Evil Whispers

by Goingback, Owl

  He shook his head. “Being in shock would not make her mean. She just tried to stab you. Earlier she tried to hurt me.”

  “Stop it. I don’t want to hear this.” Janet put her hands over her ears. “I don’t believe in possessions. It can’t be true.”

  Jimmy Cypress stepped closer. “My people have known about the evil in this area for a long time. That is why I’m here. I am the guardian, and it is my job to make sure that Mansa Du Paul never returns. But I have failed. His spirit is now inside your daughter, and he is using her to gather together his bones. He wants to bring his former self back to life, and he will accomplish this unless we stop him.”

  “His bones?” Janet asked. “Krissy’s gathering his bones?”

  Jimmy nodded. “Yes. Once his bones are together in one place, he will use his black magic to bring his body back to life. If that happens he will again have all of his powers. He may be even stronger now, because he has lived in the land of spirits for many years, learning their ways.”

  “This ceremony. What else is needed for it?”

  “I’m not sure. The ways of voodoo and black magic are not the ways of my people. Still, I would imagine that some sort of sacrifice will be needed.”

  “What kind of sacrifice?”

  The Indian looked at Robert, then back to Janet. “A blood sacrifice.”

  Janet’s eyes widened. “Oh, my God. Then it’s true. The knife Krissy had. She did it. She killed them.”

  “Killed who?” Robert asked.

  Ross and Mary. Someone else. They’re in the lounge. They’ve been murdered. She must have done it. They must have been sacrifices.”

  Jimmy shook his head. “Not sacrifices. Perhaps something else. The blood must be fresh; it must be spilled during the ceremony for the magic to work. Maybe they were killed for some other reason.”

  Janet put a fist to her mouth. She started to sway, but Robert held her tighter. “Something else? They were killed for something else?”

  She looked at Jimmy. “You said this Mansa Du Paul is using our daughter to gather his bones. Is that all he needs for the ceremony? What about the internal organs? Would he need those too? What about the eyes? Would he also need eyes?”

  “Maybe.” Jimmy shrugged. “I’m not sure. My way is not his way. Some cultures believe there is power in the heart and eyes. Some believe we have three spirits: one in the eyes, one in the heart, and one in the top of the head. Why?”

  “Krissy had a bag, a small plastic bag. In it were a pair of eyes.”

  “Are you sure?” Robert asked.

  She nodded. “Yes. I saw them. I didn’t know what they were then, but I do now. They were eyes. She had them in a small plastic bag.”

  “My God,” Robert said.

  Jimmy turned and looked toward the lounge. “I had better take a look inside. Maybe someone is still alive. You stay here.”

  “No way. I’m going,” Robert said.

  “Me too,” added Janet.

  “No. You stay here,” Robert said to his wife.

  “Why? I’ve already seen the bodies. I’m not staying here by myself.”

  Robert looked at her for a moment, then nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”

  The three of them circled around to the front of the lounge. The door stood open, and it looked like all the lights were off on the inside. Stopping in the doorway, Jimmy reached into his pants pocket and removed a tiny flashlight.

  “You came prepared,” Robert said, seeing it.

  “I used to be a Boy Scout.”

  “Really?”

  “No. I’m just kidding.” Jimmy turned on the tiny flashlight and pointed its beam in through the doorway. There were three bodies on the floor inside the lounge: two men and a woman. All three of them had been brutally murdered, their bodies and the floor around them covered with blood.

  “Sweet Jesus,” Robert said, looking over Jimmy’s shoulders. “Could Krissy have done that?”

  Jimmy nodded. “Remember, she is no longer Krissy. The spirit of a grown man is inside her body. A very powerful spirit.”

  The Indian stepped through the doorway, being careful not to walk in any blood. It was obvious, without touching them, that the three people inside the lounge were dead. They had been stabbed too many times to survive. Janet nearly screamed when the flashlight’s beam swept over the face of Ross Sanders. Not only had Ross been murdered, but his eyes had also been cut out.

