Surprisingly, I wasn’t terribly upset about Jules, but I was pissed. Shit had started to pile up and I wasn’t happy about it. I knew Viola would obey my orders and keep Katherine safe and, besides, not knowing if we were truly under attack, all bets were off. I had to find Tamara and make sure she was safe.
I wanted to tell Vicky what had just happened, but better sense took hold of me. “Please find Stacia right away. Tell her it’s urgent.”
I needed to find Tamara and we needed to get back to the estate. Whatever was happening had the potential of becoming very ugly.
I feel your anxiety. What’s wrong child? Katherine entered my mind.
Katherine won’t awake for a couple of hours. I must have been hallucinating.
The body ceases, but the mind does not. What’s happened child? Her calm voice soothed me.
So even during the day when you’re supposed to be dead, I have no privacy? Is that what you’re telling me? I couldn’t believe this shit! She’s always there, watching me?
I am only a spectator into the minds of my own. And you are still a part of me, have you forgotten?
How could I forget? I can feel her thoughts weighing on my mind. Tamara rode me to the Marina on her motorcycle. She let me fall asleep in the sun while on the way to the Hightower Island and now disappeared with Celeste. Viola found Jules body on the estate’s grounds and I’m sunburned!
I see, Katherine replied. Is there anything else?
Isn’t that enough? I choked back bloody tears. If we are all connected, can you find Tamara for me?
I cannot. Katherine muttered.
What do you mean you can’t?
I lost touch with her a while ago. I was hoping she was with you. Make sure you tell Stacia, that we need security for the estate.
I was ready to have a nervous breakdown. That’s all I needed was to lose Tamara. God Damn it! I knew that bitch, Celeste, was involved.
Izzy, find my—
Don’t. Don’t even say it. You know I’ll find Tamara and when I do, Celeste is mine!
As you wish, child.
And that quickly, she released the hold she had on me.
“Izzy.” Stacia was shaking my shoulders. “Answer me,” she begged.
I found myself lying in her arms with Vicky next to me. Knowing that things were about to get hectic, I allowed myself to take in the warmth of the sun, enjoying the calmness it radiated through me. And luck of all luck, we were still on the deck of this retched boat.
“What happened to you?” Stacia probed. “You’re eyes went white and rolled up into your head. Then you collapsed. I caught you as you started going overboard.”
“Huh?” I answered absently. “Katherine paid me a visit and scrambled my brain.” Leaning on Stacia while I lifted myself up, I told her what had happened.
She jumped to her feet, punching in numbers on the satellite phone. “The estate needs security and we need to find Tamara.” Putting me on hold by holding up a finger she said into the phone, “Hightower estate. Armed security.” She paused and then continued, “No, we’re aboard the Izmara, we’ll be there in a few hours.” Finally, she walked away.
“Never a dull moment, huh?” Vicky shook her head, staring at me. “What about that Celeste? What are you gonna do with her?”
“I’m going to kill her.” I don’t think I’d ever spoken truer words and I had no doubt that when the time came, I wouldn’t even hesitate. Pressure started building behind my eyes. I knew that feeling all too well, my hunger gently announcing its need. I had just fed from Vicky, this morning. I was getting hungrier and angrier as my stress rose. I had to find a way to curb my appetite or I’d never get anything accomplished.
“Chill,” she said, shaking her finger at me. “I know that look. You need to get a handle on this.”
I approached her quickly, standing mere inches from her. “I fed this morning…you should know.”
Vicky took a step back. “Yes, but stress tends to do nasty things to a vamp.” She turned and headed toward the interior stairs, then stopped, turning to look at me. “Just wait right here.” She disappeared down the spiral staircase.
Wait right here? What was I, a two year old?
Stacia came in with a scowl on her face, heading straight for the bar. “I’ve had no luck finding anything on Celeste’s whereabouts.” She poured some whiskey over ice and shot it back. “No one knows a damn thing!” she said, slamming the jigger down on the counter. “We shouldn’t have given up the search for Tamara. I knew Celeste couldn’t be trusted!”
