Read Online A Necklace of Water by Cate Tiernan - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Cate Tiernan
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weeks go.”
I bet you don’t
, I thought.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
He was literally the sweetest guy I’d ever met. I gave him a bigger smile.
“No, this is good, right here. Getting po’boys with you and then a movie. It’s just what I need. A perfect Friday night.” Nope, no witches here.
“Okay. But anything you want, you tell me.”
“Thanks—you’re a sweetie.”
Kevin smiled at my endearment, then turned off Magazine Street toward the river. The houses here were small but mostly nicely kept. Kids were playing, and dogs were running around barking.
I got lost in my thoughts for a moment, these small houses such a contrast to the ones I had seen just yesterday. Yesterday. That whole experience had shaken me to the core. I’d made the decision to start down a dark path, a decision that would mark my soul forever, according to Carmela. And when witches said “dark,” they meant really
dark
, good-ver-sus-evil kind of stuff. Stuff that could, well, mark your soul forever.
Was I ready to do it? This morning I’d bought some of the supplies from Carmela’s list at Botanika. The clerk had looked at the assembled pile and then examined my face, as if to judge whether I should be buying this stuff. Some things I’d been able to get from Nan’s cabinet in the workroom, very quietly, when I was supposed to be in there studying.
I’d felt weird and kind of off all day. Now I seized a chance to feel normal and innocent.
“Where are we going?” I asked, seeing nothing but houses, no businesses anywhere.
“Around the corner,” Kevin said. “It’s a little hole in the wall, but they make the best roast beef po’boys anywhere.”
“Sounds great,” I began, but at that moment, a little girl chased a puppy into the street, right in front of us. I gasped, and time seemed to slow down, each second taking thirty seconds to get through.
“Whoa!” Kevin said, and jerked the steering wheel to one side, but not far enough. The little girl, maybe four years old, froze with fear, staring at us. Someone yelled from the sidewalk, and I think someone leaped up toward the street. Words came into my mind, and I repeated them unquestioningly. Not knowing why, I put my hands together like an arrow, then split them apart fast, as if sending a burst of air between our car and the little girl.
The next moment, she was blown backward, right out of the street and against the curb, where she landed with a small skid. The puppy wasflung to the opposite side with a startled, high-pitched yelp. An adult dropped next to the child, gathering her up into strong arms. She started wailing.
“Oh my God,” I exclaimed, watching all this happen. “That was close!” Then I realized that our car was still moving, listing to one side of the street. “Kevin?”
Next to me, Kevin’s head hung limply toward one shoulder. His hands had fallen off the steering wheel, and his eyes were closed. The car jumped the curb with a jolt, and I grabbed the wheel just in time for us to hit a fire hydrant on the corner.
Wham! I was jerked forward. My seat belt caught hard and slammed me back into my seat. I felt shaken like a rag doll. When I looked at Kevin, he looked dead.
“Kevin! Kevin!” I grabbed one shoulder and shook it, and he blinked groggily.
Then, just like in the movies, I heard a loud rushing sound, and a geyser of water shot out of the broken fire hydrant, shooting twenty feet in the air, then dropping heavily onto the hood and roof of our car.
“Wha?” Kevin mumbled. He blinked again, looking around in a daze, and slowly took in my anxious face, the car lurched up onto the sidewalk at an angle, the crashing water.
“What happened?” His voice sounded thick, and his face looked gray.
“What’s wrong?” Starting to freak out, I saw that his lips looked faintly blue. I grabbed one of his hands. It was ice cold.
People had gathered around our car, and now the doors opened on both sides.
“Miss,
I bet you don’t
, I thought.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
He was literally the sweetest guy I’d ever met. I gave him a bigger smile.
“No, this is good, right here. Getting po’boys with you and then a movie. It’s just what I need. A perfect Friday night.” Nope, no witches here.
“Okay. But anything you want, you tell me.”
“Thanks—you’re a sweetie.”
Kevin smiled at my endearment, then turned off Magazine Street toward the river. The houses here were small but mostly nicely kept. Kids were playing, and dogs were running around barking.
I got lost in my thoughts for a moment, these small houses such a contrast to the ones I had seen just yesterday. Yesterday. That whole experience had shaken me to the core. I’d made the decision to start down a dark path, a decision that would mark my soul forever, according to Carmela. And when witches said “dark,” they meant really
dark
, good-ver-sus-evil kind of stuff. Stuff that could, well, mark your soul forever.
Was I ready to do it? This morning I’d bought some of the supplies from Carmela’s list at Botanika. The clerk had looked at the assembled pile and then examined my face, as if to judge whether I should be buying this stuff. Some things I’d been able to get from Nan’s cabinet in the workroom, very quietly, when I was supposed to be in there studying.
I’d felt weird and kind of off all day. Now I seized a chance to feel normal and innocent.
“Where are we going?” I asked, seeing nothing but houses, no businesses anywhere.
“Around the corner,” Kevin said. “It’s a little hole in the wall, but they make the best roast beef po’boys anywhere.”
“Sounds great,” I began, but at that moment, a little girl chased a puppy into the street, right in front of us. I gasped, and time seemed to slow down, each second taking thirty seconds to get through.
“Whoa!” Kevin said, and jerked the steering wheel to one side, but not far enough. The little girl, maybe four years old, froze with fear, staring at us. Someone yelled from the sidewalk, and I think someone leaped up toward the street. Words came into my mind, and I repeated them unquestioningly. Not knowing why, I put my hands together like an arrow, then split them apart fast, as if sending a burst of air between our car and the little girl.
The next moment, she was blown backward, right out of the street and against the curb, where she landed with a small skid. The puppy wasflung to the opposite side with a startled, high-pitched yelp. An adult dropped next to the child, gathering her up into strong arms. She started wailing.
“Oh my God,” I exclaimed, watching all this happen. “That was close!” Then I realized that our car was still moving, listing to one side of the street. “Kevin?”
Next to me, Kevin’s head hung limply toward one shoulder. His hands had fallen off the steering wheel, and his eyes were closed. The car jumped the curb with a jolt, and I grabbed the wheel just in time for us to hit a fire hydrant on the corner.
Wham! I was jerked forward. My seat belt caught hard and slammed me back into my seat. I felt shaken like a rag doll. When I looked at Kevin, he looked dead.
“Kevin! Kevin!” I grabbed one shoulder and shook it, and he blinked groggily.
Then, just like in the movies, I heard a loud rushing sound, and a geyser of water shot out of the broken fire hydrant, shooting twenty feet in the air, then dropping heavily onto the hood and roof of our car.
“Wha?” Kevin mumbled. He blinked again, looking around in a daze, and slowly took in my anxious face, the car lurched up onto the sidewalk at an angle, the crashing water.
“What happened?” His voice sounded thick, and his face looked gray.
“What’s wrong?” Starting to freak out, I saw that his lips looked faintly blue. I grabbed one of his hands. It was ice cold.
People had gathered around our car, and now the doors opened on both sides.
“Miss,
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