“Wise choice, Eveny,” Peregrine says.
She and Chloe lead me reluctantly away from the gasping Boniface and back into the parlor. While Chloe lights some candles, Peregrine asks me to remember exactly which herbs I invoked. When I tell her, she walks out the door.
“You’ll have to focus your energy on this house and the grounds like you did when you cast the original charm,” Chloe says while we wait for Peregrine to come back. “Feel the energy as deep in your heart as you can.”
Peregrine returns a moment later with a handful of mint, nettle, and rue. “Fortunately, you didn’t destroy the herb garden entirely.”
“Casting with the herbs themselves instead of only relying on your Stone of Carrefour to channel the herbs will help make us stronger,” Chloe explains. “Now put your left ring finger on your stone, and your right hand here.”
I do as she says, reaching for my stone and then folding my right hand over Peregrine’s, which is upturned and clutching the herbs. Chloe’s hand comes down over ours, and as soon as she touches us, I feel a surge of power. “When Peregrine’s done, you’ll recite the words Mesi, zanset with us,” Chloe instructs. “It’s what finishes an important charm.”
“What does it mean?” I ask.
“Thank you, ancestors,” Chloe replies. “It’s Creole. When our great-great-great-grandmothers founded Carrefour, they dealt with a lot of Haitian immigrants who had lived and died in this swamp. Some of their words became a part of zandara.”
“Are we going to have a history lesson here,” Peregrine asks, glancing from Chloe to me, “or are we going to fix what you messed up?”
I take a deep breath while Peregrine calls on Eloi Oke. I feel the air in the room shift, and then Peregrine chants:
Mint, nettle, and rue were invoked to cast a charm.
Reverse it now, oh spirits, before it’s too late.
A mistake was made here, and it must be righted.
We humbly beg you for your sympathy and assistance.
Together, the three of us say, “Mesi, zanset. Mesi, zanset. Mesi, zanset.”
I feel a whoosh of air, and suddenly the whole house is shifting beneath our feet. The walls straighten, the crimson pool of blood vanishes, and the peeling wallpaper is vibrant and new again.
When Chloe pulls away a moment later, her eyes are wide. “Did you feel that?” she whispers to Peregrine.
Peregrine nods, looking just as shocked. “Power,” she whispers.
I felt it too, but I don’t have time to dwell on that. “I have to make sure Boniface is okay.” I run out of the parlor toward the backyard.
I find Boniface sitting on the ground, rubbing the back of his head. I exhale in relief when I see that he looks like he’s seventy-something again instead of a hundred and seventy-something.. He appears to be breathing normally.
“I don’t know what happened there!” he says, looking up as I approach. “I must have fallen and hit my head. I feel a little woozy.”
I hurl myself at him and wrap my arms around his solid body. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” I tell him.
“Well, that sure is the best greeting I’ve gotten in a long time,” he replies, hugging me back.
Peregrine and Chloe step out on the deck and call to me. “Come on, Eveny!” Peregrine says impatiently. “We have things to discuss!”
My stomach twists itself into a knot.
“When did they get here?” Boniface asks.
“Just in time,” I tell him in a shaky voice. With a heavy heart, I stand up and head toward my fellow zandara queens.
UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
HarperCollins Publishers
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21
Peregrine is standing in my living room filing her nails when I reenter the house. Chloe is applying lipstick in the mirror on the wall.
“You’re welcome,” Peregrine says as I linger in the doorway, watching them.
I give her a look. “I don’t remember thanking you.”
Peregrine shrugs. “I assumed that was just an accidental lapse in manners on your part. After all, I did just save your house and Boniface’s life.”
“So I made a mistake. But can we agree that we won’t do any more big charms without consulting each other? Like I won’t destroy my house, and you won’t endanger everyone just because you’ve run out of guys to make out with?”
Peregrine glowers at me. “You’re being awfully bossy for someone who’s new at this.”
Chloe elbows Peregrine. “Eveny’s right,” she says. She turns to me and says, “We’ll scale it back until we know for sure what happened to Glory. Deal?”