Even though I wished they had stayed in NOLA, where it was safer for them, I couldn’t deny the warmth spreading through my chest. Josie. Harrow. Carter. They had come for me, and I wouldn’t forget it. Their arrival gave me a much-needed morale boost, and their determination to see this through convinced me that together we could find and free Kierce. Even with Ankou underfoot.
“He’s not up there.” Josie grinned at me when she caught me searching the ledge. “Matty’s with Vi.”
“Thank the Lord,” I gusted out, relief making my knees weak.
“Josie locked him in the bathroom with orders for Vi to set him free after we left.” Carter shook her head. “He’s going to strangle her when we get back.”
Hand dragging down my face, I let out a groan. “I’ll make it up to him.”
Until we were certain there were no lingering effects from the affliction that resulted in their joining the Midnight Parade, Vi, Matty, and Rollo were under house arrest. Safe behind wards I had since tailored to contain any souls that might slip free. Before allowing them to venture out on their own, unsupervised, I wanted confirmation their spirits were stuck tight.
I crossed my fingers that line of reasoning worked in our favor when it came time to earn his forgiveness. He had agreed to the restriction, but that was before I was taken. Ankou vanishing me would have lit a fire under him and burnt away his reservations about venturing into Abaddon.
“What’s with the new jewelry?”
Leave it to Josie to notice my new lethal accessory. “Oh, that’s Ankou’s insurance policy.”
From the lambent green in her eyes, I knew she had noticed the spur and how it pressed into my skin.
Quicker than a blink, a lush vine shot out of Josie’s pocket straight for Ankou’s throat. It wrapped around his neck, squeezing until his face purpled, and then it sprouted thorns longer than my finger that pierced his skin everywhere they touched him.
Belatedly, I recognized the rich purple leaves and vicious crimson spikes as the same otherworldly ivylike variety Vi grew at the townhouse. Josie must have pinched a leaf and propagated it. No surprise there. Josie’s bloodthirsty streak meant any plant with offensive potential held a special place in her heart. And, apparently, also in her pockets.
“Let my sister go, dirtbag, or we’re going to play a game I’m callingPop Goes Ankou’s Head.”
“Fine,” he wheezed, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, and summoned the anklet to him.
The warm bone slid across my skin, eliciting a shudder from me, and flew into his open palm.
“You good, Mary?” Josie kept Ankou pinned under her stare. “Anything else you need saving from?”
“I’m good.” I made a show of rubbing my ankle while she preened. “Thanks for the rescue.”
Pale light flashed overhead, and a tall man with dark skin and midnight eyes stepped up beside Harrow. I had been so stunned by the size of my rescue party, I hadn’t noticed the extra member hanging back. He emitted a faint glow, and thick braids hung around his handsome face. He also, I noticed, held a cup with the Café du Monde logo printed on it.
“Allons-y.”He inclined his head to me then took a long drink. “Love at Seacomes on in an hour.”
“Ohhh.” Josie snapped her attention to Papa Legba. “I love that show.”
Yet another reality TV show about finding love. And by love, I mean getting horizontal for the cameras.
“You love nipples.” I rolled my eyes. “I bet you can’t name a single contestant.”
“That’s not true.” She folded her arms across her chest. “There’s…that guy. With the pink hair. He likes a girl whose bikini may or may not be entirely made from strategically placed stickers.”
“I rest my case.” I pushed out a slow breath as I fought against the urge to beg the loa to zip them home, but I couldn’t afford to waste this opportunity, or his favors. “Since we’re all here, we might as well stay. Does that work for you, Papa Legba?”
Each of them carried one of the packs we had filled with supplies, so they came ready for anything.
“You sure?” Papa Legba swirled the contents of his cup. “I thought this was a rescue mission.”
“It is,” I assured him, willing my determination to show. “But it doesn’t end with me.”
For the first time since I fell through reality into Abaddon, I held on to hope this would actually work.
“Hmm.” He tugged a bright clay bead off the end of a braid. “Crush this when you’re ready, and I’ll come for you.” His gaze slid past me to the landscape. “Just be careful, yeah?”
“I will.” I accepted the token, gratitude tightening my throat. “Thank you for your help.”
