A Grimoire Dark

by D. S. Quinton

  “Do you make… love potions?” she asked, casting a quick glance at him.

  “Love potions? But of course!” he exclaimed. “One small draught and he’ll be eating out of your—”

  Her mouth twisted sideways in a subtle sign of dismay.

  The strange man stopped and inhaled a deep breath, seemingly tasting the thick night air. The blue mirrored glasses reflected the swirling fog as a bolt of lightning lit the sky behind him. He was momentarily silhouetted in an unholy light as Josephine’s fate hung in the balance.

  “Oh, I see,” he said. “Pardon me. She’ll be eating out of your hand.”

  She looked up just as he broke into a distorted, toothy grin.

  A rumble of thunder rattled the ground, nearly causing her to bolt, but the thought of Del being hers forever held her strong. She shuffled her feet again and looked over her shoulder to the front of the cemetery. She saw nothing but heavy, swirling fog, and thought she had stayed there long enough.

  Chancing a final question, she asked, “What does something like that cost?”

  “Hmmm… now that is an interesting question. I take it you have no money?”

  She snorted lightly at this. “No, not living in the orphan—, uhh, the uh… not living in the… Orpheum.”

  The blue glasses watched her carefully.

  “It’s uh… just some old hotel they’re gonna tear down. I’m moving out of there next week, but uh… no, I don’t have any money.” She moved sideways toward the exit.

  “I see,” the man said calmly. “Then perhaps you have something to trade.” Her backwards retreat reflected in his glasses.

  “Trade? Uh…” she looked over her shoulder again, “Trade? Like what?” she said, stopping.

  “I trade my services for many things, my dear. I am most fascinated by the interesting people I meet in this business. Perhaps you could introduce me to some of your friends.”

  “My friends?”

  “Yes, I’m sure some of your friends have similar wishes. Perhaps some illness I could cure for them. Who knows? They may end up owing you a big favor after I cure their problems. They owe you; you pay me. We could have quite a partnership, you and I.”

  “We could?”

  “Yes, of course! You want to get away from the… Orpheum, as soon as possible don’t you?”

  “The Or… uh yes, like I said, I’ll be moving soon. I think.”

  “Yes, of course you will. And I believe you’ll do great things when you do. In fact, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, I do more than just create love potions.”

  “You do? Well, I kind of thought—”

  “Of course, you did. I can feel it, you see. You are always thinking. And if you let me help you, you will do great things, Josephine.” She was listening intently now. “And this girl you desire. She will be yours forever.”

  “Forever?” she said quietly.

  “Yes. Forever. For a fair trade.”

  She nodded slightly, hypnotized. “Yes, for a fair trade.”

  “See the large vault behind me?” He gestured.

  She looked over his shoulder and watched as the fog parted to reveal the oversized crypt.

  “Yes.”

  “When you’re ready to trade, all you have to do is come and knock three times on the vault. When you do, I’ll know that you are ready. But make sure you bring something to trade. Don’t call me back without something to trade.”

  He began to walk backwards into the fog.

  She suddenly felt rushed, and wished she had asked more questions. “But, but what if you don’t like what I have to trade?”

  He turned his back to her and walked into the mist.

  “Make it good, Josephine! Make it good,” he said.

  “But, what—”

  “Sin, Josephine. I love to trade in sin!”

  As he slipped into the shadow of mist, a large bird took flight from a nearby crypt. This drew her attention to the mist-shrouded vault roofs. There, an odd shape took form. She thought she saw the outline of someone crouching on the top of the crypt.

  She broke and ran.

  Chapter 30

  Tuesday

  Frank, Del and Armand woke at nearly the same time the next morning. The fire had died to a cold gray ash; the large room was cast with a cold gray light which seemed to drizzle and drip down the walls, implying that even the tepid sunlight filtering through the rain-heavy clouds was water-logged.

  Armand quickly set to making breakfast, circling many times in the kitchen to stitch together the mental notes for a breakfast larger than a poached egg and toast.

