The Life & Death of Jorja Graham

by Brynn Myers

  Lilith’s plot to kill Quentin, however, was uncovered when one of her handmaidens bed the “Hallow Crow.” With his gift of foresight, he saw what the demonic queen had planned within the servants mind, and with his brother’s help, they banished her for all time by trapping her within a pendant made of their blood and that of Lilith’s first born daughter, Lura. She was the only connection strong enough to bind Lilith to her prison. Apparently, Lura was the only one of her kind, all of the other children died the moment they copulated, thus why she was forbidden to ever lie with a man. She was to remain a virgin in order to stay alive.

  “Well this certainly explains a few things, now doesn’t it? Lura was a lustful minx when she was with me, now I know why. My body allowed her to do the things she was forbidden to do as her true self. Very interesting.” Rhetta turned to the next page.

  Hundreds of years passed before Lura finally found the locket her father and uncle had hidden, at which time she stole it and ran to the earthly plane to shroud herself and the last remaining bit of the woman she worshiped. This was when she and Rhetta had become one. Two women, who for all intents and purposes despised men for the power they wielded over women, and made it their mission to use and destroy any man who didn’t adore them just as Lilith demanded.

  Rhetta continued to flip the pages, making certain to read every word. The next page was similar to the life-like sketches of Lilith, but was of the two brothers. My stomach lurched. The names listed below were Corbin and Quentin Holbrook. This wasn’t possible, he couldn’t be one in the same but there it was, every one of his features. “Well, well, I seems your demon lover killed his own niece in order to keep Lilith imprisoned. He will die by my hand if it is the last thing I do.”

  Oh, I doubted it was going to be Corbin who died but I now knew for certain exactly what was at stake. He would have no choice but to keep Lilith imprisoned, even if that meant he had to kill me to do it. How did I manage to end up in the middle of the most fucked up family feud? I thought my family sucked but this…this is over the top.

  Rhetta opened the final book and read, in Lura’s own handwriting, that she’d been there on the day Lilith was banished for crimes against her husband. She watched as Corbin and Quentin used their combined powers to draw Lilith’s life force into a pendant and had no idea her uncle had used her own blood to seal her mother’s fate until it was too late. She’d thought the blood he requested from her months prior was for a unity spell to help bring her parents closer to one another. She’d been naïve and blamed herself for everything. Between the indignation and the guilt, she’d become a force to be reckoned with, at least until the day she’d left Rhetta’s body to search for another host. Rhetta had aged slowly, yes, but she was no longer in any condition to stand against the brothers if they'd ever found her. That was the day Rhetta took the spill down the stairs which ended up being the beginning of the end for them both.

  I didn’t feel sorry for Rhetta but as she read the words her beloved friend wrote, she became distraught and agitated. She loved Lura and now that she knew the whole story, her mind was twisting and turning with all the ways she planned on torturing Corbin. She slammed her fists into the mahogany, and screamed wildly as she swiped everything off the desk, ignoring the broken glass as she stepped over the mess. I had no idea what to do at this point but I needed to come up with a plan, and fast.

  Rhetta continued to rage, ripping the curtains down and using the scissors she found to gouge the couch, shredding it to bits. She only stopped when she heard voices outside. She peeked out the front window and cursed under her breath. Heddie, Vivian, and Cat were walking towards the porch with flowers, wine, and bags of food in their arms.

  “Why are these people here?” Rhetta spat as she tossed the scissors onto the floor.

  I scoured my memories but couldn’t remember if I’d made a dinner date with them before all this happened and then wondered how many days had passed anyway…Cat was home?

  DING DONG

  “Jorja, darlin, open this door. These bags are heavy and we’ve got some catching up to do,” Heddie squawked.

  KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

  Rhetta cursed like a sailor as she looked around the trashed study. She walked out, closed the double doors, and brushed back her wild hair in the hall mirror. “You better behave and not do anything to draw attention to our little situation,” she snarled. “Or you’ll be witnessing their deaths from your front row seat.”

