by G A Chase
Then there was the swamp. After her parents’ mysterious death when she was just a child, the waterways, marshes, and cypress groves had become her home. Her grandmother had sent her to boarding school, but that was mostly to pacify the state’s requirements since there was no school bus that ran out to the bayou. The education put her far ahead of the other families who called rural Louisiana home—such things as state laws weren’t given much attention by people who lived off the land. But with every vacation and summer break, the swamp became her true home.
The trip gave her too much time to think. The others carried on their mindless prattle. She could filter out the useless information—the lovebirds in the back and the band members who didn’t want to admit their attraction for each other up front.
And up ahead was her grandmother’s old cabin. The woman knew more than any person Sanguine had ever met, yet all she wanted was to be left in peace. Stupid voodoo curse.
Rocks hit the underside of the VW as it rolled into the turnout used in life by the crawfish trappers and fishermen to launch their boats. Of course, such people didn’t exist in her grandmother’s version of reality.
Sanguine was first out of the vehicle. The fear of what traps her grandmother might have left behind mixed with excitement at being home and made her hurry to the hidden blind that housed her canoe.
Kendell and Myles were saying their goodbyes to the women who would stand guard. Like there’s anything they can do if danger does strike. Sanguine would have been happier if Myles had stayed behind as well, but some battles weren’t worth the energy. She needed Kendell to perform her little voodoo ritual, and if she insisted on bringing her burly man with her, well, Sanguine would just have to live with it.
Neither of the city dwellers looked comfortable in the narrow boat. It took a fair bit of balancing to prevent them from tipping it over. Sanguine jumped into the back and shifted her weight to use the momentum to move the canoe away from shore. “Just try to match each other’s paddling. This isn’t a race. I’ll balance out the difference back here while steering. Don’t get distracted.”
People—city folk—had a nasty habit of sightseeing while out in the bayou. Usually that meant more talking than paddling. Sanguine didn’t have the time or patience for such nonsense. As they worked deeper into the bayou and away from the road, she noticed her grandmother had built the alternate-reality swamp she’d long talked about. The invasive water hyacinths that choked every tributary were gone. The waterways looked like veins in a leaf as they cut through the countless marsh islands. She looked over the side to see if her grandmother had included wildlife in her created oasis. A water moccasin was undulating next to the boat. “Run ahead and tell her we’re coming.”
The black snake doubled its speed and shot ahead of the boat.
Kendell once again splashed water into the boat as she tried to turn in her seat. “What was that about?”
“A little welcoming party from my grandmother. I don’t want to stumble into any of her traps, so I thought the little critter might smooth the way.”
Kendell put the oar across the sides of the boat and turned fully back to Sanguine. “You expect to see her out here?”
“I don’t expect anything. But this hell needs a central command post. There’s a consciousness to everything that we’ve encountered.”
The girl’s movements were destabilizing the boat. “You don’t think that was just Colin?”
This is how people get hurt out here—by not paying attention. “Colin’s an amateur. Do you really think Cheesecake would have ended up with puppies if he’d been in charge? Someone has been observing everything that’s going on.”
“And they speak dog?”
The sarcasm almost made Sanguine tell Kendell to get back to rowing. “Any good swamp witch worth her gumbo filé knows what animals are thinking. We’ve still got some river ahead of us, and with it all cleaned up like this, I need to focus on where we’re going.”
At least Kendell didn’t need to be told twice.
The perpetual darkness of night was pierced by a ray of light like the sun shining through a gap in the clouds onto the island. The colors sparkled like jewels in the dark setting of the swamp at night.
Sanguine paddled with renewed vigor from the hope of seeing her grandmother again. Rather than work around the shore, she beached the boat opposite the cypress grove.
“This is where we get out. Let me take the lead. My grandmother was never fond of strangers and had her little tricks to keep them at bay.” After getting out of the boat, Sanguine put her hands on her hips and stretched out her back. The trip wasn’t long, but it was arduous. The sun felt good on her face. She couldn’t even estimate how long they’d been putting their plan in place in the forever night. “We’ll cut over the top of the island. My grandmother’s cabin is in the trees on the other side.”
