Poison Tongue Read Free Page A

look of terror in his eyes. As I grew older, I dreamed of it often, imagined what it would be like to submerge my body into those black waters, only to be lost with all the others.
    “Levi.” Ward brought me back to where we were walking down the path.
    “Yes?”
    He said nothing, only stared down at me. The concern he felt was written all over his face. He wasn’t trying to hide it from me. I could tell he wanted me to know he was worried about the dream I’d had.
    “It will be okay.”
    “I know,” he said. “I will never let anything happen to you.”
     
     
    MISS ANNAMAE’S shop was a small slit in the wall between the post office and one of the two grocery stores in town. The outside had large bay windows that were covered from the inside with black curtains. A glowing sign that read “Tarot” hung from the window and flashed bright pinks and yellows.
    When I pushed through the door, the robust smell of incense hit me like water beats against the ocean shore. It smelled floral and natural and so familiar it immediately put my mind at ease.
    The shelves were lined with glass jars, small boxes, and colorful knickknacks that I couldn’t have put a name to if I tried. At the end of the aisle was a barrel full of raw plants and herbs that were individually wrapped in clear plastic bags. A small, three-tiered table sat off to the side. On its top were varying sizes of large white and pink crystals and tiny blue rocks. The lights were dim, but the colorful vials and dolls hanging along the walls screamed loudly, even without needing the direct lighting. It was a small shop, but it was packed to the brim with anything and everything someone who practiced could want.
    “Levi,” a smooth, deep voice said from behind one of the aisles.
    I walked around a wooden barrel and slipped between two displays of small boxes with skulls on their labels.
    “Miss Annamae.” I stopped in front of the counter she leaned behind. She smiled at me when I said her name.
    She was a middle-aged woman with skin almost as dark as Ward’s. She and I were about the same height, but where I was slender, she was curvy. Her hair was curly and dyed a bright red color that somehow still looked natural, even though I knew it wasn’t. Her catlike eyes were lined with black makeup that made her light hazel eyes all the more striking.
    “I see you brought Ward with you,” she said with a twist of her lips.
    Ward only folded his thick arms across his chest.
    Without looking at them, Annamae drew tarot cards from a stack that sat atop the counter. Her long, teal fingernails gently scraped the top of each card before she either flipped it and laid it out on the counter, or discarded it unseen into another pile.
    “Would you like to know what your card is today, Levi?”
    “Not today,” I replied. “We’re here to buy some things.”
    “I know. But you should let me tell you your card for the day. I feel as though it will be… interesting.”
    My stomach twisted as it always did when Annamae wanted to read my cards.
    “No,” Ward said. “We do not have the time.”
    Annamae’s grin grew wider. “What’s the hurry?”
    “I had a dream,” I said. “My mama is worried. She thinks I need to do a cleanse.”
    “And you really think a simple cleansing is enough to help you?” she asked.
    Neither Ward nor I said anything in reply. She sighed and pulled all the cards back into one neat, little pile. She set them off to the side and leaned across the counter with her bright red curls falling in waves around her face. “All right. What do you need?”
    “Bay leaves,” I replied. “And pine needles, basil, rosemary. Cleansing soaps and herbal bath crystals.”
    She leaned away from the counter and looked me up and down. “You’ll need an amulet too. It won’t fix you, but it will help.”
    I nodded. I knew Annamae wouldn’t try to sell me something I didn’t need. Tourists? Sure. But my family had been coming to see her since we