by Judith Post
Evangeline ran to Babet and threw her arms around her shoulders, hugging her tightly. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "We worked for hours to form a gap large enough that Manette could leave here to go to you. We weren't sure if you could help us, but we didn't know what else to do."
"Your mother could have handled this." The woman who'd suggested that Babet and Prosper find Hamza's gris-gris stood with her hands on her hips.
Ines, clearly irritated, narrowed her eyes. "Enough, Binah. We all need to work together, not argue."
Binah shrugged. "You know it as well as I do. If Evangeline studied more voodoo and gardened less, we'd all be safer."
Ines crossed her arms. "You're always able to find fault with others, but it's not like your magic is very strong."
"I'm not the high priestess's next in line."
"When Evangeline needs to be strong, she will be." Ines waved away anymore arguments.
Binah huffed and walked to stand beside one of the women in the back of the group.
Evangeline took a deep breath. "I'll take you to my mother. See if you can help her." She motioned for Babet and Prosper to follow her. They both knew the way to the tall, narrow house painted orange with black trim. Every house in the settlement sported vivid colors, but none reminded Babet so much of a Halloween house. They passed a red bungalow with canary-yellow trim and a lime-green Cape Cod with pink accents before they reached the middle of the settlement. When they crossed Nadine's front porch, Babet hesitated. She'd never been invited inside.
Evangeline gestured to her and Prosper impatiently. "Come on. Mom needs you."
Morgana zipped through the doorway, staying close on the girl's heels. With an uneasy glance at each other, Babet and Prosper followed.
The minute they crossed the threshold, Babet could feel the voodoo energy of two, powerful women emanating in the space. Evangeline might not flex her power, but she had it to spare. Her mother had more. Sparse furniture decorated the living room—clean and functional. African masks hung on the walls. Evangeline led them to a small, side room. Like everything else in the house, it was furnished simply with only the minimum of pieces. A twin bed hugged the wall, and Nadine lay on it.
The women of the settlement crowded together behind them, hovering at the room's doorway. They stood, silently watching, hoping. What they thought she could do, Babet had no idea. Morgana coiled by the bed, clearly upset.
The high priestess looked so still, Babet looked at her chest to make sure it rose and fell. Good, she was breathing. But she wasn't with them. A blanket covered her, so that only her head and shoulders were visible. For some reason, that made Nadine's stark, exotic looks even more striking. Her plaited, ebony braids cradled her neck. Her pale, freckled skin hugged sharp cheekbones.
Babet took a deep breath. Voodoo still creeped her out, and seeing Nadine, laid out like Snow White after she bit the poisoned apple, freaked her out more. "How long has she been like this?"
"A week after you visited us, she went to bed and never got up. Then the shield formed, and we couldn't get help. We've tried to remove the curse, but it's more than just our magic."
Prosper sniffed the air and nodded. "I smell witch and voodoo…a combination, like the shield."
Babet stepped closer to the bed, frowning. "Something's here, a talisman. I can feel it."
Evangeline shook her head. "We checked everywhere for gris-gris. We found none."
Babet raised her arms above Nadine, searching for energy. "It's coming from the center of the bed." She ducked down and lifted the bedskirt, peering into the shadows. She saw nothing, but she felt it. She knew it was there. She stretched as far as possible and ran her hand over the floor, then closed her fingers around something. She drew it out and stared at nothing.
Morgana tensed, anxious. The women crowded closer, frowning.
"An obfuscaton spell," she told them. "Witch magic—an enchantment to make things blend with their surroundings." She said a quick chant, and a small pouch lay in her hand.
The women gasped in unison and stepped back a few steps.
Evangeline stared at her. "How can you touch that without being harmed?"
"Is touching a gris-gris enough to harm you?" With a scowl, Prosper turned to Binah. "You knew that, didn't you?"
"Every priestess knows about curses." Ines frowned at Binah, too.
The other women nodded, still staring at the pouch as though it could pounce on them and destroy them.
"The gris-gris will be harmless once we undo its magic," Evangeline explained. "Once we burn it in a proper ceremony, Mom should be free of its curse."
