Vampires of El Norte
AN INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

Vampires, vaqueros, and star-crossed lovers face off on the Texas-Mexico border in this supernatural western from the author of The Hacienda.


As the daughter of a rancher in 1840s Mexico, Nena knows a thing or two about monsters-her home has long been threatened by tensions with Anglo settlers from the north. But something more sinister lurks near the ranch at night, something that drains men of their blood and leaves them for dead.

Something that once attacked Nena nine years ago.

Believing Nena dead, Néstor has been on the run from his grief ever since, moving from ranch to ranch working as a vaquero. But no amount of drink can dispel the night terrors of sharp teeth; no woman can erase his childhood sweetheart from his mind.

When the United States invades Mexico in 1846, the two are brought abruptly together on the road to war: Nena as a curandera, a healer striving to prove her worth to her father so that he does not marry her off to a stranger, and Néstor as a member of the auxiliary cavalry of ranchers and vaqueros. But the shock of their reunion-and Nena's rage at Néstor for seemingly abandoning her long ago-is quickly overshadowed by the appearance of a nightmare made flesh.

And unless Nena and Néstor work through their past and face the future together, neither will survive to see the dawn.
1142778734
Vampires of El Norte
AN INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

Vampires, vaqueros, and star-crossed lovers face off on the Texas-Mexico border in this supernatural western from the author of The Hacienda.


As the daughter of a rancher in 1840s Mexico, Nena knows a thing or two about monsters-her home has long been threatened by tensions with Anglo settlers from the north. But something more sinister lurks near the ranch at night, something that drains men of their blood and leaves them for dead.

Something that once attacked Nena nine years ago.

Believing Nena dead, Néstor has been on the run from his grief ever since, moving from ranch to ranch working as a vaquero. But no amount of drink can dispel the night terrors of sharp teeth; no woman can erase his childhood sweetheart from his mind.

When the United States invades Mexico in 1846, the two are brought abruptly together on the road to war: Nena as a curandera, a healer striving to prove her worth to her father so that he does not marry her off to a stranger, and Néstor as a member of the auxiliary cavalry of ranchers and vaqueros. But the shock of their reunion-and Nena's rage at Néstor for seemingly abandoning her long ago-is quickly overshadowed by the appearance of a nightmare made flesh.

And unless Nena and Néstor work through their past and face the future together, neither will survive to see the dawn.
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Vampires of El Norte

Vampires of El Norte

by Isabel Cañas

Narrated by Jose Nateras, Krysta Gonzales

Unabridged — 12 hours, 2 minutes

Vampires of El Norte

Vampires of El Norte

by Isabel Cañas

Narrated by Jose Nateras, Krysta Gonzales

Unabridged — 12 hours, 2 minutes

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Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Isabel Cañas is back with a western featuring monsters — both colonial and otherwise that is sure to delight fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Alexis Henderson.

AN INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

Vampires, vaqueros, and star-crossed lovers face off on the Texas-Mexico border in this supernatural western from the author of The Hacienda.


As the daughter of a rancher in 1840s Mexico, Nena knows a thing or two about monsters-her home has long been threatened by tensions with Anglo settlers from the north. But something more sinister lurks near the ranch at night, something that drains men of their blood and leaves them for dead.

Something that once attacked Nena nine years ago.

Believing Nena dead, Néstor has been on the run from his grief ever since, moving from ranch to ranch working as a vaquero. But no amount of drink can dispel the night terrors of sharp teeth; no woman can erase his childhood sweetheart from his mind.

When the United States invades Mexico in 1846, the two are brought abruptly together on the road to war: Nena as a curandera, a healer striving to prove her worth to her father so that he does not marry her off to a stranger, and Néstor as a member of the auxiliary cavalry of ranchers and vaqueros. But the shock of their reunion-and Nena's rage at Néstor for seemingly abandoning her long ago-is quickly overshadowed by the appearance of a nightmare made flesh.

And unless Nena and Néstor work through their past and face the future together, neither will survive to see the dawn.

