by Ju Ephraime
“I love you, darling.”
“I love you too, Rupert, from now until we are both no more—now and forever!”
Rupert held her in his arms until her breathing settled and she fell asleep. Only then did he get out of bed and went into the family room. He remained there, until he heard her moving about in the bedroom. He went into the room and was pleased to see her blow drying her hair, a mundane task, but one so familiar, he took comfort in it.
****
Jean Louis was furious. He’d not been able to go anywhere near the front door. He wouldn’t dare. He could not go anywhere near the hot peppers. It was his Achilles heel. In his naked state, just a hint of pepper anywhere near him and he would be dead within minutes. And it would not any simple death; it would be a horrific death. So he had to turn around and walk away. He was going to try again tomorrow night, but at the moment, his hands were tied. He was to keep within the guidelines set by his Master.
As was to be expected, he passed a sleepless night and was chomping at the bit. He was going to try again tonight.
At midnight, Jean Louis was standing in front of her house, but this time it was impossible for him to go anywhere near the house. He was shocked to see the entire house covered in hot peppers. It was as if someone had bought every hot pepper tree on the island and used them to deck out the house. From the door to the back porch, peppers were everywhere he looked. It was more concentrated at the front door; there was not a spot that was left unadorned. They were on the walkway, the doorknob, the top of the door, everywhere.
Jean Louis was so angry he walked all the way back to his house when he could have easily taken to the sky. He thought he’d been good to her the night he made love to her. Everything had been so perfect, or so he’d thought. Why would she go to such lengths to keep him away? He was in a state of arousal all the time thinking about her, and she had chosen to seclude herself with that husband of hers and keep him out. Wait until tomorrow. She wouldn’t be able to resist him any more then. Tomorrow, at the solstice, she wouldn’t be able to keep him out. He was determined, come hell or high water.
He stayed in bed the whole day. At 9:00 P.M., he went to the spring at the back of his house to wash and cleanse his body. Then he took the picture he had of Lange and placed it on the altar he had created. He placed lavender, cinnamon, and wormwood around the altar. Next, he built a fire in the fireplace. He needed the fire to serve as a conduit. At the stroke of midnight, he lay down on his back, spread eagle, a silver bell in his right hand, the vial of blood he’d collected in his left hand.
He had collected his blood to cast the spell knowing this was the most powerful spell and it could not be undone. He was aware of the danger, but so obsessed was he by the woman that he had taken the blood from his penis and now carried it in a vial, which he would cast into the fire right before he recited the chant. He needed the blood because blood signified life. It had energy—life’s force—and the spirits were attracted to it. Also, it gave the spirits some substance to take form, and this was what he was planning on happening. He hoped it would take form in him, driven by his blood.
Everything was ready, he began the chant—the incantation that would give him the power he needed to enter Lange’s house without going through the front door.
"Blood of my blood, you spirits of love,
Come from below and from above;
Entities loving who wish me well,
Come to this circle when I sound the bell."
He rang the bell three times, and on the third ring, his body began to levitate off the floor. When he was directly level with the altar, a portal opened, and he felt a change came over his body as the spirits entered him. The force of the possession was so powerful he found himself positioned upright facing the portal.
Spreading his arms, he welcomed the spirits of his ancestors as they connected with him. He immediately went into a seizure that sent his body into convulsions. Unable to remain standing any longer, he fell to his knees, where he remained until the convulsions had subsided. When he was able to stand, he stood up and rang the bell seven times to send the spirits back through the portal so he could close the circle.
After closing the circle, he left his house and took to the air. He was not in human form and his newly acquired magic had given him the powers he once had. He could go anywhere he chose. There was nothing stopping him. But he couldn’t copulate in this form, he had to be in the form of a man in order to do so, but he could travel and scope out his haunts. This time he arrived at Lange’s house and went through without the need to enter through the front door. The peppers didn’t bother him because he was not in the persona of the Black Magic Man. As he went into the bedroom, he found her lying with her husband. She evidently had just copulated with him; his stench was all over her. Jean almost gagged from it. He couldn’t have her tonight, but he was taking her back with him.
He went to remove her from the bed, but he was not able to. It was as if he was trying to lift a house single-handedly. He braced his legs and heaved with all his might. He got her off the bed and turned around to take her through the wall, but when he materialized at his house, he’d gone through, but not Lange. She had remained in her home. His powers were not strong enough to counteract whatever forces surrounded her.
He could not return to her house and get back to his before the dawn. The only thing was he would not be as strong as he was now. The power of the solstice was with him. Unfortunately, he could not remove her from the house, and neither could he make love to her because she’d already had sex with her husband. He would try again the next night. He couldn’t stand the thought of her husband touching her. How dare he when she belonged to him? She was his soul mate. Why else would she have such an effect on him? He was furious.
He began throwing things around, sending his cat cowering into a corner. Just then the thought occurred to him that he’d been more successful when he’d followed the dictates of his Master with the help of his familiar.
For now, there was nothing he could do but stay put in his lonely house while he left his heart behind in the arms of another man.
