Dark Sacrifice

by Angie Sandro

  When they land on me, I shiver.

  “Hello,” I say, not moving down the steps to meet her. I learned my lesson when Acker attacked. The house has been warded, so it’s safer to remain where I am. “May I help you?”

  She dismisses my words with a toss of her head. “Mala, Jasmine, it’s good to see you both looking well…considering.” Her smile is smug. “I thought you might not still be in one piece. I felt Mala throwing magic all the way in New Orleans. Thought I’d better come down and see what she’s about before she blows up the town.”

  CHAPTER 20

  MALA

  Hoodoo Queen

  The crackle of energy flowing from Auntie Magnolia’s direction raises the hair on my arms. The faint light of the setting sun gives her eyes an ocher glint when they meet mine. She stays by the car like a queen waiting for her subjects to approach.

  Saints, I wish I could stay on the porch. At least up here I’d be safe from her, since Gaston has the house warded against evil, but that would be rude. Wouldn’t it? Mama didn’t raise me to be a coward or disrespect my elders, and with Mama sitting right across from me, I’m kind of obligated to use good manners.

  Landry isn’t constrained by the same instinctive parental control. When I try to rise from the chair, he presses on my arm. “You shouldn’t be walking around.” He glances at Magnolia. “Mala’s injured, Ms. LaCroix. Why don’t the two of you sit here on the porch? I’ll bring you a glass of iced tea or water. Whichever you prefer, ma’am.”

  Magnolia gives him a toothless smile. “Why, thank you kindly.” She snaps her fingers at the gaunt driver. I’m watching his eyes…It takes what seems like ages for the order to process. The big guy’s not the sharpest tool in the shed. He creeps—yeah, he really does—like a daddy longlegs spider over to Magnolia’s side. She places a hand on his bony arm and leans on him for support. When they reach the protective boundary, she pauses, reaching into her skirt pocket. Her hand is closed in a fist when she pulls it out. Fine white powder sprinkles across the line of salt I have laid.

  “You’re messing with my warding, Auntie Magnolia,” I protest, straining against the hand that once again lands on my shoulder. Landry shakes his head at me and puts his finger to his lips. “What? She’s the one who taught me how to shield against ghosts. Now she’s messing it up. What if Acker attacks?”

  Magnolia glances my way, overhearing my argument. “Nothing dead can pass your boundary. I’ll fix it when I leave.”

  I frown. “Do you mean nothing dead can pass it now or before you messed with it?”

  She ignores me.

  The porch shrinks when Magnolia and the tall guy reach it. Landry stands at my back, leaving room for her to sit in the rocking chair between me and Mama.

  “Who is your young man?” Magnolia asks, smacking her lips in Landry’s direction.

  My stomach twists. I don’t want her paying attention to him. Why doesn’t he go into the house? I twist around and stare hard at him, hoping he picks up on my urgency. “Can you go get our guests that glass of tea now, p-please?”

  “I’m not thirsty.” Magnolia studies him, and my breath catches. Her eyes flick in my direction, and she smiles. “Introduce us, cher.”

  Damn! What is she gonna do? I don’t trust her. She’s unpredictable, and I think she collects people with gifts like magic trinkets to play with for her own amusement. Like this creepy guy skulking over her. My nose twitches when he leans between us to help Magnolia into her seat. He smells musty. Like his clothing got left overnight in the washer and mildewed. But what makes me sneeze is the powerful scent of spices. I don’t know what kind, but they set off my allergies something fierce.

  I sniff, wishing for a tissue. “You don’t need to know.”

  “Still a smart-ass girl, I see,” Magnolia says.

  “Don’t think I’ve forgiven you for what you did to me.” I stare at her hard. Elder or not, I won’t let her bully me. Us.

  Magnolia’s eyes twinkle, but a shadow shifts beneath the surface. I tense so she can’t see the shiver making its way down my spine. I want to confront her about what she did to me the night of the attack. Scream it out so Mama and Landry know how she shoved her tongue into my bullet wound and sucked out my blood like a stinking vampire, but it’s so unbelievable. And I’m not positive whether the memory is real or a hallucination brought on by blood loss.

