2 Hungry, Hungry Hoodoo

by Liz Schulte

  But that didn’t explain how Jaron was able to give me memories real enough to fool me—though most of them were fabricated. I never intended to physically harm Cheney. I was maneuvering him to be an ally against his father, and that worked. But what was Jaron maneuvering me toward? “He’s manipulating me.”

  “It doesn’t matter now. You broke the curse.” Katrina pulled me up. “Everything’s going to be okay.” She hugged me, and Jessica and Leslie joined in. I was going to live. Cheney was going to live. Jessica was okay. We would get Devin back. Grandma cared about me.

  I broke away from them. “I need to sit down.” I felt a little dizzy.

  “You okay?” Cheney asked.

  The things he’d said still echoed in my mind. I understood he was trying to make me mad, but they had roots. I had done too much, messed up too many times. “I’m fine.”

  “We’ll give you guys some space,” Leslie said, pulling the others out of the room. Cheney and I looked at each other.

  “I don’t know how you did it.”

  “Did what?”

  “Pulled the knife. Only royalty has a holding.”

  I shrugged.

  “Maybe it’s a power thing,” he said more to himself than to me. “So you remember everything?”

  “I do.” I didn’t feel any differently about him now than I did before, but I wasn’t positive he still felt the same way.

  Cheney looked at the floor. “Then I guess we can break the bond.”

  The air burned in my lungs. “Yeah, I’ve already arranged it.”

  “I’m ready when you are.”

  My heart screamed for me to tell him I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to do it anymore. I wanted to stay bonded with him, even if it complicated things. I wanted to make it work. Yet my brain kept me quiet. There was too much between us and I had betrayed him one too many times. I didn’t deserve any more chances and I knew it. I couldn’t keep making selfish decisions. If Cheney wanted out, I wouldn’t stop him.

  The sun had set and the cemetery was dark. Cheney followed me inside and caught my arm before I turned down the first row.

  “Selene, I just want you to know—”

  “Have you broken the curse?” Toinette said, appearing out of nowhere.

  I tore my eyes away from Cheney. “We did. And I didn’t use the gris gris bag. Do you want it back?” I held it out to her.

  “Once a gift is given, it cannot be taken back. Follow me.” She led us into the mausoleum and instructed that we face each other. “Are you both sure you wish to break the bond?”

  “Yes,” Cheney said immediately.

  “Of course,” I said.

  She bound our hands together with a scented leather rope and waved incense around us until I started to feel lightheaded. She dumped a pile of bones between us and chanted, moving in a slow counterclockwise circle. I felt Cheney’s eyes boring into me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. She poured a clear alcohol on the ground surrounding us and set it on fire.

  “Now pull the strap. Break free from it.”

  My eyes finally met his. He nodded and began to pull. I resisted, going in the opposite direction, so much like our lives. My muscles strained and shook as I fought not to allow myself to be pulled to him. The cord broke with a snap that sent a pulse outward. The fire burned away. I looked at Cheney. I didn’t love him any less. I loved him exactly the same and my heart broke because I had ruined everything.

  “It’s done,” I said.

  “What do we owe you?” Cheney asked, his eyes wide and somewhat shell-shocked.

  “Selene and I will settle accounts when the time is right,” Toinette said.

  “Is that all we need to do?”

  She nodded, and I transported away as fast as I could. I went to the Office and was surprised to see it was open and that Sy was working. “I thought you were looking for Devin.”

  “Yeah,” was all he said.

  Why was everyone being so strange? I went back to his apartment and lay on the couch. I didn’t have a yoga studio or income anymore. Maybe Sy would want a roommate. Chicago seemed like a nice town. I wouldn’t mind bartending.

  “What are you doing?” Cheney said from the doorway.

  “Lying here.”

  “Why did you leave?”

  “You meant the things you said earlier when you were trying to make me mad.”

  He nodded. “They’re all true.”

  “Well then, problem solved. You’re free and clear. I’ll come back here. No harm, no foul.”

