Gates of Eden: Starter Library

by Theophilus Monroe

2

  A CHERRY-RED HUMMER turned sharply and skidded to a halt, spraying my Camaro with gravel.

  “What the hell, man!” I shouted. I’d just had my car custom painted. A nice, glittery purple. It was fucking gorgeous. At least it was before a body struck my front quarter panel. And the Humvee driver assaulted it by gravel shower.

  The man who climbed out of the front seat of the vehicle was one of the most frightening—but also one of the most attractive—people I’d ever seen. If he was compensating for anything by driving a Hummer, it was probably due to the unfortunate effects caused by anabolic steroids. His build resembled that of a bulked-up pro wrestler. His dark curls cascaded down his back, like a river of pure chocolate. His skin was olive in tone and unblemished. In spite of his chiseled features, though, I could tell from his eyes he wasn’t more than a few years older than me. His eyes… there was something unique about them, dark and broody.

  “Oggie,” the voice possessing my sister said. “This is not your concern.”

  “I’ve told you before,” the man said with an islander’s accent. “Stay away from these crossroads.”

  “The boy made a bargain,” the Loa said.

  “Your one-sided bargains mean nothing here, Kalfu.”

  Kalfu… I wasn’t sure if I knew that name or not. It was familiar… it had the sort of “ring” to it that suggested Isabelle recalled it more clearly than I did. We’d probably encountered the name in our studies, and Isabelle had something of a photographic memory. I couldn’t read her mind, exactly. But I often had a sense of déjà vu, a sense of familiarity about things, that more often than not was attributable to something churning in Isabelle’s mind.

  “You have no jurisdiction over the crossroads, Ogoun,” Kalfu said.

  “But what does your bargain have to do with these girls?” Oggie said, gesturing toward Ashley and me. He grinned at me subtly. I felt a blush coming on.

  “These aren’t your average girls,” Kalfu said. “Don’t you sense it? The dark-haired one, can you feel her power?”

  “Whatever is hers belongs to her, Kalfu,” Oggie said, pulling a flask from his back pocket and pouring liquid on the ground beneath his feet.

  “A waste of good rum!” Kalfu protested.

  Oggie lit a match and dropped it in the puddle of rum, which immediately burst into flame, tickling the man’s muscle-bound thighs.

  Oggie must have detected my confusion. He turned to me and winked. “My testicles are cold.”

  I almost choked on my own tongue. Did he seriously just say that?

  I mean, wool underwear would be a better solution. Or not… probably itchy. I don’t know. I’ve never had testicles. They seem like they’d be an awful inconvenience most of the time. And even so, what kind of man lights a fire under his own balls?

  A badass, that’s who…

  He confirmed as much when, inhaling deeply, he drew the flames into his lungs. His eyes went ablaze as he released a torrent of energies toward Ashley. I wasn’t sure if I should intervene or not. The big guy seemed to be on our side… but this looked like, and felt like, fire magic.

  Fire does more than burn…

  Isabelle was right. It also purifies. Perhaps this was a kind of exorcism—one I’d never experienced. Still, fire purifies by burning… not exactly the method I’d choose myself if I wanted to exorcise a demon without harming the host.

  Nonetheless, the flames moved with intention. My fire spells are a lot of “boom” and “pow,” when I can pull them off, but trying to target them precisely… my aim was usually worse than that of a drunken frat boy gunning for the toilet. Oggie clearly had better aim than that. His spell made a beeline directly for Ashley’s mouth.

  Her eyes turned red, matching Oggie’s. A moment later, the black cloud that had entered her poured out of her mouth, again, with an ear-piercing roar.

  The boy! Isabelle shouted from somewhere deep in my mind. Kalfu is going after the boy!

  I gathered whatever magica I could muster and, my eyes dimly glowing green, sent it all toward the boy. It was a pitiful spurt of magica, but it was all I could draw. I was scraping the bottom of the barrel, but I knew it wouldn’t take much. Isabelle’s magica was the purest kind, drawn directly from the Tree of Life. It was primal magic—the stuff that made the world. It warded off anything impure, like this Kalfu asshole.

