Sometimes evidence can be as plain as the nose on your face…or in Natalia’s case, the palm of her hand. She stood in the bathroom of her suite and stared at herself in the mirror, the water running under the tap. Dark circles taunted her eyes, and her mascara and eyeliner streaked down her cheeks. She hadn’t slept well since she’d shifted that night. A few days had passed since she found the shimmery substance on the ground by the murder scene.
She raised her right hand and carefully lifted the bandage on it. It peeled and she hissed. She stopped and turned off the water, then inhaled a breath, and held it. She submerged her bandaged hand into the chilled water. She gritted her teeth and winced. Her shoulders tightened and her other hand fisted. A tear slipped down her nose and dripped into the sink. Her palm burned as if the acid scorched her once more.
She pulled her hand out of the water and yanked the bandage off. It was already throbbing, so why not add more pain to it by ripping off a layer or two of her skin? Her stomach turned in agony when she looked upon her flesh. It bubbled a grey and green color, and some dried blood turned brown. Bile threatened to expose whatever may be in her stomach, but she swallowed it back down.
A knock sounded at the door.
Fuck. What now?
“Just a minute,” she called and grabbed a hand towel. She put it over her hand and made her way to the door.
Natalia still had on her pajamas. A shower was in order, but it'd been difficult to wash her hair and her body with her bum hand. She really needed something to protect it.
She glanced out the peephole and sighed. It was Voodoo Mama.
“What do you want?” Natalia asked.
“May I come in? I have a present for you.”
She sagged against the door. She wasn’t in the mood for anything, especially gifts. Who the hell would send her something?
“Can you leave it at the front desk? I’m not in the best attire to see anyone.” She peeked on the woman again and noticed she didn’t bother to hide her skull face. It startled Natalia when she saw it. Maybe one day it would no longer be a hindrance but become a familiar sight.
“Open the door, Natalia. I can see you watching me.”
“I said—”
“I don’t care what you said. Open the door or I’ll come in.”
“Fuck, Mama, why? Why do you want in so bad?”
And with that, the door unlocked and the handle pulled down. Natalia stepped back, and when the door opened, Voodoo Mama walked inside. She wore a long royal blue dress coat fitted to her body and a top hat with a skull on the side with tulle material flowing down the backside. The woman was absolutely fabulous, but Natalia wasn’t in the mood for her shenanigans.
“What is it?” she asked. “What is so important you had to bust into my room? You know, I could call the management on you.”
Mama rolled her eyes. “Go ahead. I’ll dial the number.” She closed the door behind her, then spied Natalia’s hand. “What the hell happened? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” She clutched her hand to her chest, realizing how filthy she probably looked. “Look, I was about to shower, so whatever it is, leave it. Thanks for dropping it off.”
Voodoo Mama appeared to float across the room. Natalia couldn’t see her feet, so maybe she was floating. She set a large gift box, rectangular in shape, on the bed.
Then she turned to the shifter and held her palm out. “Let’s see it.”
Natalia lifted her brow. “My hand?”
“No, your left tit. Yes, your hand. Come on.” Mama snapped her fingers.
Natalia felt like she didn’t have a choice. She was in Mama’s hotel, and the priestess could force her to do it. She was at least giving her a choice. Sort of. With a sigh, she removed the towel and winced once more.
Voodoo Mama’s eyes widened and she gasped. She stepped closer and cupped Natalia’s hand in her own. “Who the fuck did this to you?”
“No one did this to me,” Natalia answered. “I was sniffing out more clues around the murder scene.”
She met Natalia’s gaze. “Literally sniffing?”
Natalia nodded. She knew Mama meant her shifter form. “Yeah. I found something on the ground our team missed. I don’t know if your guys missed it as well, but I don’t want to assume anything. It was shimmery to my panther eyes. It hurt my nose when I smelled it. It burned the fuck out of my hand.” She shook her head. “It hurts like fucking hell, and I have no idea what it was.”
“It’s demon saliva,” Mama whispered.
Natalia frowned and pulled her hand away. “Did you say demon spit?”
“Saliva.” Voodoo Mama took Natalia’s hand once more. “I have a salve we can put on it that will help heal you up with minimal scarring.”
“Will it take the pain away?”
Voodoo Mama looked up at Natalia, and aside from the skull on one side of her face, the other side—the human side—stared at her with compassion. Her eyes softened, and the side of her lips pulled into a smile. Natalia wondered if this was how it felt to be mothered by someone.
