Possessed

by Kira Saito

  The sound of peaceful bird chirps was replaced by that of whips and chains, and the metallic scent of blood overpowered that of the flowers. I looked up at the ceiling and was mortified to see tiny drops of blood trickling down and making their way onto my lips. A warm rustiness invaded my mouth and I immediately clamped it shut. Soon, a flood of blood started to pour down on me and stained the clean white sheets.

  “Bade, help me,” I muttered. “Help me.”

  “You need to help yourself Arelia, and quickly. You need to help Sabrina before it’s too late. You need to give her peace. She needs peace.”

  “But,” my words were muffled, as a snake shamelessly wiggled its tongue into my mouth.

  I closed my eyes and reminded myself that this wasn’t real. It wasn’t real.

  It’s as real as all of the blood that was shed, queen. Every bit of it was very real.

  No. I pushed Ivan’s voice out of my head and focused on what Aunt Mae had told me. Never give into a psychological attack. I gathered every bit of strength and power I can manage and willed the snakes away. Yet, they remained.

  Say you’ll leave and I’ll let you go. I’m not afraid of taking more drastic measures, if you know what I mean.

  The snake tightened the grip it had on my neck and I felt my skin get hot and panicked.

  One. Two. Three.

  The hold became tighter and tighter until I thought I was going to slip into a pool of empty darkness. “No,” I gasped. “No. This isn’t right. None of this is right or real.” I couldn’t let him win. I wouldn’t.

  “Arelia. Arelia. Fight for your life, Arelia. Go give her peace,” whispered Bade.

  I closed my eyes and refused to give in to the attack.

  Slowly, the snakes around my neck, wrists and ankles loosened their grip and I could breathe again. I let out a giant sigh of relief as the snakes vanished one by one and the blood stopped pouring.

  Ivan, you will not win. What have you done with Sabrina?

  We’ll see who’s going to win…

  I jolted up and glanced around the room. On the table next to me was a bouquet of red flowers, a small box with a pink bow and a note that simply said:

  Je t'adore

  -Lucus

  My heart skipped a beat and giddiness came over me. On any other day I would have ripped open the box, but Sabrina needed me.

  I darted out of the room and into our bedroom. Sabrina wasn’t there. I glanced at the clock on the wall and realized that it was already three o’clock. How the hell I had slept in for so long, and why hadn’t anyone woken me up?

  I quickly changed into the hideous white and navy blue Darkwood uniform just because I had no idea what else to wear. I wasn’t even pretending to work anymore, was I? Most pathetic summer help ever.

  At the bottom of the stairs, the heavenly smell of pralines, blueberry pie and sautéed bananas greeted me. Clearly, it was afternoon snack time. In a fury, I ran down the long hallway and into the busy kitchen. Where was Ivan?

  I scanned the spacious kitchen but couldn’t see him anywhere, so I ran into the little garden, figuring that he was probably smoking a cigarette. The sun beamed down on the white wire furniture and my haunting flowers did a happy dance in the afternoon wind. When my eyes finally rested on Ivan, I was horrified. Wearing a crumpled grey t-shirt and smoking his usual cigarette he slumped against an oak tree. Sabrina stood beside him with one arm around his around his shoulder.

  “Sabrina? What are you doing? Get away from him.” Not that I had any right to boss her around or expect her to listen to me.

  They turned to look at me and I was a little shocked to see that Sabrina was actually wearing her uniform properly. The skirt was all there and her legs didn’t have six inch heels attached to them. Her usual cherry red lipstick and thirty layers of mascara were missing, and unfortunately so was the gris-gris I had placed on her last night.

  “Good afternoon, Queen Arelia,” said Ivan once he saw me. “Now that you’re sleeping with the boss, I guess you don’t have to worry about waking up early like the rest of us peasants. It must make you feel so powerful.”

  I ignored him and focused on Sabrina. “Sabrina, please trust me. He’s bad news. Come with me.” I tried to grab her hand, but she pulled away.

  She looked at me calmly and without a hint of yesterday’s anger in her eyes. It was strange to see her without their usual ring of eyeliner and piles of eye shadow. Under the sunlight, she was almost unrecognizable. “Why is that?”