  My magica intercepted the black cloud before Kalfu could reenter his former host.

  “Nice shot,” Ogoun said, clearly taken aback by my display of power. With a subtle grin, he nodded my direction.

  I nodded back, still blushing.

  The black cloud coalesced into a form of its own, right in the middle of the crossroads. It was a translucent form—not fully corporeal. His skin was leathery, a deep burnt red. His frame was massive, though not quite as large as Oggie’s. He wore an old-school tuxedo with long tails. Atop his head was an old-timey top hat, a single red carnation attached to the band where the base of the hat met the brim. The Loa had a style of a sort—that is, if he lived two hundred years ago. He was in desperate need of a makeover. He’d be a great candidate for an episode of Queer Eye for the Evil Guy.

  I ran toward Ashley, who was attempting to get her feet under her. Apparently, being briefly possessed had sobered her up in short order.

  “What the hell is he?” Ashley asked, trying to gather her wits.

  “Isabelle says he’s a Loa,” I said, mildly petrified by the truth of my words.

  “Of all the nights,” Ashley said.

  I nodded.

  “And who is that!” Ashley said, gesturing toward the more aesthetically pleasant, though equally beastly, Oggie. She was clearly impressed by his chiseled appearance as much as I was.

  I shrugged. “Not sure. But he apparently has a case of the chilly balls.”

  “What?” Ashley said.

  I just grinned.

  Oggie was staring at Kalfu directly in the eye… speaking a language I couldn’t understand. What were they saying?

  “Isabelle, can you make sense of what they’re saying?” I asked.

  It sounds familiar… but I’m not sure. I definitely can’t translate.

  Whatever it was, the two were clearly involved in a sort of verbal joust. Both being massively hulked up, it resembled the sort of face-off one might see mid-ring in the WWE. I half expected a stomping punch, followed by a body-slam or suplex at any moment.

  “You’re no match for me without a willing host,” Ogoun said, now using English, as he turned his back on the Loa.

  “But when I get mine,” Kalfu said, his apparition beginning to fade, “none of you will be able to stop me.”

  As Kalfu’s apparition faded away, Ogoun diverted his attention to the boy who’d hit our car, helping him to his feet. He gripped the boy by each shoulder, almost like a parent chastising his disobedient son. “What were you thinking, Mikah? Of all the Loa to evoke…”

  “I thought I was calling Papa Legba,” the boy sheepishly explained. “Just like we were taught.”

  “You clearly mucked up your gris-gris…”

  “Excuse me,” I interrupted. “But I’m Annabelle, and this is my sister, Ashley.”

  “The name’s Ogoun,” the large man said, extending his hand. I gripped it, his massive fingers completely enveloping mine. “But my friends just call me Oggie.”

  “Your friends?” Ashley interjected, taking her turn to shake his hand. “So that evil freak is your friend?”

  Oggie nodded. “I hesitate to say he is a friend. He was, once.”

  “Thank you for helping me,” the boy said, his eyes meeting mine. “I’m Mikah.”

  “Well I don’t know how much help I was,” I said. “I mean, I hit you with my car. Are you okay?”

  Mikah put his hand to his ribs. “A bit sore,” he said, with an accent that clearly indicated he came from somewhere in Africa. “But I’ll live.”

  “So that Loa… Kalfu… he made you jump out into the road?”

/>   Mikah shook his head. “I did that. He was just getting a foothold. I couldn’t let him take over.”

  I dropped my hands to my hips and narrowed my eyes. “You jumped out on purpose?”

  “As any faithful Hougan would,” Oggie said, beaming at the boy. “You did well, Mikah.”

  “Did well?” I asked, scrunching my brow. “He almost killed himself.”

  “Don’t get me wrong,” Oggie said. “The boy was attempting a summoning beyond his grade. He will be disciplined for that. But once he knew the Loa he was dealing with, he made the noble choice.”

  “What’s noble about throwing yourself in front of a car?” Ashley asked.

  “Nothing,” Oggie said. “But giving your life to prevent Kalfu from walking the earth… he might have saved thousands of lives.”

  “But he mucked it up,” I said. “He didn’t die.”

