gas-fired coach lanterns on the walls as we ventured farther inside, but the light did not seem to be able to hold back the darkness. I shivered.
At the end of the street, a gas light cast a glowing circle, and in it stood an old African-American woman in a long, white dress. Her hair was bound up in a many-colored wrap, and on a chain around her neck, I saw a metal disk with the veve of Papa Legba.
“Welcome back, children.” The old woman’s voice was strong. Her hands had seen hard work, but her back was unbowed and fire danced in the depths of her dark eyes.
Sorren and Caliel made a little bow. Teag and I did the same. “Mama Nadege,” Sorren said, respect clear in his voice. “We are honored by your presence.”
“I told Solomon to expect you,” Mama Nadege replied. “Bad things are happening, Sorren, and they’re about to get worse. We’ve been here before, yes we have.”
“Have we?” Sorren asked intently. “That’s why I came. The Watchers are returning, and I’m almost certain Sariel is behind it, but I thought he’d been destroyed.”
Mama Nadege closed her eyes and lifted her hands to the sky, murmuring in a sing-song voice for a moment. She seemed to get the answer that she was seeking, and turned to Sorren.
“They are gathering,” she said, and the veve on the chain at her throat had a silvery glow. In the distance, I heard a dog howl, and caught a faint whiff of pipe smoke. That meant that Papa Legba was nearby, too.
“How many?” Sorren asked. “And how did they get through without our knowing?”
“Sariel has his ways,” Mama replied. “You know of three Watchers, but a fourth has arrived. Only one more, and the Harrowing will begin.”
“I thought Sariel had been destroyed. It’s been a long, long time,” Sorren replied. “Obviously, I was wrong. And if it’s really him, how can I make sure that this time, he can’t come back?”
“Sariel knows that Charleston is dear to you. Of all your places, Charleston is closest to your heart,” Mama said. “You destroyed his son. Had you forgotten? He has not.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” Sorren replied gravely.
Mama nodded. “Sariel survived, and since then, he’s regained much strength. But whether he is as strong as he was before, without his son, we won’t know until we face him in battle.” She paused. “Why now? Because he has been biding his time and he has reached a point where he believes he can win.”
“I’ll need your help,” Sorren said.
Mama Nadege chuckled, a throaty, vibrant sound. “Oh, you can count on me son, and Caliel and Lucinda will help you. Sariel’s not quite ready to strike yet, but it won’t be long. Gather your team. Find his weakness. Then we must take the fight to him before he brings the last Watcher through.”
“Like last time,” Sorren said, and I saw sorrow and determination in his features.
“Aye,” Mama Nadege agreed. “There will be a cost. But there is no choice. Now go, with the blessing of the spirits,” she said, holding her outstretched hand toward us in blessing. And then, as I watched, Mama Nadege’s image faded to nothing.
“How does she do that?” Teag murmured. We both knew that Mama Nadege had been dead for more than two hundred years, but even from the afterlife, she had the power to appear real and solid, and to make an impact in the mortal world.
“So what do you think?” I asked. “Do we have a chance of beating Sariel?”
“The mortal world isn’t the true home for Sariel or his creatures, so coming across weakens them. That’s our opportunity,” Sorren added. “Striking before they have their power at full strength.”
“Or what?” I asked, meeting Sorren’s eyes. Because of his long bond with my family, I’m one of the few, like Mama Nadege, who can look him straight in the eye with impunity.
“The last time Sariel appeared, when Josiah Winfield helped fight him, we came very close to losing,” Sorren said quietly.
I shuddered. “Then we’ll have to stop him,” I said, swallowing back my fear. “Whatever it takes.”
THE NEXT NIGHT, Teag and I met Anthony at the Historical Archive for the Angel Oak Fundraiser. I had promised Mrs. Morrissey that I would attend, and I was anxious to get another look at the exhibit, now that I had more experience with angels than I ever thought I’d get this side of the afterlife.