Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 63214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
I gulped in cold terror.
And whatever the thing was that I once could’ve called her face, didn’t sit well with me either.
What could one call it? A head-face?
I guess I could say that it was the circular shape of tiny heads at the top of her frame. It haunted me more than the rest of her. The face didn’t have eyes nor mouth or nose. Just holes like a skeleton. Big holes that were missing heads. Hollow darkness where a person’s eyes, nose, and mouth should be.
I was more afraid than I’d ever been in my life.
The mouth hole moved. “Most would’ve ran by now.”
It hurt my chest to speak. “I can’t feel my feet to run.”
“That could be considered a good thing. I need you.” The creature pointed at the bucket. “Pick that up. I can’t touch it when I’m like this.”
I did. I picked the bucket up so fast, I impressed myself.
What else can I do? I will do whatever this creature wants.
“I’m still Addie Mae. You’re just seeing a different part of me. Don’t let these heads creep you out. They’re good.” She didn’t walk away. She slithered down the path. Those bottom heads rolled around and around. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the hows and whys. I just followed it. . .her. . .the creature. . .Addie Mae, out of that garden, leaving her old body in a pile on the ground.
“A good conjure bag will let you do all types of things.” She continued down the path and headed toward the pantry opening. Once she left the garden, she talked some more. “I called on our ancestors. They’re here with me. They’re always here with us. In our skin. I pulled them out of me. That’s all you’re seeing. The energy of others. They’re spirits, love, and protection.”
My stomach churned. “I have heads inside of my body?”
“You have their blood. Their spirits. Everyone you’ve connected with on an emotional level. Spiritual level. Sex. When you have sex with someone you get their energy and the energy of who else they’ve had sex with. That’s why I don’t get in bed with no one unless they sage themselves first. I have sage right next to the bed.”
I wasn’t a fan of hearing about Addie Mae’s sex life. And I damn sure couldn’t think of her being with anyone, due to her current form.
Addie Mae explained some more, “Anybody you’ve exchanged your energy with. Their spirit seeps into you. When it’s good and right, part of them lives inside of you.”
“And when it’s bad?”
“Same thing, except now you’re planting seeds for a wicked harvest that demons love to eat.”
When she said demon, it made me think of Remington again. “I never finished telling you about this Remington.”
“There’s no need.” She slithered out of the pantry and entered the kitchen within seconds, moving like this mystical being. Addie Mae was an alien to me. I recognized nothing, not even the words coming out of her mouth.
“I’ve never been able to forget about Remington Townson,” she said. “He was one of my biggest failures. I was making him a spell and that damn boy, Brett came walking into my yard, hand-in-hand with Faith. And. . .I did something wrong. I was so mad. I finished pouring, but I might’ve picked something else up too. I mixed the wrong things together for Remington because my head was so scattered with Brett. I keep replaying that moment in my mind.”
Without her touching it, the back door opened in front of us.
Silently, she slipped and paused in the center of the doorway. “A potent conjure bag could make the user fly. Have them walking around in a crowded place, invisible to the world. It can cure and kill, take away love and give it right back. But Remington wanted a love spell. Something strong. First, I’d given him the tea, but it hadn’t been enough for him to get the girl. He needed something stronger.”
She stared off into the snowy night. “Keep the bucket close to you. The cold won’t harm the flowers. We just need to get them close to Remington, and they’ll lick and suck his spirit away. And then I can fix this situation for good.”
We walked off.
I held this heavy bucket of tongue flowers.
Passing by my truck, I considered grabbing my gun and thought against it. The only person I would probably hurt was Faith and me. What I dealt with now was out of my hands.
This was Addie Mae’s world, and in it, I bet she reigned supreme.
“Don’t be scared,” she said as we entered the dark forest. “It’s a lot of scary things out here.” She stopped and turned to me. “But I’m by far the scariest thing on this night.”
I swallowed. “I believe you, ma’am.”