Malevolent

by S. Peters Davis

  I mostly listened, until Jenna spoke in my ear.

  “Sparky, I’m really scared about tonight.” She morphed into the front seat and hovered in front of me. Her feet were below the floorboard of the SUV and her face was stuck in the windshield, staring at me. “What if Buster is called in and the summoned dark spirit lets Buster take our souls? What’re the chances of that happening?”

  How could I answer those questions with any certainty? “We have to trust. And you know Grandma Ellie will show up. Everything will be all right.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. Between you and Grandma Ellie, and Lisa’s aunt, how can anything go wrong tonight?” She smiled and shimmered out of sight.

  I yawned…and then couldn’t stop yawning.

  Derek hung up from talking with Jackson, and then he yawned. “Stop yawning, don’t you know that’s contagious. Jackson’s probably yawning right now.” He chuckled and yawned again. “Yes, we are going home to sleep. No hanky-panky stuff either…I’ll collect on my thought-issue-remedy as soon as this nightmare is over.” He grabbed my hand, his skin so warm, squeezed, and then placed my hand on the front of his trousers. “See. I will still need a remedy.”

  I let out a chuckle and yanked my hand back. “Don’t be giving me ideas, especially here, now, in your SUV, or we’ll never get any sleep, let alone get to your house.”

  * * *

  I woke with a start, my eyes wide-open to darkness. Some kind of alarm echoed through the rooms of Derek’s home. I reached over and discovered his side of the bed empty. I slipped from the covers, bending down on my hands and knees. My vision adjusted to the moonlight streaming through the window and I crawled toward the main room.

  “Stay down, Sparky. There are a couple guys in the house,” Jenna said, but I couldn’t see her.

  A groan, a fist meeting flesh, a thud of a body falling to the floor ahead of me, followed by a gunshot. My eyes squeezed shut on automatic. Derek. Please don’t let him be hurt.

  “That wasn’t Derek falling to the floor. But…” Jenna’s voice trailed off.

  The front door slammed open. Running footfalls traversed across the porch and down the stairs, at least two men. I crawled to the body of a large man knocked out cold. Not Derek.

  Vehicles with flashing blue and white lights pulled into the driveway. I ran outside.

  “Sparky, you shouldn’t be out here.” Jenna floated in front of me, her back to me as if she blocked any danger coming my way.

  “Kendra, get back inside the house,” Derek hollered, but I froze in place. He waved a couple policemen toward the house. “There’s one guy inside. The other one took off through the woods,” he waved an arm, “that way.”

  A number of policemen headed toward the trees edging Derek’s lawn. A couple of cops set a pair of German Shepherds loose to track the culprit.

  Derek strode back to me. “Kendra, it isn’t safe out here. I told you to go inside.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and walked me inside, shutting down the alarm next to the door.

  “Who were those men? And how did the Police get here so fast?” I eyed Derek. “What just happened?”

  “The guys set off a silent alarm, which got the live feed going to my security company. They called the cops and gave Luke or Ray a call.” He glanced over my shoulder toward the door. “Hey, about time you got here.” He strutted to the door, and I turned around to witness the handshake between Ray and Derek.

  “I was actually on my way out here. So, what the hell happened? Did you drag someone home from the crime scene?” The lights popped on, and Ray glanced around the big room. “Damn. You’re gonna need a maid service.” He chuckled.

  I scanned the room, noticing overturned chairs, broken lamps, and small tables, and wondered how in the heck I’d slept through it all. I had crawled on my hands and knees to the guy on the floor, somehow missing all the glass and other objects scattered everywhere. “It looks like an explosion happened in here.”

  “Yeah.” Derek’s brows arched high as his gaze wandered to me. “And someone, I will not name, slept through all of it.”

  “I told you I was tired.” And quite embarrassed as I wore one of Derek’s T-shirts to sleep in. Then I took a good look at Derek’s bloodied face. “Oh, my, maybe you should get a wet washcloth.”

  Derek checked his watch. “Ten thirty.” His eyes shifted back to my face. “We’ll need to leave shortly. Ray and I will walk you out to the cottage so you can dress for tonight. I want to fill Ray in on what we know so far.”

