Tahlia had also narrowed down the area where the bokors or, in this case, the caplatas were operating. I didn't know how many others followed Odette and Nephtalie. Did they have a whole coven of bokors at their side? Or, were they operating with Marinette in isolation?
No surprise.
They were operating off the coast of Haiti. We'd encountered Marinette there, after she'd zombified the former merlegion, before. And it made sense, given Marinette's history.
Nammu created the wyrmhole that all three of us, with our wyrms, used to travel near the place where Tahlia believed Odette and Nephtalie were hiding.
If Marinette was here, not like I knew how she might have gotten here, I didn't know if she'd still be in the mermaid body I'd given her or in another host. If she was a mermaid, though, it also made sense she was in this area. It was beyond the reach of Fomoria's beacons. Even with the enchanted map, we were blind to anything they might be doing in these waters.
Marinette, in a Fomoran body, had a little magic I might be able to detect. They also had to stay on guard for any zombie sharks. With their armor, Tahlia said, they'd be able to handle them.
Still, it was haunting how calm these waters seemed. Did Odette and Nephtalie know we were coming? If they did, they didn't seem concerned. I expected, at the very least, they'd have sharks patrolling these waters non-stop.
But the waters were crystal clear. Plenty of aquatic life-none of it zombified.
"This doesn't feel right," I said.
"Feels almost like we're walking right into an ambush," Tahlia added.
Agwe looked all around. "I agree. But with the waters so clear, we can see quite a distance in all directions. Not a lot of places where sharks could hide."
"Maybe not an ambush," I said. "But I can't imagine they'd leave us to do this indefinitely."
"We should begin this binding ritual quickly," Tahlia said. "It shouldn't take long."
I nodded and dismounted Nammu. "Nammu," I said, my hand on her side. "Can you and the others circle our perimeter? Just let us know if anyone or anything out of the ordinary approaches."
Of course, La Sirene.
After Agwe and Tahlia dismounted their wyrms, the three sea dragons took off and began circling our position. Each of them at slightly different heights and maintaining enough distance that between the three of them, they pretty much had a lookout in all directions constantly.
I handed Tahlia the zipper bag with what was apparently Erzulie's veve along with the four charred pig hooves.
"This should not be a typical rite used to call a Loa," Agwe said to Tahlia. "It is only the aspect of Erzulie bound to Marinette by these hooves we must evoke and free."
Tahlia nodded and grunted, a look of mild annoyance setting on her face. Like a grown-up child receiving the unsolicited advice of a parent over something she has long since mastered. The same sort of look I'd give my mother, back when I lived with her when she tried to tell me how to properly crack an egg, or whip a little cream when I'd been doing for years.
I smirked a little. At least I wasn't' the only one Agwe patronized. Not that he had any malice in his intentions, but I could understand why Tahlia didn't want to hear it. She had grown a lot over the last two years, accomplished a ton without either Agwe or me at her side.
I hooked my hand in Agwe's bent arm. "I think she's got this, hubby."
Agwe nodded. "Sorry."
Tahlia didn't respond this time. She was so focused on the veve, arranging the hooves around it, chanting something in what I assumed was Creole. Growing up in Louisiana, it's a dialect I heard often enough I could recognize, but not so frequently I could understand it.
Tahlia gathered up the hooves. "That should do it."
"That's it?" I asked.
"If Erzulie did not wish to make an appearance, she if Tahlia acting as the mambo made no request of her, there is no reason to expect that we'd see anything more."
"It worked," Tahlia said. "I'm sure of it. But I'll hold onto these for now, for good measure. The ritual severed Marinette's claim over the sacrifice, which should mean, in theory, that Erzulie's presence as she's so bound is not free to act apart from the influence of the caplatas."
I nodded.
La Sirene... Joni...
Nammu was speaking to me through our connection. Even though she was a fair distance away, the sound of her voice in my mind was as clear as if I was riding her.
"Hold on," I said to Agwe and Tahlia. "Nammu is trying to tell me something."
Is everyone alright? I asked. Since Nammu was at a distance, while I usually found it easier to just speak to her audibly, I had to rely on our connection for her to hear me.
Three of the sharks are swimming just to the east of here.
Are they coming our way? I asked.
They don't seem to be. It's like they're just wandering.
I glanced up at the surface. The light piercing the waters was dimming. It meant we were getting close to sunset.
"I think I need to go get the vampire," I said. "It's almost night. She said she'd be waiting near the port in case we needed her. If this worked, she should be able to take control of these sharks."
"Use wyrmholes," Agwe said. "Much faster that way."
I snorted. "Yeah, dad. That was what I was planning on doing all along."
Tahlia giggled.
"What? Why'd you call me dad?" Agwe asked.
Tahlia shook her head. "You have a knack for telling us to do what we already know."
Agwe cocked his head. "You mean I'm mansplaining again?"
"Yes!" Tahlia and I replied in unison.
"Sorry..."
"It's fine," I said. "Just annoying. Don't worry about it. I'll be back with the vampire within the hour, provided she's ready to go, of course."
