“Oh, my God. Look!”
“Krissy, no!” Robert yelled. He started to move toward his daughter, but Jimmy Cypress was already in motion. The Indian had dropped his staff and was racing toward Krissy at a dead run. The little girl had stopped talking, and Robert knew that Mansa Du Paul was about to spill her blood in sacrifice. Before the sorcerer could make the child thrust the knife down into her own throat, she was tackled by the Seminole.
Jimmy tackled Krissy around the waist, taking her to the ground. Over and over they rolled, the Indian trying desperately to get the knife away from the girl before she stabbed him. He was lucky, for he was able to tear the knife from her grasp without losing any blood in the process.
Getting back to his feet, Jimmy tossed the butcher knife into the lagoon. Even without the knife, the little girl was still dangerous. The spirit inside her body was powerful and was willing to fight to the death. Mansa did not care if he injured, or even killed, the body he rode. Knowing this, Jimmy decided to directly challenge the sorcerer, hoping to bait his pride.
“Mansa Du Paul, you are a coward,” Jimmy said, shouting to be heard. “You hide yourself inside the body of a little girl. Why not come out here and fight me like a man? Are you afraid? I thought your power was great, but I think it is no stronger than the little girl you now ride.”
Krissy stood up and looked at him, her eyes glowing. She hissed at him in anger, and then she spoke with a voice more animal than human. “Stupid Indian. I am not afraid of you. Your people are weak and foolish. I will kill you, then I will feed on your flesh, as I have fed on the flesh of your people many times in the past.”
Jimmy threw his head back and laughed. “Words. Words. Words. Still, I see nothing but a little girl. Where is the Mansa Du Paul I have heard so much about? Where is the mighty voodoo sorcerer who can summon spirits and demons? Do not tell me that I have waited all this time just to fight a child. Show yourself, Mansa. Come out and fight me, if you are not afraid.”
There was a hiss of anger from Krissy, then the glow in her eyes faded and she slumped to the ground. Seeing his daughter fall, Robert started to rush forward.
“Stay back,” Jimmy warned.
Robert stopped dead in his tracks. “What’s happening?”
“I’m not sure, but I think Mansa just accepted my challenge.”
“That means he is no longer in Krissy,” Robert said. ”We have to get her out of here.”
“His spirit may not be in her, but it hasn’t gone far. It would be dangerous to touch her now.”
“But--” Robert started to argue, but he was interrupted by a disturbance in the middle of the lagoon. The water in the lagoon was suddenly bubbling, as if an air line had ruptured beneath the surface.
“What the hell is that?” Robert asked, very afraid.
Jimmy turned to watch what was happening out in the middle of the lagoon. He pulled his hunting knife from its sheath. “It looks like we have company.”
“Is it Mansa?”
“That would be a good guess. Maybe I shouldn’t have called him a coward.”
“You think?”
The bubbling grew stronger, churning up the water. Then something slowly rose to the surface, rising up out of the water. A shape, almost human in nature, but bigger. Much, much, bigger.
Mansa Du Paul had accepted Jimmy’s challenge, rising up in a body made from the muck and mire that lined the bottom of the lagoon. The creature was sculpted in the shape of a man, but it stood eight feet tall and probably weighed over four hundred pounds, its body a mass of slime, mud, stones, and slithering things. The thing was faceless expect for its eyes, and they glowed a strange-bluish green, like Krissy’s had glowed only moments before.
Jimmy Cypress backed up, watching in dread as the towering mud-thing slowly lumbered out of the water. All his life he had been preparing for this fight, but now that it was upon him he felt that he wasn’t up to the challenge.
No man could ever be up to such a fight. Jimmy was no exception. And even though he was a man of medicine, he suddenly doubted that his medicine was strong enough to help him.
“Grandfather, I’m going to need all the help you can send my way. Not just for me, but for the little girl. Mansa Du Paul has to be stopped.”
Could the voodoo sorcerer be stopped? The Seminoles had tried to stop him before, and they had failed. Even cutting his body into little pieces had not been enough to kill him. So what chance did Jimmy have now, one man against such odds?
