“Kids.” Zeke cursed.
“I hate crossing kids,” I muttered, my heart aching.
His large calloused hand wrapped around the back of my neck and squeezed me gently. “I know. It’s all kinds of fucked up.”
Yeah, that about summed it up. I stepped forward and made my way to them with Zeke only a few steps behind. This was going to suck.
* * *
After a heart-wrenching trip to the Veil, Zeke and I were standing in the back of the bus near the second door. I had bitched about it at first, but as more people climbed on I was grateful. Zeke stood right in front me and blocked me off from the crowd. The space grew tighter. Zeke cursed as he was pressed closer to me. Memories flickered through my mind. My heart slammed, my stomach knotted, my chest grew tight. Too close, he was too close, too tall, way too tall... My breathing picked up. My mind flashed on snow. His fingers lifted my chin so his eyes could meet mine.
"Slow, deep breaths," he said in that soft gravelly voice he used with me once in a while.
The tightness in my chest eased, the knots in my stomach loosened. The snow faded as I took a deep breath and held his gaze.
"Good. Again."
I kept eye contact with him as someone in the crowd ran into his back. He flinched, his body growing rigid against me. His jaw clenched as he looked over his shoulder, his eyes started to glow.
"Zeke." I put my hand in the middle of his chest.
He turned back to me, the strain showing on his face. Too many people behind him. Shit.
"Stay with me," I whispered, my other hand moved around his hard waist. He focused on me, on keeping the crowd away from me, on his breathing.
The look in his eyes made my heart race for a different reason. His eyes warmed as the bus continued to move toward our stop. With him so close, we breathed together. When our stop was announced sound suddenly came back. Zeke growled as he pushed away from the bus wall and forced everyone to move. He managed to stay between me and the crowd again as I slipped between him and out the door. Zeke stepped off the bus and patted his front pocket. When he found his wallet, he lifted his chin to me. "Still have yours?"
Face burning, I reached in and pulled out my wallet. "Yep." I tucked it into my back pocket again. Trying to distract myself, I pulled out my phone and brought up the directions to the address Louis gave us.
We started walking through the Garden District. The houses were huge and beautiful. They ranged from Greek revival to colorful Victorians as we walked down the tree lined sidewalk in silence.
"You good?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah, you?" I kept my voice just as low.
“Yeah,” he sighed. "What do you think you're going to learn from this guy that makes it worth staying here?"
His question threw me. I thought about it. "I don't know." I shrugged. "Anything more than I know now would make this trip worth it."
“Even with that council in town?”
“Yeah,” I admitted. “Imagine going your whole life doing this weird thing that you have very little control over.”
“I don’t have to imagine,” he breathed.
It took me a second to realize what he meant. Zeke had once said he has his father’s temper. “You’ve been doing better the last couple of weeks,” I said. “At least temper wise, protective wise...”
“Yeah, I know. I’m… slipping,” he bit out.
“I’m here if you want to talk,” I reminded him.
"Maybe," he said as we continued down the road.
“Oh, after this Asher wants to meet me at Café Du Monde,” I told him, trying to forget the way his eyes warmed on the bus.
“Miles told me, he’ll partner Asher to meet us,” Zeke said. “I’ll walk back with Miles.” Wow, the guys were really taking the entire buddy system seriously. It made me wonder what they talked about last night after I stayed outside onto the balcony.
We finally reached the address. It was a large, mint green, Victorian house on Jackson Ave. I instantly loved the large window over the porch on the second floor. Not to mention the porch swing.
Before we could open the walkway gate, the front door opened. Four children came out, in varying ages. One little girl with blonde hair spoke in what I was guessing was French to an older girl, while the youngest of the girls complained that she wanted her hair in Nubian twists.
"I know, Ami. But we're leaving right now for the pool." A blonde woman closed the door behind her and picked up a stuffed large tote. “We'll do it tomorrow morning, or Momma Uma can do it tonight before the gallery showing. But we can't do it before we leave, baby."
