Voodoo Academy

by Theophilus Monroe

  I nodded. “Must suck to start school and not really be able to start at all.”

  Pauli blew a raspberry. “At least she can knock out those gen-eds without the distraction of training to her aspect.”

  I groaned as I tried to find a place for my third pair of shoes. “There’s no way I’m going to get all my shit in this locker…”

  “Girl, all you have in there are shoes!”

  I sighed. “I need like five of these.”

  “Preach it, girl. Want to go bitch at the RA with me?”

  “Hell yeah,” I said. “Bitches unite.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Today we’re going to learn how to summon a soul blade,” Oggie said as he closed his office door behind him. I snuck a peek at his ass as he turned the opposite direction. High and tight. It was like a work of art… a m-ass-terpiece. I wanted to bounce a quarter off of it, just to see how far it would fly.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “To the gymnasium,” Oggie said. “I used to do some training in my office, but when working with initiates… well, accidents can happen.”

  “Accidents?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. “What kind of accidents?”

  “The first time you summon your soul blade, you will have to travel into the ether. The blade will sense your aspect and choose you. Every blade is unique, infused with a power that has resonance with your spirit.”

  “And this can lead to… accidents?”

  Oggie nodded, pressing upon the double doors down the hall from his study that led into the gymnasium. “An initiate about ten years ago summoned his first blade. His blade was accompanied by the spirit of a trickster.”

  “A trickster?” I asked, somewhat surprised that I’d never heard of this kind of spirit. I looked around. This wasn’t a typical gymnasium. The walls were plain, but strings with herbs, spices, and who knows what else dangled from the ceiling and nearly reached the floor all around. The air was sweet but had a bite to it. Like basil and cayenne peppers.

  “It’s a rare species of elemental, a trickster. The only way to deal with it is to let it run its course. A trickster is basically a prankster.”

  “So it went around pranking people until what… it got bored?” My eyes watered due to the intensity of the smells that filled the room. I don’t usually have allergies, but the air was so thick with spices that it almost burned my nostrils.

  Oggie nodded, seemingly unaffected by the harsh smell. “And tricksters do not get bored easily. Once it lost interest, the trickster finally inhabited my initiate’s blade. It did give him a power, of a sort.”

  “I bet it was entertaining, at least.”

  “If you find exploding toilets, laxative in the water fountains, and every kind of strange odor filling the chambers entertaining… then, sure. Every time my initiate summoned his blade something unpredictable happened.”

  I laughed. “So doing this in the gymnasium will prevent that from happening?”

  “If it happens, it will be contained. The gymnasium is warded. You’ll adjust to the smells over time. In truth, most come to find it pleasant after a while. It’s necessary. If you happen to evoke a trickster, which I should say is unlikely, at least the damage it can do will remain localized.”

  I cracked my knuckles. “All right, so what do I need to do?”

  “Well, given your situation, this is going to be a bit challenging.”

  “How do you mean?” I asked.

  “Isabelle,” Oggie said. “Since your souls are bound, you might have trouble drawing a blade that accepts you both.”

  “Yeah, we’re basically opposites, personality wise.”

  You can say that again…

  I grinned.

  “It’s not about personality,” Oggie said. “It has more to do with your nature.”

  “Well, I’m reasonably sure we’re both good-natured people. At least we both mean well, most of the time…”

  “That’s a start,” Oggie said. “But some souls are more attuned to different elementals than others. The blade you draw is not a blade, technically speaking. It’s actually a living spirit, an elemental which willingly takes the form of your blade, submitting itself to your intentions.”

  “That’s mildly creepy,” I said.

  “Not once you get used to it. Elementals are eager to engage the world, one way or another. But they’re also extremely particular about the souls whom they’ll allow to wield their powers.”

  “So this isn’t going to be like another familiar, is it? I mean, I already have one voice in my head.”

