“I bind you with water,” she said.
The thing stood on its hind legs. It was as tall as a man and for a moment looked no longer like a dog, but like something else, something almost human, its skin wet and smooth, as if smeared with tar or blood. It spoke.
“Alba, stop,” it said, and her fingers stilled. She grew mute.
Because that was her brother’s voice. It was Tadeo speaking.
She stared at the creature, at its eellike flesh and its glowing green eyes that burned bright and eager.
It couldn’t be him.
She backed away from it. Her hands were shaking.Once you’ve begun tying the knots, you cannot stop speaking. You must keep going.That was what Valentín had said. But her throat was dry, and the rope was heavy in her hands.
“Alba, you must stop,” it said again.
“I bind you with fire,” she said quickly, and tied the eleventh knot.
The creature gritted its teeth. The sharp sound made her wince. She froze in place, her eyes wide. It sounded like Tadeo, it did, but witches always tried to trick you. Her brother was dead, Valentín was dead, and this fiend was not her kin. She shook her head.
“I bind you with air,” she said, and tied the last knot.
The thing in the clearing crouched low and began scratching the ground with its claws. It heaved and opened its jaws.
She slid the pistol out of the holster while clutching the rope with her other hand. She lifted it. “Father, give me strength,” she said.
“Alba,” the creature said, and fixed its green eyes on her.
That look, it stopped her. Her hand shook. Although she hadplanned this, although she’d thought herself brave enough, fear and confusion now overwhelmed her. Alba let out a sob.
As if it were echoing her, a sound came out of the creature’s throat, and it sprang forward with such speed that Alba was unable to respond, not even to cry out. She was simply shoved against the ground and the thing pressed hard against her chest, holding her down. It opened its mouth; the whiff of carrion made her want to retch.
The creature threw its head back before staring into her eyes again, that green glow so bright it was like a searing flame. She could not scream, though she wished dearly to shriek in horror, and mutely looked back at it.
The thing inhaled and grunted, but it did not bite her.
“Alba,” it said.
Slowly it lifted away from her, and she was able to shift her arm, to angle the pistol. Yet that subtle motion caused the creature to hiss; it slammed her against the ground again, her skull thumping against the root of a tree with such force that this time she did cry out in agony.
She felt its fingers against her neck—the wicked claws drew a thin line of blood—and then it grinned and snapped its teeth in the air before bending its head down, ready to devour her.
The pistol was slipping from her hand, for she was half-dazed by the blow to the head.
She pulled the trigger and the charge exploded. At first she thought she’d accomplished nothing. The thing kept staring at her, its teeth a breath away from her neck, but suddenly it rolled aside, its limbs flailing wildly.
It contorted in agony, its whole body pulsing; the eellike flesh seemed almost liquid. For a moment it was able to regain control of its muscles and stood up. Alba also scrambled to her feet. She stumbled and through eyes clouded by tears pulled the trigger again.
The monster reeled backward with a groan and lay on the ground.
Alba stood still until she regained her breath. Pins and needles ran down her spine.
The creature’s breathing was loud, laborious, and she approached it slowly. Her left hand hurt from clutching the rope so hard, for she had not let go of it for a second. She looked at the thing on the ground, which shivered and opened its mouth, and shot it a third time in the chest. The green glow of its eyes grew dim.
The sleek eel skin dissolved and the claws sloughed off, revealing hands and then quickly a bare chest, and there, on the ground, was her brother. He coughed and spat blood.
And she knew in that moment, with a certainty that almost smothered her, that this was indeed Tadeo. He’d been wrapped in black magic and transformed, turned into a horrid beast that the witch could command.
Alba had been tricked.
