“You possessed my initiate!” Aida-Wedo screamed, the serpent coiled around her neck hissing at Kalfu.
“What, I wasn’t supposed to do that? I mean, he came to me willingly. He rode your rainbow to get here… all so he could make a deal for his friend.”
“He was influenced by your aspect, which you’d already forced upon him in the gymnasium,” Oggie said, clenching his fists.
“Enough of this!” Baron Samedi shouted. “This is Brigitte’s fault—all of it! And we’ll deal with that later. But now what must be done, must be done!”
“You can’t!” Aida-Wedo shouted. “If you try to isolate Kalfu now, it will kill my initiate! He’s not Legba, he’s not a Loa… he can’t survive this!”
The Baron narrowed his eyes. “I am the angel of death. Sometimes a life must be lost for the greater good.”
“Fuck that!” I shouted, making eye contact with Aida-Wedo, praying she’d get my cue. I tried to summon my dragon blade, but it wouldn’t work. The ward had dampened my aspect. So I let go… let go of control. Let go of my fear… and let Isabelle take over. I’d expose her to the other Loa—I knew that—but they were bound to find out eventually anyway. And I had no choice. I felt the pure energies of creation course through our body the moment she grabbed the reins.
Isabelle reached out in her mind to Guinee… she reached out to Beli. I couldn’t call forth the blade in my hand, but the elemental dragon responded from the other side and opened a giant portal right below Kalfu, sucking him and Pauli’s body inside.
As Isabelle looked around the room, stunned stares met us—particularly from Erzulie, Aida-Wedo, and Maman Brigitte, who did not yet know about Isabelle.
“Use your bow!” Oggie shouted to Aida-Wedo, having picked up on our plan.
Aida-Wedo responded, casting a rainbow of colors directly into the gateway, holding it open. “I can’t hold it forever,” Aida-Wedo said. “Whatever you are planning to do, do it quickly!”
Isabelle nodded and turned to Mikah. “I need your help, Mikah.”
“Anything…”
“We’re going through. I’ll take care of restraining Kalfu. My powers are stronger there. I can heal Pauli while the Baron binds Kalfu. But once I’m done, I may not be able to hold on. Annabelle will come back, and she’ll be weak. I could restore her power, but it’ll take everything I have to heal Pauli. I need you to bring Annabelle back through the gate.”
“No!” Maman Brigitte shouted, clinging to the Baron’s jacket. “You can’t go…”
Baron Samedi withdrew a cigarette from his pocket, put it between his lips, and nodded at Brigitte. “You knew this couldn’t work. You knew that if I stayed here, the red Baron would emerge…”
“I don’t care!” Maman Brigitte said, nodding toward Erzulie, who shot the Baron with bolts of pink energy.
“What did you do! Both of you were in on this?” Oggie interjected.
Erzulie shrugged. “She loves him… they belong together.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Oggie said. “There’s more to life than romance.”
Erzulie shrugged. “You would know.”
A trance fell into the Baron’s eyes… and the pink glow illuminated Brigitte.
“There you go, honey,” Erzulie said. “He’ll come back to you like a puppy. One way or another.”
Ashley made eye contact with me—with Isabelle.
She thinks if she re-casts the ward, she could stop this. I told Isabelle, knowing my sister well enough that I could practically read her mind.
“Don’t do it,” Isabelle said, sternly looking at Ashley. “If you do, both Mikah and Pauli will be lost. Only the aspect-holder herself, Annabelle and me, and other spiritual beings can travel back on the dragon’s gate from the other side. We have to keep this one open. Otherwise, they might be lost forever.”
Ashley nodded, reluctantly. She knew as well as I did what was at stake once Brigitte and Erzulie brought back the Baron… but that was tomorrow’s battle. Right now, we had to save Pauli.
“I’m coming with you,” Oggie said.
Isabelle turned toward our Loa. “You cannot.”
“Excuse me?”
“You cannot come,” Isabelle said. “Someone needs to protect Aida-Wedo.”
“From what?” Oggie asked.
“Undead—vampires and zombies I think—already awakened by the Baron’s return. A crowd of something, at least, that is rapidly losing its humanity, their auras fading into nothing… it has to be the undead.”
