. Wherever I shined the light, it glittered with purples and blues. “Wow.” I walked to the closest wall and touched one of the crystals. As soon as my fingertip pressed its cool surface, it started to glow pure white. “Have you ever seen anything so beautiful before?” In awe, my voice came out a whisper. If just one crystal looked this amazing…

  Could the rest light up like this?

  I took a second to form a rhyme and then let out a deep exhale, allowing my magic to flow outward with the breath. There wasn’t much left, but I hoped it would be enough. “Aura strong and bright. Power good and right. Show us pure white light.”

  It was as if I’d flipped a switch. The light caught like fire, spreading from crystal to crystal until the whole massive cavern was lit and glowing with bright white aura.

  I clicked off my flashlight and turned in a circle again. The cavern went up at least three or four stories, and crystals glowed all the way to t
he distant ceiling.

  I touched one, running my finger along the sharp edges. Some of them were huge, thicker than Lucas’ thigh muscle. Little ones, the size of my pinky, stuck out between them. They were all piled on top of each other, until it was impossible to see the cave wall. Their energy was so strong it made my fingertips tingle. “What are these?”

  “Magic,” Gobble said. Then he wrinkled his nose in a little scowl. “Maybe you aren’t a witch.”

  This time I swatted at him. “I am a witch. I’ve just never heard of crystals like these before. Ones that store aura and magical power, but something about them…” My eyes widened as I realized. “That lady from the market. She was wearing one around her neck.”

  “You’re right. That one was much smaller, but they’re the same.” Lucas touched a nearby crystal and it turned from white to amber. The same color amber as his aura. Interesting, but I wasn’t sure what it meant.

  “Do you…” It could be totally sacrilegious to ask this, but… “Do you think it’d be okay for me to take one? Just one of the little ones. I’m pretty sure the white mages somehow stored their magic inside, and—”

  “This could be what helps Raphael,” Lucas finished for me.

  I smiled, relieved that he understood.

  “Sure. Let me see what I can do.”

  I nodded. He was much stronger than I was and would have a much easier time getting a crystal free.

  Lucas reached for a crystal the thickness of my thumb. If he could break it off, it would be easy enough to carry.

  As soon as he touched it, the crystal fell into his palm. He turned to me, mouth hanging open. “I didn’t have to do anything.”

  I took the crystal from him. As soon as it was in my palm, its aura changed to ice blue. “Weird.”

  “Is it okay?” Lucas asked.

  I put it in my pocket—not wanting it getting lost in my purse. “Yes. Thank you. I’m sure it’s great.”

  “Which way?”

  I looked around the cave. “I don’t know.”

  “What does your gut say?”

  I laughed. “My gut has no clue.” There was so much white aura here, that I couldn’t see anything beyond it. “Gobble. Do you know the way?”