Coffin Girls (Elegantly Undead: Book 1 of the Coffin Girls Witch Vampire Series) (19 page)

“I’m going to link to them.” Conall decided that if this was
a solution, he’d be part of it and give it his best. He sent out a tendril of
magick to Sophie, the one connecting all of them and pulled it to the other
that Anais was holding onto.

Power flooded Anais’s senses. Vampire dark with witch light.
It looked like a multi-colored ball of twinkling lights. So beautiful it
mesmerized her.

“Anais!” Conall’s shout brought her out of the trance. “We
can’t hold on much longer. You need to visualize our magick penetrating the
binding.”

Anais forced herself to focus and cast her gaze around at
them, confirming what Conall stated. Droplets of sweat dotted their faces;
their clothes were drenched as though they’d stepped out from under a cloud
burst. All her sisters’ eyes were red and seeping blood as they kneeled on the
floor. Raulf and Miss Suzette were pale, praying feverishly. Raulf’s hands had
transformed into paws under the duress of the magickal connection. They looked
close to their own ends. They couldn’t all go. She could but they couldn’t.
Anais realised that they had chosen to go her. For their own unique reasons,
they’d stay with her even if it meant their own end.

She grasped at the love and magick they offered so freely
and pulled it towards the heat of the binding. As her hands pulled towards each
other, each one holding different magick, she saw their colors meld, rainbow
colors of light seeped into the red fire of the binding, infiltrating it,
over-powering it. Then it was gone. And her body fell to the floor. 

Rainbow lights continued to sweep through her body, brushing
away the remnants of the binding, strand by strand. Anais felt comfortable
coolness wash over her skin and insides. She felt it move and mend, filling her
with renewed vitality as well as the magick and the love of those who’d given
to her, who had sacrificed for her. Knowledge filled her; age-old knowledge of the
craft, of witch history and of power and the responsibilities that came with
it. It was as though millennia of experience infiltrated her very essence where
the binding had been moments ago.

Conall watched the transformation, astonished, transfixed by
the metamorphosis occurring before him. Still naked, she stood up. She was
beautiful before as a vampire. As a royal witch-vampire, she looked like a
goddess.  A glow emanated from her skin, illuminated it in multi-colored
lights. Her hair, black before, was the shiny ebony of a raven’s feathers. Her
previous brown eyes were speckled with gold and red and sparkled with the
knowledge of eons. He wanted to go to her, to claim her as his as he’d decided
even before her transformation. Conjuring a gown to cover her, he moved towards
her and placed a kiss on her brow. “Welcome back, Anais,” he whispered in her
ear, his lips brushing its velvety softness. He wished they were the only ones
in the room but that wish was not to be granted.

Miss Suzette abruptly stepped up to Anais, concern reflected
in her maternal eyes and nudged Conall away. “Enough of that now. Y’all can go
at it like rabbits later but mind that you don’t get yourselves into another
fix like this one.” Miss Suzette visibly shook at the recollection then
gathered herself again, using bossiness as a front, “I need to get my girls
home to a hot meal and bed. And then I’m going to have one myself. Y’all come
up to the big house to do the same.” Her nerves had had all that it could take
and she wanted to resume her reign over her chicks and gain some semblance of
normality. She deliberately ignored the changes she saw overcome her baby girl
and hustled the vampire sisters up with unnatural speed for her age and form.
In record time, she’d commandeered the vampires, Raulf and Anais and had them
speeding out the slave quarters towards the house.

Conall grinned at the characteristic human coping skill of
point-blank denial. Ida and Brigid, usually not around humans often, especially
bossy, Cajun mamma hens, looked at the departing figures with gaping mouths

Fianna wasn’t as tactful. “What the hell?”

“No,” Conall corrected, mouth spread wide in a grin, “the
phenomenon we just witnessed is not hell; it’s a concerned mamma called Miss
Suzette.” 

They’d forgone their usual kitchen spot for the lounge. They
had a vow renewal taking place in the plantation that evening. It was one of
the events that had been booked so well in advance, and paid for, that they
wouldn’t cancel when Yves made his announcement of the witch vampire ‘foreign
exchange program’. Their sense of business ethics also wouldn’t allow them to
cancel.

“These are great!” Rose mumbled through a mouthful of
crawfish rèmoulade.