Oggie nodded reluctantly before he grunted and dropped a fireball between his legs. “Just what I needed…my testicles were getting cold.”
Isabelle nodded, and we plunged into the gate, Mikah following close behind. I looked back just in time to see Oggie hurl a fireball at the door as a crowd of snarling vampires tried to break through.
We need to act fast, I told Isabelle. He’s good… but I don’t know how many of those things he can fend off… or for how long.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chains of jade magica shot out from my fingertips as Isabelle cast some kind of binding spell against Kalfu, which with a slight juke he managed to evade. I forgot how exhilarating it felt when her magica coursed through my flesh. Still, I had to temper my emotions. It was easier to let Isabelle take over now that we’d resolved our differences, but if I resumed control, I’d still be basically powerless.
Another surge of power, and a root shot up from the ground as Isabelle willed it to entangle Kalfu’s ankle, forcing him into a faceplant on the ground. It was a cringe-worthy attack—almost forcing me to speak up. After all, this was Pauli’s body… but then again, we were in Guinee. I suppose if he got hurt, Isabelle could heal him here, too. Again, think calm, Annabelle… more CSPAN and less WrestleMania.
Kalfu’s black eyes turned a deep red.
His power is coming back! I shouted into Isabelle’s mind.
Baron Samedi, leaping from the portal, dove after him, his top hat flying off of his head. A black mist poured from the Baron’s fingers as he jammed his palm against Pauli’s skull.
Kalfu reached around and yanked at the tails of the Baron’s coat before planting his fangs into his neck.
Isabelle shot another burst of green energy at Kalfu, hurling him back to the ground. Black blood poured from a gaping wound just under the Baron’s jaw.
Isabelle approached the Baron, pushing our hand against his wound. His blood was sticky, like sap. Green power flowed from our hand and into the wound, but… nothing.
“I don’t understand,” Isabelle said.
“Your magic,” Kalfu huffed, “cannot heal my bite.”
“You can’t kill death!” Isabelle screamed.
“Maybe not,” Kalfu said. “But I don’t need him dead.”
Something sharp dug into my ankle, and the pain struck my whole body. Kalfu’s hand, Pauli’s well-manicured nails now converted into claws, dug into my flesh. The pain was too much. Isabelle’s magica rushed to the wound, but it was too late. As I screamed within our mind, I found that my scream poured from our lips…
“No!” I shouted, having taken back over our body… my energy sapped. Then I felt two sets of arms grab me from beneath my arms. Mikah pulled me away as Ashley shot a salt pellet into Kalfu’s hand, loosening his grip.
“We have to run,” Ashley shouted at Mikah. “Just get her back home.”
I fought off the pain and cried, “No! We have to stop him!”
Mikah ignored my cries, as Ashley continued throwing salt toward Kalfu. It wouldn’t hurt him, or even incapacitate him, but maybe it would slow him down. At least that’s what she seemed to be attempting to do. Slow him down, get me away from him before he could make an attempt to wrestle Isabelle’s power out of me.
You can still do this….
“I can’t,” I responded through tears. “We failed… the pain… I couldn’t help it.”
You don’t have my power, but you are in Guinee now. Even as Kalfu’s powe
r returns, so does yours.
I took a deep breath… I had an idea. It was probably the shittiest idea I’d ever had, but it might just work.
I reached out with my mind as if I were going to summon my soul blade. A half second later, Beli’s screech rattled my ears.
The dragon dove after us, gripping my aching body with his talons as he shot back into the skies.
“Beli!” I screamed, trying to suppress the pain inside my skull. “Can you bring someone here… someone from Earth? Open a gate and bring them here?”
“I can,” he said.
“We have to act quickly,” I said as I looked down and saw Kalfu gradually stand to his feet, even as a pool of black blood formed under the Baron’s collapsed body.
I didn’t want to risk Kalfu hearing my idea. It was a long shot, and probably foolish, but I whispered it into Beli’s ear no less.
The dragon nodded and inhaled deeply before exhaling a blast of silver flames into thin air, about ten feet above where the Baron was writhing in pain.
