Chapter 12
Early the next morning, right after I touched base with Sam and let her know where we were going, we were on the road, following Jeremy’s directions. Surprisingly, it looked like her place was less than twenty minutes from where we were staying, according to the map. I had Elmer’s wooden box tucked in a large crossbody bag along with a bottle of industrial strength bug spray they sold in the general store—another gift from Jeremy.
With the heat, we decided to leave Toby back at the campground, in the air conditioning. I had arranged for Gloria, one of the shifter waitstaff I had met the night before, to let him out for a potty break if we weren’t back within a few hours. Jake was staying with him, of course, so I felt less guilty about leaving the German Shepherd behind. Today would end up serving as a bit of a test to see how far and how long Rand could be away from Toby. When I mentioned that to him, he had become contemplative.
Even from the expressway, the scenery made it feel as though we had entered a different world, if not an entirely different time period. Rand pointed out several alligators sunning themselves near the channels just off the highway, and the tall white egrets wading through the water in search of fish or frogs. We saw dozens of mom and pop stands along the side of nearly every road, with signs advertising fresh shrimp or souvenirs. There were even signs for swamp tours posted along the way, Cajun Pride being one of the more popular ones, it seemed.
“We should do one of those while we’re here.”
“One of what? The tours?” Touring around a mosquito infested swamp wasn’t all that high up on my list of things I absolutely had to do while I was down here.
“It would be fun. There’s probably all sorts of wildlife here you’ve never seen before.”
“Have you seen the size of the mosquitos down here? They’re bigger than some of the birds. I’m fine with viewing the wildlife from the Jeep, thanks. And we’ve seen dozens of alligators, already.” Seriously, I had lost count. I kept waiting for one to cross the road and stop traffic or worse. Several of the houses we had passed that were built on the riverbanks or waterways had alligators sunning themselves right in peoples yards. I shuddered at the thought of one of those things blocking the way to my car in the morning or chasing Toby. Did alligators chase dogs?
“We should do something fun while we’re here. Make it a real vacation.”
“The haunted trailer park isn’t enough, dear?” I feigned surprise. “We’ll check a few places out. Maybe even the French Quarter and some of the city highlights.” Jeremy had mentioned Stella rented out a shop she owned downtown, so we would likely end up in town at some point, anyway.
“I think this is the exit you need, darling.” Rand had appointed himself navigator before we had pulled out of the park, which was fine by me. As much driving as I had done over the last few days, I wished there was some way he could take a turn behind the wheel, too.
Not long after the exit, he pointed out a road I would likely have missed if I had been on my own—it barely looked like more than a service drive. The homes in most of the areas we had already passed were quite nice; the homes on the waterways had been more of an eclectic mix. I was hoping Stella’s home was one of the former. I had a mental picture of a scary shack in the middle of the swamp, surrounded by water snakes and alligators. Of course, if she was being paid for protection from any number of the groups of Others Jeremy had mentioned, she should be able to afford something nice.
“Um, Rand, are you sure this is the right road?” We had been driving for a few minutes and there were no homes or any other signs of civilization, just more woody swampland with trees nearly choked by the long strands of spanish moss hanging from their branches.
“According to this map, we should have reached it by now.”
“Have you seen any driveways or side roads? This just looks like wilderness.” And, of course, more alligators. I was pretty sure I had seen a couple snakes that were longer than the Jeep, as well. This was not an area I would want to run out of gas or have a flat tire.
He was usually keenly observant, so I doubted he had missed a turn somewhere. There was no other traffic on this road so I did a u-turn and drove back the way we had come.
We made it back to the main road, still not seeing any drive leading up to a house, a path off the road, or so much as a mailbox with an address. I pulled off to the side and pulled up a maps app on my cell phone. With the signal being spotty, it was taking forever to load, so Rand and I looked over the neatly written directions Jeremy had given us again.
“You don’t think he would have sent us on a wild goose chase, do you?”
