“By the darkness, of course it would,” La Voisin spat. “If you tried that, I wouldn’t dare be at your side. I work for hire, but I don’t want the queen and king of darkness knowing of my involvement.”
“As you’ve mentioned about a million times,” Eva muttered.
The black witch’s eyes narrowed. “Well, luckily for you, I have a plan. I’m not the only servant of a royal in Paris right now. In fact, there are two witches who serve the same masters as yourselves.”
“We don’t serve them,” I shot back. “Obviously.”
The poisoner held up her hands. “I misspoke. An honest error from a follower of darkness.”
Universe, give me strength . . .
“Please, continue,” Morgan urged, although she too looked annoyed by the witch’s declaration.
“Currently, there are two black witches at court. One follows Ishtar, the other Lucifer. Both have learned to read others’ minds from their masters and always carry the demon stones gifted by the royals. If you can keep them out of your mind, you should be able to do the same with Ishtar and Lucifer.”
“Though I suspect that it will take more effort to keep the royals at bay?” Morgan asked.
“There’s no way to know for sure.” La Voisin said with a shrug. “But I believe that you’re right.”
I mulled that over. It wasn’t an ideal situation, particularly as we’d be up against high-powered individuals in a court that respected them. Then again, nothing about this was really ideal, nor would it totally ensure our protection worked. I agreed with Morgan in that the royals would be stronger,muchstronger. The true test would come when we faced Ishtar and Lucifer, and they tried to possess us—which was inevitable. Until then, our best hope was to trust that the vile woman in front of us was motivated by a massive payday.
A knock came at the front door.
“That must be the spirit worker now. Make your choices.” La Voisin set the book down, still open to the same page, and went to get the door.
Eva and I exchanged alarmed glances at having to make such an important choice so quickly.
“Do you want the baker or the court lady?” I asked.
“The baker. Maybe he can instill some knowledge of how to make a good croissant while he’s in there.”
I snorted as La Voisin reentered the room with a woman trailing behind her. The newcomer wore a long, olive green dress done in a style simpler than what La Voisin wore. The shawl around the woman’s shoulders was white, just like her hair, and gauzy. Most reassuringly, her blue eyes twinkled kindly as she studied us.
My shoulders loosened a little.
“Mademoiselles, this is Mélanie Citron, one of the most experienced spirit walkers and talkers in Paris. This is Nora and Claire, the two who wish to keep the royal demons from invading their heads.”
“Understandably,” Mélanie replied, to which La Voisin frowned, clearly in disagreement. “Catherine has informed me that binding you to the ghosts of mind witches will keep evil from possessing you. I can do such a thing—but are you young ladies amenable to such a relationship?”
Eva and I nodded.
Mélanie arched an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. We are.” I nodded to emphasize my reply. “La Voisin told us that as long as it was mutual, the ghost wouldn’t harm us. Is that right?”
“It is.” Mélanie’s gaze went to Eva.
“I wish there were another way, but I’m told there isn’t,” Eva admitted. “So yes. I’m ready.”
The spirit worker gave us a small, understanding smile. “Very well then. Catherine tells me she has chosen three candidates. Who would you like me to call from the spirit realm first?”
Eva offered up the name of the baker, and Mélanie nodded.
“Excellent choice. Claude is a recently departed soul. I’ve actually spoken with him in life. You might call us old friends. That will make him easier to find.”
I bit my lip and hoped she’d say the same about my choice.
The ghost whisperer got to work, drawing a new salt circle specific to calling spirits, and set items in the circle. The setup looked very similar to the one Amethyst had created when we banished the ghost who had possessed her against her will.