  You’re the one who’d better watch it, bitch. If you hurt them…It was an empty threat at the moment but I was working on a plan of my own. She wasn’t going to take anyone else I loved.

  c h a p t e r

  TWENTY-ONE

  “Girl, you look a fright. When was the last time you’ve had a shower and a good home cooked meal?” Vivian asked as she leaned in for a hug.

  “I don’t look that bad.” Rhetta responded as she stepped aside to let them all enter.

  “Well, I’ve seen you look better, that’s for damn sure,” Heddie retorted. “You look too skinny. Now scoot, this batch of shrimp and grits needs to find its way into the oven,” she said as she winked and headed towards the kitchen.

  Cat walked in holding two bottles of wine but didn’t even attempt to lean in for a hug. Why was she acting so aloof? I hadn’t seen Cat in weeks and this was definitely not how we’d normally have greeted one another but then again, Rhetta was acting just as distant. She was unaware of who these people were to me––how much they meant to me, and didn’t have a clue as to how we all acted towards one another…she didn’t know anything about them. Fear gripped me. How was Rhetta gonna pull this off without one of them catching on? I could feel her agitation but hoped she’d play along…keep pretending to be me because I didn’t know what I would do if she hurt any of them.

  “Did I miss a date or something? I don’t recall asking you all for supper?” Rhetta asked as she closed the door.

  “Since when have we ever needed an invite?” Cat turned and put on her biggest grin. “Nice place. You gonna give me a tour?”

  “Give her the five cent tour, Jorja, not the five dollar one. Dinner will be ready here soon,” Vivian called out from the kitchen.

  “Well, you heard her,” Cat teased. “Let’s check out your new digs. This house is really something. Corbin really does adore you, doesn’t he?”

  “Yes, I’m really lucky,” Rhetta responded, her tone carrying a little too much snark if she intended it to sound sincere.

  “Where’s he been, by the way? I’m surprised he isn’t here. He’s been enamored with you since the first moment he saw you. I doubt the two of you have spent less than a few days apart since that initial meeting.”

  Good question.

  “I don’t know, he said he had to handle some things and that he’d be in touch,” Rhetta said scrambling for an answer to suit the question.

  Cat turned towards the study and Rhetta grabbed her arm to redirect her. Cat flinched and I knew for certain she was aware of what was going on, all she ever needed was a touch. Maybe that’s why she didn’t hug Rhetta, maybe she didn’t want to believe what she was already sensing. Oh God, Oh God, Oh God!

  We all walked upstairs, my best friend, my trapped soul, and the vengeful bitch, up towards the room where my life stopped and Rhetta’s began. Would she do anything to Cat with my aunts right downstairs? Damn it, where the hell was Corbin? If he couldn’t save me the least he could do was save my family. We walked from room to room until we came to the one I’d designed just for Cat, the room I’d promised to give her in exchange for my new Louboutin’s, yet another tidbit of information Rhetta knew nothing about.

  Cat was playing it cool, but Rhetta remained agitated, her anger at having people around rising with each second. I knew she hated having to make idle chatter and especially with people she didn’t know. Those were the ones she and Lura would kill the quickest just to shut them up. My stomach churned despite my efforts to remain calm.

  “So
this is my room, huh? You always know just what I love, Jorja. I can’t wait to move in, girl.” Rhetta’s head snapped over to Cat as she smiled like a Cheshire cat. “What? You said you’d give me a room in exchange for your favorite shoes on the planet.”

  When Rhetta didn’t respond, Cat continued to push. “I know you didn’t drink that much that night. You have to remember our conversation.”

  Rhetta scanned the room and saw framed pictures of Cat and I over the years and mentally scoffed. She’d have to play along or her plan to summon Lilith by the full moon would be derailed. “Of course I remember. I’ve just been distracted and tired is all.”

  “Oh, I doubt that’s the reason but we’ll go with that,” Cat snapped.

  Rhetta turned slowly and watched as Cat stood before her with an indignant look on her face. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?” Rhetta asked.

  “You heard me,” she said as she crossed the room. “You know, I flew home on the red-eye two nights ago and struggled every second to believe what Corbin told me. But now as I stand here, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that every word of it was true.” Cat pushed back the curtains then turned to glare at her. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m shocked I was unable to sense Corbin’s true nature but I’ll dismiss that for moment, but you, you are another story altogether, Rhetta.”