Rand didn’t even need to consider the question. “No. He was too afraid once he found out who you were related to, to pull any crap like that. There has to be something we’re missing here.”
We turned around again and drove back more slowly. There hadn’t been any other vehicles on this road during the entire time we had been on it. It was gravel and barely maintained. The side of the road the directions indicated her home should be on looked like nothing but more swampland. Unless she had one of the numerous houseboats we had seen, I don’t know how there could possibly be a house out here. I slowed to a crawl as we passed a particularly dense patch of bald cypress trees with wax myrtles, shrubby trees, and reedy grasses growing underneath them.
“Do you see that?” I asked as I came to a stop, squinting at the patch. It fit in with the rest of the swamp around it, but something about it kept drawing my attention. My phone chimed, indicating the maps app had finally finished loading. Frowning at it, I held it up to show Rand.
“This road isn’t even on the app. Maybe this one hasn’t been updated in awhile.”
“This road looks plenty old enough to be listed on there. I’m sure it was here long before cell phones and map apps were.”
“Weird.” I pulled the Jeep off to the side as far as I could—there really wasn’t any emergency space, but with the lack of traffic, I figured it would be fine. “I’m going to get out and look around.” I turned off the ignition and opened the door to step out.
“There’s nothing to see. What about the snakes and alligators?”
I quickly pulled my foot back in, the mental image of an alligator creeping under the vehicle and snapping at my feet painting way too vivid a picture. There may have been something off about that patch but I wasn’t risking a leg to go look.
“Can you go check it out? They won’t see or smell you. You won’t even draw mosquitoes.”
He looked at the spot that had my attention. “I don’t see anything there. You wouldn’t be able to push your Jeep through there without scratching up the paint or getting hung up on the undergrowth.”
“It's just a feeling. If there’s nothing there, we’ll keep driving. Or, just look under the Jeep and make sure there’s not an alligator waiting for an easy snack and I’ll go check it out, myself.” The idea of being eaten alive by mosquitoes bigger than the state bird of Michigan wasn’t appealing, but we needed to find my aunt.
“No, I got this. I’ll go look. Uh, what am I looking for exactly?”
“I don’t know, it’s just . . . it feels like something’s not right about that area.” That was the best I could explain, and it sounded weak even to me.
“That’s pretty vague, Roxie, but hold tight, I’ll be right back.” He disappeared, reappearing part way across the road and walking the last few steps to the dense patch of vegetation. With a quick look back over his shoulder at me, he seemed to steel himself and stepped forward—and completely disappeared. It reminded me of the ghost in Jeremy’s office when she’d pulled herself back through the wall. Mosquitoes and alligators forgotten, I jumped out of the Jeep and rushed across the road, arm in front of me to push through the brush—
—and stepped out onto a drive leading back into the swamp. A very well-maintained looking drive that apparently didn’t exist from the road.
Rand was standing to one side, surveying the are
a. He turned at the same time I did to look back at the Jeep. The brush and trees were gone, leaving a clear view to my vehicle. He looked like I felt. Surprised.
“I think we found it, Alice.” He met my eyes. “What do you say, are we heading down the rabbit hole?”
I’m not sure why my first inclination was to wonder that he had either read or watched Alice in Wonderland. It was a classic, after all.
“We’ve come this far, so why not? But we’re driving down this hole, not walking.” I held my breath as I walked back out onto the gravel road, but just as it had been when I had passed the other way, I felt nothing. It was an illusion of some kind. I hurried back to the Jeep and climbed in. As much as I loved this thing, my knees and hips constantly reminded me it was a vehicle for a person younger than myself. Pulling around, I braced myself as I drove straight into the brush, expecting to hear branches scraping along the sides and undercarriage, but there was none of that. Rand popped back into the seat beside me as I passed through the illusion completely.
“Did you feel that shock when you crossed through from the road?” Rand asked, giving a full body shake that reminded me of Toby.
