Blackwater

by Tara Brown

  I grab her face, "Did Martin do this?"

  She nods and cries. Her words are incoherent but I grab her hand and drag her around the side of the house. We have seconds before the hit on the house is going to happen. I still don’t understand how the damned vampires ended up there killing my whole family and half the party.

  I pull the sobbing mess my best friend is to the car that’s started and sitting out front. I look down at my Jackie Kennedy dress and smile, "lucky dress."

  I shove Angie in the backseat and get a glare from Whit when I climb in.

  "Whit, give her the wrist."

  His jaw drops, "What are you doing?"

  I grin, "Oh and drop the non-Scottish accent. Be who you are."

  He laughs, "Fucking Roses. Goddamned them and their meddling ways." The Scottish is back. He bites into his wrist and looks back at Angie, "Shut up and drink from my wrist."

  She stops crying instantly and drinks from his wrist.

  Watching her bright-green eyes flash in the dark as she drinks his blood back is amazing. She is young and beautiful and still my best friend. I feel my heart beating in my chest; it’s still beating. I know that’s only a short-term thing, so I cherish every beat and flutter it makes.

  "Take us to Grandmamma Holt's cottage please." I whisper. He pulls his arm from Angie and drives the car.

  "Want to explain?" he says through clenched teeth.

  I shake my head, "It's just forty-eight years of bad things that I'm trying to correct. I need to claim my power before the sunsets and before my momma realizes what I've done."

  He shakes his head, "weird night."

  I laugh, "You have no idea. I was in two thousand and twelve like fifteen minutes ago."

  He grins, "Were we together?"

  I nod, "Sort of." It isn’t fair I'm still angry with him and yet I can't fight it. The emotions came with me.

  "Sort of?"

  I smile, "I wasn’t happy about the plan. Angie ended up raped and married to Martin, Emily ended up dead and stuck as a poltergeist in the mansion and it was rundown and bad. Aunt Tessa was a mess. And I ran from you for the whole forty-eight years. I hated what you made me."

  His face hardens. "You have to see I had no other choice."

  "I do. I see what my momma has done and the chain of events she has created. I don’t have no choices but the one I'm making now." I look ahead and grip myself.

  Angie leans forward, "I feel funny."

  Whit looks back at her and smirks, "Go to sleep."

  She sits back and passes out instantly.

  "Hey! That was mean."

  He shakes his head, "I'm not playing this game where you get to make me turn everyone under the bloody sun and I have no say in the matter."

  I look back at her sleeping face, "She deserved to be young and beautiful forever."

  He sighs, "You made her into a monster. You don’t think she's going to feel the way you did?"

  I never thought of that. "I hope she can see I saved her."

  "Did I ask you to wish anything for me in the future?" he asks searching my eyes.

  I nod as my cheeks flush with heat and color. "You asked me to wish to be yours forever."

  His lips lift, "Did you wish?"

  I nod again.

  "Do you still wish it?" He is searching my eyes again.

  I grin like a fool, "Lord help me, but I do. I wish to be yours forever and ever."

  He leans over and kisses me softly, "I love you."

  I blush more, "I know." It's the truth. I do know it.

  He grins, like I am, and drives past my granddaddy's house and I get the same shiver I always get. He doesn’t slow down though. He doesn't know I'm related to the creepy-looking trailer and the man inside of it, being haunted by a ghost.

  He stops the car outside of the cabin. I jump out and run for the door. She opens it and smiles, "You fix things, Cheri?"

  I nod, "I think I might have. I need to claim my power before my heart stops beating."

  She points to the bayou, "We go der."

  I look past her, "Is Ramón in there too?"

  She looks at Whit and shakes her head, "He no want to see dis one."

  I look back at Whit and nod, "Okay."

  Grandmamma hobbles with her twisted cane out to the edge of the swamps.

  She stands there for a minute, just looking at the water.

  "Dey says de magic of de Blackwater witches is from de water itself." She looks back at me, creating a haunting image of a white-eyed old woman standing on the banks of a bloodied swamp. The cypress trees here have the same red moss, only it's dark and mist creeps along the banks.

