Of Breath And Soul

by Jennifer Snyder

“What’s up?” Tristan nodded to his cell.

  “Meili’s going to help us find the Midnight Cauldron.”

  “Cool.” He put his blinker on as we waited at a traffic light. I noticed him rubbing his wrists again and knew not following the sensations he felt from the magic must be killing him. “How are we going to find the place? Should I park somewhere so we can walk, or should I pull into a gas station and ask where the place is?”

  “Park,” Jasper demanded. His voice startled me. It was still too raw and rough to be his. “I’ll cloak Anna so no one sees her while we search for the place.”

  I didn’t ask what he planned to do once we found it. If he wanted to come back and get Anna, or if he planned on persuading Kalisa to come to her. Then I thought about what he might do in his distressed state if the woman refused to bring Anna back. While I knew Kalisa was known for her blend of magic being both light and dark, that didn’t mean she’d be willing to help my brother bring someone back from the dead. Not without a cost at least. There was always a cost; everyone knew it. I glanced at Jasper, knowing he would gladly pay the price to have Anna back no matter what it was.

  He loved her. I knew that now. No matter how much he had denied it in the past, I knew the truth now. My heart broke for him.

  Tristan was lucky to find a parking spot as soon as he did. Bourbon Street was busier than I thought it would be. Tristan cut the engine on Jasper’s truck and shook his arms out.

  “Magic kicking up another notch?” I asked.

  “In the worst way.” He dropped his hands into his lap.

  “I’m sorry.” I was, but visiting Kalisa was supposed to help us all. Ms. Beverly wouldn’t have mentioned it otherwise.

  “Don’t be.” He reached for the handle to his door. “It can wait. We need to find this old woman.”

  As I stepped out of Jasper’s truck, I noticed an ominous feel in the air. It was almost as though someone was watching me. Again I wondered if Ms. Beverly’s spell had been erased now that she had passed on.

  My eyes darted around, searching for any creepy birds, but I didn’t see any. The Vodun knew we had made it into the city though. I could feel it. I could feel them watching us.

  “Why don’t we head in this place and ask.” Tristan pointed to a voodoo shop two doors down from where we’d parked. “Since Kalisa is a big time witch, this person might know where to find her, or at the very least where her shop is located.”

  “Let me do all the talking.” Jasper capped a vile of something and tucked it into his back pocket before closing the door and sealing Anna inside. I could feel the remnants of his magic floating around us. He’d placed a cloak on her, like he mentioned he would. I was sure it was one for invisibility. It would hide her from any prying eyes while we were gone.

  “Okay.” Tristan interlaced his fingers through mine.

  We followed my brother toward the voodoo shop Tristan had pointed out. A skeleton dressed in a top hat stood outside the door. Someone had drawn a curly mustache on him and fastened a bowtie to his neck. While I was sure I would see creepier things inside, the thing gave me the heebie-jeebies because it was nowhere near Halloween.

  The sound of another text coming through on Tristan’s cell made me jump. He chuckled as he retrieved it from his back pocket. “Meili wasn’t able to find a parking space. They’re doubling back around.”

  “Fine,” Jasper grumbled. He’d snapped into angry-bear mode. I hoped this person knew where The Midnight Cauldron was, because if not, Jasper might turn into the Incredible Hulk on their ass.

  Tristan paused as he typed out a response to Meili. I watched as Jasper gripped the handle to the crazy shop and pulled the door open. He stepped inside, and I rushed to catch up to him, leaving Tristan a few steps behind.

  The shop was small and cramped. Wind chimes made of bones and leather purses with weird symbols painted on them hung from the ceiling. A glass case with different types of tarot decks displayed dominated the center of the shop. Racks of beaded necklaces and bracelets lined the counter, along with a cash register. Jasper stepped to it and paused, waiting for the clerk to notice him. The guy was concentrating on the colorful deck of cards spread before him.

