Voodoo Queens of New Orleans - Vol. I | ✓

Chapter 55: The Council (Part II)

**

There were eyes on me from every corner of the room. All from different factions, and all for different reasons.

Never would I think I would be at a level of such importance at a function such as this one—with vampires and witches and voodoo priestesses, all high and low in rank, but still more significant than me. However, I was more influential than I thought; I was more significant than I thought. And I was coming to terms with this newfound jump in rank. Yet it wasn't the time to bask in this new knowledge. I was here to find a different type of knowledge—from Abraham.

It would be nearly impossible to find a good time to speak to Abraham and ask him what I wanted to know; there were people everywhere, and most of these people were infected with the disease that not only gave them a thirst for blood, but also gave them heightened sense of hearing; I would be a fool to try and speak to Abraham anywhere out in this foyer.

Sajida was beside me, drinking her now second glass of red wine. The platters that these servers carried around were color coated—silver for wine, and black for blood. The vampiric guests gracefully picked up these glistening glasses off the black platters and drank very slowly, licking their lips after every sip to remove the evidence of the thick red substance. Whose blood was it? Where did it come from?

My eyes landed on Mama, who was staring into my soul and ripping it apart in anger. I should have been afraid of her and her wrath, but all I did was stare back at her with a nonchalance in my expression; the betrayal and fury of being locked in my room for an entire day resurfaced in me, and these feelings were heightened, knowing that she was the one who locked me away.

But Hezekiah helped her, too.

Hezekiah, standing next to Abraham, forced himself not to look at me in the presence of his master and his brethren. Though only an idiot wouldn't have been able to notice how distraught and upset he was. But he also seemed nervous; his eyes were wide, unblinking, and his mouth was pressed into a firm line. He was thinking of all of his secrets that Abraham could become aware of at this party, if Abraham wasn't aware of them already and just kept skillfully quiet about it.

My heart was racing. Where to begin?

I would tackle my Mama, the beast, first. She was coming towards me, gliding through the crowd with Aza right by her side. I turned to Sajida, who had a delighted smirk on her face when she saw who was coming towards us.

"Something wicked this way come," she said, her voice almost like a hymn, deep and melodic. It seemed like forever until Mama finally approached me, but she finally did, with no words being exchanged the first few moments. Her dress was dark brown and black, with a matching tignon that Aza also wore to compliment her blue ball gown. In fact, all of the members of the Coterie wore tignons as a symbol of pride in this function dominated by creatures who loathed their religion and the color of their skin.

Mama looked at Sajida. "I've half a mind to strike you down right now," Mama growled at her.

Sajida chuckled, "Ain't nothing stopping you, sis."

"You think this is funny?" Aza asked her in a low voice. "You think this a game?"

"I think that it's inhumane to lock your own daughter up in her bedroom in the dark for lord knows how many hours 'cause you's afraid of what she already know."

Sajida's smile nearly waned at these words, making Mama and Aza stare in disbelief.

"This got nothing to do with you, Sajida!" Mama hissed.

"This got everything to do with me," she replied calmly. "More than you know."

"What you trying to get out this?" Mama asked her. "What is it you really want?"