by Kira Saito
I continued to pace like a mad woman ignoring her supposed explanations and excuses. “No, stop! You’re a liar, nothing but a big fat liar. I bet it was you who tipped off the drivers and had Elena and Kandal exposed. You weren’t satisfied with him being human when he was with her, were you? You pushed him to become who he is today, didn’t you? If you would have helped them escape, then he wouldn’t have transformed and come into his powers. Maybe he could have stopped slavery through the confines of the law if they ever made it to Le Cap.”
Her tears continued to flow as she confessed her crimes. “Yes, I did everything to rip them apart. I did everything to make sure that he came into his full powers and crushed the enemies, so we could create the world that was equal and just. I didn't know any better… I thought I was fighting for a virtuous cause, and I was but… It took me many years to realize that those deaths were sacrifices made to the devil himself, and ending slavery was just an excuse he used to shed blood. I gave the devil the ability to manifest himself in the flesh and to wreck terrible havoc on the new world."
“Sacrifices give him more power to manifest into the physical realm, don’t they? He has chosen America to be his headquarters, his capital from where he will rule both the physical and spiritual worlds, hasn’t he? That’s why I saw so much confusion and terror all over the world but especially here in New Orleans and the rest of The States, isn’t it?”
"Oui. The more brutal the sacrifice, the more powerful it is. As you may have already guessed, the devil especially loves sacrifices when done at the height of terror, especially if they're innocent. I didn't know any of this when I was Vita. I swear to you. It took me many years to understand this. After I had become a spirit, I had so much knowledge, but that it didn't make me all knowing and all seeing."
“But I’ve always been told that you guys hear and see everything.”
"We do in pieces and parts. We're not given the entire picture by Bon Dieu. We can only work within our confines and knowledge of the spirit world. I suppose this is why we have free will. Our actions determine the future so we cannot fully see our entire destiny laid out in front of our eyes. We make decisions that we think are appropriate and like humans, we have to suffer the consequences of those decisions, unless we change our ways and acknowledge our mistakes we’re doomed like any human soul. The spirits you know, come from Africa, but there are principalities and spirits that rule over the entire earth. They are given dominion over different places and people. I don’t know all of them, but I do know that a line has been drawn between the ones who choose Bon Dieu and the ones who have given their allegiance to the devil. The battle is heating up, yet, the entire country and world don’t know how close impending doom is.”
My head spun. I had been so naïve for thinking that I knew all of the spirits. I had been even sillier for thinking that spirits only came from Africa. I had so much to learn. The realization that I wasn’t nearly as wise as I thought terrified me.
I stopped pacing and took a seat beside her. I examined her never-ending tears and soft expression. My heart started to thaw. My disgust was slowly replaced by pity as I thought of a young, confused Vita trying to end a terrible civil war and how she had been burned alive. I placed myself in her shoes and wondered if I would have done the same thing.
“Are you telling me the truth? Because if you are, I swear I will forget about all the horrible things that you did and will trust you with all of my heart.”
“Oui. Please forgive me, Arelia. I’ve changed. I swear. I want to make all the wrongs right as do the spirits who have recognized their crimes. I have no intention of hurting you. Please believe me.”
“Give me time,” I said recalling Bade’s advice and how he told me to give Lucus some space. “I need time to reflect, obsess and come to terms with everything.”
“I can give you all the time you need. Please understand that I’m truly sorry.”
“How will he manifest this time?” I asked changing the subject in hopes of squeezing more information out of her.
“I don’t know who he will choose as a host,” she said.
“Louis,” I whispered. “What I saw on the other side tells me that he’s going to target Louis.”
She shook her head. “Don’t underestimate him. The devil is clever and likes to throw you off track with false clues. While you’re looking to your right, the real action is happening to your left.”
I lightly stroked my temples and thought of Angel Pulse United. After every single terror attack, Emilie’s crocodile tears appeared on television pushing for unity and an end to the madness. He couldn’t use slavery as an excuse to cause mass bloodshed, so he had gone on to more complicated and clever tactics that were enticing in nature but destructive to their very core. What would happen to those people who followed Emilie? How were all these sacrifices going to take place? I had no idea what his master plan was. “I have the worst headache ever. I’m tired as hell. Can you please give me some space and let me get some sleep.”
She nodded. "Oui. I will be back but only when you are ready to forgive me fully for all that I have done."
“Time,” I whispered. “I will in time.”
“Time,” she repeated leaving me surrounded in a haze consisting of jasmine, honeysuckle and a slight tinge of rotting flesh.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Darkwood Plantation, Present Day
Promises
After Erzulie had left, I lay on the bed thinking of all I had seen and learned. It totally destroyed any chances of getting some much-needed shut-eye. The flash summer storm had long passed, and the night was uncomfortably hot and sticky once again. It was eerily silent aside from the swamp animals that sang and lamented in unison. The croaks of frogs, hisses of snakes, broken cries of birds and wild hoots of owls kept my eyes wide open. I was still terribly haunted by what I had seen. Plus, I was worried about Lucus and where he was. Had he returned? Where would our relationship go from here? I was equally worried about Louis. Would he suddenly turn into some monster? I loved them both, and I wanted to keep them safe from this curse I had placed on them.