  “Elementals do not typically speak to you. Not that they can’t. They just aren’t especially chatty,” Oggie said. “Respect the blade, and wield it honorably. It will respond to your intentions.”

  “So how do we do this?” I asked.

  “Well, the first time you summon your blade, you must journey into the ether yourself. After that, you’ll need to practice. Attuning your will to the ether will eventually become second nature. Mikah will help you practice that this afternoon. Once you have it down, you should be able to summon your blade at will.”

  I nodded. “How will I know when an elemental has chosen me?”

  “You’ll know. There’s no mistaking it. It will choose you, and you must yield to it. Only then will you be allowed to return to your body.”

  I nodded and took a deep breath. “You ready, Isabelle?”

  As ready as I’ll ever be…

  “Okay, we’re ready.”

  Oggie waved his hand in front of my eyes. A purple powder seemed to explode from his fingertips. It smelled sweet, covering up the cornucopia of herbal scents that filled the gymnasium.

  Once the haze cleared, I no longer stood in the gymnasium at all. I looked around, trying to find Oggie—but Isabelle stood where he had. She looked as she always did when she projected, but she possessed a green glow. An aura, perhaps.

  “Isabelle?” I asked.

  “Hi, Annabelle,” Isabelle said as her wide eyes scanned our surroundings.

  “You’re glowing green,” I said.

  “My aura… perhaps it’s my magic.”

  “Not your magic,” a high-pitched voice spoke from the ether. A short humanlike figure appeared. He was barely two feet tall. In truth, I couldn’t tell if it was a “he” at all. No features betrayed any conventional gender markers. The short figure had green hair, long relative to its short body. It matched the color of Isabelle’s aura.

  “I’m Annabelle,” I said, greeting the figure as I knelt and extended my hand.

  “And I’m Isabelle.”

  The creature cocked its head sideways, perplexed by our greetings.

  “There are two of you,” the creature said. “But you are nonetheless one.”

  “Our souls are fused,” I said.

  “The magic of a Loa,” Isabelle clarified.

  “I see,” the creature responded. “I am a gnome, the elemental figure of earthen magic.”

  “Are you the one who will choose us?” I asked. “Do you have a name?”

  “A name?” The gnome looked perplexed. “No names. We simply are. I was drawn to this one.”

  The gnome approached Isabelle, grabbing her hand.

  “But I cannot align myself with her,” he said, “since you two are as one, and this one alone has an affinity for earth.”

  “Your aura,” Isabelle said, looking at me intently. “It’s pink.”

  “Pink…” I wasn’t displeased by the color that surrounded me. In truth, I was pleased by it. Little did I know that the word decorating the butt of my Victoria’s Secret pajamas also corresponded with my aura.

  “Curious,” the gnome said. “I have yet to see such a combination of affinities.”

  “Affinities?” I asked.

  Before the gnome could answer, two other creatures appeared. One appeared as an over-sized salamander. It likely eclipsed my own height several times over. On all fours its head was nearly level with my own
. I couldn’t tell where it had come from, it simply appeared. Its skin was mostly black, though it was riddled with red spots. It analyzed me with its dark, beady eyes.

  Atop the salamander’s head, however, was perched a small figure, a dainty frame, though perhaps only six inches in height. She had wings but wore no clothes. While her features were feminine, her hair was long and blue as the sky.

  The fairlylike creature took to flight as the salamander analyzed me. Her wings fluttered rapidly. She buzzed around me like a hummingbird, poking at my cheeks.

  “What’s happening?” I asked, glancing toward the gnome.

  “The elements of fire and wind are both drawn to you,” the gnome said. “It is not common, though not unheard of, that one might possess an affinity for two elements.”

  “But since I’m bound to her, doesn’t that mean we bring together three?” Isabelle asked.

  The gnome nodded. “Two elements might combine to serve a single soul.”

  “But three?” Isabelle asked.

  “I suppose it is possible,” the gnome said, scratching his scalp. “We must attempt it.”

