by D C Young
She was vibrant refreshed and lively and throughout dinner she talked animatedly about her short visit to Metairie. She had taken a walk through the cemetery after her ‘lunch’ at the red brick house and then taken a tram ride straight down Canal Street and around to Toulouse Station. She walked from there to the hotel. Sauntering through Jackson Square and enjoying the views of St. Louis Cathedral.
When the children were in bed and sleeping, Sam dressed in a pair of jeans, t-shirt and a light jacket and stepped out into the hallway in the direction of Mary Lou and Rick’s room. They had an adjoining to the room next door where their three children were already fast asleep. Sam knocked softly on the door and Mary Lou answered it promptly in her dressing gown.
“I’m heading to Benoir House to meet with the Blackwell sisters. I shouldn’t be long,” Sam told her. “Listen out for Tammy and Anthony for me, please.”
“Sure thing, Sam. Good luck.”
Her destination was only a few blocks away and as Sam stepped out onto St. Ann Street, she quickly decided her route of choice. The streets weren’t too crowded and for that, she was grateful; a bustling city wasn’t Sam’s idea of vacationing. There was music coming from every bar and parlor, street carts sent their heady food scents into the air to lure customers for their vendors and in the distance Sam’s preternatural ears could hear the comforting rattle and chimes of the Canal Street tram car.
She took Royal Street across to Toulouse then turned North West and walked towards Dauphine Street. When she got to the corner that was dominated on both sides by Benoir House, Sam knew she had reached her destination. The top two stories wrapped around the corner flawlessly as if the street had been an afterthought of the houses’ architecture, each with a balcony that ran around the entire length of the building. Black wrought iron columns and balustrades contrasted beautifully against the cornflower blue walls trimmed in white and navy blue. Baskets of colorful petunias and dianthus hung at regular intervals and set back against the walls were terracotta pots with dwarf palms in them. There was no doubt that if New Orleans was a house it would have been Benoir House. The deep rooted culture of its inhabitants was evident in the design of their home.
At the courtyard gate, which was locked, there was a doorbell. Sam rang it once and waited. A few moments and soon a young woman in a flowing white dress came walking towards the gate.
“Miss Moon?” she asked.
“Yes,” Samantha replied, “I’m here to see Erika and Jade Blackwell.”
“I’m Jade Benoir Blackwell,” she replied as she opened the lock on the gate and held it open for Sam to pass through. “Erika and I have been expecting you. Come in.”
***
Jade left Sam seated in a spacious parlor area of the house while she went to get her sister. When the two returned, the mood changed instantly from that of a cordial meeting something more akin to a war room huddle.
“Good evening, Miss Moon,” Erika said, extending her hand to shake Sam’s. Sam was hesitant, as she usually was, to shake hands but Erika insisted, clasping it firmly. “Rest assured, you are not the first and neither will you be the last vampire whom I’ve touched, Samantha Moon.”
Sam couldn’t help but smile at the comment and the young woman’s seemingly formal demeanor. Erika spoke like someone who was much older but Sam was used to conversing with thousand-year-olds who looked thirty-five.
“It’s a force of habit,” Sam explained. “It’s nice to finally meet you both.”
“Yes, I assume you might have heard as much about us as we have about you.” An expression of confusion spread across Sam’s face. “Our mutual friends…”
“Oh! Julia and Bridget?”
“They had a lot to say about you while they were with us.”
“Huh! Have they left already? I was under the impression from Rennie Telfair that several key persons were coming together to decide what to do in the wake of Yemaya. I assumed Julia and Bridget were included considering Bridget raised the alarm.”
Erika nodded her understanding of the situation as Sam had deduced it. “Your assumption was quite correct but seeing as our mutual friends are… umm, of your special nature, we thought it best that they go ahead of us to our ancestral home at Raccourci while we remained behind to await your arrival.”
“We thought it best to meet there. It is a private estate and everyone’s privacy and security can be guaranteed there. The whole place is well guarded by very old and deep rooted spells.”
Sam nodded her understanding and agreement considering the graveness of the matter. “So, the others… the factions, will they all be present at the meeting?”
“Everyone of them,” Erika confirmed. “And anyone absent will be deemed to be in allegiance with the Sea Goddess in this attempt to destroy New Orleans.”
“Fair enough. When is the meeting set for?”
“Tomorrow at midnight. That should give everyone attending enough time to get their affairs in order and the proper arrangements made.”
“What about my family? I’m not comfortable leaving them on their own in the city with so much going on and danger on our doorstep.”
“We thought it would be unwise as well,” Jade replied. “I’ve made reservations for you all to spend the day touring the magnificent Parlange Plantation after which you will retire to the Magnuson Hotel. A car will pick you up at 11 pm to bring you to Raccourci.”
“Sounds like its all been well planned out,” Sam said standing to take her leave. “I’ll see you both tomorrow night then.”
“See you tomorrow, Sam,” Erika said as she walked Sam out towards the courtyard.
As she stepped through the gates, Sam said, “Do give Julia and Bridget my best. Its been a while since I’ve seen either of them.”