  After I grabbed a wet cloth for Derek, we went out the back door, lights flooding the path to the little cottage. I walked between the guys as Derek talked to Ray. Jenna floated along in front of us.

  Dogs excitedly barked in the distance and I wondered if the shepherds found the guy. Gunshots rang out.

  “Get inside and wait for me to come and get you. Lock the door.” Derek and Ray ran toward another round of gunshots.

  “Hurry up, Sparky. Do what Derek said. You have to be healthy for tonight, not a shot-up pin cushion.”

  “Geeze, is that supposed to make me feel better?” I went inside and locked the door, without turning on the lights. I felt my way to the bedroom, changed my clothes, and then waited on the edge of the bed, fighting the urge to follow the guys into the woods.

  * * *

  Derek

  “I never saw anyone tailing us to the house. I’m not sure who they are, but I do know, they wanted to do harm,” I said, meaning they wanted to kill, but wouldn’t say that in front of Kendra. Ray sat beside her, across the kitchen counter from me.

  I glanced out the window. Headlights from the last cop car filtered through the trees along the driveway, heading back into the city.

  “Well, at least one of the guys lived through your onslaught. We should be able to get something enlightening out of him if Jackson has his wife, Suzanne, run the interrogation.” Ray glanced at Kendra. “Are you doing all right?”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m fine, maybe a little shaken but uninjured.” Her focus wandered away, with a slight tilt to her head.

  I figured Jenna was telling Kendra we should leave for the voodoo meeting place in the woods. I checked my watch. “It’s after eleven, we should be heading out.”

  Ray frowned. “To where? The cottage?”

  “You know, we talked about it. The voodoo ceremony is tonight.” I grabbed a couple sweatshirt jackets from the hooks near the door. “You’re welcome to stay here tonight if you want. I have a couple guest bedrooms upstairs.”

  “You got any beer?” Ray grinned. “I could use something to relax. I think Luke’s on his way out here also. You gotta a couple of beers?”

  “Behind the kitchen, a little storage room with a big refrigerator and a case of beer.” I chuckled, swung an arm around Kendra’s shoulder, and we headed out the door.

  “Thanks, man. Obliterate that bad-ass. We’ll celebrate when you get back here,” were Ray’s words as the door closed behind us.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Kendra

  Derek parked the SUV in a grassy field, already full of cars. “I’ve been down the main road and past this exact dirt drive so many times and had no idea this was back here.” His cell phone rang, and he checked the screen. “Tressa. I should take this in case she found something on Buster we can use.” He clicked to answer. “Hey, you’re on speaker with Kendra and me. We’re just headed to the voodoo ritual. Did you find something we can use?”

  “Okay, I’ll make this quick. Buster, previously known as Mark Fenton, did a Viet Nam tour in the Army Corps between 1970 – 1973. At twenty-three-years-old, in 1975, he hooked up with Bertellia and stayed with her until she went missing in 1988. He actually committed suicide in 1989. He’d been in a psych ward telling the doctors he sees Bertellia every night in his dreams and she wants him to come to her.” Tressa took a big breath. “Can you believe that?”

  “Yes, after what I’ve been through, I can totally believe Ber
tellia got inside his head and took him,” Jenna spat. She leaned forward from the backseat, between Derek and me. “I bet she knew someone who dallied in the Dark Arts. How could she not with her history? At some point, we should check into that in case Bertellia throws any other dark-ass surprises our way.”

  Jenna had a good point, I’d share it with Derek later. “Thanks, Tressa. Having his real name might be helpful for tonight…and knowing some of his history and the cause of his death could be also,” I said.

  “Yep. Thanks, Tressa. Appreciate all of the time and effort you’ve dedicated to this case. We’ll keep you posted on how it all turns out.” Derek clicked his cell completely off and slipped it into his pocket. “In case I need it later.”

  We climbed out. My legs and hands trembled with extra energy or anxiety.

  Jenna appeared beside me and nodded. “Let’s do this.”