  “Oh, my God,” Robert whispered, his voice catching. “She took his eyes. But why Ross? Why not one the others?”

  Jimmy Cypress looked around. “The old man was wearing glasses, so Mansa knew that his eyes were weak. I’m not sure why he didn’t chose the woman; maybe she didn’t show up until the others were already dead. Perhaps Mansa just killed her and the old man for the fun of it.”

  “We have seen enough here,” Jimmy said, backing up. “There is nothing we can do for them now.”

  “We should call the police,” Robert suggested.

  “Later perhaps. Not now.”

  “Why not now?”

  The Seminole turned to face him. “If we call the police there will be questions to be answered. Lots of questions. We do not have time to answer questions, not if we want to find your daughter in time to save her life. And do you want the police here now, knowing that it was your daughter who held the knife? Do you think they will believe that she is possessed by an evil spirit? Or will they just look upon her as a murderer?”

  Robert thought about it a moment. “You’re right. They’ll never believe us. They’ll think Krissy is a killer.”

  The three of them stepped back outside. Jimmy left Robert to comfort his wife while he walked across the parking lot to the road.

  “We may be too late, he said, returning. “The police are already here. There’s a patrol parked down the road, with its lights flashing.”

  “That car was parked there earlier,” Robert said. “I checked it out, but there’s no one inside.”

  “I also walked over there,” Janet added. “The driver’s door is open, but I didn’t see an officer anywhere.”

  “Maybe the officer is no longer with us,” Jimmy suggested. “He might have tried to help the wrong person.”

  “Do you think he’s dead?” asked Janet.

  “I don’t think he would have gone off and left his car sitting in the road.”

  “What do we do now?” Robert asked.

  Jimmy Cypress glanced back toward the lounge. “We have to stop Mansa Du Paul from performing his ceremony. He is already collecting body parts, which means he has already found all of his bones. All he needs to do now is put everything together and say the right words. He will call upon dark forces to help him, paying with a fresh sacrifice of blood.”

  “But everyone’s already dead, and you said the blood had to be spilled during the ceremony,” Janet said.

  Jimmy looked at her a moment before replying. “Everyone is not dead. There is another.”

  “But you said...” Janet stopped, her eyes going wide with fear. “You don’t mean...”

  Jimmy nodded. “Once Mansa Du Paul recreates his former body, he will no longer have a need for your daughter. Despite what has happened here tonight, your little girl is still an innocent. Her blood, and her spirit, will be the perfect offering to the evil ones. That is why we have to stop the ceremony from every happening.”

  “But where will the ceremony be held, and when?”

  The Seminole stood silent for a moment, his head cocked slightly to the left, as if listening for something only he could hear. “Mansa’s place of power is at the lagoon, so I think that is where he will perform the ceremony. I think also that he will do it soon. Very soon. Maybe even now.”

  “Now?” Robert asked, surprised. “Now? Then why are we standing here? Let’s go.”

  Jimmy stood silent for a moment longer, then nodded. “Let’s go save your daughter, if it is not already too late.”

  Chapter Twenty-seven

&nb
sp; Robert, Janet, and Jimmy Cypress raced along the nature trail to the lagoon. Leaving the boardwalk behind them, they had to slow their pace as they followed the narrow path that wound between the dense foliage. In the pale light of the moon, the trees and brush around them seemed to shimmer and dance. It was only when he slowed his pace that Robert realized the greenery was indeed moving, and it was not merely an illusion caused by the shadows. The movement around them seemed to increase as they drew closer to the lagoon.

  “Look at that!” Robert said, stopping to point at a palmetto bush growing along the trail. The bush was shaking, vibrating as if some maddened animal was hiding beneath it. The plant was also bending toward the trail, as if reaching out to grab them as they passed. It wasn’t the wind that caused the movement, for there was no wind to speak of.

  “What the hell is that?”

  Jimmy Cypress stopped to look where Robert pointed. “It’s magic. Evil magic. This is a bad place, for the spirit of Mansa Du Paul is one with the land. He is using his powers to stop us.”

