How to Change Your Stars

Chapter Eight ~ Mardi Gras

Downtown turned out to be three red brick streets. The storefronts were a chaos of green, yellow, and purple, jester hats and painted masks, feathers and multicolored beads. Vendors' booths lined the sidewalks, selling everything from knock-off Prada bags to glittery face paint. A local band blared from a loudspeaker perched on the side of the courthouse-How do you think nightmares are born? Well, tell me, darlin'. Who's side are you on?-and everywhere, children screamed for curly fries and funnel cakes.

Ari turned right at the courthouse and saw a coffee shop halfway down the block. A sandwich board out front named it Big Cypress Coffeehouse-the coffee shop Ceph had texted her to meet him.

As she moved through the crowd, amusement curved her lips. An angel with a cell phone? She wondered if they all had one. Maybe higher-up angels had blogs too, like "Ask Gabe" or "The Daily Beelzebabble."

The aromas of sugary vanilla, warm chocolate, and fresh-ground coffee reached Ari's nose. She'd timed it so she would arrive twenty minutes early. That way, she could enjoy a large double mocha latte. Just as she was close enough to read the specials on the sandwich board, a hand landed on her forearm.

She twisted around to see Charlie, one of the girls she'd met at the post office.

"Hey, Ari." Charlie hooked her thumbs in the pockets of her high-waisted jeans. Her dark curls were swept up in a red headscarf, and around her left eye shimmered a swirl of gold curlicues.

Ari glanced toward the coffeehouse. "Hey. Charlie, right?"

"That's right." She linked her arm through Ari's. "So, what do you think? Mardi Gras's a favorite around here."

"Um," said Ari, unsure of what else to say. "Listen-"

A giant of a man in grease-stained overalls caught Ari's eye. He wobbled to a stop in front of the sandwich board, his gaze fixed on Charlie. His ruddy face twisted with revulsion.

Ari opened her mouth to ask if Charlie knew him when he reached into his pocket and flung something at her.

White granules dusted Charlie's boots. Was that...salt? Ari stared as the man retreated into the crowd.

Charlie sighed and stamped her feet. "I need to talk to you."

Before Ari could reply, Charlie yanked her down the sidewalk and turned left. They passed a hamburger restaurant and a muddy, car-packed lot. Another left, and they were on an empty street. The only building there was an old brick structure shaped like a box. Thick weeds grew up around the building, half hiding it from view. Weathered boards barricaded the front door, and a black-and-white historical marker lay broken on the ground.

In the distance, the local band launched into a cover of AC/DC's "Hells Bells." The smell of corn dogs and smoked turkey legs mingled on the breeze. Yet here, the street was empty.

Ari knew why people were avoiding it. She looked at the rundown building crouched between two bone-fingered trees. Her skin prickled, not unlike before the Legionaries appeared.

She jerked her arm away from Charlie. "This is as far as I'm going."

"Fine." Charlie pulled a compact out of her purse. "But you won't get to see the surprise."

"Is that supposed to make me curious?"

"I was hoping it would." She lifted her left hand, the one with the Mark. "You know what this means."

"I don't..." Ari said automatically, and then realized it wasn't a question. She backed up a step and fell off the curb.

"Don't freak out. I may be a witch, but that doesn't mean I'm planning to bake you into a pie." She snapped the compact shut and traded it for a cell phone. "You met my sister the other night."