“So all of this acting like you’re a real nymph and a real man…”
“I am a nymph and a real man. I refuse to acknowledge that I am a cat,” he stated with a defiant tone.
“All of that stay away from the professor nonsense was just you talking…”
He didn’t say anything. I believed Quan when he said he no longer acknowledges the First Family side of him. I just couldn’t imagine. You don’t age; you don’t die. You are just existing in this world as you are and it’s not even your body, but I guess if you’ve been in it this long, it’s all you know now. This type of karmic living could only happen if you’ve done some of the most unspeakable things in the past.
“So that’s why you’re not able to leave the grounds…”
“I left to go to Wetlands,” he argued.
“Because Isis was there…She’s your tether…You’ve bonded with her when you slept with her however many times because… I know you’re not going to tell me you all haven’t slept together this year…which is why you’re upset about Solomon closing in on her because you know there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. Does Solomon have an idea?”
Quan didn’t say anything at first.
“I think he knows I’m not like the rest and just hasn’t said anything…I’ve been around these Grounds a long time and known about him since he was born…the dumb ass…Can’t stand any of em.”
“Oh Quan,” I sighed with a soft teasing smile. “You’ve only just become that more interesting. Your soft spot for Maggie, and the bullying of Asha…your anger towards Isis all because you’re actually in love with her but you can’t love her. She cannever know your true identity because then she may hate you but it's the only way to get back to your true self… Brilliant. Chef’s kiss to the witch who put that on you.”
I couldn’t wait to tell Jean. He’s always going on and asking about the bitchy black cat hanging around us.
Chapter Seventeen
Himora Clarke
“This is it,” I said, looking down at the childlike handwriting from Raven Holmes herself.The old plantation house at the very end of the road here in the backwoods of Mississippi.It was an old antebellum home with the white pillars, brick facing home that hadn't been updated in years. I stood by the porch steps, letting Trevor go up to knock while I took a look around. The grass hadn’t been cut in years. There were a few junk piles of random objects like a tricycle, and shoes scattered within the overgrowth of grass. I didn’t see any signs of cats living here but this is the place Raven said breeds familiars.
“Colette Whitlock,” I read out loud from the note as Trevor came back down from the steps. He had beads of sweat forming around his head as he scrunched his face up against the evening sun, waiting for it to finally set. He didn’t do well in this type of heat and humidity. It was one of the rare times I would see light, sun, and heat start to affect him because of what he truly is.
“You and these random leads,” he said as he took the note to read. “Why are we even here?”
“Raven said witches are gathering and she heard it from her cat and the woman down the street who breeds them,” I said. “This may be nothing, but we won’t know unless we try. That is our job.”
Trevor was irritated to the point where he had to turn around to keep from saying something he’d regret. I knew the lookall too well having worked around him for years prior to our relationship. The sun was bothering him, and he was probably hungry for actual food that is.
“I told you to stay at the room so you could cool off–––”
“I’m not letting you come out here by yourself in the middle of nowhere, Himora. You know me better than that,” he said as he lowered his head. “Shit…I can’t do this fucking heat man. Fuck!”
“Yes, but I am a fully capable adult with common sense and–––”
The light on the front door suddenly beamed on as the light from within the house shined from behind the stained window. Trevor and I watched as a tall dark figure distorted in the glass, walked up to the door for a moment before hearing it unlock. The doors opened as a woman wearing a long black night gown that came just above her knees with lace trimming. No obvious bra, bare feet with dark round eyes and a small afro that was maybe a pinch of the fingers long, stood with a tilt of her head. If she had cat ears and a black tail swishing about, she would look just like the personification of a feline, even in the way she smiled, it felt like she was missing whiskers.
“You are…” She asked, voice light and airy with her southern drawl.
“We are the Mort–––”
“Family from down the street,” Trevor cut in, immediately blending in with her accent, true to his shifty nature. “A kin to Ms. Raven.”
“Raven and the girls are good people,” she said, still hesitant. She looked back into the house before stepping aside. “You’re invited in. I’m sure it’s hot out here for you both…”
I felt a small chill creep down my spine as Trevor instinctively stepped in front of me, keeping me to his back at all times which meant he was on guard. We stepped up and into the cool AC of the vintage home as I looked around. The decorative wallpaper, the old and new blend of furniture and wooden floors creaked and squeaked with each step. The foyer was open and inviting with a few cats lounging around but the spiral stairs swept towards the second floor where you could see cats laying on different steps. Portraits lined the walls of black cowboys standing with their horse on one side and a cat by their feet.
“This is the Whitlock Estate,” she went on as she began to lead us down a hall. “We serve mostly witch families but occasionally, we’ll get a call from shifters wanting to have a familiar.”
Past the stairs, we entered what looked like another sitting room that was filled with books lining the walls from spells, and charms to mythical tales and worldly maps.
“Are you two in the market for a familiar?” She opened the back door that led to a sunroom filled with felines that scattered. They hurried off by our feet and back into the house as she leaned over the small coffee table to light a few candles. The windows all faced the massive backyard where the property showed rows of trees and different barns lined in a row in the back.
