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‘You do that, and I’ll piss in your bed,’ he threatened.
‘Go ahead. It’s your bed too.’
No matter what, Thorn was still the grumpy, sarcastic, most unfiltered, and loving bestie I could ask for. I owed him my life. I would have been gator bait a couple of days ago if it weren’t for him. Thankfully, after having my injury looked at, I was only coming out of this mission with a scarred and sore shoulder.
I picked up my alligator scales, pushed the Spanish moss out of my way, and finally spotted the decrepit shack before us. The mismatched and uneven wooden planks along the path leading to the wide porch didn’t give me much confidence in holding my weight, but I had little choice if I wanted help and some answers from the VooDoo Priestess. I tentatively took a step out, finding the boards stable, and gave Thorn a slight smile before taking another one.
‘If we die in this swamp, I’m blaming you and haunting your ass even in the afterlife,’ Thorn hissed. His short brown coat bristled as he jumped down onto the edge and cautiously followed behind me.
‘Good luck with that,’ I chuckled. There was no way he was going to die out here, not with his cowardly capability of getting out of here before something got to him.
The shack was just as the locals said, in the middle of the bayou with a large covered porch and two large windows with white paint peeling off the trim. The tin roof looked to be the only stable item attached to the building besides the beaten-down porch swing. No, even that didn’t look durable enough to hold an infant’s weight. A gentle breeze brought the sound of the creaky porch swing, along with the smell of moldy wood rot.
This place was a far cry from the city streets in the mid-west or even Bourbon Street. The evening sun was setting, but it did nothing to diminish the sweltering heat of the bayou. I was almost second-guessing wearing my black leather jacket, but I loved this thing and didn’t trust leaving it behind in the car.
We had finished our job with the Bone Witch a couple of days ago, and our flight back home was arranged for tomorrow morning; this might be my last chance to get some answers from the Seer about what happened. Plus, after talking to some contacts, I was told she or her partner were just the people I was looking for about the alligator belts I wanted as souvenirs.
Earlier, as I stood on the balcony of our Garden District home, I had asked Kaye if she wanted to come with me. As my answer, she started the tub, began to strip, and told me not to take another dip in the bayou.
Friends. Sometimes, you want to shank them.
Honestly, I couldn’t blame her. She deserved the royal treatment since I left her explaining what happened to Julia Brown to headquarters. Let’s just say I could hear Cassie clearly, and Kaye wasn’t on speakerphone. We drew out the assignment as long as possible, using our injuries to milk more time before we needed to head back, but graduation was in a few days and we couldn’t put off any more time.
As I took in the shack once again, I couldn’t help but remember the main reason why I was here. Taking on risk was part of the job, but I’d never experienced a close call, let alone get hit with something I couldn’t identify.
‘Eek,’ Thorn screamed and jumped a mile high when something slipped into the water next to us. As a badass carnivore from Madagascar, he sure was a scaredy-cat.
I glanced over and spotted a Nutria swimming across the surface, and let out a nervous laugh as I continued on. A swamp beaver I could handle. At least it wasn’t a gator or a snake. I could manage many things, but reptiles were now a no-go for me. I’d had enough on this trip.
A squeal echoed around the swamp, and I jerked my head back over to where the Nutria was, only to see a gator’s tail disappear into the water.
At least it isn’t me it was feasting on.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, increasing my pace until we reached the porch and stepped over the red brick dust into Priestess Tanda’s shop. Inside, two lazy circling ceiling fans filled the room with synonymous squeaking but did nothing for the inferno of the swamp heat. Closing the door behind us, inside was a glass counter to the right with an old-time cash register on top. Rows of cases furnished the shop, filled with satchels, crystals, vials, and other knickknacks. Who knew what they were for or what to do with ‘em. I sure didn’t.
“Come on in, young pup,” a woman’s voice drifted from the back.
“Hello?” I called as Thorn branched off to sniff at a few of the items on the shelves.
“Have a look around, and I’ll be right with you, dear,” the voice yelled, even though there was no need. Thorn and I were the only ones in the shop.
There was no traffic in this area, especially this late in the evening. In fact, I was warned not to venture out this way because of the monsters that were seen around here. Funny, since I just took out a big bad just down the road. So, I didn’t need their warnings. Monsters were my bread and butter.
If they only knew I was here to see a monster of their own making, they would probably run screaming. Priestess Tanda, the seer of life and death, was a powerful monster in her own right. From what I’d been told, she was one of the original Purgatory allies that helped form the N.I.T.R.A’s US branch, but she wasn’t hands-on anymore. She was more of an informant and no threat to us. Since she worked with our organization, she didn’t touch the Bone Witch; she only called in the tip. Instead, I was sent, and now I thought the damn witch’s spell did something to me before I ended her since I’d felt off ever since. But I needed the voodoo queen to confirm and hopefully help me out.
On the counter next to me was a box labeled “Moon Soul” with some vials of yellowish-gold liquid and a picture frame. The frame had the words Nerezza scrolled into the silver metal, with a picture of a girl around my age with a white Lynx. I picked up the frame and took a closer look, observing our similarities. We both had sepia skin color and brunette hair. Where my long hair was typically straight, and I had to work to get curls to stay in it, hers looks naturally wild. Her smile was infectious, and just by looking at her, she looked like she would be a lot of fun to be around. I’d often been told I had resting bitch face. Her gray eyes sparkled with mirth, and I found myself a little jealous that I was stuck with my brown eyes. Beauty marks ran along her cheekbones, whereas my face was completely bare of any markings. Still, we could easily pass as cousins, even sisters.
“Ah. So you must be the one that took care of the Bone Witch,” a middle-aged red-headed woman said as she walked through a beaded doorway from the back, startling me. I replaced the picture and gave her my full attention. Her hair was pulled back and up into a messy bun, and her bright blue eyes were laser-focused on me, but I had a feeling she didn’t miss Thorn as he moseyed around the store. She wore a loose light-green short sleeved V-neck blouse and a flowy white skirt that went down to the tops of her bare feet. The scent of rosemary reached me as she came to stand before me. For a first impression, she left me intrigued. I wasn’t expecting the great priestess to look this young and put me at ease so efficiently.
“I didn’t have a choice,” I murmured under my breath.
“Nonsense…” she quirked her eyebrow in question and gave me a pointed look.
“Ravena,” I supplied. She gave me a small, knowing smile as if she already knew my name. Pfft. For all I know, she probably did.
“Ravena, you always have a choice, dear. Sometimes, we just don’t like the consequences of those choices that are presented to us.”
“How d?—”