Editorial Reviews

AUGUST 2023 - AudioFile

Jose Nateras and Krysta Gonzales convey the romance and spine-tingling horrors in this audiobook set during the Mexican-American War. In a gravelly voice, Nateras portrays Néstor's dread at being summoned back to protect the ranch where, nine years earlier, he witnessed his best friend Nena's gruesome death. He's shocked to find her alive, angry, and with no time for Néstor's excuses. Gonzales's sweet-voiced Nena is full of determination--she wants to be valued as a healer by her father, the Patrón, and joins the journey north to protect their land. But while the war is dangerous, there are also nightmarish creatures lurking in the dark chaparral. Gonzales's voice turns fierce as Nena fights off deadly vampires, while Nateras fills Néstor's voice with his grim determination to keep them both alive. E.E.C. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

05/15/2023

Cañas (The Hacienda) hits a bit of a sophomore slump in this uneven gothic fantasy, set in an alternate 1840s South Texas as plagued by giant vampire bats as it is by invading Yankees. After 13-year-old best friends Magdalena “Nena” Serrano, a ranchero’s daughter, and Néstor Duarte, the son of a vaquero, are attacked by a many-fanged monster, Néstor flees the Serrano estate, believing Nena to be dead. He returns nine years later to join a militia created to fight off the Americans and the vampires they employ. He’s tasked with guarding the militia’s healer—who turns out to be none other than Nena, alive and furious with Néstor for abandoning her. When this feuding duo is separated from the rest of the militia, they must work together to survive. Cañas toggles between her protagonists’ perspectives, often retreading the same plot points from a new point of view. Meanwhile, her metaphor-heavy prose occasionally obscures meaning, as when a scar is described as “erupting with the crawling legs of a thousand insects.” Is this a moment of supernatural body horror or does the character simply have an itch? These repetitions and vagueries turn a desperate flight from the colonizers into a clunky slog. All but Cañas’s most devoted fans can skip this one. Agent: Kari Sutherland, KT Literary. (Aug.)

From the Publisher

Praise for Vampires of El Norte

“At once romance, horror, historical fiction, and an adventure narrative about war, Vampires of El Norte elegantly navigates a multiplicity of genres to deliver an engaging story that cements Cañas as one of the best new voices bridging the gap between romance and speculative fiction…The Hacienda was great, but Vampires of El Norte is even better.”
NPR

“A masterclass in horror and romance. This supernatural western *might* give you nightmares, but it’s totally worth it.”
Elle

“Underneath the things that go bump in the night is one of the most deeply romantic stories we’ve read in a while. This is the absolute perfect bridge between summer and fall!”
USA Today

“Melding historical fiction with supernatural elements and a sweeping romance, Isabel Cañas crafts a lush story that’ll appeal to readers of all genres.”
Reader’s Digest

“Set during the Mexican-American War—this lushly drawn nightmare is a riveting story about two people facing terrible monsters and impossible odds. Cañas has the ability to tell a story that is at once sexy, frightening, and smart.”
Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author of False Witness

“Lush, captivating, and richly imagined. Here, monstrosity is both human and supernatural; Cañas reminds us that the real horror has always been colonialism. Vampires of El Norte will sink its teeth into you.”
Grace D. Li, New York Times bestselling author of Portrait of a Thief

“Cañas delivers a horror novel full of expressive, sumptuous prose and enlightening historical details.”
Booklist (starred review)

"Cañas masterfully interweaves horror, historical fiction, and romance in this gripping novel."
BookRiot

"Vampires of El Norte is a chilling horror story, an immersive love story, and a gripping tale of a tumultuous + dangerous moment in history."
Crime by the Book

“Cañas’ second novel is a lush blend of history, folktales and a wildly entertaining, sexy thriller rolled into one gripping gothic horror story.”
HuffPost

“Vampires versus cowboys, and not just for the highly coveted position of my top sexual fantasy? You’ve heard of spaghetti westerns, but now it is time for supernatural westerns.”
Betches

"Cañas’s background as a historian is on full display here as she writes a rich, confident, and compelling story wrapped in an authentic and detailed frame, with a satisfying romance. The inclusion of vampires intensifies the unease and danger of life in this place and time."
Library Journal