  Rhetta snarled and moved towards Cat. “Well, aren’t you a clever one.”

  Cat held up her left hand and halted Rhetta. “Let’s make a deal. You’re gonna stay up here and I will make the proper excuses for you with Jorja’s aunts. They're not a part of this. In fact, I would’ve come alone but they refused, said they needed to see Jorja for themselves to make sure she was doing all right.” Cat’s hand dropped when Rhetta crossed her arms. “They’ve stocked the fridge with food and if you plan on keeping up this ruse of being my best friend, you might want to try and nourish her body. She looks like shit and Jorja never had a hair out place.” Cat cocked her head. “Do you understand what I am telling you, Rhetta?”

  “Don’t patronize me you little bitch. I’ll do whatever I want with this shell.”

  “Oh, you got the bitch part right but you're a fool if you don’t take care of the body you’ve inhabited. Guess you’re not that well versed in spirit possession so here's a little tip; if you don’t nurture her she’ll die and you’ll be shit out of luck. I don’t care what happens to you, but Jorja will survive this.”

  Rhetta tossed her head back and laughed. “How many delusions did that demon fill you with? Jorja will never return. Soon, I’ll be the sole inhabitant of this body and there won’t be anything you or Corbin can do about it.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Cat sneered.

  Rhetta reached for Cat but as she did, Cat opened her right fist and blew a loose powder into Rhetta’s face. Seconds passed and I could feel Rhetta losing her balance but Cat grabbed her and laid her down on the bed. Our body was immobile but I could hear Cat’s words as clear as day. “Jorja, I know you can hear me so I need you to listen. That’ll only keep her down for twenty four hours but it’ll be long enough for us to come back. I know you are confused but Corbin and I have a plan and we will be coming back…I promise! This is totally screwed up, Jorja, but everything Corbin ever told you was the truth…his feelings are real and so is the threat of Lilith. If she is freed we are all doomed.”

  Cat tried to touch the pendant but an electric shock ran through her. Not even she could remove it. Tears filled her eyes as she looked down at me. I had no idea what she and Corbin had planned, but all I could do now was hope it would work because at the moment, I lacked any faith. Cat bent down to kiss my forehead before she left my side. Moments passed before I heard her and my aunts arguing over leaving, then the door slammed downstairs and they were gone.

  As I lay there frozen, the only blessing to my current state was that I couldn’t hear Rhetta’s thoughts anymore. Whatever Cat had done to her had left her silent and for that I was grateful. I stared up at the ceiling, pondering what I could do to help. Wondered how and why Cat was siding with Corbin and then I heard my father’s voice along with the southern drawl of others, the same voices I’d encountered earlier, right before Rhetta had claimed my body. I listened as they tried to figure out a way to help, a way to separate Rhetta from me, but it was the older Creole women who said that at this point they could do nothing but wait until Cat returned. The toxin would keep us both down and that she had sensed Cat’s bloodline, knew the family’s history, and if anyone could save me, it was them.

  The problem for me, though, was what if they were all wrong? I was the only one who knew Rhetta and Lura’s history. Sure, Corbin may have filled Cat in on his version of things but how did his account of history meld with Lura’s? I needed a plan of my own because now that I knew who Lilith really was, I had no doubt I needed to stop all of this before it was too late. If Lilith’s plan ever came to fruition I wasn’t sure what the future would look like and how it would affect Corbin.

  I questioned my logic; why did I care about what happened to him? But I did care, too much so, and even as I lay here counting the hundreds of reasons why I should or shouldn’t love him, my thoughts always drifted back to the fact he’d revealed his true identity to Cat. A woman who by all accounts could’ve found a way to send his ass back to hell and then come for me alone, but instead she chose to side with him. What was I missing? What was I not understanding about all this? Were we all blind to his charms?

  I heard footsteps on the wood floor and recognized the sound of the gait. I couldn’t imagine how or why he’d chosen now to return. Had that been his plan all along, to use Cat to put Rhetta into a trance so he could kill us both? Was he going to end this all now to save any further heartache? I wanted to scream, wanted to rage to the point where I could free myself but I could do nothing. I was a fly trapped in a web. All I could do was wait until my demise or my salvation.

