“You know that you left me for dead?”
“I thought you were dead. You were buried under a mountain of rock!”
“Buried alive!” Henri snapped, wiping blood from his lip with the back of his hand.
“I didn’t know! For this, you use my friend and attack me and mine in my home?”
“Yes!” screamed Henri. “Yes! You owe me. You owe me time. My spine was crushed, imbécile, and you left me there to perish. But I didn’t die. Instead I became like you, but without the power, money, or good looks. I was the insect of the vampire world, thanks to you. When my arms worked, I scraped my body across the floor to move from room to room, pulling myself along on my belly. You. Left. Me.”
“This was a long time ago, and I didn’t know you were alive. Besides, now you can live forever. What’s two years?”
Henri sat on the ground, snickering with glee. “Well, ask your old lady friend if she would like two more years and see what she says. She’s not going to get two more years though,” he sniggered. “You know you have some very angry ghosts on that property? Thanks to me, they are wide-awake now.”
Kara’s blood turned to ice.
“What have you done?” demanded Gaspard, leaning down to hold Henri by the chin.
“Nothing that wouldn’t have happened anyway, with a little more time. They had manifested by themselves. I just gave them a little blood to egg them on a bit. Rile them up. They were angry. Now they’re bloodthirsty.” He sneered and then fell to his back holding his sides with laughter.
“Adelaide!” Kara exclaimed. “Gaspard, Lisette is hiding upstairs. Go to her, she needs you. I’ve got to see to Adelaide.”
She ran to her truck, heart in her throat, praying to Odin that the old woman was all right.
17
Adelaide had observed the kitchen fire from a separate wing of the house. Could the ghosts have set that blaze, she wondered. It seemed unlikely, but if they did, she had to try to stop them from hurting anyone else. She dressed, every movement sluggish with remorse, believing that she was responsible for the fire.
Noel drove to Gaspard’s to pick her up and was stopped by a guard wearing a ripped uniform with slashes of soot on his face.
“You can’t go in, son.”
“I’m here to pick up Miss Adelaide. She called for me.”
The guard leaned down on the open window, and Noel saw the fatigue in the man’s eyes.
“Look, you can call her at the house.”
“I do recognize you. Go around the back; you’ll never get through here. I’ll open the gate remotely.”
Noel held out his hand in a fist, and the guard bumped him back. “Thanks, bro.”
“Don’t bro me, son. Get yourself around the back and pick up that nice old lady. Then skedaddle. We’ve got enough going on.”
Twenty minutes later, Adelaide stood in front of her own home, a place she’d lived in for years, one she had considered a refuge, and now it was a place of dread.
She was quivering with fear, back still hurting from her last encounter, terrified of what might happen next. But she was the only one who could communicate with the specters, so it was up to her to stop them. She stiffened her resolve and stepped out into the middle of the estate.
The ghosts swarmed, their presence so suffocating that she felt as if her mouth and nose were stuffed with cotton. She tried to speak, but it was impossible. The ghosts were stronger than before, and there was a blood lust that hadn’t been there prior. It was like revenge wasn’t enough. Now, blood needed to run in rivers.
The ghosts grabbed her arms and pulled her down to the ground. She hadn’t even been able to get a word out. Mustering a resilience she didn’t know she had, she called to Amos.
“Why did you start the fire? You could have killed many innocent people!”
The ghosts hesitated.
Amos came forward, so real now that she could see the color of his skin and the whip marks on his torso. An ugly scar made her think of a knife wound.
What do you mean, old woman?
Adelaide struggled to sit up, but the ghosts held her down. Amos tilted his head to the side, listening to something or someone. He nodded and then leaned in and straightened her skirt. He motioned for the ghosts to let her sit up.
Betsy says this is no way to treat an elder, slave trader or not. Now tell me ‘bout the fire.
“The fire at the vampire’s house. It caused a lot of damage.”
We didna start it.
“We saw ghosts in the kitchen doorway.”
