Page 32 of Ace's Ascension

“I will.” I grin.

Ace comes up and settles his arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go. I want to get as far as possible before it gets dark out and you can’t walk not for the reason I’d like to give you.” Ace winks and kisses the side of my head. I blush from head to toe.

I climb on the back of Ace’s bike and wave to everyone standing around to see us off. If I had consulted my cards or stones before we left and didn’t shake off the deep feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach, I never would have let Ace, Stone, Duke and Tex travel with me. I’m being punished for something I never did and these four happen to be in the crosshairs.

Chapter Eighteen

Ace

Daylight is fading fast into nightfall two days later and we finally make it to Parish District Five. Liz directs us to a small house sitting back on a two-track road covered with huge trees. I pull up to the small house and park my bike. The sweltering humidity is making my clothes stick to my body and sweat beads on my forehead. Liz looks comfortable in this weather as I slap the bugs bigger than my head away.

“Where the fuck are we?” Stone asks. If he’s creeped out, then the rest of us should be too.

“Our stop for the night. We can’t go any further when we lose daylight or the gators will eat you alive. Besides, we can’t take the bikes where my Memaw lived.” Liz dismounts my bike, her legs are a little wobbly so I steady her.

Stone and Duke check out our surroundings. Tex slaps the side of his neck. Stone grumbles before dismounting his bike and Duke does the same.

Duke wipes the sweat from his brow and swats a bug away, “If I’m murdered by some backwoods hillbilly playing the banjo,I’m coming back to haunt your ass.” I try to hold back a laugh but fail. Duke is so uncomfortable down here, worse than the rest of us. “What are you laughing about asshole? It’s like Deliverance down here. Gives me the creeps.”

We all lose it when Duke shudders and glances behind him trying to peer through the woods. Once I stop laughing at him, Liz grabs my hand and pulls me toward the single-story house. “Come on. I want you to meet someone.”

She walks up the steps, opens the screen door and knocks on the other door. I’m right behind her, crowding her with my body, ready to move her out of the way if there is any threat inside. The door slowly creaks open and I have my hands on Liz’s hips, ready with tension rolling off my body. A single watery, blue eye peeks at us through the crack in the door. It blinks once, then twice before the door opens wider and Liz enters with me on her heels. My brothers hang back a little bit, waiting for something to happen.

A musty smell permeates the air the further inside we go and the humidity from outside is nonexistent. I check behind the door but the body that belongs to the eye isn’t anywhere in sight. “I don’t like this,” I whisper to Liz.

She turns her face up to me with a bright smile. “Be patient. He doesn’t take to strangers very well and I’m sure your size is intimidating to him.”

“Then why the fuck would he answer the door if I’m intimidating?” I question.

“Because you’re with me. If you came here alone, I’m sure he’d place a hex on you.” Liz giggles like it’d be funny if I were cursed. We walk further into the house and old newspapers are strewn everywhere. Melted candles, dice I’ve seen Liz use, decks of cards and dust are scattered across every surface of the house I can see.

We step into what I’m assuming is a dining room and it’s completely different than the rest of the house. It’s cleaner, for one and for two there is only a single deck of cards, melted candles and a pair of dice on the old oak table with no dust or newspapers scattered around.

“Very funny, ha-ha. If he harms you in any way, I don’t give a fuck about hexes or curses. I will end his life.” Suddenly a cold, wrinkly hand lands on the crook of my right arm making my skin crawl. A growl radiates from deep inside my chest but the hand doesn’t let go. If anything, it tightens further. My vision changes to a hazy red, ready to kill this motherfucker for touching me. “Let go of me, now.” I tightly clench my teeth together, surprised I don’t crack a tooth.

The hand disappears and I take a deep breath in through my nose and out through my mouth, trying to calm down. An old man with a hunch walks past us, not even batting an eye that I was close to killing him for touching me. He shuffles toward the table and takes a seat at the end, motioning for us to follow. Liz tries to sit in the chair closest to him, but I subtly move her into the seat furthest away from him. If he is a threat, I’ll be damned if I let him get close enough to my woman to harm her. I take the seat closest to him, keeping Liz behind me. The old man’s eyes are closed like he’s in a deep thought or sleep.

The stubborn woman won’t have any of this bullshit and she moves to the spot across from me and next to this guy. Before I can protest Liz isn’t safe, she gently places her palm on the old man’s arm, startling him. He blinks a few times, his blue eyes watering slightly.

“Petite-fille.” The old man smiles widely, showing off his perfect teeth. With this guy's age, I’m shocked at how straight and white they are. I had a precognitive notion they’d be missing or rotting.

“Pawpaw. How are you?” Liz asks, squeezing his arm a little tighter. Tears are glistening in her bright blue eyes. He grunts before wiping his eyes.

I give Liz a questioning look and she motions toward me before giving Pawpaw her attention once again. “Pawpaw, I want you to meet my friend, Ace.” Her eyes lock onto mine again. “Ace, this is my Pawpaw, or my grandpa, Amir Elijah LeRoux, sixth generation Cajun. He met and fell in love with my Memaw, Madeline who was a Creole descendant and the Queen of Louisiana Voodoo, over sixty years ago. Back then, it was unheard of for a Creole and a Cajun to be together, but those two did it. They loved each other so much that no matter who tried to stop them, they thrived together and overcame the odds. Pawpaw’s time is coming soon to be with Memaw.” A lonely tear trails down Liz’s cheek and her grandfather wipes it away.

“No tears, Petite-fille. I’ll be with Memaw soon and you’ll be free.” He taps on the deck of cards before lighting a candle next to him. “Free Rose.”

“What does he mean, Liz? Free from what?” I ask. Amir shushes me in a stern tone and I snap my mouth shut.

Amir mumbles something in another language I can’t understand while holding onto Liz’s hands. His boney fingers tighten around hers as the flame from the candle flickers. He continues to chant before releasing Liz’s hand and taps on the deck of cards with a long nail. “This will tell us your future, Petite-fille. Do you want to know your fate or your future?” His watery blue eyes land on me. “You have many demons in your past, buoy. But my Petite-fille will bring you into the light if you allow her. She has darkness inside of her too.” He grabs my hand before I can protest and the candle flickers rapidly, creating a smokey haze surrounding us. “You will help her channel this darkness and control it.”

Amir takes ahold of Liz’s hand while still holding mine and he motions for Liz and me to hold hands across the table, completing the circle. Once our hands interlock, the candle flickers and then goes out. The tension in the room is heavy and there’s something else pressing down on me but I can’t identify what it is. “He’s coming. Protect my Petite-fille from him, Buoy. Promise me you will protect her with your life.”

“I promise, Amir. I will always protect what’s mine.” The candle flickers back to life and I swear the heaviness in the air lifts.

Amir releases our hands and pushes away from the table. He kisses Liz on the head before shuffling over to me, pressing his cold lips against my forehead. “Protect her heart and free her soul.” He shuffles out of the room before either of us can say anything.

I’m sitting at the table with my mouth hanging open, not knowing what to say. “What the fuck?” That’s all that comes to mind.

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