Seconds later Nico fell from the portal.
“What the fuck?” he said as he struggled to get his footing. “How did I…”
Mikah looked at him, terrified, as Beli returned me to the ground.
“Nico,” I said. “I need your help! Please tell me you still have your doll.”
“I do,” Nico said. “But I was wrong. I swear… I thought you were possessed by Kalfu. From day one, I thought you were the enemy. That’s why I was such an ass.”
“No time for that now,” I said. “Your doll harnesses the power of a Caplata, right?”
Nico nodded.
“Good,” I said. “I need you to use it to revive Baron Samedi. Control him… use him to exorcise Kalfu from Pauli’s body.”
Annabelle, no! Isabelle shouted. It will bring back the red Baron!
She was right, of course, but we had no choice. Not if we were going to stop Kalfu. Not if we had a shot at saving Pauli. And exorcising Kalfu… that’s what Nico had practiced before, only he thought he’d be exorcising the Loa from me.
Nico retrieved his doll from his pocket.
I stumbled through the grass, trying to distract Kalfu. I was banking on the fact that he’d go after me. He knew I was weak. He’d try to take Isabelle. We had to become bait, just long enough for Nico to act.
Nico uttered a chant in Creole, which activated the doll, a red energy flowing out of it and seizing onto the Baron’s weakened body, which quickly healed.
“Nico!” I screamed. The power he could harness in a doll was limited. He’d only have a few moments to act. “Do it now!”
Manipulating the doll, Nico sent the Baron after Kalfu. Kalfu didn’t see him. He was too busy trying to grab me…
Kalfu grabbed me by the hair, forcing me into his grip.
“Fuck!” I shouted. “Nico, now!”
Kalfu hesitated a moment before attempting to sink his fangs into my neck… when his grip suddenly loosened. Baron Samedi, his eyes red with dark magic, yanked Kalfu off of me and forced his hand, again, onto Kalfu’s skull. This time, the black power that flowed from the Baron’s hand made Kalfu go stiff. His black eyes faded, and Pauli’s returned.
“I can’t hold him much longer!” Nico shouted. “Is it done?”
The red Baron stared at me with a lust, a desire… but it was a lust for power. He wanted what Kalfu almost took.
Ashley dove on the Baron’s back, beating on him with her fist. The Baron slung his body around, sending her flying into the grass. I quickly looked to Beli. Do something, I thought.
Beli flew down and grabbed Ashley with his talons before blasting a barrage of flames his direction. The Baron dove out of the way, tucked and rolled, and ran for the gate that Aida-Wedo was holding open from the other side.
“Quick,” I shouted at Mikah. “If he gets through, he might be able to close it!”
Beli picked up on the cue and shot like a dart out of the skies, tossing Ashley into the gate and shrieking before he lashed at Baron Samedi with his tail, forcing the Loa to stumble.
I tried to run, but my energy was sapped. It felt like a herd of buffalo were running through my skull. I felt a soft touch, and to my surprise, Mikah managed to lift my whole body in his arms and took off running as hard as he could to the gate.
“Let me go, Mikah… You won’t make it if you’re carrying me.”
“I’m not letting either of you go.”
“I need to get to Pauli. Isabelle was supposed to heal…”
“There’s no time! I can’t take you both.”
“Then take him!” I screamed, wiggling out of Mikah’s grip.
I couldn’t seem to get my legs under me, but I clawed my way toward Pauli. His body lay prostrate in the green grasses. I heaved with the last bit of energy I had and rolled him over.
He was alive… just barely.
“Isabelle! I need you to take over! To heal him!”
I can’t… not so soon after… You are going to have to do it.
“I can’t! I don’t have the power…”
You do have the power. You just need to grab it… feel it. It’s your fear that prevents you from accessing it.
My fear? It suddenly struck me, in the moment, that I wasn’t afraid anymore. I was scared, sure. Scared for Pauli. Scared that the Baron might make it through the gate before we did. Beli was doing a fine job keeping him occupied, though. I glanced in the Baron’s direction, and as he returned to his feet, a second tail lash courtesy of my soul dragon knocked his feet out from under him.