  Yeah, queen, go on, why is that?

  “You have to trust me, please,” I said.

  “What do you know about trust?”

  Ouch. “How many times do I have to keep apologizing? I thought we were over this,” I said, as I shot Ivan an evil look. “I need to talk to you.”

  “Fine,” she said, as she turned to Ivan and gave him a huge hug that lasted for what felt like ages.

  I felt like I was in the twilight zone. Was she over Lucus and back into Ivan all of a sudden? I couldn’t allow that to happen. I knew what he was capable of doing and there was no way I was going to let him abuse Sabrina like he was abusing me. For a second, I remembered Mait Carrefour’s words, and panic took a hold of me. I swallowed hard. What if I had to rely on him after all?

  “Let’s go,” said Sabrina, as she walked out of the garden and into the kitchen.

  I followed her. “Let’s go upstairs to our room.”

  “No. I feel like taking a walk outside. I need some fresh air,” she said calmly.

  That alone made me beyond anxious. Sabrina and fresh air were not friends. Anything naturey without air conditioning was pretty much off-limits, except if she was trying to impress a guy. Case in point, the little Darkwood River incident. That was the first time she actually stepped inside a lake.

  A gust of humid air greeted us as soon as we stepped out on the porch and I immediately felt my blouse and ugly skirt cling to my skin and my hair grow frizzier. The guests were sprawled out on the emerald lawn with sweet tea and snacks. Under the afternoon sun, they looked so happy and carefree, aside from the minor fact that they were all soaked in blood.

  Lucus was deep in conversation with a very annoyed Mr. Dumpty, who was complaining about the blueberry pie not having enough blueberries in it. For a second I felt like strangling Mr. Dumpty and telling him how lucky he was and how wonderful he actually had it. Who had the time to sit around and count the number of blueberries in a blueberry pie anyways?

  People like that will never change, queen. Their sense of entitlement will never change.

  I had to agree with Ivan on that one. Some people will never change. Maybe strangling Mr. Dumpty wasn’t the sanest move.

  Lucus caught me staring. He gave me a large smile and I my felt my insides melt as I took in the sight of his tanned skin against his white t-shirt. I thought back to last night and had the sudden urge to grab his hand and run out of Darkwood. We could go get some French Vanilla and Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream and them I’d force him to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas and even sing along to Jack’s song. Snap out of it, Arelia. I turned my attention back to Sabrina and picked up my pace as I chased her down the oak-lined path.

  “Hey, when did you turn into a speed walker?” I called after her.

  She ignored me and continued to walk faster and faster until she completely disappeared into the maze of thick oak trees.

  “Hey wait up!” I called after her. I chased her further into the dense maze, so far that only slits of sunlight were visible as they fought their way through the leaves and on to the ground. The humid air grew cooler and the humming of swamp animals clearer. “Sabrina!”

  The buzz of flies and mosquitoes grew louder as the ground turned soggy under my feet. Why the hell was she running off to the swamp? “Sabrina! Why are you going to the swamp?” I shouted as tangles of moss and Cypress trees became visible. There was a momentary silence that made me nervous. I was as if all of the animals were warning me to turn b
ack.

  “Sabrina!” I shouted, as I watched her descend into the murky swamp water.

  Chapter 27

  Will you help my baby?

  I ran into the warm swamp water right after her. “Sabrina, what the hell, this isn’t funny. If you’re trying to punish me, you win. You win. I’m a bad friend. There, I said it. Everything you said was right. I’m a horrible, lousy, selfish, self-absorbed ego-maniac. Does me saying those words out loud make you feel better? I’m not perfect and I know that but I love you and the only thing I can say is I’m sorry! I thought you were okay with the whole Lucus thing.”

  She stopped and turned. Bees and mosquitoes buzzed around her head and landed on her arms but she was completely unaffected by their presence. Sabrina hated bugs with a passion. Something was really, really wrong. Her blond hair glistened and her blue eyes were wide with wonder as she stared at me. When she opened her mouth, she didn’t speak at all. Instead, she sang in a very angelic, otherworldly and totally un-Sabrina like manner:

  Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,

  Go to sleepy little baby.

