Bruja (8 page)

That was the easy route. Maybe not in the long term, but it would solve my immediate problems. Ultimately the cost of going back to her was high.

Peru, on the other hand, was the much harder route. The road less traveled. Literally. It could end up costing me everything, or if it worked, and I found what we needed, I could save us all. Save my brother. And stop the witch I’d helped to create.

“I’ll do it,” I said it softly. The wolves heard me and froze. Turning to me. But my fellow witches didn’t have their good hearing. They were still arguing.

I stood up from my chair, and its legs scratched against the floor. “I’ll go to Peru with you,” I said the words much louder this time so that everyone could hear. The last of the talk quieted.

Muraco nodded. “Wise decision. The journey will be difficult, but you will overcome.”

“I hope so.” I pushed down the fear that chilled my skin. “I really hope so.”

Chapter Seven

After I decided to go, the group sprang into action. Mr. Dawson ran off to make travel plans for me. Getting a last minute plane to Peru wasn’t an easy feat, especially since I needed to get on Muraco’s flight. I didn’t much care if I had to sit in the cargo hold. Now that I was going, I wanted to get there. Right away.

Then Meredith brought up the fact that I had nothing to wear but cut off skirts, flip-flops, and peasant shirts. I’d been in such a rush to leave the compound that I’d only brought essentials. Shopping was the last thing I wanted to be doing. I needed to spend as much time with my brother as possible before I left, but I had to be prepared for this trip. I couldn’t hike the Andes in worn-through leather sandals.

After a quick trip into town, I had a fancy new backpack, running shoes, thick socks, and all the warm clothes I could foresee needing. Now I sat on the floor back in my room at St. Ailbe’s, trying to pack. The werewolves didn’t restrict Internet access like the coven did, so I’d read a quick article on how to best pack a backpack. I’d never done anything like this before. Hell, until a few days ago, I’d hardly left the compound.

Apparently, rolling the clothes was the best way to get everything to fit. It seemed like a good idea, but the way I did the rolling, it wasn’t working. If anything, the lumpy rolls took up more space. I let out a frustrated growl as I shook out the pair of pants in my hands and tried rolling them for the fourth time. Everything seemed lumpy this way, but what did I know about packing and going on trips?

I just needed to get this done already so I could go check on Raphael. I didn’t have time to pack and repack this stuff over and over.

Someone knocked on my door. “Come in,” I said, and looked over my shoulder.

Teresa peeked in. “Hey. Thought I’d see how it was going.”

I dropped the pants I was trying to roll. “Horribly.” I surveyed the mess in front of me. “I’m not sure I can fit all this. I’ve tried to whittle it down to necessities, but…” The plan was a little on the vague side, so I had to be ready for almost anything.

Teresa settled down on the floor next to me. “Can I help?”

“Please.” I waved my hand over the pile of stuff. “I’m getting nowhere.”

Teresa took the pants and started rolling them. Somehow they ended up in a tight log without a single lump.

“How’d you do that?”

“Practice. Axel was a Boy Scout for a hot minute.” She snorted. “Anyhow, Dad worked long hours and couldn’t take time off to go on weekend camping trips, so Mom went with him. I was too little to be left alone, so I was forced along. Not that I wanted to go. Nope. I like bathrooms with running water and bug-free beds. But some things stuck with me. Mostly packing and marshmallow toasting.”

Wow. Boy Scout. I hadn’t pictured her brother as someone who’d get into that kind of stuff. “So you went camping but you didn’t like it?”

“Exactly.” She paused. “You’re right. It’s not all going to fit, but you don’t need all this underwear.”

Was she nuts? One week gone meant nine pairs—just in case I wanted to freshen up at night. And that was shorting myself a few pairs. I wasn’t going around dirty. “No. I need these.”

“This may sound gross, but if you’re at a hotel, wash ‘em in the sink. And if not, wear each pair twice. Once inside-out.” My face must’ve shown my disgust with her proposition. “Trust me. You don’t want to carry more than you have to. Every ounce counts.”

I nearly laughed at how ridiculous this was. Even when it came to something as simple as packing, my cousin was so much better than I was. I’d feel more confident if she were going with me. “Are you sure you don’t want to go, too?”