  “I’ll take your sacrifices,” she said to me that night, and in return, I swore I’d come to her—to be a slave at her beck and call. A good little hoodoo apprentice. So stupid now, but then, I didn’t have a choice. Demons rise at the crossroads. Mother Mary, what have I done?

  I slip my hand into Landry’s.

  Magnolia’s silver eyebrows rise. “Is this gonna be my new great-nephew-in-law, Mala Jean? You found yourself a white boy like your mama did.” Her head tilts birdlike as she studies him. “He looks a bit fragile. Not sure he’ll survive the LaCroix curse any more than any other man who enters our family.”

  My hand drops into my lap.

  Landry lifts it, twining his fingers through mine. “I’m not as weak as my injuries make me seem, Ms. LaCroix. And I’ll protect Mala with my life.”

  “Sure, you right.” Magnolia dismisses him and turns to Mama. “How’s being dead treating you, cher? Still craving the drink?”

  “Every day,” Mama says with a longing sigh.

  “You lonely? You know you don’t have to stay stuck in this house. I’m family. Tie yourself to me, and I’ll take you to New Orleans. Might even find you a living body to inhabit if Mala asks nicely.” Magnolia gums at me again. “How does that sound to you, girl? Would you like a flesh-and-blood mama?” She pats the buttock of the man standing next to her. “I’m pretty good at stitching in a soul.”

  Landry’s squeezes my hand. “Oh God, he’s undead.”

  Magnolia’s eyes narrow on him. “The boy’s pretty quick.”

  “What are you two talking about?” I ask, all confused. My brain must be stuck on stupid again. I look at the musty man.

  “Don’t you see it, Mala?” Landry says, voice trembling. “The same shimmer that’s around Ms. Jasmine shines around this guy. He’s a zombie.”

  No way! “There’s no such thing.”

  Magnolia laughs. “I seem to recall us having a similar conversation a couple of months ago about ghosts.” Her assessing eyes turn on Landry. “You a surprise though. You can see Etienne’s shimmer. What are you?”

  What are you? No…Magnolia looks at him like he’s a dish of caviar. Why do people even like fish eggs…oh, God. What do I say? I have to distract her from him, but how? My mouth won’t form words. I’ve forgotten how to speak. I know what I want to scream “Leave him alone!” but I can’t get it out.

  Magnolia smirks when her eyes meet mine. As if she sees the thoughts flashing like brilliant neon warning signs through my mind: Stop. Danger. Cliff ahead. The terror and confusion I feel, the old bat gets off on it. This is her bread and butter. Power. It’s what she craves.

  She stretches her hand toward Landry. He looks at me with a raised eyebrow, asking for permission. I can’t even shake my head in denial. He sets his palm flat on hers. Magnolia hisses. Her snakelike tongue flickers out of her mouth, revealing tobacco-blackened gums. She rocks back and forth, and her eyes roll back into her head.

  Energy jumps between her and Landry. It arcs over my head. Offshoots spill over into me. My body tingles and jumps. My heart races, and the hair on my arms and the back of my neck rise. The exhaustion that dragged me down after Acker’s attack vanishes to be replaced with a zing, like I’ve downed a triple shot of espresso.

  “Do you feel that, Mama?”

  Mama’s eyes widen. “I’ve never felt anything like it, Mala Jean.”

  My hand moves without making a conscious decision. One minute it’s in my lap, the next, I lay it on top of theirs. The jolt of electricity locks my jaw and knocks me back into my chair so hard that it flips backward. I topple out and r
oll across the porch with a cry. The backlash hits Landry. He drops to his knees, panting like he’s run a marathon.

  “What just happened?” I yell, crawling over to wrap my arms around his neck.

  Magnolia slaps her leg. “Power. Pure, unadulterated power. My, my, my, Mala Jean. You found yourself an equal. You’ll make the tastiest babies.”

  My stomach clenches with nausea. “Why does it sound like you plan on cannibalizing my children?” Who says I’m marrying Landry?

  “This much energy can’t go without training.” Magnolia wipes her hands on her lap. “You’re both coming with me. Go pack your bags.”

  “Like hell,” I snap.

  Landry holds up a hand. “If we go, you’ll teach us how to control this power?”

