Sweet Desire, Wicked Fate

by Wray Ardan

  Hubs sat in a chair next to the bed. They were silent for a moment, taking in each other’s presence.

  “It’s good to see you, Hubs.” Grand-pere Sep took his hand. “I know you don’t come around much because of your Uncle Cape. But the staff here won’t say anything to him. Besides, he hasn’t been to visit me since your aunt Laura divorced him and he moved up to Shreveport.” He paused, somewhat winded. “I don’t know what’s the matter with that boy. Don’t let him upset you.”

  “Grand-pere Se-Sep.” Hubs wanted to tell him how afraid he was, and that he didn’t know what to do. As usual, the words got jumbled up in Hubs’s head. For once in his life, he was grateful for the flaw. The last thing he wanted to do was upset his grand-pere.

  “You need to come see me more often. It gets lonely here, and I enjoy your company. Sure would be nice if you could get your mama and aunties to come visit me.” He inhaled a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. “They wouldn’t have to see any town folks. Just drive them here on the new highway.

  “Or you could sneak me out of this place for a day.” He winked.

  Hubs smiled, patting his hand.

  “Are you still seeing your lady friend?”

  Hubs looked down, shaking his head.

  “Well,” his grand-pere patted Hubs’s hand in turn, “maybe you can find someone who lives closer, so you don’t have to drive twenty miles for a date.”

  The two men sat together. Their breathing kept rhythm with the drip of the IV. Hubs was grateful that his grand-pere was used to his quietness.

  After some time Grand-pere Sep blinked back a tear and asked, “Did you meet Elvina’s granddaughter? Is that why you’re here?”

  Hubs felt his heart race as he nodded. “Ja-Jaden,” he couldn’t stop his body from shuddering as he said her name. “Sh-she’s at Mama’s.” Worry knotted itself up in his neck. He rubbed the knots, trying to let go of all the unease he was carrying around.

  “My dear boy, do what you can to help her. She’s a part of Elvina.” With what strength Grand-pere Sep had, he squeezed Hubs’s hand. “Elvina was so good to all of you. Still …” His face creased with fine lines, resembling a piece of old parchment. “I don’t want you to do something that will cause you more pain. Maybe you should leave town for a while. Take the triplets with you. Though I doubt they’d ever go.”

  Hubs chose not to tell him that Jaden had been bitten. Instead, mustering up a smile, he changed the subject. “I’ve al-always wa-wanted to go to Italy.”

  “We should make that happen for you.” Grand-pere Sep wiggled Hubs’s hand. Even though Hubs was well beyond middle-aged, he knew that his grand-pere still regarded him as his precious grandchild.

  Stumbling over his words more than usual, Hubs talked about the books he’d been reading, his job, the tablet he’d set up for his mama and aunties with music. As always, Grand-pere Sep enjoyed sharing all the changes he’d seen during his lifetime—how back when he was a mere baby, women had just won the right to vote, and televisions and computers didn’t exist.

  When the time came to say good-bye, Grand-pere Sep leaned forward and gave Hubs a long hug, holding onto him, not wanting to let him go.

  “It’s okay. I-I’ll come b-back soon.” Hubs lowered his grand-pere against the pillow and helped him get comfortable.

  “Hubs.” Grand-pere Sep took hold of his arm. “I know I told you to go away. But this needs to be said, too. I’ve come to learn that life boils down to confronting our fears. And our regrets.”

  He paused for a moment, then continued, “I believe there comes a time in everyone’s life when they have to face them. Sometimes more than one. Some of them bigger than others. ‘Cause fear likes to rear up its ugly head, and eventually, your journey is going to lead you right back to it. Hopefully, once it’s been denied any power, you’ll have an opportunity to go forward on a different path. A better path.”

  Draped in the Louisiana heat, Hubs walked back to his car. Pushing past the tightness in his chest and the dark omens that were feasting on him, he wondered if he’d ever see his grand-pere again. Not because the elderly man’s health was failing him, but because Hubs knew he was about to face his greatest fear—whether he wanted to or not.

