Midnight Dolls

by Kiki Sullivan

  I nod and approach Caleb. His skin glistens in the moonlight. “To Caleb, power,” I say before pouring a small amount of liquid onto his back. The droplets bead and run slowly toward his waist. After a pause, he straightens up and turns. Our eyes meet for a second.

  “Eveny?” Peregrine says. “Give Caleb the cauldron.”

  I blink and hand it to him. I feel something electric pass between us as our hands touch and our gazes lock. But then he looks away, takes a sip of the potion, and passes it to Oscar.

  Peregrine uses the last of the potion to dunk the feet of all three zandara dolls, and then hastily, Chloe and I bury them in the dirt.

  “Mesi, zanset,” we all say together. “Mesi, zanset. Mesi, zanset.”

  The air seems to get lighter and Caleb, Oscar, and Patrick pull their shirts on and step back toward the trees.

  “Now it’s time for the rest of you to join us!” Peregrine singsongs.

  Margaux, Arelia, and Pascal step forward into the circle, along with Caleb, who’s the only protector who’s also a practicing member of our sosyete. I wind up with Pascal on my left and Chloe on my right. My eyes meet Caleb’s across the circle as Peregrine puts Audowido down in the center of the clearing.

  “Okay, ladies and gentlemen,” Peregrine begins, clapping her hands together like she’s the head cheerleader at a school pep rally. “As some of you may have guessed, attempting to repair the protection of the gate is a very big deal, and I don’t believe there’s any way to do it tonight without performing a Renmen Koulèv.”

  “The possession ceremony?” I ask. I’ve only been involved in one of these, but they’re downright disturbing. The last time Peregrine and Pascal allowed themselves to be possessed, the spirits inside of them practically had sex in the middle of our circle. “You didn’t mention we’d be doing that tonight.”

  Peregrine smiles. “Then I must also have neglected to mention that tonight, we’ll need you to be the one who opens herself up.”

  Beside me, Chloe squeezes my hand, and it takes me a second to register what Peregrine means.

  “Me?” I say. “You want me to be possessed?”

  “Everyone keeps saying how powerful you are because of both your andaba and zandara sides,” she says. “What better way to repair the gate than to allow a powerful spirit to inhabit someone so unique?”

  “I don’t like it,” Caleb says, stepping forward and glancing at me.

  “Well, it’s not up to you, is it, Caleb?” Peregrine says. She turns to me. “It’s up to Eveny. Will you do it?”

  I know it could be risky; something can always go wrong when you let a spirit in. But Peregrine is right. I could be stronger than anyone else here, thanks to my dual heritage. And a true queen puts the people she’s responsible for above herself.

  So I take a deep breath and try not to imagine what might happen next. Possessions are all kinds of creepy, but having our lives in peril is worse. “I’m in,” I say.

  15

  As I step into the center of the circle, my legs turn to jelly. I’ve only been possessed once, and I didn’t like it at all. Having someone else inhabit your body is terrifying, and after the possession ends, you’re left feeling completely drained. Besides, when you open yourself up during a ceremony like this, you never know who will wind up taking your body over and what their motives will be.

  “We’ll keep you safe,” Chloe says, apparently reading my mind. “As long as we’re in the ceremony with you, the spirits can use your body, but they can’t hurt you.”

  “Okay.” I glance at Caleb, who looks nervous too. I turn back to Chloe. “Are Renmen Koulèv ceremonies always as . . . sexual as the last one was?”

  She looks uneasy. “Not always, but usually. It’ll be over quickly, though, and then they’ll help us.”

  My stomach swims as I turn to Peregrine. “How do I start?”

  She withdraws a large triangle from her tote bag and hands it to Pascal. “I’ll handle the chanting. You just open yourself up to possession. Keep your mind as blank as possible, and when it’s time, you can invite the spirits to take you over. Remember what to say? Move lespri, pran kò mwen. Move lespri pran tèt mwen.”

  I nod and repeat the words softly. Pascal strikes the triangle and everyone around me joins hands.

