Aftermath

by Jenna-Lynne Duncan

  “You have no idea how I feel.” He was right, I couldn’t change how I felt, but I sure as hell could change how I acted on it.

  “Admit it, you are jealous.”

  “I am not jealous!”

  “Look at you, Ana. Your cheeks are a delicious shade of pink and you’re all flustered. You look so cute when you get upset.”

  “You’re insane!”

  “You didn’t even get like this when I told you about Tatiana and Hayden.”

  My breath hitched and I struggled to find the right words. “Because I trust Hayden!” I blurted out.

  “Oh, Ana,” he smiled, still looking irritatingly calm as he stepped forward and caressed my cheek with the back of his hand, “you try so hard to keep away from me. Yet, the very fact that you can’t is what keeps me going. It’s what gives me hope.”

  I clenched my teeth together. “Well, your 'hope' is walking away.”

  And I turned and left him there without another word because that was what I had to do. If I was, as he said, incriminating myself the more I struggled with him, then I just had to not say anything at all. I was so flustered as I walked into the warehouse that I didn’t take notice that someone had been watching from behind a float.

  Chapter Nineteen

  When I entered the warehouse, I was overwhelmed with the display of colors and the colossal floats. I had never seen a float so close up and it was my love for New Orleans and memories of Mardi Gras that made me feel giddy at the prospect of riding on one.

  Mardi Gras. The greatest free show on earth.

  Krewes are carnival organizations that put on the parades. New Orleans has a ton of different krewes and they all have different parades, royalty, and throws. The Krewe of Hermes was famous for their night-time parades and each year had a different theme. The composition was a highly-kept secret and they did not reveal the theme until the day of the parade. One of the first floats I saw was decorated like a meadow with cat tails, complete with colorful flowers and butterflies. A banner over the top said “Visions of Valhalla.” The theme of the parade. I smiled. I took a minute to admire the other floats in the building. It was interesting to see all the behind-the-scenes work and how detailed it was. My favorite float was also the most elaborate one, with a model of a woman Viking warrior on the front. The entire float was lit up with neon lights and I knew it would be the brightest float on the streets that night. High on the float, already settled in his chair, was the king who was outfitted regally, everything from his crown to his gloves. His mask covered his entire face, purposely disguising his identity. Krewes and their royalty inspired such intrigue, such mystery. The king's face was angled toward me as I walked by and I gave him a curt nod, not sure if he was looking at me or not.

  A lot of people had already arrived when I got there and even with Nikki’s amazing make up job, I was starting to feel underdressed. I couldn’t imagine what some of the costumes must have set people back.

  After roaming for a bit, I found the Ecole float. Ecole was lucky to have its own float in the parade. Usually the floats were the krewes own and most of the schools only were able to participate with marching bands and banners. Nikki had informed me it was because the principal was a member. All I knew was that we had the best Mardi Gras celebrations because of it.

  Our group was comprised of five girls and three boys, a few teachers, administrative personnel and chaperones. I didn’t see Stephanie yet, so I assumed it would be six girls. Some of the girls turned and looked at me as I approached. I gave them a tight smile. I awkwardly went to stand next to them when a chaperone with a clipboard approached.

  “What’s your name, hon'?”

  “Adriana Alexander.”

  She tapped her pen and smiled. “Ah. I was glad to see that you entered a late application.”

  “Thank you,” I smiled and didn’t correct her that it was actually Nikki who entered for me.

  “You’ll be front left, between Stephanie and Josh.”

  “Thank you,” I repeated. I paled as she walked away toward the next student.

  Just perfect. Well, at least I was on time, I thought proudly.

  We waited there for a while as last-minute preparations were made to the float. The girls had ignored the requirement for attire that was in school-spirit and were in everything from Venetian-style dresses to tutus and boas in purple, green and gold. The boys were all friends, and had obviously coordinated their outfits; they were dressed in matching blue suits with bowler hats and shimmering gold masks. I felt silly standing there quietly while everyone was talking to each other until a girl I recognized from Trig complimented my outfit and started a conversation about upcoming assignments.

