Nancy K. Duplechain - Dark Trilogy 02 - Dark Carnival

by Nancy K. Duplechain

  I jumped on top of the Nephyl who had Noah pinned to the ground. I scratched at his eyes, but another Nephyl grabbed me and flew me out of the stables and back toward the fire. She was about to drop me into the flames, but the sound of a gun firing pierced the night and she dropped me a few feet off the ground near Mulogo.

  I rolled over and saw Lucas come out from behind a tree. He shot at the Nephyl three more times, and she collapsed into the fire, swallowed up by the blaze. Seeing this from afar, another Nephyl rushed toward Lucas.

  Mulogo, watching Lucas struggle with the Nephyl, reached into a bag tied to his waist. Before he could pull anything out, I reached for him and pulled him down.

  I felt a sudden stabbing pain in my leg. I collapsed to the ground, my hand firmly grasping my left leg to try to dull the pain, but it was no use. Then I suddenly felt as though my back were on fire. I screamed in pain, rolling over onto my back, trying to put out the invisible flames. I looked over at Ruby and saw she was holding up a Voodoo doll, burning it with a cigarette lighter. There was a pin sticking in the doll’s left leg. Even from where I was, I could make out strands of copper red hair that reflected the light of the fire. Despite the agony I was in, I had enough of my faculties to realize that it was Ruby who had entered Cee Cee’s apartment and gone through my things the night of Cee Cee’s meeting. She had taken hair from my brush to make this doll.

  Noah was running toward me. When he got to the fire, he noticed me on the ground looking at Ruby. He followed my line of vision and saw the Voodoo doll. He rushed her, ripping the doll from her hands and removing the pin. Ruby lashed out at him with a binding spell. He dropped the doll and stood rigid and in pain.

  “Ruby, stop it!” he ordered her. She smiled devilishly and clinched her fist tighter. Noah’s body contracted and he cried out in pain.

  Mulogo stood over me, holding a palm full of Bella Donna dust. Before he could blow it into my face, Cee Cee reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of her own dust, and blew it at Mulogo. He was out instantly.

  Feeling much better, I got up, grabbed the nearest big stick, snuck up behind Ruby and clubbed her over the head. Noah collapsed to the ground. I rushed over to him.

  “I think she broke one of my ribs,” he groaned.

  I put my hand over his ribs and used all my concentration. In a few moments, he was better and rushed back into battle near the stables.

  “Oh, no!” cried Cee Cee.

  I followed her gaze over at Lucas who had fatally wounded one of the Nephyls who lay dead at his feet. But now Sam was coming for him. Lucas shot at him, but of course the bullet did no good except to briefly slow him down; he wasn’t half human like the Nephilim. Sam picked him up by his throat, threatening to crush the life out of him. At that moment, Noah charged Sam, who then tossed Lucas’ limp body into the lake.

  I ran to the lake’s edge and looked for him, waited for him to come up, but I saw no sign of him. I looked behind me to see Noah wrestling with Sam.

  Without hesitation, I kicked off my shoes and tore off the heavy dress, stripping down to my underwear, and rushed into the icy lake. I dove beneath the surface, blindly, frantically searching for Lucas until my lungs threatened to burst. I quickly went back up for air. I took three deep breaths, knowing that wouldn’t be enough but I didn’t care. If I didn’t come back up with him, I was determined to stay under with him forever if it took that long.

  I went back down and swam deeper. I opened my eyes, the water burning them instantly. I blinked back the pain and scanned the bottom of the lake. It was hard to make out anything but algae and mud, but I finally saw him in the dim light of the moon. His body limply shifted with the slight water current. I swam as fast as I could, my body so cold it felt on fire. When I reached him, there were no bubbles coming from his mouth or nose. I pulled him up by his shirt and got a good hold of him as he floated into my arms. I drug him up as best I could, breaking the surface tension of the calm water above and truly felt at that moment I could have easily broken through a brick wall.