“No way. I got cornered into staying at the compound, but there’s no way in hell I’m leaving St. Ailbe’s again. I feel safer when I’m here. Even if we’re constantly on watch, I have my pack. And there’s no way I’m going anywhere without Dastien. Not only would he flip, but I don’t want to be without him. He’s my safety blanket, and after what happened, I need him.” I’d been so caught up in everything that had happened, I kept forgetting to check how Teresa was faring. When she was around Dastien, she seemed fine. Strong. But then times like this, she looked so fragile. Like if I breathed on her too hard, she might break.

Guilt weighed me down. Luciana had used some really dark magic to strip Teresa of her powers. She’d drawn Teresa’s magic into little jars, using the energy to fuel her spells, and summoning demons from the underworld. I couldn’t help but feel responsible. I’d needed her help, so I’d manipulated her to get her back on coven land any way I could.

I’d told Luciana about the planned Full Moon Ceremony.

It was my fault she and Dastien weren’t fully bonded. My fault her powers had gotten stripped. My fault she didn’t feel safe anymore.

I hadn’t intended for her to get hurt. I thought I had it under control. I thought I was looking out for her, but I’d never thought Luciana would go so far.

But I’d been wrong. And Teresa had paid the price. “You shouldn’t second guess yourself.”

“I could’ve done a lot of things differently, but I was so focused on taking Luciana down, that I didn’t stop to think everything through like I should’ve.” She grabbed a shirt, and started rolling it. “Anyway, even with all this baggage, I thought about going with you, but right before I went to bed last night, I had a little premonition. Vision. Whatever.” She huffed. “I guess talking to you about being blocked loosened something. I was laying there with Dastien, thinking about everything, and… Well, it was a little one, but it was just enough to show me that if I go to Peru, bad things happen. It has to be you.” She grinned and I was suddenly scared. That grin meant nothing but trouble. “Plus, I have a
feeling
you’re going to meet someone there.”

She had to be joking. “Please. I’ll be too busy trying to find some possibly non-existent mages—who
might
have the answer to saving my brother and defeating whatever Luciana conjures next—to breath, let alone time enough to flirt with anyone.” The idea was ludicrous. “Trust me. Romance isn’t anywhere on my radar.” Especially when I was wearing my underwear twice.

“Are you saying that because of the douchebag?”

“No.” That hadn’t even entered my mind. Even after talking to him last night. “Honestly, there’s only so much room in my brain. All I can focus on right now is finding the mages and getting back here as quickly as possible.” Sure, I wanted what Teresa and Dastien had, but that was a useless daydream right now.

One day, it’d be my turn. But I had a lot to accomplish before then.

“I still say keep your eyes open. You never know what you might find.”

“Maybe,” I said to appease her and end this pointless conversation.

Another knock came at the door. “Can I join you?” Cosette said as she peeked around the doorframe. Her aura shone so bright I could almost see her pearly sparkle through the wall. “I need something to do.”

I wished that lending me some of all that power was considered ‘something to do,’ but I couldn’t waste time wishing for the impossible. Cosette had her own problems and as tempting as it was, I shouldn’t expect her to put everything aside to fix mine. “Have a seat,” I said.

Teresa’s gaze followed her as she moved across the room. “Getting bored under the constant threat of attack?”

“Hardly.” Cosette waved a hand as she plopped down on my bed. “That part makes me feel right at home.”

“Well don’t get too comfortable,” Teresa said. Her tone was surprisingly firm. “Mr. Dawson and the rest of the Seven have been looking for you all over campus. They want to talk.”

“Which is why I’ve been avoiding them.” Cosette tilted her head to the side as if brushing off the most powerful alpha wolves in the world was a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

“Why? If you can help us—”

“When the time is right.” Cosette gripped the edge of the bed so hard her knuckles whitened. She was finally showing a little of what must be her real thoughts.

“You can’t stay on the sidelines forever.” Teresa crossed her arms as she stared Cosette down. She looked more than a little annoyed with the fey. “Not with what’s coming.”

That thought made me swallow hard. The evil wasn’t coming. It was already here. Daniel was proof of that.

So was Raphael.

“I wasn’t planning to.” Cosette let out a heavy breath. “But I do what the queen says or I pay the price. For now, just think of me as an objective observer. Later…” She waved her fingers, letting us interpret her trailing words how we wanted. “Well, we’ll see about later.”

