Page 54 of River of Flames

I swallowed and licked my dry lips. "Where are we?"

Luca took a contemplative bite of a granola bar. "Not far from Julian's home," he said, gazing into the distance. "I thought it best if you were well-rested before we attempt to talk to him."

I glanced around. We were on the side of what was hardly even a road—it was basically two ruts of dirt with gravel in between. Twilight had only just fallen, but the heavy foliage made it so dim in the car that it might have been midnight. "I'm rested," I said. "I'm ready."

But Luca didn't make any move to start the car. He took a long, deep breath. "This may be difficult."

I frowned. "Difficult how?"

His shoulders tensed. He turned further away, so I couldn't even see his profile. "I did not tell you everything."

Theo and I exchanged a glance. "Uh, okay," Theo said cautiously. "What else do we need to know?"

"Julian and I—" Luca stopped, and his hand on the gearshift clenched tight. "We do not have what you would call a friendly relationship."

I was sure my face was a mirror of Theo's bewildered expression. Neither of us spoke.

"He may not be welcoming," Luca said finally. "I want you to be prepared for—to not be received."

"Excuse me?" Theo said.

Luca's gaze lifted. He met Theo's glare in the rearview mirror. "I thought it best to be forthcoming."

I could see a muscle working in Theo's jaw. "Forthcoming would have been telling us this before we took an eight-hour trip to the middle of nowhere," he said, his tone carefully controlled. "Are you saying he's not going to help?"

Luca turned around, and his expression turned my stomach to ice. His jaw was set, his eyes hard and glittering. "I didn't say that."

Theo didn't back down, but he nodded. "Fine," he said. "Then let's go already, Renaldi."

Luca held his stare for a second longer, then turned to face forward again and started the car. "Prepare yourselves."

The car bumped and jolted along for a few minutes more, then abruptly, Luca slowed the car and turned left. The headlights didn't catch a road, not even a dirt one—just a swath of grass, enveloped on both sides by those enormous, ancient trees.

"What are we—" I started to say, but stopped when I saw it.

Julian's house—if it could even be called that—was on the far side of a wide, shallow stream that wound just meters in front of where Luca had stopped the car. Illuminated only by the headlights, it looked as though it was built of stone, with a thatched roof that appeared to be waterproofed with moss. There was a cold fire pit in front of the uneven wooden door, and what looked like an actual cauldron was suspended from a spit above it. The windows were dark. If Luca had said it had been abandoned by dryads, I would have believed him.

"This is the guy who's going to help us?" Theo said, echoing my thoughts. "It looks as though there hasn't been anyone here for a century."

"Oh," said Luca, turning off the engine and climbing out of the car, "he's here."

"But how do you—" Theo began, but was cut off as Luca slammed the driver's door shut.

Theo looked at me. I looked at him.

"Do we get out?" I said, glancing at Luca, who was striding through the darkness.

"You tell me," Theo said grumpily. "At this point, I don't know what's going on."

I rolled my eyes. "Come on."

He made a frustrated noise, but followed me out of the car.

"Luca," I called. "Wait up."

I jogged to catch him, hopping over a tree root and dodging a low shrub.

"River," Theo said from behind me.

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