Hail to the Queen

by Shyla Colt

  Golden light surrounds us. Pop. An old-fashioned scroll and a white quill hover in mid-air.

  “Let us seal the deal by blood and word after you’ve read it over of course.” It’s a physical copy of the words spoken out loud seconds ago. She holds out her hand and our palms press together, blood mingling as we sign the parchment together.

  The paper glows and duplicates. One is rolled into a scroll-like fashion on the ground and the other disappears. Efficient.

  “Come on, I’ll fulfill my part, and my people will be on Bourbon Street before the night is over.” She heals me with a wave of her hand.

  My stomach lurches as we travel along what feels like a tube. Seconds later we arrive in the basement of the Synagogue where Baal Shem is taking another turn with the stubborn Djinn.

  Father Axson and a small sea of Jewish holy men and priests form a pool of righteousness. I can feel the goodness in the air. These men have held a vigil here, lending their support and power to their elders as they try to send a demon back to hell. The men turn toward us, shocked.

  “Wh-what is the meaning of th-this?” one of them sputters.

  “I’ve brought reinforcements.”

  Sebile parts the men like the Red Sea as she gracefully glides across the floor to the circle. A priest makes the sign of the cross. “Not a demon,” Sebile chirps.

  She pauses in front of the circle. “You and I are going to take a little trip.” She blows the salt forming the circle away and grasps the Djinn so fast it’s a blur. He writhes in her grasp. The overhead lights flicker. The Djinn begins to turn to smoke and flee. She traps him, half smoke, half corporeal body. His bottom half is a twisting, spinning gray tornado, and his upper half is a decaying, grayish-green torso.

  “Stay out of this, Faerie,” he hisses.

  Her eyes turn into purple fire. “You dare to address me with such disrespect?” Her voice is deceptively even. Calm before a vicious storm.

  “I will come for you next once the storm destroys everything in its path. And then we will take—”

  He coughs, clawing at the slender hand wrapped around his throat.

  “I’m going to enjoy this, demon.”

  The building rocks on its foundation. The Djinn opens its mouth, and black tar spills out into the air like an oil burst. His aura is nausea-inducing. Snow falls down, obscuring them from view with a thick blizzard. I wrap my arms around my waist and wait. The unholy shrieks pierce my eardrums like swords. The snow stops abruptly. Fangs bared, Sebile stands tall, grinning. Black blood smeared around her mouth turns the beauty savage. She provides a handkerchief and wipes her mouth. “Problem solved.”

  “Meyn Gat.”

  The Jewish men bow as they pray and the priests make the sign of the cross.

  “The box?”

  “Was attached to him. I’ve freed it, and even now my people are working to deliver it to creative hiding places. My end of the bargain is done. Make sure you uphold your own.”

  The threat is very real and impossible to ignore.

  “I will.”

  We disappear in a swirl of darkness, sending the holy men into a fresh round of praying. It’s the last thing I hear before I’m returned to the center of my circle alone.

  “What happened?” Mémé asks.

  “She did what she said she would. Has the council been sufficiently pleased by my performance?” I stare at Zephirin, daring him to say otherwise.

  “You have gone above and beyond, exceeding our expectations, Lou,” Vale says softly.

  “Then let it be known, I will no longer suffer snide marks, or questioning my every move. Without the Cortez Court, we may not have found the answers we needed in time to thwart disaster. Like it or not, our people are aligned for the foreseeable future. I don’t believe it has to be a bad thing. I know we’re all exhausted, so I propose we go home, get some sleep, and call a proper meeting in two days’ time with all of our people. I want them to feel safe, and see that we worked as a united front. We may have vanquished the genie, but we’ve all noticed the balance isn’t what it should be. This is the second major occurrence of darkness. Once is a coincidence, twice is a pattern.”

  I take the murmured noises as agreeance, and we break the circles. It’s all I can do to stay upright as I walk toward the court. Cristobal places a hand on the small of my back and they press in closer to me, lending me their approval and affection. With the threat gone, I’m forced to examine my actions and admit I’m no longer the woman I was before I recognized the bond. It’s changing me. For better or for worse.

  ***

  “Are we going to talk about it?”

  I set down the contemporary romance I’ve been trying to lose myself in for the past hour and frown. “What are you talking about, Sach?”

  Leaning against the wall, she takes a sip of her beer. “The reason you’ve been over the house for the past week.”

  “Well, I do own it. Am I annoying you?” I shift on the cushion. Maybe she’s gotten used to me not being around, and I’m cramping her style.

  “Stop it. You know I love spending time with you. You tend to mix the days here and at the mansion up though.” She plops onto the couch beside me. “Is Cristobal out of town?”

  “No,” I say glumly. One of the things I love most about Sacha is her bluntness. She won’t let you run away from yourself.

  Her brow furrows. “Okay. So what gives?”

  I pick up the cat pillow and place it in my lap, toying with the tag. “Do you think I’ve changed since I got back?” I whisper.

  “Yes.”

  My heart sinks, and my shoulders slump.

  “Wait. Is that a bad thing?” she asks.

  “Maybe.” I shrug.