  “Don’t be dumb, Selene. Yes, I meant every word I said—but I still love you. That has not, and will never, change. I want you in the castle. I chose you to be my wife and I still want that. You belong there. You will be a great ruler, once you’re a bit less dramatic.” He gave me a lopsided smile. “I can’t always be here to pick you back up. You need to value yourself more for what’s in here,” he tapped my chest, “than for how other people see you.”

  “So you want me to come back?”

  “Of course.”

  I laughed and wiped a tear away. “I’ll get my stuff.”

  Cheney smiled, but his eyes had a flash of sadness. He kissed me softly. “I’ll see you at home.”

  I found my last shoe under the couch and shoved it in my bag. When I straightened, Jaron stood in the doorway watching me.

  “Going somewhere?” he asked.

  A myriad of feelings stirred inside me. I had loved him for such a long time. I felt betrayed when I’d left, but now I’d had time to think about it. Something terrible made Jaron angry long before he met me. He hated the elves more than I ever could, but though I sympathized, I wasn’t going to let his feelings sway me anymore. I said I wanted change, and Cheney and I could accomplish that together. Cheney made me happy; Jaron made me crazy.

  “I’m going back to Cheney.”

  He swayed back as if I had hit him.

  “Jaron, whatever happened, you need to let it go. Hatred has monopolized so much of your life. Fight it. Make a life for yourself. The Abyss is changing. We got what we wanted.”

  “So long as the Erlking still breathes the same air as me, I have not gotten what I wanted.” His clipped words dripped bitterness. “How can you go to them?”

  “It’s not my fight anymore. Cheney has shown me what it is to love someone else—and that isn’t what we had.”

  “This isn’t over.” Jaron’s hands balled into fists, and his gray eyes were furious.

  I walked toward him and the door. “I’m sorry, but it is. I won’t let you hurt them anymore.”

  “Don’t stand in my way, Selene. You can’t stop this—the wheels are in motion.”

  “It’s time for the fighting to end. Don’t make me fight you. Just walk away.” I brushed past him. I was waiting for Sy to finish making drinks and to come talk to me when my phone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “We found her,” Sy’s voice said from the other end of the line. I stared at him behind the bar, obviously not talking on the phone.

  “Sy, how are you in two places?”

  There was a pause. “Where are you?”

  “At the Office.”

  “Ah.” There was another pause. “Did you hear what I said? We found her. We found Devin.”

  I nearly dropped the phone. “Is she okay?” I asked when Jaron walked out and broke my gaze from fake Sy for just a moment.

  “Groggy, but unharmed. She was under some sort of sleeping spell and doesn’t seem to know what happened.”

  “Did you find who took her?”

  “No.”

  I shook my head, but I didn’t care. We had Devin back and my memories. We could handle any challenge the world could muster up—unless . . . A faint trickle of worry seeped in. “Are you sure it’s her?”

  “What?” he asked with half a laugh.

  “Edith thought Cheney came to see her, but he never did. I’m standing here staring at you and talking to a different you on the p
hone. Are you sure the Devin you have is my friend and not an impostor?”

  He was quiet for a moment. “How can I tell?”

  “Ask her what math class we met in.”

  I heard muffled talking before he came back. “She said it wasn’t math. It was a history of witchcraft class and she asked for your notes.”

  I smiled. “It’s her. Now, if this person behind the bar can be trusted, I’ll meet you at the castle.”

  “You can always trust me.” I heard the smile in Sy’s voice. The other Sy walked down to where I stood.

  “What do you need, Selene?”

  I covered the receiver. “Do you know that I’m talking to you on the phone?”

  He looked unconcerned. “Can I get you a drink?”

  That was enough for me. I shook my head and went for the door. “Someday you’re going to explain Sy 2.0 to me, coz.”