I returned my attention to Pauli and placed my hand on his forehead.
“What do I do?”
Imagine Pauli as you knew him. Imagine him well again. My magica, the magic of the Tree of Life, is not something you control. It is something you welcome. You just have to let it know what you want it to do.
With one hand still on his brow, I allowed my other hand to graze Pauli’s cheek. I thought about his joy, his humor, his dedication to his wardrobe. All the things that made Pauli, Pauli… all the things I would miss if I didn’t get him back. I imagined him full of life.
A tingle spread across my brow. I’d felt it before. Anytime I’d accessed Isabelle’s power. But this was something more. The feeling spread throughout my body. The throbbing in my skull faded. My strength returned. A green glow filled my eyes, illuminating Pauli’s face. The green magica coursed down my arms, through my fingertips, and into Pauli’s flesh.
Pauli gasped, his eyes wide open—his brown eyes. The blackness—Kalfu’s possession—was gone. Or, at least trapped. Sealed away, somewhere deep inside Pauli by magic.
“I’ve got you, Pauli,” I said.
“About time, bitch!” Pauli said as his voice cracked.
I laughed as tears fell down my cheeks. “Can you walk? We have to get out of here before the Baron makes it to the gate.”
“Honey! Don’t worry about me. Go deal with the Baron. You’re a badass! Show it!”
I nodded and sprang to my feet. I was surprised how much Isabelle’s magica—our magica—had reinvigorated me.
I glanced at Pauli, who suddenly cast a rainbow from his fingertips—he couldn’t walk, but apparently he could transport. His figure disappeared as his bow shot through the gateway back home. I turned, again, to see the red Baron’s eyes turn to flames as he jumped over Beli’s attempt at another leg swipe. I charged after him, imagining him stopped, restrained. The green glow returned to my brow and filled my eyes.
Baron Samedi stopped in his tracks, raising his hand. “Stop, not again!”
Not again? I didn’t have time to ponder his words or what they meant. All I could be sure of was that I couldn’t allow him back through the gate. Two roots shot up from the ground, aglow with the same green magica that coursed through me. The roots secured his legs and wrapped themselves around his torso.
I looked back to the gate. Aida-Wedo still had it open, but there was no telling how much time I had. I coul
d almost feel the roots that squeezed the Baron’s body. I took off running toward the gate. Then I felt something like a snap… another magic. Something darker. I looked over my shoulder, and the Baron’s whole body was coursing with red energies.
Run, Annabelle!
I turned to run. But I knew I couldn’t outrun whatever magic he was about to shoot my direction. I needed to try to defend myself… somehow. I tried to evoke another spell, I tried to imagine a shield around my body. Something… anything…
But the Baron extended his hand, a ball of magic forming on his fingertips. Then, his body snapped backward. A loud snap—maybe his bones.
Nico walked up from behind, holding the doll he’d made in class, which he’d just bent backward. Nico twisted the head, and the Baron’s head snapped with it, the red magic that had filled his body fading into nothing.
“Nico! Come on, we have to get back!”
“You go,” Nico said. “I’ll be right behind you. This won’t stop him for long.”
“I don’t understand. The doll… it was the Caplata’s essence. It should be hurting her, not him!”
Nico shook his head. “It was…”
“But in dollcraft, fashioning a Loa… it’s—”
“Forbidden?”
“I was going to say impossible.”
Nico shook his head. “Not when you have that Loa’s aspect. It’s a part of him.”
I nodded.
“Just go, get back. I need to make sure he can’t follow us. I’ll be right behind you.”
I grinned at him for a half second, probably the first time I’d ever looked at him with anything other than disgust. But he’d done it. He redeemed himself. I took off running to the gateway. I turned once more before jumping in, and I saw Nico rip one of the legs off of his doll as the Baron writhed in pain. I plunged my body through the gate.
I hit the floor of the slave quarters a few moments later. Oggie stood there, looking triumphant amidst a pile of dismembered undead. Mikah and Ashley lunged after me, expecting group hugs.
“Wait!” I shouted. “Nico is still in there!”
Voodoo Academy Page 20