"Then let's burn it." Babet would worry about the whys and wherefores of the pouch later. For now, she wanted to free Nadine from this unnatural sleep.
Evangeline shifted her gaze away from them. "You've done us a great favor, and I thank you. But you're not allowed to participate in this."
Prosper nodded. "We understand. My pack is private. So is Babet's coven."
Evangeline sighed with relief. "Good, then Morgana can show you to the kitchen. There's lemonade in the refrigerator. Help yourselves." She reached for a heavy, glazed ashtray and motioned for Babet to place the pouch in it. Then she carried it away, the women following close behind.
Morgana slithered to the doorway and led Prosper and Babet to the kitchen at the back of the house. Woven baskets hung from the ceiling. Dried herbs and powders lined shelves. The cupboards were painted bright colors—blues jostling against yellows, reds against greens. They took seats at the narrow table pushed against the wall. For the first time, Babet felt uncomfortable, sitting across from him. Morgana started toward the refrigerator, but Prosper shook his head.
"No offense, I know this was home to you once, but I don't want to eat or drink anything here."
Babet leaned back in her chair. "My skin feels itchy every time I visit."
"I have to fight the urge to shift." Prosper placed his forearms on the table, pressed his big hands together—not in prayer, but to calm himself. "I'd like to strangle that idiot Binah. I don't know how she's lived this long. What would have happened if we'd gone to search for the gris-gris that held the shield in place? What if we had touched one?"
Babet shrugged. "It wouldn't have affected us. We're not beginners."
"How do you know?"
She held up her ring finger and wiggled it. She pointed to his. "I could tell before I touched the pouch. My magic is stronger than what's inside the gris-gris."
Prosper stared at the ring. He rubbed the band she'd made for him. She'd enchanted it with so many spells, they covered every inch of the metal. "Almost as good as a wedding band. There's a reason I love you. Someday, I'd like to make it official."
"What?" She stared. She'd braced herself for him to leave her. But this? "We live forever—until something kills us. Do you know how bored you'd get with me?"
Not that she wanted him to leave any time soon. But together for centuries? Wasn't that an extreme, too?
"My parents mated for over three centuries until hunters killed them."
Babet leaned forward. He'd never mentioned his parents before. Actually, she knew very little about his past. "Your parents were killed together, as a couple?"
"Mowed down with silver bullets. I wasn't home at the time. Came back to find them." He shook his head, aggravated with himself. "Sorry. The rings distracted me. All of this is for another time. Right now, we need to deal with the settlement and Binah. That girl could have gotten us cursed or worse."
Disappointment flitted through Babet. Prosper had been about to open up, to share a little of his life before River City, but it would have to wait. The good news was—he didn't want to leave her. Joy flitted through her veins. Songs zinged around her skull. The bad news? Nadine lay in the next room, stuck in the inbetween world.
She made an effort to stick to business. "Not everyone who comes to the settlement, looking for help, is a keeper. Nadine uses voodoo to shelter abused women. I don'
t think she refuses many. She even helps men, but they can't stay. Binah must have been damaged. That doesn't mean she's good."
Prosper leaned back, mulling that over. "Not everyone appreciates the person who saves them."
Babet blinked, unused to thinking of one of the women in this settlement as anything but grateful to Nadine. "That would be…" She couldn't think of a word strong enough. "Just wrong."
Prosper shook his head. "Once you've been a cop as long as I have, you realize wrong can…and does…happen."
They would have discussed it more, but the kitchen door opened and the women filed into the house. Evangeline rushed past them and went straight to her mother's bedroom. Babet and Prosper glanced at each other and joined the procession, along with Morgana.
They stood in a semi-circle around the bed, watching the high priestess. It took a minute, but her eyelids fluttered. Her breathing changed, and she eventually woke.
Evangeline knelt by her bed, tears streaming down her cheeks. Babet swallowed hard, watching her friend's relief. What if her own mother had been jinxed, bespelled? Babet couldn't even let herself think about it.
