2 Hungry, Hungry Hoodoo (20 page)

Strange, drum-heavy music played inside the laundromat, and the handful of people eyed us as we headed toward the “Employees Only” door. Baker walked through without hesitating, and Cheney and I were right behind him.

“Who’s there?” an old woman in a dated green dress hissed from her perch on a metal chair. “You’re not from the natural world. Hoo boy, we got some power circulating tonight, yes, we do.” A mess of bones, charms, and things I couldn’t begin to identify were strewn on a small altar next to her.

“Toinette.” Baker kissed both of her cheeks. “How have you been?”

She tilted her head toward the sound of his voice, her milky white eyes unfocused and drifting eerily around the room. “Baker, you sly devil, is that you? It’s been a score since you carried yourself down here to these parts.” She snatched his hand with unerring accuracy. “Hoo, mischief and trouble. Boy, that is all I ever feel in you. But you’re not alone this time. Who did you bring?”

“Toinette, these are my friends Selene and Cheney. They—”

“Hush,” she told him. “Hands.” She held out her thick arthritic fingers. Cheney took one hand and Baker nodded at me encouragingly. I squeezed my hand into a loose fist and placed it in her waiting grasp.

Her breath whistled, and she released Cheney and gripped my wrist with her other hand, pulling me closer. “So much magic. So many spells and curses on one little girl.” She ran her hand up and down my forearm. I tried to pull away, but her grip was strong—too strong. “So much confusion. You can’t see up from down.”

Her head lulled back and she began to cough, releasing my hand. “I can’t help you. Leave.”

“Toinette—”

“Take them away, Baker.”

He frowned down at the old woman. “I’ve known you a long time and you’ve never been a piker. You owe me,” he said.

She stood up, wringing her hands, her metal chair falling to the side.“You do not know what you ask.”

“We haven’t asked for anything yet,” I said.

“You’re trouble. Too much trouble.” She wagged a finger at me. I looked over at Cheney. He appeared to be holding back a smile.
Great.

“It’s fine. Let’s just go. Thank you for your time.” I turned to leave, not wanting to admit how much she freaked me out. What was wrong with me?

“Hold up,” Baker called. I turned back toward him and he stared at me with a contemplative expression. “Something must be bad wrong with you, doll. But the boss-man said to help and that’s what I’m going to do.” He looked back at the old woman. “What’s eating you, Toinette?”

“You brought all that hate and rage into my office, Baker McGovern. I have half a mind to curse you too.”

I shook my head. “I’m not angry.”

“Not you, child. The person who did this to you. You’re wrapped like a mummy in powerful curses. I want no part of it.”

Cheney no longer looked amused. “Curses? What kind of curses?”

“The worst kind.” Antoinette’s unseeing gaze fluttered in my direction. “I feel death, strife, struggle digging their way inside. It won’t stop until her heart is as black as the magic that did this.”

I shook my head. She wasn’t right. The only spells that were cast on me were by my grandmother and coven. They were spells of protection and to help me remember. “No. You’re wrong. Look, I just want to break the bond with Cheney. Can you tell me how to do that?”

She came toward me and took my hand again. I didn’t know how she knew exactly where I was, but she did. After a moment, she spoke. “I wouldn’t remove that bond for all the riches in the world. It’s the only thing keeping you from falling to the darkness. It’s your lifeline and even it is weakening.”

“Cheney?” I looked at him. He was the only one who knew why we bonded.

He shook his head. “You weren’t cursed that I know of. She wasn’t cursed.”

“Why did you come if you aren’t going to listen? The girl is a danger to all those around her.”

I took a deep breath. “I’ll listen. Please tell me what you know.”

She looked through me and nodded once. “Baker, you and the Erlking wait outside.”

“I’m not leaving,” Cheney said.

“I’ll be okay,” I told him, and Baker ushered him out of the room.

“Have a seat, child.” Another metal chair appeared in front of her chair. We both sat and she took both of my hands. “This is old magic, older than I have felt on a living person. To withstand it, you must be strong. Now tell Toinette. Why did you come here to break the bond with the elf king?”

I bit my lip. “It’s confusing me. I don’t know what I feel or think. I can’t remember my past very well, but the more I think I know about it, the more confused I get.”

“Does it hurt to remember? Cause you pain?”

I nodded.

She shook her head. “Nodding to a blind woman.” Her hands moved up my face. “The curse is holding back the memories. It has the power to kill you if you continue to pluck at them.”

My mind went back to my conversation with Grandma. What if Cheney was wrong? What if I had killed my parents? Maybe I then cursed myself to keep me from harming anyone else. I could have given my memories to Jaron so I wouldn’t lose them completely but bound the power inside of me so I could do no harm. “It’s a curse, not a binding. Are you sure about that?”

“This is no binding. It is made from anger and resentment. Strong. I don’t know if I can break it, but if you can rid yourself of it, I can undo the bond on the harvest moon.”

“That’s less than two weeks.”

“Don’t quote me the time when you do not have it to waste. If you don’t end the curse by the moon you will be lost anyway.”

