Way of the Barefoot Zombie

by Jasper Bark

  One thing that united both selves was a lust for power. It was around this trait that he built his new character.

  And I brought you power didn't I? I showed you a way to rule this island and to raise a fortune bigger than anything your forefathers dreamed.

  Doc was careful to hide the thought that he found his ancestor's ambitions to be hopelessly limited in comparison to his own.

  While Brigitte was away he took the time to plot his next move. He made covert contacts and new allies and waited for the right time to strike. That time had now arrived.

  She'd sent word to him earlier today that she wanted to speak. He was to meet her in the ruins of Mangrove hall.

  So now he climbed the steps of a building that had meant so much to his forefathers. That he had seen practically every day since coming to the island. Yet had never once explored.

  He thought it fitting that Brigitte had chosen to meet him here. In this crumbling ruin that haunted the skyline of the entire island. He wondered if she was aware of the irony.

  Despite all the things he planned to do, he was excited about seeing her again. There was a primordial attraction between them, like some unstoppable natural force.

  Pah, men! Stop thinking with your cock and start thinking with your head for a change. She's a pathetic peasant girl descended from slave stock. You could do a lot better. I admit I enjoyed a few of them myself, that's what they're there for. But I never got attached to one.

  Doc walked between the pillars that held up the stone porch and through the burnt archway from which the doors had once hung. His footsteps echoed round the blackened stone walls as he crossed the tiled floor. Good thing he wasn't trying to sneak up on her.

  Brigitte was standing in front of a window at the rear of the property. He could see her silhouette against the fading evening light. She turned as she heard him coming and shot him a welcoming smile. Her face was half in shadow and twice as lovely for it.

  "You came," she said.

  "How could I stay away?"

  Brigitte was wearing a simple pink dress and had tucked a blossom behind her ear. She couldn't have looked more desirable.

  "Look who's all dressed up."

  "I thought I'd make an effort," she said. "I haven't seen you in a while."

  "I missed you," he said slipping his arm around her waist almost without thinking. She put her hand on his chest, to stop him moving closer. He could see that she liked touching him though.

  Pull yourself together, you're like a dog on heat. You catch one whiff of cunny and you fall to pieces.

  Doc let go of Brigitte.

  "I'm sorry that I haven't been in touch," she said. "I had a lot to think about and now I've got a lot to tell you."

  "I'm all ears."

  "You've probably guessed by now that it was me who was visited by an ancestor. The rite didn't go wrong, there was a good reason for this. It concerns your ancestors and mine. I was contacted by my ancestor Toussaint Laveau who's daughter Millicent was my great, great grandmother. He told me your name, you're Emil Papamal, your ancestor is the woman who used to live in this house Mary April Papamal. Before he died Toussaint placed a curse on Mary's bloodline. One of her ancestors would suffer a hideous death at the hands of a Laveau. That's you my love."

  "Go on."

  "You're not shocked by this?"

  You're the one who has the shock coming my dear.

  "I'm still processing it. Why did he place the curse on my ancestor? What was so bad about her?"

  "You've heard the stories. You must know."

  "Those stories are just rumours and legends. The things mothers make up to scare their children."

  "No, they're all true. Toussaint showed me everything. How she married Jean Papamal for his money and then murdered him. Then after she inherited everything, this house and his sugar plantation, she discovered he was bankrupt."

  The man was a fool who lived beyond his means. He would have lost the whole estate if I hadn't acted when I did.

  Be quiet, Doc thought. She has powers. She'll hear you. You'll ruin everything.

  "Are you alright my love?" Brigitte put her hand on his shoulder. "You seem distant, distracted."

  "This is a lot to take in. I'm having a bit of trouble. I wanted to regain my past, and you're telling me you're going to kill me because of things that happened over a century ago."

  "I'm sorry, I know it's a lot to take in. It took me a while to come to terms with it all. But it's important that you know this."

  "Okay. So, if her husband went bankrupt, is that how this place became a ruin?"

  "No that was much later, she saved the plantation by marrying a rich Admiral about a year later. She didn't like him any better than her first husband though. That's when she started taking lovers from among her slaves. When her new husband found out he threatened to divorce her and dispossess her of everything. His money and the plantation, which he now legally owned."

  "What did she do?"

  "She hid three of her lovers in his bedroom. When he retired she had one of them hold him down while another throttled him and the third took her right there on the bed in front of him. He died watching his wife coupling with one of the slaves. She spent the night with all three of them while her husband's corpse lay next to them in the bed.

  "That's when your great grandfather was conceived. She never knew who his true father was. For reasons known only to her self she carried the baby to term and handed him over to her slaves to rear. She let him keep her name though, which is why you now bear it."

  "I still don't see what all this has to do with you and me?"

  "It has everything to do with you and me. What happened to our ancestors continues to affect us today. There was a settlement of free islanders on the south side of the island, a small fishing village where the harbour is. Toussaint was their Houngan. Mary wanted his power and tried to join his Ounfó. He resisted at first, but she held a lot of power. In the end, for the sake of his congregation he thought it better to be allied to her than against her so he let her join."

