by Unknown
How does a twenty four year old woman, in the prime of her life, come to terms with the fact that so many lives were depending on her? And that her life could be very close to coming to an end… brutally? Apparently, the exact opposite of my response, which was laughing hysterically to the point of shedding tears and being in physical pain from laughing so hard. Mama’s concerned face only spurred on the intense laughing fit. Once I had finally calmed down enough to carry on a conversation, I actually thought about everything that Mama had told me.
“And the other sacrifice? It’s Angie isn’t it?”
“Rhys suspects so. He thinks that Drake will use her to his advantage, first to lure ya in and then to fulfill his ritual.”
I had to devise a plan. Angie needed to get away from Drake and Brad. Then, of course, there was staying out of Drake’s hands long enough to live through this ritual. Drake wasn’t limited to just this year. If he failed this time, he could try again. In order to stop all of this from coming to fruition, Drake needed to die.
“What do we do next?” I asked Mama, hoping that she had some sort of idea. She looked back at me with sorrowful eyes.
“I can’t help ya with this, child. Ya must choose your path alone.”
I knew it before she even had to say it, but to hear it out loud really drove it home.
The Baron Samedi had made a deal to protect me. He also knew more about Drake than he let on. I knew it and he knew that I knew. How valuable could his withheld information be? I needed to go home. Before I did anything drastic, I needed to see the Baron Samedi again.
We needed to strategize, actually no. Not we. I needed to strategize. The only person that was going to be able to take on this fight would be me. It would be a suicide mission for anyone else. Hell, it was a suicide mission for me. Odds were that I wasn’t going to be coming back from this. I needed to keep that kind of thinking far from my mind for the time being. It could make me too afraid to do what needed to be done.
If I knew where Rhys was, and I could locate him in an astral projection state then, perhaps with more focus I could find where Drake was. I didn’t know if such a thing could even be done, but I knew that no matter what, I had to try. Nothing was impossible anymore.
“Do ya know what your gonna do?” Mama asked me.
I thought about it for a minute. There was so much to do and I wasn’t particularly sure where to start.
“I think so. I need to test out my theory first though. I’m going to need any grimoires you might have and any knowledge you might possess about how to summon a Loa in the flesh.”
The Baron Samedi and I were going to have a nice chat.
Chapter TWELVE
To Walk into the Abyss with Wide Open Eyes
Apparently, Mama’s wards did apply to the Loas. I also didn’t think that Mama’s tiny hut in the swamp would hold an ego the size of the Baron’s so I found myself once again seated in the clearing behind the house. This time was different though. This time I was making him come to me. I was in control.
Mama had a chicken nestled snugly in her grasp. It shocked me that she even had one since there were no visible coops on the property, but I was assured that she kept chickens out in the woods so predators didn’t come up to the house. Not that they could have if they wanted to. The wards kept out all unwanted creatures, which just so happened to include everything from mosquitos to Bacalou.
Close to two dozen candles littered the space, lighting it up and casting strange shadows amongst the trees. Some might have been afraid because the lands could mess with your head. They did, indeed, look sinister. To me, though, I found comfort in them. It surprised me a bit that they did and how I had come to embrace the practice of voodoo so easily, but it was my destiny, it was in my blood. It would have always become my life.
“Once ya begin, I must leave ya. I can’t help ya with this.”
I nodded my understanding.
I took a deep breath, readying myself for the journey I was about to embark on. The meditation began. I needed to clear my mind and body of any tension and troubles. After ten minutes or so, I was almost in a trance-like state. I would need the help of my ancestors to guide my words since none of Mama’s books held the knowledge that would make sense of it all. Secretly, I thought she was holding something back. I didn’t think she was entirely on board with this plan, however she wouldn’t interfere either.
Mama handed the squirming chicken to me before taking her leave and going back into the house. A candle was set in from of me with a plate of food next to it. Letting the energy of my magic fill me, I began to chant.
