“I want your word, Hunter.”
“You have my word, Hélène, that I will not kill the young Vodouisants responsible, nor will I allow Peyton to do so, but if you think I’m leaving this swamp without her, you have another thing coming. So, what’s it going to be?”
“Very well. I shall release the witch into your care and take your word you will do as you’ve promised.” Hélène nodded to the two men who let go of Iris. “I will, however, need to set a mark upon you that will allow you access into the many Voodoo enclaves in the swamp and beyond.”
“A mark? Like a brand or something, because I’m so not down with that.”
“No, you must trust me, otherwise you will not live to see dawn, and you certainly will not make it out of the swamp.”
Denny glanced over at Iris, who nodded.
Taking Denny’s face in her large hands, Hélène closed her eyes and uttered words Denny didn’t understand. Then, as a mother might, she lightly caressed Denny’s scarred left eyebrow before stepping away. “There. When the work is done and you have kept your word, I shall remove the mark.”
Denny turned to Iris. “Is there a mark?”
Iris nodded. “Ummm...yeah. Just a little one really. I mean, it’s not so bad. In many circles it would be...umm...cool.”
Inhaling deeply, Denny held her hand out to Iris. “Hélène, I don’t have to tell you what will happen if you double cross me or don’t keep your end of the bargain.”
“I am well aware, Hunter.”
“Then if we are through here, there’s work to be done. We’ll need a ride back.”
“But of course.”
As Denny stepped back into the small boat, she locked eyes with Hélène. “I gave you my word, and that means everything to me, but if one of those punk-ass Vodouisants killed Louis, someone will feel my wrath. If they come at us, they are dead meat.”
“I would expect no less from you, but you must act quickly. The demonic forces get stronger with every sunset, and they, too, will be seeking out the children. The easiest prey for young demons.”
As Iris got in, she nodded to Hélène. “Your national bird is what?”
Hélène smiled. “The Trogon. A beautiful bird of blue and gold or red and black, both with black and white tail feathers.”
Iris nodded. “Thank you.”
“Keep your hunter’s wit about her, young witch. She will need to remain calm in the face of the danger mounting in our city.” As the boat pushed from the rickety dock, Hélène shouted, “If I were you, Hunter, I would keep the witch by your side. Someday, her powers will exceed even yours.”
Denny looked at Iris, at Hélène and back to Iris. “She’s not just a witch any longer, Hélène. She’s my witch.”
***
Valeria and Peyton stared openly as Denny and Iris entered the bedroom.
“Thank the goddess, you’re both unharmed. I have had the coven searching everywhere for you, Iris. Where have you two been?” Valeria hugged Denny before leaning away to look at her face.
When her gaze traveled to Iris, Iris shrugged. “It was a long and weird night.”
“She’s not selling it well. It was super fucking weird.” Pulling out of the embrace, Denny turned to Peyton. “You’re looking better.” Denny stepped up to the bed.
Peyton’s mouth moved, but nothing came out.
“What?”
“Wish I could say the same for you. You went to the village, didn’t you? How in the hell did you find it?”
Denny glanced over at Valeria. “How did she know?”
Valeria pointed to the mirror.
Denny leaned down to look into the vanity. The face staring back at her had a black and white tattoo of a feather running from the top of her eyebrow, ending midway down her right cheek.
“What the fuck?” Denny rubbed the tattoo as if it might come off. “That woman really marked me!”
“Yep, Rookie, you’ve been marked.” Peyton chuffed and shook her head. “You let that creepy ass Mambo High Priestess mark you. Can you be any more of a novice? Jesus. You’re lucky your head isn’t on a pike somewhere. Un—fucking—believeable—”
Suddenly, Iris’s hands flew up, and Peyton went mute. “That’s enough.” Iris stood at the end of the bed. “Actually, it’s more than enough. Peyton Farquar. My hunter came here because she was nervous about you...you, a legacy hunter she’s never met. She dropped everything to come to New Orleans because she was troubled something had happened to you. She arrives to help, has to fight off dozens of demons, and you’ve been nothing but a demeaning jackass since Day One.”