  Sy laughed. “Don’t count on it. I’ll see you soon. ”

  Back at the castle, I went to the girls first and let them know Devin was on her way. Seconds later, Devin walked in with Femi, Baker, Sebastian, and Sy. Ear-piercing squeals and talking filled the room. I didn’t stand back this time. I was in the thick of it. Even if they were human and would leave me, I was lucky to have them. I snuck out of the celebration and went to look for Cheney. He wasn’t in any of the usual places. I checked our bedroom. No luck. I called him and heard his phone ringing in the closet. I followed the sound and found it lying on the floor next to the bloody shirt I’d worn the day before. I picked up the garment and slipped his phone in my pocket. It must’ve fallen out of his pants when he changed and he didn’t notice. I carried the shirt to the bathroom and wadded it up to throw it away when I felt something in the pocket again. I pulled out a folded piece of paper that looked familiar.

  I unfolded it with shaky hands.

  One who has never sacrificed must learn that everything comes with a cost. Selene or you. The choice is yours. The human will go free if one of you comes to the ruins on the harvest moon.

  Cheney said he had received a note but was vague about what it said. He had been acting secretive. He waited to wake up with me. He scrambled to finish setting up his council. Everything clicked together, right down to why, after never wanting to, he’d be so anxious to sever our bond. He had made sure that should he die, I would not. Cheney had been settling his affairs, saying goodbye.

  I heard voices as I went into the ruins. Two Cheneys faced off with one another. They were dressed identically and held themselves in the same stance. Without the bond pulling me, I couldn’t tell which one was real and which was fake. They looked at me at the same time. I looked back and forth between them as I walked toward the front. No one spoke. Magic collected under my skin as my nerves frayed.

  “I can’t believe you came here without telling me,” I said to whichever Cheney was the real one. “We agreed. No more secrets.”

  “Stay back,” Cheney 1, who was standing to my right, said.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” Cheney 2 said.

  “No.” I shook my head, still looking for any indication of who was who. “We said we were in this together. Bond or no bond, I’m staying.”

  Cheney 2 pulled a sword out of the air and lunged toward 1—who retrieved what looked like the exact same sword just in time to block. Metal clanged and sparked in a blur of motion as each met the other’s defenses. They matched each other blow for blow, and I cringed each time one of them got close to the other. Cheney 1’s sword clattered to the ground. 2 pulled back his blade for the final blow.

  “No,” I said, leaping between the two of them.

  “Move,” 2 growled.

  I shook my head. “No. You’ll have to kill me.”

  The sword wavered. “You’re protecting the wrong one.”

  “I don’t know that.”

  1 was back to his feet, sword once again in hand. He tried to move me out of the way.

  I stomped my foot, releasing some energy, making the ruins tremble. “Hasn’t there been enough bloodshed? Devin’s dead. I’m not losing anyone else,” I lied, watching both of their faces. 1’s eyes washed with sadness. 2 looked momentarily confused. I hit him with the full strength of the energy I collected, but it never reached him. My attack reflected back and crashed over me, smashing me into the stone altar.

  “Selene,” the real Cheney said, coming to me.

  The wind was knocked out of me, but I gestured and flailed as Jaron stepped forward.

  “I knew you’d come. Unlike him, I never underestimate you. What gave me away?”

  Cheney stood between us, sword in hand. “Who are you?” he asked.

  I pushed up to my feet, my body protesting the movement. “Jaron, don’t.” I stepped around Cheney.

  “I told you not to get in my way, Selene. I have waited too long. Only one of us will walk away tonight.”

  “You’re Jaron,” Cheney said. “Step aside, Selene.”

  “No.” I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. “Why do you hate him so much? Cheney has never hurt you.”

  Jaron glared at me. “Well, he has taken you.”

  I shook my head. “You hated him before that.”

  Jaron knocked me to the side. “He has my life. The life I was born to.”

  The fight started again, and thoughts swirled in my mind. Jaron had pulled a sword out of nowhere, and it wasn’t the first time he’d done it. He had a holding and only royalty were supposed to have one. Who was he?

  “What do you mean you were born to it?” I shouted above the sound of the fight.