“How do I break it?”

“Everything comes with a cost. Are you willing to pay it?”

“What is it?”

“That will be revealed in time. Will you pay it?”

As if I had a choice. It wasn’t like I could get a second opinion. The facts were there. I didn’t have a memory I could trust. And no matter what I wanted to believe, darkness was surrounding me and hurting those I loved. “I will.”

She picked out a handful of items that looked like trash to me, stuffed them into a little burlap bag, and pulled the string tight. “Find the person who cursed you. Soak this in their blood, then in yours, and cast it into a fire made from wood of an ash tree and sage. Make sure you have it right, child. You only have one chance.”

“Thank you.”

She nodded. “If you succeed, we will meet again.”

“And if I don’t?”

Her lips pursed. “Then pray for death.”

“Death?” Sy wiped the rag over the bar for the hundredth time.

“That’s what she said.”

“We’ll break the curse and rescue your friend.”

“But how am I going to know who did it? Even if I get the rest of my memories from Jaron, who’s to say I even knew that I was cursed or that the memories are correct. What if they’re tainted by this curse? There are already inconsistencies.”

Sy poured us each a shot. “You’re right. It’s impossible. We should give up.” He clinked our glasses together and tossed back his drink.

“That’s not what I’m saying,” I said, toying with the little glass instead of drinking it. “Do you think I killed my parents?”

He shook his head. “There has to be another explanation. My guess is whoever killed your human parents is also the person who killed Michael and took Devin. Chances are that’s also the person who put this curse on you. Someone has a serious hate on for you, coz.”

“But who? And why?”

“Well, I think we can rule out Cheney. Doing anything that might kill you after you two bonded would be dumb. So who’s left? We have his father. Obviously he hates you.”

“Cheney says he couldn’t possibly be doing this, but he also hasn’t told me where he’s being held.”

“And there’s Sebastian. Your spell led to him.”

“I have a hard time believing Sebastian is behind any of this. He seems to really like my friends, and he’s been so nice to me. What reason could he have for hating me and wanting me dead? He knows it would kill Cheney too.”

“Maybe that
is
the reason. Maybe Sebastian is making a play for the crown and he’s using you to do it. There’s no reason why his house couldn’t rule just as easily or as well as Cheney’s. Is Sebastian really as loyal as he seems?”

“And there’s Jaron,” I said, though my mind was still on Sebastian and Sy’s interesting point. “Obviously he is involved somehow.”

“He did lie about when he got the memories. Are you going to get the rest from him?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I have this feeling that if I do, I will be choosing Jaron over Cheney.”

“If it is the only way to find out, then maybe it’s worth it. Save your friend and yourself. Then worry about the guys.”

“There might be another way. If I can remember on my own …” I stood up and stretched. “But I don’t have to decide anything tonight. I’m going to bed. Tomorrow, I’ll make Cheney tell me what he knows and talk to Sebastian.”

“Goodnight. I’ll let you know if I hear anything from Femi, Holden, or Olivia.”

I started for the back. “Sy.” He looked over at me. “If someone is targeting me, it’s only a matter of time before they come after you too.”

He smiled. “They’ll need a hell of a lot more than luck to get to me.”

I shook my head. “Watch your back.”

“Why? What happened?”

I whirled around to see Jaron standing in the doorway. “What are you doing here?”

He gave me a half smile. “You keep canceling. Believe it or not, this isn’t fun for me.”

I swallowed. “I’m sorry. I have a lot going on.”

Jaron closed the distance between us, and while it appeared Sy was minding his own business, I knew he was watching every move Jaron made. “Which is why I asked what happened.”

“My friend Michael was killed and another friend of mine was taken.”

He nodded. “Why?”

“I wish I knew. You have any ideas?”

“Maybe. Let’s talk.” He nodded toward the back room.

I led the way back, tired and not wanting to do this.

“Have I done something to make you mad?”

“No. I’m sorry. I’m tired.” We sat in our usual spots. “When did I give you my memories?”

He paused. “Just before you became a changeling.”

Still lying. Why? “And why did I become a changeling?”

“You know the answer to that.”

“It doesn’t make sense. I feel like all of this must be connected, but I can’t see how.”

He shrugged. “I’d look at the king. Cheney may have hidden him away somewhere, but he has loyal followers who will do whatever they can to help get rid of you. Maybe it’s someone closer to you than you think.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s not Cheney.”

“Perhaps not—but he does have the same advisor as his father though.”

Everything in me stilled. “Sebastian was the king’s advisor, too?”

“Don’t you remember?”

I shook my head, and he frowned. “Odd.”

Yes, I thought. Very odd. Very odd indeed.

After looking in all the usual places for Cheney, I headed to gym on the off chance he was planning on meeting me there, even though I didn’t have Sebastian to train me anymore. I found him gracefully pacing on the balance beam, his hair unruly and eyes wild. His head snapped up. “You’re late.” He hopped down and came toward me with long strides. “Did you have any trouble this morning?”