Witches Beware

Chapter Nineteen: Suave Devil

The streets were filled with drunk humans, colorful heads, and topless chicks; I could hear them party along the main streets of New Orleans. We drive away from it towards the sophisticated part of the city, in the garden district, where manors lined up and down the block, the streets clean and quiet as the entire neighborhood stayed inside with their books while smoking pipes. Except for one manor, Richard Chung's home.

It settled at the end of the block, the only home that held a vacant space next to it. The sidewalk held a long line of witches, vampires, I even detected a few shapeshifters. All dressed up in their finest clothes, all eager to step past the gates to see the sophisticated life of the head warlock in council. I was not that eager.

I wanted to stay home and be curled up in bed, hidden away from the world and the darkness that follows. Unfortunately, I had to come out and represent the family name, to be one with the community and be a good example for the young witches and warlocks- if that was still possible.

"Jeez, this is worse than getting into a club." Athena voiced, sharing the same careless mindset in the three of us. We were stuck in the middle of the line, obviously not special enough to get a VIP pass.

"Can we just go home?" Maxine pleads.

"No; we are not leaving. Out family had been coming to this party every two years, we will not break that tradition. The Pine's family must be heard and respected."

Athena scoffed, then it turned into a chuckle. "Respect? We get that much from them as much as they give it to the Lycans. Why even waste our breath, you know? The council hates us, we're at the bottom of the food chain, and we're now classified at the murder fam-"

"Athena, enough. Every damn time we go through this, when are you going to grow up?"

"I am grown mom, but unlike any other adult, I like to speak my mind."

Aunt May glared down at her oldest daughter, lips thinned in frustration. "Athena Renee Pine, I will not go back and forth with you. No one is stopping you, if you want to leave, go." The air became still and silent, they did a short stare down before Athena gave in.

"Dove?"

I looked away from my dysfunctional family to see Francis. His suit was red and gold print, a black cane with a diamond knob under his hand, rings covering each finger except for the left ring finger, and did not wear a mask- obviously showing his rebel state. "Francis."

He stepped to us with a smirk upon his face before giving me a sir kiss on both sides of my cheek. I can already smell the liquor on his breath and hallucination herbs on his clothes. "Why are you standing in line?" Francis straightened my necklace before looping his arms around mine. "Come along Pine family, follow me."

We stride to the front of the line, with Francis VIP access and importance in the witch community. To have a mass amount of energy in one place boil my skin, rattled my nerves, and made me nauseous. "Where's your big bad wolf?"

"He's not my big bad wolf. And he's busy with mundane cop work."

"Tough dating a detective. I dated a cop in the sixties, quite the man, but his brother was twice as such and I had a small crush on their sister. What can I say? The entire family charmed me."

"Whoa, you're wicked." Maxine manage to catch up with us, automatically taking Francis looped arm. "I'm Maxine, if you don't know-"

"Of course I know little Pine, it's my job to know. I haven't seen you since you were ten, still practicing voodoo."

"Of course." She chirped while beaming brighter. "I like your jewelry."

"Oh thanks, little one. Each ring is from an ex-lover, before I leave them I take something of their for memory, and melt it down into a ring."