  That's a lie! He lusted after me from the minute he saw me. He was as eager for my body as you are for this bitch's flesh. He would have done anything to get me and, after leading him on for a while, I obliged.

  "They were lovers?"

  "Yes, how did you know that?" Brigitte was silent for a moment and looked about her. "Is there something here with us? I'm sure I can detect something."

  "It's this place. It must be filled with ghosts. You were telling me about our ancestors."

  "That's right, Mary used all her feminine wiles to seduce Toussaint. She was very beautiful and very cunning and, in spite of his wisdom, Toussaint gave in. But she took against my great, great grandmother. Millicent was betrothed to a young man who had caught Mary's eye. When the young man spurned her Mary was determined to have her revenge.

  "Mary kidnapped Millicent and planned to sacrifice her in a hideous ceremony she had planned. She'd come across a spell that would steal the souls of every one of her slaves and turn them all into walking corpses that would do her absolute bidding. She planned to set them to work on the plantation."

  It was an economic decision. It would have slashed my overheads. Do you have any idea how much it costs to feed and clothe the amount of slaves needed to run a plantation that size? A third of my profits went to looking after them. Think of how rich I'd have been if not for her stinking ancestor.

  "Toussaint only discovered her plans once the ceremony was underway. He confronted her as she began to siphon off the souls of the slaves. To save the slaves and his daughter Toussaint invoked and opened the Gateway of the Souls."

  "The Gateway of the Souls," said Doc. "That's like some sort of black hole isn't it? An artefact that draws lost souls to it from anywhere in the Invisible World. That really exists?"

  "It exists and Toussaint opened it. He drew the souls of the slaves back from the crossroads where they were trapped and returned them to their bodies
. But once created the Gateway can never be destroyed and Mary hungered for its power. Toussaint was too exhausted from conjuring up the Gateway to fight Mary for control of it. To stop her from seizing it he transported it inside himself."

  "That can be done? How? You must tell me."

  "There are things that you must wait to learn."

  "So what happened to Toussaint then?"

  "In a fit of anger Mary tried to finish the sacrifice and stab Toussaint's daughter. He threw himself in the way and was killed instead. As he died he uttered the curse that we've now got to deal with."

  Curse, more like a pathetic grudge. Feeble sorcery that won't come to anything, I'll see to that.

  "You said that the Gateway of the Souls can't be destroyed, so I'm guessing it didn't disappear when Toussaint died. Does that mean it still exists?"

  "It does."

  "Where is it, you have to tell me?"

  "It is safe, that's all you need to know."

  "And what about Mary Papamal? What did your ancestor say happened to her?"

  "There was a revolt. The slaves grabbed their farm tools and stormed the house as Toussaint died. They murdered Mary and her henchmen and set light to the plantation."

  "And they got away with that? Why didn't the authorities do anything?"

  "I don't know. Things were pretty volatile on mainland Haiti then I suppose."

  "What about the plantation?"

  "Well neither Mary or Jean Papamal had any relatives, so the slaves took it over, turned most of it into small holdings and farmed it."

  "Incredible that no-one exploited the potential in such a huge estate. That they let it go to waste."

  "That's a strange thing to say."

  "Sorry I was just thinking aloud." Doc took Brigitte's hands and looked into her eyes. "So what about this curse, am I going to suffer a hideous death at your hands?"

  Doc's tone was playful and mocking, but Brigitte's expression was serious.

  "That's what I've been thinking about while I was away," she said. "That's why I ran that night in the Djevo and hid from you. I didn't want you to be that woman's ancestor. I didn't want the curse hanging over our heads for the rest of our lives. I didn't want to kill you."

  "But the curse is there and we both know about it now, we can't avoid that."

  "We can't avoid it but we don't need to fulfill it. It doesn't have to rule our lives. It was dark, hateful Voodoo, spoken by a dying man who wanted to make his murderer pay. She did pay, so why should I have to suffer because of his death? I'm not a murderer and you're innocent. Why should you have to pay for something your ancestor did?"

  "So how do you suggest we get around this?"

  "Love."

  "Love?"

  "Yes, it's that simple."

  "We've never spoken about love before."

  "You're not a man who speaks about his emotions. You never tell me what you're feeling."

  "But love?"

  "It doesn't have to be romantic love, if that scares you. It can be the love you have for your friends or your partner in crime. Love is how you beat hate and dispel dark Voodoo like this." Brigitte's became flirtatious. "I've certainly loved you with my body many times."

  Doc grinned. She'd given him an idea. She was playing to her strengths to win him over. But she'd betrayed her weakness and, if he used it right, this would all go a lot quicker and easier.

  "I have to admit I do love your body," he said. "I've had an idea. If love dispels dark Voodoo then what about a love spell? Why don't we forge a love knot?"

  "A love knot? That's for binding a couple together forever. That's a big step."

  "One that will save us both. You said so yourself. You're not afraid of commitment are you?"

  "No, but I... I mean, you never..."