“Oh no, you didn’t go there with me.” My hunger wasn’t the only thing beckoning, my anger had caught a ride on its shirttails. “Tell me you’re not implying that I left Tamara in the claws of that bitch intentionally.” My fangs lowered, I was ready to welcome Miss-I-love-this-too-much into our world permanently.
Her eyes grew wide. “No. That’s not what I meant.” She lowered her head and revealed her neck. “Forgive me, Mistress.”
Her submission washed over me, dulling the edges of my anger. She may be the Hightower’s trusted servant, but she had me to deal with right now.
“I was waiting to see which way that would go.” Vicky leaned against the stairs.
“Don’t press your luck with me- Vicky, I’m not in the mood.”
“My Lady,” Stacia interrupted, while holding her submissive position. “May I be excused? I would like make a few more calls.”
Well, that was more like it. Now, she was treating me with the respect that I deserved. “Yes, of course,” I said, dismissing her.
“Girl, what’s gotten into you?” Vicky slowly approached. “I never took you for the-kneel-and-praise-me kind of chick.”
“I’m tired. I’m tired of always having some kind of drama and emergency to take care of, instead of just being with Tamara.”
“Here,” Vicky held out the book, A Schmuck’s Guide to Being a Vampire. “Figured you needed it more than me.”
I didn’t know what to think about Vicky having a book like this or what to say. “Thank you, I think.”
Stacia ran in. “My Lady,” she panted. “Celeste was seen several hours ago at the airstrip boarding a private plane and loading a duffle bag large enough to hide a body in. She’s left the Island.”
My anger rose. That bitch carried my wife out in a duffle bag. “Where did she go?”
“I don’t know. The pilot made no flight record and hasn’t returned yet.”
I locked myself in the bedroom, and turned to the only person I thought could help me now. “Mother, can you hear me?”
Nothing but silence filled the room.
“Mother?” I waited a few more minutes and nothing happened. This was stupid. I was trying to contact a hallucination. There was no Mother or any other higher being out there. Just as I turned to stomp out of the room, I saw Mother standing in front of the door, wearing a pair of white shorts and a Hawaiian shirt with colorful pineapples imprinted on it.
“Impatient, aren’t we?”
I rubbed my eyes and used a finger to poke her. Yep. She was real and dressed as a tourist, standing in my bedroom.
She must have noticed my stunned look because she said, “I was having fun. What do you need from me, child?”
I poked her again and again my finger met solid mass. “Tamara disappeared. Can you find her?”
“And what will you offer for my help?” She strolled over to the window, looking out, waiting for my reply.
I knew there was a catch. Everyone wanted something. “How about I give you some fashion tips?”
She turned. “You waste my time.”
“Wait. What do you want?” I forced the words out. I would have made a pack with the devil to find Tamara.
“You will owe me a favor, of my choosing.”
“Very well.” I plopped on the bed. “I’m indebted to you, but could you please change into something more, I don’t know…goddess like… the pineapples are really distracting.”
/> She laughed and sat next to me. “We will need the help of Ina…Layla. She is Goddess of all vampires and can find your beloved.” Mother closed her eyes and a soft, warm breeze encapsulated the room. Mistress Layla, the Vampire Goddess, appeared in a translucent form. She was the same woman that had come to our union, sat with Tamara and had watched me agonize over which human gift to accept. Immediately, I noticed the blood dripping down her neck and my thirst closed in around my throat. She caught me staring and smiled.
“Why have you interrupted me?” She turned toward Mother.
“We seek Tamara Hightower.”
“And what has she offered?” Layla pointed at me.
They were all the same, wanting something in return for nothing. It would be me getting my hands dirty. All they had to do was tell me where to find Tamara.
“She has offered a favor,” Mother replied.
Layla thought about this and then answered, “I’ll accept the same. This could be quite interesting.”