  The door behind me opened as Tristan stepped inside. I glanced over my shoulder at him, wanting to take in his expression at the shop’s décor. His face mirrored what I felt—the place was over the top. When his gaze met mine, he lifted his brows to his hairline. I smirked and turned to face the eccentric clerk again. He had lifted his gaze from the deck of cards spread before him and was staring at my brother. His brows were pulled together in confusion.

  “Life has hardened you.” The guy’s voice was rough and raspy, deeper than I’d thought it would be. His brown eyes flashed with excitement as though he was seeing pieces of my brother people rarely were privy to. “I mean, it’s obvious with the way you all look right now—scratched and frazzled—but it will continue to harden you. Until you can let go of the past.”

  “Nice,” Jasper growled. “I’m not interested in learning any new age crap you’re spewing. I’m here to find out if you’ve heard of a place called The Midnight Cauldron?”

  The guy reached up and tucked one of his glossy curls behind his ear. His head nodded, but it took him a while before he spoke. I thought Jasper was going to reach across the counter and strangle him. “Yeah. I’ve heard of it. Who hasn’t?”

  “I haven’t. Until recently,” Jasper said when the guy didn’t seem as though he was going to offer anything more.

  Tristan stepped to my side, his arm brushing against mine in the process. Sparks radiated through my body from the brief contact. I licked my lips, debating whether I should reach out and interlace my fingers with his. Generally, he was the one who made the move, not me.

  “Whoa, what have we here?” the clerk nearly shouted, causing my eyes to snap to him. He was staring at Tristan. His eyes wide with wonder. “You’re a special one, aren’t you?”

  “Me?” Tristan pointed to himself. The expression on his face was adorable.

  “Yeah you,” the guy insisted. “Something electric swims through you.”

  My head cocked to the side as I took in the clerk with more effort. There didn’t seem to be anything supernatural about him, but I’d been wrong before. He had brown eyes, and brown, glossy ringlets that fell in a mop around his head. Facial hair covered the lower half of his face and thick, bushy brows rested above his eyes. He resembled a hippy more than a voodoo practitioner, but then again, I didn’t have anything to compare him to besides what I’d seen on TV.

  “Look, we aren’t interested in having you read our fortunes. Our future is looking pretty grim at the moment, and so is yours if you don’t tell me what you know about The Midnight Cauldron,” Jasper insisted.

  The guy shivered as he took my brother’s words straight to heart. “Around the corner. It’s tucked into the alley.”

  “Thank you.” Jasper turned to leave.

  “I’d be careful with that one though,” the clerk cautioned. “She’s the real deal. Dark magic. Light magic. You never know what you might get when you visit her.”

  “Thanks for the tip.” Jasper pushed the door open and stepped outside.

  Tristan and I moved to follow him, but as we reached the door, the clerk spoke. “It’s all real between you two, little firecracker. He’s not the one you have to watch out for. There is a trickster among you though. Someone has an agenda they would risk their life to see through,” he said.

  My heart pounded in my throat as his words rolled over me. A trickster? Someone with a secret agenda they’d do anything to see through? While I knew that didn’t include Jasper or Anna, there was still so many it might include. However, Meili was the first to come to mind. She wanted the dragons to have their magic back, and she’d already said she would stop at nothing to see it happen.

  “Thanks for the heads up.” Tristan pulled me through the door and back outside. “That was strange.”

&nbs
p; “Yeah. Maybe that guy was real,” I whispered.

  “I hope you think so, because I wasn’t lying when I said everything between us was real.” He grinned. “And if you think he was the real deal, then you have to believe me now.”

  “I do.”

  Tristan lifted my knuckles to his lips and placed a kiss there. My breath caught in my throat at the tenderness of the gesture.

  “Enough with the love bird crap. Help me find this place before it’s too late,” Jasper demanded, jerking me free from my moment with Tristan.

  I didn’t tell my brother what I was thinking— it was already too late, Anna was gone—because I didn’t want to upset him. Besides, he would find out soon enough. I knew Kalisa would tell him what he wanted couldn’t be done. There were too many consequences, and while I didn’t know the woman, I was sure she knew the rules that came with screwing with the balance of nature enough to know when to leave something be.

