by G A Chase
“True. And the curse is more powerful in the hands of a descendant of Louis Broussard to begin with. I worry about concentrating so much force.”
Kendell had trouble envisioning all the people involved. “So I would be taking the place of everyone he wronged? That’s a lot of responsibility.”
“Hopefully, now you have a better idea of what you’re asking of me.”
Myles put his hands on Kendell’s shoulders. “Yesterday, you said something about Kendell being the key that could turn the curse in either direction.”
“Marie wrote in riddles and not always in English. My modifications would be based on her description of an heir to both the baron and Louis having the energy needed to manipulate the outcome. It’s complicated and dangerous.”
Kendell put the cufflink in the center of the table. “Then let’s start with something small and see how it goes.”
“One item is likely all we’ll be able to handle each night. The energy required will drain us both.”
It had been a busy thirty-six hours for Kendell. She’d chased after her friends, snuck around on the paddle wheeler, landed in the river, been rescued by a river rat, learned about her homeless relatives, retrieved the baron’s objects from the convent, faced a member of the Laroque family, and had just received the news that she’d be in for an exhausting night modifying the curse. But she didn’t see much choice. The kidnappers had given her a week to retrieve the items. Giving them up—as tempting as it was to save her friends—could turn loose a whole new brand of hell. If the Laroque family really was intent on gaining power through the use of the supernatural, who knew where their plan might lead? “One item at a time will only barely have them ready by the deadline.”
“There’s also the matter of payment. So far, our meetings have all been consultations. I give Cornelius Yates a lot of leeway in offering my opinions to his friends, but even I must earn a living.”
Kendell couldn’t imagine what type of payment she expected. “We’re just service workers.”
“You both have powers that interest me. I’ll expect paranormal favors that I can call in from either of you at any time until I’m satisfied.”
The undefined nature of what might be expected left Kendell hesitant, but what choice did she have? “Okay, but only if we can start tonight.”
Madam de Galpion turned to Myles. “It would be best if you left the room.”
From the way he grasped her shoulders, Kendell knew he wanted to object. Though she craved his presence, having him out of harm’s way again seemed the smarter play. She looked up into his worried eyes. “I’ll be okay.”
“I’m not leaving the shop.”
“You can man the sales desk. I’m sure my clientele will enjoy having a male presence.” Madam de Galpion left out the cufflink but wrapped the remaining items in a metal-lined cloth similar to what Mr. Noire had used for the pipe tool. “Secured in the convent, these items wouldn’t have absorbed much human energy, but now that they’re back among the general population, they need better care.”
* * *
With only Madam de Galpion sharing the small sealed room, Kendell noticed the difference in human energy. The mutual longing between her and Myles was like two magnets dancing around each other, desperate to connect. Though he was in the next room, the rough-hewn door, exotic smells, and presence of the voodoo priestess had an isolating effect on her emotions. “How does this work?”
As the smoke from the incense started filling the room, the dark woman looked like little more than a shadow that swirled the air currents. “The one area in which I do excel over Marie is my command of smells. We’ll start off filling the room with a fragrance signature similar to what she used. That will help us connect to the cufflink. Once we’ve established that connection, we’ll be able to weave our souls into the curse from the item’s perspective.”
The trip back in time that Myles had taken her on with the pipe tool was an experience she would never forget. “So we’ll watch Madam Laveau perform the curse? Will I see my forefather?” She tried to contain her excitement.
Madam de Galpion’s black eyes penetrated the gray wisps from the candles. “Myles has taken you on such a journey?”
She feared she might have shared too much without meaning to. “He has remarkable skills, though he would tell you it’s just his overactive imagination.” The words floated out of her as if the dark woman had summoned the truth.
“I suppose I’ll have to request such a journey as one of my payments. Tonight, however, we’re not concerned with the cufflink itself. We’ll be using it to move into the curse like a stepping stone we use to enter a river.”
Kendell didn’t like the sound of that. She’d felt that black wave when she experienced the pipe tool’s history. “You’re not worried that we’ll be consumed by the curse’s current?”
“Did you not hear me when I said this would be dangerous? The Malveaux curse will get seven attempts at claiming our souls. To effect the change we want, we’ll need to bathe naked in its energy. Only as a participant in its force can we influence its direction. Hold my hands. We have a long night ahead of us.”
Kendell knew what it was to get lost in a wonderful piece of music, to be whisked into an ethereal plane after intense sex, and even to be so captivated by her dog’s eyes that she saw life as a beautiful sharing of souls. But as the aromas that filled the room took command of her sinuses, she experienced an overload of olfactory stimulations. Every other change of perspective on life had involved her remaining grounded in her existence. Madam de Galpion’s chants in the darkness were like being pushed off a cliff.
Memories swirled around her. She grasped at the closest memory, the one Myles had recommended on their shared journey. A twelve-year-old girl buried her face in the snow-white and jet-black fur of a puppy to hide her tears of joy. The small dog licked the girl with such determination she wondered how her skin didn’t prune up. But the girl was only someone Kendell used to be.
