Page 26 of Lourdes & the Mafia
They dig into the ground, ripping through limbs and decapitated heads, eating through flesh, sinew, and bone.
I fight back a gag at the sight, looking away and seeing something even more horrifying along the horizon. Bodies are strung up on wooden poles.
And looming over them?
Three figures.
Lorenzo, Kane, and Ramiel.
Ramiel steps forward and, like last time, he can see me even when he shouldn’t. This vision is mine and yet he occupies the space like he belongs. I don’t know if I should be relieved to not be alone or frightened that he obviously wields such power. To get into my head.
His arms open at his sides. “We are punishers,” he says, his voice a shadowy mist that echoes through the air of torture. “We are justice.”
Pain claws its way beneath my skin. I open my mouth to scream, but no sound comes out. Within seconds, I’m slammed back into my body, breathing hard. My head throbs with excruciating agony, my eyes pulsing as they roll back. I blink, and for a second I see nothing. When my vision clears, we are back in their dining room, and three pairs of eyes are staring at me.
Coño.
I groan, closing my eyes again. “So, what?” I manage to choke out. “Are you guys hellhounds or something? Meant to take the naughty down to the Underworld?”
Lorenzo laughs. “Something like that, Amore.”
My eyes fly open. “Are youserious?!” The words strangle out of me and my eyes bug out.
“Lourdes.” Ramiel draws my attention back to him. “Aside from it being our duty to seek justice for evil deeds against the innocent, wewantto help you.”
“In any case,” Lorenzo adds, “we wouldn’t feel comfortable sending you back home knowing that maniac is on the loose.”
The thought of going back home, to blood and the place where the violence happened, fills me with trepidation. Everything has happened so fast, I don’t think I’ve even been given time to process it all. But it suddenly fills me. The fact that I was attacked in my own home.
Whether I was at fault or not, it never should’ve happened at all. My home is my sacred space, and it was tainted with the violence of a stranger.
Would I even be able to set foot in there after it all?
“It’s strange, isn’t it?” Kane says. His voice is soft, the softest I’ve heard yet. “The attack?”
“That’s not how I would describe it,” I mutter.
“Have you been involved in anything nefarious lately?” Kane presses, his sharp eyes taking in my every move, making me scared to even breathe.
“Nefarious?” I cock my head to the side. “No…? I’m a freelancing web designer for coño’s sake.”
“What about the Krakens? Your friend is a part of their fold, no? Could an enemy of theirs attempt to hurt her through you?”
That gives me pause. I haven’t had much contact with any of the Krakens since months ago. When I do see them, it’s in passing when I hang out with Naomi. She’s usually hush-hush about the happenings of the MC, but as far as I know, things are peaceful.
Naomi got rid of their major enemies months ago. The Rogue Waves are gone.
“I don’t think so…”
“Hmm, we will not discard the possibility. The enemy could be anyone. The blood hints at a supernatural being.”
“What?!” My head starts reeling. “Why would anyone want to dragmeinto anything? I’m nothing special.”
“Lourdes, you must understand. Let’s say we discard any Kraken involvement. You are still la vidente. You know what that means, right?”
“I’m the seer.”
Ramiel leans back. “Not just any seer. You are unique. The only seer in the Caribbean. You wield an immense power. The power of prophecy. So youarespecial. Anyone would kill to possess you or your magic.”
