She sat on the bed, her thigh accidently bumping into his own leg. “How did you know that?”
“A society page.”
She giggled. She didn’t mean to. The laughter simply bubbled right out of her.
He half grinned. “Amusing, yes. But there’s more. Do you know much about the gods?”
“Amá has had me in religious classes since before I could walk. I can name all seventy-seven of the lesser dioses in alphabetical order if you’d like.”
“Perhaps another time.” His gaze flicked to her thigh. She was in a nightdress—there was no skin showing, but the silhouette of her knee could be seen. Carolina liked the way his chest started to rise just a bit faster while he looked upon her. It made her feel strangely powerful.
He scooted away stiffly. “What about Tecuani? What do you know of him?”
“Abuelito used to tell us stories about Tecuani when we wouldn’t go to bed.” She smiled. “He said the dios took on the form of a jaguar to hunt for misbehaving children.”
“Why would he terrorize his grandchildren like that?”
She chuckled to herself. “We were rather naughty.” Her heart suddenly felt as raw as the day she’d lost him. “My abuelo was killed by un vampiro a month ago.”
Lalo winced. “I am sorry. My parents were taken from me last year.”
“By sedientos?”
He nodded once. “No one believed me. We aren’t so acquaintedin the cities with the monsters like Del Oro is. They do not attack so openly in the ciudad. I watched my parents die. I saw this monster that seemed so human tear into them. I went to the authorities, but they laughed in my face and disregarded me. I knew what I saw. So I started researching anything and everything I could find about creatures who fed off human blood. I went to every clandestine meeting or university lecture I could find on the lore of devils and the like. By pure luck, I found an old journal written by a man from Santemala for sale. The author stated that, in desperation, he called upon Tecuani and begged the god to bring his only daughter’s soul back to the realm of the living.”
Carolina’s eyes widened. “That’s blasphemous.”
“Maybe so. But we all have the ability to do terrible things when we feel like hope is lost.”
“And do you think that excuses their sins?” she asked.
Lalo shrugged. “I am the last person to judge anyone for their sins.” He suddenly appeared haunted. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what he’d done since turning into un sediento.
“According to the man’s journal, Tecuani said he would bring the man’s daughter back from the Land of the Dead, but at a cost.”
“What was the price?” she asked.
“I don’t know. From what I gathered, the man agreed. But his daughter was not the same little girl he cherished. She was different.Una diabla,he wrote. He said she killed her own mother and he himself had to strike her down in the end.”
“Gods above.” Carolina made the sign of protection.
Lalo wiped his palms against the sheets. “What if Alma went into the forest to pray to Tecuani? I found no evidence ofvampiros in Abundancia prior to her death. You said she’d lost her husband, might she have—”
“Are you insinuatingmyancestor went against the laws of nature? You dare say a Fuentes summoned these monsters!”
“When one is grieving the love of their life, they might do unspeakable things.”
“Not a Fuentes.” Carolina stood suddenly and began to pace. She clutched the dagger she’d found among her abuelo’s things tight in her hand. “There were bite marks on her neck. She was a victim, not the wrongdoer.”
“But what if she did summon Tecuani? What if her husband’s soul returned to his body, and he became a monster like the other countryman’s daughter?”
“Enough. I refuse to listen to you slander my family’s name.” She started for the door. She needed a moment to gather her thoughts.
Lalo threw the covers back, moved near her, and grasped her arm. “One last question, please. What happened when the people of el pueblo brought Alma’s body back from the forest?”
Carolina slowly turned toward him, and he released his hold. Her eyes flicked to his bare chest, to the wound that had almost completely healed.
“She burst from her grave and killed nearly everyone in her wake,” Carolina whispered.