  “Don’t worry, honey,” Frank said as they sat down over coffee. “I’ll smooth everything over fer you when we get you home. Hell, half da damn phone lines is down, anyway. We’ll blame it on dat.”

  “Thanks, Frank,” Del said quietly, slowly stirring her coffee.

  In the background they heard Armand muttering. “Let’s see, silverware… yes, silverware, hutch, drawer. There we are… yes, spoons. Of course! The marmalade is in the cellar!” He walked out of the room twirling his pipe in celebration.

  Del continued to stare blankly at the table.

  “What’s da matter? I told you—”

  “No, it’s not that, Frank. I don’t think I’d be in trouble anyway. Mama Dedé has given me quite a bit of freedom since I’ve been there. It’s odd, really…”

  “How so?”

  “I don’t know. It’s like… it’s like she watches me from afar, waiting to see what I’ll do. She sets the rules of the house, but gives me leeway to come and go.”

  “Well, you an adult now.”

  “It’s more than that. It’s like she’s waiting for something… expecting something out of me, but I don’t know what it is.” She watched the drops of coffee drip back into her cup.

  “Den what—”

  “I had a really strange dream last night,” she said, “and can’t get it out of my head. It was so vivid… and disturbing.”

  “I didn’t sleep so well myself,” Frank said. “Lotsa things on my mind. Too much talk of spooks and—”

  “It was this crazy big ghost snake,” she said. “I was in a swamp floating around and… crazy stuff. I don’t know, it must have been the wine.”

  Armand had returned from the cellar and was stopped in the kitchen door, listening intently.

  “What, honey? Tell me,” Frank said, sensing Armand’s curiosity.

  “I was floating around like a spirit and the ghost snake… well, some other things were flying around with me, but I think the snake came out of the mud, first as some kind of green spirit, but then it started eating someone that was following me, and then—”

  “Zombi!” Armand said suddenly, making Del jump.

  “Oh! Gosh, you scared me. Sorry. I didn’t know—”

  “You dreamt of a large spirit snake? A green fifolet that became a giant snake?” he asked.

  “I guess, something like that. Did you say ‘zombie’?”

  Resuming his professorial position on the other side of the table, he set his hands firmly in front of him. Fearing for breakfast, Frank took this as a cue to man the skillet.

  Armand said, “Yes, but let’s not dismiss this dream as wine-fueled meanderings of the mind, and let’s approach the topic with the proper introduction.”

  A question rose on Del’s face, but Armand continued.

  “Le Grande Zom-BEE!” he pronounced, slapping his palms on the table.

  Del sat frozen for a long minute, trying to determine what to make of this new bit of information and the theatrical delivery.

  Armand slowly circled his side of the table again, forming the story in his mind.

  A snide question slipped from Del’s mouth: “OK, what’s the Grand Zombie?”

  Armand twisted his mustache furiously. “Please, my dear… too much contempt before breakfast.”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

  “No, it’s alright,” Armand said. �
��It’s hard for me to believe this possibility.” He breathed deeply and settled himself. “Le Grande Zombi is the spirit that is most closely related to Monsieur Jean Montanee—our dear Dr. John. As I stated last evening, he was involved in things much darker than simple curses.” His voice lowered to a whisper. “Some texts claim that he was able to raise and control the dead—the spirit, of course. However, they often took forms other than that of a human body.”

  Del picked slowly at her breakfast as Frank ate from the skillet. Armand packed his pipe with his favorite breakfast tobacco.

  “But what does this have to do with me?” Del finally asked. “Why did I dream of the snake?”

  A matchhead flame, held to his pipe bowl, brightened Armand’s eyes briefly. Del flashed back to the dream, the fire she came through, the swamp, the woman with multi-colored eyes, the abominations.

  “What is it?” Armand asked, watching her face.

  Rubbing her head slowly as if to massage the vision into focus, she said, “I just remembered… something about a fire… and something about a woman. A woman was following me, or… really, it seemed like I was leading her, somehow. Leading her to the snake and to the…”

  “To the what?”

