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Mama glances up at him, perturbed.
“One crisis at a time,” she hisses at him. “I’ll come deal with you when I’ve ensured my sweet Victoria is safe.”
Her words cause my heart to pound in my chest. What does she mean Tory isn’t safe? I want to grab the small woman and shake her, but it will do no good. I also know she can decimate me with a single look. It isn’t worth messing with a powerful shaman like her.
Hex remains in the doorway, watching Mama as I do. Finally, she stops her chanting and collects things from around the room, seeming satisfied. I have no fucking clue what she’s done besides say some nonsense words, and I try very hard to choose my words carefully.
“Will she be okay?” I manage to ask as calmly as I can.
“Don’t think I can’t hear your mind, child. You think I’ve performed nonsense to put you at ease. I’m not your friend, Graveyard. I actually know what I’m doing.”
Despite myself, I smile. She’s never been one to mince words.
“But I cannot lie to you, Seer. Tory is locked into a place I cannot reach. Her mind has been attacked by an evil force that is trying to keep her from helping us. It is reaching out from the beyond, keeping her trapped.”
I immediately snap my eyes to Hex, who looks at me with wide eyes. He shakes his head, already reading my thoughts. I’m about to get up and go another round with him when Mama once again anticipates my movement.
“Leave the boy alone,” she reprimands me. “Stay by your wife and hold her hand.”
That’s one directive I’m happy to follow. I sit back in the chair and reach for Tory’s hand. It’s cold and dry, almost lifeless. I try not to think the word, afraid that it will make the worst come true.
“She’s protected,” Mama answers my thoughts softly. “She’s fighting a battle I can’t help her with, but I have fortified her body and spirit. The force will not drain one ounce of her life now because I have protected her body and soul. But I can’t anticipate what will happen. She has to make her way back on her own.”
“Make her way back?” Hex asks from the door. “Please don’t tell me her soul is detached from her body too.”
I glare at him, but Mama looks at him carefully.
“She was already in a coma when I got here, Hex,” she tells him. “You know what that means for her. I’ve done what I can to make the journey as easy as possible. Now let’s deal with your problem.”
She grabs him by the arm and leads him out of the room, leaving Tory and me in the quiet room. As curious as I am to follow, I know this is where I belong.
I drag my feet as I approach the house from the driveway. I can’t breathe through my nose, too afraid of what I’d smell. After half a day and an entire night spent at the dump, I feel like I’ve become the very junk I was sifting through. And the damn vase was nowhere to be found.
I feel defeated and disgusted, not least by how I smell. Anderson fucking Grey can rot in hell for what I’ve endured. And for absolutely no good reason. I drag my feet up the steps of the porch when my eyes are drawn to the ugly thing sitting on the deck as if it’s been there all along.
You have to be fucking kidding me.
I approach the vase like it’s cursed. For all I know, it is. I gingerly pick it up and see the green stones inlaid in the clay are glowing. My instinct is to smash the vase on the porch and be done with it, but I didn’t endure all of this to destroy the one thing I need. Mama would murder me, and she’d make it slow.
I strip out of my clothes and shoes, throwing them on the lawn. I fully intend to set them on fire later. I enter the house with the vase in hand, still feeling disgusted, though for a new reason. If I wasn’t sure before, I am now. Anderson is fucking with us from beyond the grave.
I pop my head into the bar to see Hex sitting there looking miserable. Next to him is Mama, a glass of lemonade in front of her and a green stone in her hands.
“Why the fuck are you in your boxers?” Hex asks.
“Why do you look like someone shot your puppy?” I quip back.
“We have bigger problems, boys,” Mama interjects, not looking up from the stone.
Great. I was hoping to come home to more problems.
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
It takes three showers to get the stink of the dump off, and I curse Anderson Grey’s spirit the entire time. I hope he can hear every word. He continues to be the bane of my fucking existence.
I step out of the shower into the steamy bathroom. If this were a normal day and not the middle of a crisis, my Abigail would be sitting on the counter, bare-ass naked and legs open for me. She tells me she loves getting me dirty when I’ve been in the shower. Even now my dick grows hard, thinking about her green eyes. I need to finish this so I can have her back in my arms.
I dress in my best suit, all black of course. I’m going to the funeral of someone I hate, but I’m not going in anything less than my absolute best. I exit my room and go down to the bar where Seer and Hex are waiting for me. Seer looks like shit, his eyes red. I told him multiple times he didn’t have to come, but he was out for blood.
