by Kira Saito
I shook my head as I thought of ways I could help Lucus and Louis bond. What were some common activities that they could share? No matter how hard I tried to come up with something my mind drew a blank. Somehow, I just couldn’t see them sipping sweet tea together or playing baseball. Only time will tell I reminded myself.
Back at the main house, the guests who had stayed behind were indulging in an array of unbelievably delicious looking desserts. An elegant double-chocolate praline-fudge cake, chocolate chicory mousse, pralines, Creole bread pudding with meringue, champagne cupcakes with Bourbon buttercream frosting, and a lemon box pie rested on a table. The air was warm and spicy with the scent of cinnamon and cloves as the chefs whipped up fiery Café Brulot Diabolique for the guests.
The guests hurried to the table hypnotized by the dazzling selection of sweets and the exotic smelling coffee. Clearly, dessert took priority over ghost hunting and cemetery adventures as their conversation quickly changed from tombs to chicory mousse. Last year I had been so bitter and stressed, I had totally disregarded how the guests must have felt. New Orleans was a magical place and I was happy they were enjoying themselves so much.
Louis made a beeline for the bar, not at all bothered by the fact that he was still partially naked and caked it blood. I guess it didn’t really matter as no one was paying him any attention. “We’re going to have so much fun, Queen!” he shouted, as he walked away, “just fueling up before our next big adventure. I have a feeling that old Ti Jean is going to come knocking sooner rather than later and Lord knows that he doesn’t have enough spicy rum to satisfy my craving.”
I shook my head. As I watched him walk away it suddenly occurred to me that I loved him. It wasn’t the love triangle romantic love that occupied pages and pages of angst ridden teen novels, no; it was the kind of love the Greek philosophers defined as Philia love, or the most unnatural type of love. Technically, humans didn’t need friends to survive, that is why the Greeks defined brotherly love as unnatural because even though we didn’t need it, we still felt and craved it.
Aunt Mae and Grand-mere rushed to my side once they spotted me. Their billowy dresses swirled around them and their floral perfume filled my nostrils as they wrapped their arms around me.
“I’ll let you ladies catch up,” said Lucus. He gave me a soft kiss on the cheek before heading to the dessert table to help the guest with their endless questions.
“Not again!” Grand-mere’s face was filled with worry and fear as she took in the sight of my distressed state.
Aunt Mae’s green eyes were hard and suspicious. She grabbed my wrist and without a word led me into the house. Grand-mere trailed behind us asking a million and one questions.
“Was it the loa? Marie? Louis? What are you hiding?” She fired question after question while Aunt Mae remained quiet as we walked up the spiral staircase and into my bedroom.
Calmly, I looked at myself in the grand mirror and took off my earrings and shook my hair loose hoping that my sudden headache would go away. Aunt Mae and Grand-mere watched my every move like hawks.
I refused to answer any questions. Not until they put their cards on the table first. I had learned more than a few things from Ti Jean, the most important lesson of all was that it’s wise keep your mouth shut and to use your words wisely. Words were powerful.
I turned to face them. I looked them both square in the eyes. “It doesn’t work like that. You expect answers, yet you choose to keep your own secrets. How am I supposed to trust you?” I asked while taking off the blood stained Worth gown and carefully placing it on a satin chair. It was too beautiful to leave on the ground.
“How am I supposed to protect you if you insist on keeping secrets?” Aunt Mae asked. “I can help you bring Sabrina back if you just let me in. Tell me what is happening. Please,” she said, as she adjusted her tignon. Whenever she was nervous she adjusted her tignon.
“I’m not the only one keeping secrets,” I said fighting fire with fire. “And in case you haven’t noticed, I’m doing fine without your protection.” I knew my words were harsh, but I was tired of this cat and mouse game we were playing. “I’m doing what you suggested, I’m working with Louis. I’m working with the loa and little by little trying to clean up this mess.”
“Everything we do is so that you won’t suffer,” Grand-mere said. “I… we don’t want to lose you.”
Her genuine worry melted my hardness and I temporarily caved. Queen or not, Grand-mere was family, real family. The type that most people wished they had. “Fine. The truth is that I’ve been working with Ti Jean. He wants my silence in exchange for revelation. I agreed. So, there it is. I made my choice and I’m sticking with it.”
