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“Are you going to invite me in?”
I was too intent on the beer and didn’t pay attention to the question.
“Excuse me?”
“These are industrial strength wards,” she said. “I can’t enter without your express invitation. And would you mind explaining to me how you ended up in a house like this, anyway?”
She planted one hand on her hip as she interrogated me.
“Come in, please,” I said.
Chastity dragged in the wheeled bag, and she looked around, inspecting every nook of my new domicile with human eyes trained to spot the supernatural.
“Ouch,” she said.
“Yeah. The decorating is atrocious.”
“No. That’s not what I mean. Don’t you feel it? Pain pours from the walls.”
I shrugged. “Nope.”
She whirled and faced me.
“This is bad, badwanga.”
“You know I don’t speak voodoo.” I said.
Chastity spat a bunch of creole colorful phrases I barely follow, but it’s clear she’s upset. Finally, her eyes bore into mine.
“This place is filthy with black magic. What the hell did you get into, Len?”
14
Chastity’s eyes, clouded with fear, met mine.
It struck me then that I was in the deepest shit of my life. “That’s one reason I want you here. Perhaps, you can tell me.”
She sucked in a deep breath. “I can’t leave you alone for a minute, can I?”
“Apparently not.”
“Then start from the beginning.”
“Do you want the long or the short version?” I asked.
“Spit out the Cliffs Notes version, and then I’ll decide if I need more details.”
I hefted the bag of bottled beer on my hip, retrieved the plate of PB&Js, and nodded toward the dining room. Light daggers danced under the lace curtains, warming the air more than the oppressive heat of the house. Chastity set her purse on the dining room table, then walked to the window. She tugged at it, attempting to lift the sash as I rummaged through the bag to select the perfect brew to pair with a PB&J breakfast.
After several hard pulls, Chastity relented.
“Those wards stick like hell,” she said.
I didn’t comment that the wards probably came from there.
“Let me try,” I said. I whispered low to the window, so Chastity didn't hear, “Thorn.”
The sash sprang upward. I turned and smiled, but Chastity gasped in horror.
