Face Behind the Mask

by Leo King

  “Fortune favors us, Sister. This guy isn’t paying the gate any mind.”

  Lucky us, for once.

  Climbing one of the trees and perching in the branches, Tania surveyed the inside of the estate. A lavishly dense garden of bushes concealed most of the yard, leaving only the walkway and driveway uncovered. Looking through her binoculars, she surveyed the area. A few guards were inside and only one was walking along the path. Compared to the last two places she had snuck into, this place was relatively open.

  She was just about to hop over the wall when Violet tugged at her. “Sister, stop! Look up at the roof!”

  As soon as Tania did, she realized why there were so few human guards. Floating around the roof, a silent sentinel, was a bakulu, quite possibly the same one from City Hall.

  Oh, heavens! This is the power of the grimoire?

  “Very likely. I’ll need to pull all the way back so it can’t sense us. Only call upon me if you need me.”

  All right.

  “And, Sister, please be careful.”

  Tania smiled. I will.

  As Violet retreated deep within her, she felt all her power drain and all her senses dull. Just like at City Hall, she felt weak, with only her training keeping her nimble. It was a sobering reminder that without Violet possessing her, she was as frail and weak as anyone else.

  Pushing those thoughts away, she concentrated on the training she received from GEIST—the hours of physical exercise to tone her body, the practice at the firing range, and the hand-to-hand training with Meyer. As Abel had said when he’d scouted her, her possession made her extraordinary, but solid physical conditioning would give her the edge.

  Jumping over the wall, she grabbed the branches of another tree and flipped to the ground, landing with a soft thud. Then, creeping on her belly, she slunk through the undergrowth of garden until she reached the walkway. Staying perfectly still, she waited. A black, unmarked sedan drove past the gate and up behind the house.

  Company? Give me a break!

  It was disconcerting not to hear a response from Violet. She wasn’t used to being alone in her head.

  Above, the bakulu sniffed the air and then growled but made no other moves. Wondering what could have caught its attention, she scanned the area for other spirits. But there were none she could see or feel. With a sigh, she returned her attention to the guard walking the grounds, lying still and waiting until he passed her.

  Quickly, she slipped out from the bushes and choked him with her rifle, applying the method Meyer had taught her to subdue someone without killing them. He wheezed, gurgled, and tried to get free. After what seemed like too long, he went limp. She sank to the ground with him and checked his pulse. It was still there. She had managed to take someone down using only her training.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, she pulled him into the undergrowth, binding his arms and legs and gagging him. Then she snuck up to the porch. It was dark, save for the lights coming from inside. Starting far away from the front door, she checked each room. Every one of them had guards. Some were playing cards or otherwise engaging in recreation, but most were going through boxes of assault rifles and pistols.

  What the heck? Is the Knight Priory planning something?

  She was just about to head to the back of the house when she heard giggling. From the room closest to the front door came the sound of a child’s laughter. Carefully, she peered inside. Two children, a boy and girl no more than a few years old, were playing with Caroline. The boy was sitting a few feet away, playing with blocks and holding a conversation with the corner of the room, while the girl sat in Caroline’s lap and read a book along with her. The boy, who had short, black hair, laughed merrily as he built towers of blocks, only to smash them down, while the girl, who had long, blond hair, was quiet and attentive.

  Caroline and the girl finished up the book. “Good night, stars. Good night, air. Good night, noises everywhere.”

  The girl looked up at her. “Mama, why say goodnight to the stars? They’re millions of miles away!”

  Keeping up a smile that was obviously fake, she said, “Well, Alice, the stars can hear the wishes and dreams of little girls like you.”

  Alice… then the other one was Eugene. My God, these are Sam’s children!

  Alice’s expression never changed. “Well, that’s not right, now, is it?”

  Before Caroline could respond, an older woman in a maid outfit entered. “Madam, the Oracle is here.”

  “Good,” Caroline said. “Tell him I’ll meet him in the side room. And send out all the guards to patrol the grounds. Also, can you and Paula take care of the kids’ baths?”

  “Of course, madam.”

  Crap, this place is about to get unfriendly. I need to get in, now!