Madam de Galpion’s black hand touched her shoulder and pulled her back into the swirling vortex. No words were exchanged, but Kendell knew she wouldn’t be able to rely on that signpost back to her normal life. The voodoo priestess expected complete submission.
She experienced pure hatred distilled out of countless wrongs. Like small threads of razor-sharp fiberglass, the hatred sliced through every piece of living flesh it encountered. That was their black river, who she’d become. No person unfortunate enough to end up in the curse’s stream could survive the piranha-like attack. But the river was wide, and her awareness only extended to the riffle of water next to her.
The smells changed, matching a bend in the river—scents she couldn’t identify. But like putrid flesh, some things didn’t require an explanation to be revolting. Somewhere far off in her awareness, her body was convulsing from the stimulants. If only she could struggle her way back to the memory of her and her dog. But a black shadow prevented her from turning in that direction.
We still have far to go. Though the words were not her own, she knew their truth.
A second series of aromas combated those of rotting flesh. The sickly-sweet, overbearing fragrance corresponded with a memory of an overweight woman wearing poorly applied lipstick, putting out a cigarette in a jelly donut. She didn’t know the woman. Not that it mattered. The smell rolled the water, and her body, toward an upcoming narrowing of the river.
The long, fibrous blades fought with each other like salmon struggling upstream. They were all moving at breakneck speed toward the same constriction. She tried to slow her pace, but she had nothing to use as a break. She was the water that drove the action, and she was the threads of pure hatred. As the impenetrable rocks of scent forced her and the hatred together into one being, her awareness spread to every drop of the river. No one else would ever manage the waterway.
An overwhelming sense of power replaced her helplessness. As the water shot past the narrowing, she was free. No riverbed recapture
d the water’s direction. The dark energy was hers to do with as she chose.
Kendell returned to her body in a coughing, choking fit. She was on the floor. The large, heavy chair lay on its side. Vomit oozed around her head and into her hair. “This has not been a good week for my hygiene.”
Madam de Galpion didn’t look much better as she sat curled on the floor next to her. “I warned you this would take it out of both of us.”
26
Kendell pulled her jacket tight around her body. She wasn’t cold, but for the second time in twenty-four hours, she stank to high heaven and was covered in disgusting slime. “This wasn’t how I envisioned starting our relationship.”
Myles didn’t even have his hand on her waist as they walked back to her apartment, not that she blamed him. “We’ve been through a lot worse than mud and vomit. But even in the shop, the smell from the back was overpowering.”
She hadn’t forgotten that he’d been in there. At some point, he must have hung the closed sign. No stripper would want that stench to permeate her tiny outfit. “Hopefully, the only thing you noticed was the smell.”
He seemed to have trouble making eye contact. “I wish that were true. I nearly broke down the door at one point. You were screaming and cursing. The only thing I can equate it to was when Cheesecake had swallowed the pipe tool and we were trying to save her from the dognappers in the warehouse. Imagine giving words to her primal howls, and you’ll get some idea of what I heard.”
Kendell had never been shy about using expletives, but considering her condition on coming out of the trance, she could only imagine what she’d said. “You know that wasn’t me, right? I don’t even remember most of what happened. At least our trip into the pipe tool’s history was filled with images. This was all blackness.” She shook her head, trying to make sense out of what she’d experienced.
“That’s what worries me. I thought Madam de Galpion was going to work on the cufflink, not on you.”
She fished the small golden piece of jewelry from her pocket. It still just looked and felt like something she’d find on her father’s dresser. “Something has changed. I just don’t know what yet.”
“Do you want me to hold on to the objects? When we were experimenting with my psychometric skills, it helped to not be around them all the time.”
She handed over the cufflink. “You’re not worried they will affect you?”
“Assuming Madam de Galpion did what she intended, only you would be able to use them against me.” He turned the small item between his fingers. “I could try to read it, though. I’m kind of curious what it would reveal after the change.”
Her stomach recoiled at the idea. “I’d rather you didn’t. We’re not playing anymore. I couldn’t survive losing you to that black river.”
“Fair enough.” He pulled out a cloth bag and dropped the cufflink into it. The interior reflected the light as if it were lined with gold. “Madam de Galpion gave me this while you were cleaning up. She said it’s probably not necessary now that you alone can activate the curse. I think she was looking for some way to ease my fears.”
“Of me?” She asked the question before really thinking.
“Maybe. I get the impression we’re in uncharted waters even for her.”
While Kendell had feared Myles’s reaction to the results of her latest adventure, Cheesecake’s greeting as they entered the apartment left her heartbroken. The usual exuberance of seeing Kendell return home quickly changed to whimpering. The dog crawled on her stomach, whining, then backed away. On her second attempt at greeting Kendell, she raised her hind haunches and started to growl before once again slinking away.
After eleven years with Cheesecake, Kendell knew most of her moods. This one was a combination of fear for her human and self-protection against a perceived threat. Unfortunately, Kendell had triggered both reactions. She lay flat on the floor so only her face was presented to Cheesecake and slowly slinked forward. The action of getting down to the dog’s level never failed to elicit the pup’s love. Kendell breathed a little easier as Cheesecake crept up and started licking her face.
