“That’s what my mom said. She says Aunt Jacinth is trying to keep the peace and keep stress off Mémé.”
“Is Mémé sickly?” I ask, as worry creeps in like fog.
“No, but she is ninety.”
“With the spirit of a twenty-year-old.” I shake my head. “That woman will probably outlive us all.”
“I wish that was how it worked. We both know when your time is up, it’s up. You best believe Mémé has a plan in place for her empire.”
You can’t run from your destiny. The words from my dream replay in my mind. Did she mean to do more than give me comfort? Did I miss a message?
“Tante Odette has always run her mouth. You still haven’t told me what she’s doing that has you nervous. I can hear it in your voice.”
“There’s a desperation to her antics now. It’s hard to explain. You’ll see once you get here.”
“What changed?”
“That’s what I want to know. It concerns me, Lou.”
Well shit. “I can’t do anything from here. Once I get home, we’ll get to the bottom of things.”
“Thank you. I know it’s a lot to drop on you, but I couldn’t let you walk into the mess and be blindsided.”
“I appreciate it. Do you have any good news to balance this out?” My shoulders droop as I close the box on my winter clothes and tape it shut.
“Nothing you’d want to hear, cuz.”
Fine, I’ll bite. “You know you can’t say that and not go into detail.”
“The bloodsucking problems have cleared up drastically.” I brace myself for the mention of Cristobal I know is coming. I can’t afford another lapse in the mental wall I’ve built between us.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Power plays are a part of life in Louisiana. There are too many things that go bump in the night trying to live in harmony. That means someone always wants to be top dog. The politics make the United States Presidency laughable.
“Don’t beat around the bush, just tell me.” I already know who she’s going to mention.
“Cris has been a busy boy.”
I close my eyes. It always comes back to him.
“He’s not your everyday community member any longer. He’s the Lord of our territory in charge of the seven local areas.”
“What?”
The news shocks me. Cristobal isn’t a youngling, but he’s not terribly old either at around five-hundred. He migrated to Louisiana from Spain in the first few years of the state being established and began to build a legacy. Back then it was easy to pass yourself off as the younger relative of an older, wealthier family member. As the years changed, the vampires adapted. With the power he gained from me, why wouldn’t he move up?
Things are handled as civilly as possible among the supernatural to keep the body count down. That’s something humans will notice.
“There’s a reason New Orleans is no longer the murder capital. He’s used his … fortune for good,” she says, clearly impressed.
His smooth, dulcet tone is etched into my brain. He’s a seducer. With his old world way of talking, impeccable manners, and swagger I credited to the era he was born into, and the country, Spain.
“So I should give him a blood cookie then?” I ask incredulously.
She snickers. “You’re still hot under the collar about what he did after all this time?”
“Wouldn’t you be?”
“I don’t know, Lou. Maybe you don’t remember how good he looked. How rare a man with his sort of manners, wealth, and complete adoration of you is.”