  Derek flashed the light around the trees, looking for the walking path Lisa told us about. “There.” He stopped the beam on an opening in the trees, the ground had some sort of wood chip pathway. “I’ll go first and you stay right behind me, okay? You can hold onto the backside of my jacket if you want.”

  “Okay.” I grasped the hem securely and matched his stride. Not sure why, but it gave me a sense of power like we were in this together and invincible.

  “I’m going as far ahead as I can, to see what our future holds. I’ll be back in a second with my prediction.” Jenna vanished in a shimmer of sparkles. Something new and extreme, and it made me wonder if she used more of her energy by showing off. She couldn’t afford to waste any of it tonight.

  I took a couple of deep breaths to push away those negative thoughts. I whispered a quick protection mantra for all of us, something Grandma Ellie used to say to keep us safe whenever we went away from the house. A waft of campfire smoke, chanting voices, and a rhythmic beat of drums grew stronger as we followed the path.

  Derek stopped and I ran into his backside. “Oops, sorry about that,” he said. “I can see the fire and people dancing around it up ahead. I wanted a minute for us before we go out there.” He wrapped me in his arms and kissed me deep and thorough. He stole my breath in his ferventness.

  “Come on, the show’s about to begin,” Jenna whispered in my ear.

  She startled me and I gasped, breaking away from Derek.

  He stood in front of me unmoving. “Are we good?” His brows drew together.

  “Jenna caught me off-guard.” I touched the creases between his brows. “Yes, Derek, we are definitely good.”

  He released a deep breath, and we moved to the opening where the activity was well underway. Lisa ran toward us as Derek shut off the flashlight. The bonfire steeped the whole site in a bright shifting glow.

  “It’s close to time, only minutes away. Let me show you where you and Jenna should stand. Derek, you’ll be close to them as well, just outside their circle.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me along. Derek held onto to my other hand and followed us to the altar.

  “This is NaNa Rosa. She’s a Voodoo Priestess and also my aunt.” Lisa pulled my hand into NaNa Rosa’s hands.

  She held it gently, closing her eyes. Her dark hair, coiled on top of her head, glistened in the firelight. She wore a red sarong with gold threads that reflected anything aglow.

  “I see your soul mark, dear one. I can also see your friend’s. I hear your thoughts regarding Mark Fenton, his service to our country. You will be clear of his darkness after tonight, as will he be.”

  NaNa Rosa opened her eyes and flames from the fire were mirrored in them. She released my hand and raised both of hers high above her head. The woman’s slight build depicted nothing of her inner strengths and demeanor. Drums and dancing ceased, all attention focused on NaNa Rosa. “We will all sip from a cup.” NaNa Rosa took a sip from the cup on her altar and then handed it to Lisa. The Voodoo Priestess recited words in an ancient language. One drum beat a rhythm as she chanted and swayed her way to the bonfire, and then she danced around it.

  No one else moved, other than the women holding cups. They worked their way through the crowd, offering each person a drink.

  Lisa handed me NaNa Rosa’s cup. “Drink one good swallow.”

  I did. “What about Jenna?”

  “Through her connection to you, she also receives the sustenance of protection the tincture offers.”

  I handed the cup back to Lisa, and she passed it to Derek. He took a sip, and then Lisa did. She passed the cup onto another woman that offered it around the group, same as the other women with cups.

  Lisa grasped my hand and led me a short distance from the altar, where someone had made a circle on the ground. “This circle on the ground, made of salt and sawdust, is also for your protection. You and Jenna must stay inside it for the entire ceremony. Even if you are enticed to step out of it, do not. No matter what happens.” She directed me into the circle.

  Jenna followed me inside. “I haven’t tasted anything since…well, since I was ghostisized, but I tasted the swallow you just took. Sort of minty.”

  Derek positioned himself close to us, without compromising the circle on the ground. “I will be right here.”

  I nodded. The beating drum increased in tempo, and another joined the rhythmic song.

  Lisa’s eyes flashed toward NaNa Rosa, and then back to me. “Remember you are safe, everyone here is safe, including Derek. The dark side is good at playing mind tricks, don’t get fooled. Stay strong and alert to the light. We are all creatures of light.”

