by Kira Saito
“I’m sure you have.” She knew something was up. “So I take it you’re going to be studying with Mae?”
“I think so. I want to, but I’m not sure.”
“Don’t let me hold you back. Like I’ve always said we are all responsible for the choices we make, and there’s no changing that. If you feel that you have to study with Mae then do so, but beware of the consequences of your actions.”
“I know, Ms. Mae said that there would be some kind of initiation. It all sounds so serious to me.”
“It ought to sound serious because it is. There won’t be any going back once you start.”
I groaned. “Ms. Mae said the exact same thing you know.”
“Well she better have because it’s the truth. That’s just the way it is.”
“I do want to come home, but I just can’t.” I didn’t understand what was keeping me here, so how could I explain it to her any better?
“Tsk tsk tsk. I take it you’ve met Lucus?”
“What? How do you know Lucus and even if I did run into him what difference does that make?”
“Please Arelia I still know what goes on at Darkwood, even if I don’t live there. Of course, I know about Lucus. Be careful, once your heart gets involved, all reason goes out the window.”
“My heart isn’t involved,” I protested. It was a little too loud for my own liking. What was I trying to prove?
“I know you better than I know the hairs on my own head. I know you’ve never given your heart away to anyone, but I also know that when you do you won’t be taking it lightly.”
“This has nothing to do with a boy, especially not Lucus. Besides, Sabrina has already sunk her claws into him.”
“It doesn’t matter what Sabrina does or doesn’t do, what matters is what you do. Sometimes the hardest thing any of us can hope for is finding the courage to be honest with ourselves.”
“I am being honest,” I claimed.
“Sure you are.” She wasn’t convinced. “Let me warn you though Arelia, Lucus comes with a great deal of baggage. I’m not allowed to say what as that isn’t my place. I can’t stop you from being close to him, but you do need to be careful.”
“You don’t need to worry about me developing any type of feelings for Lucus. It hasn’t happened and it won’t.” Even as I said those words, they sounded so empty and hollow. They sounded like I was trying to convince myself of what I was saying. “The only thing I’m freaked out about is all the spirit stuff and of course the responsibility of learning all of this magic.”
“You have every reason to be scared. You must be cautious, but at the same time allowing fear to hold you back won’t get you anywhere worth being.”
“I guess.” I thought about what she said, and as always she had a point. If I left Darkwood now, I would always wonder about what I left behind and whether I made the right choice. “I’m going to stay. I’m going to study with Ms. Mae.” My voice was firm and certain. I was prone to bouts of indecision, but there was no time for any of that now. It was all or nothing.
“I see.” Grand-mere reflected on what I just said. “I have faith in you Arelia, I do.”
“I wish I was confident as you Grand-mere Bea.”
“Don’t worry my child. You’re so young confidence comes with age. It’s not something that any of us are born with.”
“Thanks for listening to me whine.”
Grand-mere Bea laughed exuberantly. “Whine all you want, I’ll always be here to listen.”
We said our goodbyes and I hung up. I was determined to march right back in Ms. Mae’s office and tell her I was ready for all of this.
“So you’ve made up your mind queen?” Ivan asked from the doorway where he lazily stood puffing on a cigarette.
“What the hell are you doing? Were you listening in on my call?” I was furious at the possibility that he had heard every single word that I had said to Grand-mere Bea. He had no right invading my space or privacy.
“Take it easy drama queen. I just got here,” he said easily.
“You’re a liar!” I spat out. “You’ve been here the whole time, and you know it.”
“So what, I’m on my break. Besides, it’s a free country and by the way, you’re making a mistake.” His voice took on an ominous tone and his eyes darkened.
“My life is none of your business. I have no idea what you mean by your little comments. If I’m making any mistakes, what the hell does it matter to you?”
He walked up to me. I could smell the nicotine on his breath as he grabbed me by the wrists and dug his nails into my skin. His lips hovered close to mine. “You don’t understand,” he whispered. “You don’t understand any of this. You don’t belong in this world. You’re too good, too fragile. Don’t mess with what you think you can control.”