“No, I didn’t feel anything at all. It was kind of anticlimactic.” How had he felt anything, being what he was? Or rather, what he wasn’t?
“It was the weirdest sensation I’ve felt since, well, you know.” He wasn’t usually uncomfortable talking about his death. “Have you ever touched electric horse fencing?”
“I can’t say that I have, no. Is it worse than getting zapped by static?” Steven used to do that to me and laugh his butt off. It was only somewhat funny for me the first time.
“Oh yeah. Like ten times worse. When I was growing up, one of my buddies had horses. I would go over and help him clean stalls and stuff so we could take off earlier on the weekends. He used to dare me to lick my finger and touch the fence.”
“Let me guess, you took that dare.” This wasn’t a question.
“I was fifteen, what do you think?” he grinned. “We had contests sometimes to see who could hold onto the fence the longest. I won.”
“Of course, you did,” I said dryly. I would have rolled my eyes, but the drive curved a bit and I was trying to keep my eyes peeled for wildlife. The canopy above us and to the sides blocked most of the sun, so it felt like I was driving at dusk, not almost ten o’clock in the morning.
“Anyway, it felt a lot like that. If we weren’t already convinced before, I think it’s safe to say your Aunt Stella is a witch.”
We had discussed it last night, after the strong reactions we had from Jeremy and some of the other residents at the park, and had already come to this conclusion. Jeremy seemed sincere about all of the protection spell stuff, even though I really didn’t want to believe a relative of mine would do something like that, at least not for money. Hopefully, she had answers for me.
Abruptly, the canopied drive opened to several acres of clear, well manicured land with a huge plantation style home atop a terraced hill. In the middle of a swamp! How was this even possible? Protection spells must pay really well.
We arrived at a circular drive with a huge fountain in the center. If it hadn’t been so far off the beaten path, and hidden to boot, it surely would have been featured as part of the numerous plantation home tours we had seen advertised on our drive into New Orleans. The front columns and balconies made me think of Gone with the Wind. Stylish wicker furniture lined the porch, with a multitude of potted palms and various flowering topiaries aesthetically placed. The large yard was immaculately groomed and I was sure I saw a building that looked like a stable, complete with horse fencing surrounding it, far out beyond the house on one side. The detached building on the other side looked like a garage that would fit half a dozen cars. Dear Aunt Stella must be loaded.
I drove up to the bottom of the steps in front of the house and waited, not sure if I should get out and go up to the door, or if someone would come out to ‘attend’ my Jeep.
“This is definitely not what I was expecting.” Rand was looking around the property, observing everything.
“I’m with you. This place is the bomb.” Rand may have been observing, but I was downright rubbernecking.
“The bomb?” He raised his brow at me. “Really? Why not just say it’s rad?”
“Hey, it’s something my parents used to say. And rad? I remember that one, too. I’m old, remember?”
“You’re not that old. Um, Roxie? Where’s your phone? You might want to grab it, quick.”
I looked around to see what had gotten his attention. Or rather, who had gotten it. There was a man walking down the steps, heading for us. From the cautious expression on his face, he must have seen me talking and assumed I was talking to myself. I picked my phone up from the console and held it up in front of me, as if I was using the speaker option. I rolled down my window as he approached.
“Yeah, I’ll call you right back. I’ve got to go. You, too.” I ended my fake conversation and lowered the phone just as he reached my door. “Hi, there. I’m here to see Stella Devraux.”
“Do you have an appointment?” His tone told me he knew I didn’t. His eyes looked shifty and he was squinting suspiciously as he tried to see through the tinting on the rear windows. For some reason I couldn’t explain, I immediately distrusted him.