  Still no response from Violet.

  Rubbing Alice’s head the way one would a dog, Caroline brought her to the maid. “Alice, go with Millicent and get your bath. Mama will come tuck you in when she’s done.”

  “Yes, Mama.”

  As Millicent and Alice left, Caroline walked over to Eugene and ruffled his hair in the same manner. “Honey, stop talking to the wall.”

  “Just talking to Daddy,” he said.

  Tania focused on the corner of the room, detecting the minutest of spiritual presences. The girl seemed spiritually unaware, but the boy was amazingly sensitive.

  “Of course you are, baby,” Caroline said. “Now be good. Miss Paula will be here in a moment to bring to you your bath.”

  “OK, lady.”

  “Call me ‘Mommy.’”

  “OK, lady.”

  Caroline sighed and left the child alone in the room.

  Feeling nothing but disdain for her, Tania shook her head. “Who leaves a little child alone like that?” Pushing her disgust aside, she started searching for an alternate way inside. She couldn’t be on the porch when the guards came out.

  But quite abruptly, Eugene went to the corner of the room, offering a block to an unseen entity. Slowly, something started appearing. At first, it was very faint, but then, ever so slightly, it began taking form. Up above, she heard the bakulu rumble as a spectral being shimmered before the little boy.

  She gasped as she realized what it was—the ghost of Richie Fastellos. Now she knew where he had been all this time.

  Richie’s ghost glanced over at her, nodding. The locking mechanism on the window shook and then popped open. With an almost sad smile, he turned his attention back to Eugene. He knelt and made the block float. Eugene giggled and clapped his hands. Richie was distracting his son so that Tania could get in.

  Moving as quietly as she could, she slipped inside, landing on top of a comfortable Victorian-style loveseat. Closing the window, she rolled to the ground and then snuck along the wall until she was at the doorway. She was about to slip out to the front hall when she heard a voice say, “Eugene? Little Eugene? Paula’s coming to take you to your bath.”

  Tania slid underneath the loveseat so fast she almost got carpet burn. Once there, she lay very still. Richie’s ghost vanished as a skinny, middle-aged maid with a veined neck entered the room. “Little Eugene, what are you doing?”

  “Talking to Daddy, Pau-wa.”

  “Of course you are,” Paula said as she took his hand. “Come on, little man. Time for a bath.”

  As they turned around, Eugene locked eyes with Tania. He pointed at her and said, “Scary woman under sofa!”

  Tania tensed up, reaching for her rifle.

  Paula chortled softly. “Of course, hun. Of course. Come on. Let’s go play with Captain Ducky!”

  As she led him out of the room, he repeated several more times. “Scary woman under sofa. Scary woman under sofa, Pau-wa!”

  Once they were gone, Tania breathed a sigh of relief. That was lucky.

  “You can come out now,” a voice whispered. It was Richie’s.

  Rolling out from under the sofa, she looked around for him. He was in the corner, but without Violet’s powers, s
he could only make out the faintest of outlines. “Richie, what’s going on?”

  “I swore to Sam I’d watch over them, but that creature above will destroy me if I fully appear. So all I can do is this.” Richie’s ghost gestured at his translucent form. “Look, I need to warn you. Please be careful. The Oracle. He’s not what you think he is.”

  That wasn’t particularly helpful. “What do you mean?” Tania asked.

  “I mean he’s actually—”

  Above, the bakulu started rumbling, making the walls shake.

  “I have to go,” he said. “Please, Tania. Be careful.”

  He vanished. Pondering his words, she snuck out. Damn it! Why don’t we have any intel on this guy?

  The front hall was magnificent, from the sweeping staircase to the patterned rugs lying over the polished marble floor. But it didn’t impress her, not anymore. Every mansion was starting to look the same. So instead of taking in the decadence of Caroline’s wealth, she sought a place to hide. There was stuff everywhere, from statues of the Muses to potted plants to wall tapestries. She ended up choosing a wall hanging depicting two nude women intertwined in a passionate embrace. And there she waited.

  A few seconds later, Caroline emerged from one of the side rooms. Walking alongside her was a figure in a black, hooded robe and a mask of Baron Samedi—the Oracle of the Knight Priory.

