2 Hungry, Hungry Hoodoo (24 page)

Was he still brooding over yesterday? I knew finding out about Sebastian would be a betrayal, but I hoped he would also see that it was a betrayal of his father, not him. But perhaps I was splitting hairs. Or maybe he was worried I wouldn’t be able to break the curse. “You know that Sebastian is and has always been loyal to you, right? And we will break the curse.”

“Not as loyal as he is to you.” Cheney’s eyes sparkled at me as a real smile spread across his face. “But I don’t mind. I’m glad I can trust him to protect you.”

“He never said a word to me about my past because you told him not to.”

“In retrospect, getting everything out in the open sooner probably would have been better.”

“So you’re saying you were wrong . . .”

He kissed me. “Yes.”

“And we won’t have any more secrets from each other.”

The smile melted from his face and seriousness hijacked his eyes. “Not after today.” I frowned and was about to ask him to clarify when he climbed out of bed. “No more talk. We have to get dressed. Let’s hit the showers.”

I wore black leggings and Cheney’s button down shirt with a belt. I wanted to keep something of him close to me so I wouldn’t forget my resolve once I was away from him. I got the burlap pouch the priestess gave me and attached it to my belt. Not the height of fashion, but at least I wouldn’t lose it. The girls and I went to my grandmother’s house. I wasn’t quite sure how to ask her if she’d cursed me to protect the world, but I had to find out. My friends all looked less emotional and more stable today. Their faces were serious and they were quiet. We walked side by side up the porch, and I knocked on the door before opening it.

“Hello,” I called.

Grandma came out of the kitchen with a wooden spoon in her hand. “Did you find the book?” she asked.

I nodded. “But not Devin.”

“And you tried a tracking spell?”

“It was blocked,” Leslie said. “Everything we have tried has been blocked. We tried to release Selene’s memories and failed. We tried to find Devin and failed.”

“You know, before we came here and met you, I don’t remember a spell of ours ever failing,” Katrina said.

“Maybe you’re just not strong enough.” Grandma turned back to the kitchen.

“Or maybe you’ve been meddling with our powers,” Jessica told her.

I looked at them. “Did you guys plan this?”

“We talked about it last night. It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Katrina whispered.

I led the way into the kitchen, but Grandma was gone. “Where is sh—” A surge of energy hit my back, knocking me into the stove.

“You’ve fooled them, but you don’t fool me,” she said behind me. “I should’ve taken care of this before we got to this point. I thought maybe you could be saved.” Crackling energy formed in her palms and sparks shot out.

“I didn’t kill anyone, you crazy old woman.”

“You did. I know it. He told me.”

“
Who
told you?”

“Cheney.” Sparks cascaded around her hand. “He came back to the house the night I picked you up, after you went to bed. He told me everything that happened.”

“No.” I shook my head. “He spoke with you, but Cheney told me I didn’t do it.”

“He was clear enough at the time. He is protecting your feelings now.”

Was this what he was talking about? Was this the last secret?

Jessica moved toward Grandma. “If you attack one of us, you attack all of us.”

Grandma released her collected energy. Jessica flew back, cracking the wall. Then she landed in a smoldering heap on the floor.

“No!” I shouted, envisioning lifting her by the throat. Grandma rose from the ground, hands clawing at her neck but finding nothing but her own skin. Fury and rage tightened their grip on me, and I felt myself slipping away, giving into my anger.

“Selene?” Katrina said, her eyes wide and a little scared.

“Check on Jess,” I told her, not easing my grip on Grandma for a moment but managing to keep it from tightening.

“Selene, you’re killing her,” Leslie said, placing her hand on my arm. “This isn’t you.”

Good,
a voice in my mind said. I was so startled I released everything. Grandma fell to the floor, gasping for air. “Put her in the chair.”

Leslie went to her, and I could see her hands shaking as she helped Grandma up. I had almost crossed a line. Almost become what my grandmother was convinced I was. I looked over at Katrina and Jessica.

“She’s breathing,” Katrina said. “But we should probably take her to the hospital.”

I nodded. “Take Grandma’s car. Leslie can help you. My grandmother and I have a lot to talk about.”

Neither of them said anything, though I felt their eyes on me. I used my will to keep Grandma immobile in her kitchen chair while they got out of the house. I sat down next to her and folded my hands. “Did you curse me?”

Her eyes met mine, but she didn’t speak.

“Please. I’m asking for your help.”

“I am helping you, child. I’m keeping you human.”

“You’re killing me.”

