by Diana Paz
“Double gross,” Julia whispered.
The noises from the kitchen came to an abrupt halt as a bell tolled, loud and insistent. People flooded the courtyard, a confusing mass of frightened faces.
“Now what,” Kaitlyn spat. “Blast him with everyone watching?”
“I—I thought he would escape from us and go back to the portal,” Angie said, her eyes welling with uncertainty. “I hadn’t thought he would glamour himself and remain here.” She spun around, looking from side to side. “We can’t blast him. Not with so many people watching.”
Julia held Kaitlyn’s arm down before she could lift it.
What are you doing?
Kaitlyn’s eyes narrowed on the minotaur as she wrenched her arm free. It doesn’t matter what these people see, Kaitlyn’s voice echoed in her mind. Let them think what they want. We need to blast it.
The pirate-glamoured minotaur scrambled away as a pair of men reached for him, tearing across the courtyard. Kaitlyn raised her hands and shot him with a bolt of magic. He dropped like a rock.
Julia backed away as several people approached them, speaking in Spanish so fast she couldn’t make out a sentence, much less any meaning. She shut her eyes, her lips moving over a single word as she focused on the semi-familiar language. Comprehend.
She had never used that spell on people before, and right away she realized that understanding words on a page was easier than unlocking the language in a person’s mind.
“Fail,” she whispered, still not understanding. Some of the people around them raised their fists and yelled… others made the sign of the cross, their eyes wide as they hurried into the building. A breeze swept over the courtyard, carrying the whispered word Julia kept hearing from their lips.
Brujas.
The word took the form of an image in her thoughts. Comprehend had worked? She glanced at Angie. “Witches,” she said. “Th-they say we’re witches.”
“Sacerdote! Sacerdote!”
Kaitlyn crossed her arms in front of her chest. “He’s calling for a priest. God, these people are so flippin’ superstitious. Come on.” She took hold of the other girls’ arms. As soon as they were connected, Kaitlyn flicked her a gaze. “Julia, you worry way too much. These people are right. We are witches, so let’s use our powers and get the hell out of here.”
“Wai—” but her magic had not even formed before Kaitlyn’s aggressive essence stormed through her.
Kaitlyn never got the chance to cast invisibility. Something shook the world. The explosion boomed so loudly, Julia crouched down and covered her ears. A woman fell to her knees, choking on her tears. Whimpering prayers escaped another woman’s lips as explosions rocked the ground in rapid succession.
“Cannons,” Angie whispered. “It’s an attack.”
The next explosion caused dust to rise and cracks to appear along one side of the ceiling. Incessant bells tolled a frantic cry.
“B-but who—”
“Who do you think?” Kaitlyn snapped. “We’re in the Caribbean.”
A blood-curdling scream rent the sky. She turned in the direction of the god-awful sound. The screaming continued, until another voice rose above the wails. One word yelled with fierce urgency.
“Piratas!”
~ Chapter 17 ~
Julia
Julia followed Angie’s lead, the three of them moving swiftly through the mayhem of frenzied, terrified people. The men who had tried to restrain the minotaur rushed to the spot where he had fallen. The creature’s unconscious form lay helpless on the ground and the men took out shining daggers. Blades rose high and came down with ferocious cries. The minotaur’s blood ran black as oil, spilling over the stone-cobbled ground in a dark pool. Several of the men took a step back, whispering about demon pacts and wondering if the body should be burned.
“I suppose there was no way to avoid that,” Angie murmured as men tried to lift the body.
One of the men cried out in alarm as his hand passed through the minotaur’s body, finding nothing but air. In the space of a few seconds, the dark smudges of the creature’s essence swirled from sight.