  “Your magic healed him the moment it struck him,” Oggie said. “Otherwise, he might have.”

  “Well, sorry for saving your life,” I said sarcastically.

  “He didn’t leave my body because you pissed him off. He left because my body was injured.”

  “And in spite of his power, one thing Kalfu can’t do is heal,” Oggie said. “Not many of us can.”

  “Not many what?” I asked.

  Oggie turned, scratching his head. He clearly wasn’t sure if he should answer my question.

  His aura… He’s a Loa, too. Isabelle said.

  “Wait, you’re a Loa?” I asked.

  Oggie turned, shrugging his shoulders.

  He’s possessing this body…

  I tried to access my magica, enough to exorcise this Loa from the body he possessed. I’d really tapped myself out this time. It would be a while before I could draw enough to try to exorcise him.

  “You can’t exorcise me,” Oggie said, apparently picking up on my attempt to draw in a bit of magica. “And if you did, you’d only be hurting my host.”

  “Hurting him?” I asked.

  “Stage four cancer,” Oggie said. “I’m the only thing keeping him alive.”

  Cancer… I could heal injuries, and probably an isolated tumor. But stage four? Once it’s spread like that, there wasn’t much I could do. Isabelle might have a shot, though, if I let her take the reins.

  “And now you’re training young Voodoo priests?” Ashley asked.

  “I am,” Oggie said. “There is a war coming. That’s why I am here.”

  “A war?” I asked.

  “You wouldn’t understand,” Oggie said, looking me directly in the eye. “But I’d like you to. With your power, you would make a strong ally if you were properly trained.”

  “Trained?” I asked.

  Oggie reached into his pocket and handed me a card. It wasn’t exactly professional-looking… it had nothing but an address, and a signature at the bottom. “Go to this address at dawn.”

  I recognized the address: 615 Père Antoine Alley. Any good Catholic who lives in New Orleans would.

  “That’s the St. Louis Cathedral-Basilica.”

  Oggie nodded. “Simply walk into the alley between Chartres and Royal streets. Again, it must be at dawn. Someone will meet you there to guide you to our academy.”

  “An academy? I appreciate the offer, but I just graduated.”

  “Then you’re free to pursue other studies,” Oggie said. “Studies more attuned to your… gifts.”

  “What would we learn?” Ashley asked.

  “The invitation is only for your sister,” Oggie said. “My apologies, I’d love to have you, myself. But I can only sponsor a single initiate each semester.”

  “You’re a Loa,” Ashley said. “Aren’t you in charge or something?”

  Mikah choked down a laugh. Oggie, however, took the question seriously. “I play a pivotal role in our school,” Oggie said calmly. “But administration is not a part of that.”

  I took a deep breath. “If you can only take one, why don’t you just take Ashley? She’s a much better student than I am.”

  “Perhaps next semester,” Oggie said. “If no other candidate for my sponsorship presents herself.”

  “I can handle myself already,” I said. “But I appreciate the offer.”

  “You were lucky today,” Oggie said. “But Kalfu knows you now. He knows you have… a familiar.”

  “And your point?” I asked.

  “My point is that he is a persistent Loa. He will not rest until he finds a way to lure you into a bargain, until he gets what he wants.”

  Until he gets to me…

  I sighed. “I’ll think about it.”

  “Don’t think about it too long,” Oggie said. “Kalfu will not require a single moment to ponder his intentions. Every moment you wait, he gains an advantage.”

  “And you think you can help me?”

  “I would not wager any mortal has a chance to thwart Kalfu without a solid grounding in our arts,” Oggie said.

  “And those arts are what, exactly?” I asked.

  “Voodoo,” Oggie said. “I’m inviting you… asking you… to join the Voodoo Academy. We need you. But even more than that, you need us. You might be powerful, but without solid training you’ll be no match for Kalfu.”

  3

  “YOU SHOULD DO it,” Ashley said.

  I agree with your sister, Isabelle echoed in my mind.

  “I don’t feel right going without you,” I said. “We’re a team. And besides, if we’re going to keep doing what we’ve been doing, you could use a few extra skills.”