  “Come to us now, Eloi Oke, and open the gate,” Peregrine chants. “Come to us now, Eloi Oke, and open the gate. Come to us now, Eloi Oke, and open the gate.”

  The breeze suddenly stills. Peregrine lets go of Margaux, who’s on her right side, and reaches into her pocket. She pulls out a small cluster of herbs and sets fire to them with a lighter. “Ashes to ashes,” she chants as they burn in her hand. She drops them on the dirt and nods at me.

  I take a deep breath. “Move lespri, pran kò mwen,” I chant, trying to clear my mind. “Move lespri pran tèt mwen.” Around me, the others in the circle seem to be slipping into trances one by one. They sway, hum, and move their feet as I repeat the words again, sending the song to the nether. “Move lespri, pran kò mwen. Move lespri pran tèt mwen.”

  Audowido makes his way toward me and begins to move up my leg. At first, I’m totally creeped out, but then I remind myself that this is part of the ceremony, and the sooner I get used to it and allow it to happen, the sooner it will all be over. So I focus on my breathing. Suddenly, there’s a dull but insistent pressure at the back of my skull—a spirit trying to get in.

  My first instinct is to push it away, but I force myself to accept the intrusion. It’s what we’re here for. My Stone of Carrefour begins to burn against my chest, and just as it’s beginning to hurt, the pain dissipates and a warm, fuzzy feeling spreads through my whole body. It takes me a second to realize that I can no longer feel my limbs.

  A voice sounds in my head. Hello, it says, soft and feminine, and although I know it means that the spirit is now within me, I don’t feel as freaked out as I thought I would. This spirit feels gentle and nonaggressive, not what I would have expected after what happened last time. Instead of shoving her way into my brain, it’s like she’s taking polite steps forward.

  I try to respond, but my tongue is frozen, and as the warm syrupy feeling spreads to my head, I know the spirit has taken control entirely.

  I hope you don’t mind, she says, but my boyfriend and I, we’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this. We’ll help you. But first we want to be together once more.

  She doesn’t wait for an answer; instead, she looks around the circle, her eyes resting on Pascal and then on Caleb. “He’s the one,” I hear myself say, but my voice isn’t my own; it’s the spirit speaking through me. “I want him.”

  I want to ask the spirit in my head what she means, but I can’t form the words. I realize in a moment, though, what’s happening. She has selected Caleb as the body for her boyfriend to inhabit. I watch as Caleb’s eyes roll back in his head and he steps into the center of the circle with me. He twitches a little, and then his body goes still. A second later, all of his limbs seem to turn rubbery, and he slides and lurches toward me with what seems like great effort. It’s as if whoever is controlling him hasn’t quite gotten the hang of possessing someone yet.

  “Is that you, Megan?” Caleb asks, but it’s not his voice. His accent sounds like it’s from Boston.

  “Yes, it’s me, Brett,” I hear myself reply. “Come here, baby.”

  My heart thuds faster as Caleb approaches and puts a hand on my face, trailing it down slowly to my collarbone. I’m vaguely aware of the sensation of his touch, but it’s like I’m feeling it through several layers of clothes. It makes me realize that the spirit inside of me—Megan—has taken control of all of my senses too. She’s feeling Caleb’s hands on her.

  “It’s been so long,” she says through my mouth, as Caleb, his eyes wide and unfamiliar, leans toward me and kisses me lightly on the lips. I can barely feel it, but I hear myself moan with pleasure. “Oh, Brett,” I hear myself say.

  The others in the circle take up the ch
ant. “Move lespri, pran kò mwen. Move lespri pran tèt mwen.” It’s background music to a slow dance of seduction as Caleb circles me and then pulls me close, pressing his body against mine. Even through my blurred senses, I can feel that he’s excited, and I know Megan feels it too, because she presses my body closer to Caleb’s and says, “I want you, baby.”

  And then, Caleb’s lips are on my lips, and his tongue is in my mouth, and it’s one of the strangest things I’ve ever felt, because the emotions attached to this encounter aren’t mine, and I’m only conscious of a fraction of the physical sensations. Although I’m seeing the scene through my own eyes, it’s also like I’m floating above it, watching two people I don’t know make out.

