Monsters Like Us (Book 1 in The Huntress Series)

Chapter Sixteen (Part One)

When Marisol and Luz pulled up to the house, Tía Marta was standing by the front door. She was still dressed for the day, even though it was late, in a long black skirt and a white cardigan. It was cold, the breeze crisp against Luz's bare arms as she exited the car. It was strange to be back on this street after everything she'd gone through. It seemed so small—the cracked asphalt roads, the lonely looking streetlamps that flickered against the night sky, the near identical houses—compared to the vastness of the rainforest, brimming with green and life.

Marisol looked up and down the street and then at the house Luz had lived in since moving back to Eden. She was alert, scanning everything carefully, as though afraid something might jump out of the bushes at her.

"Look at you," Tía exclaimed as she embraced Luz. "Back home again and safe." She stroked the girl's hair, trying to tame the frizziness she'd acquired in the constant humidity of the rainforest, before giving up. She held Luz at arm's length, eyeing her backpack. Then she asked, as if double checking, "Do you have the stuff?"

"I do, Tía."

"Good, good." Something flickered behind her eyes. Luz gripped onto the straps of her backpack tighter.

Marisol approached slowly from behind, coming to join them. Tía did a double take. She had been watching Luz's new companion suspiciously since they'd arrived. Luz had never mentioned her. "Little Marisol, is that you?"

"Marta. It's been a long time."

"I'll say... I almost didn't recognize you. You're taller than me now, and you look just like your mother." She hugged herself, shivering. "Please, come inside."

The girls plopped onto the living room sofa while Tía went into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. The aroma wafted throughout the whole house, and Luz realized she was hungry. Thankfully, her aunt brought out an entire tray of brownies. Luz ate gratefully, stuffing her face. When Tía offered milk or sugar for her coffee, Luz gazed at it longingly. "No, thanks. Milk and sugar are for the weak." She took a timid sip of her plain black coffee and made a face.

Marisol laughed at her, patting her on the leg. "Maybe milk and sugar are for the strong, too."

Luz sighed in relief, adding sugar until it was palatable, and milk until it turned that nice light shade of brown that resembled caramel. "Much better."

Tía observed them from a distance. She stood by the kitchen, her arms crossed over her chest, leaning against the doorframe. Finally, she said, "I suppose you know the truth now about your father." Luz nodded, scratching at her bites. Marisol slapped her hand away. "You have to understand that I wanted to tell you both, but Juan Felipe was very adamant about never telling you the whole story. Of course, my brother and I have never seen eye to eye. It always must be his way. But I didn't think it was right to deprive you both your birthright. The knowledge of how to fight... to survive. My brother believes in good vs. evil, but for me, it's more of a grey area. And Nobili Morte, the idea that death is a noble cause, is a foolish notion when the ones you're fighting never die." As she was talking, she slipped into the recliner, poured herself a mug of coffee, and started emptying sugar packets into it. One after the other. She had a whole stack piled up beside her on the coffee table. "When your sister told me about your idea to steal the serum, study it, and use it against the family as a weapon... I thought it wouldn't work. But now I have faith. If we could just..." Tía paused when she saw Luz drop a chunk of brownie into her lap. She laughed. "Napkins! You're no longer in the jungle, remember?"

She disappeared into the kitchen, and Marisol slowly lowered her coffee mug. "What's wrong?" Luz asked.

"She's lying."