Page 2 of Voodoo Doll
“Kay, what are we doing here?” I whispered harshly.?
“Finding out the truth, obviously.”?
“This is an occult shop.”?
“Exactly. So you can ask for the truth about whether or not Josh is cheating on you. Plain and simple.”?
“Kay, you’ve got to be kidding,” I seethed, clinging to her arm as she perused the shelves, waiting for the owner to appear. The hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention, as though someone were right behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw him.?
My breath caught.
I didn’t know what I was expecting — hell; I wasn’t sure how to even feel about what Iwasseeing. The man was older,perhaps in his forties. Maybe younger. He appeared somehow almost ageless. Dressed in coattails of burgundy and black with a thick brocade, he seemed to have stepped into this place from another world, or at the very least, another time.?
I didn’t know whether to let my jaw drop in awe or to laugh at the absurdity of it all.
“Salutations, and welcome to le Désir Mystique. How may I be of service to you both?”His thick, French Cajun accent, combined with the formality of his greeting, was quite the act. One I struggled to take seriously as I squashed the giggle forming at my lips.
“We’d like to have a reading done.” My eyes swiveled to Kayla as she spoke to the eccentric man. She couldnotbe serious.?
“Kay, I’m not going to sit here and have a psychic tell me a load of crap while he takes my money.”?
“Of course you aren’t, dear. He’ll be takingmymoney. And besides, it’s not crap. It’ll give you the answer you are looking for. Something real, instead of your anxiety-riddled delusions over a mystery perfume that honestly, I don’t think actually exists. But this way you will know once and for all.”?
“Wait a second. So my smelling perfume on Josh’s clothing is absurd, but listening to a psychic —that’svalid and realistic? You’ve lost it, Kayla King. Absolutely lost it.”?
The man walked towards us, although the wordwalkingfailed to adequately describe the way he nearly glided across the floor in a flourish of fluttering coat tails and nearly imperceptible movement. It truly appeared that he floated on air until he stood before us both. Kayla remained unfazed; probably because she was almost as tall as he was. My petite frame, however, felt even more tiny in the man’s looming, almost oppressive presence.?
“It seems to me that one of you may not be a believer in the dark and powerful arts.” Holding his hands before him, his longspindly fingers formed a steeple, behind which he only barely hid a sinister smirk. It was creepy, and somehow, I could not look away.
“That’s correct!” Kayla agreed cheerfully, her arm pulling my own up and down as she bounced with excitement. “See, Luna? I told you he was the real deal,” she whispered under her breath, though not quietly enough for the man of mystery to not hear her. Forgoing any verbal answer in an attempt to preserve the last vestiges of my dignity, I plastered on a fake smile and nodded half-heartedly.
“The occult arts are not something to be trifled with,ma chère.” Though he spoke to both of us, his words seemed to be meant for only me. My eyes lifted, finding his dark tawny skin giving way to surprisingly green eyes. Not something one would see every day. It gave him even more of an air of magic and mystery.?
“I don’t know about all that. I’ve seen my share of psychic babble in my day,” I scoffed derisively under my breath, my mind immediately flashing back to my youth, watching my mother rack up our phone bill to the point of disconnection every month, spending so much money on calls to Madame Moira.?
His presence loomed over me, greater than any I had ever felt, surprising me for a man of his lanky frame. “Take care with your words,ma chère. The ancestors do not take kindly to being called such things. I am not some phony psychic with a number in the yellow pages. This shop is no place for counterfeit con artists such as…” he trailed off, tapping one long finger against his chin as if contemplating his words, “Shall we say, Madame Moira?”
My stoic skepticism cracked the tiniest bit at the mention of a name he should not know, but I shook it off.
“I am simply a non-believer. I mean no offense, sir.” Quickly, I tried to rectify any offense I may have caused him. My eyes remained locked on his, though I just barely caught the flicker of a smirk playing at the corner of his lips at my formality.?
“Perhaps, then, you would allow me to change that perception.” Those long fingers wrapped around my hand, holding me captive as he tugged me forward. “Will you allow me?”?
And, for a reason I could not name, I nodded. After all, who could it hurt?
Chapter Two
Luna
My nose seemedto acclimate to the smell of rich spices and patchouli as I took his hand. The scent of the perfume that lingered on one too many of Joshua’s shirts of late still lingered in my nostrils, the smell of something sickeningly floral just barely detectable yet again. Squaring my shoulders, I resolved to put the thought of my long-term love’s potential betrayal behind me for long enough to at least entertain this absurd idea of Kayla’s.?
She was like a dog with a bone when it came to her ideas. Once she had settled on a plan, there was no deterring her. It was easily her most admirable and also most annoying quality, based on who was at the mercy of her drive and ambition. Today was my unlucky day, it would seem.
“Allow me to introduce myself before we begin,” the man drawled in his thick accent. “I am Sebastien Broussard, and I am the owner of this shop. I have made my life’s work in the dark and beautiful arts, and use it to help the poor souls of the French Quarter.”?
“More like take advantage of them,” I muttered under my breath, unable to refrain from rolling my eyes. Even though the words were barely a whisper, Mr. Broussard’s green eyes foundmine, staring into me sharper than any laser could hope to. I could feel the judgment, the silent scolding, like a hot knife through butter as it tore through me unabashedly.
“I learned the dark arts from my father, who learned from his father before him, back through the generations. This is not some false store selling trinkets asjujusand committing subterfuge.” His voice lowered, his tone quiet and biting with grave resound.?
