Bruja

“You got it.”


I let him pass by me and waited for a count of five before following. After a short few minutes, he stopped.

“It’s here.” He ran the light up and down the tunnel walls, but no break or gap was visible. Even the ceiling looked solid.

“We’re missing something,” I said.

“Can you see anything? Any auras?”

I shook my head. “Just a faint residual glow from the crystals. Nothing that points the way.”

“Okay.” He squatted down, and dug a little groove in the floor to prop up the flashlight. “Our eyes aren’t seeing anything, but maybe our hands will. You take that wall.” He pointed behind me. “I’ll take this one.”

I turned and crouched down to start at the bottom I ran my hands along the crystals, not caring if the sharp edges nicked my skin. They stuck out at odd angles, growing out of each other in clusters, but there were no seams or holes. I couldn’t find a break. Not anywhere.

“Are you sure we’re in the right spot?” I asked.

“We’re in the right spot.” His voice had a hint of growl in it.

I turned to find him squatting at the ground, staring at the wall. “Sorry. I wasn’t trying to—”

“I’m not angry at you. I’m just frustrated.” He quickly stood and glared at Gobble. “And he’s not helping. He knows how to make this door appear.” Lucas tried to flick the fey, but his wings zipped into motion and he zoomed off my shoulder.

“Not my fault you’re stupid.”

Lucas’ aura was usually so toned down that I didn’t see it unless I focused. Alphas—like Teresa and Dastien—glowed much brighter than other wolves. Apparently Lucas could turn his off and on. In a flash, he lowered the floodgates and I had to blink to adjust to the blinding halo of gold and white.

Gobble shrieked and fled to hide between the crystals on the wall. “Pack Alpha means nothing to me, wolf. You can’t force me.”

Lucas moved fast, snatching a little arm in his hand, but Gobble disappeared—reappearing behind Lucas.

Lucas howled as the little beastie bit down on his ear.

I wanted to wring both of their necks. “Stop it. Neither of you are helping anything.” I turned back to the wall, ignoring those two yahoos. I crossed my arms and stared it down. There had to be something—some clue that would tell me what to do next. I stuck my finger in my mouth and pulled it out, holding it in the air to see if I could feel a breeze.

It was there. Faint but there. In front of me. I felt along the wall again, but there wasn’t a hinge or handle or anything. I pushed with all my might. Nothing budged.

“Push with me,” I said to Lucas.

He joined in, and again, nothing.

“It’s here. I know it.” God. I was so bad at rhyming. I wished my magic pulled me in a different direction, but belief gave the spells power, and somewhere along the line, I’d started believing in rhymes. “Door from here to there, give way. Let in this wolf, witch, and fey.” The magic built as I said the words. For a second after, nothing happened. I held my breath, waiting for something. Anything.

Then a creak echoed through the tunnel. It started off soft and slowly built louder.

I reached out, needing something to hold on to as I waited for the exit to appear, and Lucas grabbed my hand tight.

Oh my God. My heart raced. I found it. I actually found it.

Slowly, a crack formed between the crystals. It wasn’t a straight line. Instead, it followed the curvature of each individual crystal. Finally, the outline became visible.

This was it.

The door opened barely an inch, and then all was quiet.

I let go of Lucas’ hand, and pushed.

This time it swung open like it weighed nothing.

A breeze felt cool along my skin. There was a long staircase, but I could already see the pinks and oranges of the setting sun. I grinned. “We did it.”

“You did it,” Lucas said as he put his arm around my shoulder. His dark eyes sparkled in the light. “You did it.”

“I did, huh?”

“The tasty is no fun. No fun at all,” Gobble said before flying up into the sunlight. He wasn’t getting his deal from me. Not yet. And if all continued to go well, maybe not ever.

“Go on.” Lucas gave me a little push forward.

I started up the stairs. Excitement that we’d finally made it this far made my achy muscles a little bit more bearable. We hadn’t stopped much, but Lucas had occasionally handed me a bar to eat, some jerky, or a bit of dried fruit. I’d taken it and kept going. The urgency to help Raphael had never died down. Even with the exhaustion, I’d been so focused on finding the way that I hadn’t realized how much time had passed. “I can’t believe it’s been a full day.”

Lucas shook his head. “For a bit, I thought we might be sleeping in there.”