Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 140940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
“This is going to make me go to sleep?”
“Are you going to ask me questions through the whole process?”
“I sure am.”
“And I won’t be answering them.” She scowled. “You came here to heal. If you know better about this process, then you can go back to Moscow and do it yourself.”
I tensed.
“Drink.”
Jesus Christ.
I reached for the glass of blue liquid and picked it up. Minuscule bubbles floated on the top. The color of the liquid appeared more shimmery sapphire than a typical blue.
I sniffed and didn’t smell anything.
I checked Max.
He shrugged.
“Here we go.” I put the glass to my lips and began to drink. Raw bitterness hit my tongue. Then, there was this sweetness of berries abruptly eclipsed by an odd tang, something metallic, like. . .
Blood?
I stopped drinking and coughed.
Oh hell no.
Only half of the liquid was still in the glass.
I looked at her. “Did I just drink blood?”
Delphine stirred the pot. “Blood is a conduit of Ashe—life force. It bridges the physical and spiritual realms.”
I shrieked. “So, then that is a yes?”
She stopped stirring and glared at me. “I thought I already told you to quit with the questions.”
“I-I know, but. . .listen sometimes I’m going to ask—”
“Drink.”
I twisted my face in disgust and placed the glass to my lips, forcing myself to think about why I was in New Orleans in the first place.
Remember Kaz, Max, Paolo, and Emilio. I can’t have Lunita terrorizing them. It’s time to end this.
With that reminder, I drank the rest of the odd concoction.
When I finished, I set the empty glass on the table. “Can I at least ask what or who’s blood that was?”
“You don’t want to know.” Delphine set the spoon down and started whistling.
The taste of the odd potion lingered on my tongue.
This sense of euphoria began to wash over me as if I had inhaled a joint.
Hmmm.
I lifted my gaze to the ceiling.
The white surface was crafted from a solid sheet of hardwood, old yet impeccably maintained. There was no hint of dust or the tangled webs of long-forgotten spiders.
Pretty.
Then, suddenly, the tranquility shattered as the ceiling morphed into a horrifying theater of visions.
What is this?
Somehow the ceiling became an unfurling screen of nightmares.
Visions stormed across it in a rapid-fire succession. A man being slit open like a pig. Blood spilled down his neck. Next, a woman was shot point-blank in the back of her head. After that more terrifying images came. Over and over, cocks kept being hacked off and thrown to the ground.
A scream lodged in my throat.
I froze in pure horror, unable to speak or look away from the macabre reel of film on the ceiling.
No. No.
I went nauseous.
Oh God. Stop.
Then, the movie shifted to small hands strangling someone with a pillow.
Stop it!!
The fucked up movie ended and then disappeared.
Finally, the ceiling returned to peacefully white.
D-did I. . .imagine that. . .or?
My heart pounded in my chest as my hands clenched into fists.
“Em,” Max whispered.
I snapped my view to him.
“Are you okay?” His eyes were wide with fear. “You’ve been staring at that ceiling for a good ten minutes and sweating like you were walking through a desert.”
“T-ten minutes?” I blinked. “That wasn’t a few seconds?”
“Hell no.”
Out of nowhere, Delphine appeared on my right and set down a glass of red liquid. “Go ahead and drink that.”
I still had my hands fisted, but now they shook. “I s-saw stuff.”
“I bet you did. Now drink.”
My mind whirled.
The room spun a little.
Sweat trickled down the back of my neck.
I clenched my hands into tighter fists, forcing my nails to bite into my palms.
Hold on. Just hold on.
I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the room to stop its dizzying spin. Then, I focused on my breathing, drawing in deep, shuddering breaths.
Once I opened my eyes, I looked down at my hand and suddenly realized that I was holding the glass. “Who put this in my hand?”
Still standing in front of me, Delphine stared with a neutral expression. “You picked it up.”
“When?”
Maxwell studied me across the table. His eyes held concern. “Em, are you okay?”
“Max, y-you saw me pick that glass up?”
He nodded. “About five minutes ago. You’ve been holding it the whole time.”
“F-five minutes.” I blinked. “I’m. . .losing time.”
Delphine watched me. “Something like that.”
“W-what do you mean?”
Delphine gave me a sad smile. “She keeps on taking over your body and peeking out to see what I am doing to you.”
Max stirred. “Lunita.”
Delphine bobbed her head. “But, Lunita knows she don’t want to meet me just yet.”
I widened my eyes and looked at the glass of red liquid. “This is going to help me get rid of her?”
Delphine tilted her head to the side. “Lunita?”
“Yes. That’s what I want. I have to get rid of her.”
Delphine gave me the oddest look as if she had just realized that I was truly insane. “Tell me this. Is Lunita the only one you want to say goodbye to? What about the others?”