A wobbly smile spread across Mom’s lips, and her eyes watered again. She rubbed my hand in hers. “I know, Desi. But it’s time for you to go back. You still have work to do.”
I closed my eyes as more tears fell down my face.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Mom said. “And you can do this without me. You already have.”
A knot formed in my throat. I swallowed and nodded.
“I love you so much, Desi.”
“I love you too,” I whispered thickly.
I buried my face in her shoulder, inhaling her sweet scent so I could memorize it and preserve it forever. Her warm arms encircled me as the white light surrounding us intensified, blinding me and obscuring her from view.
“Desi?”
I turned my head, and Mom’s scent faded.
No! Don’t leave me!
“Desi, you’re awake!”
“No . . .”
Pain exploded around me, stabbing me repeatedly like a blade. The white light diminished until only the darkness behind my eyelids remained.
And Mom was gone.
Fresh, hot tears leaked out of my eyes, but as they trailed along my cheeks, crippling agony accompanied them. I felt pain everywhere. My face. My legs. My toes.
But especially in my chest.
With every breath I took, scorching pain seared through my body. My chest shook and my stomach clenched until I started heaving.
A voice beside me said something that I couldn’t understand. Her voice was firm and urgent.
I vomited. A sickening splash met my ears.
I finally opened my eyes and found the contents of my last meal floating in a bowl. The sight made me heave again.
Someone withdrew the bowl and held a small green plant in front of my face. I sniffed, and the warm spicy scent tickled my nose and cleared my foggy brain. For the briefest moment, I forgot about the pain.
My eyes focused on the figure beside me. I’d expected Alba, but instead a woman with dark brown skin and a warm smile greeted me. She wore a long, flowing green dress, and beads and trinkets hung from her neck.
She turned and spoke Spanish to someone nearby, though I was too dizzy to focus on the words.
Another face loomed into view, but this one was familiar. Sofia, the Santería priestess. She wore a plain gray dress, and her hair was pulled up in the same colorful turban I’d seen her in before. Beads and trinkets similar to the other woman’s hung around Sofia’s neck.
“Desi, can you hear me?” she asked.
Slowly, my head jerked up and down in response.
“How do you feel?”
A small moan escaped my lips. “Pain,” I croaked.
Sofia nodded, her eyes serious. “You’re lucky to be alive. But I need to ensure that you are of sound mind before I perform the healing ritual.”
I squinted at the woman in the green dress. “Who are you?”
The woman smiled. “Me llamo Esperanza.”
A shock rippled through me. She’s mortal.
I swallowed and looked at Sofia. “Where’s Oliver?”
“He’s resting in another room, but he’s safe. Once you are healed, you can see him.”
I nodded, closing my eyes.
“Relax, Desi.”
My rattled breaths gradually slowed as my mind distanced itself from the pain. Warm and calming scents filled my nose, some sweet and some spicy. Heat swirled around me, lulling me to a peaceful, dream-like state.
Sofia and Esperanza began chanting something, but I wasn’t paying attention. Colors and shapes blended in my mind like a kaleidoscope. The pain completely left my body as I focused on the images floating in my mind at the edge of consciousness.
I faded in and out. More smells reached my nose. A faint rattling noise sounded nearby. More chanting. Something wet touched my skin, briefly bringing me out of my haze.
At some point, I fell asleep. When my eyes opened later, Sofia and Esperanza were gone. The scents remained, but my body was clothed in a long, brown dress, and the pain in my chest had reduced to a small ache.
I sat up, my head spinning, and stretched my arms.
No pain.
“Incredible,” I whispered.
My eyes raked around the unfamiliar room. It was a very small space with a bed crammed into a corner. Shelves and tables lined the walls, covered in various ethnic-looking clay statues and pots. Some pots held grainy substances; others held plants. Several candles were lit on another table. Against the wall hung several African-looking masks that stared at me as if unveiling my darkest secrets. A table stood next to me, covered in a black tablecloth upon which rested what looked like a headless chicken. Blood oozed from the stump of its neck, and already the smell of roadkill filled the room.
I suppressed a shudder and raised a hand to my collarbone. Something’s missing . . .
I shot to my feet. Alarm raced through me.
Oliver cast the time travel spell.
I lurched forward and threw open the door, looking around. A dark hallway loomed before me, and I realized it must be nighttime. “Oliver?” I hissed down the hallway.
Silence.
Then . . . “Desi?”
My heart leapt in my throat. I hurried down the hallway toward the voice until I reached another door. I burst through it, my pulse racing, and found Oliver lying on a bed similar to mine except he was tied down to the bed with ropes.
My mouth fell open, and I rushed to his side. “Frack, Oliver! Why did they tie you up?”
My hands fumbled with the ropes, but his fingers caught mine. I stopped and looked into his eyes, which filled with tears. Purple shadows lined his eyes, and his face looked paler than normal.
“Desi, you’re alive,” he croaked, offering a wobbly smile.
I touched his cheeks as tears pooled and spilled from his eyes. “Oliver, what happened to you? Didn’t they heal you?”
He nodded. “The blood bond . . .”
My eyes rounded. Dread dragged my heart down to my stomach. “El Diablo? What happened to him?”
“I cast the time travel spell, and he grabbed your leg. I think he traveled with us.”
I stiffened and looked around in a panic, expecting him to appear behind me.
“I
