Chapter 14
"Abigail," her mother said pointing out the window. "You just drove right by the tea shop. See." She tapped on the passenger window.
"I know, mom," Abby told her, daring a quick glance at her mom before merging onto the freeway.
"Where on earth are we going?" Becky asked. "Don't tell me you're dragging me to some pub. I don't care what people say about craft beer. Beer is beer. Frankly, it's a barbarian drink. Not to mention we have an infant with us, Abby."
Abby took a deep breath and prepared for her mother's reaction.
"We're not going to the tea shop. We're going to New Orleans."
Becky's mouth fell open, and it took her a moment to gather her words.
"Excuse me?" She narrowed her eyes as if waiting for the joke.
"We're going to New Orleans. I have something I need to take care of."
"And you're telling me this now? Is this like the spa?" She hissed looking around wildly like she might fling open the door and jump.
Abby hit the lock button and then regretted it when she saw the fear in her mother's face.
"I'm sorry, I should have explained, mom. But hear me out. Do you remember the curse that I told you about?"
"Of course," she snapped, fumbling in her purse for a cigarette that Abby immediately pulled from her hand.
"You can't smoke with Vidya in the car," Abby told her.
Becky glared at her daughter and then pulled out a stick of chewing gum, popping it into her mouth and then immediately unwrapping a second and a third piece.
"There's a woman in New Orleans who can help me. But I have to see her alone."
"But," Becky turned and looked out the back window as if she couldn't believe Lansing was fading from view. "But why am I going? And why didn't you tell me? And why do we have Vidya?"
"I couldn't tell Sebastian because he wouldn't have understood. He would have freaked out and, honestly the other witches would have as well."
Becky grimaced at the word witches.
"Is it dangerous? Are you out of your mind? Taking your mother and your newborn baby? Abigail Daniels turn this car around right now!"
"It's Hull, mom. Abigail Hull. And it's not dangerous. I wouldn't put you in danger, but I have to do it alone and I needed someone I trust to stay with Vidya."
Becky looked ready to argue, but seemed to pause on Abby's last words.
"Me? You trusted me to stay with Vidya?"
"You're my mom. I trust you with my life, my child's life," Abby said, again daring a glance at her mother who chewed her gum slowly with a tiny smile on her lips.
Becky nodded as if coming to some conclusion.
"Why didn't you leave Vidya with Sebastian?" she asked after a moment.
"Because he'd never understand my leaving without her and honestly, I'm not comfortable leaving for a weekend without her. There's too much at stake right now."
"But where does he think you are? What did you tell him? And what about your father? Abigail, he's expecting me home for dinner."
"I called dad on my way down. I told him I was whisking you away for a girl's weekend. I told Sebastian the same thing." She left out that she'd also told Sebastian that her mother was despondent over not getting more time with the new baby and Abby wanted to appease her. Moreover, she insisted that she needed to get away after Ezra's death.
"Oh." Becky seemed satisfied with the answer. "Well I never have been to New Orleans."
****
"Hey mate, Kit told us about your girl back in the states. I'm right sorry to hear about it," Liam told Oliver, offering him a frosted glass filled with a fizzy beverage. "That's an Aussie Dark and Stormy right there. Thought it'd suit you and if I check my watch," he glanced up at the sun. "It's after twelve or close enough so a cocktail is surely in order."
"Cheers," Oliver told him taking the drink and tapping it against Liam's own. "Thanks for the condolences and the drink."
Oliver didn't offer more regarding Ezra. He was doing his best not to think about her.
"I would have liked to see Sebastian again, brothers in battle and all that," Liam told Oliver.
"Yeah, well, he's fighting the new parent battle, and I'd describe his personality as Night of the Living Dead meets Oscar the Grouch so I promise you, you're not missing much."
Liam grinned. He had put on some weight since escaping the dream wood. Oliver saw hints of the man he'd been before he went in, though his eyes still held a haunted look.
