Mambo's Door (Femme Surnaturel Book 2) by Delilah Devlin

Author:Delilah Devlin [Devlin, Delilah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-08-29T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

Ingrid lost both shoes in the muck, and then her toes sank into slime. She tried not to think about what was in the waist-high water and held firm to Marie’s cold hand.

The zombie-like creatures followed so closely she could hear their ugly grunts as they waded behind. With every step she feared she or Marie would slip and let go. Marie would survive, after a fashion, reborn to live the nightmare again.

She’d be dead. A ripe, fresh dinner for the ghoulish creatures. Her sisters would never know what had become of her.

Not that they were uppermost in her mind. Not now. She worried about what would happen when they reached the crypt. Whether the baron would try to trick them and whether Marie would really be allowed to cross. Ma’man had said she didn’t let go of what was hers.

At last, the lantern sputtered out. They were plunged into pitch darkness. What had been horrific before was magnified, because her imagination filled the darkness with every horror she’d ever envisioned from movies and fairytales. When something slithered beneath her feet, she cried out.

The baron laughed, his raspy, creaking voice just another layer of horror. The vampire blood she’d ingested was waning, losing its influence over her emotions. She no longer felt bold or brave. Once again, she was just a fledgling witch, in over her head—no extra power or strength to rely on.

“Is it much farther, do you think?” Marie whispered.

“I’m not sure. Without landmarks…”

They trudged along, feet slurping in the mud, trying to ignore the host trailing them. Then the water receded. They stepped onto dry land.

“Must keep up,” the baron sang ahead.

Ingrid gritted her teeth, wanting to tell him his voice grated on every last one of her nerves, but then that was probably his intention.

Marie’s hand tightened. A warning? Or was she trying to reassure her? She didn’t know what to think of Marie. The woman had tricked her, used her hyped-up lust to entrap her. Perhaps Marie was only hoping to use her to free herself. Not that Ingrid could really blame her.

At this point, she’d promise her left big toe to make it back to New Orleans.

Gradually, she became aware that the sounds of insects had died away. The feet stomping behind them had slowed. A dim twilight showed through the dense brush and moss-bedecked trees.

“We made it,” Marie said softly.

“Don’t go thinking this is over,” Ingrid grumbled. “Hold on to him.”

Then they were in the clearing, with the mottled crypt looking smaller, shorter than she’d remembered. The wooden door at the back of the tomb was closed.

The baron halted and turned, pulling Marie’s arm with him. “You can let go now,” he murmured. “My pets are sleepin’.”

Marie’s fingers slowly unclenched. Her other hand remained firmly inside Ingrid’s.

Ingrid was fine with that. She wasn’t letting her go. Not until the bargain was complete.

The baron flashed them a toothy smile and tapped on the door. “No one home,” he rasped.

“Funny,” Ingrid mumbled.

“Ma’man would laugh,” he said, eyeing them both then shrugging.

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