“Aww, well now, I see what’s going on here. Ha! Well, it’s about time,” Alice mused.
Gideon didn’t respond to her comment because he didn’t want to have the conversation. Instead, he said, “She’s with the old lady’s granddaughter. She’s one of them. I can tell by looking at her.”
“Umm-hmm, and she’s also your future,” Alice added. “Well, what are you waiting for? Go on over there.”
Unfortunately, before he could make up his mind, the woman turned and left the courtyard. Gideon wanted to follow her, but since his body was reacting unpredictably, he decided against it. Besides, he knew exactly where to find her. He’d be paying the woman a visit soon enough.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Nola! What is your problem?!”
Enola ignored her cousin and continued to drag her, by the wrist, down Bourbon Street. She couldn’t answer Margo’s question if she wanted to. One minute she was compelled to stay, and the next, everything in her told her to run. She wasn’t afraid, and the man was fine enough to make a woman’s eyes bleed, but his intense gaze was too much for her to handle. He’d imprisoned her with his stare. He had wavy, dark hair and had to have been close to six and a half feet tall. His lips were the biggest of temptations, and his muscular body was a work of art. But it was his icy, gray eyes that were the most compelling. Afraid that she would be hypnotized by the intensity of his stare, Enola had high-tailed it outta there.
Before she realized it, she’d turned a corner, dragging Margo with her down a dark street.
“Nola, stop!” Margo demanded, pulling from Enola’s grasp. “What the hell! You see one hot guy and take off running. What gives?”
“I don’t know, Margo. There was something about that man. I don’t know, okay?”
“All right, okay. Let’s just go.”
“Why so soon?” a deep voice called out in the darkness.
Enola looked around, searching for the hidden figure in the dark. Margo reached out, grabbed Enola’s hand, and pulled her towards a busier street.
“Nola, run!” she shouted in a whisper.
Without so much as a question, Enola, holding tight to her cousin, took off running down the street. But in a flash, Enola was pushed to the ground. Her face was pushed into the dirt, but she struggled to lift her head. She needed to see if Margo was okay.
Enola clawed the dirt and tried to crawl away, but her attacker was too strong. She screamed as he flipped her on her back and straddled her. Because of the dirt in her eyes, Enola struggled to see. But when she was finally able to focus on her attacker, she thought for sure that she wasn’t seeing what she thought she was seeing. Her attacker had a distorted face, red eyes, and huge fangs. Like a…vampire. Enola had to be hallucinating. Had she been drugged?
The monster growled and opened its mouth wide. Nasty, hot saliva fell from its mouth to Enola’s face. Enola was frozen with fear, but too frightened to scream. Somewhat resigning to her fate, her body went limp against the ground. It wasn’t until she heard Margo’s screams did Enola feel renewed ambition to fight.
“So easy. I don’t see what all the fuss is about. I’m gonna drain the weak blood from your body.”
Margo’s screams seemed to fuel a fire from within. Enola finally found her voice and screamed as loud as she could. For some reason, it seemed as if the intensity of her scream shook the ground. Even the monster on top of her startled. For the brief second that he was caught off guard, Enola pushed hard against his chest. White-hot fire radiated from her palms and Enola gasped when her attacker suddenly burst into flames. She scrambled and crawled backward in order to get from beneath the flames. She would have bet her life that she was having a nightmare had she not been reminded that she was wide awake by the sound of her cousin’s cries.
Margo!
Enola hurried to her feet and searched in the dark for her cousin. When she found Margo, she was on the ground, struggling beneath a monster of her very own. Enola ran towards Margo, prepared to do battle. As she ran, she searched for a weapon. A bottle, a pipe, anything would be better than her bare hands. She wasn’t able to find a weapon, but that wasn’t gonna stop Enola. She was going to fight, until her end if need be to save her cousin. But, luckily, she didn’t have to because a giant black dog, no, a wolf leaped out of nowhere and attacked the monster.
Loud growling and the monster’s screams didn’t stop Enola from snatching her cousin from the ground and pulling her towards Bourbon Street. Margo was struggling to run, but Enola kept pulling. She didn’t turn back to see the fate of the attacker. Her only concern was getting her and Margo home safe.
They ran non-stop until they made it to Margo’s car. Enola opened the door and shoved Margo in the passenger seat. She ran around the car, hopped in the driver’s seat, and pushed the button to start the BMW. She stepped on the clutch, shifted into first gear, and took off like a bat out of hell.
Once there was a good distance between them and the French Quarter, Enola checked the rearview mirror to make sure they weren’t being followed. She looked over at Margo who was covered in dirt, staring straight ahead. She seemed to be in shock. Enola reached over and placed her hand over Margo’s. Enola swerved a bit when Margo nearly jumped out of her skin. Enola slowed the vehicle, but she didn’t dare stop.
“You’re okay now, Margo,” Enola assured.
Margo, still staring straight ahead, was shaking uncontrollably. Enola was coming up on a traffic light. She was having an inner debate about whether or not to stop the car. Like Margo, Enola was terrified, but she knew that she wouldn’t be safe until she was in her grandmother’s house. Reluctantly, she stopped at the light, only because she didn’t know the best route to take. She needed Margo to snap out of it.
“Margo, which way? Right or left?” When Margo didn’t respond, Enola shouted, “Margo! I need your help! Which way?”
Margo looked over at Enola, wide eyed and terrified. “Enola, what was that thing?” she whispered.
Good fucking question.
“I don’t know, Margo. But what Idoknow is that we need to get home. Now, which way?”