“I will do that, Sam. Good night.”
“Good night.”
The walk back to the hotel on St. Ann Street was short but lonely. The streets seemed to have grown darker as the people had thinned out.
It’s only the beginning of this adventure and I feel completely exhausted by all of it already, but heck is it going to be a ton of fun stopping the disaster this time, Sam thought as she put the key-card into the lock and pushed the room door open.
Chapter Fourteen
Parlange Plantation
The early morning drive to Parlange Plantation was eventless. The scenery, however, was stunning. The Louisiana countryside was unlike anything they had seen before. The land they drove on skirted canals and bayous, the Mississippi River never going out of sight and when they arrived at the plantation the children were spellbound. It was just like stepping back two centuries in time.
Surprisingly, Bridget and Jade were waiting for them, sitting in the shade of the plantation house’s huge porch. Another group of people were standing near what seemed to be a huge birdhouse gathering for the official tour. Bridget was slightly uncomfortable in the daylight but not singeing; Sam remembered Julia mentioning that older vampires often lost some of their disastrous sensitivity to sunlight. They were often the strongest and most well balanced mentally too; they had to be since they could not simply walk into the sun and die if they ever got tired of the endlessness of immortal life.
“Good morning, everyone,” Jade called from her seat, “Why don’t you join us up here. We have some refreshments for you.”
Sam reassured them that the invitation was okay and they all made their way up the stately stairs to the porch. There was a coffee table laden with fruit, cheese, cold cuts, bread and cold beverages and several chairs arranged for them to sit and eat. After everyone had said their greetings, Mary Lou asked for the restrooms and then herded the children in to do their business and wash up. Rick followed suit to help with the smaller boys.
After they had gone into the house, Jade turned her attention to Samantha.
“Your daughter has very interesting talents.”
The comment took Sam by surprise. “What do you mean?”
“She is
telepathic yes?”
“Oh, yeah we just found that out. Truthfully, I’m still not sure what to do with that yet.”
“Nothing,” Jade replied. “Her talents will develop and reveal themselves in time.”
“What if they start to overwhelm her?”
“Something tells me Tammy will be just fine but you also should remember how many resources you have at your disposal in Los Angeles, Samantha Moon.” Jade gestured to Bridget. “At anytime you think you might need help, I’d be sure to say you’ve got it.”
Bridget nodded her agreement. Having friends among the Western Council of the Elder Watchers had its benefits too.
“How did you know my daughter’s name?”
“I’m a witch remember?” Jade replied, giggling.
When their refreshments were done, Sam sent the group off on a guided tour of the plantation while she sat with Bridget and Jade to discuss the agenda for their midnight meeting. Suddenly, Sam sat upright in her chair and looked across the porch towards the side of the house. Her expression changed several times before she settled down again. Then she turned to Jade and asked, “Why are there so many spirits wandering around here? I’ve seen so many in New Orleans that I was hard pressed at times to tell if they were just people mingling with the crowds or actual ghosts.”
Jade smiled, then asked, “How many ghosts have you seen since you arrived here this morning?”
“Maybe twenty, I’ve lost count. Right now, there’s four with us on the porch. Three men and a woman, all dressed very opulently in a sort of European style from maybe the eighteenth century. They seem to be discussing something and are constantly pointing out towards the land. Around us I see a lot of workers milling around too. Some are in the garden weeding and planting, some carrying tools and poles with bags attached to them. There are several maids coming in and out of the house.”
“Louisiana had many plantations in its day and like any place whose industry was as important to the citizen’s survival as it was here, there are many spirits that continue to work just as hard in death as they did in life. They can’t leave this place, it was all they knew then and it’s all they know now.”
“But why haven’t they crossed over?”
“There’s a lot of reasons for that, each spirit has its own.”
“And you don’t feel the need to help them move on?”
“Personally, I don’t meddle, Sam. They’re happy right where they are. However, if a spirit is tormented, then witches and psychic people are obligated to offer guidance to put that spirit at rest. Are there any disgruntled spirits around here?”
“Not that I can tell. They just seem to be going about their business.”
“Exactly,” Jade said sipping her iced tea.
“But why are there so many here?”
“Parlange was an indigo plantation. Do you know what is involved in the process of refining indigo?”
“I really don’t.”
“The crop is harvested and then placed in vats of water to ferment. It’s been said that the stench of the fermented liquid was so bad that indigo was never refined near the dwelling on the plantation. The slaves who did this work had to walk a great distance to the fields and refining house to do their jobs. They would agitate the liquid in the vats to introduce oxygen which would develop the color of the indigo and then cause the solid dye to settle at the bottom of the vats, and then they would scrape the sludge out into cotton bags to dry, press the product into cakes and prepare the dye for export.” Jade paused to sip her drink again. “Between the labor intensiveness of the process and the noxious fumes, an indigo workers lifespan was said to be only about seven years. So yes, there are a lot of dead indigo workers at Parlange and everyday they get up and go back out to those indigo fields to do their jobs.”
“What about these four on the porch with us?”
