left the ship hand in hand.
Chapter 59
Barri Gotic was the center of the old city of Barcelona. In the hush of moonlight, narrow streets lined with tall buildings became shadowy cobblestoned labyrinths. The walkways felt almost like tunnels with the sheer walls of the bordering buildings rising up on either side. This area had been around since before the Romans, and Rune felt ancient times draw close as he and Teresa made their way past outdoor cafés in the Plaça del Pi—a square filled with trees boasting tiny white lights and a line of artists displaying their wares, hoping for customers.
Teresa took the lead, with Rune’s sharp gaze searching for possible danger as she led them down Carrer de Pi, another narrow, only-for-pedestrians street. The buildings on either side of the street seemed to stretch heavenward, with brilliant splashes of color spilling from flower boxes and vines trailing around ornate iron railings on the balconies.
It should have been beautiful, peaceful even, Rune told himself. Instead, there was an underlying sense of something dark layered just beneath the beauty. Something that nibbled at his instincts, prodded him to keep at battle-ready tension.
“God, I remember this place,” Teresa murmured, her fingers tightening around Rune’s. “And not just from when I was a kid and we visited Tía Carmen. I’m talking about old memories. There used to be laundry hanging out here,” she said, waving her free hand to indicate the space between the buildings on either side of the street. “People shouting, arguing. Babies crying. And the street was awful. Filthy.” She shook her head and lifted her hand to rub at a spot in the center of her chest. “It feels …”
“What?” Rune prompted. “What do you feel?”
She looked up at him. “Close,” she said. “I feel close to the Artifact. It’s here. In the old city. I know it.”
“Then we’ll find it.”
Nodding, Teresa said, “First, Tía Carmen. I want to make sure she’s okay.” She darted through a doorway and up a flight of stone steps.
Rune stayed close, and as they climbed to the third floor, they passed apartments with crosses nailed to the wall. A couple of the doorways were draped in ropes of garlic and Rune’s instincts went on high alert. Teresa stopped before a closed door painted a bright emerald green. She lifted her hand to knock, but Rune caught her hand in his.
“Something is off,” he said, glancing out a narrow window to the moon in the sky. “Did you notice all the garlic and crosses? People are trying to ward off evil.”
She paled a little and looked at her aunt’s closed door. “Evil? The Artifact? Or—”
He sensed a presence within the apartment. He held his fingers to her lips and for the first time reached for her mind with his.
Someone is in there with your aunt, he communicated to her.
What? Her eyes were wide. Terrified. Who?
Whoever it is has magic. The swell of power was unmistakable. Was it a friend of Teresa’s aunt? Or, more likely, an enemy?
“Wait,” he told her, whispering now, not willing to rely on their new mental connection. “Let me go in first.”
Her eyes narrowed and her features tightened as she picked up on the tension coiling inside him. “No. We go together.”
“We have no idea who might be in there,” he said.
“I know. But I’d rather face whatever it is as a team, Rune. I’ve already lost enough. I don’t want to lose Tía Carmen, too. And we’ve come too far together to split up now, don’t you think?”
“I do,” he said, his voice hardly more than a breath of sound. “Are you up for it?”
“I am.” She lifted her chin and flexed her fingers, sending tiny blue and white sparks flashing from her fingertips. “This is why we’ve been training, right? I mean, it’s not just about the Artifact, is it?”
Her eyes shone in the soft light. “I mean, yes, we get the Artifact, find redemption, all that—but aren’t we supposed to be helping people, too? Like my aunt? Isn’t that what power should be used for?”
Dazzled by her, Rune could only stare for a long moment. Then he bent, kissed her and whispered, “That’s exactly what power should be used for, Teresa. You make me proud to walk alongside you.”
She took a deep breath, blew it out and said, “Thank you. Now, what do we do?”
He was about to offer a plan when from inside the apartment a short, sharp shriek of pain exploded, then died in the