She stretched out her arms and thin snakes of light slithered from her body, coiling and winding through the air, breaking out of the confined space of my room. One of the thousand beams charged straight at me, plunging itself deep into my chest, paralyzing me, twisting around my once beating heart. My first instinct was to gasp for air. I still wasn’t used to not having to breathe. Layla’s connection worked its way down my spine and settled in my groin, exciting, not only my hunger, but my clit as well. I’m sure that the boys would have instant erections.
Her darkness cradled my essence as it tore through me, stripping away pieces of my humanity until there was nothing left but hunger mixed with desire. Why is it vampires were synonymous with sex? Her calling woke every vampire that walked the earth, most were strong and bright. Tamara’s light dimly flickered erratically, unable to hold a steady link with the Vampire Goddess.
Layla folded her arms. “She’s in New Orleans,” she replied, then disappeared. Mother was right behind her, blending into the air that had brought her here.
I can’t explain it, but I had a feeling I would need Abby by my side.
Chapter Five
It wasn’t long after that, that the small prop plane taxied up to the New Orleans airport terminal. Even before I got off the plane, I got a strange feeling about this place. Every intuition I had stood at attention, shouting at me to get the hell out of here. Stepping onto the terminal only increased my restlessness. A shiver ran down my spine, cooling me to the bone on this hot, humid day. Dark magic permeated the air, hugging tightly against my chest. Not a good sign. Lucky me, I noticed a driver holding a sign that read, Hightower on it. Stacia must have arranged transportation.
Approaching the chauffeur, he quickly nodded and said, “We be honored to have ya with us, please, follow me.”
The limousine raced through the streets of New Orleans, or Noo Awyuns, as the Customs Officer corrected me, toward the hotel where we would meet Abby, then we would be off to find Tamara. I had heard that New Orleans was the ultimate party town, but I couldn’t wrap my mind around that when this place gave me the hibi jibies. I was supposed to be comfortable with the darker side of things. How could anyone let their guard down enough to have a good time here?
“We almost at da Canterin Whale Bed and Breakfast,” the driver said with a thick Creole accent, rubbing the rabbit’s foot dangling off his rearview mirror. “It’s on Royal Street, right in da middle of Videux Carré, which is da centuh of the Voodoo community.” He quickly made the symbolic cross jester across his chest and kissed his fist, holding it up to the heavens. He was highly dependent on his beliefs.
I would do my best not to shatter his religious values while I was here.
The car came to a stop in front of the bed and breakfast and he jumped out, raced around and held open the door for me. “I am yar drivuh, Pierre, and I’ll be here with da car.”
Abby came running out before I got halfway up the cobblestone walk and jumped into my arms. “Oh God, you’re okay! I thought something had happened to you,” she went on without catching a breath. “Two men escorted me to a plane, then brought me here. I was so worried, I tried to feel your presence, but I—”
“Yes,” I interrupted, “I’m fine. It’s Tamara that I’m worried about. Celeste has her somewhere here,” I said, waving my hands around.
“Oh,” she said, letting go of the grip she had on me. “Don’t worry, we’ll find her.”
“Um, I can take ya to see da High Priestess, if she is here, Pada will know.”
I raised my brows, impressed that Pierre would know a High Priestess after the obvious catholic religious practice he had shown in the car. “I’ll take you up on that,” I said, pulling Abby into the limo with me.
“I’m not so sure about this,” she complained.
“Da High Priestess will know what ta do. She is revered. You must pay your respects when she helps ya.”
“Does she take American Express?” Abby blurted.
I chuckled and Pierre shook his head disapprovingly.
We drove on main roads for a while, then turned off onto side roads that seemed to never end. Finally, we turned into the back of an alley overrun by chickens running free. Pierre slowed the car, then pulled over, parking next to a large overfilled dumpster. “It is bad gris-gris to take da life of da Priestesses livestock. From here we walk.”
Abby gave me a you’ve-got-to be-kidding-me look and huffed out an exaggerated breath. “Fine.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the car. “It stinks out here,” she complained as we followed Pierre down the alley and into an old, musky smelling voodoo shop.