“There might be more like him,” Angie said, hurrying through the hacienda and ignoring the ensuing pandemonium. Another cannon tore through the sky. “Cuba was frequented by pirates for centuries. It would be easy for the creatures to hide among a pirate’s crew and kill in sacrifice to the Sorceress. But the creatures have to get onto the ship somehow. They have to reach the pirates—”
“Can we leave the detective work for when there isn’t a group of pirates storming a small town that we happen to be in?” Julia asked. She tried to wave away the increasingly smoky air. She thought of the small houses huddled along the coast, exposed except for a wall that was probably becoming a crumbled heap against the pirates’ cannons.
“Wait,” Kaitlyn said, holding Angie back. “How do you know we’re in Cuba?”
Angie met her accusing gaze with an even one. “When I used Comprehend, I searched through someone’s thoughts.”
Kaitlyn’s lips parted. She released her. “I thought you only used the magic for good—”
“She did it to help the mission,” Julia said.
“Give me a break,” Kaitlyn scoffed. “Are you telling me we needed to know our location so badly that she tapped into someone’s mind? Why not wait until we can ask someone?”
“Now isn’t the time to discuss it,” Angie said, turning from them and continuing down the hallway.
“That’s convenient,” Kaitlyn said icily, but raced through corridors alongside her.
The overcrowded hallways made Julia feel as though she couldn’t breathe. So many people, and most of them smelling like they hadn’t bathed in a long time. “I should teleport us.”
“Only if there’s no other way. We need to conserve our magic.”
They passed by children clutching their mother’s skirts and men armed with guns. It didn’t seem like this hacienda would stand a chance.
“Can we save these people?” Julia asked, her side aching as they ran.
“That isn’t why we’re here,” Angie said, and although regret laced her words, they were firm. “We need to find the portal and seal it, but first we have to take care of any creatures that are here with these pirates.”
Julia recoiled at the idea of leaving these little kids to be killed by pirates. “We can protect them, though?”
“Only from creatures,” Angie said. “And only for as long as the spell lasts.”
“That’s better than nothing.” Julia stopped running and lifted her hands. “Shield.”
Light poured out from her palms, coating the children in front of her. They looked at their arms and each other as their skin glowed. One little girl ran up to a woman and tried to show her the shimmer running over her body, but the woman shook her head, continuing her prayers with eyes tightly shut.
“Stop,” Angie said. “We might need our magic to battle creatures.”
“We can’t just leave them like this,” Julia called, pounding on a door. “It won’t take much magic to get the little kids, at least.”
No one answered her pounding and Kaitlyn blasted the door with magic. “Shield,” she called out, coating the people inside with magic. “We’ll run out of magic before we even help half of them.”
Julia’s heart sank at the sight of so many people. Kaitlyn was right. They couldn’t save them all.
“Our magic is better used for stunning creatures,” Angie said.
“That way we can kill them,” Kaitlyn added. “Then these people won’t need protecting.”
Julia nodded stiffly, following after the other two toward the entryway. They rushed from the hacienda’s stifling corridors. She gulped the outside air with deep, grateful breaths.
Julia? What’s going on?
“Crap,” she muttered. It had taken long enough for Ethan’s protector antennae to activate.
Answer me, Jules.
This wasn’t the time for e
xplanations, but she had promised to answer if he called to her. It’s not creatures or anything. Just pirates.
Just pirates? Summon me. Now.
What about Brian?
She sensed his hesitation, but he said, I need to be able to help you.
“What the hell are you waiting for,” Kaitlyn yelled. “We have to get out there and kick some pirate ass.”
Julia’s fingers curled into her palms as a rush of heat met her closed eyes. I can’t. Your brother needs you, and I need to figure this out on my own.
Wait—
But she didn’t wait. She opened her eyes and rushed to Angie’s side. From their vantage point they could see the ocean, and a heart-stopping sight met her eyes. Small boats glided from the ship to the shore, each loaded with men… and most likely creatures in disguise.
“Look,” Kaitlyn said, pointing to the village they had crossed to reach the hacienda. Fire engulfed the side nearest the coast. Flames reached high toward the orange-tinted, sunset sky.
Pirates already stormed through the town. The ones on the boats were a second wave of reinforcements, it seemed.