I shook my wrists free and punched him in the shoulder. “It’s none of your business. You’re nothing but a whiny, condescending jerk that obviously has issues.”
For a minute, he looked shocked and in disbelief. “Suit yourself queen. You’re going to be sorry.”
“Whatever!” I spat back as I hurried into the kitchen and slammed the door behind me. I walked into Ms. Mae’s office, more determined than ever to get this training underway.
“You’re back.” Ms. Mae looked up from the book she was studying from.
“Yeah, I’ve made up my mind. Let’s do it.”
“You’re certain?” Ms. Mae asked. A hint of a smile started to spread across her face.
“Yes, I’m positive.”
“Then let’s get started, shall we?”
“Go for it.” I sat down and got ready to listen to whatever Ms. Mae had to say.
“Let’s start with the basics. These, are the most common ingredients used to make gris-gris and cast spells,” she said pointing to the materials that rested in the jars. “You do know what gris-gris is, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. Everyone does. Voodoo word for charms,” I was proud of myself for getting an answer right. “I have one right here.” I showed her the charm that Grand-mere Bea had bought for me which prompted Ms. Mae to shake her head because as I had suspected the charm was a fake. “So what are the most common ingredients?” I was eager to get started already.
“This is asafetida, used for protection,” she pointed to a jar full of greenish yellow powder. “Devil’s shoe string,” she demonstrated a jar of what appeared to be twigs of varying lengths. “They are used for an assortment of purposes such as warding off evil. The devil’s snuffbox is most useful when dealing with curses.” She continued explaining the different ingredients for what seemed like an hour, when she came to the last jar, her voice got low, “this is graveyard dirt.”
“What, wait?” I wasn’t really sure I had heard her correctly. “Did you just say graveyard dirt like actual dirt from some graveyard?”
In a very calm and matter of fact tone, Ms. Mae replied, “yes dear, dirt from an actual graveyard.”
“Okay, that’s a tad creepy, should I even ask what graveyard and from whose grave?”
“Don’t make it sound so dramatic my child. The dirt is taken from a grave connected to the spell you are planning to carry out. When used to make sure an ancestor safely passes from this world to the next, you would take the dirt from their grave. If you desire to reverse a curse placed on the living or dead, you would collect the dust from the grave of a person who is responsible for the curse.”
I couldn’t really imagine myself running around some graveyard stealing dirt from graves, but I had to admit it was a rather intriguing concept. “So, is there like a particular time or something that someone should break into a cemetery and steal this stuff?”
“It’s not stealing; never think of it as stealing, all dirt collected must be approved by Papa Ghede. Without his approval, you will never be able to successfully carry out a spell involving grave yard dirt.”
“Okay, I’m a little confused. I thought I was blessed by Erzulie and all, so I d
idn’t have to ask for permission to speak to the loa. They pretty much torment me whenever they feel like it. Why would I have to ask Papa Ghede for permission to take some dust?”
“Of course, you can hear them and speak to them, but that doesn’t mean all of them are willing to give you permission to do what you would like. You still need to be respectful of the spirits at all times. Before entering any graveyard, you must ask Ghede’s permission because he is the guardian of the graveyard. Upon leaving, you must leave some sort of offering such as coins.”
I listened intently to what Ms. Mae was saying, becoming increasingly fascinated by complexities of what was being presented. At school, I was a decent student, but most of what we were forced to learn was boring and I often found myself drifting, but not when Ms. Mae spoke. The way she explained things was simple and to the point which made it much easier to pick up on.
Every day for a week, I met Ms. Mae promptly at seven in her office. With my iced-coffee and usual breakfast treats that consisted of some form of chocolate or another by my side, getting up so early didn’t seem entirely horrid. Ms. Mae tried to cram as much information as she could in the few hours we had before the guests started to come down for breakfast. At this point, I had managed to remember the name of most of the materials needed for spells. I learnt how to mix together various elements to make protective charms as well as ones that were harmful. I was hesitant at first, too afraid to learn how to cast curses, but Ms. Mae explained that there were times when curses were necessary to protect oneself and reverse any dangerous spells that may have been cast by someone who meant ill.