"I'd take a grumpy Sebastian over this last year of my life any day of the week. I really would love to help him though, pay him back for getting me out of that nightmare. Any curse developments? Kit filled me in on what you're up against. Sounds nasty."
"That's why we're here, breaking curses, meeting with evil witches. All in a day's work," Oliver laughed. He picked up a pink shell and held it out. "Like this one, Lydie?" he called.
"Yeah," Lydie responded. She was squatting further down the beach, combing the sand with her fingers. She had insisted that she wanted a box of shells to take back to Michigan and enlisted Oliver as her helper.
"I don't envy ya mate. That sounds like a stressful job. I'm sincere though. If you guys need help, I'll come back with ya and fight some evil."
Oliver appreciated Liam's desire to help.
"The truth is we're mostly scouring documents, searching for patterns, that kind of thing." Oliver took a long gulp of his drink. It burned a bit going down, but he hoped it might also loosen up his body. He felt taut, like a guitar string pulled too tight. He might snap at any moment.
Lydie made her way back to them, holding a yellow bucket nearly overflowing with shells.
"I don't think those are going to fit on your carry-on," Oliver told her wryly.
"Oh, they will. I've got a shrinking spell, I'm itching to try out. I was planning on using it on your sandals just for fun but this seems more productive."
Oliver reached to pinch her, but she jumped back, swatting at him.
"I'm Liam," Liam told her, extending his hand.
"Lydie," she replied, sticking her tongue out at Oliver.
"Liam!" They heard Binda's strong voice carry across the beach and all three turned as she moved swiftly down the stairs by the pool.
"Crickey, what've I done now?"
"You could take your chances with the sharks instead," Oliver offered, extending an arm toward the ocean.
"Any day of the week," Liam murmured under his breath. Lydie suppressed a giggle as Binda charged across the beach, her face as rigid as a statue.
"At your service," Liam called, sweeping forward in a bow.
Binda frowned, stopping just in front of him.
"Did you ever find an odd stone in Clyde's room in the cave. One that glowed?"
"Blimey." Liam scratched his head. Oliver sensed that Liam knew of the stone, but didn't want to tell her. "I don't remember, Binda. Since getting out, that year of captivity is a blur."
She narrowed her eyes at him, but said nothing more. She turned on her heel and stomped off the way she'd come.
"She reminds me of Miss Trunchbull from Matilda," Lydie whispered as if the retreating figure might hear her.
"Is that an ogre?" Liam asked.
Lydie giggled.
"Basically."
"Why didn't you tell her the truth?" Oliver asked Liam.
Liam shrugged, clearly not disturbed that Oliver had called him on the lie.
"I was trapped in that place for a year. The only solace I had was that little room in the cave. If I tell Binda about anything in there, she'll tell Meghan how to find it. What if another hybrid stumbles into the dream wood and gets trapped? They'll have nowhere to hide. I respect Binda. She's been around a long time, but she's Meghan's number one supporter. She could have told Hannah I was alive, put her fears at ease. She was talking to Meghan after all, she knew I was trapped in there, but she didn't. She let Hannah believe that I had run off or died or whatever. I don't owe her honesty or any
thing else."
"Good point," Oliver said. "What was it? The stone?"
Liam shrugged.
"I never got that close to it. I saw it once tucked way back in a crevice in the wall. I would have had to prise it out. Maybe I should have since they seem to want it."
"Refills?" Hannah called, holding up a pitcher. She was standing next to the pool wearing an ankle length white dress with slits all the way to her thighs.
"I am blessed," Liam murmured.
Kit walked next to her wearing a pair of white cargo shorts and a black t-shirt.
Oliver smiled and waved at her, amazed how between the two women, he found Kit infinitely more beautiful. Attraction was a mysterious thing.
****
"Are you ready, child?" Leona's soft hands grasped Abby's wrists. Abby noticed their smoothness, like they'd been left in water for too long, pruned and silky.
She nodded and allowed Leona to guide her behind a curtain. The room smelled of incense and rose oil. A veil of smoke hovered in the air and created the illusion that spirits already occupied the space, perhaps they did. A round table, cloaked in a black cloth, sat in the center of the room backed by two chairs. Leona gently guided Abby into one and took the other herself, moving easily despite her blindness.
