Like everything else in my life. That’s why it made perfect sense.
Tyler trailed after him, adding, “Get some sleep, why don’t you? And no more talking. You can hear a pin drop in this godforsaken place.”
“All I hear are the frogs. So many frogs,” I joked as Rourke folded me into his arms. I turned into his chest and murmured, “Home will feel nice for us too. I can’t wait.” My apartment was still pretty bare, but I did have a bed.
“Waiting is not my strong suit,” Rourke whispered, “but it looks like we have no other choice.”
“Well, there might be a few other choices,” I said as I leaned up and kissed him.
20
“You brang it back?” The shorter guide scratched his head like the concept was too much to process. “And you don’t want no money for it?”
The airboat we’d purchased was already parked on top of the dock, and Rourke, Ray, Tyler, Nick, Marcy, James, and I stood there waiting for the guides to get over their shock. My father and the rest of his wolves had gone back to the place they’d purchased theirs from and were heading back home by plane. No one thought getting on an airplane with me was a wise plan, so we were going to rent a vehicle and drive home. We figured it would be safer that way.
“That’s what I just finished telling you,” Marcy answered. “The boat is yours, but on one condition.”
“And what’s that?” the taller guide asked, his voice indicating that he knew there was going to be a hitch.
“We need a vehicle. One that will carry all of us. And once we’re gone, you saw nothing, you remember nothing.” A little magic shot out of Marcy’s fingertips as she said the last part and I knew she was insuring us with a spell.
Once we left, we’d fade from their memories altogether.
The taller guide sized her up for a second before he answered, glancing around our group, trying to read our inscrutable faces. He was clearly the more intelligent of the two. He saw his opportunity to gain back what he lost, and then some. “Deal.” He drew a cell phone out of his overalls pocket. “My nephew Teddy might have what you need. He’s got a few of them big old vans he takes gator tours in. I’ll dial him up.”
The shorter guide assessed us. “Well, the least we can do is get you some more of that moonshine fer your troubles. I don’t see the jug in the boat, nor the guy who had it, so I’m ’ssuming that he enjoyed his drink.”
I couldn’t tell him we’d lost his precious hooch in a scuffle with a bunch of possessed snakes. “That’d be… nice of you,” I said. Nothing like a jug or two of moonshine for the road. “And one more thing—if you hear any gossip in this area, or if any of the other guides start talking, we’d like you to assure them that everything is back to normal. No one is going to bother anyone here anymore. No more mysterious disappearances.”
“Good to know,” the taller guide said as he clicked off his phone. “The lot of you are welcome in these parts anytime. Free airboat rides for the family for life. Anythin’ we can do, consider it done.”
“Thanks, but we’re not planning on coming back,” my brother said. Then he whispered too low for him to hear, “At least not in your lifetime.”
“Well, then, moonshine whenever you need it.” He fished something out of his front pocket. “Just gimme a call. We ship anywhere in the world.” Tyler took the card and grinned as he passed it to me.
It read:
JIMMY’S MOONSHINE
Better than yo’ mama’s moonshine.
We ship anywhere in the world.
www.jimmyshooch.com
“Thanks,” I said, tucking the card away. “If we find a need for it, we’ll be sure to get in touch with you.”
We began to walk up the banks to a dirt road. Right as we got there a brightly colored van turned into the drive. The vehicle was orange with lime-green accents—which appeared to be hand-painted drawings of tall swamp grass with a few alligator heads poking out. The side was crudely printed with EVERGLADES TOURS. SEE DEM GATORS UP CLOSE.
“Good criminy,” Ray muttered. “These people are beyond backwoods. They’re so far back, they’re only a step or two up from cavemen.”
“They are quite… uncivilized, aren’t they,” Nick added. He had joined us this morning, and insisted on accompanying us home. He’d been relegated to watching over the camps during the takedown of Marinette and the priestess, which I knew had been my father’s way of making sure he stayed safe. Nick was a fox, and if he’d been taken by the bokor, it would’ve ended very badly. My father loved him like a son, and even though I knew Nick was unhappy with my father’s decision to keep him back, he didn’t complain. That wasn’t his style. “But they do have a certain charm.”
“This must be what happens when you’re born and raised in a swamp,” I said. “But they deliver. We asked for a vehicle, and we got one within three minutes. Beggars can’t be choosers.”
“That thing looks like it’s made of Legos, constructed in some kid’s garage,” Ray grumbled. “These guys don’t have two brain cells to rub together.”
“They’re harmless,” Rourke said. “And now they owe us. We brought their boat back, and that buys us considerable loyalty.”