“Ti Jean!” Grand-mere and Aunt Mae both gasped dramatically.
Grand-mere clutched the beads that hung around her neck and sat down on my bed. Her brown eyes filled with tears while Aunt Mae was anxious to press for more details.
“Ti Jean? Are you sure it’s the Haitian Ti Jean. The loa of revolution?”
“Yes,” I said praying that Ti Jean wouldn’t punish me for revealing his name. I had told Lucus and now I was telling Aunt Mae and Grand-mere. I had a sinking feeling that I was revealing too much, but I had to comfort them so they would have some assurance that I was in fact okay and fully capable of making my own decisions. “There are a million and one things on my plate and I have to pick a path, choose a side, follow the road that I think is best for all who are involved. So, that’s what I’m doing.”
Aunt Mae was silenced by my resolve. True, I had a natural stubborn streak, but this was more than typical Arelia stubbornness. A leader couldn’t be wishy washy and indecisive. So I wasn’t going to be. I wasn’t that same Arelia who had breezed into Darkwood a year ago and I didn’t want to go back to being her either.
Grand-mere stood up. She put on a brave face and stopped playing with her beads. “So, let it be,” she said softly, as she kissed my forehead. “I no longer have the right to make your decisions for you. I never did. I just want you to know that I love you. I truly and honestly love you and you will always be my child.”
Although her heartfelt speech should have reassured me, it didn’t. It confused me as if I were making the wrong decision altogether.
“You’re making it sound like I’m making a terrible mistake,” I said. “Aunt Mae?” I turned to look at her. Her expression was weary and defeated.
When she finally spoke, her voice was calm and equally as determined. “I am on your side,” she said, as she turned her back on me and lit a white candle that rested on the dresser. “You need to take a spiritual bath to cast away any negativity that’s attached itself to you, but you already know that, don’t you?”
As she spoke those words the lights went out and one of those sudden storms that were so common in New Orleans started to rage outside. I heard the excited screech of guests and the sudden stop of the jazz band.
A gust of wind along with heavy rain entered the room and the lights went out. I was momentarily freaked out when I saw Aunt Mae’s reflection in the mirror, illuminated by the ghostly candlelight. That unsettling feeling returned and my mind was once again clouded by confusion and doubt that I forcefully pushed aside.
She’s your Aunt, Arelia. She’s not trying to murder you even if she does look creepy bathed in candlelight.
“We’ll leave you then. I suppose there is nothing more to say, is there?” asked Aunt Mae, as she turned to face me.
“Not at this very second,” I said, as I lit the other white candles that rested in the room and took a long whiff of the refreshing summer rain.
Without another word, they both left the room and left me and my thoughts to myself.
Chapter Twenty Three
Demon Dolls
Darkwood Plantation- Present Day
I picked up a thick candle and opened the door to my office. In the dark, I scrambled around and collected the ingredients for a spiritual bath. I decided that I would take a Blue
Bath for Protection. A Blue Bath was especially good if you were feeling anxious and paranoid. It helped keep you calm and collected, as well as offered the additional perks of spiritual protection. It consisted of blue food coloring, sweet lavender, rosemary herbs, sea shells, white and blue candles, and watermelon incense.
A gust of wind blew open the large French window and my heart stopped for a second. I dropped the sea shells as lightning struck overhead the Virgin Mary statue. The scene was the stuff of every single horror movie ever and I would have been lying if I said it didn’t freak me out.
Sabrina’s voice drifted into the office along with the summer rain. “Arelia…” It was light and raspy as if her spirit had finally given up all and any hope of a rescue.
I stopped and cautiously scanned the room, all the while praying that she would magically appear in front of my eyes.
“Sabrina, I haven’t forgotten about you,” I said calmly. “I’m getting closer to rescuing you. Just hold on, please. I’ve got a powerful ally I’m working with. That nasty Ghede Massaka doesn’t stand a chance.”
“Arelia, remember when we were ten and I made fun of your hair all summer?” Sabrina totally changed the topic. “I made fun of the way it would puff up with the awful summer humidity.”
“I remember.”
