“Oh, the others are on a spirit quest in the mountain. They’ve been gone for a fortnight. I don’t think they’ll be back for another few days. But I like to stick around here.” He chuckled to himself. “My bones are old. This young one stayed behind to make sure I didn’t do anything foolish.”

“That’s not quite accurate,” said Father Alfred. “I stayed back because last time we all left, you got yourself in a bit of trouble. Wolves.” He said the last word like it was disgusting.

It was to be expected, but it still annoyed me.

“Don’t talk too poorly of them in front of her. She seems to have grown fond of the wolves recently,” Matt said.

Father Valentine leaned back in his chair. “Is that right? Why would you waste your time with those dogs?”

I’d been around the wolves enough to know that “dog” was a huge insult. “I ran into a problem with my coven. I needed a place to go, and my cousin who was bitten offered sanctuary.” I didn’t want to go into too much detail. If Luciana liked to come here, then the old man definitely knew her. They might even be best friends.

Father Valentine grunted.

Well, this was going fantastically. How long did I need to give it before I politely segued into asking for access to the rest of their compound?

Matt motioned to me. “She thinks Luciana is raising demons.”

Matt! You idiot.

“What gives you that impression?” Father Alfred set his cup on the table with a thunk.

I wanted to wring Matt’s stupid neck. I had to play this carefully. If they really were the kind who dabbled in summoning, then I couldn’t come out and say I was looking for white magic. “She tried to raise some about a week ago, but she doesn’t have enough power to hold them. She’s playing a dangerous game.” Father Alfred and Father Valentine shared a disbelieving look, and I barely contained a sigh. This wasn’t going well. “I know it sounds far-fetched, but I’ve come a long way for help.” I didn’t say their help, because I didn’t want their help.

His bushy white eyebrows nearly disappeared along his hairline. “You want our help? I see.” He pushed the cup in front of me a little closer. “Well, let’s have a think on how we might be able to do that.”

None of the men made a move to sip their tea while they stared at me and I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of suspicion. I really, really didn’t want to take herbs from brujos I didn’t know. Especially ones with auras like theirs.

I picked up the cup, blew off the steam, and pretended to take a small sip before setting it back down. “A little hot.” I gave them my best smile.