"Xedrix!" Aimee snapped.
"What?" He gave her a look of innocence that would have been comical had it not been Fang's life they were discussing. "Wolves make good eats. Not as tasty as other things, but they're not bad. And add on hot sauce. I could make do."
Wanting to serve him up at Sanctuary, she looked at Kerryna. "I can track him and find him." Aimee closed her eyes and thought of Fang.
But for once, nothing was there.
Nothing.
How could this be? Her powers were godlike. She could always track. Yet there was no sign of him anywhere. It was almost like he was dead.
That mere thought was enough to make her want to collapse. You're stronger than that. . . .
Aimee faced them with a steadiness she didn't feel. "I can't find him."
Kerryna looked back to the floor. "He's a powerful demon. I'm sure he can mask his essence from anyone except a god."
"Then what do we do?"
Xedrix shrugged. His ambivalence was getting on her last nerve.
Narrowing her eyes, Kerryna tapped her chin. "Menyara, I think."
Aimee frowned at a term she'd never heard before. "Is that some kind of funky ceremony?"
Kerryna laughed. "No, it's a person. She lives here in New Orleans and is the one who helped me when I first arrived. I think if anyone can help you, she's the one." She turned a pointed stare at Xedrix. "Since you can't stand her, surely you'll let me go there alone?"
He brought his left fist to his right shoulder and bowed mockingly. "Yes, akra. Your pleasure is ever my misery."
Kerryna snorted. "I'll remember that tonight when you want to come to bed."
He looked horrified by her threat. "It was a joke, baby. I didn't mean a word of it."
She patted him adoringly on the cheek. "We'll see."
Aimee barely had time to focus before Kerryna took her out of Fang's room to a small shack of a bright blue house. Even in the darkness, the blue stood out. Colorful, but ubiquitous in design, it looked like any of a hundred row houses in New Orleans' French Quarter. White lace curtains peeked out from under thick white shutters. It hardly looked like the abode of someone who could defeat a powerful demon.
But if Hello Kitty attacked-watch out!
Kerryna knocked on the door.
After a brief pause, a beautiful African American woman opened it to smile at them. Her long curly hair framed a face that was elegant and exotic. Dressed in a bright yellow sweater that matched the headband she used to hold her hair off her forehead, and jeans, she possessed an aura of fierce power that rippled on the air around them.
There was no doubt that this woman could take on a demon and win.
"Kerry-bell? Who you bring to Menyara's door, child?" She held her hand out to Aimee. "Come in, ma petite bearswan, and make yourself at home."
Eyes wide, Aimee passed a trepidatious glance at Kerryna. "How do you know who I am?" she asked Menyara.
A slow smile curved her lips and wrinkled her nose. "I know much about this world, child. Both seen and unseen. Now come, there's a warm pot of Egyptian chamomile tea waiting with lots of honey."
Aimee followed her into the small house that was decorated like the inside of an Egyptian pyramid. Statues of the gods lined the mantel that reminded her more of an altar. Papyrus paintings lined the walls. Decorated with black, golds, and browns, the house had a homey feel to it. Like walking into a beloved grandmother's house.
Aimee took a seat on the small armchair as Kerryna sat down on the couch while Menyara poured their tea.
Kerryna took a cup from her hand. "I'm sure you know why we're here."
Menyara held the teapot lid as she poured a cup for Aimee. "I do indeed. But there is much in flux right now. Powers aligning and repelling." She handed the cup to Aimee. "You have made a most powerful enemy, chere. One who will stop at nothing to see you dead."