“It was only because I was jealous.”
“Why?” I asked, as I vividly recalled that summer.
“My hair has no volume. All the times I was nasty to you was because I was jealous.”
“Sabrina. Stop, please.” I didn’t want to break down. “I’m coming. I swear.”
I didn't come here to be anyone's servant
Digging the hole; it's me. Burying; it's me (bis)
I didn't come here to be anyone's servant.
Her voice sounded melancholy as it blended with the rain. She slowly stopped singing and once again I was alone.
“Crap,” I muttered, as I hurried into the bathroom. The old Arelia would have dropped everything and ran off into the cemetery and demanded that Ghede Massaka let the trio go, but that wouldn’t have gotten me very far. I needed to bide my time wisely and actually slow down and listen to the signs. I didn’t want to be one of those millions of people who lived for instant gratification. I didn’t want to be a fast food junkie anymore.
As I entered the spacious bathroom, I was temporarily distracted by its noble and majestic beauty. The black marble floor was refreshingly cool as my feet hit it. I quickly lit the long candles that rested in the opulent silver candle holders which lined the walls. I let out a low breath of appreciation as I took in the black oval shaped baroque style mirror and black satin covered chairs that rested beside an extravagant black sofa. Black lace curtains which covered the French widows meandered carelessly in the wind and provided a striking contrast to the bone white marble bathtub. A delicate crystal chandelier decorated with rows of tiny pearls and diamonds hung above the tub.
I shook my head. “Lucus, haven’t you learned that wisdom is better than silver or gold and pearls and lace?” Although I pretended to be disgusted by the extravagance, it was nice to know that he had put so much thought and detail into something that was meant for me. Learning how to let others take care of you was harder than most people thought it was.
I had to smile as I turned on the water and lit the blue and white candles. I would need to make sure the bath was as effective as possible. I tossed the ingredients into the tub and watched in fascination as the water turned a lovely shade of sea blue.
I ripped off my bra and panties and entered the warm water. The water felt luxurious against my skin and I could feel the aches and pains from the day immediately disappear. I submerged my entire body under the water and asked the loa to please show me the path to Sabrina as fast as possible.
Though I tried to suppress the thought of them, I could still see and feel Collette and Abram’s hopeful faces as they danced with Emilie. I could taste the jambalaya the slaves ate in celebration of their so called savior. I could feel their hope and desperation, as well as their childlike belief in Emilie. It was heartbreaking how they had cast away their fears and so easily had believed her. I prayed that Louis was wrong and she hadn’t somehow betrayed them. Surely, there had to be some goodness in her heart.
I was reflecting on the nature of humanity and if Emilie was really a hopeless sinner without regard for anyone but herself, when a blinding pain in my pit of my stomach forced me to sit up straight in the tub.
“Ouch, what the hell?” It felt as if someone had just stuck a very pointy pin right in my gut. I brushed off the pain as nothing more than stress. But then, it came again. This time the pain landed right between my eyes. My head started to pound. Another rush of pain surged through my heart and then my knees. I tried to rise, but was forced back down by horrific dagger like pains that crawled up my spine. Soon, the candles became hot, so hot that the pain I was experiencing increased tenfold and the blood started to ooze through my pores. At least it’s not lashes this time I thought as I tried to visualize the pain away. Despite my best efforts to suck it up the aches only grew. So much for spiritual protection I thought as the torment continued.
“No. This can’t be happening.” My thoughts immediately went to Louis but I pushed my paranoia aside. Louis wasn’t a liar. He had promised that there would be no more tricks or Arelia Voodoo dolls. “Erzulie, help me. Please give me strength,” I said, as I finally managed to block out some of the pain and get out of the bath tub.
But it wasn’t Erzulie who answered. A cold breeze seeped its way through the lace curtains and cooled down the now scorching bathroom while leaving the flames roaring so that I could see where the hell I was going. I knew Bade was near. I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my aching body.
“Thank you, Bade.” My words were faint and weak but full of gratitude.
“Wolves in sheep’s clothing, silly Arelia” he hissed. “Be careful of wolves in sheep’s clothing. Open your ears and eyes.”