  Fear tickles at the back of my mind as the kisses turn more passionate. My concern grows as Caleb begins peeling off my shirt and then my bra. He tosses them aside, and then his hands are on my bare skin, but the part of me that should feel violated and exposed is buried too deep. Megan’s enjoying this too much, and her happiness is tangible as she uses every one of my pain and pleasure receptors to feel her boyfriend’s touch.

  I should be humiliated that I’m standing in the middle of the cemetery topless, but that emotion too is buried somewhere too deep inside of me to reach. Instead, I focus on allowing Megan to use me, and for the next few minutes, she and her boyfriend kiss passionately and grope each other, but they don’t go any further.

  Suddenly, I can hear Megan’s voice in the back of my head again, whispering to me. Don’t worry, Eveny, she says. I can feel your fear, but I just want to kiss him for a while. That’s the most romantic part, don’t you think?

  I can feel her sadness, and it fills me with the immediate and overpowering urge to cry. I wonder how and why Megan and her boyfriend ended up in the nether, but I have the feeling she has said all she wants to say, and now she just wants these precious moments with the boy she loves.

  Finally, I can feel Megan’s spirit withdraw from my body a bit, allowing more of my senses to return, so I’m aware of it when she takes a step back from Caleb. I’m fading, she whispers in my head. Tell me what you need before I go.

  So I summon all my strength and reply in my mind, The gate to our town is open, and we need to close it, to restore its power. We’re all in danger.

  There’s silence for a moment, and I can feel her pondering. I will get it done. I’ll hold it closed as long as I can, she says, and I believe her. There’s a long pause and she adds, The people who are after you, they claim to be soldiers of the light?

  Startled, I manage to reply in my head, Yes. Main de Lumière.

  I can sense them out there, she says. But there’s a divide within their group. Some could be your allies. You must look for the good in them but prepare for the bad. No one is what they seem.

  I swallow hard. Already, I can feel her energy seeping out of me, and I know the possession is almost over. She’s gotten what she wanted, and she’s promised to help us with the gate. But there’s one more thing I want to know.

  In the spirit world, I ask in my head, can you see the other side? Do you know who my mother is? Can you see her?

  Megan pauses before saying, No, but I can feel her. She’s moved on, but she’s nearer than I would think she’d be. There’s another pause, and I can feel her fading. Eveny? she whispers faintly.

  Yes?

  I can’t promise that the danger isn’t already here.

  And then she’s gone, and suddenly, I’m conscious of my own body, the weight of my own limbs again, and I sink to the ground. I see Caleb sitting down, rubbing his head beside me, and Audowido coiled between us, looking back and forth. Around us, the others are still chanting and swaying, their concentration unbroken.

  Caleb looks up at me. “Is that you, Eveny?” he asks, and he sounds as weak as I feel. “You’re back?”

  I nod. “Your spirit is gone too?”

  “Yeah. That was . . . heavy.”

  “Was that your first time being possessed?”

  He nods. “I hope I didn’t do anything that hurt you. It was really hard to feel what the spirit inside me was actually doing. It was like my eyes were closed, and I couldn’t feel my body.”

  “You were fine,” I say. “We just kissed.”

  I see his eyes travel down my body, and I realize suddenly that I’m missing my shirt and bra. “Oh God,” I croak. I grope around me on the dark earth, but it’s Caleb who finds them first and hands them to me, averting his eyes. I pull them on quickly and let him help me up.

  “You sure you’re okay?” he asks.

  “I promise, nothing happened.” I want to tell him about Megan, what she said about Main de Lumière, but already, I can feel the darkness and exhaustion pouring in. All at once, I can barely keep my eyes open. “How do we snap the others out of it?” I ask.

  “I think you just finish with Mesi, zanset,” Caleb says. “Want to say it together?”

  He grabs my hands, and we chant the phrase three times, closing the ceremony. The air pressure changes; the others open their eyes; and the charm is broken.

  Peregrine’s eyes find mine in the darkness, and she too looks drained and disheveled. “Did it work? Did the spirits say they would help?”