Ghosts that haunt that house mebbee, partly solid like us tryin’ to ‘scape the flames. But I donna care. You can all burn, talkin’ for myself. You tryin’ to blame us for somthin’ else? You who did all the hurtin’? You who did all the whippin, punishin’ and your men doin’ the rapin? You know how many mullato chiles we have in our number? Lots, ‘cause your white men like to get randy wit our women and then you mistreat the offspring.
The blood lust rose in Amos and his entire retinue. Sounding less like a wounded, wronged man looking for justice and more like a bloodthirsty killer, Amos lowered his voice and hissed, I think we’ll start with you.
If he intended to scare her, it didn’t work. Adelaide didn’t hear him because she was so engrossed in pondering the situation. If it wasn’t the ghosts, who could it be, Adelaide wondered. There must be another party involved, an X factor she hadn’t accounted for. Her mind buzzed with possibilities. Maybe it was…
Adelaide careened out of her reverie by the ghosts pulling her down again, their hands plucking at her clothes. They shoved her onto her back, and a strong pair of hands grabbed her hair and dragged her out onto the lawn, into the slave pen, which was now visible to the naked eye, a red stain on the face of her property and heritage.
The smell was unbearable, and she felt the brush of spiders on her legs and the burrowing tics in her ears. The wooden floor scraped her back, and she jerked with pain when they manacled her to the middle bar. She wondered if they would whip her again and could only utter, “No, no, no.”
She closed her eyes, believing this was the end, hoping for a quick death when she heard the clang of a sword hitting the metal of a spectral chain.
Adelaide opened her eyes and saw Kara struggling with a phantom, a ghost so far gone in his rage that his entire being sucked in light like a black hole, a veritable absence of spirit. Adelaide hadn’t known this could happen to a restless ghost, and despite her pain, Adelaide was so horrified she said a quick prayer that the phantom slave found his way.
Kara fenced this black spirit with her sword as he flashed in and out of the physical world, each time getting closer until he hit Kara’s shoulders with the chain, knocked her to her knees, and then slashed her arm with a knife—a real knife—pulled out of the mist.
Adelaide tried to call out, but diaphanous hands held her down. Adelaide noted that the ghosts smelled pungent like fruit left out in the sun too long. Ghostly leg irons chained her feet, and a multitude of hands pinioned her arms to the ground.
Kara now battled the entire army of ghosts, and even she could not win that on her own. She whistled for Rikassa, and the horse came running so fast that Adelaide wasn’t sure her hooves hit the ground. Kara leapt onto the horse and used her height to her advantage, swinging in wide downward strokes, not quite destroying the ghosts but pushing them back. Kara nudged Rikassa closer to Adelaide and stabbed at the ghosts who restrained her friend. The ghosts melted back, muttering curses, calling Kara a she-devil. As long as Kara guarded her, the ghosts stayed back, but Adelaide knew this was a stalemate that couldn’t last.
Their attention turned with the arrival of the vampires.
Gaspard zipped toward Adelaide and Kara, another vampire hot on his heels. This new vampire’s fangs were down full length, and before Gaspard could get to the women, the other vampire tackled him from behind forcing Gaspard to turn and engage. The two vampires moved at a blinding speed, so much so that to Adela
ide’s eyes, they were flickers of color with vaguely human shapes. The other vampire’s colors were brown, gray, and purple while Gaspard’s were red, orange, and yellow.
An onslaught of ghosts welled up from the slave pen behind them, bearing talons like birds of prey, distorted features twisted with hate. They charged Adelaide, and she hunkered down, whimpering in fear as they drove toward her. Kara readied her sword and shield, blocking Adelaide with her body. Rikassa lowered her head and stamped a challenge.
They were surprised when the ghosts passed right on by and entered the house instead. It was if a bomb had gone off with a pounding drumbeat to follow. The house ghosts—Nathan, Sylvester, Slinky, and Martin—charged the slave ghosts in a fantastic clash of spectral power. Lights flickered, and Adelaide could hear the shouts of Amos and his clan as they fought their former masters and the black man that had turned his back to their plight. Their anger pulsated through Adelaide’s body, and she closed her eyes to push out their rage and pain. Sylvester and Nathan received the bulk of the blame, but it was Slinky who’d performed the beatings and Martin who’d turned a blind eye.