“Isabel Cañas is carving out a very special place for herself in the horror genre. Vampires of El Norte has wide appeal for readers who enjoy meticulously researched historical novels, novels featuring frightful creatures, or a novels featuring a pair of lovers trying to overcome the obstacles thrown at them to be with each other.”
SFFWorld

"Set in 19th-century Mexico, this vibrant novel combines historical fiction, horror, and romance to tell a thrilling story."
Shelf-Awareness

"Cañas draws upon a wealth of research in re-creating the Rio Grande Valley in the 1840s, richly weaving in the Mexican War while also delving into horror. The vampires of this tale are incredibly original, a whole new brand of folklore that slowly unspools as the story progresses."
Kirkus

"A wholly immersive, relentlessly tense, and deeply felt exploration of what it means to be a monster. Isabel Cañas writes with a historian's eye and a storyteller's heart, achieving both a haunting critique of colonialism and a riveting, star-crossed love story. With vampires! A generous, wildly entertaining novel that invites me further into my own history—I am grateful for this book."
Katie Gutierrez, bestselling author of More Than You'll Ever Know

“A hypnotic, genre-bending supernatural historical novel that grabs you from the opening sentence. Haunting and pulsing with emotion, Cañas's writing crafts a world where monsters are real - but they might not be the kind you’re thinking of. A one-of-a-kind novel that only she could write.”
—Alex Segura
, bestselling author of Secret Identity

“A tantalizing tale of romance and monsters—both of human and supernatural varieties. Historical fiction is at its best as events from the Mexican-American War of 1846 intertwine with those affecting the fate of star-crossed childhood lovers. This genre-bending story intensifies dread, suspense, and supernatural menace among the inhabitants of the Rio Grande Valley, culminating in a page-turner.”
Mystery & Suspense Magazine

"Isabel Cañas creates a tale where vampires and westerns collide, resulting in an intriguing book...."
The Escapist

"Isabel's writing  is lush, vivid, and lends itself perfectly to this tale about vampires. I loved the Mexican history and culture interwoven with characters who reflected this beautifully. We need more stories like this to bring freshness to old tropes. If you are a vampire fan, I promise you will want to grab this one now. Isabel is an exciting voice you should be reading."
—V. Castro
, author of The Queen of The Cicadas

"If the title doesn’t grip you right away, the promise of Cañas’ powerful blend of historical fiction and horror definitely should."
Paste

"Romance—and fright—ensues."
—Texas Monthly

"...[A] refreshing read from a growing subgenre: colonial Gothic/Western horror."
—Historical Novel Society

"This larger-than-life “supernatural western” successfully blends historical details and original storytelling."
—Ms. Magazine

"An excellent, action packed novel, featuring two characters you root for...."
Red Carpet Crash

"[A] perfect combination of horror, western, romance, and action!”
The Gloss Book Club

"[S]killfully blends traditional vampire lore with a fresh and vibrant Latinx perspective..."
Connect Savannah

"...[P]art historical fiction, part horror novel with vampires and part second-chance love story. It’s eerie, romantic and perfectly delicious for a night of frights."
The Observer

“A deeply romantic and deeply spooky historical gothic tale.”
Electric Lit

Praise for The Hacienda

“A thing of uncanny, chilling beauty. Hauntings, exorcisms, incantations, forbidden love — The Hacienda transports one to a world where love triumphs over demons.”
The New York Times

“A tale of romance, dread, and supernatural menace."
Harper’s Bazaar

“[A] gothic tale of doomed love and vengeful spirits."
The Washington Post

“[A] chilling Mexican gothic horror, full of suspense that will have you tethered to each page.” 
NPR

“Looking for supernatural suspense, forbidden love and a history lesson set in the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence? Pick up The Hacienda."
Parade

“Don't read this gothic horror right before bedtime, especially if you're prone to nightmares."
Good Housekeeping

"[A] dazzling debut….Yeah, this one will keep you up at night, muttering 'one last page."
E! News

"A deliciously haunting novel that slithers into your mind and keeps you dreaming of it."
Buzzfeed

"After you read and enjoy Mexican Gothic, pick up this beautifully unsettling tale. Set in post-Independence War Mexico, this chilling suspense novel will leave you with chills as you follow the terrifying haunting at Hacienda San Isidro."
Glamour