  CHAPTER 30

  Perched at the front of the boat, Violet absorbed the bayou. The sights, smells, and sounds were distinctly familiar. Years ago she’d spent time on this stretch of waterway with Dekle. Turning back toward Briz, she raised her voice over the noise of the motor. “The Professor’s laboratory was out this way.”

  “What are you talking about?” Briz’s eyes narrowed. “How could he have a lab way out here in the middle of nowhere? Wasn’t it at his house?”

  “No, his real laboratory was in a salt cave. They are very sterile environments. At the time it was the ideal location for him to perform his experiments. He did some lab work in his cellar, but the majority was done at the cave.”

  She could sense that Briz had a lot of questions. Yet he remained respectfully silent as she continued telling him all that she’d shared with Jaden about the Mal Rous—their sources of DNA, their perfect night vision, the way the Professor had changed after he’d been bitten, and other information she hadn’t had a chance to impart to Jaden. Briz seemed calm as she explained things to him, though she could feel his rising concern.

  As they approached two channels in the marsh, the fine veins in Violet’s wings constricted. Standing, she stretched out her neck. Her nose twitched. Above the fumes of the boat’s exhaust she discerned an outlying scent.

  “What’s wrong?” Briz asked.

  Violet pointed toward the other channel. “I believe that waterway would lead you to the Professor’s laboratory. If it still exists.”

  Briz ran a hand through his hair as if straightening out his thoughts. “He had to have kept records of his experiments. Did you ever see them? Maybe they’d tell us what we can do for Jaden.”

  “Yes. He kept his journals locked in silver boxes. From time to time he’d bring them to his cellar. Jaden was of the opinion that they might be at the house. However in all of the years that I lived there, I never saw them. And now, as you know, it would not be wise to return there.” Violet sat. Her shoulders bowed forward. “I never expected to see the Mal Rous again.”

  “I’m sorry you have to do this, Violet.”

  Violet shifted her body to better observe Briz. She found him intriguing. For such a young man, with all the pressure he was under, he kept his wits about him. He’d even had the foresight to go back into Hubs’s dwelling to find the keys to the boathouse and skiff. She could tell he was anxious about finding the triplets. He had counted on Hubs taking them. Unfortunately, that hadn’t worked out.

  “Violet, I should probably tell you, the triplets are albinos.”

  “Yes, the Professor had mentioned that numerous times. Oddly enough, he didn’t mind my appearance, nor that of the Mal Rous. Yet the sight of the triplets disturbed him. Overtime, it seems, he lost his ability to be kind and understanding. Perhaps that is the real problem with the Mal Rous. They are not merely cruel, but soulless.”

  Briz stared ahead as he whispered, “Soulless.”

  Nothing more was said until the triplets’ dock came into view.

  “We made it. I can’t believe Hubs’s landmarks actually made sense to me.” Briz turned off the motor and used a long pole to guide the boat up to the dock.

  Violet climbed inside her paper bag. Concealed in her hiding place, shivering with apprehension, she placed her life in Briz’s hands.

  CHAPTER 31

  Briz carried the bag close to his chest as he walked up the steps to the screened porch, his heart beating like a child pounding on a tin drum. Releasing a deep sigh, he rapped on the door. When it opened, he tried to recognize which triplet stood before him.

  “Morning, Briz, come on in. Jaden is still asleep.” Looking past him, the woman asked, “Is Hubs down at the dock?”

  “He didn’t come.” Bri
z quickly shifted his gaze away from her and guiltily stepped into the house. “Uh, are your sisters here? I mean, yeah, of course they are. I … I have some information that might help Jaden.”

  “I’ll get them, son.” Shuffling down the hall, she quietly called out Olympe and Tamara’s names.

  Briz made a mental note: Okay, so she’s Isadora. She has on a lavender blouse, her hair’s in a single braid. And she just called me son. Like her sister Tamara, she sounded educated. Though unlike Tamara, there was a gentle Southern lilt to Isadora’s words. Briz thought the two of them might have spent some time away from the bayou. It seemed unlikely, but perhaps at a university.

  With the Bellibone still hidden in the paper bag, Briz sat in the oversized chair. The three women settled next to each other on the sofa directly across from him, with Isadora in the middle.

  “And Hubs, where’s my boy?” Olympe asked, looking at the door, expecting her son to enter any minute.