The mud-man reached the shore and came toward him. Jimmy wanted nothing more than to turn and flee, leave the area as quickly as possible. After all, why should he give his life for the white man and his family? What had they ever done for him? They were the ones who had spoken against him, getting an innocent man arrested for the abduction of their daughter. They had laid their faults upon an Indian’s shoulders, as their ancestors had done throughout time.
Why should his people even give a shit about Mansa Du Paul? So what if the sorcerer came back and killed a few thousand white people. It was no skin off their noses. The white men claimed the land as their own now, so they should have to deal with their own problems. Why should they help them?
Jimmy sighed. Mansa Du Paul was evil, and his people had always been opposed to evil in its many shapes and forms. It was as simple as that. And he had taken a sacred vow to fight evil, no matter what size or shape it came in. No matter how ugly, or how big.
He looked up at the mud-man. “Damn if you’re not both ugly and big.”
Shouting his best rendition of a war cry, Jimmy Cypress rushed at the creature of mud. Coming in low beneath its grasp, he stabbed his knife deep into its left leg. But the blade of his knife had absolutely no effect on the creature, sinking deep into the mud but causing no harm.
Jimmy stabbed its leg a second time, hoping to make it fall. Again his knife had no effect. The creature was solid, but it was solid mud.
He was about to stab it again when the creature struck him across the back of the head. The creature may have been made from mud, but its punch was anything but soft. The blow sent Jimmy flying, nearly landing him in the lagoon.
Jimmy Cypress hit the ground and rolled. He was dazed from the blow but still able to stand back up. He had just gotten to his feet when he realized that he no longer had his knife. He had dropped the hunting knife when he hit the ground.
“Shit!” Jimmy looked around, but the knife lay hidden in the darkness. Nor did he have time to look for it, because the mud-monster was already upon him.
He tried to get out of the way, but the creature grabbed him by the face and lifted him high into the air. Jimmy struggled to draw a breath as he fought to get loose. But no matter how hard he struggled, he just couldn’t break free from the thing’s grasp.
“Do something!” Janet shouted.
“What?” Robert asked.
“I don’t know, but do it quick. He’s losing.”
Robert looked around for a weapon of some kind, his gaze falling upon the medicine staff of Jimmy Cypress. He remembered how the Indian had used the staff on Krissy, and wondered if that magic would now work for him.
Snatching up the staff, Robert raced toward the mud-monster. The creature had its back to him and didn’t notice his approach.
Holding the staff as he had seen Jimmy hold it, he reached out and struck the mud-creature on the back. Nothing happened. There was no magical blue spark. No flame. No thunder. Nothing. The staff sank a few inches into the muddy flesh of the creature, but that was it. There wasn’t even enough damage done to get the creature’s attention.
Robert knew Jimmy Cypress was a goner if he didn’t do something to help him, but what could he do? There were no other weapons to be had. He needed a rocket launcher, and all he had was a stupid stick.
Frantic, terrified, Robert thought about tossing the staff aside and getting the hell out of there. Mansa Du Paul was occupied with Jimmy Cypress. Now was the time to get Krissy and his wife to safe
ty.
But he couldn’t leave Jimmy, knowing he would be leaving him there to die. The Indian had helped them, risking his life to help people he didn’t even know. Robert could not turn his back on a man like that. He had to help him. There had to be something he could do.
“But what? Damn it. What?”
He looked around and saw the unfinished body of Mansa Du Paul, an idea suddenly forming in his mind. The staff had no effect on lagoon mud, but maybe it would have a different effect on flesh and bone, especially if that flesh and bone was pure evil.
Turning his back on the fight taking place, Robert rushed forward to Mansa’s half-formed body. Raising the staff above his head, he struck the body across the chest. As he struck the flesh of the sorcerer, a blue spark jumped from the tip of the medicine staff.