Pretty much the perfect Gothic novel… meaning it reads like a brilliant piece of historical fiction and a, ‘Okay, I’m gonna need to sleep with the lights on now,’ horror novel.”
Jezebel

“The scary, atmospheric, gorgeous Gothic of my dreams.”
Rachel Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Upstairs

“Gothic terror at its best, layered with tension: class, religious, and sexual. You will be so immersed in its skillful storytelling that the hours will vanish.”
Simone St. James, New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel

"A haunted history, a gory gothic, a forbidden romance. This book kept me up at night, and it was worth every second of lost sleep."
Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of The Once and Future Witches

“A hypnotic, sinister tale that is equal parts terrifying and luxurious. Cañas’s debut is a nightmare lined with velvet.”
Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Gilded Wolves

The Hacienda is a perfect gothic and Cañas is not afraid to pull in the horror element. An impressive debut.”
Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times bestselling author of Lightning in a Mirror

“A haunting gorgeous tale of doomed love, vengeful spirits, and tortured faith that I could not put down.”
S.A. Chakraborty, bestselling author of The Empire of Gold

"Lush, sinister, and darkly romantic. The Hacienda is a haunting and brilliant debut."
Alexis Henderson, author of The Year of the Witching

“Absolutely enthralling—I read it in one sitting because its vivid prose and spectacular twists and turns made it impossible to put down.”
Genevieve Gornichec, bestselling author of The Witch’s Heart

“As romantic as it is terrifying, The Hacienda is a lush, atmospheric read that never pulls any punches. Horror fans, fantasy fans, and romance fans will all find something to love here.”
Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf

Library Journal

06/01/2023

In 1837, young Nena, the daughter of a wealthy Mexican rancher, and her best friend Néstor, the child of her father's workers, escape into the night to look for silver. After a mysterious creature attacks Nena, Néstor carries her lifeless body home and runs away. Nine years later, Néstor returns to the ranch to help defend it from the United States army and is shocked to see that his years of grief were unnecessary, as Nena turns out to be alive and working as a curandera, a healer, at her father's ranch. Nena, however, has spent the last nine years angry that Néstor abandoned her. Cañas's background as a historian is on full display here as she writes a rich, confident, and compelling story wrapped in an authentic and detailed frame, with a satisfying romance. The inclusion of vampires intensifies the unease and danger of life in this place and time. VERDICT The many fans of The Hacienda will be eager for Cañas's second novel, which will also thrill and chill readers who'd enjoy a mash-up of Alma Katsu's historical horror, Andy Davidson's In the Valley of the Sun, and Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

AUGUST 2023 - AudioFile

Jose Nateras and Krysta Gonzales convey the romance and spine-tingling horrors in this audiobook set during the Mexican-American War. In a gravelly voice, Nateras portrays Néstor's dread at being summoned back to protect the ranch where, nine years earlier, he witnessed his best friend Nena's gruesome death. He's shocked to find her alive, angry, and with no time for Néstor's excuses. Gonzales's sweet-voiced Nena is full of determination--she wants to be valued as a healer by her father, the Patrón, and joins the journey north to protect their land. But while the war is dangerous, there are also nightmarish creatures lurking in the dark chaparral. Gonzales's voice turns fierce as Nena fights off deadly vampires, while Nateras fills Néstor's voice with his grim determination to keep them both alive. E.E.C. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2023-06-21
Childhood sweethearts reunite in the shadow of the Mexican War and the threat of vampires.

Néstor and Nena were inseparable as children on the Rancho Los Ojuelos, though not everyone thought it was appropriate, Nena being the daughter of the owner and Néstor the son of a vaquero. After a treasure hunt goes wrong when they’re 13, Néstor thinks Nena is dead and he leaves the rancho, planning never to return. Nine years later, threats of Yanquís moving south finally bring him back to help with the fight only to discover that Nena survived that night and is none too happy at having been abandoned. As the two head into the fray, they must find a way to work together again while avoiding Yanquís, Rinches, and creatures reminiscent of the one that attacked Nena all those years ago. Cañas draws upon a wealth of research in re-creating the Rio Grande Valley in the 1840s, richly weaving in the Mexican War while also delving into horror. The vampires of this tale are incredibly original, a whole new brand of folklore that slowly unspools as the story progresses. There are three different narratives here: a love story, a war story, and a horror story. Each is compelling in its own right. Unfortunately, the book’s weakness is that it can handle only two of them at a time. It isn’t until the last stand that everything comes together, but it’s powerful when it does. Nena and Néstor, who are both point-of-view characters, are equally charming and infuriating in some of their choices. The side characters are not very well fleshed out, though they add to the sense of place.

