“She’s helping them adjust to the blood craving. But she is the one who helped us read Laveau’s book. Apparently she had read it before. Nico had it in his possession at Casa do Diabo.”
Ashley sighed. “Well at least we know Mom and Dad are still alive.”
“And as safe as they can be. I don’t trust Mercy any further than I could throw her. But for now, she wants the same thing we want.”
“To stop Kalfu?” Mikah asked.
“Exactly.”
“So how are we going to prevent Sauron from winning?” Mikah asked. “I mean in the final trial, I don’t know how love magic or death magic is going to defeat storm power. Tressa and Dudley, even if they are more advanced students, are going to have a tough time.”
I shrugged. “Depends on the nature of the third trial.” I walked over to the table, grabbed Death Rites and flipped it open to the last page that had helped, the one that showed Nico and his doll. “This was how we figured out the second trial. We recovered Nico’s doll, the one he’d used to harness Messalina, to do battle with Samedi in Guinee. I used it in the maze, and it brought Baron Samedi into Dudley’s form briefly.”
“Did he say anything?” Ashley asked.
“Not much. He was trying to before Sauron attacked and everything went to shit. All I know is that it was the green Baron who appeared. Confirmed what Pauli had seen. Said he intended to uphold his end of the bargain he’d made with Nico, the deal he’d struck that ended with Nico resting in peace.”
“That’s all he said?” Mikah asked. “If it was so important to summon him, and that’s all you got—just a rehash of what you already knew through Pauli—then why was it so important that you do it?”
I shrugged. “Perhaps so we’d know it wasn’t Dudley?”
“Just because Sauron shot lightning at you doesn’t mean she was the one working with Kalfu,” Ashley said. “It might just be that she was trying to win.”
“By trying to kill me and murdering Brayden in the process?”
“We don’t know what she knows. Suppose she realizes that the prize is being soul-fused with Nico. She thought she was in love with him, right? Love can make people do crazy shit. It doesn’t mean that she was Kalfu’s agent.”
“If it wasn’t her, and it wasn’t Dudley, the only one left would be Tressa,” I said.
We do know that Dudley isn’t the one working with Kalfu, Isabelle said. We might not be able to determine for sure who is working with him, but if we can help Dudley win, then we can prevent whoever it is from succeeding.
“That girl in your head is brilliant!” Pauli said. “The voices in my head are all perverts.”
“That’s just you, Pauli,” I said.
“Wait, what did Isabelle say?” Ashley asked.
“The only one who we know isn’t working with Kalfu is Dudley. That means we should focus on helping Dudley win.”
Mikah was sitting at the table, flipping through Death Rites. “I think that’s wise, but check this out. This dragon looks like Beli, right?”
I glanced at the image that Mikah had found. “Sure enough,” I confirmed. “In fact, it’s uncanny. Every last feature, even the scales are in proportion.”
“I’m not sure what it means,” Mikah said, “but I think we can be reasonably sure that Beli is going to have something to do with this.”
“Which means, once again, I’m sure to be at the heart of it all.”
“But check out the caption below. That mean anything to you or Isabelle?”
I followed Mikah’s finger to the words. I read them aloud. “Thus concludes the death rites.”
I thought of Brayden. I thought of Baron Samedi—why he’d appeared in Dudley. Things were making sense, at least a little. “This just confirms what Isabelle said. Dudley must win. He can channel Baron Samedi. He can free Nico and ensure his passage into the afterlife.”
