Nancy K. Duplechain - Dark Trilogy 02 - Dark Carnival

by Nancy K. Duplechain

  “Hello?” I said, putting the phone up to my ear.

  There was no answer.

  “Hello?” I repeated. I waited a moment longer before hanging up. I put my phone back on the nightstand and turned over on my side, shutting my eyes.

  A few seconds later the phone went off again. I pulled the covers over my head to block the light and the noise of the vibration. It worked against the light, but I could still hear it rattling. I waited for it to go to voice mail, but it must have rung about fifteen times.

  Aggravated, I threw the covers off my head and grabbed the phone. Again, no number showed up on the caller ID.

  I pressed the receive button. “Hello?!” I snapped. I waited for a response. I was about to go off on the person on the other end of the line when I heard the faintest voice coming from very far away.

  “Leigh? Leigh Benoit?” it said. It was so distant and slight, almost child-like. I couldn’t tell if it was male or female.

  “Who is this?” I asked.

  “You have to go back.” There was a sense of urgency, almost desperation, in its voice.

  “Go back where? Who is this?”

  “To New Orleans. Please go back!”

  “Who the hell is this?!” I said, trying not to shout so I wouldn’t wake up Lyla in the next room.

  “You need to get back both masks. Please, Leigh! Help us! We need you …” The voice floated farther and farther away.

  “Hello?” I said, straining to hear, but the ethereal voice was no more. I shut off the phone and closed my eyes, trying to make sense of what I just heard. I didn’t get very far before sleep overtook me again.

  About an hour later, I woke up to use the bathroom. Still half asleep, I stumbled to the bathroom that was in between Lyla’s room and mine, turned on the light, wincing from the sudden brightness, and closed the door. As I was washing my hands a moment later, I remembered the strange call. I went back to my bedroom, sat on the bed, leaned against the headboard and grabbed my phone. I brought up the recent call list. It was empty. Not one call made to my phone since yesterday afternoon since those calls from Noah I had avoided.

  I frowned, trying to remember the conversation with the mysterious voice but couldn’t. All I remembered was trying to hear someone tell me something and how desperate they sounded. Was it a dream? Probably my conscience trying to make me feel bad about leaving them high and dry in New Orleans.

  I stopped myself. I would not be made to feel guilty for leaving, not after the way I was treated.

  After all that Cee Cee’s done for you, that’s how you repay her. But that voice wasn’t mine, it was Clothilde’s. Even though she hadn’t spoken those words to me, I could tell that’s what she was thinking.

  But that voice in my dream …

  I tried again to remember what was said, but to no avail. Frowning again, I shut my phone and put it back on the nightstand, and crawled back under the covers, resolving to spend another wonderful day with Lyla. It was Saturday and there would be Mardi Gras parades in Lafayette.

  As I turned over, I realized I had left on the bathroom light. I groaned, too comfortable to move, but Clothilde’s voice once again popped into my head. Quit wasting electricity! “Yes, ma’am,” I muttered to the ornery maternal voice in my head.

  I got out of bed once more and went back to the bathroom. As I reached my hand across the threshold to flick the switch on the wall, a cold hand grabbed me. I screamed, but my voice was drowned out as I was pulled into the bathroom, and the door shut behind me.

  Everything happened so quickly, but my mind registered Sam in front of me, his blonde hair hanging around his face, his chest bare, indigo wings folded at his sides. He squeezed my throat so I couldn’t scream again. I thrashed around, trying to kick him, but he was too strong for me. In one quick swoop, he raised his hand to my face, and I felt his finger marking something on my forehead. In the corner of my eye, I saw our reflections in the mirror; he had just put an upside down cross on my forehead.

  Just as I was remembering Cee Cee’s words about belladonna dust, I started to feel myself weaken from the lack of oxygen. Then I started to feel the effects of the poison once more; the shivering, the feeling of falling.

  Sam took his hand off my throat as I started to fall to the floor. He cradled me with one arm and, just as I vaguely heard rushing footsteps and Lucas’ and, somehow Noah’s, voices from very far away, I saw a now blurred image of Sam with a handful of dust which he blew into my face.

