“Hey, I’m no thief! No, it was just on the side of the road. Like someone had lost it all.”

He was lying – his aura had turned a devious mustard yellow. Seb’s muscles were trembling; he knew he was close to lunging at the guy and attacking him. He stepped closer. “Don’t lie to me, man. I’m asking you one more time – where’d you get it?”

“Seb!” cried Lucy, tugging at his arm. “God, cool it – what’s going on?” He shook her off, not taking his eyes from the thief. The man swallowed, a nervous expression on his face now.

“Look, I don’t want any trouble,” put in the stall owner. “You boys got a problem, take it somewhere else.”

“Tell me,” said Seb in a low voice, ignoring him. And he knew that his tone was the same as from the dark time when he was thirteen. He’d enjoyed fighting then; he didn’t now, but he’d have no hesitation about doing it.

He could sense the guy realizing this, coming to a decision. “You won’t find them,” he said finally. “It was hours ago – they’re gone now, okay? They were gringos, they’d only stopped to get some food. And that’s all I’m telling you.”

It was the truth. Seb let out a breath. Amanda was standing beside Lucy now, both of them gaping at him as if he’d gone insane. Maybe he had. “Sorry,” he muttered to Lucy, taking a step backwards. His pulse was throbbing in his ears. “I’ve got to go.”

“Go? You mean back to the hostel?”

“No – no, I’ve got to go.” And before she could answer he turned and took off at a run through the marketplace, leaving her startled face behind him in a blur. He had to get someplace private; had to look at this stuff again. He must be going crazy – this couldn’t possibly be true—

The hostel would be full of people. Veering east, he pounded down the streets and into the Plaza de Armas, with its small, pattering fountain, its mix of palm trees and spruce, and the white stone cathedral that looked almost pink in the sunset. There was a bandstand across from the cathedral – an elegant wrought-iron structure from a different age. Seb saw that it was empty and took its four steps at a single leap. Breathing hard, he pulled the photo from his knapsack and then hesitated, clutching it tightly, the image hidden as the small frame dug into his palm. It couldn’t be true. He had just wished for it so often that he’d finally gone insane. He was going to open his hand and it would just be a human girl, that was all – just a human girl.