Sweet Evangeline (Moon Magic Book 2) (20 page)

“Neighborhood watch. The police will be here any moment. No self-respecting shooter would linger long enough to get caught. I hope.”

“Please be careful, you belong to me.”

Their eyes met and he vowed in his heart to set her world to rights.

This was Evangeline’s first trip home since before Christmas. Since the time Jade married Arabella and conceived a child, Elizabeth had married Detective Garrison and she had found the love of her life, Eric. What a difference a year can make. The drive had been ten hours long. No matter how you tried to get from Austin to New Orleans, it took eight to ten hours. Zak had slept most of the way, and Evangeline and Eric had sat in the front and held hands. She had refused to sleep when he had to stay alert. Only stopping when necessary, the journey was not a pleasant one.

Coming in on I-10, Eric was surprised that everything looked so normal. “I don’t see any damage,” he stated, referring to Hurricane Katrina damage.

“I’ll take you down to the Ninth Ward and some other neighborhoods, the damage is still very prevalent there.” Evangeline’s voice was soft with emotion.

“You love this city, don’t you sweetheart?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Well, then I will love it too. I want you to allow me to see it through your eyes.”

“It will be a privilege, Eric.” She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it. “Will we find her, Eric?”

He knew she spoke of her mother. “I will do everything in my power. And I know the rest of your family will, also. We will get through this together. Hey, Zak—buddy—wake up! We’re here!” Zak made rumblings from the back seat and soon sat up looking drowsy and out of sorts.

“Home, sweet home.”

“And you haven’t seen it since it was underwater?”

“No, but I have had access to T.V. So, I sort of knew what to expect.” Zak still wasn’t completely comfortable around Eric. Maybe, it would just take time.

“What part of the city did you live in, Zak?”

“Uptown—it was awhile before the waters came there. For a while we thought we were safe.”

Eric watched the road. “Don’t let me miss the exit.”

“If you cross the Mississippi, you’ve gone too far.” Evangeline kidded.

“Well, don’t let me miss the exit.”

“Take the Tchouapitoualis Street exit.” Evangeline directed.

“The what did you say?” Eric laughed.

“‘Choop a TOO las’, but it’s spelled with a T. There it is, sweetie.” She pointed.

Eric exited the interstate and followed her directions to Constance Street. The big house with the morning glory stained glass windows looked so inviting and welcoming that Evangeline let out a loud sigh. As Eric pulled into the driveway, two large black cats sauntered off the porch to meet her. “Slim, Two-Bits, it’s so good to see you!” She ran and hefted each of the overweight felines up in her arms and kissed each one in turn on his head over and over. They did not look pleased.

“I think I appreciate your kisses more than they do.”

“That’s good to know,” she smiled at him. “But they appreciate them. Don’t you guys? You love your mama, don’t you?” Eric had not seen this playful side of Evangeline very often. Their time together had been short and full of ups and downs—fires, attacks, turmoil and much, much love. “I am so glad the neighbor agreed to look after Tiger until we get back. He’ll be all right, won’t he Eric?”

“He’ll be fine. Those kids love animals.”

* * * *

Zak followed, a little further back, not wanting to interfere. He had felt the big man’s reticence to his presence and he didn’t relish an actual confrontation, so he hung back. But Evangeline would have none of it, she deposited the two ebony cats on the ground, took Eric’s hand in one of her own and then reached for Zak with the other. “Come on, this is a happy time. Let’s go see Nanette. You’ll like her, Zak, and she’s going to love you.”

* * * *

The previous night’s gunshot had seemingly left her mind, but it hadn’t left Eric’s. His eyes darted to the left and to the right. Whoever had shot at them in Austin, undoubtedly knew they had gone to New Orleans. That was a warning shot, that’s all it could have been. Whoever had ordered that display wanted them to know the game was on. Undoubtedly, Zak’s escape had been discovered and all hell was about to break loose. If Zak was right about Duvalier’s drug and organized crime activities, then this was not going to be a cake-walk. These people were going to be as serious as a heart attack. He hurried Evangeline up the driveway and on to the big, wide white verandah.

As they stood on the porch and waited for someone to open the door, Eric’s mind was moving a mile a minute. Everything was fitting together like some macabre jig-saw puzzle. Since Zak had verified that Clark Laurence was part of Aimee’s kidnapping, it wasn’t hard for Eric to begin to see the whole picture. Duvalier and his cohorts not only wanted to keep Aimee and retrieve Zak—they would go to great lengths to do so.

The stained glass panels on either side of the door shone like jewels in the early morning sun. They had driven all night and Evangeline had spoke with the rest of the family only to learn that the congressman and his wife were flying out in his private jet and bringing Elizabeth and the detective with them. Undoubtedly, they had already arrived. He hadn’t stopped to think about it, or they could have all come together. Eric had panicked when he had realized how much danger Evangeline was in.

The front door opened and Nanette held her arms out to Evangeline. “Oh, baby, your mama is alive!” As soon as they were through the wide French doors, Nanette began making them welcome. She was so happy! Evangeline had not realized how much she had missed the house on Constance Street until she was back in it.

“Everyone else is already here. How are you holding up, baby?” Nanette searched her granddaughter’s face.

“I’m fine, more than fine—actually. Grandmother, this is Zak. He has been with mother for the past four years. They have kept each other sane and Zak tells me that she has become like a mother to him.

“Yes, so I’ve heard.” Nanette was being a bit on the mysterious side. They settled in around Nanette’s huge dining table. Eric was comforted knowing that Garrison and the congressman were there. As soon as he could get them to one side, he had some ideas about getting some official help from the police and whatever other connections that they could garner.

But Angelique had a definite surprise, one that made Nanette sit down and cover the bottom of her face with a lace handkerchief. “We had a visitor last night.” At her words, Nanette broke down in tears. Everyone rose to their feet. The girls could not remember the last time Nanette had cried.