  "Speak about my feelings? Perhaps it's time I did, especially when my life depends on it." Doc produced a nylon scarf from his pocket. "I believe we need one of these for the spell. And a small clipping from an intimate area." He took a penknife from his pocket, reached into the front of his trousers and cut some of his public hair.

  Brigitte looked surprised. "Why are you carrying a knife and scarves around?"

  "I just had a feeling that I might need them. I think the Loa were guiding my actions. I'll need a clipping from you as well, if this is going to work." Doc placed his hand on Brigitte's thigh and gently lifted her dress.

  Brigitte held his wrist and stopped him. "You're getting rather forward aren't you?"

  "And you're getting rather coy, that isn't like you."

  "Maybe I like to be asked properly."

  "Would you be so kind?"

  "Maybe I will." She slipped her panties off. He took a clipping of her hair. He was close enough to smell her body. Her scent was intoxicating. He was completely hard. Did he have time for one last tryst?

  Don't be an idiot! Strike now before she realises, while she's vulnerable.

  However much she annoyed him, his ancestor was right. Palming his own hair, he split Brigitte's into two clipping and tied the scarf around them. Then he tied seven more knots, each one more intricate than the last.

  "Be careful," Brigitte said. "If you make a mistake with one of the knots you could..."

  "Paralyse you?" Doc said.

  Brigitte sat rigid on the crumbling window sill. Only her eyes showed any sign of life.

  "That was the whole idea. I wasn't making a love knot. I was creating a spell to snare you. Of course the effect is only temporary, as you know. Unless the knots are sealed with goofer dust and burned."

  Doc took a snakeskin pouch from his pocket. It contained the goofer dust, a fine powder of ground rattlesnake skulls and graveyard dust mixed with salt and brimstone. He sprinkled the dust over the knotted scarf then placed the scarf in the pouch.

  This is the Mambo who trained you? I'm not impressed. I thought you said she had power, yet you tricked her so easily.

  Brigitte's eyes widened in alarm as she finally felt the presence of Doc's ancestor.

  "Yes she's been with me for quite a while," Doc said. "You weren't the only one to get visited that night. She's taught me a lot as well. Not only have I regained my past, I've also planned out my future. I'm afraid you're not in it. I already knew about the curse but I have a different solution. I'm going to take you out of the picture. You can't inflict a hideous death on me if I get to you first. I plan a living death though. If I killed you outright your spirit could wreak vengeance on me. If I trap your soul in the grave with your corpse there's nothing you can do.

  "You see I've realised there's a huge natural resource on this island that's ripe for exploitation. You may not be aware of this but I'm rather wealthy. Having just remembered this I'm rather keen to find new ventures to invest in. Thanks to my ancestor I now know how to conduct the ceremony she attempted so many years ago. She's very keen for me to try it again. That's the other reason I can't let you live. I was certain you'd try to stop me and you may be the only person who could. However, once I've taken care of that eventuality I stand to profit quite heavily from my actions."

  Doc began to collect twigs and logs to start a fire. He piled them up and put a match to them. As the moon came up and the flames lit the shell of the old house, Brigitte's eyes darted to a figure who stepped out of the shadows.

  "I think you remember Vincenzo," said Doc. "He used to be your rival for the head of the Ounfó. Only his liking for secret Petro rituals and his traffic with malevolent Loa got him exiled to Haiti. I invited him back and offered him a very good position in my new organisation. He's going to assist me in disposing of you." Doc turned to Vincenzo. "You got what I asked you for?"

  Vincenzo handed him another pouch, Doc looked inside. It was filled with ground human bones. Doc emptied them into the snakeskin pouch then tossed it on the fire.

  What are you doing? What was in that pouch?

  "Ground human bones," said Doc. "To seal the paralysis spell."

  There's more to it than that.
What are you up to?

  "A simple rite to sever the connection with an ancestor who's plaguing you. You grind the ancestor's bones to a fine powder and then you burn them.

  You what!?

  "You didn't think we could find your grave did you? It has no marker and your bones don't lie in any cemetery, but the Loa told Vincenzo where your remains were buried. He dug you up and ground your bones for me."

  Why?

  "I'm afraid I don't have room for partners in this new venture and you simply don't have the vision to understand it. The market has moved on too much since your day. So I'm dissolving our merger as of this moment."

  The temperature in the ruined house dropped in spite of the fire. There was a sound like a huge wind rushing by and Mary Papamal was dragged back to the afterlife.

  She let out a bitter scream of fury. Even Vincenzo and Brigitte heard. The flames of the fire leapt as it roared with her anger and frustration.

  Then she was gone.

  "Well she certainly had spirit," said Doc. "If you'll pardon the pun. Mary's grave, did you dig it deep enough to house Brigitte?"

  "I did," said Vincenzo. "Do we bury her tonight?"

  "We do." Doc turned and spoke to Brigitte. "After incapacitating you in the house of your ancestor's bitter enemy we're going to inter you in her grave. I hope you appreciate all the trouble we've gone to on your behalf.