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“We need a plan. Running willy-nilly isn’t going to get us anywhere. Do you know where we are?”
“Ahh…yes? Mostly.” I grew up on these streets and oriented myself quickly regardless of where I was at any time. “I’ve been running around here since Icouldrun. You know?”
“No. I spent time here, but I traveled all over the south, and I’m not originally from New Orleans.”
“Oh. I didn’t think about that. Where are you from?”
“St. Louis, actually. But, uh…I came here for the music.”
“Stayed for the fun?”
Luc snorted.
“Yeah, guess that wasn’t all that funny, now that I said it. Let’s keep moving.”
We came out at St. Peter and cut back down to Bourbon. We moved slower this time. Walking casually through the crowds, not calling attention to myself. But the crowds were thinner. This was an area where all the tourists went who were into vampires, voodoo, and the other supernatural nonsense that flourished in New Orleans. Oh, right. Maybe not so ridiculous after all.
“This is St. Ann’s.” I waved my hand around. “Let’s go up again…” We were entirely too exposed here. I once again shimmied up a pole. This one was a bit harder, closer to thestreet than the wall, but I managed. Then I skated across the balcony to the back wall and over an arched gate of brick with iron bars completely covering the opening. I jumped down on the far side and walked around the corner into yet another courtyard. Well, this was more of a parking area, but there was a low wall on the far side begging to be climbed.
New Orleans was full of hidden treasures. This space was incredible. Lush with vegetation and nearly hidden behind palm trees and other bushes. It was secluded. The ground was a cement path, but multiple varieties of potted palms and ferns surrounded the space. A little table with a chair was pushed against the corner. And a pair of long legs happened to be sticking out.
The man leaned forward and peered over at me, blowing out a puff of smoke.
“Man, smoking is bad for your health.” We were busted, but it could go a number of ways, and I had no choice but to play it out.
The smoker ignored my comment. “The tourists are eating down the road at the café, and here you come, bounding into my courtyard. Are you lost?”
“Uh, no, not really?”
He took a slow drag from a cigarette and held it a second before blowing it out again. “Oh, but you must be. My gallery is closed.” He waved the cigarette around.
“Um… We’re just passing through?”
“We?” he asked with a flick of his hand, dumping ashes to the ground beside him.
“Yes, me and… Oh. Right, Luc is a spirit. Now you think I’m crazy.” I had gotten entirely too comfortable with my new lover—friend. Definitely, friend. And I was guessing the vampire couldn’t see Luc’s glow, though it lit up the entire courtyard. At least it wasn’t likely for the goon-brigade to track us like that.
“But you must be. You’re making dangerous choices.” He flashed a fang and stood intimidatingly tall. He was what I’d always thought of assvelte. Perfectly svelte. Flawless. Fanged. Shit. That could be fake. This was New Orleans, after all.
“So, you’re a vampire?”
Luc leaned toward me. “Yes, definitely a supernatural creature. I can tell—”
“Luc, please…”
The vampire flicked his cigarette away. “Do you really see and hear a spirit? Are you an Ongan?”
“N-No. I uh… It’s this ring.” I felt like I needed to tell the truth. If Luc was right and this truly was a vampire, it might mean life or death. Or something in between, and I’d had enough of that. “And we’re working on that. Sort of. But…”
The vampire waved his hand around and sat back down. “I don’t want to know. You get a pass this time. For your spirit friend.”
“I’m Austin. The spirit is Luc. And you are?”
“If I must. Call me Sloane.”
“Sloane. Thank you. I won’t forget this.”
“Something tells me I won’t either.” He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and tapped one out, but I didn’t stick around to see him light it. Instead, I walked around the corner and climbed over another wall, heading back to the streets. I wondered why the vampire couldn’t see him or even tell he was there, but the Rougarou could. None of this made since, but I didn’t know much about the spirit world. I put it out of my mind, while we made our way down toward the river and across St. Peter Street. Trying to keep moving and simply put distance between us and the goons, though I wasn’t sure where they were now.
