by Nikki Marsh
Suzanne reached out to him and cradled his face in her hands.
"Don't you see I had to? I had to take my revenge. How could I leave this world until I did?"
Uncle Phonse pulled away, sickened by what she had said.
"Don't you realize what you have done to me, Suzanne? It's my fault my child is dead. Everything happened because of me. That guilt will haunt me for the rest of my life. When you killed Brigitte, you killed me. You killed any love I ever had for you."
"No. Don't say that. It's not your fault. It's not my fault. It's Lucinda's fault. It's Aimee's fault."
Uncle Phonse walked toward Lucinda. As he approached her, Auntie realized she, too, had lost him forever. Her craziness surfaced, and she taunted Suzanne.
"If you think I regret killing you, you are wrong. You didn't deserve a man like Phonse. You were weak. He needed a powerful woman. He needed me."
"You deceive yourself, Lucinda, if you think you're such a strong woman? Were you strong enough to kill me without your sister's help? No. You're not strong at all. You're weak. Your sister is the strong one. I realized this living in her body," Suzanne chided Lucinda.
Lucinda held her head back, and her maniacal laugh matched her crazed appearance. After a few seconds, she stopped laughing and continued.
"You stupid fool. My sister is as weak as you. Her powers weren't strong enough to kill you because she didn't want to kill you. But, I've paid her back for that mistake."
Lucinda turned around and pointed at Beau.
"Aimee didn't kill you. Beau did," she shouted as she began laughing again.
Everyone looked at Beau in horror and waited for his denial. He glared at Lucinda but said nothing.
"When I realized Aimee's heart wasn't in it, I paid my sympathetic friend, Beau, to do it. He went to Buras while Phonse was in New Orleans. One night, he waited until you fell asleep. He crept into your little shanty and smothered you. You never saw him coming."
Beau's shifty eyes darted from one face to another. He knew everyone believed Lucinda. He tried to ease away. He looked for an escape route, but Suzanne had other plans. She took a deep breath and exhaled smoke that turned his legs to stone. She mutated into a poisonous serpent and slithered over to him. She crept up his stone legs and wrapped herself around his neck, biting it and strangling him at the same time. His entire body turned to stone before cracking into a thousand pieces. Suzanne transformed back into Maman, laughing a demon's laugh. Lucinda continued her hysterical rant.
"You don't scare me, Suzanne. I don't care anymore. I don't care about Beau. I don't care about Aimee. I don't care about Phonse. I don't care about Gabbie. I don't even care about myself." Her words now mixed with tears and uncontrollable sobs. Suzanne smiled at the sight of Lucinda reduced to the depths of despair.
"Don't look so self-satisfied, Suzanne. I'll have the last laugh. Phonse knows you killed our Brigitte and will hate you for all eternity in this world and the next. Live in my sister's weak, worthless body. Turn me into stone, if you like. Why don't you kill me? Why don't you kill me? Why don't you kill me?" she yelled hysterically.
Julian stepped forward and slapped Lucinda hard enough to stop her tirade. I looked at him. I knew what he was thinking. I knew he wanted his revenge on Lucinda.
"What about what you did to my Maman?" Julian asked.
"What about it?"
"Do you admit you killed her, too?"
"I could never allow Blanche to take my husband away from me."
"My Maman didn't want your husband. He didn't want her either. She liked you. She was your friend. He wanted to help us. Just like he helped your sister and Gabbie.
"Believe what you want, but I know the truth. You don't understand the ways of women yet, but you will someday."
"Maybe I don't. But what I understand is you are wicked and corrupt, and you think everyone is like you. My Maman was nothing like you. I'm nothing like you."
Lucinda smirked. "No? Don't you want to kill me now that you know I killed your Maman? Don't you hate me that much?" she taunted him.
"Do I hate you? Yes. I wanted to kill you with my bare hands. I still do. But someone very special has taught me better. Death is too good for you, Lucinda. You need to suffer for the rest of your natural life. I'll leave you to rot in your corrupted body. I'll be content watching you lose your mind."
All these years, Lucinda had let Maman believe that she had killed Suzanne. All these years, that belief had filled her with sadness. My determination to free Maman grew stronger with each breath. I had to let her know the truth, not only to free her body but also to free her soul. It was time to expel Suzanne from Maman's body for good.
The fiery circle died down. I sprinkled it with the Powder of Expulsion and Purification, the strongest and most dangerous formula in the Grimoire. When the fire reignited, I dropped my cloak to reveal my Robe of Righteousness. A brilliant black, red and gold cape, it had the Scripture of Righteousness embedded on the back.
Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.
Proverbs 10:2
Suzanne prowled around me again as I conjured the strength and wisdom of my ancestors to help me free Maman.
Souls of my Ancestors
Rush to my side.
Stand with Maman
Help me guide
The Spirit of Suzanne
From Maman's soul
That in her Darkest
Hour she stole.
