Page 22 (1/2)
New Beginnings
I carried the last of Chance’s boxes up to the flat
Mexico agreed withThe constant sun was sih the weather was milder and more temperate in the olden, a fine contrast to his inky hair His features were sharp, feline, but sculpted in a way that you could stare for hours and never tire ofat the cut of his cheekbones or the curve of his mouth
Looking at his iain that he wasn’t hurow facial hair Once I’d written that off as a unique genetic boon, but it was unquestionably more While his mother, Min, was hu else I had no idea what
Sain, and I’d always loved that about hi moments of self-doubt He brushed pasta carton of linens; he smelled of lene, Versace Man Eau Fraîche Less familiar than the Burberry he’d once sworn by, but I didn’t sreement, we’d decided on a fresh start all the way
My ex had been serious when he said he’d do whatever it took to be witha new life The two of us had a coret But maybe this time our relationship had a real shot
His building was simple stucco, painted canary yelloith azure trihborhood Down the block, there was a house painted lavender and reen His new place had a fantastic view of the mountains instead of the crowded streets below I stood by the , lost in thought Chance was lucky to find so close to Tia’s house In Spanish, tía meant aunt, and I’d never been clear if people had been calling her Auntie so long it had supplanted her proper name At any rate, she’d adopted me as part of her family; I felt like a favored niece with her In recent days, she’d become my mentor as well
After we’d returned to find my store in ruins, Tia let Chance sleep on the couch while he sought a place of his own; it took three weeks for hi his search, I sorted out the paperwork and paid the work lord hom I’d allied to take out the Montoya cartel before they could kill me The Montoyas putChance’sforces with Escobar wasn’t the s I ever did, but it felt like o, I made a pact with Escobar to destroy the Montoyas, and e succeeded, I walked out with a briefcase full of h to rebuild my pawnshop
It would be better than before, once it was finished, and I’d still have a nest egg in case of future disasters With Chance around, such events became more likely Oh, he had his own money, and he’d help, if he felt responsible, but I didn’t want to depend on hiain I’d learned hoell I like self-reliance
After Chance shook hands on a rental agrees, but I didn’t want to start our relationship that way Living together right off? Uh-uh I’d o slow
When Tia offered to let me stay with her while I rebuilt, it seeot a place to live; she benefited from my help around the house and I could drive her aroundme to the extent that she knew spells and charms No matter how inept I proved, she never lost patience
Any other curandera wouldn’t touchhis mate, Dumah, to solve my problems, I’d marked myself as a black witch, one who trafficked in demons Maury was the entropy demon I’d set free in Kilmer; he saved ht in the forest When that debt caed to trick hireeotiated our terms In the end, I wound up with his reluctant acquiescence to use his ainst the Montoyas When push came to shove, I did I fed those men to a demon to save my own life
That decision ht and light, though I was hardly a witch at all, having just realized I could accesswith the awful touch that once coained the ability to read objects with a touch, known aifted as psychometry, but my talent wasn’t natural and painless; it carried the pain of the fire that claiia woods where I found her necklace, I touched the metal and unlocked the rest of her abilities From that point, I felt the difference in my blood and bone I knew that spells would respond as they never had before
Fortunately, Tia had studied the darkness of my choices, and then she shook her head “What I see you’ve done, that’s not your heart,” she’d said “I know you”
Most wouldn’t be so kind or understanding Already, I’d noticed a few people crossing the street to avoid ifted in Mexico, but because of my crippled abilities—and the limitation of the touch—I could never ID them unless we ht, I could spot theht, depending on their gift and how they used it My oas a griht and shadow, mottled from my contact with Maury and Dumah I tried not to look at it any more than I had to If there was a way to scrub off those choices, I didn’t knohat it would be No, the consequences would reood deeds, practicing white ick, at best I would be—to others—a nether witch who denied her fundamental nature
Even if the viper doesn’t bite, it’s still a snake
Despite ostracisues, Tia had taken me into her home I’d asked, “Don’t you mind? They won’t speak to you anymore You’re an outcast now…like me”
She’d given s, child I don’t haveyou At least you’re willing to do s hurt That’s more than I can say for Juanita Lopez”
I’d laughed, because Juanita was one of the worst; she’d hated me since my return Before, she’d paid no attention to ister on their visual radars well, whereas the touch had peret
With effort, I put the dark thoughts aside Tia had been kind to me I would ri various techniques And she teased ood with her from experience with his own mother, Min
“You should keep this one,” Tia would say “You’ll make beautiful babies”
I always laughed It was alet other pain But I’d lost so much Jesse, my almost-boyfriend, who didn’t remember me My best friend, Shannon, who I ht love In Laredo, I’d cast a forget spell—and screwed it up, giving the charht out of theirsoon That the effect would wear off, and they’d both yell at o back to the way it was