“Spirits, please heed my request. I seek the knowledge of the Loas call.” I continued to repeat myself while I burned sage in the flame in front of me, warding off any that would seek to harm me. Suddenly, after the fifth or sixth repetition, the candle blew out and I could feel the presence of something otherworldly crawling over my skin. The tiny hairs on my neck stood on end as a cold wet blanket feeling settled over my body. Then it moved inwards, sinking into me and collecting itself at my core. I lost consciousness after that.
When I came to, the chicken was still sitting in front of me, but its neck had been broken and then sliced open. A bowl was placed next to the plate of food and was now filled with the chicken’s blood. The candles still lit the clearing, and looking down, I began to understand what had happened. The spirits had possessed me and summoned the Loa themselves. My hands were sticky, covered in the chicken’s feathers and blood. In a way, it made me feel better. I didn’t want to have to kill it myself, but it was a necessary evil in this line of business.
All of the candles around the clearing flickered all at once before being snuffed out by a sudden cold gust of wind. I searched the clearing. Something was coming. Who had the spirits called out to?
The man that stepped into the clearing wasn’t the one I’d been expecting to see. Although, I was not entirely sure why I was so surprised. Papa Legba was standing across from me with a stern countenance on his face.
“Maya, we meet again. To what do I owe this pleasure?” Papa Legba said sounding incredibly bored and very inconvenienced. He was wearing the exact same garb he had been in when I’d first encountered him. His face lacked the curiousness of before.
Ah yes. He was the gatekeeper. The Loa of the crossroads.
“Yes, I am seeking one of the Ghede Loa.”
“Yes, I know who you seek. But why do you seek him?” he inquired, sounding considerably less bored with me now.
“I have some questions I need answered and I’m in a bit of a rush to get those answers. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here seeking his help.”
“I see. He will not assist you in your endeavor without something in return. You will have to pay a hefty price. It is a decision I urge you not to take lightly. You will not like the outcome, of that I can assure you.” He was beginning to sound uneasy about my request.
“I understand, but I don’t have a choice anymore. I need to see him.”
“You could be signing your life away. Are you prepared to do that?”
Was I? I hadn’t given his proposition much thought since we’d spoken.
Truth be told, it held much more allure than I was prepared to admit to. It was the safer choice for my heart, though the Baron wasn’t to be trusted. There wasn’t a single doubt in my mind that he would use me up and toss me away just like Rhys had; the only difference would be that, with the Baron, I wouldn’t have to put my heart on the line. It would stay locked away safely. The Baron set my body alight. I burned for him, but I didn’t think that I would ever come to love him. The persistent ache in my chest reminded me just how broken I’d become since seeing Rhys with the tramp in the Spotted Cat. He had taken everything I had in the world to offer him. He had taken until I had nothing left to give him and then tossed me aside like an empty cartridge to get a refill.
“Yes, I am.”
It left my mouth before I ever had the chance to stop it. Once it
was out there though, I realized that, even though the Baron was asking for my servitude, keeping my heart safe from the damage done by love, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t walk away from everyone and everything that I loved just because I was jaded. Either way, I still had to see him and I needed Papa Legba’s blessing to do so.
“Papa Legba, I ask your blessing upon my summons of the Baron Samedi and your assistance in opening the gates between worlds to allow him to show himself,” I said, very formally.
Papa thought about it for a moment, rocking back on his heels like it was a comforting habit. “Girl, I think you have bitten off more than you can chew and my hope for you is that you do not find yourself so lost that you cannot find your way back to your rightful path. I grant you your request. May Damballah always favor you.”
The ground rumbled as he finished and stepped back into the tree line, disappearing from view. The candles all burst back to life like they had never gone out in the first place.