  Briz made another mental note: That’s right, Olympe’s accent is richer than her sisters’. Her hair’s in two braids, and she’s wearing a blue blouse.

  “Apparently he stayed behind,” Isadora replied. “Briz came here on his own. He has some information to share with us that may help Jaden.”

  The women sat up taller, their shoulders touching. Their steady gazes rested on Briz, seeming to register the fact that he was being very protective of the bag on his lap.

  Briz lowered his hands, letting them rest on his thighs. “Actually it concerns the entire town.”

  All three sisters’ eyes widened.

  He realized that from this moment on, everything he said would most likely upset them. And then I’ll top it off by showing them Violet. Great.

  “The entire town? Why?” Olympe asked. “What’s happened? Is Hubs all right?”

  “Yes.” Briz’s voice squeaked as if he were still going through puberty. He cleared his throat. “Yes, Hubs is okay.” He hoped.

  The triplets’ mouths compressed into thin lines, as if once again they were reading his mind.

  “But, uh, I’ve learned more about what attacked Jaden and me … and her mom. And what it might mean—” Briz inhaled a deep breath. Smelling Violet’s fragrance he curled his fingers over the top of the bag. “When I told you that she got bit, well—”

  “Briz,” Isadora said, scooting forward. “Jaden said that her mother was taken to the hospital. She’s worried they won’t be able to help her.” Isadora glanced at the bag. “Son, she told us about the Mal Rous. How the Professor changed after he was bitten. We know she’s afraid the same will happen to her.”

  Briz closed his eyes and quietly said Jaden’s name. His attempt at a calm facade started to chip apart. Jade’s going to be dangerous, treacherous like the Professor, evil as the Mal Rous. The room felt as if it was closing in around him. All the air was being used up. They were all going to die as their lungs filled with Briz’s sadness.

  When he opened his eyes, tears blurred his vision, melding the three women into one. He willed himself to keep his emotions intact, to focus on finding a solution. After all, that’s what he was here for. That’s why he had brought Violet.

  “We’ll do our best to help her.” Olympe’s words were tinged with doubt. “We had no idea what we was dealing with when they went after my boy. Hubs had called them Mal Rous, but we didn’t know what he meant. After a while he called them rougarous.”

  Briz had heard the legends before, but quietly listened as Olympe explained.

  “Rougarous. The loup garou. In the Cajun folklore, creatures with a human body, similar to a werewolf. After four or five years of nightmares, Hubs stopped talking about them.”

  Hubs. Closing his eyes, Briz felt guilt sweep through him.

  “Briz … son, can I get you something to drink?” Isadora separated herself from Olympe and Tamara as if they’d had been attached by some invisible force.

  His lips parted but no sound came out as he slowly nodded.

  Isadora returned and handed him a glass of water, then tucked herself back between her sisters. Briz gulped it down. Looking at each of the triplets in turn, he spoke in a strained voice. “I stopped by the hospital to see Jade’s mom yesterday. Other people have been bitten. The hospital’s filling up with patients. We need to come up with a good plan.”

  “We need a good plan?” Tamara’s tone matched her sullen manner.

  “I guess I thought you’d have some ideas …” Briz’s words trailed off, “… of how to help us.”

  “And just what do you think we can do?” Tamara’s words were crisp. The more annoyed she became, the more she sounded like a Yankee. While her curtness caused her sisters’ white complexions to flush with pink blotches, it jolted Briz out of what his mother would call a pity party.

  What an idiot I am. What did I expect from them? They were already doing all they could for Jaden. But he needed help and didn’t know where else to turn. Briz gritted his teeth, not wanting to overreact or be disrespectful toward Tamara. He tried to get a grip on his emotions. But he couldn’t. He snapped, “I don’t know what you can do, Tamara!” From his rude tone, he thought he might have been channeling Ava. “For some reason I thought you might be able to suggest ways to capture or get rid of them.”

  Briz shut his eyes, chastising himself. When he opened them again, Tamara was staring at him, her eyes—like her sisters’, the lightest blue he’d ever seen—piercing into him. “Sorry,” Briz said directly to her.

  Isadora poked her in the arm and Tamara grunted, “Un-huh,” as if being forced to accept his apology.

