The Transference

C55

The portal drop us off in the middle of a busy street, it looks like a school match parade because I can see the bands wearing matching uniform, playing with other students dancing behind them. Even though we portal right in their middle, none of them seems to notice us. They're all minding their own business like the rest of us don't exist.

Damian wraps his fingers around my wrist and pulls me out of the parade. We reach the sidewalks and split up to look around for Madame Cersi's shop. I didn't see what Miranda showed Damian but I'm sure it's not this place. I've never been to New Orleans but with what's I've heard and seen on TV about it, this places doesn't look like it but there's no way to confirm unless I see it with my own eye.

"Are you sure you got the right image? Are we even in New Orleans?" I ask Damian when he dies move, his eyes is on the shop we're standing in front of.

"This is what she showed me," he gestures at the shop as he answers.

I frown and look at the shop, the words 'Voodoo Shop' is boldly printed on the frosted glass inbuilt in the top of the door. "This is a voodoo shop," I tell him like it isn't obvious.

"I don't know, it doesn't say not Madame Cersi shop," he shrugs.

"Can't know until you've–" The movement of Nate's feet interrupts me as I watch him open the door to the voodoo shop and enter. "Wait! Nate don't, Nate!" I try to stop him but he's long gone.

Damian and I don't have any time to think as we go after him, entering the shop. We stop at the entrance. I've never been to a voodoo shop but do they always have so many dolls? Those scary ones that looks like Annabelle doll. Apart from the spooky shit, it looks like an antique shop, an abandoned antique shop.

I walk towards the stacks of lizards bones tied together with a black ribbon. "It's all junk and stuff," I say as I reach to touch the bone but Damian stops, catching my wrist.

I look at him and he shakes his head.

Right. It's called a Voodoo shop for a reason.

"This is a waste of the time I don't have!" Nate says in anger and leaves the aisle and head towards the exit.

He's angry and impatient. He isn't thinking clearly.

I extend my hand and spread out my fingers like I'm trying to stop him or something. "Nate, wait! We need to–"

He turns back, fury burning in his eyes. I thought he was angry before. "You shut your mouth," he holds out his index finger to stop me from talking, "we don't need to do anything. This whole thing is all your fault–"

"That's enough, Nathaniel!" Damian comes to rescue before I can summon the courage to talk to him.

His gaze shifts to Damian and his looks doesn't flutter, he's wearing the anger with pride. "Is that the only thing you can say? That's enough Nathaniel." He tries and fails to imitate Damian's tone. "I'm not the one with issues, she is." I flinch at his harsh tone and the direct accusations at me. "You should be telling her it's enough. How many people have to die before you all realize that we're all better off without her?"

He doesn't wait for a reply as he goes for the door.

"He didn't mean it," Damian says when he comes to stand beside me as we watch him leave.

"He did." I shrug and I don't blame him.

"He didn't, he is just angry." Damian tries to make me feel better but I know better.

I raise my head to look at him. "I thought you don't lie." I challenge.

He doesn't say anything after that. I return my gaze to Nate, who's now standing in front of the door. He places his hand on the door knob and something happens. The ticking of the clock ringing loud as it increases. Nate removes his hand at the sound of the first loud chime and turns to us. "What the–"

He doesn't finish the sentence as a black shield cover the door, the metal frame covers the window and every exit and a dark cloud covers the room, rendering everywhere dark. I feel Damian's arm around my shoulder. The top of the room start lighting up with lightning strike before thunderclaps.

"What's going on?" I ask as the heavy wind blows in the room out of nowhere. The object in the room clicking the surface as wind hit them.

I move closer to Damian, wrapping my arms him because I don't understand what's going on. A scream tear out of my throat when the lighting hit the middle of the room. I try to move away from Damian but he doesn't let me go, instead he shifts me behind him, protecting me.

"How dare you enter the house of Cersi without permission?" A deep, loud, angry feminine voice echoes in the room, the shelf shakes with her words.

"Miranda Mulligan sent us to–" Another thunder clap slaps shakes his room, making me shut my eyes in fear.

Whoever this Madame Cersi is she's very powerful and Miranda forgot to mention it.

"Who told you to speak in the presence of Cersi?" The voice comees again. I open my eyes and look around the dark room for her but nothing comes to view. It's too dark.

Moments later, the room clears up, the dark clouds washes away as the Voodoo shop returns to how it was when we first entered. A woman with mocha skin color is standing in the middle of us and Damian, her black curly hair is braided in at least hundred braids. Her face is covered in a minimal makeup with her long eyelashes shining with bright red color. There's a rock, looks like a ruby in between her eyebrows and she's wearing a shirt that says 'I love Olivia Rodrigo'.

She throws her head back and laugh, "Oh my God, that was funny. The expression on your faces is so priceless. Lose the look, it makes me feel like I'm tough."

Really? This is Madame Cersi.

"You are tough." I tell her. She is tough, her early display almost made me shit myself.

She waves me off as if she's doesn't believe what I just said. "You're from Mulligan and any friend of Miranda is a friend of mine. Sorry for the dramatics, what do you want?" She asks.

I dip my hand inside my pocket and remove the paper that contains the list of what we need and give it to her. She collects it and reads the list. Her eyebrows draws together before the list burst into flame in her hands. My lips part to talk but she raises her head and glares, not sure who she's glaring at.

"Miranda knows better than to send bunch of teenagers to my shop for these." She mutters and her tone remind me just how tough I think she is. "Who needs it?" She demands.

"A friend of ours is stabbed with a blade laced with poison and she doesn't have much time left." Damian answers.

"What kind of poison?"

"We don't know." He says.

"Okay. Wait here while I go gather the leaves for you." She leaves the room and walk down to the other end of the room to open the door and enter.

We wait anxiously and when she returns I finally take the breath I didn't realize I was hold. She hands me the leaves secured in a black bag and says, "one of you harbours a great darkness and if you don't fight to see the light, it will consume you." Her gaze fixed on me like she knows something I don't.

"Thank you, Madame Cersi." Damian appreciate her and walks away.

"Be careful of what's coming." Her voice whisper in my mind. I look back to where she's standing but she isn't there anyone. She isn't in the shop.

I leave the shop to see the portal waiting. I step into it, arriving at the infirmary.

The moment I step inside, I know something is wrong. "I'm sorry but she's gone." Nurse Grady announces.

No, no, no, no, no fuck no! She can't gone. She can't.

"We brought the leaves," I thrust the bag in Miranda's hand. "Look at it, we brought it."

She shakes her head and doesn't make eye contact.

Fuck no!

"There's a way." Dean's voice sounds from the corner of the room.

"Father no!" Damian refuses like he knows what his father is about to suggest.

"There is a way to bring her back, Cami." He tells me like I'm the only one he needs to ask permission from.

I raise my head to look at him. Anything to bring her back, then I'm game.

"I'm listening."