  The rest was darkness for a very, very long time.

  20

  The Line

  A whirl of color and light, the deafening roar of music and laughter, cold air bathing my skin. I was high off the ground, standing on something that was propelling me forward over a sea of people who cheered me on, yelling at me to throw beads to them. I looked down at myself, swathed in a regal golden dress. I smiled at the cheering crowd, elated with the wind in my hair and dazzled by the light catching the colorful beads. There were masked men in front of me, tossing Mardi Gras beads as well as small sheets of paper. One of the sheets flew out into the air, caught in a gust of wind, and floated down to my feet. I looked down and saw strange symbols:

  They looked very familiar, but I couldn’t place them right away. Beneath the symbols were the words:

  Power, love, wealth, lust…

  Everything you’ve ever dreamed.

  Join us

  I craned my neck around to see a pair of thrones, upon which sat a king and a queen. The masked queen sat, staring straight ahead. Behind her was a nobleman with a black eye mask. Beside the queen, in his matching throne, was a king. The royal pair wore medieval-inspired attire that was mostly black with gold trim and long, black capes. The queen’s skin was covered in shimmering gold dust, and they each wore a matching half-faced mask, gold with black accents.

  I saw the queen’s long, black hair that cascaded around her long, golden neck. Around it, a Tiger’s Eye pendant hanging from a silver chain. I then noticed the nobleman standing behind her. Around his neck hung an alligator tooth attached to a black silk cord. I studied the king and could barely make out ringlets of blonde hair curling around the collar of his cape.

  Ruby, Papa Mulogo, and Sam, who was supposed to be dead. What did this all mean? What was my subconscious trying to tell me?

  I felt myself starting to wake up, to come back to reality, but the scene before me was not disappearing. I felt dizzy, unable to focus, wanting to see through the illusion, but unable to. The noise of the crowd and the chill in the air were too much. I sat down on the Mardi Gras float and put my head between my knees.

  I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see Papa Mulogo, peering at me through his mask. He laughed and then reached into a small bag at his side, pulled out a handful of belladonna dust and blew it into my face, just as Sam had done so very long ago, it seemed, in my bathroom at Clothilde’s. I coughed once and passed out, the darkness once again finding me.

  When I opened my eyes again, I was no longer on a Mardi Gras float, though I wished I had been. Instead of a crowded New Orleans street, I saw the charred remains of the inside of a ball room. It faintly smelled of burnt flesh, and it sickened me. I found myself lying on an antique chaise that was singed in several places. I was still wearing the gold dress I wore on the float, and that’s when I realized it wasn’t a dream.

  I looked around the room and saw a heavily tarnished golden angel fountain in the middle. I was on the main floor of what was left of the Grigori House. The beautiful golden columns that stood in the corners of the ballroom were now in partial ruins. The intricate stained glass ceiling with the gold lattice was now stained black from smoke. The Italian marble floor was broken where one of the columns had fallen.

  I heard footsteps approaching from behind. I turned to see Sam coming toward me, but he was no longer wearing the mask. His chest was bare, his indigo wings folded at his sides. I started to get up, a wave of dizziness rushing over me. I collap
sed back onto the chaise.

  Sam softly laughed as he came up to me. He dropped to one knee so that he was level with me, his icy blue eyes penetrating mine. “Are you afraid?

  I closed my eyes and tried to steady myself. “Yes,” I breathed.

  “Good girl.”

  I felt him place his arms under me and lift me off the chaise. I opened my eyes and struggled, but he was too strong as he carried me out the ballroom and toward the kitchen.

  “Let me go!” I screamed.

  He set me down in the hallway and threw me up against the wall, squeezing my jaw with one hand. “Do you see what you and your kind did to my home?” he growled. He jerked my head left and right. “That part turned out better than I could have imagined. BUT NOT WHAT YOU DID TO MY DAUGHTER!” he roared, throwing me against the wall again and extending his indigo wings.

  “What do mean?”

  “I knew you were coming. I knew you’d try to get that mask back. How do you think it was so easy for you to kill them?”

