by Carolina Mac
Bayou Lafourche.
Speeding along the river with the big Merc motor humming wasn’t warm and delightful in November, it was damned near bone chilling.
Wearing only a hoodie over a t-shirt, the spray from the river made my clothes damp and icy cold against my skin. It only took about twenty minutes to turn me into a popsicle.
Fortunately for me, that was about the same time the channel narrowed into one skinny lane. We began crawling along with cattails as high as our eyeballs on both sides of us. The river was slow moving in these narrow sections, barely any current, almost stagnant and the water reeked of algae, fish, frogs and gator poop.
Ardal hollered like a wounded banshee when a four foot tree snake lost its grip on an overhead branch and flopped straight down into our boat squirming and hissing at Ardal’s feet. The snake didn’t mean to do it, but that didn’t cut him any slack from Ardal.
Bobo reached down with a practiced hand, grabbed the squirmer and tossed the snake into the river.
“He didn’t mean to scare you,” said Diana. “Sometimes they just lose their grip.”
“I’m not hating the snake, Diana.” Using his brave voice and lying through his teeth to impress Diana, Ardal made me giggle. “It startled me, that’s all it was. I’m not used to snakes falling from the sky. Sure, I’m used to big Diamond backs slithering through the grass at the ranch. What cowboy isn’t? Sometimes they make my horse rare up, but that doesn’t scare me. You learn to kind of expect them and I don’t let them bother me.”
I suppressed a giggle listening to my little brother.
Diana lifted the lid on one of the coolers. “Have some water. You look a little pale.” She unscrewed the top and handed the bottle to Ardal.
“Thanks. I’m okay now. I’m not a baby.”
“Of course not.” Diana used her sympathetic voice. “I used to be afraid of all kinds of creatures before I got my powers and could hear them talking. Now, I’m amazed to hear their stories. Unbelievably interesting.”
“I can only hear Pete,” said Ardal.
“Oh, does Pete talk? I haven’t heard him say anything.”
Ardal leaned down to my dog at his feet. “Say hello to Diana, Pete.”
“Hi, Diana,” Pete growled out the words.
“You speak English. How wonderful. How did you learn?”
“Mama taught me when I was a baby.”
“Amazing.”
I could have told her Sonny was living inside the dog and it wasn’t really the dog talking at all, but I didn’t bother. A long story with no ending in sight and it was old news to me. The less I thought about Sonny Hart being with me for the rest of my life, the better.
I have to shake off this depression.
Rudy stood up in the back of the boat and pointed at something in the distance. “Crows circling da witches camp.”
“I see them,” said Misty. “I wonder if Banjo is here ahead of us.”
“Was Rufin’s crow coming?” asked Diana.
“Rufin didn’t say,” said Misty. “But he may not have known. I think Banjo has a mind of his own.”
“Did Rufin train him?” asked Ardal.
“I think Antoinette trained him when she was a young girl,” said Misty.
“How old is the crow?” asked Ardal.
“I think Rufin said he was about thirty-three,” said Misty. “Crows in the wild don’t live as long, but Banjo has had food provided for him and Antoinette took special care of him.”
“Did you talk to him, Diana?” asked Ardal.
“I tried, but he wasn’t in the mood for conversation with Antoinette missing. Banjo doted on her. He called her his Mama.”
“That’s why he’s here now,” said Ardal. “He wants to get even with the creepy wizard.”
Canal de la Mort.
With the weeds along the bank as high as our heads, there was a good chance we could dock and get out of Bobo’s boat without being seen by the witches and wizards.
“Any idea how many we’re up against?” I asked Misty as I took Bobo’s rough hand and stepped onto the waterlogged dock. Wetness oozed through the canvas of my trainers and made me wish I’d warn waterproof boots.
One pirogue tied to the dock. Nothing bigger.
