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I turned to him. “I’m going to be okay. I’m more worried about you, baby.”
“I am not scared of a bunch of swamp gangsters. I am worried about my fiancé. I want to make sure that I do not have to raise my sons on my own.”
“I will be fine.”
Max got closer to me. “Yo, I don’t want to stay here. I think I should go off and get this thing.”
I sucked my teeth. “Are you serious? I’m trying to heal my mind, thus healing us.”
“Can’t we just heal from the hotel?” Max held out his hands. “This place will be bugged out at night. It’s already scary during the day.”
Tisha looked at Kaz. “I will help you get whatever item you need and then have you back early. Trust me, cousin. Together, it will be easy.”
Kaz blew out a long breath, looked up at Delphine, and spoke through clenched teeth, “What do I have to get?”
“The Eye of the Gator.” Delphine took a puff from her pipe.
Kaz frowned. “Any alligator?”
She shook her head. “You need to get the Eye of the Gator. It is in the possession of a man named Thibaut Leclair. Most call him the Alligator Don.”
Kaz loudly groaned.
Tisha held out his hands. “Who is this?”
She scowled at him. “Thibaut grew up in the swamps. He knows the bayou better than anyone. Because of that, he was always able to excellently navigate the waters for smuggling goods and also outrun the authorities.”
Sighing, Kaz looked back at me. “Are you sure you will be okay, msyh?”
“Yes, baby.”
Delphine continued, “Today, he rules the bayous.”
Tisha shrugged. “Alright. We get this eye from the Don. Sounds simple.”
“However. . .” Delphine raised one finger. “No one crosses the Alligator Don’s path and comes out unscathed.”
“We will see about that.” Kaz narrowed his eyes at her. “And this Eye of the Gator? Tell me more. How will I know I have it?”
Delphine paused, probably taking a moment to choose her words carefully. “It’s not a symbolic relic, Kazimir. It’s a literal eye of a white alligator, specifically an ancient creature from the Louisiana bayous. The Eye has been carefully preserved for centuries in this jar, and the Don keeps it next to his throne. There is no other eye in a jar near him, so that part will be easy.”
Tisha chuckled. “The Don has a throne?”
“And several alligators around it.” Delphine shook her head. “Be polite when you talk to him because he will not want to give you the eye.”
“He will give it to me, or he will die.” Kazimir glared. “But, why do we need this eye?”
Sighing, Delphine directed her gaze towards me. “The alligator embodies a delicate balance between the physical and spiritual worlds. This specific eye will easily get you into the world inside of your head.”
“Yo, this is getting a bit paranormally crazy to me.” Max shook his head. “I’m more comfortable with regular day-to-day shooting people stuff. Are we really going to do this shit?”
I shook my head. “You’re not tired of cleaning up Lunita and washing blood out of my hair?”
Max still didn’t look pleased, but he didn’t push further.
We must do it. That’s that. There is nothing else to say.
As daunting as the task ahead seemed, the promise of a potential cure—a chance for me to integrate my divided self—gave me the courage to do whatever it took.
