He led the way down a block or so, then we turned left and cut through a packed parking lot. "Busy restaurant," I said. "I pictured you taking us out to some bayou in the backcountry."
Joel chuckled. "There's plenty of hedge witches and some Voodoos out there for sure, but they wouldn't even let me get close. The only reason I managed to convince this lady to help was catching her in public where she had to hear me out without killing me. Too many people around."
"What'd you do, interrupt her at the grocery store?" Michael asked.
"Yes," Joel said over his shoulder.
Okay, then.
We walked onto a much smaller street. More an alley, really, but no buildings lined it close like it would've in New York or L.A.
Joel stopped in front of an older, red-brick apartment building. It wasn't very big, maybe holding eight or ten apartments at best. "Why wouldn't a Voodoo live somewhere grander?" I whispered, unsure if she had heightened hearing or what her abilities might've been.
"They believe in the personal gain laws of magic," Joel replied. "She could make herself the richest, most politically powerful woman on Earth. Any of the children of the Nephilim could. But they won't. And if one of them tried, the others would shut her down in a heartbeat."
"Always women?" Lucifer asked. He wasn't one for idle chit-chat, preferring to observe as others did.
"Usually. They don't know why." He shrugged and strode forward.
Interesting.
We stood back as Joel knocked on the bottom left door in the apartment building's breezeway. It opened after only two raps and a young boy stared out at us. He couldn't have been more than ten. With a big sigh and a shake of his head, he called into the apartment, "Granny! He came back!"
His accent had the French lilt that was a byproduct of French and Cajun origins. I'd loved to hear a N'Awleans accent as long as it had existed, which was a relatively short time in the span of my life, at least.
A woman's voice replied to the boy. "Don't be rude. Let them in." Her Southern accent was unlike any other location in the American South, only found in this area. The young man stepped back and held out his arm.
Joel led us into the poorly lit apartment. Shades on the window blocked out the sunlight, but the room was artificially lit by a few lamps that didn't put out enough light to replace the shuttered window. I knew it was for privacy, though. She didn't want anyone knowing her business.
"Go home, child. You lot, come in." A plump woman walked around a corner into the small living room. "Please, have a seat." The boy left the apartment and shut the door behind him.
A couch took up one wall and two armchairs another. Directly behind us was an enormous entertainment center full of DVDs and video games, with a moderate-sized TV in the middle. I perched in one of the armchairs and left the couch for all four men to squeeze onto.
The woman sat regally in the other armchair. We weren't sure what the protocol was here, so we waited for her to speak. "My name is Mary. I am a Nanbo, or Priestess of Voodoo. But you are here for much more than that, are you not?"
"Yes, Mary. Thank you for agreeing to see us." I leaned forward earnestly. "We need your help."
She'd been looking at Joel and turned her head on her long, regal neck to stare at me. "I do not recognize demons," she said.
Michael sat closest to us on the couch. "I am no demon, by any means, wise woman." I didn't know if that honorific would please her, but she didn't shut him down, so he continued. "Her daughter has been kidnapped. And I know you think these two with us are demons, but I assure you, they do God's work, as they've been instructed."
Her eyes narrowed on Michael, then moved to me again. I sat, unmoving, while she studied me. Lucifer did the same a minute later when she turned her unnerving gaze to him.
I didn't know why she made me so nervous. I needed her to find Ariel, so I wouldn't have done anything to make her angry, but on a normal day, I could've obliterated her where she sat and danced with her soul in Hell.
Or could I have? I studied her as she did Lucifer, and it wasn't as easy as I would've thought to get a read on her. She definitely wasn't pure human. Must've been that angel blood. I wondered if she knew that what her ancestors thought were angels were probably Fallen.
It wasn't the right time to give her that knowledge. Not by a long shot.
"I see darkness in you both," she said. "But I also see hope and desperation." She sucked in a breath. "And heartbreak. This child, she is yours?"
I nodded. "Yes, and human, we believe."
Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply for several minutes. The seconds dragged by as she sat there, looking to be asleep. When I thought I'd go out of my mind with impatience, she opened her eyes. "I will help you for a price."
"Name it,' I said. I'd make Gabe and Michael go get the woman anything in the world she wanted.
"Rid my city of the demons. We have been fighting them as best we can, but without revealing ourselves we must be discreet."