“I didn’t ask—”
Iris flicked her wrists at Peyton once more, stopping her in mid-sentence. “I. Am. Not. Done.” Iris stepped closer. “You speak to either of us like that again, and you can clean your own damn house, but right now—right now—Denny has a deal with Hélène that could very well keep the peace in your backwater little burg, as well as possibly close the rift you almost lost your life over. Now, we are going out to fulfill our end of the deal by finding those kids and returning them unharmed to the swamp. In the meantime, get out of bed and start looking.” She flicked her wrists once more.
“Looking? Looking for what?”
“Your manners. I’m sure you left them lying around somewhere. Don’t come back until you find them.” With that, Iris whirled around and left.
After several long moments, Valeria cut her eyes over to Denny. “Wow. Good for her.” To Peyton she said, “Apparently Denny has chosen her witch.”
“Apparently,” Peyton mumbled. “Find my manners. Jesus. I can’t get out of this bed fast enough.”
“Can we get down to business now?”
Valeria nodded. “Yes, of course.”
When Denny finished relaying the events of the night, Peyton shook her head slowly. “Okay. I got that you had to go, but you can’t trust a priestess, Rookie. My God, look what she did to your face.”
Denny didn’t know how she felt about wearing a mark upon her face but it was too late to cry about it now. “Maybe not, but you can trust demons.”
“I know demons. I know witches. I even know warlocks. But Voodoo? Shit. Voodoo is a whole different ballgame and I live here.”
“Well, we don’t really have another choice. I gave her my word. We need to get to those Haitian kids before they jettison out of here, and we need to put down the demons that have already been freed through the source. To get all of that done, I need your word you won’t harm those kids.”
“No dice.”
“Golden is right, Peyton. You can’t do what you want to do to them. They are young and foolish. They meant no harm.”
“They summoned a demon, V! They fucking opened a hole between worlds. Don’t you get it? This wasn’t an accident. It couldn’t be. Teenagers, even experienced ones couldn’t do that alone.”
Denny cocked her head. “No?”
“No. While you and your witch were wading around the swamp last night, two of V connections returned her SOS. They explained that a rift like that could not be opened without a very potent spell from a very powerful priestess. One even stronger than Hélène .Now a Mambo Asogwe? She could.”
“A whatty what?”
A Mambo Asogwe. The top of the line,” Valeria replied. There is one such Mambo in the swamp. They call her the Swamp Queen. It is possible she could have something to do with this.”
“In other words, Rookie, you can’t trust Hélène. I don’t know what her ulterior motives are, but they’re there. Believe me on this. Hélène isn’t to be trusted.”
“That’s ridiculous, Peyton. Hélène just wants the kids found and returned safely. Once we do that and they show us where the rift is, she’ll close it.”
“You need to fucking read a book, Rookie. Opening the rift is one thing. Once spirits start leaving it, they leave residue that acts like a glue making it stronger. She, or whoever the hell opened it, might not be powerful enough to close it.”
> “I get that, Peyton, but unless and until you swear you won’t hurt those kids, you and I are no longer playing for the same team.”
Peyton tore her gaze away. “I run my city my way, you run yours your way.”
“Killing humans is bad business. Especially if we can handle them another way. At least give it a try.”
Peyton looked over at Valeria, who was nodding.
“I have to concur, Peyton. You’ve pretty much ostracized every coven in Louisiana. Let’s not do so with the Haitians.”
Peyton stared down at her hands. Second ticked by before she finally said, “Fine. We’ll try it her way, but if this thing slides south, I’m back in the game and we’re finishing this my way.”
“That sounds fair. Golden?”
Denny shrugged. “I won’t let her kill kids, Valeria, and not because I gave Hélène my word. My sister is a teenager, and if some punk-ass hunter killed her for a mistake she made, I would dismember their body and eat it for Thanksgiving.”