  The door swung open and hit the wall with a thud as he walked towards the edge of the bed. I could feel his energy as he sat beside me, his touch easing my apprehension. I’d always felt that way when he was near, a deep connection that NEVER made any sense but since I now knew what kind of power he wielded, it was beginning to click. My feelings weren’t real…his weren’t real…we weren’t real. He’d created these feelings of love so I’d find the pendant he so desperately wanted.

  He stared down at me as he caressed my cheek with the back of his hand. “Dammit, I wish you could sit up and slap me or call me a pompous jackass. Those are things I can accept and acknowledge as truth, but this, this I never saw coming. I’m so sorry, Jorja. I was blindsided, which is something that never happens to me, and now I am forced to play a game I may not be able to win.”

  Hmph, that would be fantastic now wouldn’t it, but even more importantly, what the hell was that last statement supposed to mean? You may not be able to win…why the hell not?

  “I’m sure you know by now, who and what I am and that you hate me for it. I promise you though, I never intended for you to become a pawn in this. I came here with intentions of finding the locket and destroying it but I hadn’t had enough time to do that. We’d yet to discover it and then after we started working with one another, I thought maybe we’d end up finding it together. That perhaps you’d find it in the preparations for the auction and all would be…well, it doesn't matter. Things didn’t work out that way but I’m trying to fix it.”

  Tears filled my eyes, how I don’t know, but as they spilled down my cheeks, Corbin wiped them away. “Please don’t cry. I know you well enough to know that you’re doubting every minute and every word I spoke but since the day I met you, I’ve been blocked from seeing your future or ours for that matter. I was told long ago I’d find my true love in the most unlikely of places, but I never imagined it would be with a human and most certainly never thought it’d be with someone as ardent as you.”

  Corbin grasped my hand and leaned in closer. I could see every crease in his face as
he looked down at me. “I love you, Jorja. I didn’t think I was capable. In all of my existence, I’d never found anyone I wished to call my own until I met you. You saved me. You’re the reason I backed down from Rhetta. I cannot bear to lose you.”

  Only I could fall for someone and end up like this. Talk about cursed…Eudora for a mother, a tortured past riddled with guilt and angst, and now a relationship with a demon. You’re fucked up, Jorja. Utterly fucked up.

  “I love you enough that I was willing to risk Catarina’s wrath. I knew from the day I met her who she was but I also knew the risk if I didn’t find Lilith’s pendant as well. Cat knows why I tricked her but agreed it was the right choice, that at the time she wouldn’t have understood. She also knows that my feelings for you are genuine, so if you cannot believe me right now, believe her. I will save you and I’ll spend every day making it up to you, that is if you’ll still have me.”

  Corbin leaned in closer and kissed me. I hated him but I loved him too, the dichotomy of my life, loving people who lied and hurt me. It was my M.O., my thing, my curse. I wished this was over, wished I could reach up and wrap my arms around him, kiss him until I could only feel the love between us. Instead all I could do was relish in the tenderness of his touch, languish in the feel of his lips, and pray that whatever he and Cat had planned would be a better alternative to what I’d already devised. This kiss would either be a new beginning or a goodbye and only time would tell which one. Rhetta’s plan could not succeed if I took away the one thing she needed the most…me.

  I’m not sure how long it was that Corbin remained by my side but at some point he’d left. I was grateful for it too because I needed time to plan instead of daydream about a life with a man I knew was wrong for me, a nightmarish fairytale only a fool could imagine. A human girl falls in love with a demon and they live happily ever after in purgatory or wherever it was that demons resided. We’d have half breed children who’d live like Persephone, half their life in Hell and the other in bliss. Smoke some more crack and then wake the hell up. It was a joke, a cruel joke with no happy ending, and one that would NEVER come to pass. I even at some point wondered if I was still dreaming all of this and that when I woke I’d have a great laugh about the most inventive hallucination anyone could’ve ever had, but that too was a pipe dream. Too much had happened for this all not to be true. All that was left was the finale…the moment of truth when everything came together. The scrolly writing at the end of the book…The End!