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I moved aside. “Yes. Of course.” My bed wasn’t made. I usually made it first thing, but the whole FBI thing had thrown me. “Sorry for the mess. It’s been an interesting morning.”
Claudia still wore the same clothes from last night—her khaki skirt was wrinkled and her peasant shirt had a stain that smelled like coffee on the front of it. She clutched a thick, black tome to her chest as she stepped across the threshold.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. At least, I think I am. I just couldn’t sleep. I close my eyes and—” She shuddered. “Anyway, I went through the books you brought back.” She set the book on the floor. “I don’t want it to touch where you sleep.”
“Thank you.” That was really thoughtful of her.
I sat next to her on the floor. Lucas stayed standing. He was in track pants and a T-shirt—which seemed to be the only thing he’d packed. At least as far as I knew.
Claudia opened the book. Its waxy black cover reeked like Luciana’s room of torture, and I was suddenly grateful she hadn’t put it on my bed. “See this?”
I tilted my head to try and make out the squiggly lines on the page. I got closer to the book, even though the scent of sulfur and blood was turning my stomach. “It looks like a map.” I pointed to the blue outline. “That’s definitely the US, but what are the lines? They’re not states. And there’s no river in that part of California.” I leaned away from the book. There was something splattered on the page—something pink—and I wasn’t sure if it was diluted blood or something else—and I really didn’t want to find out. “What are they?”
“Ley lines,” Dastien said from behind me. “I’ve seen maps like this before.”
“They’re lines of magnetic energy—or magical energy, depending who you talk to—that run through the world. You see these points where the lines meet?” She pointed to a few spots where a bunch of lines clustered together.
“Yeah.”
“That’s a vortex.” Claudia sat back on her heels, and tugged on the hem of her skirt. “I saw this and it got me thinking. Luciana has a lot of power now, but not as much as she’ll need. Some people in the coven were so weak—it seems wasteful to drain them to get the few drops of magic they had…” Her voice wavered, and she closed her eyes, taking a slow breath. When she opened them, she seemed a little more together. “There are two small line intersections in Texas. Marfa and Enchanted Rock. But the church that you described… It sounds more like a church you’d find in the southwest.” She moved her hand to the west. “In New Mexico, there are several adobe churches with stained glass windows. Some of them very old.”
I wanted to stay away from all churches, but hiding wouldn’t help anything. “You think she’s going there?”
“Yes.” Claudia pulled on her braid, like she did when she was nervous. “I think so. To the Santa Fe area specifically.”
“How sure are you?”
Her gaze met mine. “Pretty sure.”
Do you think we should go? I asked Dastien, hoping he’d say no. I didn’t want to leave St. Ailbe’s. Even with everything that was going on, it was my home. I felt the safest when I was here. And I didn’t want to leave my parents. Especially after what had happened last night.
Her face has been plastered all over the news, so it makes sense that she’d leave town. We were expecting her to attack campus, but there has to be a reason she hasn’t yet. I don’t know what’s changed for her, but if what Claudia says is right, then… His determination filled the bond. As he worked through his answer, I could feel him coming to a decision he was sure of. Yes. We should go after her. We can’t let her get away this time.
If that was where she was, then yes, we should go after her, but we didn’t know that. Why would she leave now? After all this time? I felt like I was missing a piece of the puzzle, and I didn’t like that. Not one bit. We don’t have any proof that she went to New Mexico.
What does your gut say?
I closed my eyes and tried to force a vision of the future, but I didn’t see anything. I wanted scream, but that wouldn’t solve the problem. A part of me I wished that I’d never met Luciana Alvarez. That could still have visions like I used to. That I could touch something and see the past and—
Oh shit. I’m an idiot.
I’d been so focused on how my visions had evolved, that I’d forgotten how it all started. I hadn’t even tried using them to see the past. Not for a while.
I reached for the book, and hesitated with my fingers hovering just over the page. “I’m going to touch it and see whatever Luciana was doing with it last.” I knew it. By saying it aloud, I reinforced my will. I placed my hand on the book and relaxed.
As I exhaled, the vision washed over me.
Luciana’s magic room filled my vision. Flashes of blood. Death. A hint of sulfur.
But I wasn’t seeing anything specific. Only flashes.
I focused, drawing power from Dastien, as I concentrated. This was the answer. I had to hang on.
Another flash. A splatter of candle wax. Some chanting.
And then the smell of sulfur grew. Luciana’s face came into view as she placed the book on a s
