Savannah Sacrifice Read online

  The quicker she helped Edward, the quicker he would release his grip on Jasper, and they could get back to work and out of this hellhole.

  Starling walked in the direction of the parked taxi. “Tell me about him.”

  “First of all, it’s not a him. Her name is Bethany Fortenberry.”

  “What did she do that made you hold a grudge for this many years?”

  “She cursed my family. Her poisonous tongue cost the lives of my wife and child. She must be made to pay for the pain she caused not only me, but my family.”

  “There is no bringing back the dead.”

  “No, but it will bring me peace. Once I find my justice, I can happily pass to the other side.”

  “So you will leave Jasper’s body?”

  Edward glanced at her, a look of annoyance on his face. “I may, but you must agree to help me.”

  Chapter Ten

  The Goddess Shop’s windows were dark and the open light had been turned off for the night, but Starling couldn’t wait. Jasper needed her.

  “Where are you taking me?” Edward asked, getting out of the taxi and closing the door.

  “You said you needed to kill Bethany. Well, Jamie is the woman to go to. She’ll have everything we need.”

  “I have hands and willpower, I need nothing more,” he retorted.

  “Yeah, let’s just imagine how that would play out. Ding-dong. Who is it? Edward. I’m here to kill you.” Starling snorted. “I bet she’ll let you in, no problem.”

  “You think I’m a novice? That I haven’t spent years thinking about how I would go about killing her? You are worse than a mangy dog—at least they have the ability to think ahead.”

  Edward reminded her of Jasper chastising her for her failure to plan at the airport. She leaned forward so their noses almost touched and peered into Jasper’s blue-rimmed eyes. Had some of Jasper’s thoughts leaked through to the man’s words? Was he in there somewhere?

  “What are you doing?” The spirit stepped back, affronted by her closeness.

  “Just looking for something.” She relaxed, satisfied that she had seen nothing more than her own reflection in Edward’s eyes. She would find nothing there—no, she would have to search deeper to find the man she was looking for.

  “What is this place?” he asked, his lip pulled up into a sneer as he looked up at the purple awning that blocked the moon from shining on their heads.

  “It’s a store.” She knocked on the door. The sound was hollow and empty as it reverberated through the quiet store and back to them.

  The window display was backlit, showing an array of antique books and pentagrams, but no other lights were on.

  “Is this a shop of witchcraft?” Edward huffed. “Your people allow such devils to roam free and proudly display their paganism?”

  “They’re not devils, they’re normal … well normal-ish. And you can thank the freedom of religion provision in the first amendment. Everyone is free to follow their religious preference. No more Salem witch hunts.”

  “I’m familiar with the First Amendment, however I never thought it would be taken to such a liberal extent.”

  “Isn’t America wonderful?” Starling smiled. “No more corsets, women can vote, and we are allowed to follow our hearts. Freedom at its finest.”

  “Quite the feminist.”

  “Nope, just a modern American woman.” Starling knocked again.

  A stray cat ran across the road, yowling at some unknown assailant while a woman yelled somewhere in the distance.

  “Hmm, what a fine place this world has become. For the first time since my demise, I admit that I’m happy to be dead.”

  “Well, don’t worry. If I have my way, you’ll be right back in your grave where you belong.”

  The door’s blinds moved back and Jamie’s head poked into view. The witch smiled as she recognized Starling. Unclicking the locks, she opened the door. “Starling! So glad to see you. I’m sorry I didn’t know you were comin’ or I woulda fixed some tea.”

  A bird screeched from somewhere in the back.

  “Thank you for answering the door. I wasn’t sure you lived here.” She made her way into the darkened shop. It had been homey in the daytime, but being here at night, surrounded by the occult made her nervous, like she had entered the most sacred of holy places.

  “No problem, I’m glad you came. I’ve got some things I wanted to ask you about your gift. Jasper,” she added with an acknowledging nod.

  “Vile witch,” Edward answered, his greeting as dry and flat as the soul.

  “What?” Jamie closed the door behind him.

  “Don’t mind him. He’s possessed by a ghost named Edward who’s hellbent on finding revenge. Let’s just say we didn’t find what we were looking for at the Bonaventure Cemetery.”

  “One seldom does.” Jamie laughed. “If you had told me you were going there, I could have made you a protection spell or taught you a chant to help.” Jamie glanced over at her. “Maybe I could have helped Jasper.”

  “Speaking of that … ” Starling pulled the amethyst Jamie had given her from her pocket. “The stone didn’t keep the spirits from talking to me. I think you can have it back.”

  The purple crystal looked almost black in the darkness of the room.

  “You didn’t become possessed, did you?” Jamie took Starling’s hand in her warm touch. “The stone did just as it was intended.” She curled Starling’s fingers around the crystal and glanced over at Edward who, just like Jasper, kept his back pressed against the door.

  “I don’t think it works. Here,” Starling repeated, handing Jamie the stone.

  She tried not to notice Jamie’s look of disapproval as she dropped the stone back into its container. “No matter how powerful the stone, it would never help a non-believer.”

  “Right now,” Starling whispered, “I’m more worried about saving Jasper. But Edward thinks I’m here to help him find a woman.”

