Page 27 of Cheater Slicks

“I told him where to go.” She said it matter-of-factly, as if that explained anything.

For all I knew, she kidnapped him from work, pointed him in the right direction, and told him to start walking.

“I must remain close to you, Frankie Talbot,” she continued, “until you are ready to assume your duties.”

“Perhaps Anunit could instruct you for an hour before dusk,” Kierce suggested, trying to keep the peace until we could contain the problem, aka, Anunit. “We can only hunt Matty at night.”

“A hunt?” Her smile gleamed bright in the early-morning sun. “I like this idea.”

“Not a hunt-hunt,” I rushed to explain. “We came here to find my brother’s soul. We located it last night, but we had no luck convincing him to leave with us. We’ll have to return to Ursulines Avenue tonight, see if he comes around again, then try to contain him until we figure out how to fix him.”

“This body knows about your Matty,” she hummed. “Have you determined the cause of his affliction?”

“No.” I booked us a ride, paying an extra fee for a larger vehicle because it was closer. I wanted Anunit inside the wards so she couldn’t escape with Harrow in tow while we figured out what to do about her situation. “We came for my brother, but my mentor is in a similar condition. We’re staying at her home, with her family. You’re welcome to room there too, but we’ll need to find another host for you.”

Anunit made an unhappy noise but submitted to the car ride. She behaved herself until we reached the house on Chartres, and I escorted her past the wards with a sigh of relief and a quick prayer she couldn’t use her bond with me to slip through every time I left the premises.

“Oh good.” Jean-Claude waited outside the elevator. “I was wondering when y’all would get here.”

Which meant the goodwill I had purchased with breakfast had run out, and now he was getting antsy for an update on our progress.

“Got any more of those beignets?” I noticed him noticing Anunit. “My friend here is hungry.”

“You look like that boy that done broke Frankie’s heart.” Jean-Claude studied him. “Why’re you here?”

“I needed a body,” Anunit told him baldly. “I chose this one, but Frankie Talbot says I must give it back.”

Head tilting to one side, Jean-Claude examined her, his eyes going out of focus. “Good God.”

“I was a good god to my people,” she said, mimicking his head tilt. “Does that count?”

“Jean-Claude, this is Anunit, Eater of Moons, Mother of Darkness.” I saw when the name hit him upside the head, striking him mute. “Anunit, this is Jean-Claude Dancosse.”

With introductions out of the way, I crammed everyone in the elevator then hustled them into the living room. There were additional protections on the upper level stemming from how often Vi entertained loa in her home, and I wanted Anunit as contained as I could get her.

From what I could tell, we had beat Rollo in. I had hoped to use his absence as an excuse to avoid going over the chilling details of learning Vi’s soul was trapped in that damn parade, but Jean-Claude wasn’t the patient type except with, well, patients.

The story came tumbling out, along with the bargain with Pierre, and Jean-Claude simply nodded along.

Only after I was done sharing all we knew did he seem to blink free of his silent contemplation.

“So, Anunit.” Pascal gawked at Anunit from the far corner of the living room. “You eat people.”

“People eat animals.” She cocked an eyebrow at him. “What is the difference?”

“I don’t see much of one myself,” Jean-Claude said abstractly, “but you know how humans are.”

The room fell silent as everyone absorbed that the doctor among us was cool with eating people.

From deep inside Harrow’s body, undeterred, Anunit gave a thoughtful hum of agreement.

“You’re not human?” Pascal plastered himself to my side, like he wasn’t an oddity himself. A spirit stuck in a body that didn’t belong to him. “What are you?”

“Something older than you,” Jean-Claude answered dryly, “and meaner than you.”

Even after the time I spent living next door to him, laughing and cutting up with him, I had never pinpointed his faction.

“Can you fix something for Anunit to eat?” I aimed the question at him. “I need to go make a call.”

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