Angel Tormented (The Louisiangel Series Book 3) (16 page)

“You gonna be standin’ there all day?” the
voice called again.

It took a moment to find the source of the
voice, and when I did, I couldn’t stop my mouth from falling open. The last
time I had seen Mama Laveau was only a few months ago. She had changed a lot
since then, but in the opposite way to what I had expected. Then, she had been
a small, frail looking woman, lost in her blankets. Now, it was like we had
gone back in time: she still had the same dark skin, though there seemed to be
half as many creases in it. Her eyes were completely different. They had been a
pale blue – the woman I assumed had been her granddaughter, had said she had
been blind for thirty years – yet now they were brown and staring steadily at
me. Mama Laveau no longer looked old and frail… or at least
as
old and
frail. Right now, she was just behind a bush, a fork or spade in the ground,
under her boot, and a big wheelbarrow full of weeds behind her, while pulling
off her gardening gloves.

She’d said her name was Marie Laveau, and
there was already one Marie Laveau in New Orleans – buried in one of the most
famous tombs in America, in the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. I don’t think there’s
a single person in New Orleans who wouldn’t recognize her name – she’s supposed
to be
the
Voodoo Queen – even Michael alluded to that. Only she wasn’t
dead, she was standing in front of us.

I hadn’t believed in magic any more than I
believed in angels, not so long ago. Now, I was slowly starting to come to the
conclusion that unless someone could definitively prove that something
didn’t
exist, I was going to believe there was a possibility that it did.

“I don’t know if you remember us?” I
started, taking care to stick to the gravel path.

“Of course I be rememberin’ you, Child,”
she said, giving me a warm smile. “I be remembering dat aura, even if it be
changed.”

“It has?”

She nodded, and led us over to the pergola
and the wrought iron table and chairs that were under it. “White been replaced
by gold. Pink replaced with red too,” she added winking at me. I glanced back
at Joshua who seemed a little puzzled but in no hurry to question what she was
saying. “Now, whatchoo be wantin’ to know?” she asked, taking a seat in the
shade.

I sat down opposite, Joshua taking one of
the other seats. “You know what I am, right?”

“Of course. I always be knowin’ my own.”

I sighed and relaxed back into the chair.
“Good, because I…” I quickly replayed her words as she sat smiling at me. “You
what?”

“I know whatchoo be when I be one too,”
she said, calmly.

“You’re an angel?” I asked, my eyes wide.

Mama Laveau nodded again. “I be a virtue,”
she clarified. “Heaven’s provider of miracles.”

“But you look nothing like all of the other
angels,” I blurted out. “You look so old.”

“You might want to respect your elders
there, darlin’,” Joshua muttered at me. He was eyeing Mama Laveau with
suspicion, but it was subtle: I don’t think the old voodoo queen had noticed.

Mama Laveau, on the other hand, chuckled.
“I
be
old.”

“I’m sorry,” I quickly apologized,
realizing how rude I sounded. “I just… Every angel I’ve met so far has been
so…”

“Youthful? Handsome?” Mama Laveau
supplied. “I know.”

“And Michael never mentioned you were an
angel,” I added with a frown, wondering why he hadn’t.

Mama Laveau answered my unasked question
for me. “He not be knowing.”

“Oh hell,” I muttered, realizing why. I
reached for my dagger.

Before I could pull it out, she shook her
head. “I not be Fallen.”

I got to my feet, my sword now drawn.
“Joshua, please get behind me,” I calmly requested, while keeping my attention
on Mama Laveau.

“I not be Fallen,” Mama Laveau repeated,
remaining seated as Joshua did as I asked.

“Forgive me, but I have no way of proving
that considering you’re probably not in your original vessel and the Fallen
take on the aura of the human they’re possessing,” I pointed out.

“True, dat,” Mama Laveau agreed. “But
there is a way to see if I be evil or not. You be knowin’ ‘bout platinum?”

“Which would be useful if I had any
platinum, and I’m not about to let you hand over something silver looking and
trust that it is platinum,” I shrugged.

“Your necklace,” Joshua said from behind
me. My free hand reached up to the fleur de lis around my neck and the silver
chain it sat on. I’d never considered that it was made from platinum. “Here.” I
could feel Joshua’s warm hands on my neck as he undid the necklace. Holding it
by the charm, I held it out to Mama Laveau.

She took it and held her arm out, allowing
the chain and charm to rest on her forearm. I waited a full minute before
accepting that she wasn’t one of the Fallen. I sheathed my sword as Joshua
cleared his throat. “I’m not apologizing for protecting you,” I told him.

“Nor should she,” Mama Laveau agreed,
offering my necklace back to me.

I quickly put it back on and sat. “So,
you’re a virtue?” I asked. “If you’ve not fallen, I assume you left your
House?”