  “Understood.” Jamie’s gaze moved to Edward.

  “What did you just say?” Edward asked.

  “Nothing,” Jamie said in a motherly voice. “She was tellin’ me ’bout you bein’ in some sort of trouble. I’m fixin’ to help.”

  “Witch, I find it hard to comprehend that you should be able to help me. I’m a God-fearing Christian man, not some pagan.”

  Jamie’s soft smile turned hard. “I help many who believe themselves to be God-fearing Christians. Everyone needs a little assistance from the other side once in a while. First, you tell me what you need, and then I’ll see if I can help you. If not, no harm done, right?”

  He gave her a sideways glance. “I’m looking for a woman. You may have heard of her, that is, if she’s still residing in the city. Her name is Bethany Fortenberry.”

  Jamie’s eyes widened and her mouth opened, exposing her metal-filled teeth. She turned to Starling. “Lord a’mighty, how did you get yourself into this mess?”

  “What can I say? I’m just lucky,” she said, trying to make light of the utter look of horror on the woman’s face. “Do you know where we can find her?”

  “Come with me,” Jamie answered, motioning toward the purple curtain covering the door to the back of the shop. “You,” she said to Edward, “stay here. You understand?”

  Edward glanced around the shop, but after a moment, he nodded.

  Their footsteps echoed on the wood floor as Jamie ushered her to the back and closed the curtain far enough to block them from Edward’s sight.

  “Do you know who Bethany Fortenberry is?” Jamie hissed.

  “She’s not Mother Teresa, I’m guessing?”

  “Ms. Bethany is the Voodoo Queen.”

  Starling laughed as she envisioned a woman wearing a scarf wrapped around her head, holding a snake, and chanting in tongues like some character out of a cheap horror movie. “You have got to be kidding. There’s no such thing as voodoo.”

  “Voodoo isn’t just for the tourists, Ms. Starling. What Ms. Bethany does
is very real and very dangerous. You don’t want to go messin’ with her.”

  “Go to hell … ” A shrill voice sounded from the shadows in the corner of the back of the room. “Go to hell,” it repeated.

  “Excuse me?” Starling peered into the shadows but saw only darkness.

  “Don’t worry about that, Ms. Starling. It’s only my parrot. He thinks he’s funny.”

  “You have a parrot who cusses?”

  “Unfortunately. That little bugger has been doing that ever since … ” Jamie trailed off. “Never mind about the parrot. He’s nothing but a bother.”

  Something about the way she trailed off sparked Starling’s curiosity, but she had a long list of things she needed to worry about before she could be concerned with a swearing parrot. “Can you help me get rid of Edward? I need Jasper to help me get the books I came after, and he’s no good to me if he’s being led by a ghost.”

  “We can try to do an exorcism, but I have a feeling it’s going to be tricky to get him to agree to it,” Jamie said with a sigh. “I can’t say I’ve been through something like this before. I’m afraid I’m not going to be a lotta use to you.”

  “There has to be something you can do, some spell or something.”

  “There’s nothing I can think of that won’t hurt your friend Jasper in the process of trying to rid him of the spirit. You don’t wanna risk hurting him, do you?” Jamie gave her a questioning look, as if she was trying to gauge exactly how much Jasper meant to her.

  “No,” she said, shaking her head. “We can’t put him at risk. We’ll just have to help Edward with his hunt for the Voodoo Queen.”

  “Your Jasper’s going to be in just as much danger, if not more, if you go after her. She has one nasty temper and an even nastier bag of tricks.”

  “So what do you think I should do if I can’t help him, and you can’t help me?”

  Jamie paused for a moment, thinking. “You know how a spirit leaves a body?”

  “Other than exorcism, I have no idea.”

  “Yes, an exorcism is one, but the easiest way to get a spirit to leave a body is for them to choose to.”

  There was a crash and the sound of shattering glass from the front room.

  “Edward, what are you doing?” Starling called as she rushed out of the darkened backroom and into the store’s main area.

  He stood in the center of a pool of shattered glass. He held one of the wands, which he sat back down on a shelf when he noticed her. “I really don’t think having so many breakable things in such a small area is advisable. I was doing you a service by showing you what could have happened to one of your customers due to your lack of organizational skills.”

  “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Jamie said. “You really think you can blame this on my housekeeping skills when you were acting dumber than a bag of boiled peanuts in my shop? You’re just lucky that I can’t throw you out.”

  “I’d be happy to leave your establishment. It’s the devil’s playground.”

  “Like you have any room to judge me. You are the one who is trying to mess with Bethany,” Jamie scoffed. “At least I know who to treat with some level of respect. I’m not like you, going around poking at wild cats.”

  “I only give respect to those whom I deem worthy. I’m not a lapdog, nor am I subservient to anyone—witch or not.”

  “You are lucky you’re dead. If you weren’t, I would give my left foot to help Bethany take you down.”

  “Go to hell!” the parrot screeched.

  “I never … ” Edward flushed with rage.

  “Let’s go, Edward, before I help Jamie turn you into a frog.” Starling could just imagine him hopping around on the broken glass on the floor. One thing was certain—as a frog, he would have been easier to handle.