  I look at Whit who speaks softly and yet somehow I'm able to hear him. "They say the magic of the Blackwater witches comes from the water itself. When the witch trials were happening a lot of witches fled the north and came to the swamps to hide. When the churches and officials found them they murdered the women, the magic bled out into the water. The red moss is apparently from the witches' blood staining the cypress trees."

  Grandmamma laughs and nods muttering something. She turns away from me and hobbles down into the black murky waters. She looks back at me, "You gotta put dem feet in de waters, Cheri."

  I yank my boots off and walk grimacing at the squish of my toes. I make my way to her, my stomach is going crazy and the sounds of the bayou are louder than they've ever been.

  I gasp as the cold-water shocks me when I put my feet in.

  I stand next to her and she takes my hand in hers. She starts to chant something in French I can't understand. She mutters and speaks fast, as if she were speaking right to God.

  Suddenly I see something, a color in the water or a swirl of sorts.

  The water froths and churns and sparkles with life.

  It heats below me in the mud.

  "Call dem, Cheri. Tell dem you want to claim what's yours."

  "I claim what's mine." I say to the swamps.

  She laughs "You gots to mean it. Shout it to dem. Scream and open your lungs. Let da water come and fill you up."

  I open my arms and clear my mind. I snap my finger and let the sparks fill the darkness. "I CALL YOU TO ME! I CLAIM THE MAGIC!" My screams become part of a wind that has suddenly rushed the swamp.

  I feel the mud come alive, it crawls up my legs.

  I scream into the night's air and let the crawling sensation cover my body. It enters my mouth and fills me up. I feel the magic and spark come alive in my whole body the way it always has my fingers and arms. My whole body is buzzing and on fire. My scream becomes part pain.

  Just when I think I can't take one more second, it stops as abruptly as it started.

  The night is still and calm.

  I glance at her, "I feel it burning inside of me." My words feel funny in my mouth, powerful in potential.

  She grins and pulls a knife from the pocket of her muumuu. I glance at it and shake my head, "What?"

  She points to the waters, "You gotta offer dem spirits some of your blood."

  I take the blade and hold it against my hand.

  "No, you kill me first. You take da power and kill your momma."

  I lower the blade and shake my head. I look back at Whit, who is walking towards us.

  She shakes her head, "I'm stronger den any witch here, you need me inside of you."

  I swallow, "What about Ramón? You can't die."

  She laughs, like I'm the crazy one or I've said something hilarious. "I no die. Momma Holt no die. I'll stay here and guard da swamps. We gots two kinds of magic, Cheri. One is physical and da other is inside our souls."

  I look at Whit but he just nods slowly and bites his lip.

  I shake my head, "I can't, Grandmamma."

  She smiles at me, "You gots to. She gonna be here in a moment. She figured out your plan maybe."

  I look back at the cabin, my lower lip trembles. I shake my head again, "I can't do it. You have to just teach me how to do it, how to fight her."

>   She laughs, "You gots no chance, she done killed others. She gots them inside of her. Her sister and her together is strong. Dem Roses gonna collect dis debt whether you change da future or not. Why not use da gifts of time?"

  My insides are burning with the magic but I can feel the death that’s coming for me.

  "You drive dat through me before she come." She says raising her voice a little.

  "She's here now." I turn my face to see my momma walking down the garden path. She looks sober and angry. She grins bitterly at Grandmamma and waves, "Hello, Momma Holt." She says the name like it tastes bad in her mouth.

  Grandmamma grabs my hands. I see the desperation in her eyes. I take a breath and drive the blade into her belly as Whit tackles my momma to the ground.

  Instantly the tears blind me. Grandmamma falls forward into my arms. She grabs my face and plants a kiss on me. I inhale and something sweet fills my mouth. She screams out and I scream in.

  She falls to the ground and I feel it. Her fire and power stretches me somehow, making room for all of it. My body acts instinctively. I pull the blade from her belly and slice along my hands. I squeeze my fists, but it’s like she's inside of me doing it for us both. My blood, our blood, drips into the Blackwater near where Grandmamma is facedown in the water.

