“She said nothing at first, only looked at me with tears in her eyes as she drew something on my forehead with a b****y finger. Then she took me in her arms and held me close, so tightly I could barely breathe. She released me and sent me to my room, then closed the door and went to the distraught woman, who was lying curled up on the floor, still sobbing and gibbering like a madwoman.
“In my room, I looked at myself in the mirror and saw the symbol your nona had drawn there in her blood. It was a character I knew. One of many that my mother had taught me. A powerful warding mark, used to protect the bearer from evil. I dared not wipe it off my skin, because I understood why she had put it there, and a great fear came over me as I remembered the voice of the demon. Yes, Lucia. A demon. Do