  I can only manage a simple, “Yes,” before my legs go out from under me.

  Caleb scoops me up effortlessly, although he must be exhausted from the possession too. “I’ll carry you home, if that’s okay.”

  “Thanks,” I murmur.

  I’m dimly aware of Peregrine checking to make sure the fire is fully snuffed out. Audowido crawls back into Peregrine’s bag, which she hoists over her shoulder. In silence, our whole group begins trudging back toward the three mansions at the cemetery’s edge. As we walk, Audowido hisses gently. A few times, I could swear I hear twigs snap nearby. Each time, I turn and stare into the darkness, but nothing moves, and I’m forced to admit to myself that in my exhaustion, I must be imagining things.

  Still, as our houses come into view, I have the strange feeling that someone is watching us. The hairs on my arms stand on end until long after we’ve made it inside my house and locked the door behind us.

  I sleep soundly that night and wake up before my alarm goes off the next morning, still groggy and disoriented from the possession ceremony. My grandfather is the only one in the kitchen when I walk in.

  “Looks like you had a rough night,” he says, pausing midway through pouring himself some coffee. He gestures to his mug. “Can I get you a cup?”

  “No thanks.” I cross to the fridge and get a glass of orange juice. My head is clearing a little as I wake up, and I feel a sense of relief knowing that Megan has promised to help seal the gate. I know it’s not a solution that will last forever, but every little bit helps, and this should give us at least a few days of protection. Spirits in the nether have the ability to control some mortal affairs, and I believe Megan when she says she’ll do what she can to keep danger out of Carrefour.

  “How did it go last night?” my grandfather asks as he settles down at the table and takes a sip from his mug.

  I nod. “I think the ceremony worked.” I pause. “But I’m not sure how long the protection of the gate will hold this time, since Main de Lumière has seemingly already found a way to disable it.”

  “A very valid concern.” My grandfather begins to cough violently, so I stand and pat him on the back a few times, feeling sad for him. He sounds awful.

  “You okay?” I ask when the coughing finally subsides.

  He sighs. “Oh, my dear, it’s been a long road. My time is growing short.”

  “Don’t talk like that,” I say. “Maybe we could find you another doctor, maybe do a different type of treatment . . .”

  He smiles. “Eveny, it’s okay. Chemotherapy was very hard on me. Maybe it’s not meant for someone with magic in his blood; maybe that made the treatments more difficult. I don’t know. But I do know that if it was meant to work, it would have already. I’ve accepted what’s happening
to me. My one wish is to know that the future of andaba is secure before I leave this earth.”

  I feel a surge of sadness. “I promise I’ll do all I can to make sure andaba is okay,” I tell him. “I’m not going to walk away from my responsibilities to the people on Caouanne Island.”

  “A nice sentiment, dear, but your allegiance is divided, isn’t it?”

  I begin to protest, but he holds up a hand, and I stop.

  “I didn’t mean it as a criticism,” he says. “I understand the pull you feel from both sides. Your situation is unprecedented. Of course your loyalties are split.”

  “I’m doing the best I can.” I look away, out the kitchen window toward the garden. I imagine my mother must have felt torn too, and suddenly, Megan’s words from last night come back to me. She’s moved on, but she’s nearer than I would think she’d be. If only I could reach across the divide and ask my mom how she balanced her love for my dad with her love for her sister queens.

  “What are you thinking about?” my grandfather asks.

  “Just my mother,” I say.

  “She was a fascinating woman, Eveny. I see much of her in you.”

  “You do?”

  My grandfather looks out the window for a long time before responding. “Yes. But perhaps it was her naiveté that led to her death, my dear. I hope you have the wisdom to prepare for whatever lies ahead, because I have the feeling the greatest battle of your life is on the horizon.”

  16

  That day at school, I can’t seem to concentrate. My head is swirling with thoughts of Main de Lumière and my grandfather’s strange warning this morning. Plus, Megan’s words are haunting me: I can’t promise that the danger isn’t already here.

  What if she’s right? What if it’s foolish of us to assume that closing the gate will make us safe? What if we need to do more?