  Be kind. Always choose kindness. Briz could hear his mother’s voice in his head. Looking at the wall of bookshelves, then at the triplets, Briz asked, “So, you don’t happen to have the Professor’s journals, or know if they’re still in his laboratory? You know, in the salt cave? I thought maybe you’d been there.”

  From their dumbfounded countenance, it was obvious the three women had no clue about Dekle’s underground laboratory.

  “The salt cave?” Isadora’s eyes opened wide, then narrowed. “That’s where his lab was? That was why he had it declared contaminated.”

  “The salt cave,” Olympe repeated. “That man had no morals. Seems being deceitful was second nature to him.” She leaned forward, pressing her hands on her knees, regarding her sisters as she said, “We all took for granted that Dekle wanted to help the town and create cures for everyone. When Elvina found those demons, we started putting the pieces together … and realized what my boy had been through.”

  The paper bag crinkled, shifting in Briz’s lap. Demons. He knew the word made Violet nervous. The women focused on the bag as Briz sat up taller, rustling the sack intentionally, as if he’d been doing it all along. “Didn’t you work for the Professor? Mixing formulas for him?” Briz asked.

  “Yes we did, but we rarely saw Dekle. He thought we were …” Isadora took her sisters’ hands, “… unsightly. Most often, he’d give his formulas to our father, to pass on to us.”

  In an almost choreographed move, the triplets stretched out their necks, their matching straight noses rising in the air.

  Briz stared at their identical images.

  Olympe broke from the pose. “Jaden told us all about Violet.” She folded her wrinkled hands in her lap. In tandem, Isadora and Tamara folded theirs.

  “Violet is not a rougarou!” Briz protectively encircled the bag with his arms. “She’s intelligent and kind. She wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

  “Yes,” Isadora nodded, “that’s what Jaden told us. We understand she is nothing like the others.”

  In unison they said Briz’s name.

  The implication was clear. The triplets’ eyes remained fixed on the object he was shielding. Briz eased his head from side to side. His neck was tight. He was getting a headache.

  Hesitantly he opened the bag and lifted Violet out, letting the empty sack fall to the floor.

  The Bellibone’s eyes were as large as cob
alt blue saucers. Folding in her wings, she huddled against Briz’s chest. Her heart fluttered like a dove caught in an eagle’s talons.

  Violet had told Briz that she’d only been seen by five humans. The first was the Professor, who had loved her until their last few years together, when he detested her. The second was Elvina, who saw her only once and was afraid to death of her. Besides Jaden and Briz, the only other sighting had been just a few hours ago, when Hubs ran away from her as fast as he could. Neither Briz nor Violet knew how the triplets were going to react.

  CHAPTER 32

  “Amazing!”

  The triplets’ voices blended into one as Briz set Violet on the end table. The three women remained calm. Not one line of fear or disbelief marred their beaming faces.

  Before they could say another word, Jaden's bedroom door opened. Wearing Hubs’s oversized T-shirt, her hair uncombed, she slinked into the room and climbed into Briz’s lap like a little girl.

  “Hey, babe. I told you I’d be back.” Briz moved her hair out of her face. “Are you feeling better?”

  Instead of answering, she began sniffing him as if he was a drug she wanted to devour. Her pretense of innocence vanished. Everyone in the room could see what her intentions were—especially Briz.

  Grabbing both of Jaden’s arms, he restrained her from groping his body. Abruptly standing, he dropped her on the floor. He looked down at her, sorry for what he’d done. Jaden didn’t seem the least bit upset. She sat there with a seductive pout, looking up at him like an animal ready to mate.

  The triplets’ eyes darted back and forth from Jaden to Briz.

  “Pheromones,” Violet said.

  Everyone’s attention went to the Bellibone.

  “Like the Mal Rous, Jaden’s sense of smell is now stronger than a human’s. She has acquired the abilities, as well as the needs, of an insect, a poisonous plant, and an animal determined to survive—to mate. To keep her species alive.”

  Briz stared at Violet—her words slowly sinking in.

  “There are all kinds of pheromones,” Violet said. “All life forms, humans included, release chemicals when frightened, angry, nervous, happy.”