  NaNa Rosa cast her words toward the sky, waving her arms high, and then again toward the ground, redirecting her swaying arms. Her movement stayed meticulous to the beat of the drum. She danced her way back to the altar. Another drum joined in with the rhythm more like a beating heart.

  A man stepped to her, cage in hand, and a rooster within. He opened it.

  NaNa Rosa’s hands reached in like striking snakes, grabbing the bird and ringing its neck. The drums silenced. More chanted words exploded from the small woman. She raised the dead fowl over her head and then lay it on the altar. Her hand folded around the handle of a knife that lay among a few other items. Her words stopped.

  She cut the heart from the rooster and dropped it into a small bowl etched in symbols.

  Another man stepped to her side, drained some blood from the chicken into the bowl, and then backed away with the bird in hand.

  NaNa Rosa’s whispered words grew in volume as she dipped her fingertips into the bowl and marked her face. She took a quick swallow from another cup close to the bowl and then stomped down to the fire.

  All of the drums came to life in a heartbeat rhythm. NaNa Rosa thundered out more ancient words as the crowd chanted something different in a whispered tone. Everyone swayed, with the exception of NaNa Rosa. She screamed toward the ground, stomping, jumping as if attempting to wake the dead.

  Her body stiffened and then convulsed, falling to the ground. A deep hush filled the air, everyone’s focus driven toward her small body.

  “This could be someone’s nightmare,” Jenna whispered.

  I glared at her, and she shrank into her shoulders.

  “Sorry,” she mouthed.

  A sudden deep breath from everyone around the fire, and NaNa Rosa’s body animated, rising from the ground, thin tendrils of black smoke emanated from her skin. Her movement, stiff and exaggerated, demonstrated little knowledge of how to use her arms or legs. Her eyes shifted wildly, roving over the crowd.

  Everyone stilled, no sound, no movement, no drumming.

  She screamed and startled me.

  I jerked toward Derek, and his hand kept me from stepping over the line. I froze as her attention drew in my direction. Her crazed gaze found mine and her smoke encrusted body shot through the air, landing in front of the circle.

  Derek stiffened, his hands clenched into fists. The slight movement drew a glance from NaNa Rosa his way and a challenging grin that most definitely wasn’t NaNa Rosa.

&
nbsp; Disregarding him, she toed the outside edge of the circle and cackled as a spindle of smoke and the burning stench of skin wafted from her foot. Words flung out of her mouth, ancient, yet imposing authority.

  Suddenly, Buster appeared through a burst of darkness, but I felt no burning sensation in my chest.

  Jenna remained silent at my side. She clasped her rose quartz. I assumed it vibrated like mine did and I clutched my gemstone with both hands.

  Buster’s mouth elongated, ready to eat our souls. The stench of his breath consuming the air. Wind rustled branches and leaves of the surrounding trees, turbulence ensued, sending a chill up my spine.

  NaNa Rosa screamed an ancient word, then in English, she demanded, “Come to me, my son.” The ground rumbled, like a disaster-shaking earthquake.

  I tumbled forward, head first, rolling outside of the circle and stopping between NaNa Rosa and Buster. An inferno blazed inside my chest. I’m going to lose my soul tonight.

  Derek charged toward me.

  NaNa Rosa waved her arm and Derek spun backward through the air. An invisible force held him at the exact place he’d stood before.

  “Sparky, get up. Hurry. Crawl back into the circle,” Jenna screamed.

  An invisible force pinned me, only my head moved.

  NaNa Rosa stared down.

  I closed my eyes to the blackened pitch of hers. True fear spun through me at that moment, I lay at the mercy of two evil spirits that wanted my soul.

  “Get back, you…merciless colossal shark-mutt or I’ll beat you into oblivion.”

  I opened my eyes and Jenna stood over the top of my body. Her fists in boxing-mode, facing off the soul-sucker. “Jenna, get your butt back inside that circle. Right now!”

  NaNa Rosa waved an arm and Jenna shot back into the circle.

  Jenna’s eyes widened as she chewed her bottom lip, but her hands remained fisted.