Chapter Seventeen
Sweet Dreams Plantation House
Luc heard Mars and Mercury begin to growl, just as Grace called his name before dawn. Much sooner than he’d expected.
The pre-dawn darkness was quiet, with a slight breeze. Luc had just settled at the ship’s rail with his whiskey when he heard.
“Luc, is that you?” The words were nearly inaudible over the noise of the dogs.
He set the whiskey aside and ran. For once, grateful that even in a full moon he retained spectral strength and speed. Whatever Grace and the dogs had heard wasn’t him. He listened as he ran.
“Down. Stay.”
Grace’s voice.
Dog whimpers.
“You sure all we gots to do is search the house and the boss’ll pay us two hunnerd dollars each?” A familiar raspy voice asked, from somewhere near the plantation drive.
“That’s what he tol’ me. But we gotta find the Voodoo thing first, that means we gotta search the house. Best time for that is when everyone’s gone. Next best they’re sleeping.” That voice too was familiarly nasal.
Inside the house, Luc heard soft shuffling sounds that must be Grace trying to be quiet. He assumed she took the servants’ stairs to the ground floor.
I’ll get to the intruders first.
Luc kept to the trees, heading in the direction of the voices coming from the lane. Once the lane came into view, his spectral vision spotted two men carrying lanterns. Their shapes were enough to confirm that these two were the men sent by Guidry to install Grace’s phone and assess the property.
“You hear somethin’?” Raspy lifted his lantern in Luc’s direction. Unable to dematerialize completely, he halted behind the thick trunk of a live oak.
“Where?” Nasal asked and swung his lantern up as well. His head swiveled on his very short neck. “I don’t see nothin’.”
“I heard somethin’. I swear. Like footsteps, runnin’,” Raspy murmured.
“That’s just the wind knockin’ tree branches around.”
“I don’ think so. Was too reg’lar a sound.”
Silence indicated the intruders might be listening.
“Well,” Nasal said. “Whatever you think you heard, it ain’t there now.”
He was right, sort of. Luc used the opportunity of their listening pause to creep closer to the two men, standing near the brush bordering the lane. “I don’ like it.” Raspy’s voice shook, as did his lantern. Lowering the light, he moved into the brush as if to search.
Luc blended into the taller bushes to avoid discovery.
“Y’all’re bein’ stupid,” Nasal said. He crowded in beside Raspy. “You didn’t hear nothin’ strange. Ain’t nothin’ to find.”
“I did hear someone runnin’. In fact, I’m pretty sure I caught a glimpse. He was moving real fast.”
“If you saw anything, you saw swamp gas.” Nasal followed Raspy deeper into the brush.
“Did not. We ain’t seen no swamp gas so far.” The man’s voice shook.
An owl hooted and he jumped.
“And we ain’t been this close to the bayou. Everybody knows swamp gas lingers near the bayou.” Nasal scolded.
“Well, that’s true.” Raspy’s voice steadied. “I guess whoever ran past us is long gone.” Still he lifted his lantern searching in all directions.
Bushes and trees loomed, threatening and dangerous in the dark.
“Good. Now stop this nonsense about hearing stuff, and get goin,’” Nasal groused. “Moon’s almost set, and we’re wastin’ time. Boss says, the Thibodaux woman gets up early. I want to be gone before that happens.”
“We won’t be able to search much tonight. Why’d you make us wait so long to come out here?” Raspy’s pace was halting and tentative.
“Because the woman and her dogs had to be sound asleep. ’Sides, I found a few places to search when we were here to install her phone. Now hurry up.”
“I still think…”
They continued to argue about how best to search the house without waking anyone.
“We have to get inside. I say we go in through the porte-cochèr stairs and start with the first floor,” Nasal said as they approached the point in the drive where it curved in a large circle before the house.
“I don’ know,” Raspy replied. “Someone wakes up, we got farther to run.”
Luc used the time to observe, keeping a psychic ear open for Grace.
Psychic vision informed him that the men wore black kerchiefs to cover their faces.
Black hats covered their heads and made making out their eye-color nearly impossible.
Their clothing was also black, from neck to gloves and boots.
“We won’ have to run, if we can slice their throats first.” Nasal patted the hilt of a large knife attached to his belt.
“I don’ like killing anyone,” Raspy protested, stopping in the middle of the lane.
“It’d be self-defense. You did bring your pig-sticker?” Nasal turned. “Get your ass moving.”
“Yeah. I guess self-defense is okay.” The other man fell into step beside his companion.
“We better hurry.” Nasal increased his pace.
Luc took advantage of the pre-dawn breeze. “I wouldn’t go in, if I were you,” he whispered.
Nasal turned on Raspy. “What do you mean, you wouldn’t go in? You want to get paid, doncha?”
“I didn’t say anythin’. Now, you’re hearin’ things.”
“I. Don’t. Think. So.” Nasal’s voice was slow and harsh, punctuating each word. “Prove to me you ain’t scared. You go first.”
Branches scraped a harsh echo to the wind.
“If that’ll make you happy. Sure.” Raspy moved past his fellow raider.
Single file, they crossed the lawn before the house.
Luc followed until they covered about half the distance.
Then he stepped closer to the two men. He used one arm to push Raspy forward.
With the other arm, he grabbed Nasal and swung him into Raspy’s back.
While both men struggled to stand, Luc took Nasal’s pig-sticker.
He nicked Raspy’s left arm then dropped the blade at Nasal’s feet before rushing to shelter behind a nearby tree.
Raspy stood and roared, drawing his own weapon. “You tryin’ to kill me?”
The other man cowered backward. “No, no. You tripped over something then I tripped over you,” he yelled.
Raspy scooped up the fallen blade. “I don’t believe you. You ain’t a clumsy person, and if you weren’t trying to kill me. Why’d you draw your knife?”
“I…I…I didn’t. It must have fallen from my belt.”
“You had that holder made special for this knife.” Raspy stepped forward and jabbed at Nasal.
“You’re lyin’! You want all the reward for yourself.” He attacked his cohort.
Nasal dodged. Canine howls filled the air just before a rifle blasted.
“Them dogs is loose,” yelled Raspy. “Run!”
“Who goes there?” Grace’s voice rang out.
The men scrambled down the lane, racing ahead of the dogs and leaving their lanterns behind.
Mars and Mercury would keep after them, so Luc headed for Grace, just to be certain she was safe.
Grace stood on the kitchen stoop, rifle aimed down the drive.
Luc watched her slip the rifle strap over her shoulder, take both lanterns and search the ground in their dim light. “So much for Luc coming when I call,” she muttered.
As he left, she set off toward the house. Grace had a point, but he couldn’t stop to talk with her now. Luc heaved a sigh of relief that she wasn’t too shaken up by the night’s events, then he flew after the escaping intruders.
He raced down the lane toward the gates. He’d have to move fast, if he wanted to catch up with the two raiders. Of course, the dogs might have caught them.
Fast as he was, he was not fast enough. He came up on the dogs nosing along the road in front of a shallow stream. The men vanished, probably using the stream to erase their scent. He used every spectral sense, but could find no trace of them. Were they frightened enough to prevent their return?
That would be good. Better, would be to learn more about where they’d come from, and discover for certain the identity of their boss.
Guidry was most likely, but Luc wanted to eliminate any doubt.
Without knowing where to look, he could learn nothing.
Meanwhile, he’d have to guard Grace more carefully.
She would call again; he was certain of it.