  “After finding the ritual I needed, I returned the grimoire to you, as per our deal,” the Oracle said in a mechanically synthesized, but decisively male, voice. “But you haven’t heeded my warnings, Miss Saucier. The advanced spells are dangerous. You swore to only use the ones similar to Dr. Kindley’s.”

  Caroline picked her nails. “Talismans made from the spirits of the dead are trite. What I want is real power.”

  “You are a fool. Magi who spend a lifetime in training wouldn’t cast some of those spells. The one you used to place Papa Ghede inside the district attorney is unstable and potentially fatal. Spirits of that power aren’t meant—”

  With a condescending sniff, she said, “You know, I really don’t care. Ever since I did that to Harry, running the Knight Priory through him has been easy. And after we induct the mayor tomorrow night, I’ll simply transfer Papa Ghede to him. Then I’ll control both the Priory and New Orleans safely from the shadows. See? Real power.”

  The Oracle was starting to sound exasperated. “But doing that will kill Mr. Connick and cause irreparable damage to Papa Ghede. You need to use something akin to a kabbalic seal to safely remove a high loa. Do you know kabbalic magic? Of course you don’t. And you are going to end up murdering him.”

  Kabbalic magic? Tania thought. If she remembered properly, Meyer used that.

  Shrugging, Caroline said, “I was thinking of running for district attorney. What do you think?”

  He shook his head. “I think you are a terrible woman. When I agreed to help you, I never expected you to be so hateful. A heart filled with that much darkness is bound to—”

  Once again, she interrupted him. “Spare me the lectures. You and I are using each other, and you know it. You want the children, and I want the Knight Priory. Don’t play the morality card now.”

  Tania sucked in her breath. What did the Oracle want with Sam’s children?

  Then Caroline grinned wickedly, a dangerous glint in her eyes. “Or are you reneging on our deal? Perhaps I should tell the world who you really are?”

  “Humph. You can’t hold that over me forever, Miss Saucier.”

  “Watch me. So, are we still on? You get the kids, and I keep the book?”

  “Yes. I must have the Castille children. They are vital to my plans. So, tomorrow night, we make the trade.”

  Caroline’s hateful expression grew. “Of course. I’m even going to bring them to Deepwater Olympus for the ceremony. Eight o’clock sharp.” She tapped the nose of his mask. “Don’t. Be. Late.”

  Tania’s eyes widened. She had just learned the location of the Knight Priory’s base. Now she needed to get back to GEIST.

  Suddenly, a woman’s voice called out, “Little Eugene! Get back here! Get back here right now!”

  Streaking across the front hall like an iguana running on its hind legs, a naked little Eugene rushed up to a shocked Caroline, grabbed her pants leg, and jumped up and down. “Lady, lady! Scary woman under sofa! Scary woman under sofa!”

  Biting her tongue, Tania held back any reaction. She found the boy adorable.

  Running up to him, Paula picked up the boy, who wiggled in protest. “I am so sorry, madam. He keeps insisting that there is a scary woman underneath the loveseat in the drawing room.”

  With the look of a pot ready to boil, Caroline rubbed her face. “Argh, Come on, you little fu… I mean, come on, sweetie. Let’s make sure there’s no monster.”

  She and Paula left with the child.

  Still hidden, Tania waited for the Oracle to leave as well. But he didn’t. She waited a few seconds more.

  Then he spoke. “You might as well come out. I know you’re there.”

  What the hell?

  “Behind the tapestry. You’ve been there the whole time, listening. Come out or I’ll come get you.”

  Unharnessing her rifle, she stepped out and pointed it at him.

  He snorted. “Blind Moses. I thought you had died.”

  “Never mind that. How did you know I was hiding there?”

  “Similar to you, I suppose. We aren’t that much different.”

  “Indeed,” she said. “So what happens now?”

  The Oracle harrumphed. “You leave before I kill you. And tell Dr. Lazarus’s little group to stay out of my way. There are more important things than the Knight Priory.”

  Tania growled. How did he know about GEIST? “Who the hell are you?”

