“The wolf,” Enola whispered.
“The wolf,” Marie confirmed.
“Gran?” Margo interrupted.
Marie turned her amber-ish eyes to her other granddaughter.
“When that thing…umm…that vampire was on top of Nola, it looked like she turned into fire, or something.”
Enola whipped her head towards Margo. “What!”
“You did, Nola!” Margo squealed.
“Girls, once you’re done with your questions, I will explain that too.”
“The wolf,” Enola started, still looking at Margo, “was that a…a, umm…werewolf?”
“A shifter,” Marie corrected.
“Shifter?”
“I will explain theRougarou, or more accurately, theLoup Garouto you later. But shifters can go from man to beast and back whenever they deem necessary.”
Enola fell against the back of her seat. Enola was going over her travel itinerary in her mind. It was time to go home. She hadn’t been in New Orleans for a full twenty-four hours, and already she’d encountered seers, shifters, vampires. And apparently, she had turned into fire. Enola was living a bad horror movie, and apparently, her grandmother was the female lead.
“Actually,chérie, you’re the female lead,” Marie said with a chuckle.
“Gran, can you please stay out of my head?” Enola asked with a scold.
“Sorry,bebe, bad habit. I’ll try.”
“Wait…how am I the lead?”
Marie and Ruby shared smiles.
“Margo already knows this, but I’m sure that you were never taught our ways.”
Enola wrinkled her brow, shifting her gaze between her grandmother and her aunt.
“Nola, you are a direct descendant of Auriette Moreau,” Ruby offered.
“Okay, and? I knew that.”
“Chér, Auriette Moreau wasthemost powerful Voodoo priestess in the world. More than a century ago, she was accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake.”
“Voodoo?” Enola blurted. “Like Voodoo dolls and stuff?”
“Grow up,” Ruby scoffed.
She was clearly offended by Enola’s elementary knowledge of the religion.
“This was your mother’s fault. She was so afraid of what you were, she all but rendered you helpless.”
Enola narrowed her eyes. She was immediately offended at the mention of her mother’s name in association with anything other than praise. She loved her aunt, but she need not ever use that tone when speaking of her beloved mother.
“Ruby! That’s enough!” Marie scolded.
Ruby looked over at Enola. After realizing that she had provoked her ire, her expression turned apologetic.