“Let’s hold our ground here until the pirates are closer,” Angie said.
A small group of people raced up from the town and hurried past them. One of the men tried to urge them into the safety of a building.
“No,” Julia insisted, writhing out of a man’s grasp. “I’m okay.”
The wild eyed man tugged at her arm.
“Piratas! Por favor, señoritas!” he cried, and through her half-baked Comprehend spell from earlier, she understood his next words. “We will be closing the gates now. Anyone not inside will face the pirates alone.”
Gunshots exploded through the air. Cries became screams as the flames grew brighter and the clang of swords grew louder. A group of girls huddled close together as a mob of pirates bore down on them, their swords bloodied.
The man trying to help them gave up. He raced into the building as the gates swung inward, abandoning them and everyone else in the town below.
With a dull, clunking sound, a heavy bar fell into place.
“Let’s get to ass-kicking,” Kaitlyn said, her hands aimed at the pirates coming her way.
Cannons continued blasting as homes went up in flames. Julia watched Kaitlyn’s unrestrained pleasure as she fired bolts of magic at one pirate after another. She wished she could feel the same way instead of cowering at the sight of all of these guns and swords.
“Don’t just stand there,” Kaitlyn yelled. “Get pissed off.”
Julia swallowed tightly. A pirate raced up the hill with dark, wild eyes. Angie was busy handling her own mob, and Kaitlyn blasted on without looking back.
Julia could do this. She had to do it.
Get pissed off.
She lifted her arms and let her anger surface, mixing with fear at the sight of murdering pirates. Her heart pounded with fury. A part of her was enraged at the Fates for making things so complicated, for giving her heart to Ethan, for taking away his free will, for involving his brother—and she wanted to be able to use those feelings against the creatures.
She raced ahead, tears blurring her vision as her hands filled with light. She blasted at pirate after pirate, pretending each one were the Fates. They were to blame. They had caused her heart to ache so bitterly, her entire life to be mapped out with a boy who hadn’t wanted her. And she worried about him. She wanted to know him, his troubles and dreams and hopes and fears… and she could know nothing about him because he would keep that wall between them forever.
Deep down, she knew better than to blame the Fates, although at the moment it was nice to pretend it was all their fault. But it wasn’t the Fates she was angry with. It was herself. Her future-self. If she let herself think about it, that’s who had really done all of this, and that only made her madder.
Julia’s blasting became a frenzy. Kaitlyn blasted one man after another as well. They fell in crumpled heaps beneath her cold green eyes. “This is ridiculously easy when our enemies are just men instead of creatures,” she said, her scar making her look like a diabolical supervillain.
“Compared with the thousands we had to face in Paris, I suppose you’re right,” Angie agreed.
Julia blasted a pirate, but instead of falling to the ground in a heap, he turned toward her. His eyes glowed red.
“That’s… that’s…”
“Not a pirate,” Kaitlyn finished for her.
The man bared his fangs. His face shook with rage as he lowered his head and charged.
Julia gathered her magic and blasted, but the monster only roared, its head thrashing from side to side as he absorbed the blow.
“It will take two of us to stun each of them,” she said, sending it a bolt of magic. It stumbled a few steps before crashing to the ground. “I’ll kill this one. Keep firing at them until we find another creature.”
Julia shot at another pirate, who turned out to be a man. Meanwhile, Angie took a knife from one of the stunned pirates and rushed back to where the minotaur lay.
“I got another demon here,” Kaitlyn yelled.
Julia blasted the beast, but it didn’t fall.
“My power is giving out,” she said, shooting it with more magic.
“We need Ethan,” Angie cried, sending a bolt of magic from her palms. The creature’s crimson eyes rolled back as it slumped to the ground.
“I need to make us invisible before I completely run out of magic,” Kaitlyn said, placing her hands on their shoulders and quickly casting the spell that concealed them.
“More pirates,” Julia yelled, rushing to get out of the way of the mob of men storming toward the hacienda. “We can’t blast them all.”