  I pulled Lucas’ body in one arm and swam with the other. The shore was farther than I had expected. The muscles in my arms burned as I used all my strength to tow him with me. “Stay with me, Lucas,” I begged, not knowing if he could hear me or not. I saw someone running toward the water.

  “Noah!” I shouted. “Help me get him out!”

  Noah dove into the water and swam to me as I neared the shore. Together, we pulled Lucas out of the frigid water. In the distance, I saw Sam’s head several feet away from his lifeless body. At the stables, Miles, Gretchen and Felix were fighting the last three Nephyls. Cee Cee, still weak, rushed to help them.

  I was shaking and soon realized I was crying as I cradled Lucas in my arms. Noah took off his jacket and wrapped me in it.

  “Oh, God, Lucas. Please be okay. Please be okay,” I begged.

  “Lay him down,” said Noah. I didn’t want to. I wanted to hold him forever. Noah had to pry him from my arms and lay him down. “I have to go help the others. Can you heal him?”

  I put my hands over his chest and tried to concentrate, but my hands were shaking terribly and nothing was coming through. “It’s not working,” I said through chattering teeth.

  Noah looked back at the battle at the stables. We seemed to be winning, but he got up, starting to run to help.

  “No! Please help me! Please!”

  He hesitated, but came back. He moved my hands aside and started CPR. I held Lucas’ hand as Noah pumped his chest and tried to force oxygen into his lungs. I laid down next to him in the silt and put my head near his. I kissed his forehead.

  “Please don’t die, Luke,” I whispered, still crying and shivering. I kissed his temple as Noah kept up a steady pace. “You have to fight. Fight for me. Fight for Jonathan!” I whispered, “I love you,” still not knowing if he could hear me. When I said it, Noah paused for a second and looked at me, slight hurt showing behind his eyes. But I stayed focused on Lucas. Noah regained his concentration and kept up with the CPR.

  “Please don’t leave me, Luke,” I whispered softly as I kissed his hand.

  After several minutes, Noah stopped. He sat back, exhausted. Lucas felt very cold now. “I’m sorry,” he said. Behind Noah, I could faintly begin to make out the forms of several tall, sentinel figures.

  The Guardians.

  “No!” I yelled. I got up and resumed CPR. Noah watched me for a minute and then put his head down in his hands, unable to watch my heart break.

  I stopped only long enough to say: “Get Miles!”

  Noah looked over at Miles, who was still in battle. He looked back down at Lucas. “He’s gone, Leigh.”

  “He just has to get the water out,” I said, breathless as I pumped his chest. I held his nose and blew into his mouth. I kept repeating this for another couple of minutes, each time getting angrier and angrier.

  Noah leaned over Lucas’ body and grabbed my wrists roughly. I tried to jerk them back, but he was too strong. “Leigh,” he said, softly.

  “No,” I said, barely choking out the word that came out sounding like a squeak. But I stopped. I didn’t struggle anymore. Noah let go of me and stood up, looking out at the end of the battle in the distance. He walked to the bank of the lake and left me to take it all in, just as I had done with him when Nadia died.

  “No,” I whispered. I looked down at Lucas. I rested my head on his shoulder, hugging him to me as I cried from my soul. I cupped his cheek in my hand and turned his head to me. I kissed his mouth and hugged him tighter to me. I moved my hand to his cold chest and left it there.

  The world seemed very still. I closed my eyes and pictured me and Lucas and nothing else. I saw him in my mind’s eye; we were dancing at Carrie’s; then we were holding hands on the porch at Clothilde’s; then we were nestled together in my bed, our bodies fitting perfectly together, all of our problems leaving us when we looked into each other’s eyes.

  The hand I had on his chest began to g
et very warm, and soon it was burning. But it didn’t hurt. I remained very still and my hand got hotter and hotter. I kept my eyes shut and whispered into his ear, “Come back to me.”

  I felt something move under my hand. His chest softly rose, lifting my burning hand with it. I suddenly heard him gasp, and his whole body shook. I opened my eyes and sat up. He gasped again and coughed loudly. I removed my hand and rolled him onto his side. He coughed again and again, and the fluid in his lungs gushed out. He was finally able to catch his breath.