  The three elemental spirits—the salamander, the pixie, and the gnome—all retreated and looked at one another. There was an understanding between them, though they spoke no language. It appeared they were having a sort of debate, perhaps a disagreement. Though it was impossible to tell. Looks of confusion, even frustration, fell on the faces of the pixie and gnome alike. The salamander was more difficult to read.

  After what looked like a few moments of tit for tat, the three elementals nodded at one another.

  “It has been decided,” the gnome said. “We will attempt to bind ourselves as three in one. Since you will become one, yourselves, we cannot bind ourselves to you in any way other than in unity.”

  Isabelle nodded.

  “I’d say I understand, but I’m not sure I do,” I admitted. “Nonetheless, I accept.”

  “Very well,” the gnome said. “We must unite in a particular order, one which parallels your nature.”

  With his words, the salamander and the pixie separated several paces. At once, they charged each other, colliding in a shower of red and white energies.

  I shielded my eyes—the collision of elements creating something that resembled the sun.

  As my eyes adjusted, the energies coalesced into a single figure.

  The salamander had grown in size, now sprouting wings that resembled the pixie’s, though larger and covered in a skin that matched the salamander’s.

  My eyes had barely discerned the figure before another explosion of energies—this time, pink combining with green, as the gnome collided with the creature.

  As my eyes adjusted a second time, a single creature stood there. Its skin was still black, though with both red and green markings. There was no mistaking the creature—though I’d never seen one before. Who had? It was a dragon.

  Smoke poured from its nostrils. There was a fire within it, but as it expanded its wings, a breeze filled the space where we stood. It held the wind. With its claws, the creature clenched at the ground below. Though we were not standing on ground, it was as though earth itself had formed beneath it.

  Isabelle and I exchanged glances. Something within me compelled me to reach out my hand to hers.

  Isabelle and I interlaced our fingers. I’d never felt her skin before. Her soft hand gripped mine tightly. Together, we approached the dragon, each of us placing our free hand upon its snout.

  “What’s next?” I asked.

  I felt a sensation… again, not words, but a message of sorts. The words appeared in my mind even as Isabelle spoke.

  “We have to give it a name,” Isabelle said.

  Again, the name appeared in my mind. Isabelle must have felt it, too.

  “Beli,” we said in concert.

  As we spoke the name upon the dragon, the whole world around us vanished in a single flash. I squinted my eyes.

  I felt my hands burn… one connecting me to Isabelle, the other to Beli. It was not a painful burn, though. It was a comforting heat. Intense, but full of life rather than destruction.

  Again, my eyes adjusted as the light faded. I was back in the gymnasium.

  * * * * *

  Oggie stood there, staring at me wide-eyed in anticipation. I couldn’t help but blush when my eyes met his. I hated that he had this impact on me, even while my body seemed to crave it.

  “This is unique,” Oggie said. “Usually I can tell which element has chosen an initiate, but with you…”

  “It is a combination of three,” I said.

  “Of three?” Oggie asked, raising both eyebrows in surprise.

  “A salamander, a pixie, and a gnome. They combined to form a dragon.”

  “Fire, wind, and earth,” Oggie said. “Did you give it a name?”

  “Sort of,” I said honestly. “It was more like the name just came to me. Came to us, really.”

  “Speak the name,” Oggie said. “Try to recall the sensation you felt in your palm when you named it.”

  I nodded and extended my hand, staring at my palm. “Beli,” I said.

  Oggie gasped. “That can’t be…”

  I was too distracted by the sensation to give Oggie’s words much thought. As I spoke the word, a blade began to form in my hand. The hilt burned against my palm. Not painful, but the burn of life itself.

  A blade formed from the hilt, one that glowed in the red, white, and green energies that had coalesced when the dragon formed. It looked almost festive… like Christmas. The blade, however, continued to grow until it reached a length of almost three feet. It was sharp on both edges. Beneath the energies, it glistened like silver. I could see my reflection in it, clear as day.

