by Kira Saito
“Hello!” I said, as I frantically searched the graveyard for him.
“Where is he?” I asked. “Where is Lucus?”
Ghede Nibo’s eyes darted from side to side. “You haven’t heard?”
“Heard what?”
“Oh, dear.” He dramatically clapped his hands and I found myself standing in Lucus’ bedroom.
He wasn’t dead. He was alive and beautiful as ever. I tried to touch his stubbly cheek but my hands passed right through him.
Madame LaPlante stood beside him with a small smile on her face. “She left this,” she said, as she handed him a letter.
I turned to Ghede Nibo. “He’s alive! But how? “
Ghede Nibo dramatically sighed. “Mait Carrefour was supposed to collect his soul but since he’s still wearing that protective gris-gris you made him his soul was protected against unsavory spirits.”
“Lucus and Louis are brothers?” I asked in astonishment. My heart sank as I realized I had messed up big time.
Ghede Nibo nodded. “Mait Carrefour wasn’t too happy about being deceived. When he found out about your protective charm he became furious and cursed poor Lucus. He’s trapped in this big old house and Louis is trapped in his new body. Mait Carrefour is waiting for the day when he can reclaim their souls. The day when you’ll willingly hand over Lucus and Louis back to him.”
“Can’t he take Lucus once Lucus takes off the gris-gris?”
Ghede Nibo shook his head. “No. Sacrifices have to be made willingly otherwise they are of no use to the spirits.”
“No,” I whispered. “No. This can’t be happening.” It had to be a nightmare. “I didn’t mean to sacrifice him.”
I froze as Lucus started to read the letter that was supposedly written by me.
Dear Lucus
Thank you for your kindness. I treasure the time we have spent together, but I have come to realize that I cannot be with someone like you. Having spent a short amount of time in your world has made me realize that your life is based on ugliness which in turn makes you an ugly person. I find it funny that you preach kindness yet you are blind to what happens under your own roof. It’s not your fault. You are what you are. After all, you do share the same blood as Edmond. You deserve someone from your world. Please do not try to find me as I never want to see or hear from you again.
-Best
Cecile
“I didn’t,” I said. “I didn’t write that!” I screamed, but the mortal realm was unable to hear me. Lucus was unable to hear me.
“She wouldn’t,” said Lucus.
“She did,” said Madame LaPlante.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The Queen is Back
Darkwood Plantation
A few miles outside of New Orleans
My eyes opened. I was Arelia, and I was back in my ugly Darkwood uniform. The beautiful people, who had died young and unexpectedly, swirled around me. Their laughter, along with sweet white rum and medicinal herbs, filled the air.
Ghede Nibo stood beside me, as stunning as ever in a black riding coat and ruffled purple shirt. “Welcome! Welcome! Has the veil of disillusionment been lifted?” he asked, as he eyed me eagerly.
“I’m her and she’s me,” I said, as I pointed to Cecile. Suddenly, every strange aspect of my life made sense. I felt as if I had returned home and had awoken from a very long slumber. “Where has that part of me been all of these years? And why was I reincarnated now and not earlier?”
He took a swig of rum and handed me the bottle, which I gladly accepted. “Sigh oh sigh. We tried to guide your soul back into the mortal world but you rebelled. You spent years and years sitting at Papa Lebga’s bar whining, complaining, and feeling sorry for yourself. The typical ‘how could I have cursed the love of my life’! Papa Legba finally got so sick of you he had to call upon Mait Carrefour. They came to a compromise. If you had the courage to go back and defeat your dear sister, who, by the way, is running a tyrannical regime and oppressing the good people of not only New Orleans but the world, your tragic Lucus/Louis curse would be broken. You agreed to those terms and your soul was re-born.”
“How is Emilie alive?” I asked horrified.
“Emilie stays alive the usual way dark Queens stay alive by switching bodies. She anchors her soul into a new body every so often thus making her immortal.”
“Why am I only figuring this out now? Why didn’t I remember any of this sooner? Why now?”
“We tried to help you see. Erzulie was gracious enough to bless you and you were re-born into a line of very powerful Queens, but your own fear crippled you. And the fact that your dear sweet Edmond is still determined to claim your soul didn’t motivate you to remember either. We finally had to send Marie to slap you and bring you to me and Papa Legba so you could reconnect with the part of your soul you were burying. This part of you was too traumatized to return to the mortal realm.”
Chills ran up my spine. “Is Edmond still alive?”
He nodded. “Emilie keeps him alive because he’s her perfect weapon against you. He’s protected by her power. Emilie knew that you’d return one day. She’s been preparing for a long time. Since Lucus never died, Edmond wasn’t able to bind his soul to yours but that doesn’t mean he’s given up. It’s all a game to them. Death and destruction are mere games! ”
I shuddered at the whole situation. “Do you think Lucus and Louis will ever forgive me for what I’ve done?” I asked, as I took a big slurp of white rum. “Do you think Lucus recognized me even in this body?”
Ghede Nibo smiled that brilliant smile of his. “What do you think?”
I wasn’t sure but I refused to live in fear any longer. “Why did the spirits help me?” I asked humbly.
“People need to be free,” he said, as he twirled me around and around. “People need spirit! Spirit cannot and should not be oppressed!”
“What happens if I don’t defeat her?”
He shrugged and took the rum bottle from my hand. “It’s a mystery.”
Those were not comforting words but I refused to be discouraged by them. I reached out and grabbed Cecile’s hand. “Thank you.” I gave Ghede Nibo a soft kiss on the cheek.
He smiled and clapped his hands.
My eyes closed and I drifted far far away.
“My pathetic, weak sister has returned to dethrone me, has she?”
“Welcome back sweet, Cecile. I’ve missed you dearly.”
Book 5
Coming Soon
http://kirasaito.blogspot.com
Dear Readers
Thank you so much for reading :).
While Oppressed is a work of fiction, the historical aspects of the story are based on facts.
If you’re interested here are some interesting links that shed some more light on this time in history as well as on Voodoo in general. Happy reading!
The Gens de Couleur Libre (of New Orleans)
http://www.frenchcreoles.com/CreoleCulture/freepeopleofcolor/freepeopleofcolor_NEW.html
http://nutrias.org/~nopl/exhibits/fmc/fmc.htm
Placage
http://www.nathanielturner.com/livesandtimesofquadroons.htm
https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/1811/32216/Quadroon_Balls1.pdf?sequence=1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pla%C3%A7age
Book
The encyclopedia of women and religion in North America. 1
By Rosemary Skinner Keller, Rosemary
Voodoo in New Orleans
http://www.mysticvoodoo.com/history-of-voodoo.htm
Marie Laveau
http://www.voodooonthebayou.net/marie_laveau.html
http://www.nola.com/haunted/voodoo/?content/history.html
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