Lost In Time

Choice

*I planned on posting this a few days ago, but honestly have been planning future chapters. I have actually 10 chapters already written for this book, to give you some idea of how long this book has been with me so yeah...:) sorry! Vote, comment, enjoy, does anyone even read Author Notes?

I whipped around, hands grasping for the toilet brush that was somewhere behind me. Yup, it hadn't been my imagination. Marie Laveau, renowned Voodoo Queen, was standing with me in my bathroom. Flesh and bone.

"What the hell?!" I spluttered, backing away, mind feverishly trying to figure this crap out. She laughed, her voice powerful and booming, and scared the crap out of me. Her eyes were a deep sparkling green, like my left eye when I looked in the mirror.

"Oh, Eliana, darlin', I been waitin' on ya, been anxious to meet ya. Of course, not even da spirits told me you would be dis funny, heh!" She cackled again, her deep Southern accent making her cackles sound deep and booming, which just made me fight a blush that was creeping up my cheeks. I did not like being laughed at.

"You...are...real? Like, here?" Toilet brush handle in my hand, I poked at her arm. It touched physical human flesh, and met resistance. This just set her into a fit of cackles and laughter again, making me put the brush back, rather heatedly. I frowned at her, eyes narrowing at her earnestly amused expression.

"Oh please, do continue to laugh at my expense, I thoroughly enjoy it." I deadpanned, glaring at her. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to antagonize the Queen of Voodoo, but if she was here and wanted to kill me she would have done it already. The dead could be vengeful that way.

She glanced at me, silently approving of my attitude. I blamed it on my Bishop heritage. All of us had horrid tempers, and combined with our Traveling abilities, it was a terrible combination. I waited for her to say something, anything about why she was here. It wasn't my first experience with a ghost, but they generally stuck to their see-through forms, and wailing about lost things that their loved ones haven't found and were supposed to long ago. I had a feeling Marie didn't come because Caroline didn't find her antique doily collection.

After waiting for a few more minutes, both of us waiting for the other to do something, I sighed. I didn't want to deal with this. So I avoided touching her and walked past her, going to my bedroom. I would just crash at Rosa's or Simon's tonight. The last thing I wanted was to sleep with an all-powerful ghost in the house. Of course, she followed me.

"Uh, do you need me to get Madalene or Caroline for you? I bet they are still up, and willing to help you with...whatever you need." She laughed heartily, a twinkle in her eye. I eyed her warily as I shrugged on a jacket and packed an overnight bag.

"Well...I am looking for someone, and thought dat perhaps you could help me. I really don' think the rest of da house can help me to da fullest, do ya?" She smiled knowingly. I sighed, shrugging wryly. Yeah, I didn't think that finding things was their specialty, either. I gave up packing and plopped down on my bed, grabbing a pad of paper and a pencil.

Crossing my legs, I readied my pencil, and looked at her. "Ok, so give me the details. Their name, their family, what they look like, dead or alive, that sort of thing." I got right to business, easily slipping back into the work-mode me. She frowned thoughtfully, tapping her finger to her chin. I swear it was just to mess with me. She flashed me a quick grin, and I remembered the legends of her being able to read minds. Guess one legend just got proved.

"Well, she is alive, almost seventeen, her father is dead, and she lives with her mother, and her family." I nodded, having her continue while I was busily jotting it all down. I felt her smirk at my bowed head, but continued.