Anais surveyed the tray of hors d’ oeuvress, lingering over
a bite-sized portion of spicy shrimp cocktail nestled in a curled leaf of
lettuce and chose smoked trout Pontchartrain on melba toast instead. She closed
her eyes in bliss, savored the taste. She’d had it before but the taste – the
taste was unbelievable, she swore the transformation had heightened her sense
of taste too!

“
Merci
, Rose,” Marie acknowledged the compliment,
oblivious of Anais’ sensory experience, while Miss Suzette basked. “The cold hors
d’ oeuvres menu worked out well – both for the hot weather and for our
capacity. The cake’s been finished too – that was the only thing that really
required a lot of work.”

“And that’s where I’m grateful for that vampire speed y’all
have,” Miss Suzette stated, “no other way all those sugar and chocolate roses
would’ve been done in time.” 

 “So, that’s it then. Once the flowers arrive, we’ll
have it all taken care of.” Anais ticked the last item off her mental list. She
glanced through the huge French windows to the outside where an army of staff
were setting up tables and chairs in the alley.

Sophie came to stand next to her, sharing in the joy of
watching something they loved doing evolve into the picture they’d imagined.
Puzzled, she pointed to the team in the alley, “Why are they stringing the
fairy lights through the trees?”

Anais responded, “I instructed them to do that a moment ago.
I think that the garlands and strings of white flowers interspersed with the
fairy lights will look magical. With the candles along the alley at the feet of
the trees, it will be magical. If there’s any left over we can string the
flowers and fairy lights along the white draping of the bandstand too, give the
jazz band a true platform. The couple swore that jazz had brought them together
and insisted that they have jazz tonight as a token of further good luck. So,
we’ll honor that too.”

“That will tip us over our budget.” V came to join them at
the window. “I’m sure that they wouldn’t mind paying the difference but we’ve
always prided ourselves on coming in or under budget. I don’t want to change
that now.”

“I know,” responded Anais softly, “but we can afford to
spring for the difference for this couple. We can write it off as a goodwill
expense, an anniversary gift from us to them.” She shrugged elegant shoulders,
“I need magic tonight. Our magic, the wedding planner kind - not the magick of
witches or vampires – the kind we give to couples that come to celebrate at
Papillion. After the past few days, I want normality, control and the beauty of
our work - the pleasure we take from giving to others and sharing our homes
with them.”

“Then we’ll do that. We have enough money that we don’t use
anyway,” V acquiesced.

“It’s a lovely gesture,” agreed Sophie, looking to Marie and
Rose for their opinions.

Rose nodded and Marie added, “And I can’t think of a more
deserving couple.”

“
Merci
,” Anais beamed with gratitude. It felt good to
be in the thrall of orchestrating the event.  She could just picture
couples swaying and stepping to the lovely sounds of New Orleans mixed with
those coming from the bayou beyond the alley in a magical forest of their
creation.

“I’m really glad we couldn’t cancel tonight’s event.” Sophie
smiled, appreciation of romance radiating from her. “The Gautier’s are a lovely
couple. I have to respect what they’ve accomplished as well. I mean, we’re
vampires and have been long before they were born yet we don’t have
partnerships like that whereas they have been together for fifty years!”

“Oui, I couldn’t agree more.” V acknowledged. “After last
night, I think we all needed a bit of frivolity and what better than a real
celebration of love. They’re such an easy couple to please too. No bridezilla
moments from Evelyn and Remy is a picture of contentment.”

“When I grow up, I wanna be just like them.” Marie added in
a mock toddler voice, making them laugh. They’d already lived a few of the
Gautier’s lifetimes.

“What? You think we’re grown up?” Marie looked at them with
mock astonishment. “Jokes aside, I am a bit jealous of them. We have each other
and I’m more grateful than I can say. But it would be nice to have someone, a
partner or a mate, to make some memories with.”

Marie looked apologetic for being open about her feelings.
Anais felt glad that she was sharing these emotions though and not just
shooting off her mouth as was her usual modus operandi. “Marie, you’re right. I
think we all feel that way from time to time. It is one of the crosses we have
to bear as vampires. We live so long but never go through the normal circle of
life like humans do. So, we don’t ‘grow up’ in the same way.” She cocked her
head to the side, pondered. “But look at it this way; we have stacks of time to
find that love, that partner. Some humans don’t manage to do so in their short
lifetimes. I think we should look at the Gautier’s vow renewal as inspiration.
They’re good people and we’re good people so love will find us. Maybe we just
need to start looking.”