She shook her head. “You’re killing yourself.” Her eyes met mine. “I told you to take the book and run. Not to let them find you, but you went with them. You went back to the Abyss, and now the evil you is coming through and tearing you in two.”

“I’m not evil. Look at me. I am me. I have always been me. I swear to you I didn’t kill my parents. I talked to Cheney about it. He said it wasn’t my magic.”

“’Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies,” she quoted the Bible at me.

I laughed. “You’re a witch. Don’t you think Bible quotes are a bit hypocritical?” Anger fought its way back to the surface. “After all, according to the Bible, I should suffer you to live.” I rubbed on the sleeve of Cheney’s shirt to remind myself to be calm.

She glared.

I crossed my arms over my chest and felt something in the shirt pocket. “Did you cast the curse? Do you know where Devin is?”

She looked away.

I rolled my eyes, sure she was guilty. I took the pouch the hoodoo priestess gave me off of my belt and laid it on the table. Grandma looked at it with a wary expression. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” When she didn’t respond, I said, “Fine. Hard it is.”

I got a bowl and a knife and placed them on the table. I put the pouch in the bowl and mentally forced Grandma’s hand over it. I ignored the fact that I felt nothing about what I was doing, and I raised an eyebrow at her.

Her glower didn’t give me a moment’s pause. I ran the knife over her palm and she hissed in pain. I watched the blood dribble into the bowl, keeping her arm suspended until the little sachet was soaked. Then I grabbed her injured hand and did as I had seen Cheney do before. I pushed my energy into her, making her heal faster. When the cut was no more than a faint pink line, I got up. A wave of dizziness washed over me and I gripped the table to steady myself, losing my magical hold on Grandma. I heard her push back from the kitchen table, and the next instant I was hit with a force that rivaled a freight train. I smashed against the brick wall, my head snapped back, and the lights went out.

I awoke with a crushing pain in my skull and pressed my hand to my head. I forced my eyes open to look at the sticky red substance covering my hand. The room spun, and I retched to the side of my chair. I wasn’t tied down though. After several deep, gasping breaths I stumbled toward the door, but I ran into an invisible wall. I looked at the floor. A circle had been painted beneath me. I felt for my phone before remembering I didn’t have pockets and had left it at home. Shit.

“There’s no way out,” Grandma said.

“You have to let me go,” I told her. “I’m trying to save a life.”

“And I’m saving hundreds, maybe thousands.”

“Call Cheney. Talk to him.”

“He’s blind to you. I have no doubt he’s convinced himself that you didn’t kill your parents, but I know the truth.”

“Gah! I can’t talk to you.
You
are killing three people tonight.”

“The young witch was not my responsibility. She was yours. That death is on you. I have nothing against Cheney, but he should’ve known better than to bind himself to you.”

I tried to use my power to throw her across the room, but it bounced back and hit me, knocking me into the invisible wall. I crumbled to the floor and stayed in a heap, struggling to think past the anger. There had to be a way out of here. As I was on the verge of giving up, it came to me. I took a deep breath and willed myself to transport, hoping she hadn’t accounted for the fact that, despite her binding, I had managed to regain some of my elf abilities.

Unfortunately she had. “Damn it!” I yelled.

“Mind your tongue, Lene,” she said, turning back to the sink with the bowl and my sachet in her hand.

Without a second thought, I released every ounce of energy I had. The entire house shuddered and shifted. Grandma clung to the counter and the foundation began to tremble. Her circle was powerful enough to prevent small attacks but it couldn’t withstand the larger force. The windows exploded inward in a shower of glass shards and a three-inch wide crack zigzagged across the kitchen floor, slitting my magical prison in half.

Edith—I couldn’t call her Grandma anymore—gasped when I appeared beside her. I snatched my blood-soaked sachet from the counter and walked away. “We’ll talk again later,” I said. Then I transported to the hospital.

The girls were still in the emergency room and Jessica was awake. They were huddled together, whispering when I walked in “You okay?” I asked Jess.

They all looked up at me. Leslie’s hand shot up and covered her mouth.

“Selene,” Katrina hissed, standing up and pushing me down into her seat. “You can’t walk around looking like this.”

“What?” I looked down at myself and saw what she meant. I was covered in blood and had the bloody bag clutched in my hand like a heart.

Katrina dug around in her purse until she found a plastic bag. I put the sachet into it, and she shoved it in her purse.

“Is she . . . you know?” Leslie said.

I shook my head and Leslie gasped. Maybe I didn’t understand the question. “Is she
what
?” I asked, pressing my fingers to my temples, my head still throbbing.