I took my gun out of my shoulder holster and chambered a round. My boline hung from my belt and my wand was in the front pocket of my hoodie. Being a newbie witch, I still considered my wand the least effective of my weapons. Maybe that would change one day, but it hadn’t yet.
Crouching down low to keep out of sight, I plodded my way through the bulrushes, scaring up frogs as I moved towards the little group of weather-beaten shacks. Only the roofs were visible from the river.
Give me one glimpse of that freak, Virgile Gallant, and he was dead meat. Get ‘er done and go home. Pete was close to me, wanting to push ahead and I held onto his collar.
“Do you see him, Gilly?” Ardal was right behind me shoving tall wet grass out of his way and swatting at the swarms of insects we were scaring up out of the swamp grasses.
“Not yet but we’re getting close. I can hear people laughing.”
Misty caught up and held us back. “Hang on for a couple of minutes. I’m going to toss a spell on them so we can look around more freely. If we barge right in, it might give Gallant enough warning to escape.”
“Sure, go ahead.” Ardal and I hung back and Misty stepped in front of us, her wand glowing in her hand.
Goddess of the sun and moon
Change the weather and do it soon
Wind of the North
I call you forth
Wind of the East
Spin like a beast
Wind of the West
Funnel the rest
Wind of the South
Take their house
So mote it be.
Speaking the words in her low, growly witch voice, Misty repeated the spell three times. She flicked her wrist towards the grouping of shacks and we waited for the spell to begin.
I could hear Ardal breathing hard behind me. He was super stressed being here in witch hell on the bayou and I had to get him somewhere safe as soon as possible. The best way to do that would be to kill Gallant and be done with it.
The wind picked up and began howling through the cypress trees. Birds took flight and sought shelter elsewhere. The blackest clouds I’d ever seen scudded across the sky and the day became so dark I could hardly see.
“What’s happening?” whispered Ardal.
“It’s a weather spell,” I whispered back. “Watch.”
“I am watching and it’s scaring the hell out of me.”
Diana was standing beside Ardal, Moonbeam was behind the two of them, with Bobo and Rudy bringing up the rear. They were in charge of transportation and weren’t required to fight. I heard Misty tell them that, but they volunteered to help out.
The noise intensified as the spinning started. One small funnel cloud became larger and larger as it spun faster sucking up all things in its path.
“Lie on the ground,” said Misty.
Easier said than done. Surrounded by swamp grass and bulrushes, we were all crammed onto one little bit of muddy terra firma next to the dock.
I flattened myself down on the damp earth and hoped I was heavy enough not to be sucked up in the funnel and dropped somewhere in Alabama.
Ardal draped a strong arm over my back to hold me in place. I couldn’t see if he was doing the same for Diana or not.
My heart began racing as the ear-splitting sucking noise came closer and closer. I held my breath hoping Misty knew what the hell she was doing, then I heard the sound of wood snapping and cracking. I wanted to jump up to see what was happening, but I stayed put and all I could see was wet brown muck in front of my face.
It took a good ten minutes before the noise stopped. The crashing and bashing and smashing of trees diminished, then the howling of the wind tapered down to a low moaning sound.
When silence returned
, Misty said, “I think it’s safe to get up now. Let’s go look for Virgile Gallant.”
“That was a heavy-duty spell, Misty,” I said.
“Sometimes you have to pull out all of the stops. Drastic measures were called for here.” She pushed her way through the tall weeds and we all followed.
The five or six little wooden shacks were now five or six piles of crap. The shacks had been levelled and most of the wood from the outside and whatever furniture was inside was long gone.
One cast iron woodstove remained with one piece of stovepipe hanging on. The rest of the house was gone.
“Stove,” said Ardal.
“Yep, that’s a stove.”
“Where are all the witches?” he asked.
“That’s a good question,” said Misty. “They didn’t all blow away. Some of them probably have back up hideaways in the swamp. We need to find them.”
“I’ll do it,” growled Pete. “Let go of me, babe.”