While perhaps not greater than the sum of its parts, the parts themselves are quite good.

Product Details

BN ID: 2940178201220
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Publication date: 08/15/2023
Edition description: Unabridged
Sales rank: 331,140

Read an Excerpt

1

Nena

Octubre 1837

It was often said that a strange kind of magic ran in the waters of Rancho Los Ojuelos, the kind that made the Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca go mad, the kind that made mustangs swift and the land rich. Nena knew, even as a child, that magic was a turn of phrase. A way that adults talked about bounty and blessings: with reverence, and perhaps a bit of fear, for when you had much, you never knew how much of it could be lost.

She and Néstor were thirteen that year. She knew that magic, in as many words, was not real. But as summer's heat stretched thin and reached into fall, there was something she sensed whenever she set her palms to the soil of the herb garden behind la casa mayor or turned her face to the twilight-bruised sky. A strangeness. A ripple of unease. An understanding, though timid at first, that perhaps there was some truth to the stories of blood-hungry beasts and river ghosts that the abuelas on the rancho spun to keep children close to home after sunset. A sense that there was a reason to watch one's back when shadows grew long.

Perhaps magic was the wrong word altogether.

For what Nena and Néstor found that night was monstrous.


For the second time that week, Nena slipped out from under her blankets, stone floor cool beneath her bare feet. She had waited for hours, sleepless, her mind racing as she counted the heavy breaths of her younger sister and cousins. At last it was time. The moon hung full outside the bedroom’s single window, heavy as a bag of coins. By its light, she snatched an already dirty dress and slipped it over her head. It had a muddied hem; the plans she and Néstor had would make it dirtier still. He would already be waiting for her by the anacahuita trees, a shovel in hand. Ready to dig. Ready to test the last of the fireside stories that they still believed.

Of all of Néstor's abuela's stories, the tale of the Spanish count's buried silver paled in comparison to that of El Cuco, cloaked and carrying a child's severed head in the crook of his arm. When the children of the rancho settled around Abuela's feet in a crescent of devout supplicants, they begged for La Llorona's wails or the long talons of La Lechuza, not the tale of a well-heeled Spaniard perishing of exhaustion in the chaparral. Nena no longer feared boogeymen or ghosts snatching at her plaits when rain lashed the rancho and lightning fractured the broad, black sky. In the last year, Tejas had been ripped out of México, leaving a gaping wound in its wake. She had learned that there were real monsters to be mindful of now.

Which was why the tale of buried silver beckoned her. Its promise was a coin with two gleaming sides. The first: protection for the rancho at a time when its safety hung in the balance.

The second: a life of her choosing.

After the events of the last week, she knew she would not be at ease until she had both. Until she felt certainty about her future as concretely as cold metal in the palm of her hand.

When she pushed the bedroom door, it gave a mournful, arthritic creak. She froze, heart drumming in her ears. If Mamá woke and found her now, she would receive a sharp slap and be sent back to her room; the next morning would open with a lecture on how inappropriate it was for a young woman of her age to be sneaking into the night.

But no one stirred. Not in the girls' bedroom, nor in any of the other rooms of la casa mayor. Holding her breath, she crept across the great room to the door. Slipped on her boots with practiced silence, then tiptoed onto the patio.

Night slipped over her warm skin like stepping into cool water, sending a pleasant shudder over her shoulders. October days were hot, but when the sun set, autumn announced itself with a nip in the air, its smell piney and crisp with the promise of change.

Beyond the kitchen vegetable garden grew a copse of anacahuita trees. In the moonlight, their trunks gleamed silver with secrets. Néstor's slim shadow waited for her there, leaning casually against the trunk of the largest tree. The boy who had kept step with her, as close as her own shadow, since they first met five years ago.

