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I prayed they heard if something went wrong.
Her mother stood in the middle of my backyard. The sound of a portal was nearby but not close enough to hear its power from inside the house.
She wore a similar robe to Deidamia, but she didn’t have the horns.
Josephine tightened her fingers around mine and halted several yards from her. “That’s the greeting your mother gets? You get a new man, and all of a sudden, you’re too good to greet me?”
Josephine didn’t answer. I wasn’t sure if she was attempting to hide her anger or couldn’t get the nerve to speak. “What do you want?” I asked, breaking their awkward silence.
Her gaze shifted toward mine. “Ah, the hero. I knew when my husband hired you that it was a bad idea. Especially after my daughter confided in me what she wanted in a man.” She snorted. “She has no idea what she’s capable of. She doesn’t need a man; she wants one.”
Josephine looked completely lost, but I understood. Josephine had powers. She just didn’t know how to use them. “Can you get to the point? What do you need from us?”
“Funny you should ask,” she said, appearing inches in front of us. Josephine jumped backward, away from her mother. “I need the spindle,” she spat.
“So, your sister beat you, did she?” I asked. “I guess you’re not as strong as you thought you were.”
“Careful,” she said. “You’re already cursed to live in this land forever. One snap and I’ll take Josephine from that picture. I haven’t practiced—”
“What are you?” Josephine blurted out. “You’re coming here demanding things out of me, but I’m not doing anything until you tell me what the hell you are.”
Her green gaze lowered to Josephine. “I’m Deidamia’s sister. I’m from that realm.”
“Why are you here? How did you get here?”
She shifted in the moonlight, and it brightened her face. She looked into the distance as if remembering something for the first time in a long time. “When Mother found out that Father knew about her affair, she planned for all of us to come to Earth. However, she got me here, and before she could bring Deidamia, our father killed her. I was taken in by a couple and raised here in Louisiana.”
Josephine let go of my hand and folded her arms over her chest. “Do you eat people too? How have you lived this long?”
She sighed as if irritated by the questions. “A woman I met in the bayou noticed there was something inside of me that looked familiar to her. She showed me how to claim my immortality in a way that didn’t require me to feed off people. I’ve bounced around the state for hundreds of years. When I met your father, I knew I could fit in nicely with him. He was my fourth husband and the best by far.”
“Why take the spindle, then?” I asked. “Why do you need it if you have immortality?”
She smiled. “The spindle doesn’t just grant you eternal life, Little Ones.”
She took a step forward and hovered over Josephine in a way that screamed dominance. There was no motherly touch or compassion. She’d been wearing a mask Josephine’s entire life.
“What do you need it for?” she asked.
“I think our game of twenty questions is up, Honey Dew. Let’s focus on getting the spindle back. I need your help.”
I grabbed Josephine’s hand and pulled her behind me. “Why? If you have powers, why do you need the spindle? Can’t you get it yourself? You've done it before.”
“Once because her guard was down. Now she knows I’m coming for it. I can’t, and won’t, do it alone.”
“I need your little misfit friends as well,” she said, glancing over her shoulder toward the forest. “Get your belongings. We’re leaving.”
“No.” Josephine’s voice sliced through the air. “I’m not going anywhere with you. I can’t trust you. Who is to say you won’t toss us to Deidamia? I don’t trust you anymore. Does Dad know? Does he have a clue that you put us all in danger for a spindle?”
A green hue seeped from her as her body stiffened at the disobedience. “You have your little boyfriend, and now you think you’re too good for me?” she asked. “You ruined this for me, and you’re going to fix it. I’m not asking, Josephine. I’m telling you.”
“Why would we help you?” I asked, stepping closer to her.
“Because you of all people know what my sister is capable of. I’m not too far behind her. I love my daughter, but I’ll rip this little relationship to shreds if you don’t do what I ask of you both.”
“We’re bound,” Josie said. “You can try to tear us apart, but you can’t. It’s fate. Remember that storybook you read to me?”
The corners of her mouth rose into a sinister smile. “Why yes, I do, Josephine. And I know that your little boyfriend holds the key to beating my sister.”