Valeria turned to Peyton. “Well?”
Peyton blew out a breath. “Whatever. Do what you gotta do, Rookie.”
“So, what’s our first move?”
Peyton struggled to sit up. “It will be nearly impossible to locate those kids if they are in hiding. Hell, they could be in California for all we know. We need to locate the rift first. Nothing else matters until we know where it is.”
“That could take just as long.”
Valeria shook her head. “I think we have been approaching this all wrong. We keep wanting the Vodouisants to lead us to it, when it is clear who knows where it is.”
Denny’s shoulders fell. “Of course. Demons will know.”
“Can your witch summon one?” Valeria asked.
“Ummm...you know...I have no idea what she’s capable of. This is kind of her first day on the job. Can’t you?”
“I most certainly can, but it is not in our best interest to have the most experienced witch incapacitated by that particular ritual.”
Peyton agreed. “We need V as back up, Rookie. If your witch can summon one, we will be in a far stronger position.”
Valeria put her arm across Denny’s shoulder and walked her to the stairs. “We’ll have your witch summon a Limbo demon and get it to tell her where the rift is. A Limbo demon can see the spiritual world from a unique vantage point.”
“A Limbo demon. That’s brilliant.”
“I should have thought of it before. We kept our focus on those who have already left. I don’t know what all you know about Limbos, but they are often used to introduce newbies into the realm of demons so that they can get a feel for that darker, often overwhelming energy. They are mild compared to the higher circles. Although powerful, they have been trained specifically in a few areas. They cannot cause any kind of real physical harm. They can, however, provide their masters with a plethora of things...one of those things being information.”
“And you think it wise to have Iris attempt this?”
“As long as it is a Limbo demon, yes. So long as I remain able to protect Peyton and you from harm, this should work.”
“So we call a Limbo and then what? Interrogate it?”
“That’s the plan.”
When Denny reached the bottom floor where Iris was waiting, she tossed her a grin. “Well that was big and bold of you little witch. Taking on the mighty Peyton Farquar.”
“Yeah, well, now you see what happens when someone pisses me off. Don’t piss me off and you’ll be good.”
“Wouldn’t think of it, but I do have one question.”
Iris turned, eyebrows raised in question.
“Next time someone magically tattoos my face, ya think you might let me know?”
“I think it’s rather fetching.”
“Fetching? Who the hell uses that word anymore?”
“I am an old soul, Golden Silver. A very old soul.”
“I think I just wet myself a little.”
Iris laughed. “So you kissed and made up?”
“Ugh. Not really. She’s lying about not killing those kids. Valeria thinks you need to call a Limbo demon. I’m not so sure I like that idea.”
Iris turned to Denny and held out a plate of bread slices. “We don’t need a Limbo demon, DH. We just need a body housing one.”
Denny gazed down at the diminutive witch and the proffered bread. “Oh, I like how you think, Samantha.”
Iris frowned. “Samantha?”
“Yeah. You know, from the T.V. show Bewitched?”
Iris shook her head.
“Never mind. If we need a Limbo demon, then I know exactly where we need to go to get one.”
***
“What’s with you and cemeteries anyway?” Iris asked as they walked through the darkness of Lafayette cemetery.
“I think the spirits somehow affect my Hanta because I’m drawn to them on a level that is neither mental nor emotional. It didn’t really start until after the Hanta woke up. I know it’s totally weird, but hey, what’s normal about any of this, right?”
“Your obsession with them is a little beyond weird.”
“Yeah, well, that’s just the tip of the bizarre iceberg regarding my weirdness.”
“Yeah? Like what else?”
Denny chuffed. “Geez, how much time do you have?”
“Plenty. Give me just one demonic weirdness.”