  Whit flies backwards towards the cabin. He lands with a thud.

  I feel a growl building in my throat as I look back her.

  She smiles at me, "This is impressive. I never knew you was so resourceful, Lorelei."

  The tears are still running down my cheeks, but the fire inside of me is blazing with hatred and fury.

  I point a finger releasing a bolt of lightning, "You made me kill her." I seethe.

  She cackles as she dodges the lightning. She snaps her fingers, looking evil in the dark night.

  "You stupid fucking little bitch." She shakes her head, "Why you couldn’t just lose weight and be a decent size is beyond me." Her words cut me.

  I look at Whit who's walking towards her. I shake my head subtly. I don’t want him to get hurt or hear her venom. I don’t want it to be true anymore.

  She laughs like a madwoman and shoots a bolt at me. I fall back into the cold water.

  "You forced me to hurt your sister. I love her, I don’t want her to die. I want her to be my best friend and travel the world with me. I wanted my sister back." She spits her words and shoots another bolt. Then she moves her hands and the water pulls me down into it like a gator. It rolls me around. I'm sputtering and gagging when it stops. She is on the shore looking lost and haunted.

  She shakes her blonde head, "I just wanted things to work out but that freak Ramón interfered. He kept me from casting on you. He had protection spells all over you. He even made it so I couldn’t fire him." She looks back at the cabin, "I suspect that useless old woman had something to do with that."

  I feel the pain in the words and the rage building inside of me. I sit up and wipe the mud off my face, "You couldn’t have just left us alone, gone and found another person to steal?"

  Her blue eyes dart at me, "No. No I couldn’t. Do you know how hard it is to find a true Blackwater witch?"

  I shake my head, "Why couldn’t you just let it go? Just live the life you had?"

  She looks hostile and ready to snap my neck, "HOW ARE YOU SO STUPID, LORLEI? I AM STILL AGING YOU NITWITTED LITTLE BITCH!"

  She sounds like ghost Em. I'm trembling with power. Grandmamma is sending instincts through to me. I feel the water with my fingers. I look at her and make a jerking motion with my fingers. The water rises and splashes down on her. She's sucked into the swamp waters with me. Only it's like the swamp comes alive. The water is churning and tossing like it's battling her.

  I realize what I'm seeing when she surfaces. It ain't her. It's Maria. They're fighting in the water and dragging each other down into the swamps.

  I climb to the shore, covered in mud and plants. I'm sure I have leeches in a few places. I shudder at the thought. I grab Grandmamma and drag her body from the waters. My sobs are leaving me in heaves and coughs. Whit scoops her body up and holds her to him. I grip her hands and sob.

  "Grandmamma, please wake up." I put my hands over the knife wound and call the spirits. I just know, like the magic is guiding me.

  "Child." I hear her. I open my eyes but she's still limp in his arms. In the commotion of the waves and violence in the swamp I hear it again.

  I turn and see her standing at the door to the house. I run to her. Her white eyes are spookier than before.

  "You gotta do da same thing to your momma that she done to Maria." Her voice is the same. She is the same. I squeeze her and pull her into my arms, "You're okay?" I shake my head and sob again.

  She pulls me back shaking her spooky head, "You gotta help Maria."

  I look back at the water and nod, "I don’t know what to do."

  Her voice is soothing and strong, "You know, child. You just let dem lead you. Dem spirits, dey know da way. Let da old witches inside of da magic guide you."

  I nod and walk back down to the water where they're still fighting. I see lightning and sparks shoot from the waves. I have a remarkable feeling inside of me. I walk to the tree near the water and clasp my hands around a small branch. I close my eyes for a moment and when I look there is a branch in my hand.

  I stand on the shores and call them, "Ancient witches, sisters and mothers, come to me. Fill me with the love and the light of the one power. I call upon you mother earth and father god; I call upon you mother moon and father son. Bless with the powers of the old." I take a step into the water and feel it as my feet hit the muddy banks. The water churns and stirs.

