Bayou Shadow Hunter

Chapter 2

Why had she kissed him?

True, he’d saved her from spending the night in the swamp, but he’d been evasive. Even accused her of being a witch.

But she’d been irresistibly pulled to his masculine strength, in a way she’d never experienced before. Kissing strangers was a novelty. Best to place the blame on the Thunder Moon and forget it ever happened. With a deep sigh, Annie shook off the question. It was done. Over. She might never see Tombi again. And she certainly would never go back into the night woods chasing will-o’-the-wisps.

Filled with resolve, she returned to preparing a new batch of mojo bags designed for attracting the opposite sex. Grandma Tia had awoken this morning declaring they would be in demand today, and supplies were getting low. Annie crushed lovage leaves with a mortar and pestle, releasing its unique lime and celery fragrance.

The cramped kitchen could almost be mistaken for one set in medieval times. Dried herbs from their garden hung from the ceiling. The countertops were wooden, as were the floors, table and cabinets. On the pine table, Annie had spread out over a dozen pink flannel mojo bags and mason jars filled with dried flowers and spices.

She emptied the freshly ground lovage into a new jar, humming contentedly. Next, she took a pinch of powdered substance from each jar and placed it in the bags, along with a sprinkle of salt and a tiny magnet. The base ingredients were set. Her grandma would personalize each bag as needed.

The murmur of conversation from the living room grew louder. Grandma Tia’s voice was low and calm, in contrast to the other woman’s high-pitched agitation.

“That hussy knew Jeb was my man, and it didn’t make no bit a difference to her.”

Every syllable of the woman’s words buzzed like angry bees in Annie’s ears. She hummed louder to block the buzzing and opened the pantry, which was lined with shelves of different-colored mojo bags, stones, nails, oils, graveyard dirt and hunks of dirt-dauber nests. A few murky jars were filled with liquid the color of swamp water, and she shuddered to think of what unsavory ingredients her grandma used in other kinds of spells.

Tia Henrietta popped her head in the door. “I need that there—”

Annie plucked two items from the shelf and held them out. “Here’s twine and a vial of Stay Me oil. You need to add these to one of the pink bags for a Taking-Back-Yer-Man spell. Right?”

“You a quick learner, child.” Grandma Tia gave a broad wink before closing the door behind her.

Annie shook her head in bemusement. It wasn’t too hard to learn the hoodoo basics. Grandma Tia had explained there were certain common spells: one for getting back a lover (mostly female customers), another for gambling luck (mostly men) and another for revenge or blocking enemies (popular with both sexes). That was in addition to using the all-purpose good-luck charms and cleansing waters she concocted.

The front door slammed shut, and Annie watched the wronged woman march to her sedan, tightly clenching the mojo bag in her right fist. The hapless Jeb didn’t stand a chance against her determination to cure him of his wandering ways. What a relief Grandma hadn’t insisted she join them for the consultation. Lately, Grandma Tia had been making her meet customers, saying she needed to come out of her shell. But she’d given her a break today and let her putter about the kitchen, allowing her to get her bearings after last night.

The teakettle whistled, and Annie poured steaming water into two mugs and carried them on a tray into the living room.

Her grandma was sprawled on the sofa, head in her hands.

“What’s wrong?” Annie hurried forward and set the mugs on the coffee table.

Tia brought her hands down and smiled wanly. “Nothing. I’ll be just fine after tea.”

“It’s your heart, isn’t it?” Annie asked, helping her sit up and placing a pillow behind her back.

“Cain’t expect it to last forever.” Grandma Tia mixed a dollop of honey into the hawthorn-berry tea. “This will revive me right nice.”

But one day it wouldn’t. Annie nervously adjusted the pillow.

As if reading her mind, Tia spoke again. “Don’t you worry ’bout me. I’m ready to meet my maker anytime He calls.”

What would she do without her grandma? Her real home was here in Bayou La Siryna, always had been. Here she wasn’t surrounded by people and their constant cacophony of sound and music. Unwanted sounds she’d never learned to mute or tune out. And if Grandma Tia died, there went all hope of learning to control it.

Annie sat on the couch, legs crossed, and sipped coffee. None of that slimy grass-tasting herbal tea for her. Her right leg jittered in rhythm with the tumbled whirling of her brain.

