Read Online Gods of New Orleans by AJ Sikes - Free Book Online

Eddie huddled together by the door. Hardy lifted a thick black book from a drawer and let it fall on the desk with a thump .
    Hardy flashed a look at them both and opened the book. He flipped page after page, slowly enough that Emma could tell the book was a ledger.
    Money.
    What were they going to use to pay this man for berthing the Vigilance ? Her father’s name got them halfway here, and Brand had helped them refuel in Memphis. But this was different. Emma was almost ready to offer the ship in trade for help finding a place to stay, but the thought of being trapped didn’t appeal to her. She couldn’t shake the feeling they’d gotten in deeper than they’d ever been, and they hadn’t been in town more than a handful of minutes.
    Something about New Orleans clawed at Emma, raked talons over her skin. She fought the urge to run and felt her feet winning the argument. No matter how much Eddie had promised her it would all work out, Emma’s doubt grew with every page Hardy flipped until he stopped and looked her in the eye.
    We’re sunk. We should have just stayed in Chicago City.
    Hardy sat back in his chair and stared at them. His veiled eyes glinted with something like delight or glee. For a second Emma felt the world fall away beneath her feet, and then her old spark lit up inside. She’d stared men down before, and gunned them down when she had no choice. With a breath, she drew herself up and did what Emma Farnsworth always did when comfort went out the window and made room for nothing but tension.
    “What kind of payment do you need, Mr. Hardy?”
    “Oh, it ain’t be paying Mistah Hardy you gotta worry about, Miss Lily White and Short Hair. You in Metairie now, and you say your destination be New Orleans proper. You gotta travel around, so you gotta pay up to Papa Lebat. Give him his rum, or his coffee. Maybe a cigar for smoking.”
    Emma gave a slight shake of her head without even trying. They had nothing.
    “Well, you got a key? A cane? Something he can lean on when he walks? The man is old. He bein’ older than New Orleans. But he still gotta walk around everyday, helpin’ people make their way in and out. You come in. If you wanna go out, then be pleasin’ Papa Lebat with what you offerin’ up to him.”
    Hardy waved a hand at the cloth draped box and moved out from behind his desk. He crossed the small space in one stride and pulled the fabric aside. Emma gasped and put a hand to her mouth as Eddie’s grip on her shoulder tightened. The fabric fell away, revealing a casket beneath it. Hardy opened the box and Emma steeled herself for the inevitable.
    She let out a deep sigh and almost laughed when she saw the offerings jumbled together in the box. Cigars poked up from among the items. Here and there a small bottle or jar of amber liquid in amongst steel cylinders. Emma read the brands of coffee on the cans.
    “Did you think we had the man inside, Miss Lily White? Did you think this box is bein’ for you? Is that what goin’ through your brain when Celestin Hardy show you the offerin’ box?”
    He leaned back on his heels and laughed deep and rich, like he had when he’d first greeted them.
    “N-no,” Emma said, letting out a nervous chuckle. Eddie stiffened beside her and she pulled herself up again, standing tall as she could against her lover, still sheltered by his embracing arm.
    “Mr. Hardy, we don’t have any of those things. We’ve just come from Chicago City, and‌—‌”
    Eddie interrupted her with a squeeze of her upper arm, and she happily let him try to smooth things with the station master.
    “Got family in the Easy. Gonna get back with them, but we ain’t got your offering needs. Got nothing but that ship outside, and that ain’t for trading. So what else we can do here to make our passage safe?”
    Hardy stood back and regarded Eddie. Emma’s eyes darted back and forth, watching the two men for signs that either would start swinging. Eddie still had one arm around