“The natives that lived here before Europeans settled it wouldn’t go into the bayou, especially at night. They believed shape shifters and spirits wandered there.” Celine folded her hands on the table. “Some people live out there nowadays, like the Barbeaux family. But others still believe the old legends.”
Barbeaux? As inIsaacBarbeaux?
“Enough stories. Let’s begin. Place your hands palm up on the table.”
I obeyed, jumping when Celine snatched my hands up and drew them to her face. She squinted down at them, making an occasional noise in her throat. That sly smile quirked the old woman’s face again and my hands began to burn. Heat pulsed up my forearms and I had a sudden desperate urge to break free.
I couldn’t get my arms to move.
For a heartbeat, Celine’s dark eyes clouded red. I blinked. The red sheen was still there. She blinked—and the color was gone.
My breath was coming too fast.
“You’re running.” Another studying look. “There’s no point.”
I swallowed tightly, throat dry. “What do you mean?”
“He’s—He’s going to—” Celine’s features drooped and her face looked two decades older. Sorrow carved deep lines around her lips as she whispered to herself. “He’s going to catch you.”
“Who?”It can’t be Jay. He’s not chasing me.Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure that was true.
She ignored my question, eyes unfocused. “I think this story has a very sad ending.”
Silence pressed in on us, the heat in my arms almost unbearable. I was about to tell her I changed my mind, that I didn’t want to know my future, when the tension ebbed from her in a soft, knowing smile. “But that ending isn’t yours. You are only part of the journey.”
“I’m…what?” I was still hung up on the part about being caught. “Can you expound on the part about him catching me?”
“You’re running and—oh. Two men pursue you.” Celine chuckled to herself. “This just got juicy. Two men pursue you and both of them will catch you.” I opened my mouth to ask another question but Celine held up a finger. “You have the opportunity for peace. But first you will have to sacrifice and suffer. All of you will.”
“All of us?”
“I’m afraid that’s all I have.” Celine stood abruptly, chair legs squeaking against the floor. Her gaze darted to a shadowed door in the corner of the room, one I hadn’t noticed before. “Thanks for visiting Madame Celine. Come back sometime.”
She came around the table and all but shoved me out of my chair. With a hand on my back she guided me to the front door, sending me back out into the cold. The door snapped shut behind me, the lock clicking into place as the light faded from the “open” sign.
That was…unusual.
I was still puzzling out exactly what happened when movement caught my attention. I turned toward the parking lot where a row of trucks and trailers were parked. A man stood beside a black truck. Too rigid. Too still.
He was staring right at me, unblinking.
He’s going to catch you.
The wind blew greasy brown hair into his face, and his nostrils flared. Something was wrong with my vision today because his eyes seemed to crackle bright and golden.
I watched him take a step in my direction, and I did the same thing I’d been doing since last week.
I ran.
Chapter 6
Frenemies
Isaac
Istaredatthepeelinggreen paint on the back of the double wide, surprised by myself. I was surprising myself a lot lately, but this was extreme. My hand hovered over the knob on the back door of Celine’s shop.
I hadn’t decided if this was worth the risk yet.