Page 34 of Hex You

FOURTEEN

Over the next days Nure-Onna tested her ability to remain in the mortal realm. She had to—and not just because she craved fresh blood and the clean, sweet water of this world. Nure-Onna had become the servant of a goddess—and her new mistress had tasked her with targeting allies of the mortal who had offended her.

Nure-Onna did not truly care about the mortals in this realm; she cared only about herself and her lost child. But the goddess had made promises to her. She had also threatened, but it was not surprising that a deity of such power would also have mercurial moods. Nure-Onna would navigate this new relationship carefully, do as the goddess commanded, and then finally,finallyreap her reward.

She slithered from the moist, sludgy tunnel that bridged realms and swam freely up and down the little creek until her skin began to gray. Then she checked the sun’s position in the sky. Half a day. That was how long she could remain in the mortal realm before her body began to sicken. A short time compared to centuries in the World ofDarkness, but it was enough to allow her to hunt and to fulfill the goddess’s command.

The next time Nure-Onna swam along the creek she knew how long she had to hunt and drink. She moved with deadly purpose, camouflaged by the mud her serpent body swirled up from the creek bed as the goddess had directed until the enticing sounds of laughing girls beckoned. Nure-Onna glided up the gentle creek bank and found herself at the edge of a field that acted as a conduit to the girls’ voices. Nure-Onna slithered silently between the rows of tall, green-leafed crops and followed the trail of voices until she peered from the edge of the field to a large, grassy area where several—many—girls were laughing and frolicking together. She coiled her viper body beneath her, so that from the shadows within the field she could sit and study the hapless mortals and see if she recognized any of them as one of the allies of Amphitrite’s enemy. Hidden in the tall, green ocean of algae-like corn, Nure-Onna settled in to wait.

She had learned patience from the World of Darkness. She had also learned stillness. Like all serpents—she was an expert in stealth. So, though she salivated with hunger, Nure-Onna took pleasure in knowing that she would be the vehicle through which one of the innocents before her would today begin her own Underworld journey.

The girls had divided into two groups. One was more distant than the other. The more distant group was attempting athletic stunts—rather unsuccessfully. The second group was smaller and closer to Nure-Onna. They moved together in a dance-like routine. After a short time they seemed to get bored with the exercise and the girls lounged in the spongy grass, gossiping amongst themselves.

Nure-Onna felt a moment of nostalgia for her distant mortal life where she had been a servant to a powerful Shogun. Long ago she, too, had gossiped with other girls, combed each other’s hair, and sworn forever friendships.

But Nure-Onna had been beautiful, and to a servant beauty was truly a curse.

Then Nure-Onna was pulled from reflecting on her miserable past by one of the girls who suddenly drew her interest. The young woman had fire-colored hair and skin that was, unfortunately, freckled. She had to be one of the mortals the goddess had described, for there were no other girls there with flame-colored hair.

The serpent’s body shivered with excitement. The red-haired girl was intriguing. She had a distinctly citrus scent, like yuzu, only stronger and sweeter. Nure-Onna remembered yuzu and wondered if the child’s blood would taste as tart and refreshing.

She hoped so.

Nure-Onna had to get closer. Slowly, silently, she glided from the field to a clump of bushes much nearer the group of gossiping girls. She did not coil her body, but remained on the smooth, powerful scales of her underbelly. She rested her chin against the fertile ground and squinted through the brush, breathing deeply as her yuzu-scented target paced back and forth restlessly before her little group while she tapped on a rectangular device held tightly in her hand.Come closer, child,Nure-Onna silently beseeched,closer!When she spoke, the yuzu girl’s voice was as refreshing as the juice of a newly squeezed fruit.

“Guys, seriously, none of you heard anything about why Jax isn’t at practice?”

A dark-skinned girl whose hair cascaded in thick braids down her back shrugged. “Nope. All anyone’s talking about is how brain-dead imbecilic Kirk is to show up at practice like he’s still on the team.”

A second girl, this one with long, golden hair pulled back in a single tail added, “Well, that’s notallwe’re talking about. There’s also a lot of twin witch gossip going around.”

Nure-Onna’s tongue flicked out, tasting the scent of the girls’ words. They were speaking of the witch and her sister! The one who had offended the goddess! She had followed the correct path. The yuzu-scented girl was her target!

The dark-skinned girl sighed. “Yea, well, I didn’t mention that’cause I think it’s kinda shitty to talk about the twins so much. I mean, come on! Their mom just died. If my mom died I would—” She shivered. “I can’t even think about how awful it would be.”

Fascinated, Nure-Onna continued to listen to their conversation.

Golden hair put her fist on her slender waist and leveled her gaze at the yuzu girl. “Kylie, Jax is hot and all.”

“And tall!” interrupted a girl with wavy hair that was light brown and reminded Nure-Onna of ribbed sea sand. “Don’t forget how tall he is, Tiffany!”

“Well, yeah, tall is good,” continued golden hair Tiffany. “And he’s, like, pretty sweet. But is he hot enoughandsweet enough to put up with his bff Hunter Goode? She’s a piece of work. And so’s her sister.”

Yuzu Kylie frowned. “I like Hunter. She’s actually a lot of fun. She has a really awesome sense of humor. And I think Mercy is nice, too, even though I don’t know her as well. But you guys do—or you did. You hung out with Mercy when she was hooking up with Kirk. I even remember that you, Tiffany, used to talk about what great fashion sense Mercy had. So, I gotta agree with Heather.” Yuzu Kylie nodded at the dark-skinned girl. “Talking crap about the twins just seems really mean, you know? Especially since you guys used to kinda be friends—plus, seriously,their mom died.”

Golden hair Tiffany wrinkled her brow and shrugged. “Yeah, I hear you, Kyles. Maybe we have been too mean to the twins. My mom and I fight sometimes, but I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to her.”

Dark-skinned Heather spoke up again. “Hey, have you texted Jax?”

Yuzu Kylie sighed, sending sweet-scented breath to tease Nure-Onna.If she would just move a little closer!“Yes, of course. I’ve been texting him since I realized he wasn’t at practice.”

She gestured to a larger field that adjoined theirs. A fence that was partially flanked by tall evergreens and stadium seating surrounded it. On the field boys were running and throwing balls. Nure-Onnabarely glanced at the distant group of mortals. The only male the goddess had commanded she hunt was the one called Jax, and yuzu Kylie had just said he was not among the others. They did not smell like yuzu. Even from such a distance they smelled of sweat and hormones, which repulsed the serpent.

Golden hair Tiffany spoke again. “Kyles, call him.”

“Yeah, that’s totally what I’m gonna do.” She tapped at the rectangle in her hand and then brought the device to her ear as she frowned and sighed again. “He’s not answering.”

“Try again,” said golden hair Tiffany. “He might be someplace where it’s hard to hear his phone or whatever.”