  "Mighty mothers of old, witches of the earth and the fire and the water and the air, fill me." The winds pick up and spin around me. I see my momma and Maria stop thrashing. They bob in the murky waters, watching in silence. The water joins the spinning air and becomes a tornado of water. Dirt flies from the banks of the swamp and becomes debris floating on the water and air. Lastly a strike of lightning shoots from the sky, landing in the tornado surrounding us. We are locked within the huge electric walls of water and dirt and air.

  My hair is whipping around my face and my dress is nearly being ripped off of me. The force of the winds is incredible. Momma is frozen with scratches and bruises on her face. Maria has beat the tar outta her.

  It would make me smile if everything weren’t turning into a pile of crap in front of my very eyes.

  I look at the faces of my momma and Maria and I know, instantly I know what I have to do. A slow smile crosses my face.

  Maria sees it and nods once.

  I hold the stick out at them and scream, "ETERNITY YOU SHALL SPEND AS THE SPIRIT THAT YOU BROKE. RETURN THE SOUL TO THE BODY THAT YOU STOLE!"

  Momma's eyes widen. She shoves Maria and tries to shoot me with fire but the water leaps up and douses it. The tornado reaches into the circle we are inside of and grabs Momma and Maria. They spin and scream inside of the walls that are spinning. I catch glimpses of them flying past me.

  The screams become shrieks and then they stop. The wind stops and the mud and water drops back into the swamps all at once. I see the white of my momma's leg fall into the water as the air stops.

  My chest is heaving and my breath is the only sound in the whole swamp. I turn to see Whit's confused face and the peaceful look of Grandmamma.

  "Lorelei?" I cringe when I hear my name spoken from her lips but when I turn to face her I see it instantly. She isn’t my momma. She is and she isn’t. She's my aunt Maria.

  Momma stands up from the water and splashes. She screams and howls but the swamp forms into hands and they pull her down into the black water. I shudder at the sight of it all and start to back up. I want out of the water. The feeling of the power leaving me makes me shiver. I wrap my arms around myself and creep backwards. Maria smiles sweetly at me.

  "You saved me." Her accent is thick. She ain't ashamed of it the way Momma was. "What time is it
?"

  I shrug.

  "She killed me at 2:47 last time. I just wanna know what time it'll be that she is her strongest."

  I shudder and remember waking at 2:47 every night.

  I'm about to reply back when I realize what has happened. I turn back around and shake my head, "What about Emily? Is she being murdered right now?"

  Whit nods, "We need to get back."

  I run for the car. My aunt and Whit follow. I climb in and start it. Whit gives me a look. I frown, "What?"

  He motions with his hand, "Shove over. I don’t ride bitch."

  My jaw drops. The southern girl inside of me is stunned and the me from before is annoyed. "So you think I do?"

  He nods and shoves me over. I sit bitch and fume. Maria/momma climbs in and laughs, "This is weird. My hands are so real - not like before where I have to force them to be real."

  Whit gives me a sideways glance, "This is going to be fun, listening to all the new experiences she has."

  I scowl as she climbs in the backseat of the car and closes the door.

  He drives fast, revving the engine. I'm glad we aren’t in my truck anymore.

  We skid into the driveway, under the oak alley. I smile when I see the house looking so nice until I see the smoke rising from the roof. My stomach starts to twinge and cramp. He stops the car.

  I climb out and notice the way it feels, just like before. The night is dark and the air is thick. The romance of the evening lingers in the smell. The horrors linger in the thick smoke and fog that hover over the house like a blanket of bad omens.

  I snap my fingers making the sparks - only now they are charged lightning bolts that strike the ground like my footsteps do. I climb the front steps, past the pillars of the front door. I can feel the pain and screams still lingering in the fog, like I can taste it there.

  I open the front door and instantly have to fight the pain and agony of the sights I see. Em and Daddy are dead on the ground, both bled dry. Whit shoves past me and picks her up. He looks back at me and shakes his head. "We gotta get her to consecrated grounds. She needs to rest for a couple days."

  He turns and walks for the doorway. When he gets to the front porch he slams into something I can't see.

  He bounces back, staggering. I walk forward and through the spot where he was stopped. He tries again but again he bounces back.