“Ain’t hard to guess what yer thinkin’.”

Annie cursed the guilty flush that heated her face. No use denying her one-track wish. “I can’t believe there’s nothing you can do to help me. There must be something.”

“Why would you be wantin’ to block a gift?” Tia clicked her tongue in disapproval. “One day you gonna be thanking the blessed saints for that hearing of yers.”

“It’s ruining my life. Why can’t you see that?” Annie set down her drink and stood, pacing the floorboards. This time guilt did more than stain her cheeks; it burned her heart. Grandma Tia probably wasn’t long for this world, and Annie was impatient and snippy with the one person in the world who best understood and accepted her peculiarity.

“I’m going outside to cool off,” she announced, using her last bit of self-control not to slam the door on the way out.

Cool off? What a joke. The humidity slapped her as soon as she stepped onto the porch. Annie sat down and stared at the gigantic live oaks draped with moss. Beautiful in a gothic, eerie kind of way. Burning cement cooked her butt, and she shifted her seating position.

Maybe it had been a mistake to come again this year after all. Still, she couldn’t bear the thought of her grandma living alone. And Mama had wanted no part of traveling down here, saying she’d rather go to hell than come back to Alabama.

So she sent me instead. Dear mom had jumped at the chance to get her weird daughter out of the house and out of her hair.

It certainly was hot as Hades down here. And the gazillion buzzing, stinging insects in the bayou were the devil’s own reward. Annie swiped at a mosquito sucking her forearm.

A whisper of song blew from the treetops and teased her ears. The plaintive, haunting beauty of it was unlike anything she’d ever heard. It was as pure as a dulcimer’s plucking. The notes warbled like a bird’s call and bubbled like water gurgling through rocks.

Annie half rose and then sat back down with a groan. This music was different from the will-o’-the-wisp’s eerily luring tune, but she wasn’t going to be fooled into returning to the woods. Tombi had claimed evil dwelled there. A dangerous place swarming with snakes and spirits. Just the thought of snakes was enough to keep her rooted to the porch.

The screen door creaked open on rusty hinges, and Grandma Tia framed the doorway.

“Somethin’ calling ya to go in them woods again.”

Annie narrowed her eyes. For all her savvy acumen in eking out an existence bartering mojo bags and spells for groceries and other necessities, her grandma really did have an unsettling sixth sense.

“I won’t be drawn into the woods again,” Annie assured her. “Once was bad enough.”

“This time, you should go.”

Annie snorted. “Tombi said there was evil out there. Besides, I hate snakes, and I imagine the woods are full of them.”

“It’s still daylight. Yer Tombi will protect ya.”

“Why do you trust this stranger? You’ve never even met him.”

Again, the fluting notes of music drifted and tempted. They chirruped and whistled like a bird in flight.

“You hear that?” Annie asked, looking toward the woods.

Tia shook her head. “Not a thing.”

Annie stood and lightly brushed the rear of her jeans. Gritty sand and red clay dust permeated every surface outdoors. “You think Tombi’s out there now?”

Tia’s eyes danced. “He been out there most of the day, hoping to see ya.”

She couldn’t stop the delicious shiver that vibrated along her spine. Annie cocked her head to the side, studying Tia. “You sure he’s trustworthy?”

“I have a good feelin’ ’bout him.”

Still, Annie hesitated. Grandma’s sixth sense wasn’t infallible. She often leaned on the side of reckless and trusting.

“You want everyone to come to you. Just like you search for answers to yer problems outside of yerself.” Tia patted her ample chest. “Sometimes you gots to take heart and just rise up to yer problems.”

Even her old grandma thought she was gutless. Annie straightened her shoulders. “Fine. If I don’t make it home tonight, send out a search party.”

She marched into the woods, her posture rigid as a stone column, knowing her grandma watched. “Might as well have called me a coward,” she muttered, stomping through tall weeds and red dirt. Once inside the woods, Annie leaned against a tree, closed her eyes and fully opened her senses, straining to catch the pure music she’d heard on the porch steps.