  “I’ll teach control and how to use it to your advantage.” Her head cocks to the side. She studies him, maybe even reads his mind. What’s going on behind his emotionless expression? It unnerves me that he’s contemplating going with Magnolia. Can’t he sense how evil she is? She doesn’t want to help out of the graciousness of a pure heart. She wants to eat my future children.

  Yeah, I totally believe she’s capable of doing something that heinous.

  The longer I’m with her, the more I think the memory of her at the crossroads is real. She did come that night. She hurt me as bad as Acker’s bullet.

  “I healed you, girl,” Magnolia says, interrupting my train of thought. It takes me a second to understand her. She’s answering my thoughts. Oh Lordy, she really can read minds.

  Magnolia pinches her thumb and forefinger together an inch. “You was this shy of being a ghost yourself. I healed you…so you owe me your life. And you, boy, I didn’t kill you when I could’ve. It would’ve been so easy to snuff your life as you stumbled down the road, blind and confused as a newborn pup. Payment is due.”

  A full-body shiver runs through Landry.

  Swear at the crossroads… Magnolia whispered while I lay dying. And I did.

  Doesn’t mean if she says “froggy” I have to jump. “I can’t go right now. I’ve got to work at Munchies. Save up money for bills. Isn’t that right, Mama?”

  “You got a hundred thousand in life insurance coming your way. You ain’t got to worry about bills for a while,” Mama says.

  “She’s right,” Landry says.

  I want to throw a rocking chair at them. “Why are you taking her side? Mama I can understand, but not you.” Tears burn in my eyes, but I won’t let them fall. The smug expression on Magnolia’s face makes me twitchy enough. Damn it! I won’t give her the satisfaction of seeing me break.

  Landry folds my hands within his larger ones. “Magnolia knows more about this supernatural stuff than we do. We can learn from her.”

  “I don’t want to.” I glare at the woman. “She does black magic. It’s evil. Can’t you feel it?”

  “Well, ain’t you the pot calling the magic black,” Magnolia says with a cackle fit for the Wicked Witch of the West. “You got some nerve calling me evil when you throw curses willy-nilly. Or did you forget about that poor girl’s hair falling out?”

  How does she know…I shake my head, halting that thought. I don’t want to know. I don’t. Did I really curse Clarice?

  Magnolia keeps blathering…blah, blah, blah demon spawn, blah. Why won’t she shut up? Landry’s falling deeper and deeper into her sticky web of lies. I can tell. He’s so freaking gullible.

  “…magic ain’t black or white. It’s the person who wields it that determines whether it’s used for good or evil.” Lecture over, Magnolia raises a silver eyebrow.

  My mouth opens to tell her to get the fuck off my property, but Landry squeezes my hand. The corner of his eye tilts downward like a sad basset hound, and my heart stutters in my chest. I want to wrap my arms around him and feed him lies about how everything will be okay.

  He knows better. “Mala, I can’t protect you like I am. The attack by Acker, I couldn’t stop it. If I learn control, I’ll be able to keep you safe. More important, if I’m not around, you’ll be able to keep yourself safe.”

  I run a hand up Landry’s cheek and trace a finger across a scabbed-over cut beneath his left eye. “Where did this come from? It wasn’t here this morning.”

  He tips his head back. The black patch stands out against his creamy skin. “You cut me with your knife thinking I was Acker.”

  I hiss. I almost blinded him… again. Acker had me so lost in the reality he created that I don’t even remember hurting Landry.

  “Okay,” I say. “I’ll go. We’ll go, but if anything weird happens we’re coming home.”

  “Deal.”

  * * *

  Landry packs our bags while I call Munchies. The manager says Dena left an hour ago. When I call the Ackers, Jonjovi tells me that she’s still not home. It feels weird leaving without talking to her. And I feel guilty about putting off finding her father, but I can’t stay. Not when I’m throwing black curses like Mardi Gras beads. I need to learn control before someone gets hurt. Again.

  I expected Gaston to show up while we were speaking with Magnolia. He hates his aunt with a passion. She was his mother’s twin, so he knows what she’s capable of better than anyone living or dead. He almost brought down the house with his displeasure the first time she visited, but this time he doesn’t make an appearance. Does this mean he approves of me going to New Orleans?