Leona reached again for Abby's hands across the table.
"It ain't wise to invite such an angry spirit inside," Leona muttered, "but promises have been made, assurances..." She stated the second part as if reminding whatever entity stood in the room to keep their word.
Leona started to breathe long and deep. Abby counted one of her breaths, it lasted nearly forty seconds on the exhalation. Leona's blueish eyelids rested on the folds of skin beneath her long dark lashes. The smoke in the room seemed to drift closer to Leona. It hovered and then started to coil in front of her face. In a flash, Abby saw a great wave of it vanish into the woman's mouth. Leona released her breath, but the smoke did not emerge.
Several minutes passed. Abby's heart thumped in her chest. She noticed a rivulet of sweat slithering from beneath her armpit. The room seemed to grow stifling and smaller as if they were trapped in a madman's funhouse and soon they would be crushed within the dark walls.
"Breathe," she silently reminded herself.
Leona's features began to change. Her posture shifted and she no longer slumped forward, but sat tall and erect, her head held high. Though Leona was still there, Abby saw another face as well. Leona blinked and opened her eyes, watching Abby sharply. Her cloudy eyes were replaced with keen, dark eyes. Her mouth was set in a grim line.
For an instant, Leona's hand tightened in her own. The strength behind the touch did not belong to the old woman and Abby started to shrink away, but the woman held on.
"Kanti?" Abby asked, finding her voice.
The woman nodded.
"I need you to tell me about the curse. How do we break it?" she continued, her hands trembling in her lap.
Though Abby was distracted by the sharpness of the woman's glare, she also knew that they had limited time. Leona had told Abby that she exhausted quickly when acting as a conduit for spirits and the tether snapped easily.
"It is not a curse," the woman said and her voice wrapped Leona's in a husky deep sound, "but an invocation. You think I would curse my own child? Blood of my body?"
The woman let out a short harsh sound and Abby shrank away.
"I died to save her."
"How do we end it? How do I stop him?"
Leona, Kanti, slowly closed her eyes. Her lashes seemed longer, darker. When she opened them, they seemed like long shadowy hallways of melted brown. Kanti had been beautiful, mysterious, wild. Even the tiniest glimpse that Abby could see through the form of the old woman revealed as much.
"The dagger, the amulet, the ring, and last Clyde himself. If you destroy his body first, he will remain. We are his power and we live in those things. You live in them as does your child, your husband, your ancestors..."
Abby frowned.
"Where are they, Kanti? Where are those things?"
"You know," Kanti whispered and Leona's face reemerged and then flickered out.
Kanti let out a low hiss.
"Snake Island?" Abby asked.
Kanti offered a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.
"Invite me in," Kanti whispered. "When it is time, wear the amulet and invite me in."
"And you'll help me destroy him?"
Kanti nodded.
Abby held tight to Leona's hand already feeling it grow weaker in her own.
"Where is Clyde, Kanti? Do you know where's Clyde's body is?"
Again, she hissed and Abby understood.
Snake Island. Everything she sought was on Snake Island.
Chapter 15
Abby had not intended to spend much time in New Orleans after her visit with Leona, but her mother insisted they walk downtown for dinner before calling it a night. Abby had rented a hotel room in the French Quarter and as she experienced on her prior trip, the smells and sounds of New Orleans intoxicated her. Her mother, pushing Vidya in a stroller, appeared equally enthralled.
"Look at that," Becky said for what must have been the fiftieth time. She pointed out old buildings, street musicians, sculptures, food vendors and even complete strangers wearing beads or bright clothes.
Abby nodded and offered the occasional comment, but mostly she thought of Kanti. Her magnetic eyes were burned into Abby's thoughts. They had been powerful, angry and filled with despair. After Leona broke the connection, the woman had barely been able to hold her head up. Her assistant had helped her to a couch to lie down. Abby had tried to pay, but Leona waved her away, saying 'Darlin, by the time this is over, you'll have paid more than your fair share.'