A warm tropical breeze kissed my face, and the fruity scent of coconuts filled the air. She appeared, as gorgeous as ever, dressed in a blue silk kimono printed with tiny red birds and rose thorns that contrasted sharply with her raven hair. Her long, thin arms were decorated in thick bracelets made out of gold and her swan-like neck was adorned with a beautiful opal necklace. Her eyes were wide and full of concern as they rested on me. “Hello,” I said softly. “Thank you for helping me escape from the other side. Lucus told me what you did. It was very brave of you.”
She smiled sweetly and waved away my compliments. It was nice to see that there were no more dramatic tears and hollers coming from her. “It was nothing compared to the task that you’ve got at hand,” she said. “You saw what Erzulie did in Haiti, didn’t you?”
I nodded, and dread filled me. I braced myself for another graphic revelation and truths that I wasn't ready for. "I did."
“I know that you’re angry at her. When I tell you what I did, you will hate me even more.”
I let out a small sigh as my head once again ventured into dark places. "Let me guess; you fell in love? You already told me that."
Her gaze was hard as she continued to stare at me. “Oui, I did fall in love twice with two men who did very horrible deeds. Deeds that are unspeakable.”
I wanted to suffocate myself with the duvet at the mention of more dreadful deeds, but I smiled and nodded politely so she wouldn’t burst into dramatic tears. “Do you want to tell me about these deeds and men?”
“Oui, when you are certain you can handle more. I am ready, but are you?” she asked cryptically.
“Yes, I am more than ready. After all, I’ve been through I’m more than able to handle the ugly truth.”
She titled her head, and a sudden wave of despair washed over her delicate features. "No, you're not."
“Yes, I
am. You promised me that you would tell me all you knew as long as I destroyed Viola.”
“I have every intention of doing that. There is one piece of the puzzle that you must figure out for yourself.”
I nodded. “Okay. I get how it works. Things have to be revealed in a certain pattern or order, don’t they?”
“Oui.”
"Fine, but answer me truthfully, can I trust Erzulie? Has she changed?"
At my question, Rosaline started to sob uncontrollably. She covered her face with her chubby fingers and shielded her expressive eyes from me. I gave her a few moments to unleash her emotions because I knew that she was a very sensitive soul. To her, words, thoughts, and mere memories inspired such heart-wrenching agony that was beyond comprehension to most people. I respected that even though it got awfully dramatic at times. After her tears had somewhat stopped, she uncovered her face. Her lips quivered slightly as she spoke. “Who truly knows what lurks beneath the heart with its maze of veins, flesh and blood? It is utterly deceptive and can take us down wicked paths. She says her ways have changed. I believe her based on her words and recent actions.”
Those were not the reassuring words that I was desperately longing for. They only left me with more paranoid thoughts and conclusions. “Did she use you to fight her war?” I asked. “If she did, then you shouldn’t feel guilty about the horrific things you did. If you’ve forgiven her, then why can’t you forgive yourself?”
"I can't forgive myself because my actions have grave consequences on your future and everyone's future. I could use the excuse that I was simply manipulated by Erzulie, but I did what I did with great pride and sweet pleasure. I did it willingly even when I was warned that I was headed down the wrong path."
“Kind of like what I did with Viola.”
“Yes, but your mistake is minor compared to my mistakes. What you saw of the future is only a very tiny glimpse of what will manifest if we don’t stop him and his army from completing their entire agenda.”
“How are those two men you fell in love with involved in all of this?”
She looked at me wistfully. "In ways that they could never have imagined."
“I’m ready to learn about them,” I said. I was curious about how this strange threesome had wrecked so much havoc in the past. “What happened to them? What happened to you? How did you die? You’re so young.”
She shook her head. “I can only reveal this mystery in pieces, and I promise to do so when the time is right.”
“Was Elena your mom?” I asked trying to get a better picture of what might have happened.
“No. She wasn’t my mother. I never met Elena.”
“Oh.” I had the sudden urge to know what happened to the woman who had fallen in love with a monster and had been marked along with her children. What had happened to Lily? If I didn’t understand the past, how in the world was I going to decipher the future? What had happened to him after his physical body had been burned? Had he manifested again and in what form? So many questions spun around in my head but at the same time, my body was betraying me, and sleep was calling.
“I must go now,” she said. “I have a meeting to attend to.”
“A meeting?” I asked curious as to what type of meeting took place in the dead of night. "With who?"
She smiled, and her melancholy evaporated. "It's a mystery. Now, you get some sleep, and I will be back much sooner than you think."
She left me with more questions and riddles that only intensified my headache. I felt so selfish for wanting to slip into a deep coma, but I was more than exhausted. I was burnt out and pretty much useless until I had a chance to re-energize. My eyes became heavy with the seductive promise of sleep. I did my best to erase the horrors I had seen from my mind. A soft knock on the door instantly pulled me out of my slumber. I was half afraid to ask who was on the other side. I got out of bed and answered the door hoping to see a friendly face.