  I looked up, not seeing the transparent forms of the Guardians any more. I now looked over at Noah who stared in disbelief. But I knew it wasn’t that Lucas was alive. What stunned Noah was that I had crossed the line I said I would never cross. I looked down at Lucas and cried out of relief but also out of fear.

  My power was very strong now and that terrified me. It meant that the line had been crossed, and I knew I could never return. With the single act of saving the life of the man I loved, I also put myself in the position to never be able to love him again.

  I had just become a dark paladin.

  EPILOGUE

  Cee Cee undid the spell Ruby was under, but it took a lot of hard work. It was three days before Ruby was right again. She had no memory of what happened. When Cee Cee told her about Mulogo, she was deeply hurt by the betrayal. It seemed that he had her take the mask from Miles’ bag just before he boarded the plane to Paris.

  As to how the other mask made it to New Orleans was still a mystery to everyone, especially Gretchen and Felix who swore they saw the Queen’s Mask only days before they came out to help us. It would be nearly two weeks before I remembered the dream I had about the phone call and the voice on the other end, telling me I needed to get back both masks. Who that was, I don’t know. I still think about it sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night; somewhere in those quiet moments when the house is still.

  When I got back to Clothilde’s house in Abbeville, I didn’t tell her what had happened with Lucas, but I could tell she knew something was different. The way she looked at me—it was a combination of disbelief and sadness. Lucas was another story. He couldn’t stop thanking me. He said that Jonathan wouldn’t know what to do without him, and he couldn’t imagine never seeing his son again. Instead of feeling proud, I felt awkward. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him what it meant when I brought him back from the dead.

  I realized that I was afraid of myself—not just of my power, but of my feelings for Lucas. When I thought he was gone, my heart ached for him. I wanted nothing more than to be with him forever, but how could I be? Not now that I was a dark paladin—a Line Walker. I reflected on that moniker. As a dark paladin, I literally walked the line between good and evil. It was much easier for me to fall to the dark side, though I felt that was not possible with me. I knew where my loyalty resided, but the mere thought that it could happen scared me.

  I couldn’t drag Lucas and Jonathan into that world. Jonathan was a pure light paladin, and I believed he always would be. He would retain that goodness, same as Nadia. Lucas, a mortal, would get hurt. It was hard enough thinking about protecting Lyla, much less Lucas and his son.

  I now understood what Cee Cee meant when she said that dark paladins can be moody and withdrawn. It was dangerous to get close to anyone.

  When Lyla got back from school, she ran upstairs to my bedroom, threw her arms around me and tackled me onto the bed. “Yay! You’re back!”

  I laughed, breathless. “You’re way too big for this,” I exhaled.

  She rolled off of me and onto the other side of the bed. I sat up and gave her an evil eye. She laughed at me, and I started laughing, too.

  “Did you have fun this time?” Clothilde had told her that I went back to New Orleans to finish my training, so that she wouldn’t be scared. It takes a lot to wake her up, and she never heard the commotion when I was taken that night.

  I paused for a reflective moment and decided to let her continue to be a child. “Yeah. I had fun,” I said and smiled.

  “I almost forgot!” She gently lifted my mother’s locket over her head and handed it to me. I took it and opened it. Seeing the pictures of my parents hit me hard, especially seeing the man I had always thought to be my real father. My eyes started to tear up. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  I sniffled and smiled, closing the locket. “Nothing. Thank you for taking good care of it.”

  “Duh! I told you I would.”

  “Duh! I know!” I teased back. “Oh, I have something for you.” I reached into my suitcase and pulled out the music box with the troubled past. “Sorry. I forgot to wrap it.”

  Lyla’s eyes lit up. “Is that for me? It’s so pretty!” She took it from me like she was holding a rare jewel. She opened it, and the little plastic couple began to dance as the music started. She watched it, fascinated, her head tilted and eyes fixed on the dancers. Seeing her joy—the joy and wonderment that can only come from a child—I was certain this little music box would indeed have a happily ever after.

