Nothing happened.
Margot, who had avoided me since our private conversation about her belonging with the unit, landed near Mud and squeezed in. Her cell phone was on speaker. “Yes. I know I’m not a witch, Aunt Sheshema, and I know thewyrdisn’t a witchworking. But I have to try. Her soul is trapped in a containment vessel of some sort. Give me thewyrd.Give me thewyrd!” she demanded when her aunt didn’t reply. “Or I’ll tell Uncle Jeremy about you smoking again.”
“You a bad child. You mama be ashamed if she knew you threatening me.”
“Don’t make me tell her about the—”
“You’ll need something of power for an exchange,” Sheshema said.
Mud grabbed a vine on the ground and said, “Give me some roots, you damned tree.” She twisted it around her hand. The root broke off in her fist.
“We have a thing of power,” Margot said, taking the root Mud held out. It coiled slowly in her hand like a snake dancing. “And we have this.” She lifted the Blood Tarot in its box.
“Hold the items of power over the vessel containing the woman’s soul,” Sheshema ordered.
Margot held the root and the cursed deck above the silver. “Done.”
“Njoo. Ishi.”The syllables rang in the clearing, fighting back the unnatural silence. “Say it with me. Every being of power in the place. Say it.Njoo. Ishi.”
We all joined in. Even Mud, Esther, and me, knowing we were saying witch words of power, words we would be burned at the stake for if some of the churchmen knew of it.
“Njoo. Ishi. Njoo. Ishi. Njoo. Ishi,”we chanted.
Sparks appeared at the mouth of the vessel.
Margot held the vine over the vessel and I moved the silver.
The vine was yanked into the containment vessel. Instantly the Blood Tarot followed, bending, folding shape as if space itself altered, allowing the tin box to fit into the vessel’s mouth.
Green, green sparks appeared. Bloomed into glowing white mists, two tiny clouds with no shape, no form. In the darkness of the yard, the shimmering mists erupted from the mouth of the vessel. I slammed the silver cross back. Trapping, I hoped, the demon.
But the mists didn’t look for their bodies.
“They’s out and free,” Esther said, “but they ain’t going into the body.”
“You can see them?” Margot asked.
“ ’Course I can see ’em. I’m a plant-woman,” Esther sniped.
Which one is Lainie?
Sheshema and Margot continued to chant. And we followed, saying,“Ishi. Ishi. Ishi.”
Mud reached over, slapped FireWind’s hands out of the way, stopping the compressions. She grabbed a soul out of the air and commanded,“Live.”And she pressed the soul against Lainie’s chest. Held the spark there.
In a wash of blackness, the silver cross and the other mist were sucked into the vessel. Gone. I slammed the lid into place and pressed it down. Tossed the vessel to FireWind.
With her other hand, Mud grabbed my wrist, and I added my power to hers and Esther’s. Together we three shoved the soul she held into Lainie.
Let it be T. Laine’s,I prayed.Let it be T. Laine’s.
Lainie’s body bucked.
“Ishi. Ishi. Ishi.”The chant rose around us.“Ishi. Ishi. Ishi.”
Mud looked at the sky and said, “Elohim. I ain’t always been happy with you’uns. But you’uns is more powerful than all this nonsense. You’uns need to fix this.” She brought her fist down hard onto T. Laine’s chest.
Lainie’s body bucked again. And she took a breath.