The oldest, a boy who looked around fourteen with Louis's eyes, watched me as he approached the sidewalk. That strange feeling rolled over my skin, only barely as a whisper this time. Necro.
"Who the hell are you?" The kid said to us.
"Juan, we don't use that kind of language." The woman chided as she came down the stairs
"Emilia, can you get Caroline and Ami in the van." The woman stepped onto the walkway at the bottom of the stairs and eyed us. “Can I help you?”
“I’m Lexie, Louis gave me this address.” I opened the gate and stepped aside so the three girls could climb into a red mini-van parked at the curb. The boy kept watching me with suspicion.
She sighed. “You’re in the right place. I’m Savannah, one of his wives.” She turned to the boy watching us. “Juan, this is Lexie, she’s a Necromancer.”
“I figured that out.” Juan rolled his eyes.
Savannah sighed. “Juan...”
“This is Zeke.” I gestured up at the giant. “He’s a friend of mine.”
Zeke only nodded once to them. Juan watched me as he fingered several strands of beads on his left wrist. Onyx beads.
The front door opened. Louis came out carrying another full tote bag. "Vannah!" He hurried down the stairs to us. "You left the bag with the sunscreen and water bottles."
"Oh, for crying out loud," Savannah muttered. "Juan, love, can you be a dear and put this in the car and tell your sisters to buckle up?"
Juan took the bag and went to do as she asked, muttering under his breath the whole time.
Savannah sighed and looked up at Louis. "I never thought I'd be wishing summer was over already."
Louis chuckled.
Savannah turned to us. "I'm sorry, we have to go." She turned back to Louis. "I'll bring home gumbo from Acme’s tonight so stay out of the kitchen and keep your hands off those pecan pies. They're for the fundraiser tomorrow."
Louis held his hands up in surrender. "I will stay out of the kitchen."
Savannah got up on her toes and kissed his cheek before hurrying around the van to the driver's seat.
As soon as Savannah and the kids were gone he turned to us, his face somber. "Come inside, we need to talk."
Louis led us into the house, as we climbed the steps I noticed a small design carved into the base of a porch post. I recognized it as a ward from the research Miles had managed to get for me. I took a quick glance around the yard. Another on a fence post and the trim of the front door. Those, I didn’t recognize. Louis led us into the house, past the stairs and into his home office. Sitting in one of the armchairs was a woman wearing a sophisticated sheath dress and heels that screamed classic elegance. Her nutmeg skin contrasted beautifully with the lavender of the dress. She lifted her head from the book she was reading and smiled a stunning smile.
Setting the book aside, she got to her feet. "You must be Lexie, we've heard so much about you. I'm Uma, one of Louis's wives and also a local witch."
I shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you. This is my friend Zeke."
She eyed Zeke and didn’t offer her hand. “And your skills are…?”
"I have the Sight as does everyone who came with Lexie on this trip," he answered with his usual directness.
"The Sight." Uma's chocolate eyes ran over him. "I'm guessing it's not natural."
Zeke didn’t say a word.
"
Have a seat," Louis said as he sat down behind his desk. Uma leaned on the ledge of the window sill behind the desk beside Louis. Zeke and I took the two chairs in front of the desk.
"I think it's time for you to talk," Louis stated, his eyes sharp.
Zeke sat a little straighter.
"I think we both need to come clean about what we know." I met his gaze unflinching. The tension stretched. Uma shifted.
"You're right," Louis sighed. “Especially now. Last night, there was an incident at a restaurant. The council attacked civilians."
My heart dropped. "What?"
"What do you mean attacked?" Zeke leaned forward in his chair.
"Magic affects norms differently, unless of course they've had training as a magic user." Louis explained. "A normal person can get hit with a pure energy blast and be fine. They'll trip over nothing, lose their footing, but they'll be fine. But if it's a lot of energy... they'll get a fever, dizzy, nauseous, their white blood cell count will go off the charts."