“So, the sex was that good last night?” Marie felt a bit
uncomfortable now and found the perfect topic to detract from the one she’d
thrown into the conversation.

“That’s so random.” V gave an inelegant snort, knowing well
what Marie was trying to do. She lent her support, “But accurate. So, Anais,
spill. Was the sex smokin’?”

“Had to be,” offered Miss Suzette. “I ain’t got no vampire
hearing like y’all but those noises came all the way down to the guest room.”
She chuckled as the eerily beautiful glow Anais had gotten from unleashing her
magick grew brighter as her face grew redder in embarrassment. Her girl needed
a little raggin’ to bring some normal back and looked like they were all ready
to give it by the smirks they shot her way.

“Well, if the lights go out, we can always use you, Anais,”
Marie quipped at Anais. Inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief, her diversion
tactic had worked. “You’re glowing like the Fourth of July. Tell me, how did
Conall manage to sleep next to you last night? Wait, I get it, you guys didn’t
sleep. That’s a handy new gift you have - keep them awake to do other more
interesting things than sleep. If I had a hunk like Conall in bed with me, I’d
be glowing too. I guess you double-glow then, from sex and from magick. The
ghosts, by the way, are fascinated by your shining new abilities.” Marie
stopped to snicker at the bad pun.

“Dieu! I feel like I’ve got whip-lash. One minute we’re
talking about the event and the next you’re bringing up my sex life.” Anais
wasn’t going to fall for their nosiness.

Marie stuck to her guns. “Sneaky Sam says you didn’t even
notice him when he popped into your room. It was quite a hot account that he
gave me when came around to my room afterwards.”

Face enflamed, Anais scowled, “That ghost is lucky that he’s
already dead and I can’t wring his neck. But, just so y’all get off my back,
the sex was great, thank you.” 

“Nuh-uh. You don’t get away with being obtuse with us.” Rose
interjected, stepping back into the room. “You’ve not had a man to my knowledge
for more than a century and our reservoirs aren’t much fuller, so you don’t get
to get away without spilling. See, I’ve even brought refreshments.” Rose placed
down a tray on the coffee table beautiful pecan pie, ice-cream balls in a bowl
and jugs of iced-tea and mint juleps. It was a heavy tray that no normal human
being could carry, let alone place gently down on a low coffee table with one
hand, as though it was a coffee mug.

“And I too come bearing gifts,” V was looking particularly
pleased with herself, carrying a platter of beignets, which indicated that she
meant business. She’d picked up the scent of the sugary pecan filling that the
kitchen staff had finished preparing for the patisserie table and had used her
vampire speed to whip out to the kitchen for more bribery material so Anais
would dish the details. “So, out with it my dear nympho of the moment and we
will leave you alone.”

Anais narrowed her eyes at the blatant enticement. “You
don’t play fair, any of you.” She glared at Sophie and Miss Suzette, who were
sitting too innocently and demure on the over-sized chairs at the opposite end
of the room. “So, after all I’ve been through, you ambush me at a business
meeting? And bribe me with my favorite desserts?”

“Of course, boo.” Miss Suzette rolled her eyes at Anais.
“It’s the best way to corner you. What did you think? You must really have
jumbled your brains if you didn’t see this one coming. You’re usually a lot
sharper than this.”

Sophie snorted and decided to jump onto the band-wagon.
“Just goes to show, Miss Suzette, that our Anais had some seriously steamy
interludes with a certain handsome witch, steamy enough to render her
temporarily a bit rattled in the attic.”

Miss Suzette patted Sophie co-conspiratorially on the knee,
lips curved in amusement. “Now, stop keeping us on tenterhooks. Our Marie will
start getting more insulting than usual and the rest of us will eat all the
sweet things our Rose has brought us and since I rule this house’s kitchen and
all in it, I say you don’t get any until you spill.” She took a breath and shot
Anais a pitiful look that had no one fooled. “Have some mercy on an old woman,
boo. It would do my heart good to know that you had a grand end to the evening
we had last night with the whole unbinding thing”