“Mother, you have me blocked—what in the world is wrong—besides the obvious?”

Quickly regaining her composure, she looked at Elizabeth. “I have no idea what you are talking about—but your daddy came to see us last night.”

Eric looked around, just as interested in everyone’s reaction as he was in the wild news that a dead man had paid a visit to the house he was now sitting in.

Elizabeth was visibly moved, “Why am I not picking anything up? Daddy came, why now?”

* * * *

At Elizabeth’s words, Angelique got a funny look on her face. The last time Elizabeth’s psychic powers wierded out, she had been pregnant with Arabella. Angelique smiled a small smile, now was not the time for that type of revelation—but soon.

“He said he couldn’t come before. If he had told us the truth about Aimee’s being alive and how to find her, it would not have worked out with Zak. Alcee was not specific, he said he couldn’t be, but Zak being safe and being a part of our family is meant to be and very important to the family in the long run.”

“Well, then he can tell us where Aimee is now.” Eric stated what he thought was obvious. He was managing to keep his uncertainty about Zak at bay, especially since Evangeline had not let go of his hand since they arrived. She had gone above and beyond trying to insure that he felt loved, desired, and important.

“Unfortunately, no. Since Duvalier came to New Orleans, a magical barrier has been put into place and the only thing that’s going to crack it is some serious magic of our own.” Nanette breathed heavily.

“So, that’s what we are going to do. But we need seven to do it.” Elizabeth looked around the room. “I wish Philippe was here. Not everyone in the circle has to be magical, but they need some magical connection. Jade has his medicine woman grandmother and then there are the four of us and Zak—that makes six.”

“Eric can do it.” Evangeline spoke up unexpectedly.

“What? I really must be slipping, how did I miss this?” Elizabeth was surprised.

“His mother was an Appalachian healer. From what I‘ve gathered from our conversations, she was into Granny Magic—Tennessee-style.” Evangeline spoke with not a small amount of pride in her voice.

“I knew I liked you.” Nanette smiled at Eric.

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about. What can I do?” Eric was willing to do whatever it took to find Evangeline’s mom, but he had no idea what they were asking.

“We need seven to make the power circle. Once we have that sacred space, we can use it to do our magic that will break the barrier Black Eddie has erected. If we can do that, then we can use other magical means to locate her—such as a map and pendulum or a scrying bowl. Seven is a powerful number, but each person in the circle must have a magical liaison with someone who has gone before who can aid and protect.” Arabella explained, squirming in her seat. Jade rubbed her back, eyeing her with concern. Everyone knew the baby was due any time now, and her husband was worried about her. He got up to go to the kitchen to get her some water and Eric followed, motioning to Tyler. Evangeline reluctantly relinquished his hand and he winked at her letting her know all was well.

“I’m glad you’re here, McAllister.” Garrison would consider the big man a formidable ally.

“Me, too. Did Elizabeth tell you that somebody took a shot at Evangeline last night?”

“Are you sure it was at Evangeline?”

“Yea, since Cammack is behind bars—I think I’m off anybody’s hit list.”

“Well, that’s a relief—one crisis at a time—if I had my way.”

“I wanted to ask you about back-up. Do you have any New Orleans allies?”

“Already taken care of, they’re just waiting for my call.”

“How about the Congressman—can he gather us up any help?”

“How does the Louisiana National Guard sound?” Jade walked up behind them.

“Wow, I’m impressed.”

“So was I.” Tyler laughed. “It pays to have a powerful politician in the family.

“Now, if we just knew where to look.” Eric sighed.

“That’s their area of expertise.” Tyler nodded off toward the women. “And yours too, I take it.”

“Hey, I just do what I’m told.”

“That sounds familiar,” Jade agreed. He had taken Arabella her water and returned, handing a beer to the two guys.

“I can relate to that.” Garrison laughed, “I know what it’s like to be loved by one of the Romee witches.”

“Best job of my life.” Eric stated and the other men lifted their drinks in agreement.

* * * *

“I saw the dead leaving the city before Katrina hit.” Angelique spoke soberly and softly.

“What do you mean?” Zak was intrigued.

“They knew what was coming and they vacated the cemeteries before the flood waters came. I saw them literally walking down the levees, suitcases in hand.”

“I wonder what was in the suitcases?” Eric asked. Evangeline punched him playfully in the ribs. “What? Is that question in bad taste?”

“Not at all.” Angelique answered. “But I have no answer for you; I just know what I saw.” She wasn’t through with her creepy tales. “Did you know that there are some that say Katrina was caused by a voodoo war, and Black Eddie’s name is right in the middle of it?”

“Do you believe that?” Garrison asked Angelique, and he wasn’t being sarcastic.

“I didn’t at first, but I’ve heard things since then. An immense amount of negative energy has been invoked and I don’t doubt there are those with the power that would do such a heinous thing, just to wrest control of the crime community. And how about the BP oil spill and the river flooding, we don’t recover from one disaster until another one strikes.”

“After I’ve seen what your family can do for good, it only makes sense that there are those with equal power who are willing to use it for evil.” Eric said flatly.

“Ah, a believer.” Elizabeth gazed fondly at what she considered to be her nephew. “You’re definitely a keeper.” Those words made Eric feel good.

“So, when are you all going to get on with the circle-casting business, I’m ready,” Tyler asked, getting into the spirit of things.

Nanette leaned back in her chair and drew a deep, heavy breath. “We have to wait for the right hour, and by my calculations, that is just before sunrise in the morning. So, I am asking everyone to go to their rooms and try to get some rest.”

* * * *

As soon as she shut the door to what used to be her bedroom, Evangeline turned to him and asked. “Will you make love to me Eric?”