“That is where we need to go,” Lalo said. “Preferably before Maricela finds Vidal herself and alerts him of our plans. If he is her maker, she will do anything to stop us.” He ran a hand through his tangled hair. “We should also go before Rafael wakes up and tries to murder me.”
“With the surprise of attack, we would have the upper hand,” Carolina said. She eyed the perilous topography detailed on the sketch. “This will not be simple. Devil’s Spine is at least two days’ hard ride from here. Through the woods, mind you. And the lands there are devious in their own right. There is boiling quicksand, poisonous brambles, and the like. Not to mention the sun has already risen. How can we possibly get you out of the hacienda without anyone noticing?”
“Can you steal a coach?” he asked.
“Los cocheros might find that suspicious, but I’ll figure something out.” She started for the door. Halted. “Stay here, clean yourself up, and write a letter to Fernanda.”
His eyes widened. “Why?”
“You should say goodbye. We may never come back.”
The light inside him dimmed.
He dropped his chin to his chest.
“I’m sorry,” she said, and meant it with her entire soul. Someone so gentle and kind and smart shouldn’t have to endure such wretched things. Why should he have to pay for her ancestors’ sins? “If it makes you feel any better, I know my family will take her under their wing. But you are her brother, and she will need closure. If you want her to live a long, full life with no unanswered questions, this is how.”
A single inky tear fell down his cheek.
When her own eyes started to burn, she cleared her throat. “I will go and get supplies before writing my own notes. Are you prepared for this? It won’t be easy.”
“I’m ready as any man walking toward his own grave.”
“That’s the spirit, fiancé.” She put on her best smile. “I’ll meet you here in twenty minutes.”
Carolina pushed the door open, checked left and right to ensure no one was around, then slid out. There were things she needed for this journey if they were going to even survive the ride there. Weapons, food, blood, the daggers. The woods had always held monsters, but the closer they got to the mountain, the more hardships they would encounter. That is, if they even got that far.
Due to the hostile terrain surrounding and within Basilio’s Point, not much is known about the small mountain range. The dense forest flanking the southern ridge of Devil’s Spine is marred with thick bogs, spiky brambles, and broken land. Vast stretches of desert on the western slope make for impossible living conditions. Temperatures reaching above boiling points can be dangerous for humans.
Sanchez. 1825.Alta California, Abundancia: Pueblos, Cities, & Topography.First Edition.
CHAPTER 35
Lalo
Lalo grabbed some blank parchmentand a pencil and sat at the desk in the room of Carolina’s tía Morena. He sighed, glaring down at the empty page. How was one supposed to write a letter saying goodbye?
Carolina was right. He most likely wasn’t coming back from Devil’s Spine. Once they severed the ties to Tecuani, the power inside him would fade. Lalo’s soul would no longer be able to stay within the realm of the living because he had died. Maricela had killed him weeks ago.
Fernanda’s face came into mind. She’d always been so annoying to him growing up. Fernanda lived. She laughed. She had fun. He hated her for it after their parents were slain. He could never understand her carefree behavior when bills needed to be paid, a business needed to be run. How did she find time for friends and lovers when she had finishing school?
But now, facing the end, he wished he possessed a speck of her luster. He should have laughed more. Danced more. Hells below, he’d never even kissed anyone. Instead of turning his nose up at his sister, he should have learned from her.
But it was too late for that.
He bent over and began to write.
I am proud of you, dear sister. Proud that you have never dulled your shine. I’m sorry if I ever tried to convince you to be anyone but yourself. Because you are perfect. Smart, witty, fun. By birth, I am the big brother, but I look up to you. Please, do not let whatever happens to me take away the glistening spirit inside you. Remember me, of course, with fondness rather than sadness. I may have realized too late that I have not lived life to the fullest. At least I could watch you live yours.
I love you, Fernanda. Know that everything I have done, it has been because of my love for you.
He wiped at the tears falling from his eyes. He’d never been the type to cry, but it seemed in death, it was hard to hold in.
Thanks to Carolina, Fernanda would understand the feelings he could not express aloud. Lalo couldn’t help but smile whenever he thought of his “fiancée.” Carolina was stubborn, and irritating, and brilliant, and funny. And the way she had felt in his arms, that peck on the cheek she’d given him after they danced, brought a lump into his throat. He could only pray she survived this journey because the world would be darker without her in it.
He slipped another piece of parchment onto the desk and started to write a second letter.
When his name was signed, he dropped the charcoal pencil and eyed all that he’d written, satisfied.
