Bruja

I thought I’d made it out of the worst of the mess when someone shoved a bowl of dried leaves in my face. “Coca leaves. Take some. Gratis. Free.”


The bowl smelled of earth and something totally unfamiliar and I stepped back on instinct. The lady smiled at me, showing off a few missing teeth. She wore a beautifully embroidered full skirt. Her bright pink cardigan picked up the colors of the thread flowers. Her browned skin was thin and wrinkling, but she kept on smiling at me, holding the bowl, urging me to take what she was offering.

No witch with any common sense would accept unknown herbs from an unknown source. The lady seemed nice, and if she really was offering dried coca leaves, they weren’t harmful by themselves, but that was the problem. They could have other herbs mixed in with them or be coated in something else. And even if taking things from strangers at airports wasn’t stupid to the nth degree, I didn’t know what she wanted me to do with a bunch of dried leaves. They didn’t look particularly edible.

Yeah. I wasn’t going to go down that road. “No, thank—”

“You should take some, princess,” a deep, gravelly voice said from behind me.

Nope. Not gonna happen. I opened my mouth to tell that to the speaker, but as soon as I saw him I couldn’t breathe.

He was the most gorgeous guy I’d ever seen. He grinned down at me, and I nearly melted on the spot. As it was, I was going to embarrass myself staring. His hair was black and cut short, but it looked a little messy. Not like he’d spent all morning trying to get it right, but more like it was just naturally like that. Effortlessly handsome.

And his eyes…

They were so dark brown I couldn’t see the difference between the iris and pupil. Like twin dark pools. If I wasn’t careful, I could get lost in them.

I was inching my gaze down his body, taking in the lovely browned skin, when I finally focused in on his aura. Golden.

A wolf. Of course the mega hot guy was a wolf.

Which means he’s utterly off limits. It was a good thing. That way I wouldn’t be tempted. But as I looked at him, he was more than tempting. I should’ve been used to Weres after St. Ailbe’s, but apparently I wasn’t. He’d taken me totally off guard—so much so that I was forgetting to speak.

He cleared his throat and motioned back to the lady. “The leaves. They’re dried coca—”

“I know what they are, but isn’t cocaine bad? Plus, it’s not good to take things from someone you don’t know.”

He laughed and I held my breath, not wanting to cover that beautiful sound. He picked a couple leaves out of the bowl. “Cocaine happens when you do all kinds of awful things to the plant, but this—” he held them up for me to see “—is natural. Helps with the altitude. If you’re feeling dizzy or short of breath, then chew on the leaves—just let them rest in your mouth—or steep them into a tea. It’s a local remedy.” He stuck one in his mouth and chewed. “See? Perfectly safe.”

I was definitely feeling dizzy and short of breath, but I couldn’t say for sure if it was because of the altitude. “I’m fine.”

He grinned, showing off a perfect row of pearly whites. “If you say so,” he said as he moved past me toward the exit.

I stayed there, standing still as everyone else moved around me. I couldn’t take my eyes off his back as he wove through the chaos, never bumping anyone, moving straight and confident.

My exact opposite.

The lady still stood there expectantly, so I took a handful of leaves against my better judgment and shoved them in my pocket for later as I thanked her.

When I turned back to the exit, my eyes found Him again. He was looking back at me. Was I supposed to follow him? Did he know Muraco, or did he just enjoy watching my awkwardness?

I straightened my shirt, suddenly self-conscious. He winked and my cheeks grew hot as he disappeared through the exit.

Way to play it cool, Claudia. I adjusted my backpack and started walking again. Next time you come across a guy like that, just move on. You’ve got things to do here. Raphael is counting on you.

And great. I’m talking to myself. In my head. Again. But still. Off to a great start.

As soon as I passed through the sliding doors, the cool breeze hit my face. The air was noticeably thinner, making me feel seriously out of shape. I was no Teresa, but I forced myself to do cardio DVDs a few times a week. Apparently, that wasn’t enough to survive Cusco. The leaves were in my pocket… But still, I couldn’t put them in my mouth. Who knew where they came from?

I scanned the parking lot of the tiny airport. It was getting dark, and a sea of people milled. Some were picking up loved ones. Others were tour participants. Cab drivers shouted as they offered the rest cheap rides to hotels.

Where in the hell was Muraco?

I couldn’t afford to mess this up. I didn’t have time for this. I needed to get started looking for these mages.