I released my hold on Pete’s collar. I hadn’t realized I had him in a white-knuckle grip during the tornado. “Sorry, I didn’t know I had you in a death grip, sugar.”
“That’s okay, babe. I didn’t want you to blow away either.”
Pete took off into the swamp searching for survivors while I searched for the only guy who mattered—Virgile Gallant. Misty told me he always wore a long black cloak, so that’s what I was looking for.
If any of the other wizards were dressed the same—too bad for them. Their wannabee wardrobe might punch their ticket.
“Check each spot where the houses sat,” said Misty. “They may have had trap doors leading to a secret hiding place or a storm cellar underneath the house.”
“Good thought, Misty.” I pointed. “Ardal and I will start on that house over there.”
We ran over and there was nothing to see. “Nothing here but a few scraps of wood,” said Ardal. “I’m not seeing any trap doors.”
“No, there’s nothing here. Let’s move on.”
The next shack we tried was closer to the swamp and had huge cypress trees for protection. Not one of them had been upended by the wind and I was grateful to the Green Man for that. Trees were one of my first loves since Ardal and I depended on them for shelter in our homeless days in Austin.
“This one has half a wall, Gilly, and some of the wooden floor.” Ardal dropped down on his knees to brush away all the dirt and crap the tornado had left behind. “Might have something under all these branches. Come take a look.”
I got down on my knees and helped Ardal clear away the dirt and mud and there was something under the pile. I could feel a section of the floor that didn’t line up with the boards next to it.
“Wish we had a flashlight,” said Ardal. “It’s still dark enough to be night.”
“I have a little penlight on my keychain,” said Diana. She dropped down on her knees next to Ardal and held the light while he continued to push away dirt and debris with both hands.
“Right there,” said Diana. “Looks like a hinge.”
“Find something?” Misty came running over.
I nodded my head and she whipped out her wand. “If they’re down there, it’s probably locked from underneath. Let me open the door.”
“Nope, I think I’ve got it,” said Ardal. “It’s not locked.” He pulled the trap door up and an explosion of light flashed in our eyes from down below.
Temporarily blinded, I staggered backwards and blinked several times to regain focus. By the time I could see again and risked peering down into the opening, Virgile Gallant was shoving screaming witches in front of him using them for shields. I couldn’t get a clear shot at him.
Misty had her wand in her hand and was mumbling a spell I couldn’t hear. So much screaming and yelling was coming from the storm cellar, I couldn’t hear Misty’s words and I couldn’t hear Ardal who was right next to me.
In the noise and confusion, I shouted out a spell of silence to shut the wailing down so I could think.
Goddess of the moon and sun
Bring silence now the words are done
Lips are sealed
No spells to cast
They make no sound
From first to last
So mote it be.
Rushing through my repetitions, I flicked my wand towards the hole where all the racket was coming from. Everything went silent and I was able to use my cop brain again.
“Virgile Gallant you are under arrest for murder. Come out of the storm cellar with your hands on your head or I’ll shoot you from here.”
A peal of laughter came from down below, then the shouting of a spell back at me.
You can’t shoot what you can’t see
I don my cloak of invisibility
Lord of the dark
Prince of night
I call on you
To help in my plight
I curse the Great One
Her time has ended
Power of the dark one
On me has descended
I wave my wand…
Gallant was about to cast an evil curse on Misty when I caught a glimpse of his face in the glow of his wand and that was all I needed to locate him in the blackness of the storm cellar.
Reaching towards my belt, the handle of my boline slid into my hand. The smooth ivory felt warm to the touch and assured me of a kill. I flung it hard in the direction of the glowing wand.
A loud thunk was followed by more moaning and wailing from the storm cellar. The spell was wearing off.
“Diana, I need your light again,” I said.
She sprinted over to me with her keychain and the pitiful little flashlight attached. It was the only light we had and I was grateful.
“Shine it down there. I want to see if I hit Gallant with my boline.”