“The owners; Vincent de Ternant, his son and daughter-in-law Charles and Virginie de Ternant and the other gentleman is Virginie’s second husband, Colonel Charles Parlange. They’re harmless. Every day they come out here to squabble over the plantations future, just as they did several times in history. They won’t leave this land until this house no longer exists for them to occupy and they won’t allow that to happen.”
“That persistence the French colonists had seems to be very much a part of Louisiana’s people today.”
“You’re quite right, everyone here came from somewhere else, the difference between Louisianians and everyone else is that we all remember where we came from and we cherish those memories from our past just as much as we cherish the lives we lead at present. One should never forget where they came from or you won’t have a clue where you’re going.”
“I see.”
“And that’s why Yemaya will find that New Orleans will not be an easy target for her to destroy. We won’t roll over and play dead, we will fight. This place is ours and we will die before we see it destroyed. Much like the Ternant- Parlange family over there, we can’t allow that to happen.”
Chapter Fifteen
The Factions Decide
Raccourci was a hive of activity when George pulled up outside the house with Sam in tow that night. It was fifteen minutes to midnight and yet it seemed she might have been the last to arrive for the meeting.
“You aren’t late, Miss Moon,” George Falco reassured her when he saw the worried look on Sam’s face. “I’d never allow it. Most of Miss Blackwell’s guests arrived at sunset so they could enjoy the renewing properties of the estate before entering the battlefield.”
“What do you mean by that, George?” Sam was just as curious about the place as she was about her fellow guests.
“You see, this house and its land were designed by their ancestor, Louisianne Benoir, to be a restorative place. The design of the estate, the placement of the house on the land, the property itself along the river; it contains all four elements in perfect harmony. Spells were woven into every structure that stands here; every garden was designed to channel well being for its occupants as well as shield from outside influences and prevent unwanted entities from entering the property.”
“That’s some powerful magic,” Sam said.
She may have sounded a little skeptical because George felt the need to add some emphasis. “Believe me, Miss Moon, there isn’t a witch alive today who is half as powerful as Louisianne Benoir was, not even our friend from Salem, as well respected as she is. They were born within a decade of each other, Miss Bishop being the older of the two, but Louisianne came from a deeper line of witches, women who did not have to hide to practice and grow their magic, a bloodline that dates back to the time before Christ. And it’s been said that she said a spell over every stone that was laid and every twig that was planted here.”
George Falco’s story made Sam feel strangely safe as she walked into the foyer on the first floor of the house at Raccourci. Every one who’d been invited to attend were already seated in the formal dining hall however Erika, Jade, Bridget and Julia were still having drinks in the front parlor.
“Come in and join us, Samantha,” Julia called as soon as Sam approached the doorway. She knew Julia had sensed her arrival, just as she had sensed all four of them in the room.
The two sisters were perched at the bar while the two vampires sat on a couch sipping ruby colored blood from champagne flutes.
“Can I offer you anything, Sam?” Erika called from the bar.
“I think I’m fine for now, thank you,” Sam replied smiling as she took a seat beside Julia on the couch. “Veronica’s people in Metairie have been exceedingly kind in feeding me these past few days. The quality is exquisite.”
“Ah, yes! Veronica has put much effort in ensuring she feeds well. I think it’s because she moves around so much with her work. It’s important to keep one’s strength up.”
Bridget scoffed. She wasn’t the biggest fan of Veronica Melbourne’s seemingly decadent ways. “Once upon a time we ate whatever we could find. She
’s like the vampire version of these vegan, organic, gluten free, picky eating people. It just seems so pretentious to me.”
“And back in the olden days, we walked barefoot uphill both ways to school, Bridget,” Julia mocked. “There’s nothing wrong with being a little particular about what and where you eat.”
Julia’s quip made Sam laugh. The Greek always had a way of putting things into perspective so wittily. You never had a dull moment with Julia in on the conversation.
Suddenly, there was the sound of a gong. It was the grandfather clock in the upstairs library sounding twelve midnight. Erika immediately stood up from her bar stool and pushed it back in neatly. “Ladies, I believe it’s time we got this little pow-wow started.”
***
An hour later, the dining hall was still simmering just below a chaotic roar. Erika had called the meeting to order several times but it always returned to the point at which the faction leaders seemed to be arguing with each other more than they were discussing the matter at hand.
Sam had remained silent for the entire meeting, having nothing much to contribute immediately. She knew she was only in attendance because of the information she had received from Rennie Telfair. How important that was, she didn’t know until Enzo, the rebellious leader of the Werewolf faction took the floor to address Erika.
“Guardian, I have been wondering why it’s been so difficult for those present here to come to a conclusion on what to do about this threat, when its all of us who are equally threatened by Yemaya, and I keep coming back to one thing.”
“What is it, Enzo? Speak your mind. The rest of you, be silent,” Erika said.
“We have become all bent out of shape about this based on the news from one source. Isn’t it the practice of the factions that outside reports need to be legitimized by coming from at least two unaffiliated sources before they can be brought to the table for discussion?”