  I only hoped when she broke the news to my brother, she’d already mentioned whatever Ms. Beverly had sent us to her for, because I knew Jasper was going to have a cow when she told him no.

  Chapter 19

  The Midnight Cauldron was scarier than the last place we’d visited. It hadn’t taken us long to find the shop though since it was around the corner. It was pure luck the place happened to be located near Bourbon Street. At least we had something going on our side.

  The anxiety and irritation rolling off my brother was easy to spot, and I made sure Tristan and I hung back a few paces to give him the space he needed. When we rounded the corner and the shop came into view, unease built in my stomach. Magic pulsed from the place, but I couldn’t decide whether it was dark or light. After a few moments of trying to decide, I settled on gray. There was a gray space in magic, right?

  Statues of voodoo dolls stood tall on either side of the door and more of those creepy wind chimes made of bones hung from the entrance as well. I wondered if they were a staple in voodoo, or if they were something the tourists bought as a souvenir. I could see both being a real possibility. When we inched closer, artifacts and glass bottles filled with a variety of things could be seen through the windows.

  “Any of those ingredients look familiar to you?” Tristan asked as he jabbed me in the side. I knew he was only joking, but I took offense to his teasing.

  “No,” I snapped. “Voodoo and what I can do are two totally different things.”

  He blinked. “Sorry. I was just joking.”

  A bell dinged, and I realized Jasper had stepped inside without us. Again. He didn’t seem to care if we were with him at all. I knew why and didn’t blame him—he was a man on a mission. He intended to save Anna.

  I propelled Tristan forward with me, refusing to let go of his hand. This place gave me the creeps. I’d rather go back and talk with the voodoo hippy, who had been so into telling us our fortunes instead.

  “What’s that smell?” Tristan asked as we crossed the threshold.

  The door slammed shut behind, causing my heart to hammer in my chest from the sudden startle. I sniffed the air. The scent of sandalwood wafted to my nose.

  “Incense,” I said, searching the shop for Jasper while soaking in all the oddities it harbored.

  This place was larger than the previous voodoo shop, and the vibes rippling through it were different too. Exactly as the guy had said, the magic here was real. It was tangible. I could feel it brushing against me, begging me to linger and see what magic would behold me while here. The promise of knowledge and power pulsing through the place was intoxicating.

  My gaze shifted to Jasper, and I knew from his demeanor he felt it too.

  Hope glittered in his brown eyes when they met mine. He felt the woman here would be able to help him bring back Anna. As scary as it was to admit it, I believed she could too. From the sensations the place was emitting, I didn’t think she had a problem going against the grain when it came to the natural balance of things and magical consequences.

  A wooden counter dominating the wall farthest from the entrance caught my attention. Dried herbs and roses hung from the ceiling behind it, creating a majestic feel. Colorful glass jars of various sizes lined shelves along the wall. Leather-bound books that looked worn from use had been stacked on the counter. A woman dressed in a long, flowing dress walked to the stack. She flipped through the pages of the book on top. Her eyes never lifted to meet anyone’s stare, but I knew she’d gathered we were there. I soaked in the finer details of her as Tristan and I grew closer, coming to a stop beside Jasper.

  Fuzzy dreadlocks framed her face. Earrings made from tiny bones I prayed were from animals hung from her ears. Her skin was dark and silky smooth. The only blemishes I witnessed were a splattering of dark freckles across the bridge of her nose.

  “Hello?” Jasper called to her, his impatience from being ignored apparent. “Are you Kalisa, the owner?”

  “That I am,” the woman said. Her voice was mysterious and raspy. It took me by surprise, but I wasn’t sure why. I didn’t know what I expected when hearing her speak.

  “We were told to come see you,” my brother continued. His tone mellowed now that he’d heard her speak. Jasper wasn’t an idiot. He might be in pain, but he wasn’t a fool.

  This woman represented power and he knew it. He could feel it, same as I could.