"On the news, they reported that people were admitted to Tulane Medical Center," Zeke said.
Louis nodded. "Exactly. What we have found from the surveillance footage is that two witches and two warlocks entered the restaurant. They ate and before they left, they discreetly threw a great deal of energy around. People were immediately ill; two people were knocked unconscious. They slipped out in the confusion."
"Why?" I asked, there had to be a reason. “And how the hell did you get the footage?”
“We have connections,” Uma said cryptically.
Louis's gaze went to me. "We received a message from the council's representatives that they won't stop until we surrender and join them."
"So, they're using normals as hostages?" Zeke growled. “What the hell is that going to get them?”
“We don’t know,” Uma admitted as her gaze turned to me. “But it has made your arrival rather suspicious."
Tension filled the room as I met her gaze. Zeke clenched his fists.
“I'm not with them.” I wasn't even mad, just annoyed. "I'm a Necromancer, not a witch."
"She's right about that." Louis’s eyes narrowed on me. "A Necromancer with surprising contacts."
It was my turn to give up some info. I explained to him about Isaac becoming possessed by a demon. How Evelyn saved us both from dying painfully and that I was still in contact with them.
By the end, Uma was standing beside her husband’s chair, her eyes calculating. "That is quite the story."
Louis nodded. "That makes sense, though how you got ahold of the gargoyles is beyond me. They've been missing in action for at least a hundred years."
"Two hundred, at least according to Evelyn," I said.
"We don't need their help," Uma stated. "We've been protecting ourselves for years."
Louis sighed. "Uma, if this turns into war, do you want the children in the middle of it? Or with people who can help and protect them?"
"It won't get that far," Uma stated with confidence.
“What’s stopping it from getting that bad?” I asked, crossing my legs.
Uma tilted her head to the side and eyed me. “You don’t need to know everything.”
Louis sighed and turned back to me. “Now, the Veil. What do you know about that?"
I met Zeke's eyes then turned back to Louis. "It's shut. And it was done deliberately by a magic user. The dead can't cross on their own anymore."
Louis said something in French, this time I was positive it was cursing. "That explains a lot."
"If that pressure builds..." Uma shook her head.
“It’s a time bomb,” Louis agreed.
"It's not building." I licked my lips and made a decision. "I've managed a link to the Veil. At the moment, I'm the only way to cross the dead."
They both looked at me with varying degrees of shock.
"You can cross the dead right now?" Louis asked.
"Yes."
He eyed me. “Do you understand what would happen if you weren’t able to cross the dead?”
I nodded. “The barriers would break; Heaven and Hell would pour into this world.”
His eyes were worried as they met mine. “What’s that doing to your health?”
I resisted the urge to fidget. “Apparently, using my body as a gateway sped up the process.”
“How large is the spot now?” Louis asked.
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” I said. “The dead can't touch me."
Uma's shoulders straightened. "What do you mean?"
I held Louis's gaze. "They can't jump me. I don’t get nosebleeds anymore, I don't bleed from the ears, and I’m no longer amassing brain damage."
"How?" Louis asked. I explained to him about the ward tattoo that Evelyn had made for me. When I finished, Louis’s face was thoughtful. Uma's was excited.
"Mon amour..." Uma said in a soft voice.
Louis turned to her. "We'll talk about it later."
Uma's eyes flashed. "Later?"
"When we're alone," Louis suggested.
Uma huffed, clearly not happy with him. She turned to me. "Is there any way for Louis to get these wards?"
Louis bristled.
"I could ask Evelyn. I don't see why she'd say no." I turned to Louis. "Especially, if he can start working on his own link to the Veil."
Louis went still. "I don't know about that."
"If you can help cross the dead, then we can get the Veil back open faster and get everything back to normal," I countered.
"She has a point," Uma added.
He shot her a look. "Who in this room are you married to?"
"You hardly ever leave the house anymore," Uma said. "You're barely able to get through town and when you do your nose and ears start to bleed."