Cascading trills floated through the swamp. The same pure melody that had captured her attention from the cottage. “Here I go again,” she said with a sigh, carefully making her way along a thin trail almost eclipsed by dense shrubs on either side. But daylight, and Grandma Tia’s urging to follow the music, gave her a measure of confidence.

The notes grew louder, more fluid and enchanting. Annie rounded a bend and recognized the water bank where she’d drifted last evening.

A man sat on a fallen tree limb, playing some sort of reed instrument. Although his naked, broad back faced her, Annie sensed it was Tombi. She wasn’t Tia Henrietta’s granddaughter for nothing.

Staring at his sleek, muscled torso made her throat and mouth dry. She licked her lips and swallowed hard. She’d bet her grandma’s pantry full of hoodoo charms that Tombi had women follow him everywhere. The Pied Piper of Bayou La Siryna.

The music stopped. In one fluid motion, like a dance of danger, Tombi jumped to his feet and whirled around, a dagger gleaming in his right fist. The wooden instrument he played dangled loosely in his left hand. Warrior and musician melded into one. His face was taut, and his eyes instantly fixed on her.

Whoa. Annie threw up her hands and took an involuntary step backward. For all she knew, Tombi might have deliberately summoned her with the music, luring her to him against her better judgment. She’d done the same thing following the will-o’-the-wisps last night.

Tombi slowly lowered the dagger and secured it in the leather sheath belted at his waist, never breaking his gaze. “You came back,” he said in a flat tone.

He didn’t act like a man hoping to see her, as Grandma Tia had claimed.

“I had to. You never told me your story.” Annie walked forward and nodded at the dagger. “You always this uptight?”

“These woods are full of danger.”

“Really? Because even my grandma thinks it’s perfectly safe out here during the day.”

He frowned and crossed his arms. “It used to be.”

A series of scars tattooed the smooth, muscular plane of his chest and shoulders, distracting her from his unsettling response. “Have you been in knife fights?” she blurted.

Tombi grabbed the T-shirt on the log and swiftly pulled it on.

“I’m sorry.” Annie was horrified at her rudeness. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

“I’m not ashamed of them,” he said gruffly. He nodded at the log. “Sit.”

Her embarrassment faded. “I don’t take commands like a dog,” she said, lifting her chin.

A ghost of a smile flitted the corners of his lips, so fleeting she might have dreamed it had been there. He bowed his head a fraction before he sat down, but didn’t apologize.

Annie gestured to the surrounding trees. “So, what’s the danger? Are the wisps malicious or something? I mean, your friend sounded sad and desperate to me—not evil.”

“In real life, Bo was all that was true and good.”

“And now?” she prompted.

“Remains to be seen.” He studied her, eyes narrowed and unflinching.

Annie smoothed the tumble of curls away from her face. “What do you mean?”

“It’s hard to tell good from evil sometimes.”

“Do you see everything so black-and-white? Surely there’s a dozen shades of gray in between.”

“No.” His jaw muscles clenched. “You’re either with me or you are with Nalusa.”

“Nah-loosa?” she asked, testing the unfamiliar word.

“Nalusa Falaya—it means ‘long black being’ in Choctaw. He’s a spirit that resembles a man, but he can shape-shift into different forms.”

Annie drew a circle in the dirt with the toe of her sneaker. Root working—the conjure magick of her grandma—was one thing...but this? It sounded like an old Native American tale invented to keep children close to camp and away from the dark unknown.

“You don’t believe me.” Tombi picked up a large stick on the ground by their feet and flung it violently. It hit a tall oak and splintered with a crack as loud as gunfire.

Annie sidled away from the heat of his anger, not wanting to be singed by his sudden wrath. “I really should head back home,” she offered in a small voice.

“It’s real,” Tombi said harshly. “Nalusa exists. And he can change into snake form. And I believe that wasn’t any ordinary snake that killed Bo. It was Nalusa.”

“So, now you’re out here trying to hunt this Nalusa down. For revenge.” She backed away slowly, not wanting to set him off again. “Got it.”

Tombi also stood. “Not just me. There’s a whole tribe of us.”

More people who shared his delusion? She glanced around uneasily, hoping she wasn’t about to be ambushed by a group of demented, make-believe warriors.

