Pure Blooded (5 page)

“Don’t underestimate the power of black magic or this priestess,” Marcy said gravely. “That’s some serious juju. It’s good you have me along with my twitchy fingers”—she wiggled them—“but even I can’t undo black spells. That magic comes from a much different place than mine, like a good-versus-evil kind of thing. Those priestesses kill things and use the blood to do their bidding. It’s heavy, and very, very dangerous.” As she said it, her eyes were twinkling with excitement.

“And that excites you?” I chuckled. “You just told me that black magic is serious and we should be afraid. Death and destruction shouldn’t be your go-to button for fun. You’re acting like a little kid in a candy store.”

“That’s exactly it! I
am
in a candy store—for the very first time,” she said. “My entire life I’ve been deemed not ‘powerful enough’ or ‘not witchy enough,’ and I’ve been relegated to the sidelines for everything. But now”—she hooted with joy, tossing a fist in the air—“I’m here to taste all the flavors life has to offer. This is the absolute best I’ve felt in years. I have James to thank for that too, because he’s brought out all my positives and has punctuated them with delicious exclamation points, and even though I’m still mad at that rat-bellied toad for making me stay home and wait for you—”

“There’s a baby alligator by your foot,” I said.

She shrieked loudly and jumped into my arms. It happened so fast, I hoped the guides hadn’t noticed her unnatural speed.

I chortled as I set her down. “I think adrenaline is your friend in more ways than one.”

“That wasn’t funny!” she accused, swatting me on the arm. “Having an alligator gnaw my foot off is not having an
adventure
. Do you know how long it would take me to regenerate a piece of my foot? And how badly that would hurt? I’m not an animal like you. Witches take a long time to heal.”

Before I could comment on the unfairness of it all, and that most of the adventures I’d been involved with over the last month had had their share of hurts, my brother called my name outside my head. I turned to see him loping toward me, Danny close on his heels.

“Jessica!” I was happy to see he and Danny were both fully dressed, which meant Naomi had found them first.

“Where’s Naomi?” I asked a second before I saw her emerge from behind the monster truck. “
Ohmygods
, are those hamburgers I smell?” My mouth instantly started to salivate and my wolf howled for joy.

Burgers beat raw reptile by several thousand country miles.

Naomi held up about ten greasy bags with a big grin on her face. “The wolf boys were hungry after their shift, so they sent me ahead to get food.”

I turned to my brother. “That was the best decision you’ve ever made in your entire life.”

After a quick but hearty meal of burgers and fries, we were finally ready to embark. Ray’s face was grim after his chat with the guide, but he stayed quiet. We all boarded the airboat, Rourke and Tyler heading for the two driver’s seats.

“Just like I said,” the taller guide called. “It’s as easy as one, two, three. This boat’s name is
Betsy
and she’s been suped up for speed. You can get ’er going to sixty. Find some nice flat vegetation to cross and you can go even faster. The green stuff gets the hull off the ground nice and quick like. You’ll make good time that way getting to the deep cypress.”

“Yeah, go and get dem assholes,” the other piped in. “If you do, we got plenty of moonshine to celebrate with. It’s not legal yet in Florida, but from where we come from it’s like mother’s milk, straight from the teat.” He smiled wide, and I noticed he had more than a few teeth missing.

“Don’t you worry,” Danny called, holding up the old ceramic jug they’d given him and shaking it. “We will indeed find
something to celebrate along the way.” Danny popped the cork out and took a sniff. “Good gods, that’s strong enough to take the hair off my mother’s chest.” Then he waggled his eyebrows. “But that’s why I’m going to enjoy it to its fullest.”

“Best stuff in the state of Florida,” the tall guide called, “but be careful with it. That hooch’ll leave you shitfaced and groggy for two solid weeks if you imbibe too much.”

Rourke started the fan. It sounded like a jet engine readying for takeoff as the blades began to increase their speed. Very slowly he eased the throttle forward and began to glide us off the platform like he’d been operating this boat his entire life. “We go through the low grasses first to get to the main channel,” Rourke said. “After that, the start of the cypress swamp begins. The particular patch of cypress the guides are concerned about ends in the mangroves, near the coast, which is likely how the priestess entered this area.”

The fan found its rhythm, but it was irritatingly loud. None of us had to raise our voices to be heard if we didn’t feel like it, however. The boat skimmed over small swamp grasses, and as Rourke opened up the throttle even more, it gained speed. The scenery over the open water was beautiful and majestic. The sun glinted off the water and plants, making everything sparkle.