  “And you are?” Her eyes lifted. They were dark and ancient, filled with knowledge most couldn’t dream of having access to. When they shifted to lock with mine, I felt as though I’d been swallowed by them. Consumed. A shiver slipped along my spine, and I was unable to look away. “Ward. You’re the Ward witches. Yes, my dear friend Beverly said you would be stopping by to see me.”

  She closed the book she’d been flipping through, and clasped her hands together, resting them on top of it. Her gaze never wavered from me. An unsettling sensation coursed through me as I continued to stare at her as well.

  “Something has changed though,” the woman said. Her eyes left me in favor of Jasper. I wondered if she was about to comment on our state of being as well. “Someone has passed who was with you on your travels. Someone you cared for deeply.”

  “Yes,” Jasper answered.

  Tristan’s hand squeezed mine, and I knew the gesture was because the woman was the real deal. If any of us had needed more proof, we now had it. It was one thing for someone to tell you they sensed you’d suffered through a lot of heartache in your life. Heartache was irrelevant; its definition meant various things to different people. This, however, was something specific. No one could look at us and know someone we cared for had died during the trip here.

  “You want her back, don’t you?” the woman asked. Her dark eyes flashed with something I couldn’t name.

  “Yes.” Jasper didn’t hesitate in answering.

  My teeth sank into my bottom lip. I waited for what she would say next, hoping she would be able to help in some way that wouldn’t affect any one of us negatively. Fear of going against the balance of things pressed against me from all sides. We already had enough to worry about; we didn’t need to add anything else to loom above our heads.

  I couldn’t tell my brother this though, because I knew where he was coming from. It was Anna we were talking about. Besides, he loved her. I knew that now.

  “Her demise is connected to the Vodun. I can sense their lingering magic on you.” The woman’s voice was steady and strong, projecting no fear at the mention of the evil witches. “Tell me how.”

  “They sent magical ravens after us,” Jasper said. Anger lapped within his words. “There were too many, and they took her down. Her name was Anna.”

  Hearing him use her name in past tense caused my heart to skip a beat. I didn’t want to think of her that way. I knew she was gone, but it didn’t mean I accepted it. Neither had Jasper. He wouldn’t be having this conversation with the woman if he had.

  “Ravens,” the woman repeated. She shifted the book she’d been flipping through to the side and opened the o
ne beneath it. Her finger skimmed the page until she seemed to have found something of interest. “Here we are. A spell of resurrection.”

  I felt a tremble slip through my body at the mention of the spell name. This wasn’t a good idea. So much could go wrong with this. Jasper had to know that. He had to. Was he even considering the possibilities?”

  “What do I need to do?” my brother asked, shocking me.

  “You can’t be serious,” Tristan chimed in. “This could have serious consequences. You might not even recognize the woman who comes back if you do this.”

  I was grateful he’d been able to find his voice, because it seemed as though mine was still buried under all my shock. Jasper knew better. He wouldn’t agree to something this dark. If so, he would have attempted it when our parents died. The look reflected on his face told me I was wrong though.

  This spell was available to him right now. Back then, nothing had been. He wasn’t as broken as he was right now. Death had taken too much from him in his life. That knowledge counted for everything.

  The old witch’s eyes locked on my brother, and her cracked lips twisted into a wicked grin. “You must give me a portion of breath and soul.”

  Chapter 20

  I replayed her words in my mind, not sure I understood what she wanted. Was she bartering with my brother? For a portion of his soul? I didn’t know what a portion of his breath meant, or how one would go about giving it away. Did she want him to breathe in her face? In a jar?

  “And how do I go about giving you those?” Jasper asked before anyone could speak again.

  My eyes snapped to him. He couldn’t be considering this. “No way! You’re not doing this, Jasper. You don’t know what the consequences would be. You don’t know anything about the spell and what it entails.”

  He glanced over his shoulder at me. “You haven’t given me a chance to learn everything about it yet, have you?” His voice was rough and serious, but his eyes stabbed at me. They were wild with a mixture of fear and heartache.