Suzanne scowled at me, spewing blood, spit, and making strange sounds. Her hands turned into claws. The whites of her eyes turned red. Her face turned purple. She tried to claw at me, but when she did, my Robe of Righteousness turned into a solid gold shield and protected me. That didn't stop her. She clawed at me until her claw nails broke. When I commanded her to stop, the spirits of Popá and Granpopá materialized and held onto Maman's body. Suzanne fought against them, but they refused to let Maman go. She resisted, but the more she fought, the weaker she got. Finally, Maman collapsed in their arms, and Suzanne fell to the ground weeping in despair.
Stefan ran to her. He picked her up and held her close to him.
"I love you so much, Suzanne," he wept. "But there is nothing here for you in this life. Find some peace. Cross the Veil."
Stefan's love for Suzanne comforted her and moved us all.
"I will miss you forever, Stefan," she said as she wiped his tears away, falling to the ground in defeat.
When I went to her and took her hand, Stefan stepped back.
Your vengeance and your hatred
Turned your heart to stone
And led you into darkness
That was in life unknown.
Put the past behind you
To save your very soul
And travel to the Other Side
Where peace and love unfold."
When she stood up, the beauty she had once possessed in life returned, though tears trickled down her face. She’d had her revenge on Beau, Lucinda, and Maman. She realized she had destroyed any good memories Uncle Phonse had for her, and she had destroyed his love. I hoped that would be enough.
"Have you had enough revenge?" I asked.
"I think I have."
"Are you willing to let my Popá and Granpopá help you cross over?"
"Yes," she said, standing up and wiping away her tears. "I'm sorry you never knew me the way I was before they took my life."
"Me, too. In another lifetime, we might have become friends."
For a moment, Maman, Popá, Granpopá, and I were together. I wished it could stay that way, but I knew the impossibility of it. Popá took my hand and spoke to me.
"I'm so proud of you, Gabrielle, proud of the person you have become. I know I'm leaving Maman in good hands, in your hands. You will always be on the side of righteousness. You will use your Gift for good."
When Popá said this, his laughing eyes returned, and I knew he would always be with me. He took Suzanne's hand, and he, Suz
anne, and Granpopá disappeared into a whirl of fog. Maman hugged me and cried.
"Thank you, Gabbie. I'm so proud of you. Proud you have accepted your power. You will never abuse it as I did."
"I know, Maman. I promise to use my power only for good. Let's go home."
"To Buras?" she asked.
"If it's all the same to you, I'd like to stay in New Orleans. We could be happy here, couldn't we?"
"As long as you are with me, I could. But, I want us to live in our own home. I couldn't bear to be in the same house with Lucinda ever again." Her eyes lost that sad look.
"What do you think will happen to her, Maman?"
"I don't know. She's hurt so many of us, and she's in real trouble. The authorities may investigate her role in Suzanne's murder. Phonse will have to put her away somewhere, if they don't."
"Like an asylum?"
"Somewhere like that."
As we meandered our way out of the cemetery, we walked in silence. Maman and Grann walked arm in arm. I realized how much Lucinda had hurt each of them. I hoped they would become friends. Uncle Phonse and Auntie headed towards the church. No doubt, he sought spiritual guidance.
Stefan walked ahead of us alone, his head hung low in shame and grief. He waited at the gate for Julian and me to catch up.
"Thank you, Gabbie, for what you did for Suzanne. Everyone hates her, and I don't blame them. She did a terrible thing, and I wish I could hate her, too, but honestly, I can't. Sometimes our head tells us we should hate someone, and we want to. But, our heart won't let us, will it?" A devilish smile spread slowly across his face.
"In that case, Stefan, go with your head, and ignore your heart." When he smirked and turned away, I saw his true character and was grateful he was out of my life.
"Where do you think he'll go now, Julian? Uncle Phonse is a kind man, but I doubt he'd want him around anymore. He would be a constant reminder of Suzanne and what she did Brigitte."
"Really, Gabbie, I don't care where he goes or what he does as long as he stays away from my Juju Girl."
"Your Juju Girl?"
"You are going to be my Juju Girl, aren't you?" he asked raising an eyebrow. "You know. The one who keeps the bad things away?"
“I think I could agree to that but only because we make such a great team,” I smiled.
“Yes, we do. I want to always be on your team.”
"So, I agree to be your Juju Girl.”
He leaned over and gently kissed my lips.
On a balmy day in October 1893, my life as I knew it ended, and my new life began. I will always cherish the life I lost. But I’m grateful that it gave me the strength and courage to face my fears and overcome challenges to become the person I was meant to be, the Juju Girl.
<<<>>>
* * *
Afterword
Thank you for reading my debut novel, The Juju Girl. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
I’d love it if you would leave your honest review on Amazon. Even a few words might help others decide to read this book.
I’ve made it easy to leave your review. Just click the link below, and it will take you to the Amazon review page for this book.
https://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?&asin=B08Y62KJ2D
Thank you in advance for taking the time to share your review.