I turned to look at the graveyard. Rows of white stone vaults stood tall and proudly. Not wanting to waste time, we quickly set to our work, combing over the many rows of family vaults which were, for the most part, in ascending numerical order. It wasn’t until the eighth row of mausoleums that we stumbled upon an anomaly.
The fifth crypt from the end of the row was lacking any sort of number to indicate which plot it was. The face of the vault was blank and no names were carved into the stone plate which sealed its contents off from the outside world.
I wasn’t really sure what about it was so inviting, however, there was something about that particular mausoleum that was drawing me in.
I ran my hands over the hard, smooth wall on each side of the plate. Energy and power emanated from within the confines of the structure. It pulsed and vibrated into my hands, up my arms, and into my chest.
“There’s something in there. Something big. Important,” I said in a hushed voice, just above a whisper.
“We should check the others first, just to be sure. Umm-” He coughed and wiped away the sweat that was beading on his forehead. “How do you plan on getting in?”
Shit. He had a point and I hadn’t thought of how we’d actually get into any of the crypts. I moved around the front of the tiny building, searching for any openings on the sides, between either of its neighboring vaults. I knew the rear wall wasn’t worth checking out, because it butted up to the mausoleum behind it that faced in the opposite direction.
Unless…
“Do you think there could be an entrance on the back side? Like, if you went through the vault on the next row?” I asked. I didn’t give the man a chance to answer as I ran around the end of the row to the next one over. Mateo didn’t move from his spot.
Peeking, through the gaps between vaults, I spotted Mateo and knew I had the right one in front of me. Vault number one-hundred and three. It was clear from examining it that there were a good number of tenants housed within it, but the most recent name had been eroded away by the weather or chipped away by vandals. Both of which were, unfortunately, pretty common occurrences.
I shuffled closer to the plate that served as a door to get a better view of it. Just as I had expected. The seal of the crypt had been broken. My whole body was vibrating. I wasn’t sure if it was the excitement or whatever was housed inside the vault.
I poked my face around the edge and peered at my companion. “It’s open! Stay there until I find out if it goes all the way through, okay?”
“Alright, just be careful.”
It was nice to have someone like Mateo. It had been a couple years since I’d lost my parents and equally as long since I’d had someone, other than Rhys, concerned for my safety. It was nice to feel like someone really cared again.
“I will,” I said with a small smile.
I pushed on the side of the covering and maneuvered it so I could pull out that plate. I didn’t want to just break it and make it overly obvious that the vault had been broken into. We didn’t need groundskeepers showing up accusing us of grave robbing.
The opening was big enough to store a casket in, though not much larger, and to my astonishment, the vault was empty. Light filtered into the space through the small opening. It was just barely enough to see several bags that were stuffed into the furthest corner of the crypt. The bags were another commonplace in Louisiana tombs. They were the remains of the previous tenants. They were literally reduced to a bag of bones. A musty, decrepit scent wafted its way out to me, making me sputter and cough. Spider webs glinted in the sunlight, crisscrossing across the entrance. I swatted them out of the way, not seeing any eight-legged fiends waiting for their chance to attack.
I climbed into the tomb on my hands and knees, blocking out the light. The back of the tomb was black as a moonless night and I couldn’t tell if it opened to the vault behind it.
My magic had roared to life when I had come in close proximity to the tomb. So, it was almost effortless to form an orb of light in the palm of my hand, and giving it a bit of direction, it floated in front of me. My powers were becoming stronger and much steadier than they had been. I tried to ignore the dark center of the orb since there wasn’t anything I could do about it right then, but the worry still clung.
My eyes quickly adjusted to the sudden brightness and I could see the rear wall of the vault. That’s right, a wall. Shit. There didn’t appear to be a rear entrance.
The dusty and decayed smell was strong in the tiny space. It was almost too much. I started to back out when I felt a light, cool draft on my hand.
I froze.
How could there be a breeze when the air was stiflingly still? I adjusted my position to re-examine the rear wall when my hand pressed on to something sharp.
I yelped and pulled my hand back and simultaneously searched for the offending object. The palm of my hand was littered with tiny pebbles that had stuck to the skin. Where were all the stone debris coming from? I examined the bottom corner of the vault and sure enough, there was a nearly invisible seam that ran across the lower edge.
I pushed against the back wall hoping to move it like I had with the front gate. The sound of stone grating against stone filled my ears, yet the wall only moved an inch. I gave it another shove and it shifted, moving sideways instead of further back. A thin cloud of dust and stale air rushed through the narrow opening to the rear tomb.
The panel had shimmied enough that I could wedge my fingers into the opening far enough to get a decent grip. I braced my feet against the wall at my back and using it as leverage to shove the hunk of cement out of the way. The heavy barrier was less resistant than it had been before. It scooted aside and out of the way.
My glowing orb levitated forward, lighting my way. Unlike the space I was sitting in, the unmarked vault seemed like it had been cleaned recently. Dust and debris seemed minimal for a vault that was likely over a hundred years old. There were no bags piled in the corners and nothing stood out as being out of place. No casket filled the space, but instead, there was a crushed velvet sack which appeared to have a box of some sort stuff within it.