“I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. C’mon, you saw the will-o’-the-wisps last night with your own eyes. Remember?”

Annie rubbed her arms. He certainly had her there. “Okay,” she reluctantly conceded. “I admit there are things I know nothing of. I’d rather keep it that way, too.”

His brow furrowed. “Whether you ignore Nalusa or not, he still exists.”

“Yeah, well, I’d rather not make his acquaintance. I have enough problems as it is.”

Alarm flickered in his dark eyes. “But Bo spoke to you. You have to help us.”

Annie shrugged and took a step backward. The last thing she needed was to get caught up in his personal crusade for revenge. “Come, see my grandma one day. She’ll do a protection spell if you like.” She plastered on a smile and waved. “Nice seeing you. Thanks again for helping me find my way home last night.”

Two steps and her shoulders tensed at the heavy pressure of his palms bearing down, barring an easy exit. Damn. He wasn’t going to make retreat easy. Tombi guided her back around to face him.

“We need you, Annie.” He swallowed. “Please.”

She could tell the plea wasn’t easy for Tombi. Pride and dignity announced their presence in the strong jaw and stiff posture.

“But I doubt I’ll ever hear Bo again,” she protested. “I have no plans to be lured back into the woods by the wisps.”

“The wisps are controlled by Nalusa. But as long as you’re with me, I’ll protect you. I promise.”

His words were deep and solemn. No doubt he would do his best to protect those on his side.

“I believe you.”

“Good. Then come with me and—”

She shook her head and backed away. This wasn’t her battle. “No. Sorry. I don’t want to get involved.”

Tombi glared at her, and his full lips compressed to a tight line. Evidently, he was a man used to getting his own way.

Too bad.

* * *

Stubborn woman.

Tombi took a deep breath to calm his temper. Somehow, he had to convince this slip of a girl to help him. Maybe... His gaze dropped to her lips. Those lips that had unexpectedly kissed him last night. Annie felt the attraction between them. He could use that to his advantage. Tombi slid his palms down her arms and urged her forward. So close their bodies almost touched.

Her brown eyes widened and darkened into black pools of desire. She raised her hands and placed them against his chest. Yes, this might be so easy. So pleasurable.

Later, he couldn’t say who moved first. All he knew was that their lips met and their hands explored one another. Her fingers traced the bulge of his biceps, then kneaded the muscles along his spine.

Tombi stroked the thin shoulder blades on her back, ran his calloused fingers through her soft curls. She was so petite, so delicate. Fragile enough he wondered if it might hurt her should he release his full passion.

A tiny, whimpering moan cut through his reservations. She wanted him. Tombi lowered his hands until they cupped her ass. That cute ass that he’d watched walk away last night and that he’d pictured ever since. He squeezed, letting Annie feel his desire press against her core.

She moaned again. Or was that him this time? It didn’t matter.

“Stop.” Annie stepped out of his embrace and hugged her belly. “Sorry. It’s just...this is too fast. I barely know you.”

He stared at her, willing his heartbeat to slow and his brain to catch up to her words. “It’s okay,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “I understand.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, turning and making her way down the path.

Tombi shook his head to clear it. He was supposed to use their attraction to convince her to work with him. Somehow, he’d lost control, and Annie was slipping away from him once more. He couldn’t let that happen. He—rather, his people—needed her skill in communicating with the shilup, the human spirits that wandered the land of the ghosts. Bo’s spirit had been captured by the wisps, and remembering the plight of his trapped friend cooled his fever.

“Wait,” he called to Annie’s retreating figure.

She turned and gazed at him expectantly.

What could he offer her? This was his fight. Not hers. She was right to not get involved. Yet, Nalusa grew stronger every day, and they were desperate to stop his spread of power in Bayou La Siryna. Just last week, Nalusa had gone farther away from the swamp and invaded the heart and mind of one of his hunters while he was asleep in his own bed. Marcus had even entertained thoughts of suicide but wisely had called Tombi for help, recognizing that Nalusa was at the root of his despair.

Tombi scrambled to recall the bits and pieces of conversation with Annie, searching for an angle. He remembered her troubled face as she mentioned hearing other people’s auras.

“What if I could help you?”

Her lips twisted with suspicion. “Help me with what?”