Witch's Wrath (Blood And Magick #3)(12)

“I’m not ruling anything out.”

“Let me tell you, if half the things I’ve heard about the rougarou are true, you and I wouldn’t be having this little conversation if you’d encountered one.”

“Because you’re supposed to turn to stone when you see it?”

“Is that what it says in that book? Must be an old book.”

I looked at the pages again, checking for the paragraph which had spoken of the rougarou’s ability to turn people to stone with a glare. “Isn’t that what happens?”

“The jury’s out on whether it even exists, let alone what it can do or what it looks like. Some say it has the head of a wolf, others say it has the head of a gator—that thing’s the Bigfoot of Louisiana. But I will say one thing about it: if the beast is real, it wouldn’t be hanging around so close to New Orleans. What happened to you was something else.”

“Someone else.”

“Someone,” Remy agreed, “I’ll grant you that. Someone was messing with you. We’re going find out who it was and why they did it, but you need to put the book down because you won’t find answers in there, only more questions.”

“Yeah,” I said, slowly setting the book on the table and closing it. A sigh escaped my lips, and my shoulders dropped.

Remy circled around the table, putting himself in my line of sight again. “Are you sure you’re alright?” he asked. “Because we can call this whole thing off if you want to. It isn’t too late.”

“Call it off?” I asked, “Tell people not to come?”

“If you want, we can do that. I’ll understand if you aren’t up for this. I know they will too, assuming we want to tell them what happened. And even if we don’t, this is your event, and you can call it off if you’d like.”

“I don’t think I could do that to everyone who’s planning on coming tonight.”

“I admire your politeness, but if you aren’t in a good place and won’t enjoy yourself, then why do this at all?”

I took a deep breath. “This isn’t about me,” I said, “It’s about everyone. We all need this. If I called it off, we’d just have to reschedule it and start all over again. I really don’t think any of us wants that. Least of all you.”

A smile crossed Remy’s lips. “What I want isn’t as important as what you want.”

The offer to call off the party was tempting, but that wouldn’t have been right. Not by the witches who had agreed to come tonight, or the vampires who were going out of their way to integrate back into our society. I stood upright, grabbed the mask from the table, and fastened it to my face, tying the bow delicately behind my head.

“I can’t cancel,” I said, “It wouldn’t be right.”

Remy nodded. “Then you’d better go welcome your guests.”

I started walking around the desk I had been sitting at, the teal dress flowing behind me like a waterfall. “What are you going to do?” I asked, noticing he hadn’t made a move toward the door.

“I’m going to stay here and see if I can’t do what you were hoping to do.”

“You’re going to read?”

“You are more important than I am tonight. Our guests will want to see you, talk to you, and you’ll want to show off that gorgeous dress of yours. I’m not needed until later, so if it’ll put your mind at rest, we’ll swap places.”

“Thanks Remy, I appreciate that.”

He pretended to tip a fake hat and smiled. “Now you run along, and save me a dance.”

I couldn’t help but smile. Remy had come a long way in the time I had known him. He had worked harder to make amends than any person I had ever known. He had earned his second chance, at least by me.

I could only hope, as I made my way out of the library, that the other witches of New Orleans would do the same.

“There you are,” Nicole said as I walked down the hallway. The exasperation in her voice didn’t go unnoticed, and neither did the jewel toned purple dress she was wearing. It was strapless and floor length, like mine—simple and plain, but elegant—and she had her hair up in a French twist. A lacy, black mask hugged her face.

“Here I am,” I said, “Looking for me?”

“Of course,” she said, marching down the hallway toward me. “Guests are starting to arrive. I need you with me, greeting people at the door.”

“I thought we’d put you in charge of hospitality.”

“Yes, but our special guests will be getting here soon, and I don’t want to be on my own when they get here.”

“Is this a they’re your friends, not mine situation?”

“That’s not it, although I don’t remember ever having had a conversation with Jean Luc without you present, now that I think about it.”

“Relax, okay?” I said, taking her hand, “Everything’s gonna be fine. How many guests are here?”

“Six.”

“And is, uh…”

“Jared one of them? No, he isn’t here yet.”

“Okay.”

“Just okay?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Nothing. I just thought you’d be more excited about him coming.”