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She shrugged “Honestly? I’m not sure But you’re either one heck of a stalker to know all those names of my family members or … Tell you what, let me drop my stuff off with ht besidefell into place for him “You’re Madame Selene, aren’t you? I’ve seen your stand a million times as I walked past it in the Square, but I never realized you were Tabitha’s sister Selena” Partly because he never really looked at any of the psychics there
As far back as he could remember, his mother had always been adamantly opposed to them as fakes and frauds, and since he’d learned what he really was, he’d been too afraid to go near them in case they weren’t all charlatans With the paranor he needed was a psychic trying to collect his bounty like everyone else
Or worse, his Malachai powers
But this one … her elaborate stand was hard to miss, even froht outside the Visitor’s Center next to that artist woman who has all those pastels of landmarks … Sunshine Artworks”
She appeared impressed “Who’s your mama, boy?”
“Cherise Gautier” He smacked himself on the forehead as he remembered she was different now “In , Selena laughed “Triple Threat Burdette? The huge football player’s wife?”
Triple Threat … yeah, that definitely described the man Nick kneell Much more apropos than the Triple B Bubba used in his realm “You know Bubba?”
“I know Cherise and Michael both Cherise and I used to work at the Café Pontalba together ere in college It’s how they ame But I haven’t talked to her in years”
“Yeah, well, I talked to her this , and if she hears one word of this, she’ll have hed “Boy, any sane person would have you committed You’re so lucky I’m nuts and that I accept the ih his and pulled him in the direction of the streetcar
As they walked, there was so up in this bizarre place “Why are you exactly the same when no one else is?”
“I wouldn’t say no one Tabitha doesn’t sound like she’s all that different Tiyana, either My theory would be that so stubborn to be anyone else Our personalities are so strong or intense that no matter where you put us, we’d still be us Or you could say that the universe wills it so Does it really ht now”
“Why?”
“’Cause soes of the people I know don’t iven what you just said Trust er personality than they do” He stopped short ofthat Caleb and Simi were de with a great deal of power How could they be those things in his world and be typical humans here, while Selena and possibly Tabitha were the same in both places?
Just didn’t make sense to him at all
Selena patted his ar to fix your situation and find out what’s really happening”
He caught the underlying note in her voice that sent a shiver down his spine “What do you mean?”
“Well, if you’re here and this isn’t where you’re supposed to be, and yet there was another Nick living here before you arrived, it begs the question of where that other Nick went, doesn’t it?”
Ah, dang He hadn’t even thought of that His newly spawned ulcer burned at theme there’s some dude in my skin at horeat That was all he needed So up his screwed-up life Like he didn’t do that enough on his own But worse … the other Nick, if he was from this world, wouldn’t knoas part deht those anted to enslave hiirlfriend Never etBad bad”
He could unlock Nick’s Malachai powers and unravel the entire universe
His gut knotting even harder, he allowed Selena to escort hi, then drive hi to her stand like she’d said, she veered off to the corner of Royal and St Ann’s, where Erzulie’s Authentic Voodoo was located
Nick frowned at the pink building that was impossible to miss in both worlds “Your aunt still owns this?”
Selena parked the car “Sort of Tabby and Tia are technically the owners now They’repayments to her for it”
“What about Pandora’s Box?”
She turned off the car and unbuckled her belt “That hasn’t been part of our fao”
Nick let out a syot out
Before joining her, Nick took a moment to absorb what she’d said and lay it dohat Ambrose had told him about Nick’s future None of it s here be so altered while others weren’t?
Totally twisted
For now, though, he’d go with it Not like he had any other choice
He got out of the car and waited on the curb while Selena locked the doors As they walked around the corner and neared the shop entrance, a weird sense of déjà vu hit his they’d done before he’d been sucked out of his realm was to co spell they’d used on Nick’s powers
The minute Nick had entered that store, all heck had broken out into the longest night of his life Now, it seeo
How could so much happen in such a short span of ti…
Selena led the way into the neat pink and purple store that was identical to the one froreen shutters and dark shelving that held Voodoo dolls, spells, oils, perfus
“Hey, Tab!” Selena shouted so loud, it ht to see a doc about that nervous disorder, buddy Reflexes like that, you ”
He didn’t respond as he eyed the large Voodoo altar on his left that had been set up for the goddess Erzulie the store had been naht, Selena’s aunt had threatened his body parts if he touched it or any of the offerings that lined it and the floor around it