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Who was the Red Man?

“C’mon,” Rene said brusquely, sweeping out of the private room.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Adrienne said. “I hope to see you again soon.”

“Take care of yourself, Addy,” Candace replied.

Adrienne nodded. She didn’t notice her throbbing ear until she left the shop and reached up to touch it. She grimaced.

“You need to learn to fight,” Rene said. “Or you can stop popping up in my damn territory.”

“Not until I get my journal back!” she snapped.

“Whatever.” He began walking.

Adrienne eyed the sky, hoping she’d beat her daddy home from work. She had to try to get the blood out of her clothes before he discovered what happened. She needed an excuse, too, and right now, saying she got beat up by a gang sounded better than the truth.

“Who was that guy last night?” Rene asked. The odd note in his voice drew her gaze.

“Guy?” she repeated.

“The one who said your daddy was looking for you.”

“Jayden.” She smiled. “He’s a friend from school.”

“Right, and I’m your brother.”

Adrienne giggled at the thought of her daddy raising Rene. “He is just a friend,” she said. “I think.”

“You don’t know?”

She was quiet, debating.

“You want there to be more,” Rene guessed. “Prissy, pansy rich boys. Everyone’s got a type.”

“He’s not prissy or a pansy,” she replied quickly. “He’s a quarterback and a gentleman.”

Rene rolled his eyes.

“You’re a voodoo gang member who lives at home with his mother,” she retorted. “Tell me that’s better!”

“I do not live with my mama. She lives with me!” Rene responded. “You tell him you going to bokors and hanging out with voodoo gang members at night?”

Adrienne flushed.

“I can’t hear you.”

She said nothing.

“Oh, so he don’t know what you’re like outside of school. Nice way to start a relationship.”

“This is my first week at school. Fine. I like him. A lot, but he’s … not like us,” she said.

“So, what? I’m your girlfriend, and he’s your boyfriend? I get to know your secrets and he gets what? A fake you?”

“It’s none of your business, Rene. Your aunt know you on drugs?”

He eyed her. “It’s not drugs.”

“What is it?”

He was still for a moment then reached into the pocket where he’d put whatever he got from the stranger in front of her apartment building. He held out a piece of paper.

Adrienne took it and unfolded it, recognizing the veve of the warrior god, Ogoun. Nothing else was written.

“When a bokor or other member of our House requires a … favor, they send a message like this,” Rene explained. “This is from my uncle. He has an assignment for our crew. He sends a note, I go meet him for details.”

“Oh,” she said. “Assignment?”

“You don’t need to know. Gang stuff.”

“You mean bad stuff. Hurting people, vandalizing buildings, thieving?” she asked.

“Yeah. If we can’t do it through normal methods, we resort to black magic.”

“That’s awful, Rene. I think drugs are better.”

“You got no clue.”

There were times she was attracted to him and times she wanted to kill him. Adrienne didn’t know what to feel about Rene, who loudly proclaimed he didn’t want to help her then walked her home when he could clearly just leave her in some alley.

Irritated with one another, they didn’t talk the rest of the way. Adrienne walked into her building without saying farewell, upset to realize he was at least a little bit right. She’d planned on not telling Jayden anything about her voodoo past or her curse or even ever letting him meet her backwards mother and family.

She reached her daddy’s apartment and was relieved to see it wasn’t quite seven yet. He’d be home soon, but she had time to try to get blood out of her uniform.

She checked her email first and saw a note from Jayden waiting for her.

A-

Just making sure you’re okay.

J.

She felt guilty. She’d spent the evening out with Rene, even if it had been in pursuit of information about her sister. She couldn’t tell Jayden that, though. She hesitated then typed a response.

J-

I am, thank you! The line at the clinic is always long. Tomorrow’s the big day – you get to hear me sing!

A.

She sent the response then emailed her mother, asking about the lullaby her grandmother used to sing.

Afterwards, Adrienne evened out her hair and did her damnedest to scrub out the blood from her school uniform before her daddy got home. She set out her cheer squad uniform, grateful she had the weekend to find white shirts, since both of hers were stained. She wasn’t sure how she’d manage to get her homework done and try to figure out how to catch up in math, when her head was barely above water.

Jayden promised to help.

She told herself this over and over. Emma said he was the smartest kid at school. If anyone could help her, he could. Maybe this weekend, she’d find time to spend with him working on keeping her in school.

Right at eight, her father got home from work.

Adrienne shoved the clothing she’d spent half an hour scrubbing into the tiny dryer and closed it.

“You ready for dinner, Daddy?” she called.

“Yeah, pun’kin.”

Adrienne went to the kitchen. Her ear was hurting. She kept her new hairdo down, hoping her daddy noticed that instead of her missing earlobe.

She opened the cabinet. A sticky note fluttered to the ground. Adrienne picked it up.

Get my journal back.

She stared. The journal was Therese’s. Did that mean whoever left the note was Therese?

How was that possible?

“You change your hair?” her daddy asked.

Adrienne crumpled the note in her hand and shoved it in her pocket as she reached for a box of Hamburger Helper.

“Yeah. Trying to be um, more stylish,” she lied.

“Looks nice.”

“Thanks.” Distracted, she made dinner, ate quickly and returned to her room, anxious for some alone time to try to figure out what was going on.

Instead of studying, she searched for more sticky notes. There were none, just like there was no explanation as to why a voodoo priestess she’d never met before had chopped off her hair and ear.

Uneasily, she could guess what the woman might do, if she was one of those who toyed with black magic.

Adrienne’s eyes watered. She definitely didn’t need another curse to complicate her life. Hopefully, Jayden’s grandmama was devoted to the gods who favored healing over violence.

Lying down, she found it hard to sleep for more reasons than because her ear hurt. Tomorrow, she’d be singing in front of Jayden and the school. If there was one thing she knew, it was that she’d blow them away. How she’d find a way to catch up to class was a different matter entirely.

She stretched for her tarot deck and drew a card.

“Will tomorrow be awesome?” she asked then flipped a card. “Six of Pentacles, reversed.” Tough one. “So I need to be open to someone trying to help me? What does this have to do with school?”

Sometimes, the cards were more confusing than helpful. She replaced it and turned off the lamp on her nightstand.

Chapter Twelve

A few blocks away, Jax rocked and chanted, focusing hard on pulling the spirit he sought back into this world. His bedroom smelled of incense, blood and fear.