“Arelia, I know it’s late, but may I come in? I want to apologize for my behavior earlier and for running off like that. I must have come across as a coward. Please allow me the chance to explain.”
One look at his hopeful eyes, messy hair, and a slight smile was more than enough for me to accept his unnecessary apology without a second thought. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face into his naked mud stained chest which held the familiar scent of graveyard dirt. I pulled him into the room and closed the door behind us. “You’ve been hanging out in the graveyard again, haven’t you?” I asked as I took his hand and led him to the bed.
"Guilty as charged." He shrugged giving me a seductive smile and covering my mouth with a kiss that told me that he wasn't holding any grudges. "I'm sorry I ran away like that. The voices in my head were becoming stronger to the point where I couldn't distinguish fantasy from reality. After you had told me everything, a voice that I had never heard before came and whispered into my ears and told me that the mess we find ourselves in is my fault."
My heart sank at his confusion and belief that he deserved everything that had happened to him. I gave him a confident smile even though my doubts and worries had multiplied. I had to be strong for him like he had been strong for me. I had already fallen apart and had been repaired. It was his turn to fall. I held his hand and looked deep into his eyes. "Listen, the ugly voices are attacking you only because you're powerful and are capable of much more than you think you are. The nasty spirits don't mess with horrible people because they already have them under their spell. They mess with good people, so they can destroy their souls and make them doubt their worth." I thought of Angel Pulse United and all of the hopeful souls that flocked to Emilie's church. They were all desperate for answers in terrible times. She took advantage of their trusting nature and played games with their hope.
He reflected on the words I spoke carefully before responding. "Do you think so?"
"Yes. The dark doesn't understand the light. It can't comprehend it, and maybe that's why it's so fascinated by it." I thought back to Kandal's obsession with Elena and how she had a bizarre impact on him and had combated his obsession with blood and revenge.
“Can you make them go away?” he asked his voice was low and desperate.
“No, I don’t think so. I’ve been struggling with the same problem my entire life. You can’t ignore the supernatural. When it calls there is always a purpose. Life and the things that happen to us have a greater design that we can’t fully understand. I suppose, it’s all a beautiful and gruesome mystery.”
He sighed and pulled me close to him as if he wanted to shield me from all the ugliness that the world had to offer. My head rested on his chest. For a few moments, we sat in utter silence listening to the low rustle of the wind, nightly lament of the owls and gentle clink of the chandelier crystals. “Did you visit their graves?” I asked.
"Yes, I wanted to ask her why she killed you. I was so angry. I used my bare hands to almost dig up the grave, so I could pull her bones from the ground and put them on trial."
“Please don’t let anger consume you. You can’t let this destroy your soul. You’re not your parents. We are not our parents. We don’t have to make the same mistake that our ancestors made. Let the great and terrible Judge take care of it all.”
He laughed deeply. Some of his sadness evaporated. “I don’t know how or why I’ve been given a second chance with you. I didn't even deserve you in the first place. I promise that I won't ever let anyone or anything come between us again. We are going to fight this battle together. Nothing will tear us apart."
I silenced his self-doubt with a kiss full of fire in hopes that it would somehow fill him with courage. I wanted to offer him more Dali Lama type of advice, but what I needed was just to be with him and to feel his skin and spirit entwine with mine. "Can you stay with me tonight?" I asked.
“Are you sure? I thought…”
“Yes, I am sure but not because I want you to make loud, passionate love to me, it’s because I simply want to fall asle
ep in your arms,” I teased covering up my nervousness that he would say no and return to his room. I had gained more confidence but underneath it all, I was still just a girl who had given all of her heart and soul to a man, a man who had the power to devastate and shake her entire world if he chose to do so.
“How can I refuse an offer like that? However, I would be lying if I said I don’t have the urge to undress you and keep you up until the dawn breaks.”
My cheeks flushed at his suggestion. I was tempted to give in, but I knew now wasn’t the right time. “Soon,” I promised. We lay on the bed. He held me as I rested my head on his chest. I savored the scent and texture of his skin. “What do you fear the most?” I asked randomly as my eyes started to get heavy again. “Do you fear death, hell, hair-loss?”
“Hair-loss?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yes, it is quite a problematic issue for all sorts of people.”
He laughed. “I admit, I haven’t given hair-loss much thought.”
“Well, that’s because you haven’t been aging. Once I break the curse and you start getting older maybe normal things will become problematic for you.” I had decided that I would ignore the tiny little fact that I hadn’t seen him on the other side, and would further ignore the fact that Louis had been aging. “There are all sorts of mundane things to worry about like weight gain, electric bills, under eye circles, parking tickets…” I rambled on and on.
“I promise you that hair-loss and under-eye circles will be the least of my worries.”
“Well, then go on, what do you fear?”
“Never having moments like this with you again, never being able to hold you in my arms, kiss those sweet lips of yours, and worst of all being a useless bystander in this terrible war that you’re fighting.”
“That we’re fighting.” I reminded him. “And you’re not going to lose me again.”