  When you wake, you shall have,

  All the pretty little ponies.

  Blacks and bays, dapples and greys,

  Go to sleepy you little baby,

  Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,

  Go to sleepy little baby.

  Daddy's boy Mama's joy

  Go to Slumberland my baby

  When you wake, you shall have,

  All the pretty little ponies.

  I inched closer towards her, unsure how to react. Had she taken secret singing lessons that I was unaware of? “Sabrina. Are you okay?”

  She extended her hand invitingly. “Will you help my baby? Please help my baby. He needs your help.”

  “Sabrina, you don’t have a baby,” I said calmly. “You think babies are gross because they drool and poo a lot. The only thing remotely close to a baby you have is your stuffed pony, Puddles. I know you still sleep with her even though you hide her every time I come over.”

  “Help my baby. He’s so lost and so alone. I can’t rest until my baby is safe.”

  “Sabrina?” I was close enough to her now that I could see that her pupils were slightly enlarged and her mouth was twitching in an odd manner. Her head bobbed from side to side as if she were listening to some sort of music that I couldn’t hear.

  “My baby is so beautiful and so sad. He’s been sad for a long time because he thinks I left him. Everyone leaves my baby but I’d never leave my baby. I love my baby more than I’ve ever loved anyone. I love him. I love him. Please make him understand how much I love him. Please, Arelia, please help my baby. I won’t rest until he’s safe and sound. Until he’s loved and he’s made peace with his past.”

  For a second I just stood there, frozen and unaware of what to say or how to act. “Who are you and why are you in my friend’s body?” I asked cautiously, knowing that this was not Sabrina.

  “My name is Marie and I need your help, please. I’ve waited years and years for you. I’ve waited years and years to see my baby again.”

  With my mouth agape I stared at her in silent wonder and fear. I took a step closer even through my body was trembling. “Marie? But how? I’ll help you, but you need to get out of my friend’s body, please,” I pleaded.

  She shook her head and crossed her arms. “No, I can’t and won’t until you help me.”

  “Please understand Marie, I love my friend like you love your baby. I’ve been trying to help him but he doesn’t want my help. He’s made that very clear. I don’t know what more I can keep doing or saying. I don’t want to give up on him but if Sabrina’s life is in danger, I have no choice.”

  “You love my baby, I know you love him. How can you not? You can’t give up on him.”

  Apparently ghost moms were just as delusional as living moms. They thought everyone was obligated to love and adore their babies. Even though I tried to understand what she implying or trying to say I couldn’t. I didn’t want her to freak out and harm Sabrina so I took a deep breath and remained calm. “I won’t give up on him if you let go of my friend. I swear.”

  Marie walked towards me. “The only way I can communicate with you is by possessing your friend’s body. It’s the only way Papa Ghede would let me out of that cemetery- I offered your friend’s soul to him in exchange for the temporary release of mine. I need the energy from her body to make you understand; to show you what you need to see.”

  “You what!” I hollered. “What the hell, Marie! What the hell! How could you?” In theory I was supposed to be freaked out that I was speaking to the legendary Mad Marie, but who was she to offer Sabrina’s soul to Papa Ghede? “You release her now. You go back to that cemetery and tell Papa Ghede you made a mistake. Then, I’ll help you and…” I stopped for a minute and thought about what she said. “You’ve been here at Darkwood the entire time in that cemetery, you never escaped? You never ran away and left Louis? Louis never placed a trick on Sabrina. It was you, this whole time? You’re the one who lured her to the cemetery?”

  I thought back to what Ivan had said: We each choose to believe what we want. If you think that I’m playing around with the princess, nothing I can say will change your mind.

  She nodded. “My baby’s not bad. He’s got the biggest heart. Please help him understand. Please help him understand what happened. Please,” she pleaded.

  “Why can’t you just explain whatever you need to explain to him?”

  Her eyes suddenly filled with tears. “I can’t. He doesn’t hear me when I speak. He only hears your friend, not me.”