“Heaven,” she corrected me. “I be leavin’
Heaven, not a House.”

“Then why are you in a different vessel?”
I asked her.

Mama Laveau gave me a knowing smile, and
then rose to her feet. Beside me, Joshua did the same, but I remained seated.
“This be a long story, an’ long stories be needin’ tea.”

I couldn’t help but pull a face. I was
probably the only Brit that didn’t like tea, or at least, it felt like it
sometimes. Either Mama Laveau didn’t see my expression, or ignored it, but she
left Joshua and me to disappear into her home. I puffed out a breath, only
looking up when Joshua reached over and grabbed my hand. “I know you want
answers, but you’ll get further with honey than with vinegar,” he told me.
“Especially if she is as doolally as she seems.”

Knowing he was right, I closed my eyes and
took some deep breaths. I didn’t open them again until I could hear the
glassware chinking together as Mama Laveau returned carrying a tray of drinks.
Joshua got up and took the tray off her – a jug of sweet tea, two empty glasses,
and another glass with what looked like lemonade. Joshua set the tray on the
table, handed the lemonade over to me and poured Mama Laveau and himself a
glass of sweet tea.

“Now den, you be havin’ questions?” Mama
Laveau asked, after taking a sip of tea.

I nodded, wondering where to start. Yes,
she looked younger now, but the last time I had seen her, she had fallen asleep
mid-way through the conversation. I didn’t want to risk leaving her without the
answers I needed. “What are the rules?” I asked, finally.

“Sometimes de right ting int always de
right ting,” Mama Laveau answered vaguely.

I shook my head. “Look, if you’re going to
talk in riddles, that’s fine, but I’m not going to waste your time or my time.”

“Angel,” Joshua muttered in a low, warning
tone.

I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, but
Michael said one thing, Cupid does another, and then the Fallen say other
things altogether. Joshua is my charge and I need to know what I have to do to
keep him safe.”

Mama Laveau nodded, staring at a bright
green hummingbird which was feeding on one of the plants beside her. “You be
askin’, what be makin’ you fall?” I nodded. “There only be one ting that be
doin’ dat: you be tinkin’ you be more important den God.”

“That’s it?” I asked, doubtfully. “That’s
the only rule?”

“Dat be makin’ you fall,” Mama Laveau
agreed. “But don’t be forgettin’ dat God said nothin’ be more important den
man.”

I’d heard this before from Father Roberts
in the St. Louis Cathedral – how Lucifer had committed the ultimate sin and for
that had been cast out of Heaven. I didn’t doubt that, but I did take issue
with the fact that Michael had been so adamant that there were other things
that were going to make me fall.

“God be havin’ de rules, an’ Michael be
havin’ de covenant,” Mama Laveau elaborated. “An’ Michael be havin’ dat covenant
so long he be forgettin’ what be his rule, an’ what be His rule,” she finished.

“So not telling people who and what we
are?” I asked, doubtfully.

“Michael’s rule,” she responded.

“And not drinking?”

“Michael’s rule.”

I caught the side of my lip with my teeth
and then released it. “Not having a relationship with a human?”

“Dat be Michael’s rule too,” she said,
firmly. “You and Joshua being together int gonna make you fall”

“I… But… That’s not why I’m asking,” I
spluttered. There was no point telling her I didn’t see Joshua like that when
it was apparently clear as day in my aura.

Mama Laveau gave me another knowing smile.
“But dat be somethin’ you be wantin’ to be knowin’,” she said.

“Well if there’s only one rule, why the
hell is Michael telling me these will make me fall? He said he wouldn’t lie to
me!” I cried in frustration. The frustration wasn’t even focused on me and
Joshua: I was annoyed that Michael had been so adamant that Lilah had fallen
and we had spent so long arguing about it that Lucifer was now free in the
world, and yes, that was still my fault, but we could have caught him by now.

“Don’tcha be too angry wit Michael,” Mama
Laveau said, sounding unnecessarily sympathetic for an angel who had willingly
left Heaven. “All de angels be agreein’ to dat covenant, an’ dey be believin’
dat for so long, dat be de truth to dem. Dem truths be what stopped dem from
fallin’, but dey be takin’ vows. Breakin’ vows be sayin’ God not be important
and
dat
be makin’ dem fall.”

“How?” I demanded. “How the hell is not
having a glass of wine going to stop me from falling?” The glass of lemonade in
my hand suddenly exploded, sending the sticky liquid mainly over myself.

“You might want to calm it down a
fraction,” Joshua suggested as I just stared in horror at the blood pooling in
my hand around the shards of glass that were stuck into it.

As Joshua wiggled his hand free of my
other hand he had been holding, a wave of nausea barreled into me. “Please tell
me I didn’t hurt you,” I whispered.