Still, something didn’t sit right with me. Brayden had said that he’d do anything to make sure that the High Hougan didn’t come from Erzulie or Samedi. But why? The one college he was okay with winning was Sogbo—but that would mean the girl who’d killed him would win. I took a deep breath. Things had changed. New information that Brayden didn’t have. As smart as the kid was, he was still a kid. Our best chance, even if it meant Brayden found his way back to haunt me later, would be to make sure that Dudley won the Trials.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Apparently now that I was out of the picture, Erzulie was willing to reopen the Trials to the public. No longer one of the competitors, I had to fight my way through the crowds. I got a lot of pats on the back—people who’d respected my performance in the first trial. A lot of comments were made as I passed by. Such a shame… She should have won… shit like that. Then there were the hushed comments, the rumors, the gossip that people thought I didn’t hear. But I did. Did you hear that she only lost because she tried to save the boy who died? That’s the kind of high Mambo Vilokan deserves… blah blah blah. How did I go from outcast to popular so quickly? By outsmarting Erzulie, making her look foolish. But it wasn’t me. I just did what Marie Laveau told me to do in her book. If they only knew…
I shrugged off a hand that tried to grip my shoulder—someone trying to give me an atta girl or some shit. I wasn’t here for attention. I wasn’t here as a spectator. I wasn’t here as a competitor. I was here to make sure Dudley won—the least likable of the bunch, but the one who could bring the Baron to Nico, who could make sure he passed to the afterlife and didn’t become some kind of soul-fused force to be used by Erzulie in her battle against Kalfu. Not only was it wrong, but if Marie Laveau’s prophecies were correct, it was a plan doomed to fail. If I didn’t stop it, if I didn’t follow whatever the Voodoo queen had planned for me, it was clear that Kalfu would be the one who got the prize. The victor was only a pawn, someone he’d managed to manipulate. A victim, most likely, of a poorly thought-out bargain.
I pushed my way toward the front row and found a seat directly behind Oggie. He turned and winked at me.
“Doing all right?”
I shrugged. “Been better.”
Oggie nodded. “Tried to get you readmitted to the Trials. Stopping to help that boy. It was the right thing to do.”
I sighed. “It wasn’t about winning for me, anyway. But I appreciate the effort.”
Agwe passed in front of us on the way toward the “throne” upon which he’d been sitting to judge the Trials. He glanced at me, and I could swear I almost saw a small grin form on his face as his eyes met mine. I gave me a quick nod. The kind of nod that communicates respect. I just nodded back like an idiot because, well, what else do you do when a mute demigod nods at you?
“If it’s worth anything,” Oggie said as he turned around again, “Agwe empathized with my plea to see you reinstated. But the rules are what they are. Not even he could make an exception.”
Oggie knew I didn’t give two shits about competing. I cared about what happened to Brayden. I wanted to stop Kalfu. That was what motivated me now. Something about the look on Oggie’s face, even while he talked about the competition, it was like he knew something… like he knew what I was up to. Was he really trying to console me? Or was he trying to tell me something?
He wants us to know that we have his support.
I coughed twice over my shoulder. I agreed with Isabelle’s assessment. I didn’t know what Oggie knew. Probably less than I did, though more than he was letting on.
The whole auditorium floor was now stripped bare. No more walls. Not even a table. Just dirt.
I didn’t know what to expect, much less what I could possibly do to help Dudley win. I just knew I had to do whatever it took—even if it meant leaping from the stands myself and entering the fray. I had no idea what kind of trouble that would get me in, of course. With so much at stake, though, it really didn’t matter. Brayden gave his life for this. I could risk my neck if need be, too. The three contestants entered the auditorium, Tressa first, followed by Sauro
n and Dudley.
I had to wonder if Dudley’s experience before, when the Baron mounted him, might have caused him to second-guess his alliance with Sauron. I hoped as much, but I didn’t know how long the Baron hung around after Brayden went down. He could still be possessing Dudley for all I knew, or he could have left the moment I dropped the doll. It was impossible to know for sure, and Isabelle couldn’t tell either. Since Dudley already had his aspect, being mounted by him didn’t change his aura at all.
Tressa didn’t have any slaves at her heels this time. She looked more subdued, more focused than ever. The headmistress was clearly in her corner. Since Erzulie had something to do with planning these trials, I had to expect that whatever task was ahead would tilt in her favor. Though I couldn’t think what sort of trial she’d be especially suited for. Not anything that didn’t involve whips, leather, and nipple clamps anyway.