Adelaide heard her dishes hit the floor and the tinkling of the dining room chandelier as it gave in to the inevitable. Something that looked like pillow fluff floated out the back door followed by a dozen tea cups.
The slave ghosts ripped the house ghosts from their anchor inside the mansion, and a clash of phantasms exploded on the lawn. It was impossible to keep track of who was who, but Adelaide could hear the shrieks, the thuds, and the weeping. A cadre of slave ghosts veered off and encased the two vampires, who were both bloody from multiple bites and gashes, and held them fast. Kara dismounted and charged, throwing all her effort into rescuing Gaspard. Several of the ghosts snickered and blinked out of existence only to reappear next to Adelaide. Kara stood dead center looking right to left, determining how to get to them both.
Adelaide could take it no more. With an effort of extreme will, she shoved the ghosts of off her and yelled, “Amos, STOP!”
The world stopped. Amos emerged from the miasma and approached her, so solid she could see the faint tinge of his blue cotton pants and the outline of his bare feet pressing into the grass.
What is it you hope to achieve, old woman?
“These people are innocent. Leave them be. Kara wasn’t anywhere near the sugar plantation during your time. Both she and the vampires were in the old-world.”
But not Nathan and the other house ghosts. They owe us. Adelaide could feel Amos’ power pressing on her temples, and she staggered beneath the weight.
Nathan stepped forward, separating from the haze of ghosts, blood, vampires, and Valkyrie.
I offer myself.
Amos turned to him. What do you mean, slave master?
I offer myself. I will let you destroy me so that I am spent and cannot go through the Door. But you must let the others go and then move through the Door yourself. We did you wrong, it is true, and I will pay for that, but the rest of you should leave this plane. It is time.
Amos floated back to his compatriots, and the ensuing conversation happened at a level almost beyond hearing. What they could hear was so disturbing that Adelaide, Kara, and Gaspard winced in pain. The other vampire covered his ears but still struggled against his ghostly captors, fangs snapping like an injured lion on the savanna, useless but defiant.
Amos returned. Nathan and Sylvester. Both of you. Nothing less.
Sylvester floated to stand beside Nathan. I accept, but you must promise to leave and let our descendants and neighbors live in peace.
We agree.
Kara pulled away from the ghosts, snarling in fury. Gaspard and the second vampire backed away, free but wary of both the ghosts and each other. Adelaide bowed her head and said, “So let it be.”
Nathan and Sylvester moved to the center of the ghostly crowd, which separated to let them in and then enclosed them in a circle. No one breathed or made even the tiniest sound. There was silence and a quiet acceptance that this was the end.
Violence exploded in nightmare of sound and motion. The crowd converged on the two slave masters and tore them to pieces in a frenzy of destruction. White filaments of spectral substance flew in every direction. Ghostly fluid ran in rivers on the ground and pooled at Adelaide’s feet. Most disconcerting, she lost contact with Nathan’s consciousness, his soul destroyed forever. Sylvester followed, passing out of existence and out of Adelaide’s reach. It took a few seconds.
Adelaide’s stomach turned, and she fell to the ground, heaving. Kara ran to her side. The ghosts stepped back, still angry, but their fury was banked. Amos inclined his head at Adelaide.
We depart now. Vengeance is ours. Justice is done.
A female ghost slipped forward and placed her hand in his. Betsy, Adelaide guessed. Together at last.
There was a glow in the distance as if a window had opened so the light could shine in and illuminate places it had never touched before. The ghosts floated toward it in a spectral line, disappearing into the light’s radiance. As the last one entered, the glow dimmed and then winked out.
No one noticed Slinky and Martin float back to the house.
Adelaide and Kara each let out a sigh of relief, but then Kara yelled out, “Gaspard, watch out! Henri…!”
Adelaide watched, mouth open in shock as Gaspard roared in pain. The vampire, Henri she now knew, jumped on Gaspard and latched onto his throat. Kara picked up her sword and rushed toward Gaspard, only to be pushed aside by a figure in black, who grabbed Henri by the scruff of the neck and threw him to the ground.