He was angry on two counts, one that he’d failed to take her from the house, and two, he had wasted the event of the solstice. This was not likely to happen again for another four years at least. He would use all his powers tomorrow night, and if that did not work, he’d concede defeat. He knew he was only saying that to make himself feel better. It was not in his nature to concede defeat. It was against everything he stood for—against his very existence— so he knew he would have her or die trying.
Just thinking of having to walk away from Lange was causing him to feel pain in the region of his heart. The pain was so acute he found himself grabbing his chest to ease the pressure building there. He’d never felt pain like this before. He went and stood in front of the mirror to see if any changes were coming over him. He was surprised to see that he looked the same. Nothing about him had changed, on the outside anyway, since the night he’d summoned his Master. He wondered how she would feel if she saw him. Would she think he was a much better specimen of a man than her husband? He very much doubted it. Love, as they said, was blind, and he wouldn’t ever find out. He didn’t think he could go out into the daylight with this body. For one, the people on the island would notice.
He didn’t associate with them, but they knew of him. They had watched him age over the years, so if he were to appear, all of a sudden, as a young man in his prime, they would definitely think him the devil incarnate. Granted, he was not too far removed, but removed he was. He could try moving away to another village where no one knew him, but that would mean leaving Lange, and he was not prepared to do that, especially on the off chance he would remain in this form. He believed it was temporary, but how temporary, he had no idea. His Master had not seen fit to tell him.
His head was beginning to ache, he believed from lack of sleep. So he flung himself on his bed and was asleep before his head had fully
hit the pillow.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Rupert was concerned about his wife. She had become very subdued. It was as if his vivacious, loving wife had been replaced by this sad, soft-spoken woman. He wanted his wife back. Experience had taught him to allow her to work through things in her own time. She knew she could come to him any time. He would support her in anything she wanted to do; she was his world. So, when she wanted to make love even though she was obviously in pain, he was not one to question why. He honored her desire, but he had been careful to be gentle with her. She did not like it, but he wanted to do nothing to cause her pain because her pain was his. Tonight, she was reaching for him again, and he was reluctant to give her what she wanted, and this had upset her.
“Darling, are you certain you are up to this?”
“Yes, I need you more than ever now, please.”
Rupert shook his head. “I can see you are in pain, sweetheart. Could we not wait a couple days until you get better?”
“No, darling, I need you. Make love to me.”
His vision blurred, and he swallowed against the sharp pressure in his throat. “I love you.” He pressed his mouth to her neck, where a pulse was beating rapidly. A feeling so strong went through him. “I love you,” he repeated, kissing her softly on her eyelids, her mouth, her nose, and he continued to whisper those words to her until she raised her arms to his neck, hugging him. He felt a tremor go through her, and that was his undoing.
He undressed them both, removing his shirt that she was still wearing, and held her naked body against his. With his finger, he traced the lush fullness of her mouth, the straight angle of her nose, the slashes of her brows, and the delicate lids of her eyes. She moved her hands over his body, going from his back to his butt, grabbing him possessively. The feel of her touch filled him with an urgency that took all his strength to control.
His mouth covered hers, softly ravaging, while his knee slid between her long, sleek legs and parted them. He moved his hands over her breasts, rubbing back and forth until the tips gathered into hard points. Removing his hands, he covered the hard points with his mouth, moving from one to the next. He kept his eyes closed so as not to see the bruises that were still visible on her beautiful skin. He was making love to her with his eyes closed, learning her by touch, and it was the most powerful aphrodisiac. Tenderly, he kissed every inch of her, lingering over any scratches he detected with his mouth. Nothing had prepared him for the powerful feeling making love to his wife by touch would bring. He was so hard he was almost having an orgasm from just touching her.
When neither of them could bear any more, he entered her carefully, wincing when he heard her whimper in pain.
“I’m sorry,” he breathed, wedged heavily inside her. “I’m sorry for causing you pain.”
“No, no …” She wrapped her arms and legs around him, pulling him farther into her body, her hips arched in encouragement.
Rupert began to move, straining to be gentle while the rising pleasure slowly drove him past the point of coherent thought as he lost himself in the welcoming embrace of his wife… his love, his everything. When the release washed over them, he slid behind her, being careful to keep them connected, and cradled her in his arms as they gave themselves to sleep.
He was aware of her every move during the course of the night. Twice during the night, she became restless, and he felt her move. He responded instantly, moving inside her in smooth, long strokes until she settled down and went back to sleep. They woke several hours later to the sound of the chime on the coffee machine going off. Rolling her beneath him, he made love to her one more time before he reluctantly separated himself from her body. She got out of bed and went into the shower. He cleaned up and went into the kitchen just as he was.
****
Walking into the kitchen, Lange was greeted by the sight of his rear view as he stood at the coffee machine fixing two cups of coffee. She thought he was a sight for sore eyes. Although he did not spend a lot of time at the gym, his body was in perfect shape. She believed it was because he would rather walk than drive everywhere. These frequent walks had developed his thighs and calves. Throw in the narrow waist with the firm butt, and he was a work of art. She never tired of admiring his body. She found there was always something to discover, like now she was admiring the movements of his biceps as he stirred the sugar in the coffee.