Evangeline's voice broke. "You're back. I thought I'd lost you."
Nadine pushed herself onto her elbows and stared at the group of people watching her. She finally focused on her daughter and Babet. "The spirits came to me in the
in-between world. You two, and only you, must battle Hamza. You won't win unless you strengthen the skills you fear most."
Babet reached for Prosper's hand. No, no, no. Nadine couldn't mean what she thought she might. But Nadine sagged back onto her pillow and pointed directly at her. "Your father's gift is a strength. Learn it."
Amulets and damnation! Cold fear pulsed through her. Succubus powers scared the crap out of her. She'd purposely avoided them.
Nadine pointed at her daughter next. "You must be as strong a witch as you are a priestess."
Evangeline didn't look any happier than Babet felt. Both women stared at each other.
Nadine let out a long sigh. "I'm weak. I need rest. Ines, will you stay with me while my daughter handles this matter?"
Ines nodded and turned to the rest of them. "Out! You heard her. She needs to rebuild her strength."
Nadine raised a hand. "Wait. One more thing. Ines, will you bring Binah to me?"
Binah started to back away, but the other women blocked her.
Ines turned hard, angry eyes on her. "What did you do?"
"Nothing." Binah shook her head in denial.
Nadine's gaze didn't waver. "Did you enjoy your nights with Hamza? The vision the spirits showed me had you on top, riding him."
"He made me do it! I didn't want to." She tried to dart out of the room, but the women pressed against each other, forming a wall. She pleaded, "It started out as pleasure, nothing more."
"She betrayed you?" Ines looked as though she'd throw herself on Binah.
Nadine sighed. "She'd dead to us. Send her away. She went to our enemy."
"That's it? That's all? After she planted his curse?" Dashika's black eyes flashed. "Why would we tarnish our voodoo for someone so unworthy?" Nadine shook her head. "If she thinks Hamza will keep her after he's used her, she's wrong. She'll be back where she started, with a man who beats her."
Ines slowly looked Binah up and down. "You're right. She'll live with her punishment. Dashika, will you walk Binah to her house, help her pack, and escort her from the settlement?"
Dashika, none too gently, grabbed Binah by the arm. "I'll be happy to."
As they started to leave, Ines waved everyone else away, also. "She needs rest."
Nadine closed her eyes, exhausted, but called, "Babet and Evangeline, you must face Hamza alone. The spirits insist on it."
Babet had never worked with spirits, but she assumed they were always right. She went to the front porch with Evangeline. Prosper and Morgana followed. They watched the women drag Binah to her house. Then Babet turned to Evangeline. "You've started training with the coven. You know a little witch magic. I know nothing about my succubus powers."
"Who can teach you?" Prosper's chocolate eyes were rimmed with gold. He stood, feet apart, arms crossed.
Babet squirmed. All she needed was an angry Were. "I could ask Lillith…"
"No." His voice was a growl. "I'm not sure she'd be willing to share, and if she did, she'd expect a favor in return."
"One of her girls?" Lillith's brothel housed as many succubi as vampires.
"Not much better."
Evangeline interrupted. "You could ask your father…."
Babet blanched. "I hardly know him."
Prosper added, "It would be awkward."
"At least you have one, and he loves you," Evangeline insisted.
Did he? Really? He cared about her, from a distance, but was that the same thing? How much could a demon who guarded the pits of the Underworld actually love someone? He loved her mother, though, and he might train his daughter enough to teach her the basics for her mother's sake. Babet grimaced. "It's worth a try."
Prosper gave her hand a none-too-gentle squeeze. Morgana looped around her ankle and licked her calf. Babet appreciated both gestures.
Prosper started down the steps. "Okay then! The sooner you get started, the sooner you and Evangeline can take on Hamza. But you're not going alone. I'm coming with you."
"You heard Nadine…."
Prosper cut Babet off. "Would you stay home if I went to battle a dangerous enemy?"
She wouldn't insult him with a lie. "No."
He shrugged his broad shoulders. "There you go." He looked at Evangeline. "Are you coming with us? You can train with Perdita."