“Yes, it will take the pain away.”
Natalia nodded, then pulled her hand away once more. “Do you need me to wash it?”
Mama shook her head. “My salve will work as is. However, you need help washing your hair and cleaning up for tonight.”
Natalia frowned. “What’s going on tonight? Honestly I’m wiped and don’t feel like doing much of anything.”
“Tonight is the masquerade ball Phuck planned.” She motioned to the box on the bed. “The gift is from him. Take a look at it. I’ll go grab the salve, and when I return, we’ll fix you up and get you ready to go.”
Natalia stared at the box for a moment. A part of her wanted to open it, but the other wanted to set it on fire. There was a good chance it could go either way.
“I really am not up for going out. I’m physically drained because of this…demonic burn.”
Voodoo Mama shook her head. “I said I’ll go get my salve. Once it’s on, you’ll feel the healing properties immediately, and you’ll be as right as rain.”
“Dammit, I don’t want to be right as fucking rain! I want to be left alone! I want to go to sleep. I want my hand to stop hurting! I want Phuck to stop fucking with my head and Enzo to fucking man up!”
Voodoo Mama raised a brow and crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, do you feel better?”
Natalia shook her head. “No.” She looked up at the woman before her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take it out on you. You’re trying to help me, and I’m biting your head off.”
The woman laughed softly. It was actually quite cute. Her small frame with a half skull face shook with humor. “Oh, honey, a black widow you are not. But let me get that salve, and we’ll figure out our next step, okay?”
Natalia sighed and sat down in one of the suite chairs with a huff. “Fine. I’ll wait here for your return with this salve and all things fantasy and fluff.”
Voodoo Mama grinned. “I don’t do fluff, but I can make a fantastic fantasy come true with a little bit of magic.” On her last word, a sparkle lit in her good eye.
It amused Natalia. Here she was, Cinderella of the B&B, getting dressed up by the Fairy Godmother of Voodoo, to go to a ball hosted by a demon from hell. Sure. Nothing could possibly go wrong.
Voodoo Mama left the room, and in the silence, Natalia stared at her mangled hand. What would Mama put on her that would feel good, take away the pain, and heal her wounds?
Fucking magic.
She stood, made her way over to the bed, and touched the white box with a red velvet ribbon surrounding it. She tugged on the bow, and the red material fell to the sides. She opened the box and found something wrapped in tissue paper.
Natalia pulled the tissue paper aside and gasped at the sparkly black material inside. She picked it up with her good hand and found it was a halter dress, with no back. Completely black except for the waist, which was encrusted with rhinestones. The dress was stunning. It was long, and the backside was just a bit longer, as if to work as a train. Toward the top of the box lay a mask.
The door reopened, and she turned to find Voodoo Mama in the doorway.
She smiled. “I see you’ve opened your gift. There’s gloves inside, too.”
“Lucky me,” she whispered and set the dress back down. “I can’t accept this.”
“Yes you can.” Mama opened a round silver container and motioned for Natalia to join her. “Give me your hand.” With a stick that looked like it was from a popsicle, she scooped up the substance. It was a greyish color that looked like sludge. It didn’t smell, though, so there was that.
Hesitant, Natalia held her hand out. Voodoo Mama took it and slathered the cream across her palm. Natalia held her breath, expecting it to hurt, but it didn’t. It did exactly as Mama had said. It soothed and felt cool on her hand.
“I don’t know what this is, but thank you. Thank you so much.” She felt relief for the first time since touching the demonic substance. Her shoulders softened and her eyes closed. “I could go to sleep right now.”
“Not yet,” Voodoo Mama told her. “We have a party to go to.”
Natalia glared at the woman. “As much as I want to scream no, I’d feel bad since you’re healing me. I really don’t do parties though.”
She smiled. “You’ll enjoy this one. It’s a let-your-hair-down-and-recharge kind of party. I have a pretty good feeling about it. Now look at your hand.”
Natalia pulled her hand up, and her brows rose. “What is in this stuff? My hand… It looks almost healed!”
“I told you it has amazing healing properties.” Mama peered at her, but Natalia couldn’t gauge the thoughts in her blank expression. “Now, let’s get you cleaned up, dolled up, and that amazing dress on your body. I think you’ll be turning quite a few heads tonight.”
Natalia shook her head once more. It was one thing to go on the prowl for a piece of ass. It was another dressing up to be a desirable woman in a room full of testosterone. This could end in a bad way… or if she played her cards right, very, very good.