This time, as the Baron Samedi entered the sacred space, he no longer had his face painted with his notorious ceremonial skull. He appeared as a normal man. A very handsome, beautiful man that was almost painful to view. His jacket hung open, giving me a glimpse of the broad expanse of his chest and the sharply carved V disappearing into his trousers. His chest was covered in faint scars that twisted into intricate designs made up of over a dozen X’s. I thought they looked vaguely familiar, like I had seen them before but had no solid memory of where.
I had to shake myself to stop from staring at him. He had done that on purpose. The smirk on his face as he walked ever closer told me as much.
“My dear, sweet Maya, you didn’t make me wait very long. I like that quite a lot. So good to see you again.” His eyes dipped to the peak of my tank top. “And to see so much more of you is a real treat.” He winked at me, openly staring at my exposed cleavage. “Have you come to a decision on my proposition?”
I nodded. “I have, but I have some other matters to discuss with you before we go there.” I didn’t give him time to object before I started delving right into the heart of the matter. “It seems to me like you know more about this Drake fellow than you have been letting on. I need to know more about him. A last name perhaps? What’s this guy’s end game? Whatever you know, I need it. This man can’t be allowed to keep doing what he’s been doing to my home.”
The Baron’s eyes narrowed at me. He seemed displeased that I was making such demands of him, but he wasn’t in the best position to negotiate or to fight me on it. I had something he wanted and almost nothing to lose.
“St. Claire. His last name is St. Claire. Now, I am a very generous man, but there are many things that I am not. Like patient, for an example, or selfless. I want some answers in return.” He raised an eyebrow, asking if I accepted and daring me to turn him down.
“Okay, I’ll play. What do you want to know?”
It could end badly and I had a hunch that he was going to be digging deeper than I was comfortable with.
He walked around me like a predator would its prey. He lifted my hair when he stopped behind me. The Baron ran his fingers though the strands, lifting a lock of hair to his nose, and inhaled deeply.
“Did your play thing not live up to expectations? Tell me, Maya, did the boy break your heart?” he said in an almost sing song voice.
My shoulders tensed at the question. It took me a second to regain my composure before answering him, “Yes, he did.”
“Break your heart? Or live up to expectations?”
“He broke my heart,” I said in a whisper, although I knew he heard me. The ever present ache in my chest made me rub at it unconsciously. I swallowed hard to keep the knot from reforming at the mention of Rhys. The Baron had been successful. He had gotten into my head and found a weakness that he was now exploiting. “What’s this guy’s endgame? Why is he doing this?” I fired back at him angrily. I turned about to face him.
“Oh, touchy subject, love?” He ran his finger along my jaw.
“Just answer the question.”
“What does anyone with real power want? More power, money, respect. I suspect he wants the same thing that every powerful man throughout history wants. He wants to not be oppressed. He wants the latitude to do whatever he wants without repercussion.”
It made sense, I knew that men like that were dangerous. Hitler and dozens of other malevolent leaders came to the forefront of my mind.
“Where can I find him?” I asked.
He clicked his tongue in reprimand while he shook his head and walked away from me. An intricately carved dark wooden chair appeared behind him as he turned back towards me and seated himself.
“I believe it is my turn, my dear.” He paused to let that sink in. “What is your darkest fantasy?”
My eyes flashed up to meet his. I crossed my arms across my chest, trying to cover myself as much as I could. Standing before him, I felt naked, wholly exposed. No matter how much I tried to cover myself, it wasn’t enough. The Baron had stripped me down to nothing but a flustered woman, who was much less experienced than someone like him. A dark smile curled the corners of his mouth.
“You know, I could make all of your dreams come true. Your every desire. Your deepest, darkest fantasies. Your every wish. I could give you everything. Now, what is it, my sweet Maya?” His voice was as smooth as caramel. He gave off an energy whenever he was near and it was intoxicating. It ignited something dark within me. It was taking everything I had not to give in to it and let all my inhibitions go, but I was still too much in control of my own mind to allow it, not for the lack of wanting though. Perhaps? Maybe?
“Intimacy,” I said quietly.