Nena hiked up her skirts and ran toward him.

He straightened at her approach. "There you are."

His voice was like coming home. It loosened the unease that had curled in her chest all week.

"Sorry I'm late." The words hitched as she caught her breath.

"I heard about the Anglos," said Néstor softly.

She searched for his eyes in the dark. Had to tilt her chin up a bit more than usual to do so. It seemed as if every time he came back from three or four days in the chaparral with the other vaqueros, he was half a hand taller. His voice was changing too. Sometimes it was ragged like torn cloth; other times it shifted and creaked like an oak in a playful breeze. But its tone was as it always had been: a question. An invitation. A door she could either open or shut.

That was the way it was with Néstor. If she chose to barrel through the door and pour out her thoughts like a torrent, he would listen. If she kept the door shut, he would ask no further questions.

Three days ago, when Néstor was in the chaparral, bearded strangers had appeared on Rancho Los Ojuelos seeking its patrón. Vaqueros brought them to la casa mayor, the great central house of the rancho, to speak to Nena's papá, Don Feliciano Serrano Narváez. Nena had peered around the corner that separated la casa mayor's outdoor kitchen from the patio, where the family dined and Papá received guests. The strangers were lean men, road-hardened and parched as strips of beef left out to dry into acecina. When they removed their hats, they revealed high points of faces reddened by wind and sun and pale, hungry eyes.

Nena's mouth went dry when she realized they were Anglos. From the east, they said, their Spanish ripped and creased in all the wrong places. They had moved through Tejas and come farther south, seeking land. Did the patrón know of any for sale? Was he interested in selling any of his cattle?

It was like seeing El Cuco materialize before la casa mayor to ask after something as ordinary as horses for sale, one clawed hand caressing the severed head he always carried. These were the creatures of tall tales and nightmares come to life and walking in broad daylight.

Papá had kept the conversation brief, barely granting the strangers the courtesy of the shade of the patio. No, he said to all their questions. Firmly. Politely. No, and no again.

But as he watched their retreating backs, his black mustache twitched. Nena watched as he shifted his weight and clasped his hands behind his back, fidgeting with the signet ring he wore on his left hand. Apprehension circled over his shoulders like vultures. It spread to Nena. It spread to the rest of the rancho.

And so, the evening after the Anglos had appeared and left, she eavesdropped, ear pressed against her wooden bedroom door, straining to make out the irregular rise and fall of argumentative voices in la casa mayor. The women of the family had retreated from la sala as the men gathered: Papá; Nena's elder brother, Félix; and Mamá's own brothers, the three de León uncles who also lived on the rancho. Everyone had heard of increases in cattle theft. Of good men-rancheros, even-vanishing in the night, leaving widows and unguarded land in their wake. Stories slinked like snakes through the ranchos of las Villas del Norte, the five great towns that hugged the lazy bends of Río Bravo, rattling their warnings from house to house. Had not some of Papá's own vaqueros come to Los Ojuelos after fleeing the bloody seizure of the rancho where they used to live, the Dos Cruces land just south of San Antonio de Béxar?

Everyone knew the appearance of a few Anglos was the harbinger of worse to come.

Worse still, Nena thought, was the manner in which everyone agreed to protect Los Ojuelos.

"It's time for Félix to marry," an uncle's voice cut in. "Marriage is the surest way to an alliance with a strong hacienda."

Félix did not reply. She yearned to know what he was thinking. She would be horrified, or filled with rage, if Mamá's brothers talked about her future so callously.

"Exactly!" Another voice rang with agreement. "Family defends family. If I had daughters, I would give them gladly." That would be Tío Julián, who had no children. "What of Magdalena? Surely she's old enough now."

At the sound of her full name, Nena's heart dropped through her stomach.

When Félix raised his voice and pointed out that it would be six or seven years until it was appropriate for Nena to marry, the men began to argue about which rancho to marry her off to when the time came. Which had the most sons, or the ones who showed the most promise? Which had the strongest vaqueros, the most cattle, the most land?