Prior to my lessons, I hadn’t given palm reading and tarot cards a second thought.
I had always been under the impression that they were tricks invented by scam artists to make a quick buck. In New Orleans, there was always some sketchy, gypsy-type woman with a shop willing to sell you your fate. Ms. Mae told me that although a majority of people who claimed they tell fortunes were frauds, some actually did have the gift. Since Erzulie had blessed me, I had no excuse not to understand how to read the tarot, as well as palms. A truly powerful voodoo queen was expected to do it all, and since that was what I supposedly was, I had no choice, but to learn. The LaRue family tarot wasn’t like the typical tarot decks you found at Barnes and Noble, it was a bit more complex. It had four suits, but they were divided by the names Rada (Sky), Petro (Fire), Ghede (Earth) and Kongo (Water). As much as I tried to memorize the significance of all the cards in the deck, the task seemed utterly impossible. I figured that I would probably be around Grand-mere Bea’s age when I finally did.
I was disgusted to find out that human hair, blood and bone were powerful materials when casting a spell on a target, and almost threw up my pain perdu when Ms. Mae showed me her collection of human hair samples. Ms. Mae told me not to be so dramatic like she always did and clarified that all the human hair she had was used to cast spells that were meant to bring luck or cure rather than curse. She also explained that when casting or making charms, using personal belongings made the spell more effective.
I was really eager to get to the part about voodoo dolls and was a bit shocked to find that according to Ms. Mae, they weren’t just an epic myth, but did serve a real purpose. Apparently, voodoo dolls are charms that can be used for carrying out a spell on a person they are meant to resemble. That made me think of Sabrina, and how badly I wanted to make a blond, bossy doll and curse it to endure a lifetime of being unable to wear makeup. There were a few times, when I woke up in the middle of the night to her snores and was tempted to cut off a lock of her hair. Of course, I didn’t, but I sure wanted to. Things were still bad between us, and we hadn’t spoken since the fight.
I went about doing my daily duties while she continued to throw herself at Lucus. From my observation of him, I had come to the conclusion that he wasn’t trying to pit Sabrina against me. In fact, he knew that if he spoke to me in front of Sabrina, she would continue to be bitter and angry. He respected my wishes and kept his distance all the while being polite and courteous to Sabrina no matter how obnoxious she got. I convinced myself that I didn’t care about their relationship, but there were times I caught myself mesmerized by Lucus a little more than I should have been. He was always so composed on the surface, but his eyes were a clear giveaway that there was sadness within him. Although I tried to justify that he was just another guy, I knew I was lying to myself. Sometimes, I was really good at doing that.
Chapter 14
The Alligators and the Ghosts
One morning, the guests were anxious to take a tour of the swamp. They claimed they wanted to see the wildlife but in reality they were eager to see if the swamp was really haunted like everyone in New Orleans said it was. There was something about New Orleans and ghosts that made tourists unafraid.
I could hear Mr. Dumpty threatening to ask for a full refund if he didn’t see at least three ghosts while he was at Darkwood. “Look here; I didn’t come all the way from New York to leave empty handed. I promised the guys at work that I’d bring back pictures of ghosts. It would be preferable if they were standing by a grave or tomb of some sort.”
“Yes sir, I do see your point about not wanting to leave Darkwood empty handed. I’m certain you won’t be disappointed by the tour,” Lucus desperately tried to appease Mr. Dumpty. From where I was standing, I could see little beads of sweat forming on the back of his neck and starting to drip onto his white t-shirt. It was barely nine am, and the sun was already threatening to scorch us to death.
“Finally a man who understands the importance of souvenirs,” Mr. Dumpty wholly sounded satisfied as he slurped from his water bottle.