  “Haven’t you figured it out yet? Don’t you know where we are? This is where my father murdered my half-sister because she chose her human lover.” Jaron resumed fighting with renewed strength and fury. He was bigger than Cheney, but Cheney was faster. Jaron had never told me anything about his past, and I’d never noticed. I was always happy to talk about mine, and he was a good listener. Cheney used Jaron’s strength against him as he came charging at him, leaving Jaron off balance.

  “That isn’t possible,” Cheney said as Jaron fell to the floor. “The only people who died here are—” His voice cut off and he stepped back. “You can’t be.”

  “Yet here I am.”

  Cheney shook his head. “My father didn’t—”

  “Yes, that was your father’s opinion on the matter as well, when he left me for dead as a baby. He wouldn’t have his line disgraced with a half-elf,” Jaron spat.

  “He has a holding,” I told Cheney and he nodded. “How are you a shifter?” I asked Jaron.

  “I never said my mother was human.” Jaron’s eyes burned with hatred. “This was my life you were living. I have watched you get everything you want, never having to compromise or work. I am older. The kingdom should be mine by rights.”

  Cheney shook his head, looking stunned. “I didn’t know.”

  “Like it would have made a difference. I have been in and out of your castle. I know what you are. I know what all of your kind are. Selene knows too, but somehow you managed to undo what I spent so many years building in her. I tried to bind her, bring her back to me. She was the one thing that was mine that you couldn’t have, but you managed to steal her, too.”

  “You took my memories?

  “You betrayed me.” Jaron’s eyes softened slightly. “We had a good run. I thought we would end up together. I did love you, Selene. If only you stuck to the plan. . . .”

  “If you wanted me dead that bad, why didn’t you just kill me? Why send her to me?” Cheney asked.

  “I wanted you to feel pain and betrayal like I felt. Only Selene was capable of doing that. I knew from the moment you pursued her. She was the only thing you ever worked at getting.”

  Cheney dropped his arm to his side. “I’m sorry for what my family has done. It was wrong. Give us a chance to set things right again.”

  “It’s too late,” Jaron said.

  Cheney reached for me, but Jaron appeared behind me, pressing a knife
to my throat. The cold metal bit into my skin and a warm tickle of blood ran down my neck. I held my breath, afraid that, if I moved, I’d be dead. “We had a deal. I let the human go. I am not responsible if she died after that. My life was stolen from me. Either you give me yours, or I take it piece by piece, starting with Selene.”

  “Don’t do it, Cheney,” I said. “Let me go.”

  “I came here, didn’t I?” Cheney said, ignoring me. He dropped his sword to the ground and held his arms out wide.

  The knife eased away from my neck. Cheney’s eyes met mine with an apology in them. Jaron flung the knife and it landed in Cheney’s chest. He stumbled back, his hands clutching it as he dropped to his knees. His eyes never strayed from mine as he fell.

  I didn’t even try to break free from Jaron’s grip, turning in his arms instead, hitting and scratching his face. “No!”

  Jaron caught my arms and I crumpled to the ground. No. Cheney couldn’t be dead. I couldn’t breathe. Jaron released me and took half a step back.

  “The problem, Selene, is that you know who I am, and now I can’t take Cheney’s place. You will never forgive me for Cheney, Michael, or your parents. I only wanted what should have been mine. You used to understand that. You and I, we used to be the same.”

  I shook my head. “I was never like you. You tried to make me like you.” I stared at the floor, letting his words feed the pain inside of me like gasoline. I had only one chance. I would either die or save Cheney. I lunged for Jaron again, releasing all the energy I had built into the ground—and called a knife to my hand like I did before. The room shook and cracked. Jaron looked at the ground, and I rammed the blade into his heart all the way to the hilt. Blood poured over my fingers and his hand grabbed mine. I twisted the knife. Those gray eyes that used to look at me in love met mine, and hurt and betrayal crossed them. My body shook with adrenaline, and the light in Jaron’s eyes went black. He fell to the ground and I watched him slowly evaporate as if he’d never been there at all. The ruins began to disintegrate and fall. I went back to Cheney and knelt beside him.