  We were more than ready by the time the float was ready to be loaded. The chaperones reminded us of the rules and what we’d be doing, and gave us each a box of goodies to throw out to the crowds.

  “I’m here!” Stephanie sung out as we were getting onto the float. She had really outdone herself. She was dressed in an Ecole-blue sequined ball gown with a matching blue feathered half-mask. It wouldn’t have been unusual, if it weren’t for the array of peacock feathers encircling behind her. She also had forgone any Mardi Gras beads around her neck, probably figuring they took away from the elegance of the dress.

  “Oh, there you are Stephanie.” The same chaperone that helped me walked over to her. “We thought you were a no-show.”

  “As if I would miss the parade!” She put her manicured hands on her hips in true Hollywood starlet style. I gave her no more than a glance and concentrated on the float.

  “All right, everybody on. It’s Showtime!” The chaperone shooed us onto the float. The boys were high-fiving and the girls were giggling in excitement. I smiled at Lacey-from-Trig and then my smile died as I took my position next to Stephanie. I wished I'd known Josh better so I could have at least imagined I wasn't sitting next to Stephanie. But as the float started to move, I realized it wouldn't matter; Stephanie knew Josh. She spent most of the ride to St. Charles, the start of the parade, talking to him over me. She did a good job pretending I wasn’t even there. But I swear, if a peacock feather hits me in the face one more time…

  “Throw me something, mister!” A young boy called out, instantly changing my mood as I recognized the famous slogan. I smiled as I threw some Ecole-colored beads and small foam footballs donning our Trojan mascot out to the awaiting crowds.Night-time parades were fun because of the lights used on the floats. I had only missed the Krewe of Hermes parade once in my life, and never missed the Rex parade, because their krewe had the best throws. Even when my dad was traveling, he never missed carnival season.

  I was quick to forget who was standing next to me as everyone else instantly had an attitude of camaraderie. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d spent so much time laughing and smiling. The crowd was as interesting to look at as the floats; they sometimes even had better costumes. By the time the float made its way back to the warehouse, my cheeks were sore. I was surprised by how quickly the time had flown by. The crowds had been the largest I'd seen yet, and my heart swelled at the perseverance of New Orleanians. Even though the parade was over, there was no doubt that everyone would still be dancing until dawn. Katrina was not that many months behind us, but it was clear: New Orleans was back.

  Luke and Marie were waiting for me outside the warehouse when we finished cleaning up.

  “Ana, you looked awesome up there!” Marie hugged me as I approached Luke’s truck. “Nikki left with her ‘rents, but she bids you farewell.”

  “Ah, and I was so looking forward to her gushing.” My tone was a bit sarcastic but it was true, I was looking forward to her commentary. “I was trying to look for y’all around Lee’s Circle but I guess you were on the other side.”

  “No, we definitely saw you.” Luke was standing by the hood and I hated that he held an expression of admiration and pride. I sighed when I realized I still hadn’t heard from Hayden. I had hoped that he would surprise me
and just appear as I was floating down Canal Street. It hurt that he hadn’t been there.

  A chill ran through me and I rubbed my bare arms with my hands. “Oh, no. I must have left my shawl on the float! I’ll be right back.”

  Luke threw his arm around my shoulder, “Leave it, we’ll get you another one. We have some celebrating to do.”

  “I can’t, it’s Nikki’s and she would kill me if I lost it. Start the car, I’ll just be a minute.” I took off into the warehouse, hoping someone would still be there to let me in. The door was unlocked and the overhead lights were still on, so I figured there must still be people working on their floats. I made my way to where the back of the building where the Ecole float was parked.

  I found Nikki’s sweater just where I had left it on the float. I grabbed it and went to run back to the truck when the lights flickered once, twice, and then went out. My heart sped but I still didn’t rule out any reasonable explanations. “Hello?” Everyone had probably just left for the night and didn’t realize I had come back in. Or maybe the lights were on a timer? “Hello?” Maybe they were motion- censored? I took a few steps in almost complete darkness. I heard footsteps and that’s when I started running towards the exit. I heard the power click and a single light above me turned on. I stopped running and looked all around me.