“I’m sure we can manage to find a ghost or two that would love to get their picture taken.” From his tone, I could tell Lucus was trying to be as solemn as possible for Mr. Dumpty’s sake.
“Seriously, the swamp is going to be buzzing with flies, mosquitoes and who knows what other creepy things,” Sabrina dramatically whined.
“As long as you’ve got repellent on you’ll survive,” Henri calmly replied.
We had the honor of lugging around bottles of water, bug repellent, and parasols in case any of the guests needed the supplies. Although Sabrina had put on a brave face in front of Lucus, as soon as he was out of ear shot, she couldn’t resist complaining. Of course, she was ignoring me and directing her complaints to Mrs. Gopal who politely nodded in agreement.
Lucus lead the group with Henri. Henri apparently had an air boat license, so he was going to do the driving while Lucus was going to fill the guests in on the wildlife that made their homes in the area. It sounded rather boring, but hey, the tourists were paying customers. It had been a little over a week since Lucus had barged into my bedroom insisting that he needed me, but I still didn’t know what he had meant. Secretly, I was dying for more details, but knew if I dared to step within ten feet of him, Sabrina would probably throw me into the swamp. Things were still cold between us. When we were in our room together, we were like an old married couple, who had run out of things to say to one another. The only interaction we had involved shooting evil glances at one another from across any room we were in together.
As we walked deeper into the swampland, we were greeted by moss draped cypress trees and the calls of snowy egrets. The moist air made my hideous uniform cling to my skin which prompted me to curse at the genius who thought it had been a good idea for us to wear them.
“Cool look, what is that?” Ben hysterically shouted as he pointed to a turtle resting on a log.
“That there is a snapping turtle,” advised Henri.
“A snapping turtle, does that mean the alligators are close?” Ben reasoned.
“They certainly are. May I present to you Lady LaPlante.” Henri pointed to a large air boat that was parked on the swamp water.
“Are you sure that boat is safe?” questioned Mrs. Scott as she eyed it in suspicion.
“It’s completely safe,” Lucus assured
her. “It was purchased only a few months ago specifically for the tour, so it is entirely up to code.”
“If you say so dear,” Mrs. Scott still didn’t sound convinced as she got on board. The rest of the guests followed her lead except for Sabrina.
“I get motion sickness on the water,” Sabrina annoyingly whined as she crossed her arms in defiance.
“In that case, would you like to head back to the house by yourself, or wait here until the tour is over?” Henri gave Sabrina an ultimatum.
“Head back by myself? I’ll get lost, why can’t Lucus take me?” she pouted.
“I’m a bit busy here Sabrina,” Lucus evenly advised her. “Stay for the tour. It will be entertaining.”
“Fine,” Sabrina bitterly muttered as she swatted mosquitoes off of her arms and stomped on board. Since all the other seats were taken, she had no choice but to sit beside me.
“Great.” She rolled her eyes.
“Trust me, it’s no picnic for me either,” I hissed.
“Whatever,” she turned to the side facing away from me.
The boat started moving, and the cameras began snapping. As Lucus was describing the various species of birds and fish that lived in the swamp, my eyes started getting uncontrollably heavy. Biology wasn’t exactly my favorite subject, and I’d already been to enough swamps to know the basic animals that lived there.
“Wake up Arelia, an offer has already been made. You may be too late,” a familiar voice beckoned as a breeze blew through my hair. My eyes snapped open, and I looked at the faces around me. Luckily, the guests were too busy snapping pictures of the wildlife, and Sabrina was too absorbed with filming Lucus.
“Bade?” I whispered. “What do you want?”
“I’m just trying to warn you that an offer has already been made.”
“On what? Is there a poker game I wasn’t invited to or something?”
“This is no time for games Arelia, if you don’t act now you may be too late,” he urged.
“I can’t do anything if you don’t tell me what you’re talking about.” I didn’t mean to sound rude, but it was true. I really had no clue what he was referring to.
