Page 30 of Devil's Haunting
“What the fuck?” Laiken’s high pitched question grabs Rene’s attention.
Rene pauses her movements for a moment but then continues, slower and more languid. The rhythm of the drum she’s playing smooths out from frantic into something almost sensual. The woman approaches on feet which don’t seem to touch the ground even though I can feel every one of her footsteps.
“I came to bless you, kin of the last Landry woman touched by the curse,” Rene’s voice has an ominous quality to it, one that reaches past the here and now and into an understanding beyond my comprehension.
“I’m not giving you my man,” Laiken curls her lip, the threat clear in her tone.
“I know,” Rene bows slightly with her words. “That is part of why I am here. This land is now protected by pure love, love brought together by the fates. It is a love which is to be protected. I cannot stand by and allow such a love to bloom on cursed land. It will not do. It would not allow the balance which I seek to always restore.”
All I can do is shake my head because I have no fucking idea what this woman is talking about.
“Not only will I break this curse and bless this house,” Rene looks between us, “but I will bless the two of you and yourfamily. You will see great prosperity and,” she giggles, “many babies.”
Her hand shoots out and hovers over Laiken’s lower abdomen before we even realize it’s happening. She chants something under her breath and then smiles brightly like she’s proud of what she just did.
After she waves her hand toward the front door, I pull Laiken away from the scene and outside. I might have lived in New Orleans for a long time, but that doesn’t mean I understand a damn thing about Voodoo.
If she wants to cleanse the house or whatever, I’m not going to stop her.
The moment we’re outside, Laiken breathes out, “How did she even know where we live?”
It’s a damn good question and one I intend to ask once she’s done. I lead my woman over to a bench not far off the front porch and amongst the gardens I hope to eventually get back to their former glory.
My eyes trace over the house. It’s coming along and it will be really fucking amazing when everything is done. Laiken snuggles into my side and rests her head against my shoulder.
“You’ll move in here with me, right? When everything is all done?”
There’s a vulnerability in her voice that I hate. She should never question a damn thing when it comes to me. But I also understand it takes time.
“I’m already moved in,” I point out.
She smacks me with the back of her hand without lifting her head. “You know what I mean,” she grumbles.
“There isn’t anywhere I’d rather be,” I promise and kiss the top of her head. “This house is amazing. I can picture our family here making memories and throwing parties. I can hear the laughter of our kids filling the rooms. Our future is here, Laiken.”
“I feel it too,” she whispers. “I can picture it so clearly that it scares the hell out of me.”
Movement in one of the upper windows catches both of our attention and we look up. It’s the same woman I’ve seen in the window before, the one who looks out of touch with time and out of place with reality.
“Blanche,” Laiken breathes out.
I sit up a little straighter, my mind trying to process what I’m seeing and struggling with it. The woman looks away from us for a moment and seems to take in the land around us and it feels like she’s saying goodbye. Then she meets our gazes again and smiles before fading away.
Laiken gasps and starts to stand but I hold her in place. When I look over at her, tears are falling down her cheeks.
“She’s finally at peace,” she sobs.
I wrap my arms around my woman and pull her into my lap, letting her cry against my shoulder. This woman. I don’t know what I’m going to do with her.
She’s all heart, that’s for damn sure.
“I love you, my little Mischief-maker.”
I whisper soothing words against her hair as she cries for the heartbreak of a woman she never knew, a woman she wasn’t even related to, but a woman whose story became woven with her own. I don’t tell her it’ll be okay; I just allow her to feel it all.
“I love you,” she sobs against my chest.
After her tears stopped and we’ve sat in silence together for a while, just breathing with the world around us, the front door swings open and Rene steps out. When she sees us, the smile on her face softens with understanding.