“Naomi,” I called. “Once we reach the cypress swamp, I want you to take off. I’m certain we’ll all feel the magic when we get close enough, but you have to rendezvous with my father to get us the directions to their camp.”

“
Oui
.” She nodded.

“Oh, and I never asked the first time, but when you were here last night did you notice any dark magic from the sky?”

“
Non
,” she answered. “I was too high up. I’m certain if I had come down farther, I would’ve detected something.”

Marcy shook her head. “You might not have. Black magic is tangible only when you’re right on top of it. It’s like a creepy oil
slick. Those human guides back there would’ve had to come right up next to it to feel anything, but once they did, I bet the hair on their arms jumped on end and it sent them scurrying as fast as their overalls would take them.”

Rourke maneuvered the boat into a fairly wide channel littered with tall water lilies sprouting out of the water like they were trying to reach for the sky. Cypress trees were clustered in the distance, and we were closing in fast.

“Did the guide tell you which channel to take once we got there?” Tyler asked Rourke. “From here it looks like there might be a few options.”

“Yep,” Rourke answered. “We’re taking the one on the far right.”

We rode in silence, and once we reached the end of the channel, Rourke deftly turned the boat into the new lane, this one filled with trees. It was like entering a new world. Tall cypress trees jutted out into the water like gnarled fingers. The majority of their roots were exposed to the elements and their canopies were knit closely, blocking out most of the light as effectively as flipping a switch.

“Okay, Naomi.” I motioned with my hand. “You can go. Once you touch base with my father, come find us.”

“Okay,
Ma Reine
. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She took to the sky immediately.

Ray turned to me. “Do you want me to go with her? I can scout around while she talks to your father. I’m curious about all this black magic hocus-pocus. I’m itching to get closer and see if I sense anything.”

“If you want to scout it out, that’s fine with me,” I said, my eyes scanning the trees as we zoomed forward, searching for anything out of the ordinary. “But stay close. We have no idea what to expect.”

Ray took off after Naomi.

I glanced at Rourke and my brother. Marcy sat beside me and Danny was in front of us. “Do you feel anything particular?” I asked my mate.

“Not yet,” he said. “But according to the guide, we still have about ten miles to go. We’re edging toward the coast. Keep your senses open. I don’t have a good feeling about this.” He shook his head gravely. “Whoever this priestess is, she knows we’re coming.”

We headed down the channel in silence for another few miles, all of us scouting and trying to sense any magic.

“Marcy, tell me what you know about voodoo,” I murmured, not taking my eyes off the trees. “Before, you said it’s magic based on sacrifice and blood. What else?”

“Voodoo is very old magic—possibly one of the oldest forms of all time. It’s often referred to as
vodou
or
voudoun
. And from what I know—and my info is a little sketchy because it’s been so long—the kind that’s practiced in the U.S. was brought over from the West Indies a few hundred years ago. Voodoo worships the loa, which are literally spirits—like ghosts—but much more powerful. A priestess can summon the loa, and the spirit inhabits her body. It’s called being ‘ridden,’ if you can believe it.” She guffawed. “Not a ride I’d want to take.”

“No, that sounds a little unpleasant,” I mused.

“After they summon the loa, they’re supposed to become stronger. There are a couple of groups of loas, if I remember correctly, but this is coming from my grade-school witch education, so take it with a pinch of salt. All spell casters are required to learn about the entire witchy community, so we know how to defeat them.”

“Did you learn how to defeat them in grade school?” I asked, my voice hopeful.

“Heck no!” She laughed. “That’s a specialized field of magic. They just teach us a broad overview and how to shield and bounce back certain spells. But now that I’m thinking about it,
there might be a teensy thing that could make this entire thing worse.” She turned toward me, her face appearing a little stricken.

“What is it? You just went pale.”

“Talking about this made me remember. In voudoun, the priestesses are not the top of the food chain.”

“They’re not?”

“No. So pray to your great aunt Fanny that we’re dealing with a priestess here, because if we’re not, life is about to get much harder.”

“Stop beating around the bush and just tell me what you’re talking about! What’s more powerful than a priestess?” I didn’t really want to know, did I?

“A bokor.”

The name rang a few tiny bells inside my head, but not enough to put it together on my own. “Explain.”

“In a nutshell, they’re the equivalent of a sorceress, and they deal primarily with the dead.”

“Like a necromancer?” I asked, hoping she would tell me they were nothing like a necromancer.

“Kind of, I guess. I don’t know much about it. We’re talking fifth-grade learning here. But I do know they’re supposed to be able to control their victims’ brain activities, and I know this because we used to chase each other around on the playground pretending to ‘voodoo’ each other at recess. But who knows, really? Like anything in our world, it’s all myth until you see it for yourself. If Tally were here, she’d set us straight.” Marcy’s eyes misted immediately and she glanced away. “Dang, I hope that old biddy is okay.”

