glow, turning an iridescent white like an opal.
“What the...”
I had always imagined that the stones I found had
grown hot to the touch, but this was different. I had never
seen a stone glow like that before. As if by magic.
I smiled in delight as I put the stone in my pocket and
made my way out of the cave, eager to examine the stone
more closely in the light.
“How did you find this cave?”
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I whirled around in shock to bump into a large,
broad-shoulder man, sporting the distinctive face paint of the
Veteri. His face was furious.
Damn it, I thought. Not again. I knew for a fact I
wasn't that far into the mountains – I couldn't have been more
than a half hour off the trail. And if the Veteri wanted to keep
their existence safe, they really had to stop hanging out so
close to tourist attractions.
I looked more closely at the man. With a sigh of relief
I noted that he wasn't one of the men I had seen on Saturday.
Maybe he wasn't as keen on secrecy as the others were.
“I just found it,” I said. “I was taking a walk.”
“Tourists never find this cave…” He looked almost
as surprised as angry.
“Well, I'm not a tourist,” I said. “I live here.”
He stepped forward, and instinctively I took a step
back. “You must return what you have taken from the cave,
tourist. Or you must suffer the curse.”
How did he know about the stone?
“Curse?” I gaped at him. “Look, I'm sorry – I'll put it
back...I didn't know. I was just collecting stones.”
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“Well, collect your stones far from here!” he
bellowed.
“No need to scare the girl, Victorinus!” Before I
could respond, Chance bounded into view. “No weapons –
she's not a tourist. She's safe.” He turned to me. “You'd think
you'd have learned your lesson by now, Evers.”
“But that stone...” Victorinus was insisting. “It's
sacred. In all my years – I've watched treasure hunters come
this way, trying to collect the stones...”
“She's not trying to collect anything,” said Chance.
“She's just being dumb and walking around.”
“Hey!”
“She doesn't even know what the stones mean!”
“But she has taken one!” the man insisted. “How will
it please the goddess if one of her stones is missing?
“She's not a treasure hunter,” Chance rolled his eyes.
“And...” He stopped short and turned to me, grabbing my
arm. “Wait, you took a stone?” Suddenly, his whole
expression changed – his customary hardness vanished, and
a look almost like joy came over his face.
“A round orange one, like a ball. It did this weird
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glowing thing in the cave – I just wanted to get a better
look...”
“You found it in the cave? ” Chance gaped at me.
“I just said that! Really, Cutter – start listening
better.” I didn't know what Chance was up to, but I didn't like
it. He'd been messing with me too much for my liking.
“You're not lying?”
“Why would I lie?”
“You saw the paintings, then?” Chance's lips curled
into a grimace. “Describe them.”
“Why wouldn't you believe me? There's this
fireplace and this bonfire and then something that looks like
the sun, and then there was an animal – I don't know, a goat
or a sheep or something? My flashlight died...” I put my
hands on my hips. “Listen, Cutter, go see them yourself if
you want.”
Chance said nothing. He turned to Victorinus.
“Leave us,” he said, and with a grumble the man stalked off.
“What was that about? What's the deal with the cave?
I wasn't anywhere near the mountains – I can't be more than
a mile off-trail! And, frankly, I'm sick of getting harassed
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every time I go hiking. Your dad owns a nature hotel. With
hiking trails. If your guests get threatened every time they
go hiking you're going to close down in no time...”
“Guests aren't supposed to find these places,”
Chance scowled.
“Well, then you shouldn't put your bloody trails near
them!”
“They're protected by magic!” Chance shouted, then
stopped short, clapping a hand over his mouth.
“What are you talking about? You really are insane!”
I scoffed. But something about what Chance had just said –
ridiculous as it was – brought back the feeling I'd had at the
bonfire. A feeling deep within the pit of my stomach that
what Chance had just said was true.
We were protected by magic.
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Chapter 13
“I'm not making this up,” Chance said softly.
“Well, if you're not, why don't you start explaining,”
I sighed. “What do you mean magic?”
“Even I can't enter this cave,” said Chance. “Evers,
listen...”
“Mac,” I sighed. “Or does only your special goddess
get that name? If this is some sort of weird Chance prank,
I'm sick of it.”
“You're right,” Chance said sarcastically. “I must
have made that stone glow in your hands. I must have made
it happen from all the way over here for a prank. Or maybe,
Evers, you could listen to me for once.”
“Fine, go ahead.”
“The two places you've ended up in trouble – tourists
are supposed to not be able to see them. If they head towards
one of the Veteri areas, their minds are enchanted to convince
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