  Janet stopped to look at the trembling palmetto bush. The plant’s shaking had grown more frantic, as if the bush was literally trying to tear itself free from the ground. She was so absorbed by the sight before her that she didn’t notice the slender root by her feet. As she stood there, that root slithered across the ground and wrapped itself around her left ankle like a snake.

  Feeling something caress her ankle, Janet jumped back in alarm. But the root held her tight and she fell. “Robert, help me!”

  Robert spun around, seeing his wife sprawled on the ground. He also saw the black root wrapped around her ankle. At first he thought it was a snake of some kind, but then he noticed that the root stretched from his wife’s leg to a nearby tree.

  “Son of a bitch!”

  Robert rushed forward to help his wife. He grabbed the root and attempted to pull it off of Janet, but the root was hard and wrapped tight, and he could not tear it free.

  “Help me!” Janet cried out, terrified by what was happening to her.

  “I’m trying. I’m trying. It’s not easy.”

  “Use a knife or something.”

  “I can’t. I’ll cut you.”

  Two more roots suddenly exploded out of the ground. One of the roots grabbed Janet around her right wrist. The other circled her waist.

  “Do something!” She shouted, her voice etched with fear.

  “I am. I am,” Robert answered, trying to tear the roots from his wife.

  Seeing that the situation was now out of hand, and fearing for the woman’s safety, Jimmy Cypress rushed forward to help. Grabbing the root that encircled Janet’s waist, he pulled his hunting knife and began sawing at the root. It took a few moments of frenzied work, but he was finally able to cut through the root, freeing her waist.

  Stepping forward, Jimmy grabbed the root that encircled Janet’s ankle. Luckily, the root wasn’t as thick as the others, and he was able to pry it off of her without using his knife. He had just freed her ankle when Robert was able to get the root off of her wrist.

  Janet jumped up and fled to the other side of the trail. Her encounter with the animated roots had been terrifying, but she wasn’t hurt.

  “I suggest we keep moving,” Jimmy said, backing away from the roots he had just done battle with. The roots continued to slither across the ground, searching for someone else to grab.

  Robert looked at the roots, then turned to the Indian. “That day we first met in the woods, when you yelled at me, there were kudzu vines wrapped around my legs. I thought you had done that, but you didn’t. Did you?”

  Jimmy shook his head. “The vines were under Mansa Du Paul’s control. Had you slept any longer they might have wrapped around your neck and choked you.”

  “Then you saved my life?”

  “Perhaps.” Jimmy nodded.

  “All this time I thought you were trying to hurt me.”

  Jimmy grinned. “There will be plenty of time for you to apologize later. Maybe you can even shed a few tears. Right now, however, we have work to do.”

  Robert frowned, angered by the sarcasm in Jimmy’s voice. But the medicine man was right, they had to keep moving if they wanted to help Krissy. There would be plenty of time to talk later.

  Their pace through the forest was now considerably slower because they were on the lookout for roots and vines that didn’t act like normal roots and vines. Twice they had to step off the trail and detour around where the foliage grew too thick, rather than risk wading through it. Several times they were delayed by Kudzu vines that fell from the treetops in an attempt to grab them, but the vines were thin and easily cut with Jimmy’s knife.

  “Mansa’s medicine is getting stronger,” Jimmy said, cutting through several kudzu vines. The vines he cut continued to move, quivering on the ground like a lizard’s tail. “It was never like this before.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means we may be too late to stop Mansa. He may be too strong for us to fight.”

  “What if we can’t stop him?” Robert asked. “What will happen then?”

  “I don’t know,” Jimmy replied, “but I don’t want to be around to find out.”

  “What about Krissy?” Janet asked. “What about our daughter? You said we could help her. I thought you knew what to do.”

  Jimmy glanced at her but did not slow down. “I will do everything I can to help your daughter. But to save her I will have to defeat Mansa Du Paul, and he may already be too strong for me. His power is that of the darkness, of worlds beyond worlds, while mine comes from much humbler sources. We will see what happens.”

