Ruby (Landry 1)

between us.

"Who you be, girl?" she demanded.

"My name is Ruby," I said quickly, and shifted

my eyes to Beau, who was still smiling impishly. "Nina is warding off any evil with the voodoo

power in that little sack, aren't you, Nina?"

She looked at him and at me and then dropped

the sack to her chest again.

"This here, five finger grass," she said. "It can

ward off any evil that five fingers can bring, you

hear?"

I nodded.

"Who this be?" she asked Beau.

"It's Gisselle's secret sister," he said.

"Obviously, twin sister," he added. Nina stared at me

again.

"How do you know that?" she asked, taking

another step back. "My grandmere, she told me once

about a zombie made to look like a woman. Everyone

stuck pins in the zombie and the woman screamed in

pain until she died in her bed."

Beau roared.

"I'm not a zombie doll," I said. Still suspicious,

Nina stared.

"I daresay if you stick pins in her, Nina, she'll

be the one to scream, not Gisselle." His smile faded

and he grew serious. "She's traveled here from

Houma, Nina, but on the way to the house, she had a

bad experience. Someone tried to attack her in an

alley."

Nina nodded as if she already knew.