  “And you couldn’t?” Ashley had that sort of defiant tone in her voice that she often exhibited when she was trying to bring me down a notch. “Just because you have Isabelle doesn’t mean you’re better equipped for this stuff than I am.”

  “Come on,” I said. “I get hurt, she can heal me. And have you seen what she can do when she’s in control?”

  “And when she isn’t in control, your abilities are unpredictable. It happened again tonight. You were tapped out and basically helpless. If that guy hadn’t shown up…”

  “All right,” I said. “I get it. Without Isabelle, I’m basically worthless.”

  “That’s not what I’m saying, Annabelle.”

  “Whatever. You’re still drunk.”

  Ashley shook her head. “I’m just saying that this school apparently wants you, and not me. And, well, maybe you could use it. Get a few skills of your own to back you up when you run out of magica. Not to mention, this might finally be our chance…”

  Ashley had a point. For nine years we’d prodded every paranormal mystery that came our way. By sheer force of will, combined with Isabelle’s unique abilities and insights, we’d helped ghosts cross over, we’d exorcised our fair share of demons, and even staked a vampire. Still, we weren’t any closer to unlocking the mysteries of our own tragedy than we were nine years ago. We knew that the world of Voodoo was connected to the Loa, but we’d never found anyone who was a part of that world who was inclined to help. For whatever reason, they just didn’t trust us. But if this Oggie fellow was really a Loa, if he really was a teacher at this Voodoo Academy… it might be the best lead we’ve had yet. And, we literally “crashed” into it without even looking. It was a stroke of luck that we couldn’t pass by. I knew as much. Still, all I felt was trepidation.

  “I’ll think about it,” I said as I collapsed on the antique sofa in our living room. “How about you talk to me about it in the morning. You know, when you’re sober. Besides, isn’t Roger supposed to come over in the morning?”

  Ashley grinned widely. “Bright and early.”

  “Well you’d better shower,” I said. “You smell like a distillery.”

  She’d had a crush on the Choctaw Shaman since we were little girls. He’d been single for a while now, but only recently had he seemed to reciprocate her feelings. He was there that night—the night our family was attacked. Flashes of that night appeared in my nightmares almost every night since it happened. With
all of those memories brought to the fore of my mind by tonight’s events, I was sure tonight’s terrors would be especially vivid. I took a deep breath as I laid my head on my pillow.

  “Brace yourself, Isabelle… I’m sure we’re in for another fabulous night.”

  Goodnight, Annabelle…

  BANG! CRASH!

  THAT was always how the nightmare began… No matter how many times I’d had this dream and knew what was coming, it always felt real, like it was happening in the moment. I’ve always been told that if you can recognize you’re dreaming, then you can take control of it. That might be the case for some people, but it wasn’t the case for me. Once this nightmare began it was destined to unfold in precisely the same horrific way it always did…

  Ashley and I were watching Disney’s Frozen… Elsa was in the middle of belting out “Let it Go” when the door to our room was ripped from its hinges.

  Ashley and I screamed in concert, but our high-pitched voices didn’t dissuade the monster. It looked like it might have been human once. Skin, some dry and rotted, other pieces still moist, clung to its exposed bones. It reeked like roadkill. This thing was so repulsive that it made the “walkers” on The Walking Dead seem cute and cuddly.

  I dug my nails into the floor as the zombie grabbed my ankle. Another one burst through the door, seizing Ashley around the waist. I screeched in pain as my fingernail snapped, a splinter from the floor piercing the nail bed of my index finger. I struggled against the monster’s grip, swinging and kicking with all my strength. The zombie didn’t seem to feel any pain… and its strength was otherworldly. It was useless. Something struck the side of my head… A violent thud rattled my skull. Everything went dark.

  Sometimes, the nightmare ended here… but not tonight. The horrors had just begun, and I knew what was coming.

  When the darkness cleared, a girl was looking me in the eye… Isabelle’s sister, Messalina. I knew that only because I’d relived this moment so many times before.

  “I’m so sorry, sweetie,” she said as she brushed a stray curl from the side of my face. “I wish I had gotten here sooner.”