Visions of Skyfire

Chapter 56

They didn’t go far.

Rune ended the jump just a few miles from Palenque, landing them in a deserted area of the rain forest. Monkeys chattered, a jaguar roared from somewhere nearby and a waterfall surged down a cliff, cool mist spraying into the air.

“Where are we?” Teresa asked, surprised that he’d ended their jump so quickly.

He didn’t answer. Instead, his mouth a grim slash, he grabbed the bird off her shoulder and wrung its small neck with a twist of his hands.

Horrified, Teresa screamed and lunged for him just as a thick twist of black smoke lifted from the dead bird and quickly dissipated in the breeze. “Oh, my God.”

Rune dropped the dead animal to the jungle floor and reached for her. Instinctively, she took a step back, shaking her head in disbelief. What had she just seen?

“What? What’s happening? What was that smoke? How … ?”

He let his empty hands fall to his sides. Pity swirled in his gray eyes as he met her gaze. “I’m sorry, Teresa. At the temple, when Miguel tried to get past the barrier— your bird tried, too. It hit the energy field and bounced away. It couldn’t pass.”

She looked down at the bright, colorful bird that had been her companion for two years and an empty, hollow feeling opened up inside her.

“It was possessed by a demon. A familiar,” he said, his voice so gentle that his words were nearly lost in the rush of the nearby waterfall. “When I saw that it couldn’t enter the temple, I knew. Teresa, every time it flew off, it must have been reporting to someone. It explains how Miguel knew exactly where we were.”

Shaking her head, Teresa pressed one hand to her churning stomach. The sense of betrayal was so deep, so keenly edged, she felt as if she were bleeding internally. She had talked to Chico, told him her fears, her hopes. She’d had him with her when she went to visit her grandmother and practice her magical skills. He had been with her when she did spells, when she visited Elena—“Oh, God, he must have sent whoever killed her to Elena’s place.”

“Probably.” He reached out for her again and this time she didn’t sidestep.

Instead she moved into the circle of his arms and let his strength surround her. Memories flooded her mind. Chico had been a gift from Miguel. Had he known even then what he would do? Of course he had, she told herself. He’d planted the demon familiar with her to keep an eye on her and report on what she was up to.

Then something else occurred to her. She leaned back, looked up into Rune’s eyes and said, “Chico was with us in the van. When I told you about Tía Carmen and about Barcelona.” She looked down at the broken little body and felt anger stir. “He flew off as soon as we got to Palenque, remember? So he probably already reported what he heard.”

“Probably.” His expression didn’t change, which told Teresa that he had already realized that truth.

“That means—”

“—we’ll have enemies waiting for us in Spain.” Rune finished for her. “I know. But that changes nothing.”

“No,” she agreed, “it doesn’t. We’ll still go. And we’ll still claim the Artifact.”

“Damn right we will,” he murmured, smoothing her hair back from her face with a gentle touch.

Teresa had now officially lost everything. Her home. Her best friend. Her grandmother. Even her pet had been taken from her by an evil that still wasn’t finished with her. Her old life was shattered and lay in ruins at her feet.

But looking up into Rune’s gray eyes, she could feel his fierce strength and unswerving loyalty surrounding her, and she knew a new life was being born. Rising up from the ashes, her own personal phoenix was becoming something else. Something formidable. Her spirit lifted to the challenge. Her heart soared as she admitted to the deep and abiding love she felt for this Eternal. This immortal who made her feel more alive than ever before.

Whatever came next, she would be prepared for it.

With Rune at her side, no enemy was strong enough to defeat them.

“You ready?” he asked, one corner of his mouth lifting into a half smile.

“Yeah,” she said, hooking her arms around his neck. “Take me to Spain, Rune.”