  Despite the vines and roots that tried to stop their progress, they finally reached the lagoon. They emerged from the forest into the clearing, only to discover that Krissy had already laid Mansa’s skeleton out on the ground.

  “Krissy, no!” Janet started to rush toward her daughter, but Jimmy grabbed her arm and held her back.

  Janet wheeled on the Indian. “Damn you, let me go. That’s my daughter. She needs me.”

  “She is no longer your daughter. Not now. She is a wild animal, ridden by the spirit of one who is pure evil. She will kill you without so much as a second thought, maybe even drink your soul. You will not do your little girl any good if you are dead.”

  Janet stopped struggling and turned back around to look at her daughter.

  Krissy stood in the middle of the clearing, halfway between the lagoon and the forest. On the ground before her was the skeleton of a man, the bones brown with age. The skeleton had been carefully laid out so that all the bones were in their proper place, with the top of the skull facing toward the west.

  Mansa Du Paul appeared to have recovered all of his bones, for the skeleton seemed to be complete. Placed within the chest of the skeleton, with rib bones carefully laid over top of it, was a human heart. The heart glistened wetly in the moonlight. Along with the heart, the eyes of Ross Sanders had been placed in the eye sockets of the skull.

  “Dear God,” Janet whispered, noticing the eyes. “That poor man.”

  “Shhhh....She’ll hear us.”

  But Krissy made no notice of their presence. Or if she was aware of them, then she didn’t care. Instead, the little girl circled the skeleton, making final adjustments here and there. Once satisfied that everything was in place, she positioned herself by the skeleton’s side and raised her hands toward the night sky.

  Robert did not understand all of the words that his daughter spoke, for she spoke them in several different languages: English, something African, and a dialect so ancient it was long forgotten by man. He didn’t need to know all the words to be terrified, because what he did understand was enough to make his flesh crawl.

  Speaking in the voice of Mansa Du Paul, the girl called upon the dark forces of nature to aid her. She also called upon the bacas, the demons, to come from their hiding places in hollow trees and from beneath the ground. She called upon the guardians of the spirit world,
upon the gate keepers, and upon Legba. She called upon them all, asking them to send their powers to her.

  Jimmy grabbed Robert, turning him around to face him. “Listen to me, and listen good. That is not your daughter standing there. Not anymore. Not now. If we are going to save her, we may have to hurt her.”

  “Hurt her. What do you mean?”

  “We have to stop this ceremony, and to do so we will have to fight Mansa. Your daughter may get hurt.”

  Robert shook his head. “I will not hurt my daughter. Nor will I let you hurt her.”

  “There may be no other choice. If we do not stop Mansa, your daughter will lose more than just her life. She will also lose her soul.”

  “It may be too late to stop her,” Janet said, pointing.

  The others turned to see what she was pointing at, mesmerized by the sight before them. Krissy still stood with her hands raised toward the night sky, calling upon the forces of darkness. The forces must have answered her prayers, because there was movement at her feet.

  As the three of them watched in awe, muscles and veins slowly started to form over the skeleton. The transformation started at the feet and worked upwards. Veins and thin strips of muscles seemed to grow out of the bones themselves, flowing from the toes to heels, over the ankles and up the legs. As the veins reached the chest the heart began to beat, its movement clearly visible beneath the yellowed rib bones.

  The veins and muscles flowed up the chest and back, and down the arms, up the neck to the skull, pulling everything tight as they went, joining together the spine and other bones. The eyes moved in their sockets, an image so hideous it was beyond words. Beyond madness. The lower jawbone opened and closed, but no sound was heard.

  The skeleton of Mansa Du Paul was slowly disappearing beneath a layer of muscles, and miles of veins. The reincarnation of the voodoo sorcerer was almost complete. All that was needed now was a sacrifice to the dark gods.

  They had been so mesmerized by the sight of the body forming before them that none of them had noticed that Krissy had stopped her chanting. The little girl let her arms drop as she bent over to pick up something lying on the ground beside her. When she again lifted her arms to the sky, she held a butcher knife in her right hand, blade pointed toward her unprotected neck. It was Janet who first noticed the knife.