I took a breath. “I’ve been around a very dangerous witch my whole life. So far, I’m still alive, despite it all. I plan to stay that way.” Back to reality. I hopped down from the car, and slammed the door, not looking back as I stepped toward the lobby. I didn’t dare glance back and see whatever expression he was wearing now.
I checked my watch. It wasn’t quite dinnertime, and I didn’t really want to mope in my bedroom all evening. I could find Matt, but chances were we couldn’t visit the mages today anyhow.
It’d have to wait for morning like Lucas had planned.
So, what now?
I needed to check on Raphael. I felt so far away from him. We’d never been apart like this. And with everything… It was like he was gone.
I’d take an oath with Luciana a million times over if I thought it’d do any good, but I guess I’d learned that lesson. We’d always end up here, with someone I loved in danger. That was how Luciana built her power.
I had to save him. Then, I’d break the oath and get rid of her one way or another.
Breaking the oath…
I walked through hotel in a half daze, thinking about what Lucas had said. If he meant what I was pretty sure he meant, then I could bond with him and it would all be over.
But did I want that? I always thought I’d marry another witch. Even though I was a little jealous of what Teresa had, I didn’t want to be a wolf. I couldn’t imagine fitting into that lifestyle with Lucas or anyone else.
I slid the key into my hotel room door, and my twindar went crazy, stopping me in my tracks.
Raphael. Something was wrong with Raphael.
I rushed inside and dumped out the contents of my purse, looking for Raphael’s stupid flip phone.
Damn it. Why do I keep so much junk in my purse?
I spotted the black square, and grabbed it with shaking hands. It took me two tries to dial Adrian’s number correctly.
As soon as Adrian picked up, I could hear yelling.
“What’s going on?”
“Your brother is losing it, that’s what’s going on! He nearly bit Beth. We’re trying to tie him down. Hang on.” The phone clattered as it dropped.
A bunch of shouting and screaming that I couldn’t make out echoed through the line before it went quiet.
Please let everything be okay.
I paced the room with the phone glued to my ear. Maybe I wouldn’t mind being a wolf. At least then I could hear what was going on.
It felt like a million years passed before Adrian picked up the phone again. “You still there?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Is he okay?”
“He’s alive.”
“That’s not the same thing, and you know it.”
He let out a breath. “How close are you to finding something to fix him?”
“I don’t know. I have a lead, but I’m not sure what I’ll find. It could be a day. It could be five. I need time.” My anxiety level shot through the roof. What if I took too long? What if after all this, I found what I needed and I was too late to save him?
He had to hang on.
“Claudia… I just… I don’t know if he’s got that kind of time.”
I thought hard and fast. There had to be something I could do. “Is he sedated?”
“Yeah. But the drugs are wearing off faster and faster. He was only knocked out for an hour and a half before he ripped apart our RV and I gave him enough to put out an Alpha. We nearly wrecked… I don’t think we can stay on the road much longer.”
I let out a breath. Last I knew they were in Mexico City. “Where are you now?”
“We’re almost to Guatemala. We’ve been taking turns driving, so we’re going as fast as we can.”
If they couldn’t make it all the way here, then I’d have to find a way to get to them. I’d had a few hours between flights at the Lima airport, so I’d scanned the flight boards. There’d been a lot of people traveling to Central and South America, but I’d seen a lot of flights headed to Costa Rica. “Okay. San Jose is in between here and there. And I think there are regular flights from Peru. Can you get there?”
“Yeah. We can make it that far.”
“Good. I’ll meet you there.” I took a steadying breath. “Four days.” I could do it in four. I just had to hurry. “Just give me four days.”
“I’ll do my best. But I’m not God. There’s nothing more we can do for him until you get here.”
Maybe I could do something for him. “Put me on speaker. I’m going to do a healing chant.”
“Does that work over the phone?”
God. I hoped so. “I’ve never tried it, but it can’t hurt.”
The phone clicked and I could hear the background noise in the room. “Beth? Shane?”
“Yeah?” they said.
“I’m doing a healing chant. Join in if you want.”
“Okay,” Shane said. “We’re ready. You lead. We’ll follow.”
I started singing an old song that talked of healing the soul and body. The tone was repetitive, which was supposed to be soothing. As a kid, I’d hated this chant, but now I was glad my mother had forced me to learn it.
The words slid off my tongue and with them, magic sparked. My voice twined with Beth and Shane’s. I focused my power melding with theirs, strengthening their magic. As the power grew, I felt myself growing tired, and I reveled in it.
It was working.