  “Something happened in the dream. Some… things were born. The woman, and another spirit…” She trailed off.

  Del felt that her dream was more than just the meanderings of a wine-muddled mind, that it had more meaning for her, but what, she couldn’t imagine.

  Armand stroked his beard knowingly and said, “We need to speak with someone who is more… attuned to this channel. My academic research will only take us so far.”

  “Who dat?” Frank asked, lighting his own breakfast cigar.

  “She’s quite knowledgeable. I’ve consulted her on occasion. A fair practitioner, I’ve heard. She goes by the name of Mama Dedé, perhaps—”

  “WHAT?” Del yelled out. “Mama Dedé?” She looked questioningly at Frank.

  “Oh hell,” Frank muttered, as the tip of his cigar drooped from his mouth.

  Armand looked from Del to Frank. “You know of her?”

  “Yeah,” Frank said slowly, “we know her.”

  “What’s going on, Frank?” Del asked.

  Frank puffed his cigar to life and studied her closely.

  “Don’t know, honey. But somethin’ is happenin’. Dis ain’t all coincidence. I’d say dat somethin’ is about to get out of control, and if anyone will know what to do, it’d be Mama Dedé.”

  Armand was circling his thoughts again. “Let’s see… Grand Zombi, incantations, spells, yes spells… grimoire, oh yes, grimoire white… verses, oh my, grimoire… strange, yes of course! Have you ever heard of the famous feud between Dr. John and Marie Laveau?”

  Chapter 31

  Henri Guillaume sat in an unmarked car at the corner of Prytania and Valmont, a block away from Armand’s house. His large body was stiff from spending the night in the car, but he dared not get out and stretch now that the feeble light of morning was seeping through the clouds. He’d followed Frank yesterday on a hunch that he hadn’t reported everything he’d found at the body sites. Henri had an intuition, a sense about things that he had honed over the years, and he felt something was wrong. There should have been more evidence.

  Perhaps Henri made a mistake by pulling Frank into this, considering the potential ramifications. He knew Frank was a good detective, and thought he was an honest one, that’s why he had called him. All he was supposed to do was collect the evidence and bring it back. Why hadn’t he done that?

  Henri twisted a small black onyx ring on his right-hand pinky finger. The ring felt cold despite being attached to his large hand. The ring would never give warmth, he knew that. It would only take, but there was purpose in that.

  Henri scratched at the side of his mouth were a fever blister had started. He looked in the mirror and saw a nasty red bump at the corner of his mouth. He couldn’t remember ever having one before.

  Movement now; lights on; increased smoke from a fireplace. They were waking up.

  Finally, after nearly another hour, Henri saw the large iron gate open. Frank’s telltale red car exited the inner grounds and turned toward Henri. Less than a minute later, Henri, laid out nearly flat in his seat, watched as Frank and the girl from yesterday drove right past him. From his awkward angle, he couldn’t see the girl very well, but could tell she was young.

  “What are you playin’ at, Frang?” he said aloud.

  He started his car and watched as Frank turned off Prytania. He quickly swung his car around and followed.

  Sister Eulalie had made her morning rounds and sat at her office desk, irritable and impatient. She was preparing for her meeting with Dr. Morosé, head of the city asylum, about a special legal transfer. She and the doctor had a long working relationship; the orphanage, caring for those less fortunate souls, could only do so much, and for only so long; the city asylum had its purpose as well. She hadn’t used it often, but with special situations it was a useful, and convenient, alternative.

  The meeting wasn’t what had her on edge; she was physically uncomfortable; she was starting to itch. Last night she had noticed a slight rash on her lower abdomen at the fold of her hips. She had thought it was a laundry issue, but this morning the rash had already spread down her inner thighs. If the vows of chastity weren’t trying enough, the unfamiliar sensation was maddening. Her legs tingled at every movement of the heavy habit, brushing against the rash, distracting her thoughts.