Once they’d climbed the short rise from the shore, the true nature of the island became apparent. It wasn’t just the swamp that had been cleaned up. In place of the scrub forest were lush vegetable and herb gardens—every plant a swamp witch would need to cast her spells. But what most caught Sanguine’s attention was the cabin perched at the top of the knoll. Instead of a weather-beaten shack that hung in the tree limbs like a giant bird’s nest, the house gleamed in fresh yellow and white paint and sat on the ground like any normal dwelling. “I’ve only seen her cabin in the trees. This must be a version of her reality that predates the storm that lifted the cabin off the ground.”
Rabbits frolicked in the vegetation, but on a closer look, Sanguine realized these weren’t the fluffy bunnies her grandmother had let her keep as pets as a child. With their fangs, razor-sharp teeth, and red eyes, they looked more like protective guardians. “So that’s why you guys haven’t eaten all the vegetables. You look more like carnivores.”
The smell of freshly made alligator boudin made Sanguine break into a full run. “Grandma!”
The woman who stepped out of the house was much younger and prettier than Sanguine remembered. Even her blue-white eyes were sparkling sea-blue and clear, no longer blind. But the smile let Sanguine know this vibrant woman was indeed the old woman who’d raised her. “I’ve been expecting you, my dear.”
Sanguine hugged her so tightly she feared she might harm her, but this wasn’t the frail body she remembered. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“Come inside, everyone. I’ve got lunch ready.”
It wasn’t like Sanguine to let loose with her emotions in front of others. She quickly recovered her composure. “Do you know why we’re here?”
The inside of the cabin was as much of a surprise as the outside. The old, beat-up furniture looked brand-new. “I know everything that goes on in my realm. It’s a part of me.” She turned to Kendell and Myles. “Delphine did a better job than I expected. You two came as quite the surprise.”
Sanguine couldn’t stand sentimentality for long, even when it came to her grandmother. “What about the gates, Grandma? Will they do any good, or are we wasting our time?”
Sanguine’s grandmother wasn’t the type to mince words, so she got right to the point. “They aren’t the worst idea. By consolidating his access into seven points, Colin is given a maze to work through instead of pushing randomly at the edges of my reality. I’ve never rejected the ideas of voodoo, so I’ll accept this Guinee-based model.”
Sanguine feared crossing her lifelong mentor. “I need to be one of the gatekeepers. You’re in charge of this realm, so you can’t do it, but I can act in your place. I’ll only accept the position, though, if you agree.”
“It’s time for you to step out of my shadow. You’re the swamp witch now. You and Kendell are in charge of this hell. I only created it.”
As Sanguine feared, Kendell didn’t react well to the news of being co-manager of hell. “What? No one said anything about me being in charge of this place. I’ll be the final gatekeeper, but I don’t know anything about what you’ve built.”
“I’m sure Delphine told you that you and Sanguine are the two halves of the cage. What did you think she meant?”
“But once we set up the gates, I’m free to leave, right? I can go on with my life?” Kendell sounded as though she was trying to get out of a homework assignment.
Sanguine’s grandmother refilled Kendell’s glass of sweet tea. “No one’s stopping you. If Sanguine is to be the next gatekeeper, I assume you’ll be in charge of number seven. You’ll have plenty of notice should Colin attempt to leave.”
“Assuming he sticks to using the gates,” Myles said. “What if he tries a prison break?”
“The gates aren’t just a means for him to prove he’s worthy,” the old swamp witch said. “They’re also windows into this world for the guardians. Kendell and Sanguine now have multiple images of what’s happening in this world. Think of them as being like prison guard towers.” Sanguine’s grandmother had a way making the confusing easy to understand.