  And that made me smile.

  Book 3:

  Dark Legacy

  by

  Nancy K.

  Duplechain

  Part I:

  Book of Noah

  He hesitantly turned around so that she could see what he was talking about. They looked like tiny shards of amethyst struggling to break away from his shoulder blades. She lightly traced a finger over one of them. He bristled.

  “Does it hurt?” she asked.

  “Feels a little sore.”

  They looked so much like gem stones that she was expecting them to feel jagged and rough, but they were soft and yielded to her touch.

  “I can’t believe this is happening,” he said sadly, and pulled away from her, putting his shirt back on.

  She leaned back against the wall, bringing her knees up into her chest and resting her arms across them. She watched as he nervously paced the room, and then she smiled softly. “I think it’s beautiful.”

  “Nadia, nothing about being like them is beautiful.”

  Acknowledgements

  I had quite the transition between my first novel and this one. I was living in Los Angeles when Dark Bayou was published. A few months later, I was asked to be a featured author at the 2011 Louisiana Book Festival, thanks mostly to Cheré Cohen and, in turn, Bria Hobgood. I wanted terribly to be a part of the festival, but found myself unable to travel from L.A. to Louisiana. After much consideration, I decided it was time for me to leave L.A. Three-and-a-half years seemed like such a small chapter of my life, but also one of the most exciting; so many wonderful adventures and new friends!

  But it was time to go home. My niece’s mom and grandmother offered to take me in while I got readjusted to life in South Louisiana (I had forgotten how prehistorically-huge the insects were down here). What I thought would be a few weeks with my family turned out to be a few months. For that, I am deeply in gratitude to Martha Milligan, Angell Duplechain and of course, Lyla.

  I was surprised to find myself seeing my home town of Ville Platte in a new light. I began to get involved and loved it. I would like to thank my home town for welcoming me back with open arms. I especially want to thank the wonderful people at the Evangeline Parish Library for setting up my first book-signing event. They sure know how to make a girl feel special!

  Just like Leigh Benoit, I too grew up taking quite a few trips to New Orleans, but also sticking to the tourist spots. At some point, I knew I’d have to take a really in-depth trip to the city if I was to accurately describe it. For this, I’d like to thank my good friend Chris Boudreaux, who knows NOLA more than I do. One day, I went to meet him at his home in Lafayette, and then we drove to New Orleans for an over-night trip, but it felt like several days. We hit nearly every neighborhood of this fantastic city, and I felt it paid off. Thank you, Chris, for being my tour guide.

  New Orleans is one of my favorite cities. The culture and cuisine are unbeatable, though my
part of Louisiana does give it a good run for its money (proverbial wink). Voodoo is still practiced here, but my version of it is somewhat exaggerated when it comes to Ruby, though I should remind you that Ruby throws in some dark magic. The Voodoo religion is not in any way evil. It’s easy to be mystified with exaggerated tales of Voodoo rituals and abominations. It’s like any other faith; you have good people who practice it and bad people who practice it. With that said, I had to do a bit of research for certain spells and rituals. For this, I’d like to again thank Cheré Cohen along with her writing partner, Jude Bradley, who wrote “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags & Sachets.” While this book isn’t about Voodoo, specifically, it does give a very nice overview of magic in different cultures and provides a step-by-step guide oh how to make gris gris bags, just like the ones Cee Cee makes. I also consulted “The Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook” by Denise Alvarado. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Voodoo.

  As for zombies … I simply couldn’t resist. A Voodoo practitioner cannot bring the dead back to life and, to the best of my knowledge, no one else can. I could have easily gone the vampire route—yes, there is quite a bit of vampire lore in the Crescent City—but I thought this would be more fun. Can you blame me?

  Finally, I’d like to thank all of you who let me know how much you liked my first novel and couldn’t wait to read my second one. I hope I didn’t disappoint. You’ve all encouraged me to keep going amidst my topsy-turvy life. Thank you.

  -Nancy K. Duplechain