Abby tried not to dwell on what she meant.
"We'll have dinner here," Becky announced, turning abruptly into a dimly lit restaurant. The tables and booths glowed in the light of small red candles. The host seated them in the back, and Abby slid into the booth that faced the doorway. She had not forgotten where they were. Victor had destroyed the leader of the L'Obscurite, but in those kinds of clans there was always a new one ready to take over.
As if in response to her thoughts, Audra, the young woman that had helped them months before walked through the door flanked by two witches. Abby recognized them as witches immediately. Their aura was different, larger and more solid than the humans around them. Helena had taught her how to see their unique shape and she found herself mildly impressed with her ability to do so. Her pride was dashed when she realized they could also sense her and they were dangerous.
Abby cringed into the corner of the booth, cupping a hand over her face.
"Sit up straight," Becky chastised, grabbing for Abby's shirt. "You're fidgeting."
Abby fought the urge to kick her mother beneath the table or better yet to use a silencing charm on her.
"Mom," she whispered under her breath, then thought better of it, pulling a pen from her purse and writing her mother a note on a napkin. "We need to leave RIGHT NOW!"
"That way," Abby mouthed at her mother, pointing behind her toward the kitchen.
Becky glared at her daughter as if she'd lost her mind. The witches stepped to the bar and one glanced their way. She was tall and broad with sharp features and dark green eyes that absorbed them in an instant. With the tiniest gesture, she touched the elbow of the other witch, a man with a pointed black beard and a pair of devil's horns sticking from a headband on his long black hair.
Abby had already lifted Vidya from the stroller and tucked her into a baby wrap across her chest. Becky stood fumbling with her purse and nearly dropping it on the floor. As the contents started to spill Abby flicked her wrist and they shot back inside startling her mother.
Audra had noticed them as well. She made eye contact with Abby, recognizing her immediately. Abby saw her eyes flick down to Vidya's head poking from the wrap across Abby's chest.
Audra lifted her glass, which
appeared to be filled with bourbon and knocked it hard into the glass of the witch wearing devil's horns. He had ordered a whiskey drink as well, but the bartender had lit his on fire. When the drinks collided, the glass smashed and the long alcohol sodden bar lit on fire.
"Go," Abby told her mom, shoving her toward the kitchen. Becky ran through the double doors, nearly slipping on the greasy tile floor. Abby steadied her and pushed her towards the back. The kitchen staff, clad in white linen, stared at them surprised and the chef pointed an angry finger shouting at them that they could not be there, but already Becky had pushed through the back door and into the alleyway. Abby did not think, she shoved her mom down a dark alleyway and whispered an incantation of invisibility putting a finger to her mother's lips. She didn't have an elixir to aid in their vanishing, but an intention combined with her magic would hopefully block them enough to escape.
The dark alley stank of urine and rotted food. Abby pressed her mother against the wall. When she started to protest, Abby cut her off with a hand over her mouth.
In the light of the street they'd departed, Abby saw the witch with the black beard emerge. He walked slowly, pausing and cocking his head to the side before moving on. The broad witch followed him, her hand clamped on the bicep of Audra whose face remained impassive. Abby fought the urge to help. It would only put them in danger and Audra had already told Abby that her family's store was controlled by the L'Obscurite.
Abby waited several minutes after the two witches had disappeared. Silently, she nudged her mother toward a well-lit street and climbed quickly into a cab.
Later that night, Abby and her mother ate at a little diner off of highway fifty-nine. To Abby's surprise, Becky devoured her burger and French fries and then insisted on a brownie sundae for dessert.
"I'm happy to see you've gotten your appetite back, mom," Abby told her honestly. Abby's own appetite felt rather suppressed after their encounter with the L'Obscurite.
"Me too," Becky agreed, pushing her sundae toward Abby. "Try it, Abigail. The homemade vanilla ice cream is divine."
Born of Shadows- Complete Series Page 125