“That still doesn’t stop him from looking for some weakness to exploit,” Myles said, making Sanguine wonder if he ever listened to his elders. “He’s gained quite a bit of knowledge about his prison cell. Given enough time, which doesn’t seem to be an issue here, he’ll figure out how to turn every bit of power to his advantage.”
“And you think that’s unintentional on my part? Baron Malveaux, Lincoln Laroque, and now the combination known as Colin Malveaux all share the same evils—unbridled greed and lust for power. By giving him room to roam, I give him false hope, and then I pull the rug out from under him. The simple lessons of humility learned from failures are lost on Colin. I intend to educate him.”
“Sounds like you’re trying to rehabilitate a water moccasin. Snakes don’t change. They strike when least expected.”
Sanguine had heard enough. “No one understands the nature of animals better than a Wiccan witch.”
* * *
Kendell couldn’t get out of the swamp fast enough. She was a city girl, and any time away from her natural environment made her jumpy. The old swamp witch’s reimagined cabin was nice. It reminded Kendell of a less palatial version Mary’s plantation on the Westbank. But being surrounded by mystical gators, snakes, and deadly bunnies wasn’t her idea of a pleasant afternoon, especially after her run-in with Colin. If she never saw another snake in her life, that’d be just fine. She rubbed her legs at the memory of the slick creatures coiled menacingly inside her jeans. The sixth gate was secure, and that was what mattered.
Myles leaned forward from his perch in the middle of the boat. “So Delphine’s next? Are you sure that’s the best place? You can still change your mind.”
She didn’t see how. “If Baron Samedi is right and I can download this curse into the guitar pick like some spiritual memory stick, it’ll be worth it.”
“You won’t miss it?”
It had been a gift from the loas of the dead. She’d played some killer music with the magical pick, but in the end, it was just another enhancement. “I think it’s time I learned to play without magic.”
“You won’t get an argument from me. I just wanted to be sure. I am still a little confused about using Scratch and Sniff, though.”
Kendell was relieved he hadn’t said I told you so. “It’s where Delphine connected me to the curse. Before that I was just dabbling in voodoo and magic. Besides, it makes the most sense to return the voodoo totem to its natural home.”
She knew he’d never trust Delphine—and for good reason.
“And you don’t think she’ll just return it to Colin like last time?”
“It’s not hers to return. Giving her the totem was a mistake—maybe my biggest mistake. But honestly, I’m not sure the totem that we know will show up in her shop. What I pulled from the floor in Colin’s office wasn’t from this reality. It’s still intangible. We can only handle it with the guitar pick attached. It’s from our world but is locked in this one.”
He returned to his paddling. The closer they came to the VW, the darker the swamp became.
Scraper stood watch on the jetty as the canoe rounded the final bend in the river. “About time you guys showed up. That VW is versatile, but it’s no swamp buggy. Did you get what you were after?”
Kendell was the first one out of the boat. “The old swamp witch will keep an eye out for Colin and let Sanguine know if he’s approaching. I’m not sure she was being completely open about the level of threat. Maybe she’s just a little overly confident in her creation. She’ll help, and that’s what we were after. Anything interesting happen while we were gone?” With Colin safely thirty miles away, she assumed the wait had been more boring than scary.
Minerva walked over from the water’s edge. “We took the time to evaluate the area’s animals. They weren’t all united in protecting us.”
Sanguine sounded perplexed. “What are you talking about? The animals out here are my grandmother’s sentinels.”
“Well then, she’s not the only one who has figured out how to use them. Nearly all of the animals stood guard over us. From the gators to the cockroaches, it was clear which creatures were on our side. But the bats and crawfish staged multiple coordinated attacks on the jetty’s defenses. I don’t think they were trying to attack us as much as get into the bayou.”
Kendell stared out toward the dark water. “How could you tell? It’s so dark. I wouldn’t see a crawfish until it crawled up my leg or a bat until it landed in my hair.”