Evangeline watched as Dashika and the others marched Binah to her car, threw her belongings in the trunk, and sent her on her way. She shook her head. "We have to find the gris-gris that held the shield around our settlement and destroy them. I want to get everyone settled, and then I'll come."
Morgana slithered close to Evangeline and rubbed her cheek against her before setting off with Prosper and Babet. The drive home proved more tense than the drive there. All three of them were glad that Nadine and the settlement were safe. Unspoken words hung between Prosper and Babet. And none of them looked forward to what would come next.
* * *
Prosper drove to Hennie's shop. It was a weekday, but her mother would be finished with teaching by now. When they entered the building, both women rushed to them.
Hennie hurried into speech. "Is the settlement all right? How are the women?"
Babet motioned for Prosper to explain. When he finished, Hennie pursed her lips. "It's odd, isn't it, how so many women who flee abusive men return to another one? It's what they know, what feels normal to them."
Babet's mother glared. "The girl tried to harm my daughter. I don't care what happens to her."
Prosper nodded agreement, a grim expression on his face. His voice harsh, he said, "If she harmed Babet in any way, I'd tear her to shreds."
A smile spread inside Babet. The girl wouldn't stand a chance against a monstrous, angry bear. Witches might survive his attack, but Binah's voodoo wasn't powerful enough.
Hennie rubbed her fingers nervously. "And Nadine said that you'd have to learn the skill you feared most? She means your succubus powers, right?"
"I could ask Lillith," Babet said, "but that would put me in her debt."
"Ask your father," Rowan said.
Babet pressed her lips together, uncertain.
He mother sighed. "Do you want me to ask him for you?"
"You see him. I don't. I don't know him at all."
Rowan gave a small nod. "He always asks about you. He stays away to spare you. Being his daughter might work against you at times—like when the demon came for you."
Babet wanted to believe that. She wanted to think that her father would spend every spare moment with her, if he could. But she wasn't so sure.
"I'll ask him." Her mother rose to walk into her class
room. She wanted privacy for this conversation. Babet wasn't even sure how her mother and father communicated, but they seemed to stay in touch. A dorky image of her father, standing at the gates to the underworld, deciding the fate of which pit each new entry would occupy, sprang to her mind. She envisioned a ring tone, and he stopped what he was doing to reach into his pocket to dig out a cell phone. She smiled. The idea amused her.
Hennie raised her eyebrows. "Are you all right?"
Babet sighed. "Not really, but I can't dodge this, can I?"
Prosper slid an arm around her shoulders. "You're going to grow even stronger. I'll have a big, bad witch to take care of me."
She laughed. Like he was worried. Before they met, he'd managed to survive just fine without her.
Her mother returned in a few minutes and locked gazes with Babet. "Your father can get one of his men to cover for him at the gate, and he'll be here when the sun sets. He's excited about this. He's wanted to get to know you for a long time. He thinks you're strong enough now."
Babet shivered. "What does it take to learn succubus powers?"
Her mother smiled. "Not strong enough to be near him. To survive his enemies if they learn about you."
Her father's enemies tended to be demons. Not a comforting thought. Babet leaned closer to Prosper.
* * *
Luckily, the time was short before sunset, or Babet didn't think she'd be able to stand it. She was so nervous by the time she walked to Hennie and her mother's shop, she felt like her nerves might unravel, they were stretched so thin. Prosper had offered to come with her, but they both knew it wasn't a good idea. This was something she needed to do on her own.
Her mother opened the door for her and nodded to a tall, dark man standing behind her. Gazaar, her father. In his mortal guise, he was well over six feet tall. As a demon, he towered over her.
The man was impossibly handsome with dark hair and dark eyes. As before, he wore leather pants and nothing else. Like Prosper, his entire body seemed to be muscled. His intense gaze studied her. He frowned. Did he find her wanting? A worry line creased between his eyebrows. "Your mother tells me that you have another impossible task, but that with my powers, you might survive. Do you wish to claim your birthright, to absorb your succubus powers?"