“It’s okay, girl. I know you’re worried about me. I’ve had a rough couple of days, but it’s still me. I just need another shower. You’ll see. Everything is going to be okay.”
* * *
Myles hadn’t spent so much time couch surfing since the summer of his freshman year. Fortunately, Kendell’s was one of the more comfortable sofas he’d encountered. After each session in the voodoo shop, she appeared so drained and beaten he simply couldn’t leave her alone. But his main aim was to take care of her and keep her company. Though they’d kissed, moving the relationship to the bedroom when she was so vulnerable wasn’t in his nature.
Cheesecake stared at him forlornly from the ottoman. At least she hadn’t barked and carried on as she had on the first night, but he knew he wasn’t the only one worried about Kendell’s condition. “You’re right. It’s time I did something.” Sitting by and watching weren’t his strong points.
The smell of strong coffee had a way of enticing Kendell out of her bedroom. Even half-awake, with rumpled hair, and in her comfortable nightshirt, she was irresistible. If only they were in a time and place where he could act on those desires. “Cheesecake and I have been talking. We don’t think you should go back to the voodoo parlor tonight.”
“What choice do I have? They’re going to hurt my friends. Even at this rate, we’ll barely have enough time.”
He’d hoped the idea of him and her dog being in agreement would brighten her mood. “The Laroques didn’t worry too much about hiding their identities. That’s unusual for a group trying to cover their tracks. Unless they’ve got some kind of a memory spell to make everyone forget, I think the Strippers and the Mutants are in more danger than we thought. It’d be awfully easy for the Laroques to say our people wandered out into the bayou and got eaten by gators. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had gotten lost out in those tributaries. Your friend the river rat should have found their camp by now. I want to go after them.”
She brought her cup of steaming coffee to the couch and sat so close to him he had to resist the urge to reach out and touch her bare leg. “I’ve been so focused on getting these cursed objects modified I hadn’t considered that we know the identities of the kidnappers. Even if we could rescue our friends, we’d still all be in danger.”
Everyone was in danger, and he was proposing going up against armed thugs like some kind of stupid cartoon gang. So why was he having such a hard time resisting every section of her exposed skin? “You are bringing the curse together under your power. I don’t like it, and neither does Cheesecake, but it does give us an edge. From what you said, it sounds like Chief of Police Laroque isn’t part of their operation. I can’t see him going against his own family, but once our friends are safe, we might be able to solicit his help or at least talk to Lieutenant Cazenave. We have allies.”
She leaned down to face her dog directly. “I never wanted to make either of you worry. I love you.”
Cheesecake quickly leaned forward to incessantly kiss her face.
Myles knew she wasn’t going to like his next idea, but he’d had more than enough of her risking her neck. “I don’t want you along for the rescue. It’s not that I think you’re too delicate or any BS like that. But you are pretty drained from your work with Madam de Galpion.”
The way she sat up straight and stared at him with squinted eyes told him he was in for a fight. “No way. They’re my friends, and I’m not putting you in danger without being there too. I love your desire to be my white knight, but we are not starting out our relationship with me as the weak girl and you as the strong man. Besides, unless you intend on taking a crash course on shooting a gun, I’m the only weapon we have.”
He’d planned on a covert mission where violence wouldn’t be needed, but she was right. He wasn’t exactly the best in a fight. “What if they’re watching you?” It was the last car
d in his hand of arguments.
“Then we’re in deep shit. Any thoughts on how we go about turning ourselves into navy commandos?”
If the Laroques were keeping an eye on her beyond the daily morning meetings, they’d know about her sessions with Madam de Galpion, and he still couldn’t be completely sure the voodoo priestess was on their side, and only their side. “First we need to see if Whit found their location. You said they weren’t watching the river. As it’s alligator mating season, I’m hoping they’re also leaving the security of the bayou to the wildlife. We might be able to sneak in through the marshes if we can round up some people who know the area.”
“I’ll bet my family on that side would know some people. And thanks to you, I even know how we might be able to pay them.”
* * *
Sneaking across the river was easy enough. The Laroques didn’t have anyone watching the ferry, or at least no recognizable member of the family. With the distinctive long, straight nose and tight, small mouth, anyone of that lineage was hard to miss. Not that they didn’t have the money to hire whomever they liked.
Myles stopped Kendell from heading straight under the terminal the moment they disembarked. “I didn’t notice anyone suspicious, but just to be sure, let’s give it a minute to make sure everyone finds their cars without getting lost.”
“You have no idea how hard I found it to take my time on my last outing.” She sat on the cement bench as if they were waiting for a bus. “I noticed Whit’s pole as we docked. Once the ferry pulls away, we shouldn’t have any trouble finding him.”
He knew they were putting a lot of faith in what the river rat might be able to do for them. Myles had his own resources, but utilizing any of them might attract attention. “You said he had a boat?”
“A river skiff. It’s not much. I’m not sure how it would do in the bayou. I wish we had more of a plan.”