18
Gaspard thought he was done for. Henri’s fangs were buried deep in his neck, and he couldn’t shake him off. He was flooded by sadness, and a deep heaviness overtook his body. He will get my blood, he thought, and it will make him stronger. At least I can stop that. Oh, how I wish I had held Kara, at least once.
Feeling powerless for the first time his long life, Gaspard reached up to tear out his own throat and deny Henri the satisfaction of absorbing his strength, but Henri was not there, pulled from him by a force unknown.
Gaspard staggered to regain balance and looked at the scene before him, not believing what he saw.
“Luc?” he gasped, strengthening as his wound began to close.
“Hello, son,” said the black figure who held Henri in the air by the back of his shirt like a kitten in its mama’s mouth.
“What is happening? Where did you come from?”
“I followed Henri here. When he lay in the ground under that mountain slide, covered in rocks, dirt, and debris, he called out for as long as his strength lasted. He was turned by a lone vampire who believed he could mend Henri and keep him as a companion. For two years, this vampire nursed Henri back to health, providing his own blood as well as that of human donors. Once he was strong enough, Henri drank his master down and hunted for me.”
Luc placed Henri on the ground and shoved his boot on Henri’s neck, using his heel to strain Henri’s head up in an awkward position.
“He blamed me for turning you and not him. We…quarreled. He stormed out, injured by my hand and determined to scent you out. I arrived a day ago, but thankfully, just in time.”
“Why is he so strong?”
Luc closed his eyes. “He drinks the blood of children.”
A rock settled in Gaspard’s stomach.
“That is forbidden!”
“By every rule and law, yes.”
“The Assembly will kill him!”
“Yes, I am to take him back to answer to them, and I will, even though he is my son.” Luc’s face was a portrait of pain.
Adelaide burst forward.
“You’re Luc Rochon, my ancestor!”
Luc bowed his head and said, “Yes, my lady, and glad to see the bloodline remained so… so… what is the word?”
Kara stepped forward and offered, “Spunky?”
Luc pressed his finger to his lips. “No.”
; “Spirited, plucky, brave, determined?” Kara said.
“I was going to say courageous.”
Adelaide rolled her eyes.
“No, I mean it. I know our bloodline ends with you, my dearest, but what a way to end!”
“I’m not dead yet,” quipped Adelaide.
Luc laughed. “Just so, and I love that movie. Son,” he said turning to Gaspard, “I must leave and take your brother with me.”
Adelaide and Gaspard both said, “No, you just got here!” The two looked at each other in surprise.
“And yet, now I must go.”
He picked up Henri and placed a pair of odd, thorned manacles around his wrists. “Come, Henri, there are vampires expecting you.”
Henri spit at his father.
“Classy,” Luc said, and whipped out a muzzle and tightened it across Henri’s mouth.
Luc turned to Kara. “A Valkyrie? My, my, Gaspard. What did you do to deserve this?”
Kara snapped, “He didn’t do anything.”
Luc raised an eyebrow. “Odin doesn’t lend out Valkyries for no reason. One day, I will hear this story.”
Gaspard schooled his features and swallowed the sense of abandonment he felt at Luc’s stunning arrival and immediate exit. He stepped forward and held out his hand.
Luc ignored the hand and leaned in to give Gaspard a kiss on both cheeks. Then, he seized Henri and vanished.
Kara asked, “How did he do that?”
Gaspard turned to look at her, smiling at her astonishment. He was glad he was still here to see it. “He’s a very old vampire. God knows what his abilities are.”
Adelaide butted in. “This was a nice reunion, but can we go inside now? I’m exhausted, and my kitchen is a mess again. I think I’ll need to burden you with my presence a little longer.”
“My kitchen is no better, but lead on, my ladies.”
The two women, one holding the other by the elbow, made their way to his car. Gaspard watched Kara as she assisted Adelaide and thought, maybe I need to be bold—time is short.
Souls Collide: Book 1 of The Soul Wars Page 9
