I checked my phone. 2:32. According to my research, the exact equinox was at 2:35. My breaths shaky, I held the notepad in one hand and José’s picture in the other. His abuela stood in front of a small but beautiful beach house. She seemed to be no older than a teenager, and she stood next to a handsome couple, undoubtedly her parents. It seemed the house had been in the Bardales family for at least a few generations. On the back, someone had written their names in an untidy script: Luis y Carmen Bardales y su hija Gloria.
I swallowed. My lower lip trembled. My eyes closed for a moment as my very bones shivered with anticipation and fear. Then I opened my eyes and read the spell:
“Ancient powers, I summon thee,
To gather winds and carry me.
Hasten my journey through time and space,
And bring me to my desired place.”
I waited, my heart frozen with fear. My fingers crushed the notepad, and I resisted the urge to bite my nails.
The cauldron rattled. A deep humming noise consumed me. Fierce winds billowed around me, tousling my curls in front of my eyes. Startled, I dropped the photograph and notepad and shoved the hair out of my face.
The cauldron’s rattling intensified until a small funnel cloud formed within, swirling the ingredients into a sickening tornado. Thunder roared overhead, and a flash of lightning elicited a startled shriek from my lips.
More flashes of lightning. It grew closer and closer until I swore the next bolt would electrify me.
White light consumed me. Thunder blasted in my ears and into my skull. I couldn’t see or hear anything. Wind tore at my skin and hair and clothes until I was so dizzy I knew I would fall.
I screamed, but my voice was lost in the storm.
Chapter 4
I COLLAPSED. GRASS and dirt broke my fall. Smoke met my nostrils. With my face buried in the grass, I waited to be sure the storm wouldn’t assault me again. But the wind, thunder, and lightning had vanished. Heat warmed my back. Was it daytime in Miami?
My ears still rang from the blast of thunder. As my senses returned, other chaotic noises, much different from the storm, erupted around me. Shouts. Gunshots. Explosions.
I slowly sat up, my arms and legs shaking. Huge, grassy hills surrounded me. In the distance, puffs of black smoke drifted into the sky. The thick humidity in the air suffocated me, expanding my already frizzy hair and clogging my air passages. I sucked in a breath, but the moisture in the air was so thick it felt like breathing through a straw.
Boom.
I jumped, toppling onto my back. I scrambled to my knees, squinting at the hills before me. Hundreds of figures ran through the clouds of smoke. Most of them held long guns, and one bore an American flag.
Okay . . . a reenactment maybe? I wondered in bewilderment.
I raised a hand to block the sun from my eyes, but I couldn’t get a better look. I could’ve sworn they were dressed as old-time militiamen with dark blue uniforms, tall brown boots, and old-fashioned hats.
A series of deafening explosions rocked the ground beneath me. I yelped and covered my ears as thunderous blasts rattled my eardrums and shook the earth. Once again, I fell, my heart roaring and my stomach quivering. I couldn’t tell if it was from fear or from the booming cannon fire.
I covered my head with my hands, hoping to appear as small as possible. Blast after blast hit the earth, spraying dirt and debris everywhere. Though the battle was at least a mile away, I swore I felt flecks of dirt and rubble hit my head.
It’s just a reenactment, right? I told myself uncertainly. They’ll stop soon.
And they did. At least, they stopped firing the cannons. But more men shouted, and the gunfire continued.
Still shaking like a mouse, I lifted my head. The soldiers continued their march through the fray, firing guns and shouting. Just beyond the soldiers were trenches, which were lined by what looked like giant bags of sand.
They’re really going all out, I thought, my wide eyes drinking in the chaos around me. I’ve never heard of a reenactment like this. Those can’t be real guns, right?
I didn’t want to stick around to find out.
I took several trembling deep breaths and rose to my feet. Then I sprinted down the hill, away from the soldiers and their guns and cannons. Ragged breaths tore through my chest as my legs pushed and pushed. Blasts and explosions rang out from behind me, but I didn’t look back.
The hill descended, and I lost my footing. I tumbled and rolled through grass, weeds, and dirt, my limbs flailing.
When I finally stopped rolling, I coughed and wheezed, spitting grass out of my mouth. So graceful, Desi. I wiped the dirt from my jeans as best I could, but it was impossible to improve my appearance. I officially looked like a homeless woman.
I groaned and tucked my curls behind my ears. My fingers caught a few twigs from my hair. I discarded them and climbed to my feet. My legs ached, but I pressed forward, walking toward a collection of huge, towering buildings in the distance.
As the buildings drew nearer, my feet felt more and more like they would fall off. Heat enveloped me. My forehead and neck were covered in a lovely sheen of sweat that transformed my dirt stains to mud. I wiped my brow and my hand came back even muddier than before. My curls were plastered to the back of my neck from the sweat and humidity. Mosquitoes buzzed around me, and I impatiently waved my hand to ward them off.
Get help. Find a phone. Call José. I can get through this. Even if I was an exhausted mess, it would still be worth it. The spell took me thousands of
