Distorted Affliction

Epilogue

The streets of the city were packed with people, tourists traveling for the holidays as the new year crept ever close. I was admiring the ferocity of the sun, even on an overcast day when the rain was looming in the distance, though it did very little to actually warm anything. The humidity was thick and made my shirt cling to me as I leaned against the wall beside the little green painted door of the Esoterica.

A distinct set of shoes against the sidewalk alerted me to the witch approaching, though she came to a sudden halt when I lifted my head to give her a brilliant smile. Kettelie was wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt, her hair falling in beautiful curls around her dark face. It was such a major contrast to the way she had dressed before, though I was certain that a lot of her clothing was for her job and less about her roots. New Orleans was about image, and she portrayed her ancestors beautifully when she wanted to.

"Bishop," she said curtly, her lips pursed as she crossed her arms against her chest tightly.

"Laveau," I replied with a nod as I pulled myself away from the wall to turn to her. She took half a step back before realizing what that must have looked like to me and regained her composure. Her behavior seemed so different from the first time we met, and I wondered if watching me drain the life out of Lazarus had anything to do with that.

"What can I do for you?" Kettelie asked, pulling a set of keys from her pocket and searching for the one that would fit the door, though she didn't open it right away. Maybe she felt as if the busy sidewalk was safer for her than the inside of her shop.

"I believe you have something," I answered, maintaining a light tone to my words. "Something that doesn't belong to you."

Kettelie's face seemed to sink, as if she was bitter that I had come to retrieve the stolen belongings of her old flame. She pushed the key into the door and turned it, opening the store and guiding me inside. The Priestess insisted that I wait in the main area, to which I didn't bother arguing. She wasn't a big enough threat to me for me to waste my energy on. This was her home, and I knew that, she wouldn't risk losing the name she had built for herself in these streets.

"It seems a little..." Kettelie searched for the words as she returned from the back room with a small wooden box in her fingers. "Shameful of Demidicus to send his new girlfriend to retrieve his belongings from his old lover."

"Oh, Demidicus didn't send me," I said with a twisted smile. "I came on my own accord to check in and see how you and the Voodou Priestesses were doing after the battle. I'm sure there's a lot of wounded pride that I'm not dead."

"We got exactly what we wanted out of our deal," Kettelie said defensively, as if her pride was still hurting.

"Ah." I gave a small laugh that seemed to irritate her ever more. "But who exactly did you make a deal with? Certainly not Lazarus, he seemed to get the short end of the stick on all of that when I killed him. And you left him there, tucked tail and ran back to the safety of New Orleans. Ever predictable, Kettelie."

"If you're fishing for information, you won't find it here," she stated flatly, crossing her arms once more over her chest in a defensive stature.

"I certainly expected nothing less," I replied lightly. "A strong woman such as yourself could never admit to working under another, but don't worry. I didn't come here for information."

"You have the blade," she said. "If not information, then what else could you have possibly come for?"

I moved towards the door, my eyes scanning the extensive collection of herbs I had admired once before. She made no move to follow me, but I could feel her gaze on me as I paused before pushing the door open. Turning to glance at her, I offered her another smile, one full of fervor and unspoken threats.

"I only came to see how you were doing," I said easily. "And to let you know that you better get used to my presence in your life, because as it turns out, I'm going to be around for a very, very long time. And whereas my ancestors may not have, I tend to hold grudges towards those who try to kill me."

"Is that a threat?" Kettelie asked sharply, narrowing her gaze at me, some of the fire I had previously seen sparking to life.

"I would never," I answered lightly, batting my lashes. "I'm only here to warn you. Be safe out here, darling. This world is full of scary monsters--scarier, even, than you."

Without another word, I slipped out of the chipped green door of the Esoterica and back into the throng of people as they made their way through the French Quarter, unaware of the dangers lurking around them. They would go home to their beds and close their eyes, never suspecting that a great darkness had walked right beside them.