He cocked his head like what I’d said bewildered him. “Interesting.” He kept watching me as if to unravel some mystery. “This man, he has a flare for the dramatic. He will want to be in the center of all of the city’s action,” he continued. “Bourbon Street. Jackson Square.”
“Is there anything else that I should know about him before I meet him firsthand?” I tried to keep the waver out of my voice, however I fear that I failed to do so.
“Well, my dear, you’re a smart girl. I’m sure you can find your way with him. You, after all, are not without your charms.” He winked at me.
I began to walk away from him, convinced that our little chat was over, though I should have known better. I had not been dismissed and I still had to render my decision on the Baron’s proposition. It puzzled me though. What could he possibly want to be with me for? How did that benefit him? Besides, if I remembered correctly, he was married to the Loa Brigitte.
“Ah, ah, ah, ma chère. Where do you think that you are going?” I turned back towards him, knowing exactly what was coming. “We still have business to discuss before you run off and try to save the world,” he said the last bit sarcastically. “Have you given more thought to what we talked about?”
“I have.”
I was still unsure about what I was going to do. Both options held their own allure. I didn’t want to be a slave to this man, but I never wanted to feel the pain I’d been experiencing since seeing Rhys in the Spotted Cat. Maybe I could learn to live with that hurt, maybe I could use it to my advantage.
“And what have you decided?” His face became serious, losing all humor that it had held before that moment.
“I have some concerns.” He raised his palm towards me to continue. “You’re married to the Loa Brigitte, are you not?”
He visibly tensed at the question. “She is no longer… ,“ he paused. “In the picture.” His tone said that any more discussion on this topic was finished. It was the first time I’d seen any kind of emotion from the Baron aside from lewd, provocative remarks. He seemed human with actual feelings, who, despite being immortal, was still at the mercy of life itself.
“I think I understand.” I gave him a small smile.
We sat there not speaking for a while. It was a while later before he came back to himself.
/> “I have made my choice.”
Negotiations began and a deal was struck. The contract was signed in blood. He wasn’t happy with my decision, but I think he respected my resolve in making it.
He had presented me with two contracts. One outlined the duties and responsibilities that would be required of me should I decide to rule by the Baron’s side. The other was an acknowledgement that I knew what lay ahead of me should I refuse him. Ultimately, either was just as binding as the other, signed in both blood and magic. That day, in the clearing with the Baron Samedi as my witness, I sealed my fate. Once my decision had been made, he gave me no opportunity to backpedal. He stuffed the contracts into his jacket and turned, vanishing into the abyss that lay beyond the edge of the trees.
Now there was only one thing left to do.
I had to save New Orleans from a mad man. And Angie, Rhys, and Mama in the process. While not getting myself killed.
Hopefully.
In the morning, I was getting the hell out of this backwards swamp. I now had less than two days before the Sacrifice needed to be completed and Drake would be desperate, doing anything he could to complete it. I had a long night ahead of me, filled with preparations and gathering supplies.
I made my way back into the house to undertake my tasks. Mama was nowhere to be found, but Ayida was coiled around one of the house’s exposed beams near the ceiling. I steered clear, crouching as I made my way around her and back towards my room. The door was hanging ajar, giving me pause. I always made sure that I closed it. Pressing on the door lightly, it slowly swung open.
Mama and Rhys stood in the middle of the room, locked in a heated, hushed conversation. He had snuck in during my dealings with the Baron. Mama seemed to be berating Rhys without holding back. Neither of them took notice of my presence in the room. Seeing Rhys standing there, I wasn’t sure what to feel. I was glad that he was safe and unharmed, though I am quite sure the overriding emotion I was experiencing was fury tinged with the sorrow of a shattered heart. I’d thought, most likely misguidedly, that what we’d shared that night on the dock was more than just a casual fuck. The heart that I’d tried so hard to keep from getting involved had a mind all its own. I couldn’t help it. But none of that had meant a thing to him.