I froze at the door. She yanked my hand trying to pull me inside. “I can’t,” I mouthed. My muscles reacted to an unknown barrier that I couldn’t cross. It denied me entry into the small, smelly shop.
“I’m not going in there without you!” she mouthed back and pulled again.
“Relax,” Pierre let out an amusing laugh, then reassured us. “Pada knows dat. Pada knows all.” And he disappeared through a beaded curtain.
Abby stepped out and stood behind me.
I laughed. Apparently, Abby wasn’t much of a risk taker with the unknown. Vampires and werewolves were fair game, voodoo priestesses were not. An old homeless looking woman, walking down the alley caught my attention. She struggled with a few plastic shopping bags, trying to pass a barking dog. The Shepherd growled, baring his large canines, then lunged at her. Without a second thought, I ran toward her, pushing the dog from its projected path and landed in a crouching position in front of her. Recovering quickly, the dog came to his feet, ears pinned back and drooling. He slinked forward. I hissed and he stopped, then laid on his belly watching me.
“Thank ya,” she said, putting her hand on my shoulder.
“No problem, happy to help.”
“I wasn’t thankin’ ya,” she clarified. “I was thankin’ da dog for helpin’ me decide if I should invite ya into my home.”
“What?” I turned, facing her. She wore a large, bright toothless smile on her face and Abby laughed behind us.
“Thank ya, King. Ya may go home now.”
The dog stared at her.
Waving her hand, she said, “No, I’m sure. I’ll be okay.”
The dog looked at me, then turned and peacefully strolled away, wagging his tail.
“You’re Pada?”
“And you are Izzy Hightower. Make yourself useful, girl,” she said, handing me a grocery bag.
I took the bag and followed her into the shop that once denied me entry. An overpowering smell of herbs and aromatic oil called, Patchouli, hit me hard as I walked through the door. I hate the smell of Patchouli. No, I’m lying. I detest it. It reminds me of the nasty potion Shamana had me drink after the bitch Celeste spelled me.
The old, wooden, rickety shelves held what I assumed were the typical merchandise for a Voo-doo shop—Tarot cards, books, herbs, powders, and small ivory statues, along with some objects that I had no clue
as to how or what they were used for. The wooden floor creaked under my feet, giving the shop an unsettling, ucky feeling.
“Ya’re early. I didn’t expect ya for a few hours yet. Put da bag here,” she said, pointing at a round wooden table. “Pierre will put da groceries up while we talk.”
Following her through the beaded curtain, she turned, pointing at Abby. “Well, what ya waitin’ for, a written invitation? Come on.”
The room we were led into was exceptionally dark, I was grateful that my vampire eyes adjusted quickly. Abby fumbled her way in and I caught her as she tripped, almost falling face first onto a large bookcase.
“Thank you,” she whispered, grabbing my arm and clinging tight.
“The Goddess told me to help ya so here we are.” Pada lit a candle that barely illuminated a statue of a woman with arms outstretched, reaching for the sky.
“The great goddess, Aisha, requires ritual to gain her favor,” Pada said, slowly walking to another candle, bowing in the direction of the statue and lighting it. Flames shot up from the glass candleholder, then took to the wick burning steady. “She axes nothing far reaching, a simple act of reverence and a few drops of blood.”
“Whose blood?” Abby whispered.
“The cold one’s blood.”
Oh, yes of course. It seemed everyone wanted something from me, now it was my blood. I rolled my eyes.
“Ya not surprised, cold one?” The old lady stared at me.
“No, I guess not,” I replied. “What else does Aisha want?”
“To feel mortal pleasure.”
“What?” Abby uttered, pointing at the three of us. “You want us to fuck?”
“Not me. Da Goddess has waited for ya,” she said and then grinned. She pointed to the rug on the floor. “Da Goddess commanded me to buy it.” Pada circled us carefully, her every step choreographed. “Then I am to burn it. She keeps yar passion to herself.”
“Oh, this is ridiculous!” Abby grabbed my hand and started pulling me out of the room. “That’s it, we’re leaving. She doesn’t have any—”
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