"I love this place, Angelie," Iselen whispers excitedly leaning over the wrought-iron railing to take a look at the lights on the streets and people walking by. "But it's really fancy and I feel we aren't wearing the proper clothing..." My girl giggles nervously coming back to the room where we're going to have dinner through the French door. The truth is that she's right: walls are painted in red, there're crystal chandeliers, mirrors with gold frames and luxurious fabrics everywhere. The restaurant looks too formal but the thirteen of us can sit comfortably around the table and Diana sleeps peacefully in a corner, far away from the windows and the noise.
"Muriel's is one of the best restaurants to eat Creole food and it's big enough to have private dining rooms and an elevator. So... what do you think about Primrose?" The entire group remains silent and they look at Lester out of the corner of their eyes while he takes his beer and drinks.
"She's special," the boy answers after putting his glass back on the table and Savannah's grandmother laughs, amused. "She's decided to dress like that because it suits her or amuses her, I don't know, but she's not stupid and I don't think she's as crazy as you all think... We had a very interesting conversation, actually."
"Seriously?" I ask confused while watching the waiters coming with our food. Nobody speaks for some minutes and we all enjoy sharing gumbo, some salads, onion cake, crêpes with shrimps, roasted chicken with potatoes and bacon, pork chops with smoked corn cream and salmon with crispy onions.
"Yes, I guess that, since she's not a member of our coven, it allows her to have a different point of view of this situation... This is delicious..." Lester points at the chicken and Jaru nods, chewing his steak with mushrooms and potatoes enthusiastically. "I had to explain in detail what we were doing in her house because I told her to strengthen the protective spells in her bedroom but she wasn't taking it seriously, she thought I was flirting or something like that. But her face changed suddenly and she asked me if we'd given everybody the same advice and I answered that the Council was spreading the word... And she told me that the demon, well, this Queen of Succubbi, must be really furious because it wouldn't be easy for her to find new victims now and, if she found out it was because of us, maybe... she'd come after us."
"All right..." I drop my fork and lean back on my chair looking at my sisters and my girl, they all have stopped eating and look worried all of a sudden. "I must admit Primrose has a point..."
"A very good point," Mahsati whispers taking her glass of juice.
"But there's more..." Lester chews a potato while he seems to think how to explain it to us. "I told her the demon already knew us, actually, because she chased Iselen across NY and you told us you felt the hostility against you, it was personal, no doubt..." The druid nods and frowns, puzzled. "But that was before we told everything to the Council, only a handful of friends knew what was happening back then..."
"How did that creature know that Ruby's coven was investigating?" Angelie mumbles pensively. "And why did she chase Iselen? Does she know the hunter is more sensitive to magic or she just assumed she was the weakest link since she's the last addition to said coven?"
"This is why Primrose believes the demon is part of our circle of acquaintances but she's not a close friend." We all turn around to look at Lester in disbelief. "It's reasonable, she doesn't know you enough to know that Sara was your lover, Tävibo my friend and Miss Yangyang was Louisa's neighbour, otherwise she wouldn't have attacked them because she wouldn't want to draw the attention of such a powerful witch... But she knows who you are and your reputation, when Yalitza started to warn her clients telling them that Ruby Rose asked them to cast stronger protective spells around their beds, she realized you were on her trail... And she tried to frighten Iselen so she knows who you are, who we are, she has information about our lives but not enough."