  I stared at him, my jaw throbbing, my shoulders sore, but I couldn’t understand what he meant when he said he wanted his people killed. And how did he know we were coming? But then I remembered Ruby on the float with Mulogo.

  “Ruby told you?” I said, angry.

  “She trusted her friend Mulogo. That was her mistake. But we still have use for her. She will make an excellent queen to rule beside me.”

  “Why did Mulogo want to help you?”

  “Power is a very attractive thing, isn’t it? I guaranteed him a high place in my army.”

  It was beginning to make sense. The strange symbols I saw near Papa Mulogo’s, the belladonna dust, the zombie …

  “Why would you want your kind dead?” I asked, uselessly trying to struggle out from his strong grasp.

  “I was going to make a better ruler, but they couldn’t see it. I did all the work, bringing us back, practically resurrecting us from the dead. We were scattered all over the world. Many more are still out there, alone, waiting for the day when we would unite again and take what’s ours. I found the few I could, knowing that we could start anew and find the others together. But my hard work wasn’t good enough for them. They wanted a bigger, stronger leader.”

  “So you killed them?” I said, gritting my teeth against the pain in my jaw.

  “You killed them. But in doing so, you also took the one thing that meant the most to me, more than the power I craved.” One angry, hate-filled tear slowly fell from his eye. “And for that, you will all come to know the pain and agony of what awaits you.”

  “And what’s that?”

  He smiled at me and then released his grip from my jaw. He dragged me into the kitchen, pulling me by the arm. The dark kitchen was bathed in an orange glow shining through the windows. I could see a large fire in the distance with a dozen or so silhouettes around it, huddled together under the night sky.

  Sam pushed me to the window, holding my head in between his strong hands. “Do you know what’s out there?” He didn’t wait for me to answer. “The children of my fallen comrades. They are awaiting their revenge on the ones who killed their fathers. Once I deliver you, they will want me as their ruler. Then we will build up our legion.”

  “Why would they want you? You’re responsible for the deaths of their fathers.”

  “Who will they believe? I’ve already told them the murderers are here.”

  “Who else is here besides Ruby and me?”

  “Your friend who owns the Voodoo store.”

  “Cee Cee doesn’t have anything to do with this! She wasn’t even there!”

  “She’s one of you! That’s all they care about. And soon, if I’m right, the one who tried to kill me when we fell into the lake together will be here. He’s one of us.”

  “How do you know he’s one of you?”

  “Because I can smell him. He has the blood of the Grigori running through his veins.”

  “He’s nothing like you—”

  “He’s exactly like me!” He turned me around to face him. “He tries to suppress it. It’s a shame that they’re going to kill him tonight if he shows up, and I’m sure he will. I didn’t make it too difficult for him to see me leaving with you.”

  “How could he see? He wasn’t there?”

  “Oh, he was. Very concerned about you, so he stayed in his car outside your home. Too bad he made the foolish choice to join your kind. With his gift, he could have been very powerful in helping us.”

  He paused for a thoughtful moment. “I remember when you and I discussed your gift. You refer to us as The Dark Ones, is that right? A pity you see it that way. You have no idea how much light we can shed on this planet.”

  “You mean how much blood you can shed.”

  He nodded toward the fire and the surrounding silhouettes. “They want revenge. They crave bloodlust. I could spare you, make them see how your gift would help us.” He leaned in closer to me and caressed my cheek, his wings enveloping me, almost crushing me. “You understood when I spoke to you in the store. I could feel you wanting to be one of us, to have ultimate power. I could trade you for Ruby. You would make a far better queen.” He smiled darkly at me, his mouth inches from mine. “You could help me make a new child, a glorious specimen of your talents and mine.”

  “No!” I yelled at him.

  He backed off, his smile disappearing. “Have it your way.” He seized my shoulders and forced me out the kitchen door and into the back yard. He then scooped me up and flew me to the large fire where the Nephilim awaited. He set me down, and one Nephyl with silver wings grabbed hold of me, preventing me from moving.