Agwe and Erzulie were already in the auditorium. The headmistress stood and approached the competitors. Before, I’d sort of assumed everyone else could hear what we were told before the first two trials. Now, it was evident that the lack of a PA system left most of the crowd in the dark. I could hear her, just barely. Something about each of them having a turn based on random draw to subdue something or other. They’d have ninety seconds per turn and rotate until one of them succeeded or the other two had been effectively eliminated—also known as getting killed or maimed.
Did you hear all that? Isabelle asked.
I shook my head. “Not as well as I’d like, but I think I got the idea.”
Erzulie gestured toward a set of double doors on the far side of the auditorium. Ellie, who’d apparently been recruited to help, nodded and knocked on the two doors.
They swung open, and a massive hulk of a man, if you could call him that, appeared. He was bound in chains, one wrapped around each limb and another around his waist, Full-size men struggled to hold on to the beast, but they managed to pull him into the auditorium.
I tapped Oggie on the shoulder. “What in the world is that?”
Oggie turned his head over his shoulder. “It’s the Incredible Hulk, can’t you tell?”
“He isn’t green. Can’t be. But seriously…”
Oggie smirked. “That’s Bakulu-Baka.”
“Bukakke?” I asked.
Oggie chuckled. “How does a Catholic girl like you even know what that is?”
I shrugged. “I have that contraption… what is it you ancient folks call it. Yeah, the Inter-webs.”
Oggie shook his head. “His name is Bakulu-Baka. He’s a Loa… of sorts. Not exactly sane.”
“The Loa of Insanity?”
“I suppose you could call him that. The Bokors bound him to a host a century ago. He’s wandered the bayou ever since. No one dares go near him. Hell of a temper.”
“Well he’s in chains already. Looks like he’s Tressa’s type.”
Oggie smiled wide. “You said it, not me.”
“How could any of them subdue him? I mean, if it’s been a century…”
Oggie shook his head. “Tressa’s charms might work. Long odds, but maybe. Sauron’s lightning could maybe bring him down. But Dudley… I can’t think of anything proper to his aspect that will help the poor kid out.”
“Fuck,” I said under my breath.
Oggie nodded. Again, suggesting he might have known something about what I was up to. Still, I couldn’t be sure, and it wasn’t like we could talk about it now.
Mikah slid into the seat next to me. “Any idea what we can do?”
I shook my head. “Dudley is screwed. There’s nothing he can do against this thing.”
Mikah nodded. “Then let’s hope he just manages to survive. He’s clever, probably more clever than the other two. If he can make it through each round and the whatever-he-is takes out Tressa and Sauron, he wins by default.”
“That’s it. If we can distract Bakulu when Dudley’s in the ring, we might be able to give him a chance.”
“Distract him how?”
“In whatever way we can. Pauli would be great for that.”
Mikah grinned. “Nothing like a rainbow-colored boa constrictor flying around the room to draw someone’s attentions away. I mean, yikes!”
I huffed. “Seems like we always end up giving Pauli the worst jobs.”
“But he never complains. Or, as he would say, bitches about it.”
Mikah and I slid out of our seats and made our way around the rail on the edge of the auditorium. Pauli was around here somewhere, and if he saw we were on the move, I was reasonably certain he’d spot us and it would only be a matter of time before I felt forty pounds of snake on my shoulders.
Sure enough.
“Dude, did you eat a cat or something? You feel even heavier.”
“Not today,” Pauli said. “I don’t really have a taste for pussy… cat.”
“You never stop with the jokes, do you?”
“That’s why we get along so well, honey! So what’s the plan?”
“We need to distract Bakulu. Any way we can. Since you can basically fly around, and your colors make you impossible to miss, maybe you can try to catch a glimpse or something here and there. Mikah and I will do our part down here. Ashely has duties from Erzulie along with the rest of her college—but she’s keeping intel on what’s going on with that side of things. Just in case we’re wrong about Sauron and it really is Tressa who is working with Kalfu.”
“How are you going to prevent Sauron or Tressa from outright winning? You’re just expecting Dudley to go all Muhammad Ali on big George Foreman in there?”