  “Adriana,” I turned at the familiar sinister voice. Stephanie had appeared in front of me, a frightening gleam in her eyes.

  “What do you want, Stephanie?”

  I thought I had managed to get through the parade with no snide comments but apparently I would not be that fortunate tonight.

  “You will not be Queen.” Her face burned with anger and it was then that I noticed that her peacock tail was missing, her hair mussed and dress torn.

  I took a step back as she approached me. “It’s just a stupid school dance, calm down.”

  She laughed darkly as if she didn’t hear me. “You can’t be Queen, if you’re finally dead!” She grabbed my arm in one quick motion.

  …if you’re dead. I didn’t register the finally part. I just knew that with any mention of the word dead, I needed to get out of there fast. I tried to yank my arm free but she was surprisingly strong. It was the feeling of being trapped that caused me to panic. “Let me go, Stephanie.” When she didn’t, I kicked her as hard as I could with my free leg. She keeled over long enough to let my arm slip free, and I screamed as I ran away, knowing Luke would be able to hear me.

  Something about Stephanie was not human as she instantly caught up behind me, sending me falling to the floor with one powerful push. I turned over to find Stephanie hovering over me before she pinned me down with her arms and legs.

  Her manicured nails felt painfully sharper then they looked as they dug into my neck. “I am going to enjoy ripping your head off from your body. You won’t look so appealing then.”

  “You’re crazy!” I spit at her.

  “Let her go!” The sound of Marie’s voice frightened me. Why hadn’t Luke made her stay in the truck?

  “Marie, you need to get out of here!” I yelled at her through strained breaths.

  “Follow your friend's advice, witch, or I’ll have to shred you to pieces as well.”

  I was taken aback by the sound of a new voice. It was deep and sounded like many voices on top of each other. That voice, though, was coming from Stephanie, and she was talking to Marie.

  “Wrong being,” I heard Marie say when I felt Stephanie’s body ripped off mine and watched as she flew to the other side of the room. I got up to see Stephanie’s body crumbled on the ground below a float. Shreds of paper mache and purple, green and gold glitter were floating down to the ground.

  “What are you?” Luke was by my side, helping me to a stand, but he was talking to Marie, whose hands were still held out defensively. I quickly put the facts together, and realized just exactly what Marie was.

  “Never mind that. Focus on her!” Marie pointed to Stephanie who was already trying to stand again. It was shocking to see Stephanie recover from that, especially after seeing the hole she left in the float.

  “How is that possible?” I wondered out loud.

  Luke sniffed the air. “Sulfur.” He growled, looking completely feral.

  I watched Luke, concerned at his drastic change in behavior until Marie said, “Demon.” Then I realized Luke was in Hunt mode.

  Stephanie/Demon smiled, completely unaffected by the blow, and we all stood there defensively waiting for its next move.

  The Neptune float next to us started to shake and before I could react, I was whisked away to the other side of the building. Luke set Marie and I down in time to see the float crash to the ground right where we had been standing.

  Luke cursed, and I realized he wasn’t going after it because that would leave us vulnerable.

  “Don’t have all your powers in your current form,” Luke taunted. “Why don’t you come out so we can play hardball?”

  I didn’t know what powers the demon was limited to in Stephanie’s body, but I knew what Luke was doing. As long as the Demon was in her body, in order to kill it, he would have to kill her, too.

  “So you can save the human? I’m not stupid. I won’t give up my only protection.” The voice that came from Stephanie was still strained and deep.

  Luke shrugged. “I could care less if a human dies in the cross fire. Ah well, I guess this Hunt won’t be much of a challenge after all.”

  I looked at Luke to see if he was bluffing but he gave nothing away. What scared me was that I didn't think he was.