“What about your coven?” Maybe she was tied on the fey side, but the wolves would need more than the handful of us to fight Luciana and the allies she was probably gathering right now. Any help they could send would be better than nothing.

“They worship the queen.” She shrugged. “They’re not going to risk pissing her off.”

A coven loyal to the fey? I’d never heard of such a thing.

“That’s not normal, right?” Teresa turned from Cosette to me. “I’m still brushing up on this whole magic thing, but I thought
brujas
pretty much kept to themselves.”

“We usually do.” It was what I’d been taught. Most things didn’t like what our magic could do to them. Covens kept in touch, but our ancestors had been hunted and burned for so long that keeping secret seemed the only way to stay safe. I’d never considered there being another way.

It gave me hope that Muraco wasn’t totally insane with his stories about the ancient supernaturals mixing. If fey and witches could get along, then why not witches and wolves?

There was every possibility that the mages still existed in Peru. And if they existed, I’d find them. I had to.

“Either way, Mr. Dawson wants to—” Teresa’s head tilted to the side and her aura flashed with bits of amber. There was no missing the change in her as her eyes slipped out of focus. She was busy talking to Dastien through their bond.

No matter how often I saw it, it surprised me. The
brujas
didn’t have anything like that. Our marriages were more human and normal than the mate bonds the werewolves had. Witches got married, divorced, cheated. I’d be lucky to click on more than one level with a guy.

Teresa stood up, dusting off her hands. “Duty calls. It seems the boys have found something in the woods.”

I swallowed and took a breath before speaking. “Luciana?”

“Dastien isn’t sure. He’s in wolf form, so he’s not communicating very well, but he says it smells bad.”

“Bad?”

She shrugged. “It could mean anything.” She pointed to the next pair of pants in my pile. “Just lay them on the floor and make them as flat as possible before you start rolling.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

“Yell if you need anything.” She hurried out, already distracted.

When I was sure she far enough away that she wouldn’t overhear, I finally spoke. “Would it help you if I told her what I suspect about you?”

“I don’t know.” Cosette leaned forward. “What do you suspect?”

“That you’re more than you say you are.” I doubted ‘objective observer’ touched the surface. She always introduced herself as part fey, but it finally struck me that she’d never said which part. I’d just assumed half or less. Part could mean ninety-nine percent. Or part fey and something else that wasn’t necessarily human.

She smiled. “I could say the same of you.”

I almost laughed. “Right.”

“Don’t worry about me and Tess.” Cosette patted my shoulder, and a bit of her energy crackled against me. Her power seemed bright and tranquil when I felt exactly the opposite. “If my plans work the way I hope… Maybe we’ll be BFFs by the time you get back.”

I wished I had that confidence. “Sometimes I don’t even know if she likes me.”

“Claudia.” Cosette dropped the curl she’d been playing with her. “Everyone likes you.”

I tried to roll up the pants, failed, and tried again. “That’s in no way true. Plenty of people don’t like me.”

“Name one person.”

“Jemma.”

“One
person
.” Cosette flopped down on the bed, somehow making the movement elegant as she propped her head on her hands. “Not one comically jealous witch. She just wants Matt and honestly, you should ship him back to her already. You’re too good for both of them.”

I’d been trying to do just that. Hopefully last night would get the message through and he wouldn’t try to contact me again. “I did my best. I was probably ruder than I should’ve been.” I flattened out a shirt and started rolling. “Teresa has a
feeling
I’m going to meet someone in Peru. How absurd is that? I’m trying to save my brother’s life, not date.”

“She might be onto something.” Her aura glittered to the point that I thought some fey magic was starting to work, but it settled too fast to follow. Maybe that was just Cosette being Cosette. “I know I haven’t been able to admit to much, but I always told you I had a form of Sight. You witches just assume that means seeing the future.”

Didn’t it? “What do you see about me?”

Cosette stared at me until I had to swallow down nerves. Maybe it was better not to know.

“The red string of fate. You’ll find your destined person…” Cosette’s voice dropped, turning more serious than I’d ever heard it. I wanted to hope, but I knew the bad news was coming. “But I’m worried about your oath to Luciana. That tie could strangle you if you’re not careful.”