“I don’t see him,” said Diana. She sucked in a quick breath. “Oh, now I do. I see his head lying in the dirt.”
“Good. Get all those witches up here away from him and let him be dead alone. I don’t want them trying to restore him to life or some damned thing like that.”
“Quickening,” Misty said quietly.
“No one can do that,” said Diana. “There is no one powerful enough.”
Rudy had caught up with Moonbeam and he just smiled at Diana’s words.
“Bobo brings a better light for y’all.” The big guy handed me a decent flashlight from the boat.
“Thanks, Bobo. That’s much better. I have to go down there to get my boline.” Before attempting it, I shone the light down and I could clearly see Gallant’s body about two feet away from his head.
With promises of bottles of poison from Antoinette Pictou’s collection of potions, Misty succeeded in luring the witches out of the storm cellar. Known all over Louisiana for her batches of deadly poison, it was a bargaining tool for us.
Bitching and complaining about Misty destroying their village, the old hags climbed the ladder and Bobo and Rudy hauled their sorry-looking asses out of the hole.
Once they were out of the way, I descended the shaky ladder to do my stuff.
The tiny storm cellar was nothing more than a hole in the ground under the missing shack. About eight by eight, walls and floor of hard-packed dirt, there was nothing down there but Gallant’s body and his head and the tinny metallic odor of spilled blood.
I picked up my boline covered in Gallant’s blood and had nothing to wipe it with. Hanging it on my belt, I raised my wand and said the words I needed to say.
Goddess of life and death
Mother of the earth
Lifeless body no longer needed
Spirit gone warning not heeded
Evil ended at end of day
Remove the corpse take it away
So mote it be.
After chanting my words three times, I waved my wand and poof, no more Virgile Gallant. He was gone and I didn’t give two hoots where he went.
As I climbed the ladder and Ardal gave me a hand mounting the last ste
p, Misty smiled at me. She seemed pleased I could handle things on my own.
“Shall we start the journey back?” she asked in her slow Louisiana drawl.
“I’m ready to go and I believe Ardal is more ready than I am.” I winked at him and he grinned.
Ardal had taken a couple of quick pictures of Gallant with no head and sent them off to Rufin in New Orleans.
The sun was beginning to sink in the west as we set off in Bobo’s big boat, heading back to Shiners. I doubted if we’d get all the way back to Thibodaux before it was too dark to see the way.
“Don y’all worry,” said Rudy. “Rudy know his way through da bayou at nighttime good as daytime. Right Bobo?”
“You so right, Dead Rudy. Oh, sorry ‘bout dat. Forgot you ain’t dead no more.”
“Did you have a near-death experience?” Moonbeam asked Rudy.
“Sorta like dat, but Rudy don like to talk about it no more. Rudy a new person now. Reborn by a miracle. People see me walking aroun’ and dey say, ‘Dat you Rudy? Can’t fuckin believe it.’” He grinned and kept on. “Now Rudy a better person. A person who cares about other people and helps dem when dey got troubles.”
“That’s commendable,” said Moonbeam. She patted his charred arm and he moved a little closer to her.
Shiners Crab Shack. Bayou Lafourche.
By the time we made it back to Shiners it was pitch dark on the river. Clouds had covered the moon and the only light came from the running lights on the boat.
“How far from here to the truck?” asked Ardal.
“About another hour or hour and a half,” said Bobo.
“Let’s eat first,” said Misty. “I could use a glass of wine. Then we’ll head back to Thibodaux and get a motel room. We’re all tired.”
“Rudy ain’t tired. Rudy don sleep much no more.”
Shiners was just as crowded as when we left earlier in the day. The menu on the chalkboard had changed and the kitchen was now serving crawfish pie and cornbread.
“I’ll try that,” said Ardal. “I’m about starved.”
After a couple of beers and a yummy Cajun dinner, we piled back into Bobo’s boat and travelled the Bayou Lafourche to Thibodaux in the pitch dark.