There was definitely something in the space that held concentrated power and my bet was that it was within that box. My curiosity wouldn’t let me leave, though it didn’t negate the disappointment of not finding Ronda Beamis or Brigitte.
With a small suggestion, the illuminating ball hovered above the bag, lighting the entire vault. At least the cobwebs were at a minimum. I scooted into the unmarked tomb, careful not to touch its contents. Excitement welled up within me and it was only magnified by the danger of not knowing what was awaiting me.
My fingers itched to touch whatever held so much raw unfettered magic. The black bag mesmerized me and I found I couldn’t pull my eyes away from it. The energy had enraptured me and before I knew I had consciously done it, my fingertips were stroking and running over the soft material and tracing the edges of the box through it.
“Maya?” Mateo called from the rear entrance, shaking me from my power-induced trance. He had apparently missed the part where I had instructed him to stay put.
“What?” I couldn’t disguise my annoyance at his interruption and his blatant disregard for my directions.
He poked his head into the vault behind me, seeing that I had in fact found a way through to the forward tomb.
“What’s wrong with your eyes?” he asked, brows furrowed as he held an orb of his own within his palm, out before him.
“My eyes? Nothing. Why? What do you think is wrong with them?”
Anger surged through me. Who the hell did he think he was? Mateo probably just wanted the glory of finding whatever was laid to rest in there for himself. People were selfish. A scowl marred my features as I stared the man down, daring him to try.
“What’s wrong with you? I think you need to get out of there now! Your eyes are completely black. There’s something not right here.” He pulled back and scanned up and down the row of graves.
> I knew it! He was trying to trick me. Mateo must have known all along what was being kept within the sacred space. With all of his books and records, how could he not?
“No, what I need is to get this box.”
The tiny figure who typically told me when I was being a bitch and reeled me back in, which was my conscience, had taken a vacation and was nowhere to be found. I didn’t feel remotely bad for the way I had begun to feel towards the old man. He deserved it, just like all the others who had tried to control me and take away everything I held dear. Mateo was just like them.
I ignored the man’s protests and reached for the velveteen bag, hoping to finally get to the bottom of what was within the box. The sack was tied shut by rough, knotted cord. My fingers worked nimbly over the knot. I wriggled the tangle loose, not wasting a second to check on what Mateo was up to. He wasn’t a threat, or at least not much of one if he wanted to challenge me.
Finally, I pulled the string free of the gnarled cord and dove eagerly into it to fetch its prize. My hands wrapped around the fine polished surface of a warm wooden box. I pulled it out and tossed the sack aside, no longer having any use for it.
The box was about the size of a football with intricate metal scroll work covering its edges. A thick padlock held the tiny trunk shut. Someone was trying desperately to keep whatever laid within it locked away from the rest of the world. I jiggled the lock back and forth, hoping it would miraculously pop open. Yet I got nothing.
I pushed a bit a magic into the lock, attempting to pop it open. The latch grew brighter as I pushed my energy into it until it was glowing a bright blue. Instead of being hot, like my energy orbs could get, it was like ice and almost too painfully cold to touch. I couldn’t understand its resistance. Nothing else had ever put up much of a fight, not unless it was spelled in some way. Just as the thought crossed my mind, the lock fired back at me.
The shock entered my hand which was holding the metal bond and travelled throughout the rest of my body like lightening. My muscles tightened painfully as spasms rocked my frame, preventing me from doing anything other than falling to my side. My body was frozen in a painfully stiff position which left me helpless to change my predicament. Only briefly did I feel pressure on my ankles which felt like nails being driven into my skin anywhere contact was made. My point of no return was fast approaching as I reached my upper pain limits. There was no way I’d be able to hold out much longer. I heard a strangled grunt leave me before blackness overtook me and then there was nothing.
Chapter Nine
Ambushed
A deeply, concerned voice filtered into my aching ears, one which my fuzzy brain couldn’t comprehend who they were speaking to or why. My eyelids were heavy and resisted any attempt to open. The rest of my body lay limply against the stone strewn grass, unable to move. Though, for some odd reason, it didn’t bother me.
“Should’ve known better! This has him written all over it. Damballah, help me, we need her to be okay.”
This time the voice speaking was much clearer, yet I did not hear another voice participating in the conversation. I assumed the man was alone.
Slowly, the fog lifted and the memory of the vault filtered back to me. What the hell happened? One minute, I was fascinated by the box, the next, it was like I was being tasered and turned into a heftily bruised vegetable. I pondered the strange turn of events. I cracked an eye open. I was laying on the ground a good several feet from the tomb entrance. The box was nowhere to be seen. A brief attempt at lifting my head took me right back to the ground with a bit of shock.
The small movement had highlighted the stiffness present throughout my body. The muscles across my shoulders and down my back ached like I’d undertook back breaking work for several days. Feeling uncomfortable, I struggled to push off my arms and flop on my back as I hoped for some relief. Ouch.
