Free Nancy K. Duplechain - Dark Trilogy 02 - Dark Carnival by Nancy K. Duplechain Page B

can’t make any
more ‘till September.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” teased
Tonya.
    “So,” said Ruby, “What
you got for me?”
    “Oh!”  Tonya set the
little satchel on the coffee table and leaned back on the sofa.  “So anyway, me
and Carter were sitting out at that new café I was telling you about.  There
was this white man that come up to this woman next to us.  He starts talking to
her and asking her about what she wants out of life and things like that.”
    A grinning Devon went up
to Ruby and proudly showed her a toy lion.  “Oh, look at him!” she said to him.
 “You like that mean ol’ lion?”  Devon laughed and went back to his toys.  Ruby
motioned for Tonya to continue.
    “Anyway, I couldn’t help
hearing what they were saying, so he keeps talking to her about how her life
could be better by joining his Mardi Gras krewe.  The Krewe of—what was it I
told you?”
    “Grigori,” said Ruby.  I
arched an eyebrow, but Ruby paid me no attention.  The Grigori, these Watcher
Angels that Nadia was telling me about, had a Mardi Gras krewe.  That still
seemed a little comical to me that these ancient, powerful beings have an
organization of people who ride floats in Mardi Gras parades.
    “Yeah.  That’s it.  The
Krewe of Grigori,” said Tonya.  “So, he’s telling her how everything in her
life would be better if she joined him.  I mean, he didn’t say it exactly like
that, but that’s what he was getting at, you know.  Now I never heard of a
Mardi Gras krewe recruiting people like that.”
    “What else did he say?”
    “She sounded interested.  He
told her that they were going to have a Mardi Gras ball at their house and then
gave her directions.”
    “You know where the
Grigori House is?” asked Ruby.
    “Pontchartrain Beach.  The
old fairgrounds.”
    “U.N.O. has a research
center out there with the Navy.”
    “Not the whole area.  Keep
going down that road a few miles and you’ll see a big house with a lot of land
that expands away from the original fairgrounds and continues along the beach.”
    “Anything else?”
    “She said she would love
to go, and then he gave her a ticket and told her to bring a guest.”  Tonya
thought for a moment.  “You know it was funny because he just talked to her.  There
were about twelve people outside at the café, but he went straight for her.”
    “Alright, thanks girl,”
said Ruby, leaning over in her chair and holding her arms out for Devon.  Devon
walked over to her as best he could and thrust himself into her arms.  She
scooped him up and hugged him, kissing his cheek.  “Alright, my little man.  I’ll
see you soon.”  She kissed him again and then set him down.
    Tonya got up from the
sofa and I did the same.  I thanked her before we left.  When we closed the
door, I heard Devon start to cry again.
    “So, why are the Grigori
doing this again?” I asked Ruby on the way back to the car.
    “Because they’re tired of
being the outcasts of Heaven.  They’re bitter and want to take over, to be in
charge of the humans again.  Not that they ever were in charge.  They were here
to protect us, but that went sour and now they want their power back.  Paladins
have managed to kill many of them off, just like we fight all Dark Ones.  There
aren’t as many as there used to be, so they’re recruiting humans to help them.”
    We made it back to her
car.  She shook her head and looked down the street.  “Miles has us busting our
asses looking for that mask, but they probably already have it.”   We got in
the car, and she drove us back across the bridge, exiting onto Claiborne
Avenue.
    The farther down
Claiborne we traveled, the more distressed the buildings became; leaning
frames, rotted siding, decayed vines clinging to mildewed exteriors.  Some
homes looked to be in very good condition considering their neighbors.  I
hadn’t seen this part of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina came through,
devastating the area.