Plastering on my brightest smile, I informed him, “I’m family, I have an open invite. Auntie Stella knew I was going to be in the area and I know she would want to see me.” Where had that come from? Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Rand’s astonishment, too. It might have been the way his jaw dropped. I’ve never been a very good actress, so I rarely tried to bluff. What possessed me to do so now, I had no idea. Turning off the ignition, I opened the door and stepped out, forcing the man back a few steps. I noted he was slim, only a couple inches taller than myself, balding, and dressed like a butler. I’d never seen a butler, except on television, but I didn’t think butlers actually dressed like this anymore. Maybe Aunt Stella was a stickler for traditional uniforms.
“I brought a few things for her. Is she inside?” Hoping my false bravado would carry me through, I started for the first level of steps. The man spluttered and hurried after me.
“Madam, please! You can’t just go in! She’s not well today. If she’s not expecting you, perhaps you could come back another time.”
I stopped. Not well? She had to be up there in years, I knew. Was I too late? And did he just call me ‘Madam’? “I’m only in town for a short while. Like I said, she will want to see me. Please let her know her niece is here.” I resumed my way to the stairs. “If she’s not feeling well, is she in her room?”
“Er, no, she’s not in her room. She’s not home, at the moment.” I noticed he had neither the southern drawl nor what I was starting to recognize as a New Orleans accent. His eyes darted to the house and all around, not meeting mine for more than a second at a time and he seemed far more nervous than he should be.
“I thought you just said she wasn’t well. Why would she be out if she wasn’t feeling well.” The longer I talked to him, the more suspicious I felt. “What time will she be back? I don’t mind waiting.” I had made it to the top of the second level of stairs leading to the porch by this time. I debated on whether or not to just walk in the front door, but decided to sit in one of the chairs several feet to one side of the door, instead. There was a cute little wicker ottoman off to one side, so I pulled it over and put my feet up, settling in. Rand still stood outside of the Jeep, looking around.
“Madam, she may be gone a while. She was advised against leaving, but she’s very stubborn. It must run in the family.” He looked directly at me as he said that last part. “Her mental state has been steadily declining and she’s been very erratic of late. She rarely remembers much any more. Er, when was the last time you saw her?”
I’m not sure if it was the way he asked the question or what, but little alarm bells started going off in my head. My rig
ht hand felt odd and I flexed my fingers. His eyes went straight to the ring on it, considering it and . . . dismissing it? He looked at the ring I wore on my other hand and his eyes took on a speculating gleam, like he was calculating how much it might be worth. It was all I could do not to hide my hands behind my back. I had gotten so used to wearing these two rings, that I barely noticed them now.
“I’m not sure, exactly.” That was the truth. I think my mother had mentioned she had been to visit shortly after I was born, but I wasn’t positive of it. I narrowed my eyes at him and decided to bluff a bit. “What did you say your name was, anyway, and how long have you been here?”
“It’s Harris, Madam. I’ve been, er, employed by Madam Devraux for several months now. The Madam has never mentioned anything about a niece.” Several months? I could use that to my advantage.
“I knew I hadn’t seen you here before.” Still not a lie, right? “What time did she leave and where was she going? Maybe I can—”
“Harris! Where are you? I already had to go through one room by myself! And that damned cat keeps getting in my way, tripping me every time I turn around! Can’t we lock it up or something while the old broad is gone?” A stocky man pushed the door open, stopping abruptly when he saw the vehicle in the drive. “Why’s there a car here?”
Harris cleared his throat loudly, bringing the man’s attention to us off to the side, half hidden by one of the palms. “Lawrence, this is Madam Devraux’s niece, Madam, er, I didn’t catch your name, Madam.”
“That would be because I didn’t give it, Harris. And it’s Ms., not madam.” I studied the newcomer who was now wringing his hands nervously. He was stocky, but in a soft way, more flab than muscle, his graying hair cut short. He was also sweating profusely. What was going on here? The two men on the porch had drawn Rand’s attention. I saw him frown and then disappear. When he didn’t reappear right away, it was my turn to frown. I looked up and down the length of the porch, but I didn’t want to take my attention away from the men for very long. Both men’s gazes followed mine, looking around.
Seeing Witchy Things Page 11