"Now calm down darlin'," Marie soothed. "I've already come up with a plan."
"And what might that be?"
"A curse."
He stared at her a moment and then roared with laughter. "Bah! You think a few of your hoodoo words are going to stop a man like Andrew Jackson?"
"This won't be no hoodoo!"
The strength of her words stopped his laughter, and he studied her more carefully. Marie knew he was thinking back to some of the strange things he'd seen in her presence, the magic she'd been able to weave with the help of the voodoo loas. She may have put on small little shows to thrill her customers, but there was no denying that her power was real.
As she expected, he nodded at her words.
That night they'd gone deep into the depths of the bayou until they'd come to an island. It was the only piece of dry land and surrounded by swamp and cypress trees. Gators stretched out on the banks, their eyes watchful as Marie and Jean strode past them.
"Stop!" Marie turned to look at one of the alligators more closely. "That ain't no good."
Her hand shook slightly as she pointed to a long, fat gator with its jaws open.
"It's yellow."
"Unusual color for the creatures, right?" Jean asked.
"A bad omen," Marie said. "Very bad luck is coming. Yellow alligators bring nothing but tough times and trouble."
Jean said nothing, and Marie didn't know if he believed her or not. Didn't matter. She needed to get away from the bad mojo the gator brought with it. Together they headed deep into the island until they came to the treasure's resting place.
Not one piece of it had been disturbed thanks to their clever way of hiding it.
"Now my darlin' go ahead and place your curse. I don't see how it will do much good. Trekking out of here would be difficult for anyone, much less with this large a treasure trove." Jean smiled, clearly delighted as he always was at the sight of the massive fortune he'd gathered over the last twenty years.
"You got to think about your children's future," Marie said and rubbed at her stomach. Jean's eyes widened in comprehension. "That's right, pirate. You gonna be a papa."
"You have made me so happy, Cherie." Jean drew her into his arms and kissed her. She could feel her body spark with lust just as it always did at his touch. It was with a long sigh that she pulled away from him.
"Work first, Jean. Then we play."
With that she began the preparations for the ceremony. She lit black candles and drew the symbol on the damp ground for the voodoo spirit she meant to contact. Marie pulled out a bottle of Jean's best rum and gingerly poured the liquid over the top of the veve. Then she lit the whole thing on fire. The flames crackled and blazed high.
"Bright light, shining light, as I will it, let it be so," Marie chanted, eyes shut. She could feel the approach of a mighty power. It brushed against her skin, lifting the delicate hairs on the back of her neck. Something akin to a sexual thrill ran through her, and she felt her body began to pulse with desire. The feeling didn't startle or repulse her though. That was the power of the voodoo loas. They were always hungry for passion and liked to take advantage of those that summoned them.
"Pretty little thing," a voice whispered in her ear. "So sweet. So delightfully unpure."
She felt a hand on her breast and something pinched her nipple.
"Ready to do my bidding, I see," the voice continued with a chuckle. "Course you know there is always a price for dealing with the Baron."
"What do you want, Baron," Marie asked.
"No, my sweet Marie, my little priestess, what do you want? You summoned me."
"A curse. I need a curse to protect my lover's treasure."
"Curses can be tricky things."
"What would you ask for to make it happen?"
"A drop or two of blood. A dash of lust. A promise of servitude."
"Blood and lust are easy enough to obtain." At her words, Marie felt lips pressed to her mouth, and she found herself consumed by a kiss that set her body on fire. As much as she loved Jean, this was a different kind of feeling being ignited in her. The primal need wrapping around her pushed thoughts of her lover away.
"I see that you are more than ready with the lust," the Baron chuckled again. "But the servitude. That will be a tricky one. You can't say that the Baron isn't fair in his warnings."
Marie nodded. This spirit was a tricky one, worse even than Papa Legba, keeper of the crossroads. The Baron always had a surprise, a catch to any offer or deal he made with a mortal.
"What would you ask?"