  She stood up and paced the room, randomly moving the two chairs in front of her desk. The kids seemed especially noisy this morning, and they grated her nerves. She could hear the vile boy singing his ridiculous songs all the way down the hall. She would be free of that sinful child soon enough, she hoped. She closed the door and turned, bumping into a chair, which sent itchy fire down her legs again. Her breath rose in a stilted gasp. Her mind was consumed with input; senses gathering; her body itched as her mind flashed over a crowd of young faces; smooth, beautiful young faces. She sat down hard in her chair. The heavy bounce helped for a moment, but her mind was made up; there would be a Sin Washing tonight. The faces of the young girls flew through her mind like a slide carousel; someone had sinned worse than the others; she didn’t know who at this point and didn’t care, but someone would attend her Sin Washing tonight.

  Chapter 32

  Del jumped out of Frank’s car as soon as he pulled up in front of the orphanage.

  “I’ll only be a minute,” she said as she held the door. “I want to tell Jimmy I didn’t forget him yesterday.”

  “OK, Del-bell,” Frank said, “but don’t dally or you and I both be in trouble with Mama Dedé when we get you home.”

  Del wrinkled her mouth into a whatever you say, Frank look and winked at him as she shut the car door.

  Ugh, dat girl, Frank thought as he pulled a fresh cigar from a box on the seat.

  Josephine beamed a smile from behind the desk as Del walked in. “Hi Del! Hey, you look great. I was just—”

  “Look great?” Del interrupted. “I slept in my clothes last night.” She signed herself in.

  “Oh, I… well, you still look great,” Josephine said. “I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to talk to you.”

  “Not now, Jo. I just stopped by to say hi to Jimmy. Maybe later?”

  Josephine stood up and lightly touched Del’s arm. “I like when you call me ‘Jo,’” she said quietly. “I know you’re busy, with your new life and all…” Del started toward the inner door. “But it’s about Jimmy.”

  “What?” Del said, spinning around. “What about Jimmy?”

  Josephine pulled Del out of view of the window in case Sister Eulalie was lurking in the hall.

  “I saw the man from the asylum this morning. He met with the Crow,” she said.

  Del knew this was the older kids’ code word for Sister Eulalie, but thought it was unwise to say it in the open.

  Josephine leaned close
to Del’s ear and whispered. “They were talking about Jimmy. She’s going to send him away.”

  “What?” Del said, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her straight out in front of her. Josephine felt a flush of blood rush up her neck as she saw the fire wash over Del’s face and settle in her eyes. A combination of fear and fascination caught her breath.

  “Are you sure?” Del said, holding her tightly.

  “Yes, I… I heard the Crow say that since his birthday just passed, she could make the legal transfer. Del, I’m sorry.”

  “But that’s not right. He’s only sixteen!” Del paced the room. “What the hell is wrong with her? Doesn’t she know—”

  “I think it’s because of his… well, you know. But there’s more, Del. I need to talk to you. There’s more I want to… there’s more I need to say.”

  “I’ve got to get Jimmy out of here, somehow,” Del growled under her breath.

  “Del, please,” Josephine said, following her around the room, “please listen to me. I’ll help you! I’ll help you with Jimmy!” Her voice cracked with desperation.

  Del stopped and stared at the girl who constantly wanted to smooth her jacket sleeves; whose green eyes were always following her, searching for confirmation, pleading for a signal. Realization dawned over Del’s mind.

  “You’ll help me with Jimmy?” she asked, breaking the spell.

  A breath of disappointment slipped out of Josephine, deflating her momentarily. She felt tears of stress water her eyes, but could no longer hide them. She looked into Del’s face. “Yes, anything. I’ll help you with anything.”

  “I need to see Jimmy, then I have to leave. I need to think about what to do, but if you can help, I’d really appreciate it.”

  Josephine beamed again. “Yes, anything. We’ll talk soon, then. When you think of what to do, we’ll talk.”

  Del left Jo standing in the waiting room and walked back to where Jimmy was playing in the corner of the cafeteria. He sat by himself beneath a window facing the wall, a small bag of marbles spread before him.