“Wolves in sheep’s clothing?” I asked, as I slowly crept towards the bathroom door and pushed my ear up against it. I listened carefully to who or what may have been lurking on the other side and prepared myself to face them head on.
It was inaudible at first, but then it became louder. The sweet angelic voice on the other side was saying the Lord’s Prayer backwards:
“NEMA. REVEROF DNA WON SRUOY ERA YROLG DNA ,REWOP EHT, MODGINK EHT ROF. LIVE MORF SU REVILED TUB, NOITATPMET OTNI TON SU DAEL DNA. SU TSNIAGA SSAPSERT OHW ESOHT EVIGROF EW SA SESSAPSSERT RUO SU EVIGROF DNA DAERB YLIAD RUO YAD SIHT SU EVIG .NEVEH NI SI TI SA HTRAE NO ENOD EB LLIW YHT EMOC MODGNIK YHT .EMAN YHT EB DEWOLLAH, NEVAEH NI TRA OHW. REHTAF RUO!”
I fell to the floor as the voice continued to recite the chant. Said backwards, the Lord’s Prayer could be used to cast evil curses. I recalled numerous Voodoo Queens who had effectively gotten rid of opponents by using a Voodoo doll along with the Lord’s Prayer backwards.
According to urban legend, If you stood in front of a mirror in a dark room while holding a candle and saying the prayer backwards the Devil would come forth. Of course, Queens knew better. We knew that you had to add a few extra steps to make sure the spell was properly carried out. If you created a Voodoo doll out of wax in the likeness of your target and baptized it in their name while saying the Lord’s Prayer backwards exactly nine times you could create a vastly powerful weapon. While repeating the prayer, the Queen had to poke the wax figure with pins and let it melt over a fire. Your enemy would feel the pain and when the spell was complete, the doll would forever torment your target. In our circles we referred to it as a demon doll. But why would anyone want to create an Arelia demon doll? I felt a little offended that someone would hate me that much. My thoughts immediately went to Emilie.
Crap. How many times had the voice repeated the Lord’s Prayer? I had to do something before they said it for the ninth time.
“NEMA. REVEROF DNA WON SRUOY ERA YROLG DNA ,REWOP EHT, MODGINK
EHT ROF. LIVE MORF SU REVILED TUB, NOITATPMET OTNI TON SU DAEL DNA.”
If this was Emilie, was I ready to face her after all of these years? Was I ready to confront her for all that she had done? I wasn’t sure, but I couldn’t spend all night thinking about it. Tossing my caution to the wind I opened the bathroom door and in the darkness crawled towards the familiar voice. It was coming from my office. As quietly as I could, I entered the office, lucky for me, the door was ajar, and the space was enough for me to easily slither through. Like a snake I crawled across the floor until I could get a clearer view of the culprit.
I covered my mouth as I caught sight of two miniature figures who stood in front of the mirror.
“Viola, you’re an idiot. Nothing is happening. This stupid spell book doesn’t work,” said Ben, as he cast frustrated glances at his sister. “I told you Arelia is powerful, not the book. You’re just like Mom. She wants Aunt Mae to make her gris-gris. Like that’s going to help her with anything.”
Little Viola stood with a doll in her hand in front of the mirror. As she poked the doll, my insides felt the impact. She ignored Ben and continued to chant the Lord’s Prayer as if she was in some kind of strange trance. Even from where I was standing I could tell that her eyes were glazed over. Their icy blue color sent chills down to the depths of my soul. It was almost as if she were possessed.
A surge of adrenaline pumped through me and blotted out my pain entirely. I rose. “Viola stop!” I shouted as I rushed towards her. Taken by surprise, she dropped the doll and my pain vanished.
Ben and Viola looked at me in horror. Their mouths hung open when they saw my bloody, half demented state. Okay, I had to admit it was a little gross, the fluffy white towel was now covered in blood and I was limping like Ti Jean, plus it was dark and raining. All those elements combined were enough to freak out any kid. But I wasn’t quite ready to let them off the hook yet. They had some explaining to do. Chubby angel faces would not fool me. I grabbed a candle and put it under my chin so that it lit up my face. I furrowed my brow and gave them my best Aunt Mae level stern expression, so that they knew I meant business.