I cocked my head sideways.
“You don’t know what I’m talking about, do you?”
“Muhammad Ali was a boxer, right? And he fought the guy who makes the lean, mean, fat-grilling machines?”
“George Foreman was a boxer before he made kitchen appliances. Biggest, baddest dude in the ring. Ali was smaller but more nimble and agile. Avoided the big punches, absorbed a few blows but let the big guy get exhausted before making his move.”
“I see. Yeah, that’s sort of the idea here. Except I’m not sure this Loa is ever going to tire out. Instead, we’re hoping that eventually he takes out Sauron and Tressa so Dudley wins by default.”
“Risky strategy, since either one of them might win.”
“Have a better plan?”
“I’m fresh out of plans.”
“Then it’s Muhammad Ali versus the Grill Guy round one. As soon as Dudley gets called.”
Erzulie approached Agwe and presented him with a large top hat, upside down. I presumed it held the names. He drew one out and showed it to Erzulie.
“The competitor from College Erzulie will go first. The timer is set for ninety seconds. Her attempt begins now.”
Tressa stepped out into the ring. It was like beauty versus the beast—and I’m pretty sure Tressa hadn’t been in a real fight in her whole life. She had other ways of subduing her foes, especially men, it seemed. She approached Bakulu like she was a model on a runway. She had poise, composure, and elegance about her. She made eye contact with the crazed Loa. She opened her mouth. A pink mist poured from her lips and enveloped Bakulu’s face.
His eyes rolled back—not like he was passing out or anything, but almost like he was consumed with lust.
Tressa grinned out of one corner of her mouth.
“Holy shit,” Pauli said. “She’s going to win this thing before the other two even have a chance.”
“I’m not so sure,” I said. “I don’t know how long she can hold him like this.”
Tressa snapped her fingers and pointed to the floor. The giant Loa knelt in front of her. She extended her boot to him and pointed at it.
“She’s going to make him kiss her boot? She is going to win,” Mikah said.
Then Bakulu looked up, directly into Tressa’s eyes. Her former confidence quickly fell away, and terror struck her eyes. The creature reached out to her and enveloped her entire head in
his fist.
“No!” Erzulie screamed from the other side of the courtyard.
I half expected the creature to squeeze Tressa’s brains out. Instead, he flung her by the head halfway across the auditorium. Her body shook violently where she landed, stirring up the dust around her.
Erzulie rushed to her side, Ashley and Ellie alongside her. Erzulie looked at Ashley—she didn’t want Ashley the student from College Erzulie now. She wanted Ashley the healer. Ashley the Shaman.
Ashley looked up, like she was trying to locate me. I ran over to them.
“I think her neck is broken.”
I glared at Erzulie. “We can heal her. But I’ll only do it if you declare her officially eliminated. She can’t go back out against that thing.”
Erzulie narrowed her eyes.
“Those are my terms. Tell Agwe to declare her eliminated. I’m not going to heal her just to have you throw her at that thing a second time. It’s cruel.”
Erzulie got up and approached Agwe, whispering something in his ear. He nodded and approached the blackboard that had been used in all three rounds before.
He scratched out Tressa’s name.
“You ready, Isabelle?” I asked.
I didn’t want to use up whatever magic I had on tap, so I allowed Isabelle to take the reins. Not to mention, a spinal injury might require more power than I had at my disposal. The last thing I wanted was to leave her half-healed, feeling all the pain but still unable to move.
I felt Isabelle move my hands… our hands… over Tressa. A tingle coursed through our body as our eyes glowed green. I could feel the magica course through me and into Tressa. I could feel it work, feel her spine heal.
Tressa gasped for air.
Erzulie looked at us. “Thank you, Annabelle.”
“It’s Isabelle,” Isabelle corrected her. “But no worries. I know we look alike.”
Isabelle winked at Mikah, kissed him on the cheek, and then held out her hand. He placed one of the pills that avoids the headache when I reclaim control. She tossed it in our mouth and swallowed just before she relinquished control.
Death Rites Page 12
