Page 51 of Espíritu

“And if I don’t fix it, if I die with this hole inside me, I’ll turn into one of those malignos!” Julian wrapped his arms around himself.

“Okay, hold up,” Yadriel said, trying to calm him. “First, I’ve never heard that before, Jules. Second, you’re not dying anytime soon, so get that out of your head,” he said firmly.

Maritza stepped forward, her arms crossed and her expression skeptical. “And Angel told you all this? Why would they know more about susto than your Lita or Enrique?”

“And why can Angel see them but we can’t if we’re all brujx?” Yadriel added.

Julian’s brain was starting to buzz with too much information. “Angel said that some folks in her círculo do a special ceremony, a ritual thing that lets them see the marks,” Julian said, doing his best to remember how Angel phrased it. “And their portajes get a special blessing from Lady Death. Her and her family can see them.”

Maritza’s expression darkened, and she let out a sharp laugh. “Convenient.”

“She’s seen Marca Huecas before,” Julian insisted. “She knew what mine was. And Luca’s. Angel might actually know how to help.”

Maritza’s eyes narrowed. “How do you even know she’s telling the truth? She could be feeding you a load of crap.”

Julian bristled, her words hitting a nerve. “She’s not lying!” he said firmly, the memory of Angel’s serious, almost haunted gaze flashing through his mind. “She can see the marks, Maritza. Mine. Luca’s. That’s real!”

Maritza crossed her arms, unimpressed. “Doesn’t mean we should just trust her without question,” she said. “What do you even know about Angel? Besides the fact that she’s a bruje from Texas?”

“Not every new person you meet is suspicious just because you don’t know them!” Julian shot back, his arms crossing over his chest as a shield.

“All right, let’s take a second to slow down,” Yadriel said, holding his hands up.

“How can you see the Marca Huecas, then? You didn’t do any special ceremony,” Maritza pointed out.

“I know!” Julian said, throwing his hands up. “None of it makes any sense to me! But Angel knows more than any of us do, and she offered to teach me how to see the Marca Huecas easier, how to help people who have them. She said not to worry—if a maligno shows up, she’ll handle the release.”

Yadriel tilted his head, considering that, but his dark eyes were full of concern. “Answers are goo— Wait.” Yadriel’s brow pinched. “Why would malignos even show up to begin with?”

“Exactly!” Maritza said. “It doesn’t make sense!”

“Why don’t you trust Angel?! She’s a bruje who can see Marca Huecas and use them to release malignos!” Julian snapped, his frustration bubbling to the surface. “This is literally what she does!”

“First of all,” Maritza said, her sharp tone cutting, “lower the bass in your voice.”

Julian snapped his mouth shut, cheeks burning.

“It’s just…” She let out a growl of frustration. “Angel used her portaje as a weapon. It doesn’t sit right with me, Jules. Something’s off.”

Julian turned to Yadriel. His boyfriend usually saw the good in people. “Yads, come on, you trust her, right?”

Yadriel hesitated, glancing between them. “I mean … it is strange to fight with your portaje,” he admitted, then exhaled. “But she’s another trans brujx.” His voice gentled. “I don’t think she’d hurt us.”

Julian blinked, surprised at the almost dreamy tone in Yadriel’s voice. It wasn’t like Yads to let down his guard, but Julian could see how much meeting someone like Angel meant to him. Yadriel looked at Angel and saw someone who understood—someone like him.

“Look,” Maritza said, breaking through Julian’s thoughts. “Releasing a spirit, even a maligno, is supposed to have care in it. Intention,” she stressed. “It’s not just about getting rid of a problem or fighting a danger. It’s about guiding someone home.”

Julian shifted uncomfortably. “That doesn’t mean Angel’s a bad bruje.”

“No,” Maritza agreed, “but it means I don’t trust how she treats the dead. Or what she’d do if she had to choose between helping someone—or just … cutting them loose.”

That landed harder than Julian expected.

“But I’ve got this spot, and Angel knows about them. I can see Marca Huecas,” Julian said, the words tumbling out. He looked between Yadriel and Maritza, voice catching and panic rising like a tide. “And I think I can help people with them—Luca at least. I don’t know how yet—but I have to try. I can’t let anything bad happen to Luca—!”

“Or you,” Yadriel added sternly with a frown.

“The point is,” Julian said, “that mark is growing.” He paused, then added, quieter, “All the stuff I’m seeing—hearing—it’s getting worse, and I know it’s got to do with this stupid thing—” He pointed to his chest, to the mark that neither of them could see.