  Sam hovered a few feet above me. I looked around the fire and saw Cee Cee passed out on the grass beside a couple of Nephyls. Her hands were tied. Ruby was to my left, no longer wearing the second mask. She was staring blankly at the fire, lost in a trance. No doubt she was still consumed with Bella Donna dust and whatever other dark magic Papa Mulogo had her under. I looked to my right and saw him there, no longer wearing his mask, either. He smiled at me and nodded. I spat at him, but he just laughed.

  “Children!” bellowed Sam. “I thank you for heeding my request to meet me here tonight, beside this fire which marks the very spot where my daughter was so brutally killed!” He gestured toward Cee Cee and me. “Behold these criminals! They are the ones who took the life of my beautiful Arcelia! They are the ones who murdered your fathers!”

  The Nephilim roared with anger and shouts of hatred. Sam was right; they had bloodlust, and they had their dark eyes set upon me.

  “No!” I shouted. “It was him! He set them up to die! He wanted to be in power!”

  “She lies!” snarled Sam.

  “It’s the truth! He wanted them all dead!”

  I could sense confusion from the Nephilim. Sam could too. He swooped down and smacked me hard. My head lolled to the side. I would have gone down if the silver-winged Nephyl hadn’t been holding me.

  Mulogo was wearing some kind of ceremonial robe. He reached into the folds and produced a mask; black, full-faced with gold accents, antique-looking … Masque de L’âme Noire–Mask of the Black Soul. He handed it to Sam and then he pulled another similar mask from his robe. He held it in position over Ruby’s face. The voice from last night came back to me. It had told me I had to help get back both masks.

  “Tonight, we punish those who have punished us!” cried Sam to the seething Nephilim. He looked at the silver-winged Nephyl and nodded to him. He hoisted me up into the air, and I screamed.

  Sam placed the mask on his face. It seemed all was too quiet for a moment; the great crackling of the fire and the breathing of the Nephyl below me were all I heard. Slowly, a sort of transparent mist began to seep from behind the mask and then swirled out to the fire, causing the flames to lick higher. Sam’s body tensed and his wings fanned out. He seemed to be in pain for a moment, his chest heaving rapidly. He let out a guttural groan that turned into a menacing laugh. The Nephilim watched
him intently, and some passed their eyes over me briefly before returning their gaze to Sam.

  The mist evaporated. Sam looked around the fire, resting his eyes on Mulogo who still held the mask before Ruby. She continued to stare into the fire, unflinching.

  “And now … my queen.”

  Mulogo started to put the mask on Ruby and, at the same time, Sam nodded to the Nephyl who was holding me. Just as he was about to throw me into the fire, I saw something in the corner of my eye. It was very fast and running toward us. In a matter of a second, Noah jumped into the air, grabbed me and brought me down with him. The Nephyls didn’t know what was going on, but I saw Sam smiling.

  Noah ripped the mask from Sam’s face and snatched the other one from Mulogo’s hand. He picked me up and dashed to the abandoned stables about thirty yards away. All at once, the Nephyls started for Noah and me. Sam remained hovering near the fire with Ruby and Mulogo at his side.

  The Nephyls flew toward us, and it seemed like Déjà vu as they closed in on us. Just before they reached the stables, I saw a bolt of lightning shoot out from one of the stalls. It struck one of the Nephyls, and she descended to the earth. Another Nephyl went down in a ball of flames. I looked behind me to see Gretchen and Felix. Behind them was Miles. He raised his hands, aiming at one Nephyl which suddenly stopped in mid flight, the life appearing to drain from him, his chest caving in and his body going limp. He fell from the sky with a heavy thud.

  There were twelve more Nephyls headed toward us. Sam, realizing what was happening, started for us, too. Two Nephyls made it into the stables. Felix shot one down with electricity while Noah tackled and ripped apart the other. Gretchen took down the next one that came flying our way.

  The other six rushed us. Miles was able to take one out. Noah was struggling with the one on top of him. Felix and Gretchen looked like they were about to drop, their power draining. A Nephyl ripped at Felix, slashing the left side of his body, and he was down. Before the Nephyl could finish him off, Gretchen lit him on fire and then she collapsed from exhaustion. I knelt beside Felix and healed him just as another Nephyl was attacking. Felix quickly took that one out.