“That’s it. That’s what I’m talking about.” Robert hit the body a second time. And a third. With each blow of the staff against the sorcerer’s body, pieces of the mud-man broke away and fell to the ground. He was striking the body at his feet, yet it was the creature of mud that was breaking apart. Two more blows and the creature released its hold on Jimmy Cypress. Another blow after that and it literally crumbled to pieces.
Jimmy Cypress was quite surprised when the creature let go of him. Hitting the ground, he rolled and quickly got to his feet, only to find that the mud-man was no longer a threat. It was now nothing more than a pile of muck and squiggly things.
Looking away from the creature, he saw Robert striking the body of Mansa with the medicine staff and knew what had happened. He also saw Robert’s daughter, Krissy, push herself up off the ground, her eyes starting to glow with a strange bluish-green light.
“Robert, your daughter!” Jimmy yelled. “Quick, Mansa is trying to get back inside of her. Put your medicine pouch around her neck. It may stop him from getting back in.”
Hearing the warning, Robert turned and saw that his daughter was starting to wake back up. He also saw the strange evil light come back into her eyes. He dropped the staff and sprinted to her side, taking off his medicine pouch and slipping it over her head.
The light in Krissy’s eyes glowed for a moment more, then faded back out. Apparently they had kept Mansa’s spirit from reentering the little girl’s body.
“It worked!” shouted Robert. “Look at her eyes. They’re normal.”
But the sorcerer had not given up the fight, for suddenly the eyes of Mansa’s half-finished body began to glow. Robert had his back to the body and did not see the glow, and didn’t know what was happening until the half-finished body rose to its feet.
“Robert, look out!” Janet cried, unable to believe what she was seeing.
Robert turned and saw Mansa Du Paul coming at him. He tried to get out of the way, but he wasn’t quick enough. The voodoo sorcerer was already upon him, grabbing him around the throat in a vicelike grip.
Seeing Robert being attacked, Jimmy started forward to help. He had only taken a few steps, when he saw Krissy get to her feet. The little girl’s eyes no longer glowed with a strange bluish light, like those of an animal. Her eyes were normal, even though they were now wide with fear. Apparently she had regained full consciousness and was now terrified by the sight of a half-formed man attacking her father.
Jimmy expected to see Krissy run away in fear, but instead she bent over and picked up the fallen medicine staff. Then the ten-year-old girl did something that surprised him.
Instead of running away, Krissy stepped forward to help her father. Holding the medicine staff like a baseball bat, she struck the half-formed body of the sorcerer across the back of the head.
There was a brilliant flash of blue light, and a hideous scream, as the skull of Mansa Du Paul shattered into hundreds of tiny fragments. The rest of the body collapsed upon itself, leaving Robert standing there in amazement. He looked down at the headless body that had just attacked him and then turned to see his daughter holding the medicine staff.
“Krissy, is that you?” Robert took a step forward, but stopped, fearful that the girl standing before him might not be his child.
Krissy looked at him a moment, then smiled. “Daddy, don’t be silly. You know it’s me.” She looked down at the body at her feet. “Who was that, Daddy? And why does he look all funny? Why was he trying to hurt you? Was he a bad man?”
“You don’t remember?”
She shook her head. “Uh-uh.”
“Thank God,” he whispered.
She looked up at her father. “You’re not mad at me, are you, Daddy? I’m not in trouble. Am I?”
Robert smiled. Stepping forward, he grabbed his daughter in his arms and hugged her tight. “No, sweetheart. You’re not in trouble.”
Krissy hugged her father, then pulled back. “Where’s Mommy.”
“Right here, baby,” Janet said. She had been keeping back, fearful that Krissy might still be possessed, but now she knew that her little girl was back to normal. “I’m here, baby.”
Janet hurried forward and gave Krissy a hug. “We’re both here.”
“But why are you crying, Mommy?” Krissy asked, looking at her mother.
“I’m just happy. That’s all.”
“Oh, okay.” Krissy allowed her parents to continue hugging her, apparently unaware of the things that had transpired during the past few days.
“Who’s that?” Krissy asked, looking past her parents.
