Faith Hunter - Water Witch by Faith Hunter & D.B. Jackson

Author:Faith Hunter & D.B. Jackson
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Bella Rosa Books
Published: 2015-06-07T05:00:00+00:00

• • •

Calling upon Kaille’s friend demanded a lengthy walk to Boston’s Neck, the narrow, lonely strip of land at the town’s southern extreme. Before they had covered half the distance, Hannah wished she had worn the tatters she donned in the streets over the previous several days. She wouldn’t look as nice, but she would be far more comfortable. Her shoes were two years old, and her feet had grown, her toes cramping in the tight leather.

As they walked, Kaille explained that the woman’s name was Tarijanna Windcatcher. Most called her Janna. She owned a small tavern, the Fat Spider, and she was a conjurer, like him. She was also African, which surprised Hannah, since the only Africans she had encountered in Boston were servants.

When they reached the tavern, Hannah almost refused to go inside. The building, which was constructed of ancient gray wood, stood at an impossible angle, so that it appeared to be one strong breeze away from collapse.

Kaille kept walking to the door even after she halted. But he chuckled and said, “I know how it looks, but it hasn’t fallen over yet, and I don’t think it will today.”

Reluctantly, she followed him inside.

Within, the tavern was dark, but far nicer than it had looked from the lane. A fire danced and popped in the hearth, though the day wasn’t particularly cold, and the air was redolent of baking bread, and herbs and spices Hannah couldn’t name. Her stomach rumbled.

A wizened African woman stood behind the bar, a brown woolen shawl wrapped around her bony shoulders. Her hair was white and shorn almost to her scalp, and her hands were bony and frail-looking. But she glared at Kaille with the intensity of a hawk on the wing, the muscles in her jaw bunching.

“Kaille,” she said, drawing out his name. “What do you want? And who’s that with you?”

“Good day, Janna,” Kaille said, removing his tricorn. “It’s a pleasure to see you, too.”

If anything, this deepened her scowl. She dismissed him with a sharp wave of her hand, and narrowed her stare at Hannah.

“You’re an Everhart.”

Hannah could think of nothing to say.

Kaille pivoted so that he could look at both of them. “How do you know that?”

“I’ve had dealings with her kind. She has the hair, the eyes, the power. You Emma’s daughter?”

She shook her head, unwilling to trust her voice.

“Sarah’s then.” It was a statement.

“Yes,” she managed, the words rough, as if she hadn’t spoken in days.

Janna nodded, her expression softening fractionally. “I was sorry to hear about her passin’. She was a good girl.”

“What is she, Janna?”

The woman glanced Kaille’s way. “This one, you mean? She’s a witch of course. What d’you think she is?”

“You mean she’s a conjurer.” This was also offered as a statement, but the thieftaker did not sound at all sure of himself.

“You gonna tell me now what I mean when I’m talkin’?” She came out from behind the bar and took Hannah’s arm. “Don’t you worry about Kaille,” she said, steering Hannah to a table near the blaze.

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