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“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.”
“No. No. Just no,” he said the word fiercely. “I don’t like you spending any time with him. At all.”
I wasn’t sure if he was jealous or just plain didn’t like Matt. I was probably imagining the former, but he did seem a little jealous. “Me neither, but I don’t have a lot of options.”
Lucas grabbed my hand before starting back down the path. He didn’t say anything the whole hike back, but he never once let go of my hand. Not until after he’d helped me into the van.
When we got in and started back toward Cusco, he finally broke the silence. “Fine. You go with that asshole to the see the brujos, but I’ll be watching you. I’ll get as close as I can without setting off their wards. If something goes wrong—if you feel for one second like they’re trying something on you—you shout. I’ll be there in minutes. You just hang in there for me. You got it?”
I nodded. He seemed too upset for me to answer in actual words.
“I need verbal confirmation that you understand.”
I raised a brow at him. Verbal confirmation? “I understand. I’ll yell if I get into any trouble.” I wasn’t sure why he was getting so agitated. “Don’t worry so much. Matt isn’t going to let anything happen to me. I’m too valuable to him.”
“He’s not the only one you’re valuable to.”
I shifted in my seat so that I could see him better, but he didn’t say anything. Just stared at the road as he drove. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, twisting his hands every few seconds.
For the longest time, I’d been protecting everyone else. No one thought about me. Not until this moment. It felt really good. Like I might actually be safe here. Even when I go on the evil brujos’ land, I’d be okay as long as I had Lucas watching out for me.
I was sure I could handle them myself. No matter how evil the sect was, they didn’t have a family member of mine to hold hostage. I was free to defend myself however I wanted.
