to Rishi with motherly love, then to me with her usual stoic face. “I

do not have to remind you she is at the most risk.”

“I get it,” Rishi says. “I’m human, blah, blah.”

“Your disregard for the dangers of this land tells me you do not,

as you say, get it . But your path is your own to take.”

“Hold up,” Nova says, making a T with his hands. “If we take the

fork on the right, that means we end up at the Forest of Lights. You

said that was burned to a crisp.”

“Yes. The Devourer won’t chase after you in a wasteland.”

Nova looks unsure.

“You asked for my advice, and I am giving it to you. Follow this

tunnel to the other side of the caves. The path leads to the fork in

the road. Keep to the right path through the Wastelands del Este and

to the mountain pass. Be wary. Your presence here is known. Servants

of the Devourer roam the land and report any strangers they see.”

“The maloscuros,” I say.

“Among other beasts,” Madra says. “The saberskins, the giants

guarding the labyrinth, and sea monsters swim in Mar del Fin. Travel

swiftly and look twice at anyone or anything. Los Lagos is a fluid

land, and so are its inhabitants.”

I feel like I’m walking myself off a plank. A chorus of off-key

caws mark our final good-bye.

“Remember.” Madra’s deep voice follows me and echoes against

stone. “At the fork in the road, keep to the right path. The Devourer

does not free the power she takes. Be careful you are not caught by

her shadows.”

I find myself turning to Nova, who starts to lead us into the

tunnel. And I think to myself, It’s a good thing I’ve got a boy made

of light.

21

In the woods, I found the love de mis amores.

He was there at the end de mis dolores.

- Folk song, Book of Cantos

We walk down the tunnel in silence. Rishi kicks stones out of the

way. They roll like dice down our path. Nova cracks his knuckles over

and over. I think the lines on his arms are stretching farther up. Why

won’t he talk about it? I think about the recoil of my magic. I

examine my hands. All I’ve had to show so far are bruises that have

begun to fade. Passing out isn’t exactly my idea of fun, but I wonder

if it’s better than permanent marks.

I listen to the steady hum of life beneath the tunnel. The stones,

the minerals, even the stream that runs through the caves. I can feel

all of it calling to me like a long-lost friend. Madra said the

Devourer is sucking up all the life from these lands. If there is

nothing left, would she try to find a new place to destroy?

“You all right, Ladybird?” Nova asks, not looking back at me.

“Just wishing I’d brought a bottle of painkillers.”

“Why can you heal others but not yourself?” Rishi asks.

“We’re not supposed to use our powers for our own benefit,” I say.

“That sucks.”

“It’s not so bad,” I lie. I should say, It isn’t as bad as Nova’s

, but I don’t. I wonder why my recoil is different from his. My mom

says there aren’t truly evil or good brujas. That our powers are the

same blessings and it’s up to us to choose how to use them. Perhaps

the marks come when a brujo uses his powers for bad. They cover Nova’s

hands, forearms. They ring around his heart… Maybe I’m trying to see a

good in Nova that doesn’t exist.

Rishi picks up her pace to walk at my side. She’s a funny sight in

her black dress and broken black wings, but that’s what I love about

her. She’s completely and unabashedly herself, no matter who’s around.

“You’re practically a bird,” I say, playfully tugging at her hair.

“That’s what I want to be in my next life,” she says. “Being

people is too hard sometimes. I just want to shower in birdbaths and

fly like the wind.”

Nova looks over his shoulder briefly. His bright eyes trace my

face. Then he shakes his head. Whatever he might have said is

dispelled into the dark of the tunnel. He keeps walking with his hands

in his pockets.

“Where did tall, dark, and ugly come from?” Rishi whispers.

Ugly is the last word I’d use to describe Nova. He walks with his

head down, and I try to picture him walking down the street. If I saw

him walking opposite me, before I knew him, I’d probably cross to the

other side. Now that I know him, I want him walking with me.

“Rishi, be nice.”

“I guess if you’re into muscles and tattoos or whatever,” Rishi

says.

“He’s a family friend.”

“If that’s what you call a hired lackey.” She makes a face. “It’s

like I’m seeing a whole new side of you. I’m not complaining . It’s

just that you’ve been this kind of blurred version of yourself and now

what I see is more crystal clear.”

“Are you freaked?”

“Do I look freaked?” She looks at me, trying to pull me into a

staring contest.

I shove her playfully. “Not enough.”

Her wings brush against my arm. Nova looks at us again.

“I’m glad you’re here though,” I tell her. “You have to know that

this isn’t a fairy tale.”

She slings her arm around my shoulders. “You’re magic, Alex.

You’re like my human shield.”

Nova reaches the end of the tunnel first. Tiny creatures flutter

through miles and miles of sharp-green grass as tall as Nova’s

shoulders. The ring of sun and the crescent moon travel across the

swirling, purple sky. I’m thankful the gloomy, gray rain is gone. I’m

thankful the moon and sun aren’t close enough to eclipse. I’m thankful

we still have time.

We cut through the wild grass. It practically swallows Rishi and

me whole. Nova could pass for a disembodied head walking across the

top of the emerald-green sea. Giant flowers grow in brilliant shades

of red, yellow, and orange. We use our knives and the mace to part our

way and keep the flower’s thorny vines from scratching our skin.

Still, when we reach the road at the clearing, my arms are covered in

dozens of thin scratches.

The road here is dusty and sunken in, like thousands of feet have

walked across it. Who were they? I wonder. What were they searching

for?

Nova reaches for something around his neck-his prex, but it’s

gone. Instead, he kisses the back of his thumb. “Thank El Papa for our

passage.”

Rishi gives me a sideways glance and shrugs. I’ve got no one to

ask blessings to because I know in my heart I don’t deserve it.

Instead, I lower my head and ask El Guardia, Protector of All Living

Things, to watch over my family.

We get to the fork in twenty minutes. I press on the sides of my

watch. When it beeps, Nova’s eye twitches, but he doesn’t say

anything. Instead, he stares at the paths in front of us.

“I’m not sure about this,” he says.

“Madra said to take the right path,” I say.

“Why are you so eager to trust the birds over me?”

Rishi coughs into her hand and says something that sounds like, “

Thief .”

“Let’s look at this objectively,” I say. “The left path leads to

the trail I wanted to take between Bone Valle and the Poison Garden.”

“I don’t know how I feel about bones or poison,” Rishi says.

“See?” Nova asks.

I scoff. “ Now you agree with each other.”

The left fork looks bulldozed, cleared of trees and rubble.

“Now let’s look at my path,” Nova says, pointing to the one in the

middle. The way is green and vibrant, lined by lush trees. White

butterflies flutter by the dozens. When the wind blows, petals and

leaves fall to the ground. Fuzzy animals that remind me of overgrown

hamsters race from tree trunk to tree trunk. “It’s goddamn angelic is

what it is.”