“Just go for the creatures, then,” Kaitlyn said.
“Without Ethan, there’s no way for us to know who’s a pirate and who’s a creature,” Angie said. “Besides, stunning them isn’t good enough. We have to kill them, and so far, I’m the only one who is willing to.”
“I’ll kill the next one,” Kaitlyn said, her voice vicious and sharp.
“It wouldn’t make a difference at this point. We’re failing here. Ethan can turn this around.”
“I’m not summoning him,” Julia said. “Not until his brother is safe.”
“Then we Journey away from here,” Angie said. “Now.”
Smoke from the burning town singed her eyes and scorched her throat. Pirates raced by them, since without their blasting, there was nothing to stop them from storming the hacienda.
As if in response to her thoughts, the pirates used ropes and began scaling the hacienda walls.
“Julia? Journey us. There’s nothing more for us to do here.”
Were they really going to leave these people?
“Our next objective should be locating the jewel as quickly as possible, helping Brian, and then returning with Ethan to seal the portal once and for all.”
As Angie spoke, screams and sobbing rose like a wall of misery from the building behind them.
“Hurry,” Angie insisted.
Julia turned from the building and eyed the town. Fire blazed against the twilight sky. Screams turned her stomach.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Angie said, “but we can’t help these people. We have to go.”
Julia’s fingers crept toward her friend’s transparent, outstretched hand. “Where do I take us?”
“Last time Nevine helped show us the way,” Angie said. “Unless we find her again somehow, we’ll have to try and sense the jewels ourselves.”
Julia remembered Nevine and the creepy bones she had let them use to find the jewels. Had the bones been magical? Or had their own magic caused the bones to scatter into patterns that helped them see the jewels?
“It doesn’t look like these pirates are finding much treasure,” Kaitlyn said, still watching the scene below. “I guess they picked a really poor town. It looks like some of them are already turning back.”
“Someti
mes these coastal raids were quick, other times they would lay siege to a town for days. With such an easy, defenseless port, I doubt they will be here much longer.”
The hacienda gates opened and pirates sauntered out with various prizes. Chickens, clothing, even furniture. It looked more like a supply run than a treasure hunt.
“I guess not every pirate attack has to do with treasure,” Kaitlyn said, and Julia realized they were still connected.
She let go of Kaitlyn, and was about to tell her not to look through her thoughts, but an idea sparked in mind like fireworks. “Wait. What if we go with these pirates?”
“These pirates?” Kaitlyn laughed. “Maybe if one of them were Johnny Depp—”
Julia rubbed her transparent hands across her arms, as always feeling… empty when they were invisible. “You guys… pirates have treasure… as in… jewels.”
An explosion rocked the hacienda. Julia cowered. She had never gotten over her fear of cannons from when they had witnessed the march on Tuileries Palace.
Kaitlyn’s voice hinted at admiration. “That’s not a bad plan, Julia.”
Julia flushed at the compliment. She wasn’t used to hearing nice things from Kaitlyn. “Thanks.”
“It could be that the pirates have one of the artifacts,” Angie said, her voice hesitant. “But, following the pirates onto their ship is too dangerous—”
“We’ll be fine with the pirates,” Kaitlyn said, a devious undertone to her voice, “If any of them cause trouble, we blast them and we take the ship for ourselves.”
Julia’s heart sped up. “Our own ship,” she breathed.
Angie brought her glass-like hand to her forehead. Even invisible, Julia could tell she was exasperated. “We’re here for the mission, not to become pirates.”
Julia whirled on Angie, taking her by the shoulders. “But, a sword… and a huge hat. And saying, Yarr! How can you not want this?”
“With our powers we could be the most bad ass pirates in history,” Kaitlyn declared. “Why should it only be a bunch of gross-looking guys who get to terrorize people?”
“We don’t know anything about sailing a ship,” Angie said. “Nor do we know where we’re going.”
“We could sail by magic,” Julia said.