  She grunts. “Why don’t you tell me what you’re really worried about so we can have a real conversation?”

  I cringe at the C would. Conversation always means tough love with her. “When we were interrogating Wallace and Ernest, I didn’t recognize myself any longer.”

  “I wondered if you’d ever bring that up,” she says softly.

  “You noticed it, too?” I study the smiling cat’s face, afraid to look up. If I saw dissapointment or fear in her eyes, it’d kill me right now.

  “None of us are perfect, Lou. We all get caught up in the heat of the moment from time to time. You’re under a lot of pressure right now, and that case was tough. Literally, the fate of the universe was on the line. Why can’t you cut yourself some slack?” She nudged me with her elbow.

  I sigh and explore the ceiling. “It was more than losing myself at the moment, Sach. I liked it. I felt superior and completely removed from humanity. I saw them as creatures, not people. It was like I was …”

  “A vampire?”

  “Yes.” I exhale. My secret is out.

  “In a way you are, though, aren’t you?”

  “What?” I look at her.

  She holds up her hand. “Let me finish. What you have going on is more than simply being influenced by them because you’re around them all the time. This connection is on a deeper level, right?”

  “It is.”

  “Tell me how it works.”

  “That’s kind of hard. Every couple is affected differently, and there’s no manual. It’s such a personal experience, no one’s thought to document it, so we’re discovering it together. It’s more than telepathic communication. I experience the same emotions and thoughts.”

  “Sounds overwhelming.”

  “It can be. Especially at first. After a while though, you learn how to turn the volume up and down, and even block the other person out.”

  “Is it just you and Cristobal?”

  “No. Well, it was at first, but now it’s expanded to the others since I’ve agreed to become lady of the court.”

  “And it’s the same with them? T
houghts, emotions, et all?”

  “Yes. Why—” I point. “I see what you’re doing here.”

  She laughs. “You’re making connections to a lot of different vampires. That’s a number of different wavelengths to adapt to. Is it surprising that your signals got crossed?”

  She’s made it sound so simple. “Looking at it from that perspective, you could be right,” I admit begrudgingly.

  She grabs my hand a squeezes it gently. “You can’t go back to who you were before this, Lou. And that’s okay. You aren’t any less of a witch.”

  “I think you’re the only one who believes that.”

  She clucks her tongue. “Since when do we care what others think?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I think you’re emotionally drained and overwhelmed. Avoiding Cristobal is precisely what you don’t need to be doing right now. How you managed to keep him away this long is beyond me.”

  Shame sends the blood to my face.

  “How did you manage that, Lou?”

  “I might’ve been a stark raving bitch and threw down a ridiculous ultimatum.”

  She rubs her hands together with glee. “Dish. Any man who can inspire this much passion in you is impressive. You always think with your head. It’s incredibly annoying at times.”

  I groan. “I told him if he didn’t give me space and wait on me for once there wasn’t going to be a coronation.”

  “And he believed you?”

  I look up at the ceiling.

  “Louella. What did you do?”

  “I might’ve spelled him.”

  “To do what?”

  “I made a raincloud appear over him everytime he tried to follow me,” I mumble.

  “You what?” She bursts into laughter. Her face grows red, and she clutches her stomach. “Oh. Oh, this is too much.”

  “After a day straight, he backed off, and the others were too wary of me including them in the spell to try to approach me in person.”

  “Well, that’s one way to make sure he remembers he’s dating a witch.”

  “Sacha.”

  The laughter starts up again. “Oh, my side.”

  She falls over on the couch. My lips twitch. Letting go, I laugh alongside her. “You should’ve seen his face when the cloud formed, just like in the cartoons, and all he could say was ‘how undignified’.” The salty drops pouring from my eyes help me purge the sadness with laughter.

  “Oh, God. I could just see it from him.” Struggling to catch her breath, she wipes away the tears. “You know you have to make it up to him, right?”

  “I do.” I exhale.

  “Feel better?”

  “Much. I think I did need the space. My head was so full; I couldn’t think straight.”

  “I can understand that. I’m sure he’ll be able to as well. You still need to come up with an amazing way to say I’m sorry, though.”

  “Ugh. I know.”

  “Why the grimace?”

  “Because I’m embarassed about how I acted.”

  She giggles. “Welcome back, Lou.”

  “Stop enjoying this and help me plan an ‘I’m sorry I was an asshole’ apology. Would it be odd to take a man out to dinner?”

  “You’re the one groveling.”

  “You’re a cruel woman. You know that?”

  “I’ll stop.” She fixes her face into a more stern expression. “This is about him and what he likes. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to do it.”

  “I’ll recreate our first date. We’re getting so lost in responsibilities, the why we’re together has all but slipped from view. I forgot the most important thing.”

  “What’s that, Lou?”

  “I love the impossibly old-fashioned vampire. Head over heels, stupid, crazy, love him. Enough to risk everything.”

  Smiling, she nods. “My job is done.”

  I tackle hug her on the couch, and she laughs. “Thank you for giving me the kick in the ass I needed.”

  “Anytime, my friend. I know you’d do the same for me.”

