Page 91 of When the Snowman Whispered
I wasn’t a fan of hearing about Addie Mae’s sex life. And I damn sure couldn’t think of her being with anyone, due to her current form.
Addie Mae explained some more, “Anybody you’ve exchanged your energy with. Their spirit seeps into you. When it’s good and right, part of them lives inside of you.”
“And when it’s bad?”
“Same thing, except now you’re planting seeds for a wicked harvest that demons love to eat.”
When she said demon, it made me think of Remington again. “I never finished telling you about this Remington.”
“There’s no need.” She slithered out of the pantry and entered the kitchen within seconds, moving like this mystical being. Addie Mae was an alien to me. I recognized nothing, not even the words coming out of her mouth.
“I’ve never been able to forget about Remington Townson,” she said. “He was one of my biggest failures. I was making him a spell and that damn boy, Brett came walking into my yard, hand-in-hand with Faith. And. . .I did something wrong. I was so mad. I finished pouring, but I might’ve picked something else up too. I mixed the wrong things together for Remington because my head was so scattered with Brett. I keep replaying that moment in my mind.”
Without her touching it, the back door opened in front of us.
Silently, she slipped and paused in the center of the doorway. “A potent conjure bag could make the user fly. Have them walking around in a crowded place, invisible to the world. It can cure and kill, take away love and give it right back. But Remington wanted a love spell. Something strong. First, I’d given him the tea, but it hadn’t been enough for him to get the girl. He needed something stronger.”
She stared off into the snowy night. “Keep the bucket close to you. The cold won’t harm the flowers. We just need to get them close to Remington, and they’ll lick and suck his spirit away. And then I can fix this situation for good.”
We walked off.
I held this heavy bucket of tongue flowers.
Passing by my truck, I considered grabbing my gun and thought against it. The only person I would probably hurt was Faith and me. What I dealt with now was out of my hands.
This was Addie Mae’s world, and in it, I bet she reigned supreme.
“Don’t be scared,” she said as we entered the dark forest. “It’s a lot of scary things out here.” She stopped and turned to me. “But I’m by far the scariest thing on this night.”
I swallowed. “I believe you, ma’am.”
“You’ve always been such a good boy. I’m so glad I could help you get things back in order with Faith. Merry Christmas.”
“Uh. Thank you.” I tried not to stare at her heads. They gazed at the snow with pure enjoyment as if they’d never gotten outside much. “Thank you for helping Faith and me, but next Christmas I would just like a package of socks or a fruit cake. Maybe, just a card.”
A cackle left the hole in her head-face. “Oh no. I want me another grandbaby. It must happen. A little baby girl.”
“We don’t need any help with that, if we decide to take it there.”
“You will take it there. I’ve seen it many nights. And there’s nothing wrong with a little push in the right direction.”
Dear God. They say you should be careful with what you wish for. Have I wished for too much this year?
She chanted a weird sentence over and over. Light sparked in the air, illuminating the space. Red blood seeped out on the ground in a line that stained the snow.
Addie Mae pointed to the ground. “The land will lead us to her.”
So many questions spun around in my head.
I silenced them.
It seemed like the more I asked questions and received answers, the less I understood.
Save Faith. Get us out of the snow. Think about this stuff when I have a bottle of liquor.
We followed the trail of blood. I stumbled and shivered. She continued to slither. And I guess since I hadn’t raced away, she decided to be more open. Which was the moment I’d pretty much had enough information for the evening. All I wanted to do was find Faith, make sure she was safe, and then crawl under a blanket and lay in the fetal position.
I may even suck my thumb. That’s how fucked in the head I am right now. I’m going to return to sucking my thumb.