"We can discuss this another time." Louis's voice was firm. He turned back to me. "Now, are you crossing the dead here?"
"I'm trying." I leaned forward. "No one wants to cross. And that's a problem I haven't run into before."
"Yes, the dead in New Orleans are, well, this is New Orleans." Uma smiled. “We’re unique.”
"Yeah, they're lively. Unfortunately, they're also possessing people," I announced.
Louis sat up straight. "What?"
"Last night, I watched the soul of a man jump a woman and walk off in her body." I still could barely believe it.
Louis was cursing again. "We need to stop them."
"My friends are making kits," I began. "One of them came up with it when I was getting a lot of nosebleeds. The kit contains salt and holy water. Pour either of those into a possessed person's mouth and the ghost is kicked out immediately."
Louis eyed me. "That's rather clever."
"I thought so too, it’s saved my ass a couple of times," I admitted.
"Have you ever seen... a purple ribbon?" he asked carefully.
I grinned. "Yeah, but mine’s gold. It's how I grab the dead and take them to the Veil."
Louis nodded. "Good, you might have to go out, wrangle some souls, and force them to move on."
I cringed. "Force them? I've only done that once and it hurt like hell."
"You can think about it. But I have a feeling that's the only way you'll clear the dead out of the Quarter, let alone the city,” he said.
I sighed. “I don’t like it, but you might be right.”
“At the moment, we’ve been…” He glanced at Uma then back to me. “We’ve been in defense mode. But if you can thin the herd a bit, we’d appreciate it.”
“I’ll do what I can.” I met his gaze. “How big is your spot?”
He sighed. “Around a dime.”
“It’s doubled in size since souls stopped crossing,” Uma supplied.
“How did you manage so little damage?” I asked. “Everyone in my family died before they hit thirty.”
“My family has kept meticulous records,” he explained. “It was mostly a process of elimination over centuries.”
“So, beads, warding symbols…”
He nodded. “Herbs, salt, some spell work by Uma of course.”
“Spells? I haven’t tried that. How’s that work?” I asked leaning forward again.
“I can’t manage it,” he sighed. “Uma has tried to teach me but I can’t manage to get it down.”
“Necromancy is different from other energy manipulation,” Uma announced. “Where you use will, we collect and use energy.”
“That’s what I do in the Veil, kind of,” I said, running it over in my head.
Uma raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
I nodded. “It was the only way I could manipulate the Veil.”
“Interesting.” Uma eyed me.
All this shop talk was nice but I needed some answers. I turned to Uma. “How is it a witch isn’t answering to the Witches Council?”
Louis and Uma shared a look before Uma turned back to me. “My mother raised me outside the council’s influence. They didn’t exactly like her.”
“Why’s that?” Zeke asked.
“Well, my mother didn’t like the way they did things and left.” She grinned. “She was a strong enough witch that they had no choice but to let her leave.”
“What are they actually like?” I asked. “All I’ve ever heard was they kill Necros when they raise the dead.”
“That’s on par for them,” Uma admitted. “They like that maneuver.”
Great. I still needed answers. I turned back to Louis as every question I ever wanted to ask poured through my mind. But one new one was bugging the crap out of me. “What the hell is up with that... skin thing?”
“What skin thing?” Uma asked.
Louis shifted and looked down at the desk. “I did some research, it seems-”
“What skin thing?” Zeke demanded. Oh shit.
I looked down at my toes poking out of my sandals. “Uh... oh.... um...”
“It’s nothing,” Louis announced, saving me. “Just a reaction due to the both of us being Necromancers.”
I looked up and met Louis’s eyes. That sensation slid over my skin like oil. My stomach rolled. The guy was almost fifty. Even he looked uncomfortable. “How do you know that?”
Uma looked down at Louis with an eye raised. “Louis?”
“There’s an old entry in one of my great-great-grandfather’s journals,” Louis began again. “Apparently, at some point he ran into a female Necromancer with red hair-”
Secrets From the Grave Page 11