  Etienne takes our bags and places them in the car. My nose wrinkles and goose bumps rise on my arms when his hand touches mine while transferring the bags. His skin feels like ice, like he just stepped out of a refrigerator. He doesn’t speak. Maybe he can’t. Is he a spirit in the body of a man? Lainey thrust my soul out of my body and wore me like a coat. I drifted, unfettered, unable to interact with the people around me. With everyone but Landry, who could sense spirits even before his death.

  I squint at the man, trying to make out the mysterious shimmer Landry spoke about. He says it’s like a silver aura surrounding the body, like the glare of a passing car’s headlights. Is this body’s spirit chasing after him? I don’t sense a disturbance in the Force.

  The giggle sets my head to spinning. I’m not sure why I find it funny.

  Landry massages my shoulder. “I feel like I’m pressuring you to do this.”

  “You are.” He frowns, and I shake my head, saying “No, don’t get your panties in a bunch. I almost put out your other eye when Acker attacked. I need to learn how to control these powers.”

  A cold shiver runs down my spine. “Do you feel that?”

  “Is it—”

  A gust of wind kicks up. My arms go over my head. “No! Not now.”

  A disturbance ripples at the edge of the woods. One minute it’s empty, and the next, Acker appears within a mini-tornado of leaves and dirt. It swirls around him like a giant blender and he’s the smoothie filling. “You’ve done it now, girl!” he yells, and I scream. I dart toward the house, but Landry grabs my arms.

  “Let go! We have to get behind the protective boundary,” I shout. My words float into the vortex and vanish.

  “Magnolia destroyed it. Get in the car.” Landry shoves me toward the open back passenger door then opens the front. “Ms. LaCroix, get in. Hurry!”

  Magnolia arches an eyebrow. “I don’t run from spirits.” Her words pulse like a gong. The deep, chest-throbbing vibrations radiate outward from my center, through my arms, and down into my fingertips as she says, “Spirits run from me.”

  My knees quiver. Then I realize my whole is body trembling. I’m incapable of walking. Hell, I can barely stand. It’s like I’m sinking in quicksand again. I stare at my aunt, unable to tear my eyes away from her. Even the threat of Acker doesn’t scare me as much as what happens to her.

  Magnolia shimmers. I blink…but the image doesn’t drift away. I see her—my aunt—the spooky but human old woman who sat in the rocking chair and taunted me with her gifts, but superimposed over her physical body is a shadow that slowly goes from dark to lig
ht, then Technicolor. I see the creature that came to me at the crossroads writhing beneath her skin, sucking at the marrow of her soul, while leaving dark holes of emptiness within.

  A top hat sits jauntily on Magnolia’s head. A trio of cigarettes hangs from her lips. Power turns her eyes golden. The color swirls and shifts, spilling out in a river of molten gold as if mere irises can’t contain the raw energy contained inside her body.

  The whirlwind in the form of a man stalks closer. Acker rips up clumps of grass and flings them in our direction. The car vibrates as debris smashes on top of the hood. His fury makes the hair on my head rise. Strands wave back and forth in the static-charged wind. The air crackles with the immense amount of electricity. I think if Acker touches me, the reaction will be ten times worse than the zing of power that shot through me when I touched Landry and Magnolia. Worse than biting into a power cord or getting struck by lightning, but just as Krispy Kremed D.E.A.D.

  The ghost plans to kill me. Worse, I’m scared Magnolia plans to do the same. Only, hopefully, not right now. Landry and I are trapped between them. Two mortals on a supernatural battlefield, and we don’t know the rules of engagement.

  “You can’t hide from me, girl. I see you,” Acker yells. “You and your meddlesome ways done ruined everythin’. I should’ve kilt you when I had the chance.”

  Magnolia lifts a lazy hand and flicks the tips of her fingers. “Be gone.”

  Acker screams. He clutches his chest and collapses. His body flickers like a dying computer screen, and I squint. Landry presses my face against his chest and covers my head with his arms.

  “What’s happening to him?” Landry asks, his gaze following Magnolia, who walks to the front seat without a single glance in Acker’s direction. Etienne helps her inside the car.