“That’s a will,” Nicole said, “In Remy’s hand, signed by Remy before he died, declaring this house and all of his assets are to go to Madison upon his death.”
I scrambled to pull the letter out of the envelope and read it while the crowd spoke in hushed tones around me.
“I don’t believe that for a second,” Tamara said, “He wouldn’t just sign it off to some bitch he wanted to sleep with once.”
I skimmed the letter the first time, but then read it through the second time, fighting the urge to cry all over the lettering. “She’s right,” I said, “It’s all here…”
“Do you think a piece of paper means anything?” Tamara asked. “You can’t hide behind that. This house is mine.”
I sensed her magick coming before it manifested, and Jared did too. He grabbed my wrist to pull me out of the way, but the snake was quicker than she was. It lurched forward and bit her in the throat. She screamed and struggled with the wriggling, slippery, bloody thing, but then fell on her back.
When the snake expended its energy, it melted into a puddle of blood again, slipping through Tamara’s clenched fingers, and leaving her glassy eyed, and paralyzed, just as I had promised.
A soft breath escaped my lips and I wiped my eyes, now, swallowing the swell of emotions building inside of me. “I’m sorry you all had to see that,” I said.
Nicky stepped out of the crowd and into the circle, looking around the room. “Are you kidding me?” he asked, “That was fucking awesome!”
The witches burst into a round of applause, and I had no choice but to accept it, even if what I really wanted to do was find a room to hide in and cry through the joy, the sadness, and the gratitude coursing through me right now.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Jared and Nicole stepped into the living room of my new Garden District house where they found me sitting at the dining room table, re-reading Remy’s note. He had left his estate to me. All of it. The house, its possessions, even some money. A sizeable chunk, in fact, though only a small fraction compared to what he had chosen to donate to the city itself; specifically, to families living in the Ninth Ward and others living in poverty.
I glanced up. “It’s done?” I asked.
“Yep, the wicked witch is gone,” Nicole said. “The other witches, too.”
Jared came over and sat down next to me. “She’ll wake up in a motel in Baton Rouge sometime later tonight, wondering what the hell just happened.”
“I hope she doesn’t wonder too much,” I said, “I want her to remember she’s been banished and not even think of coming back to New Orleans.
“You think she will?” Nicole asked. “I mean, she fought a magickal duel and lost—if she breaks the terms of the agreement and comes back, she’ll be weakened. Magick itself will see to that. But do you think that’ll stop her?”
“I don’t know. I really don’t. We should be ready anyway. I’m going to set extra wards up throughout the house tonight, just to be sure.”
“I’ll help you. You don’t have to do this alone,” Nicole said.
“Thank you. I could do with the extra hand.”
“I’ll get started, then,” she said, and she turned and left Jared and I alone in the living room.
“How are you holding up?” he asked.
“I feel like shit. I’m hungry, I need a shower, and probably twenty hours of sleep.”
“You’ll get it. I promise.” He paused. “You don’t really think she’ll come back, do you?”
I slipped Remy’s documents back into the envelope and set it down on the table before looking at Jared. “Whether she comes back or not, I don’t think she’s our biggest problem anyway,” I said.
Jared tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, there’s so much we don’t have answers to. Like, why couldn’t we use magick when the vampires first hit us? Why was Tamara acting against us? Did she have anything to do with the first attack? Then there’s also Marie Boucher.”
“Who’s Marie Boucher?”
I stood up from the table and ran my hands through my hair. “When I went to see Jean Luc,” I said, “The night Delphine and I were attacked, he mentioned Marie Boucher to me. She’s the vampire who turned him—he and all of his family. She was also the one who spoke to me on the night of the attack.”
“No shit, that woman turned Jean Luc?”
“Yeah, and she’s still out there, which means she’s still a threat; the bitch and the rest of her brood.”
“So, we aren’t out of the woods yet.”
“As much as I would love to say yes, no, we aren’t out of the woods.”
Jared stood now as well. He walked up to me, placed a hand on my hip and pulled me to him. “All of that can wait, I think. Right now, you need to relax. When was the last time you ate anything?”
“I don’t remember,” I said.
“Which means it’s been too long.”
“Maybe, but I have to put wards up around the house. Otherwise, I won’t sleep easy.”
He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “Tamara is out for the count. Is it really necessary for you to do that tonight?”
“I don’t want to take any chances. Besides, I may be tired, but… I feel like I could still go another few rounds in a magickal duel. I don’t feel as burnt out as I thought I would.”
“Is that… normal?”
I thought about it long and hard, and came to the conclusion that Delphine’s blood wasn’t what was making me feel as energized now as I was. Vampire blood may have healed my body, but I had been able to hold Eliza’s shield for hours even before Delphine fed me some of her blood. Why, I couldn’t say.
I shook my head. “No… it isn’t,” I said, “I’ve been feeling strange ever since the swamp.”
“But it’s a good kind of strange?”
“Yeah.”
“So, maybe don’t question it.” He let me go. “Do what you have to do, then. If you want me to stay over with you, I will.”
“I do want you to stay with me,” I said, reaching for his cheek with my lips and giving it a soft peck. “But I don’t know where the master bedroom is, so you’ll have to go hunting for it.”
Jared nodded. “Alright, I’ll wait for you upstairs.”
He left and headed down the hallway, and then upstairs. After wandering around for a couple of minutes, I found Nicole in the kitchen, shutting the back door and making sure it was locked. When she was satisfied, she pressed the palm of her hand against it and whispered a short phrase in French. I felt a soft wave of magick radiate from her before dissipating a moment later.
“Hey,” I said.
Nicole turned and smiled. “Hey yourself,” she said, “I think I’m done on the ground floor. Gonna head upstairs.
“No, that’s fine,” I said. “You’ve done more than enough tonight. Why don’t you go home and get some sleep?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’ve got this. Jared and I are gonna spend the night here anyway, so I’ll just finish setting the wards once you’re gone. I wouldn’t want them all to go up with you still in the house, anyway.”
“I guess not.”
I approached, smiling softly. “I want to thank you… for everything you’ve done.”