"I need a new crew for the Deadman's Ferry. Part of my job is to escort souls to the other side when they die. 'Course, I don't get just anyone. Only the souls of the dark ones, the ones who might be saved. My job is to test them and what fun I have with that. Your man is older, a seafarer, a pirate. I will invoke the curse, but only if he agrees to command my ferry in death. He will take the dark souls of those lost at sea to the other side." The Baron sighed and stroked her hair.
"For how long would my, Jean have to do this?
"Until someone else takes his place." The Baron's voice changed, turning sly and cajoling. "It's a small thing I ask in return for keeping your wealth and the wealth of your descendants safe."
Small? Marie shuddered. To be enslaved in the afterlife? She couldn't condemn Jean to such a fate. No treasure was worth it.
"I'm sorry, Baron." Marie opened her eyes. "I cannot do as you ask."
"What? What is it?" Jean moved towards her. "There isn't anything I wouldn't do to protect my treasure."
"Ah…" The fire blazed and the Baron's voice cut through the night. "He has accepted. All that's needed is the blood."
"No, that's not fair," Marie said. "He didn't know the bargain."
"You brokered the deal, my sweet," the Baron said. "You called me forth and he accepted my terms. It is done."
An awful quiet grew in the bayou. Marie stared at Jean, her eyes filled with tears.
"What is it?" Jean moved towards her and then stopped. His eyes widened and his body shook as if he were in pain. "What's happening?"
"Jean!" Marie ran towards him.
His eyes began to glow a soft yellow and he caught her as she came at him.
"There you are, Cher." The body belonged to the man she loved, but the voice did not. "Time for the blood and lust. Then the bargain will be complete."
"What have you done to Jean?" Marie stared into the eyes of Jean Lafitte, searching desperately for some sign that his soul still resided there. "You need to get out of his body, Baron."
"Nothing he doesn't agree with. He said he would do anything and that includes this."
Jean's mouth came down on hers and though she knew it wasn't really him, the kiss burned through her, igniting fires at her core that she couldn’t control. Almost without her being aware of it, her arms came up and encircled him. She deepened the kiss, feeling his body respond as his erection pressed against her. Dimly, she was aware of his hands tugging at her skirts. Cool night air assaulted her legs, bringing with it a dash of reality.
"Wait," she gasped, pulling away.
The Baron--she no longer saw Jean in his lustful eyes--only laughed and then pushed her against a Cypress tree. His lips were warm on her neck and rational thought slipped away again as she let herself be lost in his touch.
When he pulled away, she gave a soft moan of disappointment.
"Don't worry, my sweet," the Baron said, pulling out Jean's hunting knife. "I'm not done with you."
Her head felt so dizzy and the world around her spun. The Baron lifted her hand and a sharp pain pierced through the veil of passion. Blood bubbled up into the cut he'd made along the palm of her hand. She watched him do the same to himself. Then he turned to her with a bright smile and clasped their hands together over the veve.
"Your blood mixes with his, sealing the curse. No man or woman shall touch this treasure without being haunted for their deeds. In death, they will become member
s of the Deadman's Ferry, bound to Jean Lafitte and his bidding until he chooses to release them." The words were soft as the Baron squeezed their hands together. The blood dripped over the fire, turning it from orange to a bright green. With his free hand, the Baron touched Marie's face. "You really love your pirate, don't you, Marie?"
"Yes," she whispered, entranced by his spell.
"You'd sacrifice much for him?"
"Yes."
"Hmmm…love always makes curses more powerful," the Baron mused. "Love could override the rules of the captain."
"Rules?" Marie swayed, unsure of what was going on. All she knew was that she wanted him. Jean. The Baron. Whoever the creature was that held her in its thrall. The details of the curse were no longer important.
"Don't you worry over it, Marie." He pulled on the sleeves of her white peasant blouse until they revealed her shoulders. "It's a small thing. Now let's seal the deal."
Taking the knife, he cut a straight line down the front of the blouse, tearing it away and allowing her voluptuous breasts to fall free. He took in the sight of her exposed brown skin and then yanked her skirt down, too. Naked in the night air, Marie Laveau felt there wasn't anything she wouldn’t do for the creature before her.