“A bit of lemonade never hurt anyone,” he
shrugged, tugging my glass-ridden hand over. We both knew that wasn’t what I
was talking about, but his hand seemed to be functioning properly. What the
hell was wrong with me? “I’d say you’d need to see a doctor and get some stitches,
but you’re not human and they’ll probably only need a band aid. Ma’am, may we
use your bathroom?” he asked Mama Laveau.

She nodded, gesturing towards the house. I
allowed Joshua to lead me inside, and he quickly found the bathroom. Holding my
hand over the sink, he plucked the larger pieces out, dropping them in the
trash can, then he hunted out a pair of tweezers from the cupboard. By the time
the last piece was out, all of the cuts had already scabbed over. It wasn’t
until then that either of us spoke. “What are you getting angry for?” Joshua
asked me softly.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, miserably. I
sat down on the edge of the bathtub, glaring at my hand. “I guess I’m angry at
myself. If I’d have just trusted myself more, then… I feel like this has just
set everything back, like I could have stopped Lucifer, or saved Michael.”

“It’s not like you’ve been doing nothing,”
Joshua said. At my pointed glare, he shrugged and sat down next to me. “Okay,
so you may have spent a few weeks in bed, but I think that’s pretty
justifiable, darlin’. I think you’re putting way too much pressure on
yourself.”

“Maybe you’re right,” I muttered, leaning
and resting my head on his shoulder. I was lying: I didn’t think I was putting
enough pressure on myself. I mean, how could I run a House and be responsible
for other angels? I hadn’t kept Michael alive, and I had a strong feeling that
the only reason Joshua was alive was, as Asmodeus had suggested, because he and
Beelzebub
wanted
him alive. I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that I
was missing something obvious too. “We should finish up with Mama Laveau,” I
sighed. “I know you have to get back to work.”

We returned outside, and found that my
broken glass had been cleared up and replaced with another. “You be havin’ more
questions, Child?” she asked.

“Just a couple,” I nodded. “You said that
they believed the rules to be their truth, but why? Who came up with these
rules?”

“I don’t be rememberin’ who, Child,” Mama
Laveau told me. “It was such a long time gone. But dey be created to make sure
no more angels be fallin’. If you don’t drink de wine, you don’t be makin’
mistakes. If you don’t be tellin’ people what you be, they can’t be lookin’
atcha like you be a god. Dat covenant was to protect, not hurt, and no more
angels be fallin’ since.”

Much as I hated to admit it, that made
sense. I couldn’t be angry at them for not wanting to lose any more of their
family, and what I hated to admit even more was that I couldn’t blame them for
thinking the covenant was set in stone considering how old they were, how long
ago it sounded like these ‘rules’ had been created, and that they’d taken a vow
to uphold them.

Except Cupid knew he could tell Leon what
we were.

The question now was, was I going to call
Cupid on it, or let it go? Or more realistically, was I going to call Cupid on
it, or was I going to stew over it for the next few months?

I already knew the answer to that.

“So why did you leave Heaven?” I asked. I
was curious.

“My gift,” Mama Laveau replied.

“You have a gift?” I asked. “Like Dream
Walking?”

“Mine be more unique dan dat,” she
responded, shaking her head. “I not only be seeing auras, but I be seeing
people for what dey be.”

“I don’t understand,” I frowned, glancing
at Joshua. It didn’t look like he did either.

“People be havin’ auras, an’ angels be
havin’ auras. I be seein’ people when dey be de Fallen, an’ I be seeing dose
which be between human an’ angel,” she explained.

It took me a minute to fully understand.
“You can tell when someone is a nephilim or when they’re being possessed? Why
would you leave Heaven because of that?”

“Because Heaven be wantin’ me to hunt out
the Fallen, an’ I’m not gonna be huntin’ out my brothers an’ sisters for dem to
be murdered,” she said, firmly.

I was an only child, and I had never been
in the situation where I would have to hunt a sibling out so they could be
killed, but I was certain that I wouldn’t be able to do that, unless I was
unfortunate enough to be related to someone like Beelzebub. “I understand,” I
responded, even though I didn’t really. “Thank you, Mama Laveau.”

“Now, I be answerin’ everythin’ you been
askin’, but now I have one request.”

“And what would that be?” I asked,
hesitantly. I wanted answers, but I wasn’t sure what price I was prepared to
pay for them.

“Michael not be knowin’ what I am, an’ I
be needin’ to keep it dat way, so you not be tellin’ anyone who I am, Child,”
she told me.

I closed my eyes, wincing as a wave of
pain rose up in me, and a selfish part of me wondered how long it would be
until I didn’t have to break the news of Michael’s death. “Michael was killed,”
Joshua said, taking the burden from me. Once again, he took my hand and
squeezed. I shot him a grateful smile.