Names slipped through the crack of light that lined the underside of the door, twining around Nena's ankles, ready to drag her away from Los Ojuelos and her family. Away from Néstor. She could not let that happen. She would not.

But if Papá insisted, if Papá shouted the way the tíos were shouting now . . . she would freeze like a rabbit spotted by hunters.

And what would happen then?

If she told Néstor about that night, he would listen. He was the only other speaker of their shared, silent language, the only person on the rancho who listened to more than her voice: he read her shifts in energy, her expression, the way she held her weight. She loved him fiercely for it.

Now, he sensed her unease. He reached into the dark and took her hand. "Was your mamá mad about something?"

His words touched a familiar ache, sore as a day-old bruise.

If Mamá was angry with Nena, it was going to be about Néstor.

She and Néstor had met when they were eight, when Néstor first came to Los Ojuelos with his family. Within days they were a matched set, inseparable as a pair of old boots as they fetched water, fed the chickens, and watched the sheep with the old shepherd Tío Macario in the chaparral. For years, no one noticed or cared-Nena losing herself in the pack of the rancho's children meant she was out of Mamá's hair as she cared for the baby, Javiera, and so Nena did as she pleased.

But lately, Néstor had grown taller. He began to work with the other vaqueros, heading into the chaparral for days at a time. As Nena outgrew dresses and inherited some of Mamá's, the tías began to exchange whispers about her attachment to Néstor. Overnight, their time together was halved by his work, then halved again by Mamá and her obsession with propriety and honor. First, Mamá insisted that Nena was too old to be playing with the peones' children barefoot in the courtyard; then, when her first blood came last month, Mamá forbade her outright to be seen alone with a young man. Much less the son of a vaquero.

During the day, Nena obeyed. Mamá and Papá's love was a fragile thing. Lately, she felt that if she moved too quickly, it might snap.

She hated it. Growing older felt like holding water in cupped hands; the harder she pressed her fingers together to keep life with Néstor the way it used to be in her grasp, the faster it slipped away. So she held Néstor's hand tightly. With him, there was no Papá or Mamá, no work or tías casting sharp glances at how she behaved. There never had been. Tonight, the moon was high, the night cloudless; they were blissfully alone, their only company a corona of stars that winked like flint.

If they found Spanish silver, perhaps they could keep it that way forever. With that money, Papá could hire double the vaqueros he currently had. Los Ojuelos would be safe. There would be no reason to marry Nena away to a stronger rancho or hacienda, and she could live her life as she pleased. Marry whom she pleased.

But if they failed? Once Papá had decided which path was the best to ensure the safety of the rancho, there was no changing his mind. Félix was already engaged to the daughter of a powerful hacendado. Nena had no desire to think about what lay in her own future, nor did she want to talk with someone like Néstor about marrying a stranger.

"I'm fine," she said. "Let's go find some silver."

In the moonlight, Néstor's grin was like mother-of-pearl, bright and eager.

Nena knew the story from Abuela, but recently, Néstor had heard another version of the tale. It was one of his first nights in the chaparral, and the vaqueros gathered with a group of itinerant carreteros, merchants who left the distant capital and crisscrossed México with their ox carts to the ranchos north of Río Bravo. They came bearing cotton and silver and china, yes, but when vaqueros encountered them on their curving paths north to las Villas del Norte, stories were the currency of the chaparral.

Néstor had listened in reverent silence to the tales of a Spanish count who fled north with his wealth during the war against the crown, thinking he could make a new life for himself in El Norte. But he was not strong, not like the carreteros and vaqueros and the Indios who made the broad, arid wilds of the north their home. The burden of his silver was too great; unless he lightened his load, he knew he would stumble and become food for coyotes and vultures. He chose a secret place to bury his treasure, blessed it, and carried on. Legend said he died in the chaparral anyway.

That was where Abuela's version of the story ended. But the carreteros spun the story further: if you saw a winking orb of light deep in the chaparral at night, they said, it hovered over the place where the Spaniard buried his treasure.

When the vaqueros returned to the rancho, Néstor came rushing to meet Nena in the anacahuita grove before evening vespers, his eyes alight with a look she knew well: he had a secret, and he was dying to share it with her.

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