  “Someone you don’t want to mess with. Leave now. New Orleans is my responsibility.”

  Smirking, she took the safety off her rifle. “So what is your stake in all this?”

  Lifting his foot, he said, “You have no idea what’s at stake. And I said leave, not talk. Goodbye.” He then stomped on the ground so hard the room shook, and the floor exploded toward her in a shockwave. Before she could blink, the force lifted her up and threw her out of the house through the front door.

  Pain tore through her, and she screamed as she landed on the front walkway, skidding so hard, the skin tore off her back. Her right shoulder popped out of its joint, and when she stopped halfway to the perimeter wall, she saw that the Oracle was already standing over her. He raised his hand to strike but stopped when a loud roar pierced the air. Up above, the bakulu was hurdling toward him, its mouth wide open.

  “Insect,” he muttered.

  Through the agonizing haze, she heard Violet ask, “Sister, can you hear me?”

  Yes. Help me, please!

  “I will. Just wait. As soon as I tell you, give me complete control.”

  Complete control?

  “Yes. Trust me.”

  Lying there in incredible pain, Tania watched as the bakulu fell upon the Oracle. He side-stepped with ease, and as soon as it snapped its jaws, he grabbed them and started pulling them apart.

  He can touch spirits?

  “Yes! I think he’s… just wait a few more seconds.”

  As the bakulu whined in torment, the Oracle slammed it into the ground. Then he punched it, white energy flowing through his arm. The moment his fist hit, it let out a horrific squeal and vaporized into black sand, which sparkled into nothingness.

  Oh, my God. He obliterated it. That means—

  “Now! Do it now!”

  Closing her eyes, Tania willed herself back and her sister forward, the switch taking less than a second. Once again, she was observing her body from the backseat, the pain numbed. She watched as she popped her shoulder back into place, jumped up, and sprinted faster than ever before.

  There was a sudden rush of heat as the Oracle, holding out his hand, shot what could only be called a beam of white-and-black ene
rgy at her.

  What is this?

  Violet didn’t answer, but Tania saw herself flip, twisting to the side as the beam passed underneath. She landed on a rooftop and started jumping across them.

  Where are we going?

  “The river!”

  Behind them, a set of battle cries broke out. When her body glanced behind, she saw three of those African warrior spirits following her.

  Ogouns!

  They hurled their spears at her, the sharp tips cutting at her flesh. They were still chasing her when she reached the Mississippi River. Her body scanned the water, and when she saw a barge, she thought, Sister, there!

  “I see it!”

  Tania watched as her body took a few steps back and then leapt with every ounce of strength she had. The wind rushed through her robe as she sailed hundreds of feet through the air. Behind her, one of the ogouns stopped and threw spears while the other two also jumped.

  One of the spears pierced her back. Violet shrieked as they slammed into the surface of the barge, rolling on the ground. With a pained groan, Violet returned control.

  “Spirit… weapon… you can resist… easier.”

  Tania knew Violet was right. Her back hurt, and blood trickled out, but the spiritual aspect of the spear would have been many times more damaging to her sister. Tania spun around in time to see one of the ogoun plop into the river. The other, however, landed before her, stabbing her right in the stomach. She cried out as the cold blade pierced her guts. As the ogoun thrust its spear at her again, she slapped it to the side with her rifle—but just barely.

  Sister, are you there?

  “Only a little. These spirit spears really hurt!”

  Once again, the ogoun stabbed at her. And once more, Tania parried just in time.

  We have to survive. GEIST needs this intel.

  “I know, Sister.”

  Her movements now sluggish, Tania groaned in pain as the ogoun attacked again, its spear sinking into her leg. She couldn’t fight any more. They had exhausted too much energy escaping the Oracle.

  I wanna try something. Can you focus your power in me once more, Sister?

  “Yeah, I think so…”

  Even as the ogoun struck at her heart, Tania felt Violet push every last drop of power into her. For a brief moment, time slowed down to a crawl. It was more than enough. She grabbed the spear, and as time returned to normal, she yanked it out of the ogoun’s hands and stabbed it in the head. It convulsed and then fell off the barge in a small explosion of light and mist, its energy recycled back to the spirit world.