With a sigh of appreciation, the Baron removed his clothes and then pulled her towards him, laying her down by the fire. His hot kisses were wild, frenzied as if he hadn't felt warm flesh in a lifetime.
Maybe he hadn't, Marie mused.
It was a fleeting thought. As he thrust inside her, all Marie could think of was the pleasure she felt and the triumph of knowing the curse was complete.
****
I opened my eyes and found myself staring into Jean Lafitte's green ones. Sadness lined his face and the sorrow emanating from him overwhelmed me. I wasn't sure what to make of the vision he'd shared with me.
"You are destined to break this curse laid not only on me, but on those of my line." Lafitte looked over at Euralie. "All of my descendants have watched over my treasure, keeping others from it, sometimes at great costs to themselves. But I grow tired of being the captain of a ship full of darkness. Ferrying lost souls takes a toll, even on someone of the undead like myself. I cannot move on to my beloved Marie until someone takes my place as captain."
"Are you trying to get Juan to take your place," I asked. "I won't help you if that's the case."
"No, I don't imagine you would. And that's not what I'm asking. See, the Baron left me a loophole, one I've been unable to use until now. I collect the spirit of those that die at sea, but only the souls that are dark, torn, sullied with evil." Jean pulled a gold coin out of his pocket and held it up. "Recognize this?"
"Yes. That's Juan's coin."
"No. It's my coin. Juan stole it from the cursed treasure. However, he died with it in his possession at sea. Unfortunately, for him that coin bound him to me, but his soul isn't dark. That complicates things a bit," Jean said.
"How?"
"He doesn't belong on my ship. True, he's done things that aren't always been considered legal or moral, but his soul is not dark with evil, like some be."
"Unlike Diego." An idea was coming to me, one that Juan had put in my head and now I understood better. "You need to get Diego to replace you."
"It would be the perfect punishment for him, although I've rather enjoyed the small torments I've provided him the last two years."
"If Juan hadn't died, would he have been treated the same as Diego? Would he have been haunted by his past mistakes?"
"Oh, yes. No one escapes the curse." Jean laughed at turned from me. He walked to Euralie. "Not even my own kin."
"Since Juan doesn't fit the dark soul criteria for your ship, why can't you just let him go?" I watched emotions streak across Jean face, but couldn't decipher them.
"I can't just release spirits at will. They have to prove they’re worthy of moving on. Most never do. The bond of the Baron's curse is great, but there is a loophole." Jean stroked his chin, thoughtfully.
"What is it?"
"Love. If someone sacrifices themselves for the one they love to the Baron, then that is more powerful than any curse. Love does indeed conquer all." Jean studied me, waiting to see how I would react to this news.
"What do you mean sacrifice myself? Do you mean that I have to die or something?"
"No," Jean said. "You have to give yourself to the Baron."
Give myself?
"He means you have to have sex with the Baron," Euralie said, barely containing her frustration at my ignorance. "The Baron is known for his sexual appetite. To him, there is no greater expression than the act of pleasure. That's why female voodoo priestess stay away from his sort. Invoking him never comes to any good. It's more likely that he will end up controlling you, tricking you into something you never intended. It's why you must never even say his name without being prepared."
"That's why I erased your memory, Elizabeth," Jean said. "As soon as Juan Montoya passed, I looked into his heart and saw everything. He begged me to take the true name of the Baron away from you so that you would never take the chance of calling him up. It was written on the piece of the map that Euralie gave you. If you couldn't remember it, then there would be no chance of you falling under his spell or being harmed. I don't think Juan counted on the resilience of his enemy though."
"Then why did you give it to me?" I felt frustrated. I mean, c'mon! Jean was the one who'd possessed Euralie, making her give me the small piece of paper that had changed my life. There must have been a reason for that.