  “I knew that your spirits combined would manifest uniquely, but I never anticipated…”

  As I lost my focus and looked to Oggie, the blade disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

  “Dammit,” I said. “What happened?”

  “To hold the blade will require practice and focus,” Oggie said. “Though I must admit that given the uniqueness of this particular blade, even I am amiss to know how it might be wielded.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Beli was amongst the three original spirits, the spirits that were called forth by God when he created the world… it’s a spirit older than Guinee itself. I’d thought it only a legend until now.”

  I shrugged. “Cool.”

  “Very cool,” Oggie said. “You said this name simply came to you?”

  “It came to both of us,” I said. “Isabelle seemed to know the name, too. We spoke it together.”

  “For now, try not to do anything with your blade.” Oggie was staring into space pensively.

  “So that’s what I’m doing with Mikah today… just summoning this thing over and over?”

  “And trying to hold on to it, not letting it dissipate with the first distraction.”

  “But don’t cut anything with it? Not even cheese?”

  “Definitely don’t cut the cheese.”

  I had to admit, that’s one I should have caught before I’d said it. I was simply thinking of something soft and harmless to cut, but I was willing to play it off like I’d intended the joke.

  “I honestly have no clue where that saying comes from,” I said.

  “Then you haven’t ever attempted to cut cheese in the middle ages. If you had, it would make perfect sense.”

  “Why are we talking about farts anyway?” I asked, somewhat embarrassed. Usually you don’t talk about things like that with guys you’re attracted to… and if you do, not until you’ve been dating a while. And you certainly don’t let any loose. I once held my farts for seven hours straight on account of a guy. We had a date at a Mexican restaurant, grabbed coffee and ice cream after. Try eating those things in rapid succession and see how long you can hold out. It was painful. And not worth it. He turned out to be a dick. I should have just let them rip. I mig
ht have saved myself a lot of trouble later on.

  “You’re the one who asked about using your soul blade to cut cheese,” Oggie said.

  “Fair enough.” An awkward silence followed my statement. Not really long. Just long enough that I felt the need to quickly change the subject.

  “So, Mikah will be tutoring me?” I asked.

  “Sort of,” Oggie said. “In truth, Mikah needs the practice as much as you do. It’s just the way we teach, here. Learn it, teach it, then master it.”

  I nodded. “Makes sense.”

  “You’d better get heading to class. First period begins in ten minutes.”

  I checked my clock on my phone—that’s about all it was good for down here. That and keeping my calendar.

  “Sure thing,” I said, heading for the gymnasium door. I stopped as I began to press my way through it. “One question though… why did you choose me over Nico?”

  “I think I told you when I gave you the invitation… you’re a one-of-a-kind find.”

  “So, it had nothing to do with him?” I asked.

  Oggie cleared his throat. “Why do you ask?”

  “He just seems a bit… put off by me, that’s all.”

  “College Samedi is a better fit for him,” Oggie said. “Once he realizes that, I’m sure he’ll come around.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “How the hell am I supposed to sit through a bunch of lectures after that?” I asked Pauli, having briefed him on my morning session with Oggie.

  He rolled his eyes. “All we did is sit around a big bowl of Skittles and talk about snakes while a giant python slithered its way around my feet. Aida-Wedo is intent on convincing me that snakes are cute and cuddly creatures… misunderstood.”

  “Skittles for breakfast?” I asked, trying to focus on the more pleasant aspect of his morning experience.

  Pauli shrugged. “Taste the rainbow, honey.”

  “I don’t remember the last time I had Skittles.”

  “The first few nibbles are delicious, don’t get me wrong, so long as you’re eating one at a time and you limit yourself to the reds and purples.” Pauli raised one hand as if to emphasize the importance of his seemingly trivial point. “But then I get impatient and start shoveling them in by the handful. At that point, it’s like a fruity explosion in my mouth…”