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“Just don’t touch the circle.” I pointed at the markings on the floor.
He took in the room. “It smells awful in here.”
“I know.”
“Is this where she…”
I nodded, trying not to think about the past, and focused on scanning the shelves. What if I needed some of her ingredients for a potion? If we burned the house, then all her supplies would be destroyed.
Nope.
If I needed something Luciana had, then I was doing the wrong kind of magic. “Let’s just take the books.” I gave him my bag. “Stuff in anything that looks handy. As much as you can fit. We’ll sort it out when Claudia gets here tomorrow.”
“You got it.”
“Now I just need some salt.”
Dastien faced the shelves, and grabbed a medium-sized canister. “There you go.”
“What?” I unscrewed the lid, and sure enough—salt. “How did you know where it was?”
He tapped his nose.
“But it reeks in here.”
“You have to learn to separate the smells. Search for the one you want. It takes a little practice, but most Weres can do it.”
“I can’t.” Not with all the gross smells in here. I wouldn’t even know where to start.
“You’re new at this. When I was a kid, it was overwhelming. All the scents that humans use—especially girls.” He gave me a wink. “All those soaps, lotions, perfumes…”
I shook my head. “Somehow I doubt that stopped you from flirting.”
“I’d be happy to show you my smooth ways of… Scenting things.”
I laughed. Here. In this room. I actually laughed. “Thanks for the distraction.”
“You seemed tense. Let’s get this sorted and get out of here, okay?”
“Deal.”
He started clearing out the books while I took care of the circle. Sprinkling salt, I walked around its edge, not daring to step even one hair over the line. When I completed the lap, magic rose. I held out my hands to it. “Nothing leaves this circle.” I forced my power through the words, willing them to be true. The magic snapped into place, trapping Luciana’s evil mojo inside the larger circle of salt.
I wiped the sweat from my brow. I was already tired, but doing that one bit of magic made me even more exhausted.
Dastien froze. “What was that?”
“A seal.” I grabbed a handful of salt and threw it at the circle. It slammed against an invisible wall, and sprinkled to the ground outside the ring. “Nothing’s getting in or out of that thing.” That was one less problem to worry about.
Dastien zipped the messenger bag and hefted the strap over his head. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Yes, please.”
Outside, more Cazadores had gathered. The rest of our group had shifted back and everyone wore the same gray sweats. Mr. Dawson, Donovan, and Dad were huddled together, planning how to torch the compound. Only Cosette stood off to the side, leaning on Dad’s car as she stared up at the moon.
It was weird to be handling all this without Claudia. She should be the one to decide what happened to the compound.
I joined the group, and Mr. Dawson paused, giving me a chance to say my piece. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