“Me too.” I’d been worried about Tally too. Ever since we’d found out the witches had disappeared unexpectedly, my mind had been occupied with scenarios about what had happened to her, none of them good, and all of them involving me in some way. Tally had disappeared while she was helping me after
I’d killed Ardat Lili, who was the previous witch contingent on the Coalition. After we finished helping my father, aiding the witches would be my next order of business. I had no doubt Tally was in trouble because of me. “Do you have any hunches where she might be? Anything that can help us?”

“Not really. The only info I have was from that Romanian witch who said there was something brewing in Italy.” Marcy had filled me in before we’d boarded the plane. To me, it was no coincidence that Julian de Rossi, the leader of the European Pack, was also in Italy. If there was a convergence of supernatural activity going on, they were all tied up in it together.

The air around us suddenly became heavier.

Both Marcy and I straightened in our seats. I darted a look back to Rourke. His face was set.

We’d all felt it. Black magic.

“I think it’s best to pull the boat up and wait for your father,” Rourke said. “We don’t know what’s real now, and what may be an illusion. From what I know about black magic, everything is tainted.” He slowed the boat down by turning off the propeller and gliding us toward a thick bank of trees. These boats didn’t have brakes. As Rourke nestled the boat in between cypress roots like a pro, the air around us pushed down on our chests, making it harder to breathe.

My wolf paced back and forth, lifting her muzzle to scent the area. The smell of rancid meat and rotting flesh started to creep into my senses. No wonder the guides didn’t venture any farther. It was menacing here, and the trees were so thick that we could see only a few feet into the grove. Anything could be lurking there.

“Is that fog rolling in like on a movie set?” Marcy asked, her voice hitting a high note at the end. “This place is laced with negative energy.”

There was indeed a fog creeping in. It was misting in front of us, straight up the waterway, blocking out any sun that had been trying to filter through.

“
Dammit
,” Tyler swore. “This isn’t good.”

Rourke went to the side of the boat. “If I had to guess, I’d say we’re about a mile farther in than the guides have ever been. I didn’t feel any wards, but we definitely crossed a line of some kind back there.” He glanced at the sky. “And the vamps should’ve been back by now. I say we turn around and head back to wait for them on the other side of the line. No reason to stay here like sitting ducks if we’re in the priestess’s domain.” Rourke reached back to flip the fan back on.

Nothing happened.

Danny stepped over the bench in front of us, heading toward the guys. “Here, let me help. I have gifted fingers when it comes to starting things.”

Rourke stepped aside. “By all means, wolf, give it your best shot.” Danny flipped the switch and nothing happened. Tyler started to argue with him and Rourke drew closer to me. He leaned over and said, “If we’re under some kind of attack, I want you to head straight back the way we came. Use the sun if you have to, but I want you to go.”

I nodded absentmindedly, still scanning the trees in front of us. “The chances of us separating is slim, and you know it. I’m not leaving you here to fight the threat alone.”

“If this priestess wants power,” he said, crossing his arms, “she wants you. If she’s a bokor like Marcy thinks, these Made wolves aren’t cursed—they’re
dead
. She’s likely been in control of their minds the entire time, and if that’s the case, she’s had an agenda all along. We don’t need much brainpower to reason that she’s lured the Pack here on purpose, in hopes you would show up. And we played right into her hands.”

I nodded. “That might be true, but we don’t know anything for sure. It could be she was originally hired by the fracture pack and then decided to turn the tables when she realized how powerful her new wolves had become. Every supe we’ve encountered wants power any way they can get it. I might be the icing, now that I’m here, but there’s a possibility I wasn’t the main meal.”

“I don’t believe any of this was unintentional. She wants you,” Rourke grumbled. “The air here is thick with hate. Nothing natural would live within these boundaries. Something that evil lies in wait for their prize, even if it means waiting a hundred years.”

He was right. No self-respecting animal would live on cursed land if they could help it.

I looked over at my brother and Danny. “Hey,” I called, “time to stop worrying about the motor. Let’s get some long sticks and start moving this thing along like a gondola. We only went a mile or so before Rourke shut the boat down. Naomi and Ray should be back any moment. We’ll meet them back the way we came.”

Rourke leaned over the side and cracked a big branch off a cypress tree and placed it in the water.

Then he stilled mid-thrust.

“What?” I asked, reading his face. “What is it?”

He put his finger to his lips, his eyes pinned over my shoulder.
Don’t move
, he told me internally.