  “What makes you think he’s going to listen to me?”

  She smiled. “I know he will. I know he’ll listen to you.”

  “With all due respect Marie, I think you’re mistaken. Your son and I don’t get along and sadly I don’t think we ever will. But I’ll still help you if you let my friend go, please let her go.”

  She shook her head. “No. I need you to help me first. Please give me the peace I need by making my baby understand.”

  “And if I refuse?” I crossed my arms.

  “I’m so sorry Arelia; if you refuse your friend is going to stay on the other side. I’m going to use up all the energy her body has and then wait until another powerful queen comes along and another sad soul wanders into that cemetery at exactly the right time. I can wait centuries and centuries. I’d wait until the end of time to make sure my baby gets the help he deserves. Why should he suffer on the account of my greed?”

  Sheer panic gripped me and I had no idea what to say. The only thing I could do was understand what Marie was trying to say or what she wanted me to understand. That was the only way I could help save Sabrina. “What can I do? What do you want me to do?”

  Her eyes shone and she extended her arms. I slowly walked towards her and she took me into her arms and simply held me. Then, she pulled me down into the foggy swamp. Dirty water gushed into my mouth and my eyes closed.

  I love my baby. Help my baby. Feel what I felt and make him understand why I did what I did. Tell him I’m sorry. Make him forgive me.

  Chapter 28

  The Escape

  New Orleans July, 1830

  When my eyes opened, immediately, the dank and dismal scent of death, decay and misery greeted me. I looked down at my hands and realized that I was no longer in my own body. I was several inches taller. My skin was several shades darker, I was more muscular and dressed in an itchy and torn potato-sack like dress.

  A tiny part of me still felt like Arelia but with different emotions, experiences and knowledge. It was the oddest thing; I felt like a little bird inside of someone else’s brain and body. I knew that it was the summer of 1830 and I was determined to make an escape.

  I knew that my name was Marie Beau and I had been born a slave on a plantation a few miles outside of New Orleans. I was nineteen years old and never had the chance to fall in love or get married, mostly out of fear and the fact
that nothing was permanent in my existence. I’d always dreamt of getting married and having a house with a rose garden where I could lay down under the sun and the stars. I wanted a loving husband and children to fill the house with laughter and joy.

  But I knew that reality and dreams were two very different things. In my world, people were constantly coming and out of each other’s lives, disappearing or being traded. Everyone I ever loved had died before my eyes or had been sold by the master in exchange for a more worthy slave or to pay off some of his many, many gambling debts or bar tabs.

  Rumor had it that more debt collectors were knocking on his door, so he was eventually going to have to sell off more of us in and I knew I was next in line. No one wanted to be sold into the market because of how awful and humiliating life inside a New Orleans slave pen was supposed to be. I had no intention of experiencing that type of humiliation so one night I decided to run. I packed some cornbread, candles and my secret stash of herbs and oil and just ran. I had nothing to live for and nothing to lose, so I had no fear. It’s funny the things you’re capable of doing when fear abandons you. I had faith that the spirits would guide me and protect me. That somehow they would show me where I belonged.

  I ran for what felt like hours and even though I was beyond weary I refused to stop. In the distance the howl of tracking dogs captured my attention and I knew I had to keep on running. A full, phantom-like moon illuminated my way into the dangerous but protective swamp where I knew I would be safe. Snakes, alligators and bugs didn’t bother me because I knew they were harmless when compared to most humans. In the savage and unpredictable world my life was, the only person who had ever shown me any true kindness had been my mother, and now that she was dead, I had no reason to stay on that plantation waiting for my fate to be decided.

  The earth turned to mush under my bare feet and swarms of mosquitoes attacked me as I meandered further into the swamp. The hiss of snakes, hoots of owls, and cries of birds were all welcome and soothing sounds and reminded me that for the time being I was safe. I let out a huge sigh of relief as the outline of Spanish moss dangled against the full moon and I saw clumps of cypress trees with yellow and blue wild flowers and berries growing in tangles around them. The night air was unbelievably humid and sticky but it was glorious. I was free and for the first time felt alive.