  Another object came flying at us and I found myself, once again, moved in a blur. I steadied myself as Luke put me down and shoved me behind him.

  “Don’t. Touch. Her.”

  I looked around, but Marie wasn’t next to me. I found her at the same spot we'd left her, the head of the Neptune float burning in flames beside her. Marie’s hands were still held out toward the float and she was shaking.

  The Demon remained where it was, laughing. “Protective of her, are you? Thank you for revealing that. It will make it so much more fun when I tear her to pieces.”

  Luke growled again as he ripped a pole from a float with his bare hands. “It will take me 1.5 seconds to impale this through your heart. The iron will kill your demon form.”

  “And the humans…?”

  Luke shrugged again. “We’ve already established this: I just don’t give a damn.”

  The demon let out a sole laugh. “You are alone, with two, well, one-” he looked at Marie, “and-a-half, humans to protect. Do you really think in those 1.5 seconds that I couldn't have that light overhead crush her? Or that float? Or pole? Or truck? There are so many ways to die in here. And the only way she’s remaining alive right now is because she’s relying on your—“

  A blur shot by my face, ramming straight into the demon and taking it down. I looked beside me to discover it wasn’t Luke. If Luke was surprised by our new visitor, he didn’t show it.

  A woman was holding the demon down and it thrashed beneath her. I felt someone’s hand touch my shoulder and I looked to my right, startled. “Hayden,” my relief came out in a sob.

  I threw my arms around him and buried my face in his neck. We pulled apart when the woman called out to us.

  “Marie, are you all right?” I ignored the woman, running toward Marie and mentally assessing her for any wounds.

  “I…I’m fine.” She stared at her hands as they shook. I grabbed one of them in mine as the woman restraining the demon called out for Marie this time.

  “I recognize that voice,” I spoke as we anxiously walked together toward the demon. When we stopped, the woman threw back her chestnut hair and I saw exactly who it was. Rachel Vitale.

  Chapter Twenty

  I was speechless as Rachel focused on Marie. “Cast a spell to free her body or I will have to destroy her.”

  “I…I can’t,” Marie said in a shaky voice. “I don’t know how. I don’t even know how I
did what I did.”

  “Let your emotions guide you. The rest is ingrained in your blood,” Rachel coached.

  Marie thought for a moment, inhaled a deep breath but then shook her head in defeat.

  Rachel shrugged. “Very well,” she said, and gripped the sides of Stephanie’s head.

  “Wait!” Marie called out to stop her. “I will try.” Marie got down on her knees next to Stephanie, or whatever it was that was inside her, who was still thrashing about, trying to get free.

  Marie held her hands out in front of her and squeezed her eyes shut. When nothing happened, she opened them with a disappointed exhale.

  “Try again,” Rachel barked.

  Marie looked at her and then went back to trying to rid Stephanie’s body of the demon.

  “Think about what this monster could do to humans if unleashed on New Orleans. Go back to what you felt when it was on Adriana, about to kill her.”

  I gasped as a dark smoke started to come from Stephanie’s body. It swirled around her until it covered her like a blanket.

  “That’s it,” Rachel encouraged, and let go of Stephanie to take a step back.

  Marie swallowed and squeezed her eyes shut tighter. Stephanie’s body rose from the ground as the dark smoke struggled to keep inside of it. I heard Marie call out in anguish, as if the task were just as difficult for her. “C’mon Marie,” I whispered in worry.

  Marie let out one last scream before the black smoked disappeared as if it had been suctioned out, and Stephanie’s body, now limp, fell back to the ground. There was a collective sigh, and Marie fell back, exhausted.

  I ran over to her and helped her to a stand. “Are you okay?”

  “I…I’m fine. Just tired,” she lied.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” I asked, hoping she would. When she didn’t answer, I corrected my sentence. “I’ll be here when you’re ready to talk about it.”

  Rachel barked an order, “Luke, take Stephanie home. She should be out of it for at least a day. Tell her parents she had too much to drink.”