Opposite, Mama Laveau sucked in a gasping
breath, and she muttered a quick prayer under her breath. “Who?”

“Valac,” I muttered, numbly. “We think he
was working under Asmodeus’ orders.”

I studied her closely and realized she
wasn’t as surprised at hearing Asmodeus’ name as she was at hearing the news
about Michael. “You knew he was here,” I said. It wasn’t a question, but she
nodded. “And you didn’t think to tell anyone?”

“As I be tellin’ you before, I’m not
hunting my brothers and sisters out,” she snapped.

I narrowed my eyes. “You might want to
reconsider that considering your great grandson was killed thanks to a scheme
Beelzebub dreamed up, and mentioning that Asmodeus was around before now might
have kept Michael alive.”

“Maybe it’s time to be going, darlin’,”
Joshua suggested.

“I think that’s a mighty good idea,” Mama
Laveau said, her words suddenly as clear as her tone was cold.

“What happened to your accent?” Joshua
asked slowly. “If that’s fake, what else that you’ve told us was lies? Are you
really just a crazy old lady?”

She glared back at him, then with no
warning, she flung the table aside. For once, my focus was not on the drinks
that had gone flying, but on Joshua. I was on my feet, leaping over to him, but
so was she. Just as I landed in front of him, so had she and with a swipe that
seemed far too powerful for a frail old woman, but certainly not for an angel,
she launched me to the side. And by launched, I mean I went soaring through the
air like a missile, coming to a stop so hard against one of the oak trees, my
body knocked it to an angle.

It took me exactly four seconds to
untangle myself from the mass of roots, branches and dirt, and ignoring the
slight dizziness, was back at the pergola with my sword drawn – but I wasn’t
quick enough. Mama Laveau had her hand wrapped around Joshua’s neck. She wasn’t
tall enough to have lifted him off the ground, but that hadn’t stopped her
pinning him against the corner piece of the pergola. “I am not crazy, and I
will not have anyone accuse me of anything like that; disrespecting me in my
own home!” she roared at Joshua.

Joshua’s face was already red as he tried
to free himself of Mama Laveau’s grip. “Let go of him,” I growled at her.

“I have spent more than one hundred years
in this body, and I will not allow you, an impure angel who is no better than
the nephilim, to ruin what I have built up here,” she spat at me. I glowered
back at her, but as I took one step forward, her grip tightened. “I will have
snapped his neck before you could get close,” she said, her attention on me,
and not at the man she was choking.

“Rules or covenant, you can’t kill a
human,” I told her. My voice was surprisingly steady, considering I was
starting to see the whites of Joshua’s eyes turn slowly red. “And there’s
nothing stopping me from killing you.”

“I doubt there’s much difference between
leaving Heaven voluntarily and actually falling,” she shrugged, but I could see
the hesitation.

“Okay,” I said, allowing the sword to
shrink to its dagger size, but refusing to put it away. “You don’t want anyone
to know who and where you are, right? What if I vow not to tell anyone?”

“And what about him,” Mama Laveau asked,
nodding her head at Joshua.

I sneaked another glance at Joshua and
realized that his struggling was slowing. “I’ll make sure he says nothing
either!” I yelped. “Please, just let him go!”

“Say it,” she demanded.

“I vow it: I vow to God I will not tell
anyone who you are and where you are, and I will make sure Joshua says nothing
either!” I told her, the words coming out half sobbing, half begging: Joshua’s
hands had fallen limply to his side.

Mama Laveau tilted her head, nodded, and
then, acting like he was nothing more than a rag doll, flung him in my general
direction. I dropped my sword and leaped over, catching him clumsily as we both
tumbled to the ground. The fall seemed to jolt him awake, because he suddenly
started coughing and struggling. “It’s me!” I sobbed. Although the coughing
continued, he relaxed in my arms. I sucked in a deep, haggard breath, and
tipped my head back. “Thank you,” I muttered.

“Child, I think it be time you be
leavin’,” Mama Laveau called over to me. I looked over: she was righting the
table and clearing the mess up like nothing had happened.

Refusing to take my eyes off her, I
reached over for the dagger I had dropped, and then focused my attention on Joshua.
“You think you can walk?”

There were tears lining his eyes, though I
suspected it was from all the coughing, but he managed to nod his head. He
opened his mouth, and I could see him attempt to say the word ‘yes’ but all
that came out was a horrible rasp before he started coughing again.

“Don’t speak,” I instructed him. “Just
rest,” I added, helping him to his feet. Slowly, we left the back garden and
made it to his car. He started towards the driver’s side, but I stopped him.
“Not a chance,” I said, pulling him towards the passenger side, ignoring the
way he was twisting his face at me.