“Thanks again for coming back for me,” I said, not meeting his gaze as I gathered my frizzy hair and peeled it off my sweaty neck. “That was risky, going back into demon territory. How did you manage it without anyone getting killed or captured?”
Oliver shrugged one shoulder and fixed his eyes forward, his jaw tense. “I had the coven on my side.”
I frowned and looked at him again. Something hard and dark shadowed his expression. I almost asked him what he wasn’t telling me, but the words stopped in my throat. Nosy questions were my pet peeve.
“You and the coven are an impressive group of Hunters,” I said, not sure why I kept complimenting him. It was all I could think of to fill the silence. And as long as I filled the silence, he wouldn’t ask me any probing questions.
“You must not encounter many Hunters or Huntresses then,” Oliver said with a snort.
I laughed. “No, not really. Ballet isn’t exactly a common interest between me and other witches.”
“Why not?”
I chuckled again and then realized he was serious. My smile slid off my face. “I, uh . . . well, everyone else is more focused on Demonhunting. It’s like—when the United States declared war on Spain, and you volunteered to fight. What if one of your friends chose to, I don’t know, become a professional baseball player instead?”
Oliver’s eyebrows lowered, his mouth twisting into a grimace. “That’s not the same thing.”
“Sure it is.”
“So you’re at war? In your time?”
I hesitated. Then, slowly, I nodded. “Technically, yes. Even if there’s been no official declaration from the Council. It’s not like this, though.” I gestured around us. “Levarret is a bit more subtle with his attacks. I’m sure half the population doesn’t even know it’s a problem.”
“Levarret?”
A lump formed in my throat. “Third Tier demon in my time.” Emotion choked my words, and I cleared my throat. I felt Oliver’s eyes on me. Say something else. Change the subject.
Dust swirled along the road, rising higher and higher like a funnel cloud. Heavy footfalls pounded on the dirt.
I froze, my eyes widening. The particles in the air stung my eyes, blinding me. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear out the debris.
A deep, snake-like hiss tickled my ear, and chills rippled up and down my spine.
“Desi, get down!” Oliver shouted.
Something heavy collided with me from behind. I yelped as it brought me to the ground. My palms broke my fall, scraping against rocks and concrete. The crushing weight squeezed the breath out of me as I turned my head to get a better look at my assailant.
A familiar woodsy scent reached my nose, and I stiffened. It was Oliver.
“What are you doing?” I grunted as his chest pressed against my back. I exhaled and wriggled my shoulders, trying to free myself. My palms throbbed from the sharp rocks poking against my skin. My nostrils flared. What the hell is wrong with him?
“Be quiet,” he said, his voice sharpening through gritted teeth.
His tone silenced me, and I held perfectly still, my heartbeat roaring in my ears. Another loud hiss pierced the air close enough to whisper against my arms and raise goosebumps along my skin. Something heavy stepped right next to me. The smell of wet fur and rotten fish reached my nose, but the swirling dirt obscured the creature from view. Heavy, feral breathing raised the hair on the back of my neck.
My arms shook. I held my breath, but my heart pounded a thunderous rhythm, sure to give us away.
Oliver’s breath blew against my hair as he whispered,
“Magic above, I summon thee,
To obscure us from this enemy.”
A light, almost imperceptible blue glow hovered around us, kind of like the weird, subtle colors I would see if I wore a pair of 3D glasses.
The creature next to us sniffed loudly and growled. Its foul breath stung my nose, smelling like murky pond scum from a mosquito-infested swamp.
I clenched my teeth, biting down so hard that my jaw throbbed. The creature was right next to me—mere inches away. Sweat poured down my face and neck. My body quivered, and bile climbed up my throat. I was such a coward. Why couldn’t I stand up and fight? Why did I have to hide and cower like this?
Oliver’s arm pressed against mine. I closed my eyes, my head spinning as I searched for something else to occupy my mind. Oliver’s scent. The smoky gunpowder mingled with freshly mown grass soothed my raging pulse. His warm arms covered mine like a heavy blanket, pressing so firmly that my trembling body stilled.
Gradually, the creature’s footsteps retreated farther down the road. With its departure, the dust storm faded and then vanished, leaving an ominous stillness. My breaths quickened as I waited for it to return. Eventually, though, the thumping of my heart slowed as the silence stretched on and on. It was gone.
I swallowed. “Is it safe to move?” I whispered.
“I think so.”
Oliver slowly scooted off me, and my cramped limbs screamed in protest as I stood, dusting the dirt from my skirt. I shook my head, and dirt and small pebbles rained from my curls.
Oliver laughed, and I scowled at him, crossing my arms again.
“What was that thing?” I asked.
“A Wendigo.”
I dropped my arms in shock. “What? No—they’re extinct!” Wendigos were the kind of monster people would tell stories about to get their children to behave or to impress their friends at a campfire.
“I’m afraid not,” Oliver said, his eyes darting nervously down the path where the creature had vanished. “But they aren’t native to Cuba. I’ve only ever seen them in America, in the North. Which means—”
“—one of them followed the soldiers here,” I finished.
“Or El Diablo summoned one,” Oliver said. “That wouldn’t surprise me either.” He looked at me, frowning. “How are they extinct in your time?”
“The Council destroyed them all because they couldn’t be reasoned with. They had no morals, no sense of right and wrong.” The stories from my childhood had given me