  “It would be my pleasure.” The glass crunched under him as he made his way to the door. “May we never meet again.” He slammed the door.

  “I’m sorry about that, Starling,” Jamie said, running the back of her hand over her forehead. “I don’t deal well with people whose fear and misunderstanding turns to hatred and bullying. I hope you can get rid of that devil before something really bad happens.”

  “Me too, Jamie, me too.” Starling glanced out the door. Edward stood with his arms crossed over his chest and he talked to himself. “And tell your parrot thank you,” she said. “I’ve wanted to tell this spirit to go to hell since the moment I met him.”

  Jamie walked to the corner and grabbed a broom. “You ain’t the only one. But I’m guessin’ if you meet up with that Bethany, he may get his chance.”

  “About Bethany … do you know where I can find her?”

  The broom swished over the hardwood, collecting the glass into a pile. “That’s easy. She’s a few blocks down on the left and she lives above her shop.”

  “Thank you, Jamie. For everything.”

  “You just stay safe, Starling. And I didn’t think I would say this, but I hope you get your Jasper back soon.”

  • • •

  “You lied to me,” Edward growled. “You told me that shop would have what I need to take down Bethany. Your deceit will cost you.”

  There was nothing more he could take from her. As it was, she had nothing—no hope, her life was in danger, and Jasper was possessed. The only thing Edward could do to make things worse was to hurt Jasper, and she would never let that happen—she couldn’t.

  “I didn’t deceive you.” She glanced behind her toward the shop to make sure Jamie wasn’t listening. “I got what we needed.”

  “A verbal accosting is hardly what I needed.”

  The cabby pointed to his vehicle and mouthed something—probably the amount she was running up on the meter. There went her last bit of cash. She raised her finger, letting him know they would be a minute.

  “Just because we didn’t buy anything doesn’t mean I didn’t get help.” Her footsteps echoed through the barren city street. The street lamps flickered to life, casting long skeletal shadows on the sidewalk. Instinctively, she stepped closer to Jasper, but moved a step away as she remembered who he had become. “I know where we can find Bethany.”

  Even in the dim light, Edward’s eyes brightened. “That’s brilliant.”

  “If I take you there, you promise to leave Jasper unhurt?”

  “I will do my best to keep your friend intact.” He smiled, but just like his words, it lacked sincerity.

  Her stomach churned. “Is there any way, any way at all that I can keep you from going after her? I will kill her myself if you would just promise to leave Jasper.”

  “I have waited decades for the chance to see this foul wench face to face. There’s nothing you could give me to sway me from my course, that is, unless you have her head on a platter.”

  “I will give it to you if that is what you want.” Starling stopped. “I have a gift of talking to the dead. Maybe there’s a way I can get them to help us. If she’s as bad as you say, there have to be others she has wronged.”

  “You make it sound simple, but you don’t know spirits, do you?”

  “I know they can be enormous pains in the ass, present company included.”

  He waved her off. “Spirits aren’t pets. They can’t be called by an inexperienced medium. Only the truly powerful can summon a spirit, not to mention a large group of them.”

  She leaned in. “I didn’t come to Savannah for a vacation. I came down here to grow my skills. And, I know there are books somewhere here that will give me the power to control and do as I wish with spirits. All I have to do is find the books—then we will have your army.”

  That was if the Catharterians didn’t get to her first.

  “Where are these books?” There was a strange glint of malice in his eye.

  “They were supposed to be in your grave. That’s why Jasper went down there. Did you see any books in your time in the mausoleum?”

  Edward tapped his finger against his chin. “Maybe I did, hard to say. My many vis
itors always had an assortment of things.”

  “What kind of visitors did you get?”

  “As I’m sure you are aware, vultures are attracted to death.”

  “You’re saying the Catharterians were there?”

  “They more than visited. It’s their headquarters.”

  “Their headquarters?” she asked, stunned by Edward’s admission.

  Edward answered with a sly smile.

  Jasper would have killed for the information and now, when it mattered most, he couldn’t act—at least not on his own accord—but she could take control. She could help Jasper’s investigation while she worked to set his body free of the entrapment of Edward’s soul.

  “If it’s their headquarters, then the books must be there,” Starling said, her excitement spilling into her voice, but under her thin layer of giddiness was a reservoir of apprehension.

  “Don’t get ahead of yourself. Let’s first find Bethany.”

  “I’ll have to try to call the ghosts for help.”

  “No, Starling. We don’t need an army.”

  “Okay. We don’t need an army, but we need a real plan instead of this Wild West thing you have going on. You aren’t going to go in without a weapon and take down the Savannah Voodoo Queen—no matter how badly you want to.”

  “What makes you think I don’t have a weapon?”

  “Did you steal something from Jamie? If you did, you’re going back in there and paying.” As the words spilled from her lips, she realized how much she sounded like her mother. An unexpected loneliness filled her at the thought.

  “I’m not a child. I don’t steal.”

  Her empty laugh drew waves in her lake of loneliness. “You stole my friend.”

  He waved her off. “Hardly the same thing.”

  “Yes, stealing a human body is far worse.”