He had given her no indication that he’d heard her walk into the room, but when he turned to face her with the cup of coffee, he was erect, his penis protruding in front of him.
“Put that thing away,” she said, laughing.
“How are you feeling, darling?”
“Much better, and you’d better put that thing away.”
“He’s just happy to see you. Don’t tell me you aren’t happy to see him.”
“When you put it like that, I’m always happy to see you, always darling, always.”
“Good, here, drink your coffee while I go take a bath. Are you going in to work today?”
“Yes, I believe I will, for a brief period anyway.”
“Good, so are we meeting for our walk home this evening? I missed you the past couple of days.”
“I’m not sure about this afternoon; I’ll call you at work to let you know. How’s that?”
“I guess it’ll have to do. Don’t forget to call. I’ll be waiting.”
Rupert took his coffee with him into the bathroom, and she went outside and took a seat on the porch while she contemplated the situation she was dealing with. She was still not able to go for her morning walk; she had not healed completely. She was aware making love with her husband was not helping the situation, but she needed to do this to keep the Black Magic Man away. She knew from growing up as a young girl and listening to all the folk tales about the Black Magic Man that he wouldn’t take the woman after she’d had sex. She was considered soiled, and she was going to be soiled every night until she was certain he had been destroyed or had shifted his attention away from her.
She was too traumatized by the whole thing to discuss it with Rupert. She would tell him, but in her own time, and she appreciated that he gave her the time she needed to process and comprehend what had happened to her. She knew the sorcerer had been trying to enter her home again, but he’d been unable to because her safeguards and precautionary measures had held.
By the same token, she knew he would not give up trying. These men were arrogant and a law unto themselves, but he’d picked the wrong victim. She was expecting him to try again tonight because tonight would be his last-ditch effort. He would come at her with guns blazing, and she would be ready.
For now, she would enjoy her coffee, enjoy her husband. Speaking of which, she wanted to be lying in bed while he got dressed. She loved watching him dress. It gave her a thrill, and she knew he enjoyed it too, if the reaction of his body was any indicator.
Taking her coffee with her, she climbed into bed and pulled the quilt over her. She heard the water being turned off, and propping the pillows up, she settled down to enjoy the show.
Here he comes.
He walked out with a teensy weensy white towel. He didn’t need the towel, but he knew it excited her to see the teensy weensy towel tenting on him. He gave her a wink and allowed the towel to slip off him, getting caught on his heavy erection as he walked to the dresser to get a fresh pair of boxers. He did not touch the towel, and as he bent over to get the clothes from the drawers, it fell to the floor. Straightening up, he pulled the boxers on. The tent was still there, and she saw him give her a quick glance. She didn’t remove her eyes from the area that fascinated her. This continued until he got to his trousers, which he saved for last before putting on his shoes.
When he was finally fully dressed, she could still see the bulge in his pants where he had forced his dick to play nice. It had never ceased to amaze her at the magnificence of the male body. It was truly a work of art, and she never tired of admiring it. She could lie there all day and watch him
dress and undress. She loved going shopping for him, just to lie back and watch him try on the clothes she’d bought for him. Had she not been too sore she would have attacked him and forced him to the bed to have her way with him. That was the biggest thrill of all. But today, there was work to be done.
****
Rupert left for work promising to call and check up on her at lunch time to see if she was out so they could meet for lunch or after work. He walked out of the house feeling better than he’d felt in a while. He was pleased to see Lange was back to her old trick of watching him dress for work. He was disappointed he wasn’t able to end this session in their usual manner, but soon, yes, soon, of this he had no doubt.
He knew she was getting ready to fight the evil forces that had invaded their home. When she had begun telling him a ghost was in the house, he’d treated it like a joke, but being from a Caribbean island and of African descent, he knew there was evil among them. Anyone from any of the islands who claimed not to know about voodoo was telling a fib. Voodoo was probably the most ancient religion in the world with roots in Africa and from Africa to the Caribbean islands. It was more widely practiced on some islands than others, but it was there, alive and thriving and an inherent part of the culture. However, by the same token, there were those who were skilled in the art of fighting and destroying this evil, and Lange’s people were highly skilled in this art. He knew nothing about fighting this evil, which was why he felt it better that he stayed out of her way.
Lange had given him a brief rundown on the fact that she had been visited by a Black Magic Man, but she had yet to talk with him about the entire incident. All he knew was that she was planning something to catch and destroy the Black Magic Man tonight.
He had known some men whom his friends or his parents would point out as practicing the Dark Arts, but he’d never paid too much attention to them. But you could tell when you met them. They never looked you directly in the eyes. They avoided eye contact at all cost. There was also a strange white circle around the pupil of their eyes. If you ever had the misfortune of looking at one directly, it was almost like looking into the eyes of the devil himself. And if you were a woman, expect a visit from him that night. Some were more powerful than others, but make no mistake; they were all dangerous.