My mind had been a thick cloud of hate, confusion, and selfishness. I hadn’t even noticed my descent into temporary madness until I was torn from the cursed vault and the haze lifted. If Mateo hadn’t grabbed ahold of me and physically removed me, I was sure I wouldn’t have come out willingly again. Perhaps, that was the aim of whatever charm had been set?
I peeked at Mateo with eyes wide. “I am so sorry for the way I treated you. I didn’t realize there was something wrong until you took me out. Can you forgive me? Please?” I asked, hoping that I hadn’t ruined the only true friendship I’d made since striking a deal with the Baron Samedi.
“There’s nothing to forgive, Mistress. That box was cursed. You had no way of knowing and I knew something was wrong after you’d found it. It was like someone had flipped a switch in you. I can’t hold that against you because it wasn’t you.” Mateo had a kind, warm grin for me and patted my leg nearest to him. The comforting gesture had the needed effect and put me a bit more at ease with the situation.
Spying the infernal box jutting out from behind Mateo, I perked up abruptly, but winced as my strained muscles resisted.
“Why do you have the box?” I demanded.
He presented the intricate container to me, lock sheared off and just waiting for me to open. “You had a death grip on it when I pulled you out. It’s the cause of all this,” he said, motioning to the extent of my body.
I shifted into a more bearable position, hissing through my teeth the entire time, which only confirmed his statement.
“I see. How did you get it open?” I asked, taking the piece from him and settling it on my lap.
Apprehension welled within me as I took in the etched carvings across its surface. The veve adorning the lid seemed vaguely familiar, however I couldn’t quite place it. I knew its meaning had to be big, important, and knowing so had me feeling a bit on the fence about discovering its contents.
There was still the fact that we hadn’t found anything useful about Brigitte or her missing charge which was the entire point of this excursion. My thumb traced the edge of the lid, toying with the idea of the little pressure it would take to pop the whole thing open and discover its mysteries. I knew it would probably come back and bite me if I just jumped in without thinking everything through and finding out what the veve meant first. Being smart about this was my best option, even if my time was running out.
“Do you recognize this?” I pointed to the design on the cover. His knowledge base far exceeded my own. If anyone knew, it would be Mateo.
He pushed his spectacles up his nose and squinted to examined it. After a moment, his eyes searched mine, not saying a word. The look worried me. Mateo definitely knew something about it.
“What is it?”
He turned the container over, examining the other etchings as if they were Egyptian hieroglyphs. I guessed in a way, they were, at least to him. It was times like this where I was spurred into action to learn more about the powers I wielded and the history of my ancestors. My crash course into voodoo wasn’t nearly enough and I was utterly inept for my position and that ignorance was a weakness. It was one that I could see being my biggest folly of all.
Spying the twin serpents on the lid shook loose an idea which was confirmed a second later by my companion.
“Damballah.”
I remembered seeing the same veve on the gateway to Canal Street. The gates were all supposedly his creation as well as the Loas. There was more to it than just Damballah though.
My stomach knotted. The all-powerful one seemed to be a fairly common intersection between everything that was going on. First Rhys, now the box, and I was sure that Brigitte would likely be connected. Finding out what it meant would be the hard part.
“What’s this one here?” I pointed to a series of X’s which lined one side of the box.
He turned and examined it. I watched as the color drained from his face, making the old man seem much older than he had moments before. His hand trembled as it hovered over the design.
“This isn’t good,” it was the three words I really didn’t want to hear.
“Care to elabo
rate? You know, sharing is caring,” I said, reverting to my more sarcastic nature. I attempted to massage the sore muscles of my neck.
He waved me off, enraptured by the symbols.
“Seriously?”
He huffed. “It’s basically like a prison or a tomb, if you will.”
I stopped my fingers progress at his revelation. “For what? Or who?”
He shrugged. “It doesn’t mention who is contained within it, but I’ve never seen or heard of one of these being used.” Mateo held the box up as I scanned over the carvings with a child-like wonder before placing it in the grass between us.
“Should we open it and find out?”
Mateo gave me the incredulous are you fucking kidding me expression before he pulled a handkerchief from somewhere within his jacket and wiped away the moisture from his face. “I’m not sure I would suggest that course of action. Not when we don’t know who’s in it.”
“What if its Brigitte? Or that Beamis lady?”
“And that’s a possibility, but right now we just don’t know.”
“I think-” I started to speak, but stopped when a deep whisper rocked me to my bones.
“Maya…”
My name floated on the breeze, much the same as it had outside of the church. Gooseflesh rippled over my skin and I could feel eyes on me. Searching the area, however, I couldn’t locate its source.
“Did you hear that?” I asked Mateo, snatching up the box and not letting my guard down while I climbed to my feet. I strained to listen for anything out of place.
He nodded, following my lead as he stood tall in a defensive position. We were ready for anything.
“I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I think this is important. Like it’s some sort of key to cracking this whole thing wide open.” I was on edge and bordering on jumpy.
A Soul's Surrender (The Voodoo Revival Series Book 2) Page 13