"I had no idea of all that would occur. I was just thinking of protecting Euralie, getting her away from that man," Jean explained. "It wasn't until Juan's death that I even realized that there might be a chance for me to get off the Deadman's Ferry. The wheel of fate has an odd way of turning sometimes."
No kidding.
"Look, I can't pretend to understand this whole curse business, but I'll do what's needed to set things right," I said.
Euralie's eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"Even if that means sleeping with the Baron? What would your ghost lover say about that? I bet he won't want to share his woman. Might even toss you aside over it. 'Course, you seem pretty eager to jump into bed with anyone," she said.
"Back off," I said. "I never even slept with Eddie. You don't have any right to talk about me like that. And maybe I can work out a deal with the Baron so I don't have to sleep with him."
I saw doubt in both Lafitte and Euralie's face.
"Listen, if I'm going to do this, set everything right and get you off the Deadman's Ferry, then I have a few conditions of my own." I took a deep breath, trying to gather the jumble of thoughts bouncing around in my head. "I want my memory back. All of it."
"Done," Jean said. His eyes glowed an eerie yellow and energy shot from him straight at my head. I fell to the ground, gasping for air as a sharp headache began.
The past flooded back into me. My time with Juan, everything that happened after we'd left the hotel room where my friends were murdered, the bullets I dodged from Diego Martes, our trip to the bayou, finding the treasure--everything. It was like watching a movie in fast forward.
"Oh my god," I whispered. "I see it all now."
"Let's finish this tonight." Jean's voice came from far away. "The dawn is coming. Our power will be stronger at midnight. Gather your tools Euralie. Prepare her for the ritual."
I sensed rather than saw Jean and his ghostly crew fade away.
"Damn!" Euralie's curse cut through the air. "Damn!"
"Euralie," I called to her. "Is there any more vodka left? I need a drink."
She tossed the empty bottle at a tree in front of me. It shattered, sending shards of glass flying everywhere.
"I guess that's a no." I made myself stand up. My head pounded. "What about aspirin? You got any of that?"
"Don't bring your petty aches to me," Euralie said. "You may have your memories back, you may have a way to save your precious Juan and
get rid of Diego, but it doesn't change the fact that my love is dead."
Eddie. My aching memory was showing me a few things about him. Things that weren't good, and only increased the headache. While I didn't want to say anything to Euralie just yet, maybe it was good that he was out of the picture.
"Don't we need to worry about other things right now?" I asked. "Like Diego? Now that Jean has taken his bodyguards away, how will we stop Diego from getting to us?"
"We leave." Euralie began walking towards the house.
"Leave? What are we going to do? Hide out in the bayou all day?"
"Yes."
Great. A whole day in the bayou with a woman who clearly hated me. What more could a girl ask for?
*****
Euralie was kind enough to toss me an apple for breakfast, but that's where her hospitality ended. She spent the next hour in a weird packing frenzy, gathering all kinds of things from her shelves and stuffing them into a large brown bag which she slung over her shoulder. It was much easier for me since all I had to do was put on my clothes, grab my purse, and wait.
Of course, that gave my mind all kinds of time to process everything that had happened in the last twenty four hours. Heck, the last two years actually! One minute my memory had a huge blank spot in it, and now--well, everything about my time with Juan came rushing back. It was a lot to take in. And even though I knew everything now, questions popped into my head about who our enemies really were.
Juan's warning about Eddie not being who he seemed made a little more sense now.
I closed my eyes and thought about the conversation I'd overheard a few years ago.
"What are you doing?" The man's voice came from outside of the car. Diego had managed to kidnap me from Juan Carlos and had stashed me in the trunk of his car. As I lay there bound and gagged, heart pounding, sweat beading on my forehead, I could hear Diego talking in angry tones with another person. His partner, maybe?
"What are you so worried about?" Diego sneered. "She's a woman that no one will miss. I already had my people look into her as soon as I got her name off the hotel registry. She's some teacher in Texas with no family. Hell, we could probably sell her to our friends in Mexico."
Voodoo Love (And the Curse of Jean Lafitte’s Treasure) Page 8