  “I’m looking forward to it actually.”

  “You and me both. My love life is currently D.O.A. With no prospects on the horizon.” She rolls her eyes.

  “That’s not what the psychic said,” I remind her.

  “Ha. She didn’t give any time frame on that. Enough about me, let’s make plans. What was your first date like?”

  “Well, by the time he wore me down enough to say yes, a simple date wouldn’t do. He took me to New Orleans for an entire day affair.”

  “Oh my God, you are so screwed.”

  “Why?”

  “Because your man is extra. Which means this whole groveling thing is going to be that much harder.”

  “He’s worth it.” The words are everything I needed to remember. I smile. For the first time in six days, my mind is a lot clearer.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Step 1: Send mixtape

  Playlist:

  Swallow My Pride―Ramones

  Purple Rain―Prince & The Revolution

  Dig―Incubus

  Let’s Stay Together―Al Green

  Please Don’t Leave me―P!nk

  Try―P!nk

  I Only Have Eyes for You―The Flamingos

  Little Lion Man―Mumford & Son

  Don’t Let Me Down―The Beatles

  I purchased a two-piece wooden puzzle with our names on it that snaps together. It’s cheesy, but I know Cristobal will appreciate it. As stern as he is, the man craves love and affection. I wonder if it’s linked to being virtually ignored as a child. The youngest son, he wasn’t viewed as essential. They had an heir and a spare, so he was just more of the same. Often looked out for by the staff, he felt closer to the cook than his own mother.

  I smooth out the blank piece of paper, grab a pen, and begin to write.

  Cristobal,

  I’ve spent the past week thinking. I needed time to do that. To process everything, take stock of my emotions and equalize. But I never meant to do it at your expense. I reached my breaking point, and I took it out on you. It was never my intention, and I sincerely apologize. I wasn’t able to craft my words and express myself adequately at the time.

  I wasn’t prepared for the changes the bond has brought. They caught me off guard, and I exploded rather than decompressing and coming back later. Communication is something we need to work on. We’re such different people, it can be hard to see eye to eye, but I’ll keep working for balance because you are the love of my life.

  I don’t say it enough. I can’t imagine life without you. I feel safe when I’m with you. I trust you above all others, and I admire your old-fashioned values and manners. Even when you make me want to pull my hair out. I want to make you feel as loved, special, and cherished as you make me feel on the daily. Please extend me the courtesy of romancing you.

  Yours,

  Dove.

  I place the cassette tape in the box and add his favorite candy, la Violeta. The lavender scented candy is native to Spain. I sprinkle the water lilies inside, then seal the box. Cristobal has a particular and expensive taste. I’m a nervous wreck by the time I see the courier off and trying not to open the link too far. I need a distraction. After the intensity of the previous case, we decided to take a week off. My mind and my body rejoiced. I text Fel.

  Are you up for lunch at Tia’s? ~L

  Oh, I haven’t been there in forever. I’m down. What time? ~F

  Now? I’m starving. ~L

  Lol, all right, I’ll meet you there. ~F

  Tia’s has been a fixture in Cypress since the 1920s. The menu is old-school but cooked to perfection. They’re the epitome of comfort food done right. A trip here is a treat I occasionally indulge in. Too much of Tia’s family reci
pes, and I’d no longer fit my clothing. The sugar, lard, and salad make the good food taste like heaven, but the calories remain pure evil.

  I feel the gloom lifting as I park in front of the quaint building. Tia’s Lunchroom is written across the building in simple black print. The boxy white building has weathered storms, change, and constant generations of patrons. As I park the car, I’m reminded of visits before with family and friends. Tia’s is the place you turned to when you wanted a home-cooked meal without the responsibility of clean up.

  I cross the lot and slip inside.

  The white and black checkerboard floor and glass dessert case full of freshly baked pies await me like an old friend. Fel waves at me from a wooden both by the window. I make my way over and sit across from her.

  “Hey, cousin.”

  She smiles. “You look and sound so much better than you did a week ago.”

  “Ditto.”

  “Trust me. I’ve been making the most of my break … sleeping in, reading, watching television. I’m living the life.”

  I laugh. “I’ve been doing about the same. It’s sad that this is the first time I’ve seen you socially in ages.”

  “I know. One more meeting would’ve damaged my psyche beyond repair. There’s only so much PC arguing a woman can take,” Fel says dryly.

  I laugh. “It feels like things are finally starting to settle. Even the weather. This is the first day without rain.”

  “Thank God, the flooding was starting to get out of control. I’d started giving it a little helping hand and making it drain faster,” Fel admits.

  “Wow, Fel.”

  “I’ve been practicing. I don’t think you’re the only one experiencing an upgrade in powers.”

  “How long have you suspected that theory?”

  “Since we cast the sunrise circle and Vit came into his own. The power had to come from somewhere. I think if he’d been that inclined all this time at the least he would’ve done some sort of accidental magic.

  “You think we’ve all leveled up?”

  “Maybe. I know things shift to fit each matriarch. Your power is new and multi-layered now that you’re bonded with the court. Maybe it’s a trickle-down effect?”