She gives me a nod and bends over. I glance up and see a scowling Tante Odette in the doorway. “What are you doing?”
“Our job. You know, saving people.”
She clucks her tongue. “You have no authority to do this.”
“This is what we’ve always done. Healing, banishing. Witchy things.”
“Not in recent years.” She looks smug. I want to slap the expression off her face.
“Well, that’s a shame. It’s time we get back to the old ways,” I reply, keeping the inflection of anger out of my voice.
“You think you’re hot—”
“Now is not the time. If you’re so worried about it, call a meeting tomorrow. Right now, help me, or get out of my way.”
“You’re putting us in danger—”
“Have you forgotten who and what we are? Esçhetes help people in need. That’s how we chose to use our powers. We don’t hoard it and use it only for personal gain. Doing that will lead to the ancestors taking away more than they already have.” The words are a dagger aimed directly at her.
She sniffs, and I know I just made a direct hit. “This is not over.” She spins and stalks off.
How did she become so jaded? Doesn’t she realize she’s blocking her own blessings? It’s why she’s never had more success with magic.
“Sacha is going to help you outside, Jenny. I’ll be right behind you, okay?” I ask with a smile.
“Come on. Let’s get you into a nice warm bath with plenty of bath salts.” Sacha gently grasps her arm, helping her to rise.
“That sounds like heaven,” Jenny murmurs as they make their way out of the room.
I heft the bowl, and follow them, careful not to slosh water onto the floor. Once Jenny is standing in the center of the old clawfoot tub we keep in the corner of the courtyard, and the liquid has cooled, I slowly pour it over her.
“Okay, you can sit down now.”
She clutches the sides of the porcelain and lowers.
“I want you to scrub yourself with these crystals,” I instruct her. “They’re going to help get the negative residue out of your system.”
She nods in response, her eyes wide.
“We’re also going to wash your hair while you do that. We don’t want to leave anything left untouched.”
I dip the soap into the warm water, and together Sacha and I clean her long hair, working out tangles, and filling her with white light and positive energy. I watch in horror while the bathwater turns black as the negative energy is freed. She’s in a clean white muslin gown and feeling like a different person psychically after the bath. I have a large sachet of herbs.
“I want you to bathe with every night until the bag is finished, okay?”
“Yes. Thank you so much.”
“Don’t thank us yet. Now the hard part begins. We need to cleanse your space and close that open portal. You’re weakened from your battle, and I don’t want anything else creeping in.”
It’s midnight when we stumble to the car, weaving like drunks from exhaustion.
“That place was a freaking beacon. They had so many doorways opened, spirits were coming in and out like it was a hotel,” Sacha mumbles.
“I know.” I groan. “The worst part is I’m waking up to a family meeting tomorrow morning.”
“What the hell was up with your tante? I mean, yes, you’ve been a bit short staffed in recent years, so you’ve cut back on the gigs you take, but this was just mean-spirited.”
“I don’t know. But I sure as hell intend to find out and put her in her place.”