“Watch long enough, and you’ll see the battles. We first noticed when the water started churning around the inlet. River gars started thrashing against the flow as if they were trying to jump out of the water. Then we saw the bats coming down in formation. It only lasted a few minutes, but the battle was clearly to the death. We started taking notes on every creature we could find.”
As usual, Myles took the least positive position on hell’s stability. “So the old swamp witch uses animals to keep an eye on us, and presumably Colin, but we already know he’s figured out how to control at least some of the creatures. He’s really pushing at every weakness he can find.”
The longer they sat around, the more time Myles would have to develop his pessimism. Kendell needed to get everyone moving. “We’re down to the final gate. Then we perform the ceremony to unite them. We’re so close.”
Minerva pulled out her keys. “I’ll have us back to the city in no time.” She started laughing at her unintentional joke.
Sanguine turned back to her canoe. “For the ceremony to work, each guardian will have to be at their gate. It’d be silly for me to ride all the way into town just to have someone bring me back.”
Kendell agreed. “We’ll come back as soon as the ceremony is complete.” On the trip back to town, she snuggled close to Myles in the back seat. “Do you really think this has all been a wasted effort?”
“If we accomplish nothing other than getting Baron Samedi his cane and getting him back to Guinee, we’ll have closed off the most obvious escape route for Colin. As for strengthening the walls of this hell, I guess I understand voodoo better than Wicca. But since we know the two beliefs don’t mix well, it sounds like trying to put an oil-based paint on top of a water-based primer.”
Though she wasn’t big on home repair, it didn’t take much to understand that oil and water didn’t mix. “You’re afraid our fix will start peeling off the walls?”
He leaned back and put his feet on the back of the bench seat in front of them. “We’re buying some time. Right now, I’ll take every minute we can get. But once we’re home, I don’t intend to take for granted that this problem is solved. Not yet anyway.”
She nodded as she lay against his chest. “Always a sound course of action.”
Sleep wasn’t a state she’d experienced since making the wild ride to hell, but lying against his chest gave her a similar sense of peace. The drive back to the Quarter was the most rest she’d had since leaving their apartment, which seemed like a lifetime ago.
As Mi
nerva took the Tchoupitoulas exit, Kendell yelled from the back seat, “We need to go to the bank first. I’ll need the totem and my golden pick. It’ll also give us a chance to catch up on what’s going on without wasting much time.”
Kendell couldn’t stop smiling when they reached the bank and she saw Cheesecake standing guard out front. She pulled the sliding door open as fast as she could. “How’s my girl doing?”
The she-wolf nearly knocked Kendell on her butt.
“Easy, girl. You still don’t realize your size.”
But Cheesecake wasn’t going to let a good reunion go without lots of kisses, even if a wolf’s tongue was considerably larger and more powerful than a Lhasa apso’s.
Kendell gave the short-haired ears the rubs that always made Cheesecake whimper. “I missed you too, but we’ve still got work to do. Since you’re here, I hope that means your pups are doing okay. We’re all going to be reunited very soon.”
Myles was standing at the large entry doors. “And the sooner we get the totem, the sooner we can be done.”
She knew he was right, but letting go of her dog was never easy. “I’ll be as fast as I can, girl. Keep up the great work. There’s a whole bag of treats waiting for you and your pups when we get home.”
She could feel the change in dimension as they ran through the old building. Like goose bumps that came out of nowhere or static electricity that made her hair stand on end, it was easy to miss, but once noticed, it was unmistakable.
The door to the office stood open. Baron Samedi sat at the desk, but the two Malveaux children weren’t to be seen.
Kendell walked up to the voodoo totem that sat at the middle of the desk. “I’m ready.”
Baron Samedi handed her his cane. “Put the silver skull against your chest and the end of the cane on the golden pick atop the totem. Imagine your soul free of the curse.”
She couldn’t believe that was all there was to it. It had taken ten days to become a part of the curse, and that time had been literally gut-wrenching. “And what will you do?”