Robert turned his head and saw Jimmy Cypress standing there, watching them. “He’s a friend, Krissy. A good friend. His name is Jimmy.”
Robert patted his daughter on the head, leaving her in Janet’s care. He walked over to where Jimmy stood and shook his hand. “I don’t know how we can ever thank you.”
“No need to thank me. You have your daughter back, and that makes me happy.” Jimmy smiled. “If it wasn’t for her, we might not have beaten Mansa Du Paul. You little girl is still innocent, and the innocence of a child is stronger than the greatest evil.”
Robert looked to where Mansa’s body lay. “What do we do now? Should we call the police?”
“What will you tell them?”
“The truth.”
“What? You will tell them that the spirit of a voodoo sorcerer possessed your little girl, using her to murder several people? Do you think they will believe you?”
Robert dropped his head. “No. I guess not. But we have to tell them something. Three people have been murdered. Maybe four. The police will want answers.”
“Not if they don’t know about the murders,” Jimmy said.
Robert was shocked. “Not know about the murders? How will they not know?”
The Indian stood silent for a moment, as if thinking things over and trying to come up with a plan. He turned his attention back to Robert. “Are there any other people staying at the fish camp?”
Robert shook his head. “No. They all left. We’re the only ones still staying there.”
“Good.” Jimmy nodded. “Then there were no witnesses to what happened earlier tonight. And there will be no witnesses to what is going to happen.”
“Why? What’s going to happen?” Robert was suddenly concerned. “What are you planning on doing?”
“Your daughter is innocent. You know that, and I know that. But the police might think differently, especially when they start investigating the murders. They may find her footprints at the crime scene, in the blood. They may also find her fingerprints on the bodies, or other evidence to suggest that she was somehow involved in the killings. Maybe one of the victims fought back, and trace elements of your daughter are now under their fingernails. I can promise you that the police will use every scientific method available to investigate the crime.
“But what if no one else finds out about the murders? What if all evidence linking your daughter to the crime is destroyed? Instead of a crime scene, what if the police think that three, maybe four, people died in a terrible fire?”
“Burn the lounge? Is that what you’re suggesting?”
Jimmy nodded. “It won’t be hard to do. I have burned parts of the boardwalk to keep people away from the lagoon, so I can easily burn the Blackwater Lounge to cover a crime scene and protect your daughter.”
“I don’t know,” Robert hesitated. “It just isn’t right.”
“What’s not right?” asked the Seminole. “The three people in the lounge are already dead. I suspect the missing police officer is also dead. There is nothing we can do to bring them back, and we have already avenged their deaths by destroying Mansa Du Paul. We must now think only of your daughter. You do not want her to be part of a murder investigation, especially after all she has already been through. There will be questions enough when the authorities learn that she has been found.”
Robert turned to look at his wife and daughter, thinking over what Jimmy Cypress was telling him. “What about Krissy? What will I tell the sheriff’s department when they ask about her?”
“You will tell them that you have your little girl back. Tell them the kidnapper let her go.”
“But she wasn’t kidnapped.”
“They will think she was, especially when they can’t find me.”
“Why? Where are you going?”
“The police will never believe that I wasn’t somehow involved in your daughter’s disappearance. They will always suspect me, looking for any excuse they can think of to take me in for questioning. Maybe they will even find a reason to lock me up. I am too old for jail, so I will be returning to south Florida. There are places on the reservation to hide, places where they will never find me.” Jimmy smiled. “I am no longer needed here, and I am rather tired of living in a shack.”
He pointed at the body of Mansa Du Paul. “I will be taking that with me. I will chop it up into tiny pieces and scatter them over a hundred miles of swampland. I will scatter the pieces so far apart the evil one will never be able to return. Mansa Du Paul will be no more.”
Jimmy patted Robert on the arm. “Now go. Take care of your daughter. She needs a hot shower, and maybe some food. Wash her clothes so no one sees the blood. Get her cleaned up and fed, then call the police to report that she’s back. There will be lots of questions, but you will get through them. Tell them she came home, and remembers nothing. That is the truth.
Evil Whispers Page 26