Sighing, Denny wandered over to a marble statue and ran her hands over it. "Heightened sense of...everything. When the Hanta’s awake, my nerve endings are on fire. Like right now. It’s almost as if I can feel the pores of the marble. I can hear the owls settling in the trees. I can smell cheap cologne lingering from some young kid. I can see in the dark better, and everything tastes magnificent.”
“Seriously? How cool is that?”
“It can be.”
“Must make sex amazing.”
Denny chuckled. “Off the hook, if I’m being honest.”
“Must be weird for your partner, though.”
Denny turned from the statue. “Weird?”
“Yeah. A woman would wonder if she was making love with you or your demon.”
Denny paused to sniff the air. “True. Sometimes...sometimes I’m not even sure myself.”
“What else?”
“Food tastes better, but I have to remember to eat. As you’ve realized, I often forget.”
“Because you’re too busy feeding your demon and saving the world? I should make you a superhero cape with a big DH on it.” Iris stopped suddenly. “Here.”
“What is it?”
“Spirit energy is very strong right here. I think we have a winner.”
Denny felt her first pangs of doubt. “Are you sure?”
Iris looked crestfallen. “So you doubt my powers too?”
“No, no. It’s just...”
“Save it, DH. You doubt me. You think I’m a novice, too. It is what it is. I’ll prove to you that I can handle this.”
“Honestly Iris. I don’t doubt you can summon a demon.
Iris reached into the pocket of a very long, black pea coat and withdrew candles, matches, and assorted items Denny had seen at her first séance.
“Stand back, DH and watch a pro show you how it’s done.”
Denny leapt up onto a marble mausoleum and sat on her haunches, watching. “A pro, huh? Suddenly you’re all cocky?”
“What do you think I’ve been doing these last few months? Sitting around eating bon-bons? Give me a break here. If you recall, I paralyzed the crap out of you with a very difficult-to-blend potion.”
Denny snarled playfully. “Yeah, and I’ll get my pound of flesh for that, too, sister.”
The Hanta liked her, and Denny wondered if she’d chosen Iris or if the Hanta had.
As Denny watched Iris set her accoutrements, she slowly pulled Fouet from her inner vest pocket.
“Uh-uh, DH, there’s no need for that.”
“Spirits are spirits, Iris. Not all are
good. We still must be careful.”
Iris stopped and looked up at Denny. “I’m always careful. Just pay attention. Witch at work.”
“If summoning someone from the spiritual world could help, why didn’t Valeria do it?”
“Honestly? I think summoning scares the crap out of her. I’m guessing she’s had a bad experience with it. Besides, not every witch is good at everything. Now hush and let me get to work.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“We’re going to need a body for it. As soon as you feel someone nearby, let me know, and I’ll call upon the spirit. Once we get it into the host, then you can ask anything you want of it.”
“Why don’t we just ask the spirit?”
Iris looked up at Denny on the statue. “Not all spirits are strong enough to project sound. The demons you are used to dealing with are stronger. Their intent is to cause problems by possessing people. Not so with Limbo spirits. They just want to be alive but don’t know how to go about making that happen.”
Both of them stopped and cocked their heads at a sound of leaves crackling. “Looks like our host has arrived,” Denny said softly.
Iris set everything out, straightened them and then began the ritual—a low chant in archaic Latin, her arms outstretched, her head back. She was vulnerable this way, but Denny wasn’t worried for her. She knew she would never let anything happen to her witch.
Ever.
That was when she understood why Valeria couldn’t do the ritual. In such a vulnerable state, she could not help them if the summoning went sideways. She could not protect Peyton, who was important, but more importantly, she would not be around to take care of Gwen.
Suddenly, in the center of the ring of candles, a small whirlwind kicked up dirt like a Midwestern dust devil.
“Here it comes,” Iris said, her head still back, exposing the soft part of her neck.
Denny watched in awe as the whirlwind slowed considerably and a benevolent spirit materialized like a puff of personified smoke.
Blood of the Demon (The Silver Legacy Book 3) Page 14