Chapter Forty-One
Going to get Mercy didn't take long. We took a wyrmhole to the coast. I had enough magic in my medallion for four good shifts. The more I shifted between these three forms-dragon, human, mermaid-the less magic it took. It was like my body just knew what to do, and it was more natural than before when, at most, I could pull off two shifts with the medallion fully charged.
Thankfully, four shifts were just what the doctor ordered. I dismounted Nammu, flew into the air, assumed dragon form, and flew to Casa do Diabo. I shifted into human form. I found Mercy and, regrettably Ramon, at home doing whatever it was that vampires do in their spare time when they aren't stalking humans. Probably playing checkers or something. I didn't care, so I didn't ask.
Mercy said she had a boat at the port—The Little Ship of Horrors. Surely, Nico's old boat hadn't survived this long... or had it? Certainly would have had to be rebuilt or restored, probably multiple times.
So I shifted into dragon form again-that was three shifts now-and flew to the port. At the same time, Mercy ran utilizing her natural vampire speed.
I landed on the boat Mercy ran to... yes, it had the same name, The Little Ship of Horrors, written on the back of the boat in gold, speckled letters. But this wasn't the same boat. This was a fricking yacht! Apparently, these vamps had money. Not a surprise, I suppose. My ex and baby daddy had a ton of money because Merlin had invested in stocks due to the advantages of time travel. Got in on all the tech shit before it took off. Invested in Amazon and Google back when people were still logging in to the sound of "you've got mail" and used Yahoo to search. Invested in Facebook when everyone was still crafting their perfect Myspace pages-with personal welcome songs and all streaming for all their page viewers.
I imagined Nico and Mercy had done something similar. I mean, if you had the knowledge of the future and virtually unlimited time and patience to see our investments grow, why wouldn't you?
Ethics, perhaps? I mean, does the ability to time travel count as insider trading, anyway? I'd like to see someone try and prosecute it.
I returned to mermaid form and mounted Nammu. She cast a wyrmhole back to the waters off the coast of Haiti, and Mercy steered her
fancy yacht through it. We followed just behind.
"I still only see the three sharks," I told Nammu.
I see the same...
I quickly swam down around Agwe and Tahlia, who were now mounted on Ruacha and Tohu, respectively. "I'm going to go up and see if the vampire can use Samedi's aspect to harness these sharks."
Agwe nodded. "We'll be here."
Nammu, stay on patrol. Let us know if anyone else approaches. I have a feeling Odette and Nephtalie will do something once they realize we've ripped Erzulie out of Marinette.
Nammu nodded and took off through the waters. I kicked my tail as hard as I could. The word "little" in the ship's moniker was ironic. It might have fit Nico's sailboat circa the eighteen-eighties, but this yacht was anything but small.
I wasn't sure I'd get enough air to make it on deck.
Still, I gave it a shot. I could always siphon a little magic from Agwe if push came to shove. But I reveled in the challenge of it.
I flew out of the water. I reached out. I wasn't going to make it over the side of the boat, but I might be able to reach the side rail.
I grabbed it. It felt like a small victory. Like when someone grabs hold of the top of the warped wall on American Ninja Warrior. Now, I just had to use my upper body strength to pull myself over the top.
Damn, didn't realize how heavy my ass and tail were.
I swung my body over and tucked my tail over the rail while trying to pull myself up the best I could with my arms. By any stretch of the imagination, I'm not a weakling, but when you're accustomed to having the buoyancy of water to assist you in most endeavors that involve manual lifting, trying to complete a full-body pull-up over the side of the ship is harder than it looks.
I flopped myself on the deck.
I felt, literally, like a fish out of water.
Mercy stood there laughing. "Need a hand? I'd say I'd help you to your feet, but..."
"Yeah, I know. No feet."
"Help you to your fin then?" Mercy asked.
"Sure," I said, reaching out and grabbing Mercy's hand. She yanked me up. Damn, that bitch was strong! Vampire strength.
Probably a result of all that iron in their diet. Didn't work for me even though my momma always had a loaf of Iron Kids Bread on the table-a futile attempt, I figured, by marketers to make it look like plain white bread had nutritional value.
"So there are three zombified sharks swimming out there," I said, pointing in the vicinity of where they were circling. "We think they were under the control of the bokors using Marinette's power drawn from Erzulie."
Mercy shrugged. "Not real familiar with them, to be honest. But if they are undead and free of another's compulsion, I should be able to control them."
Mercy stepped to the edge of the boat. She scrunched her brow, starings at the area where the sharks were, gripping the railing tight with both hands.
"Are you sure that is where they are?" Mercy asked.
"It is where they were when I came aboard. Let me check."
I reached out to Nammu with my mind. She confirmed, indeed, that the sharks were still where I last saw them.
I shook my head. "The sharks are still there. Is something wrong?"
Mercy snorted. "I haven't done a lot of this sort of thing, so bear with me. But those sharks are either normal sharks, not dead or undead at all, or they're still under another form of compulsion."
"They're definitely zombie sharks. I don't understand. What other power could be harnessing them?"
Mercy stepped away from the rail and back to the captain's seat of the yacht. "All I know is if they were animated by a Ghede, I'd know. If they were unharnessed, I'd be able to use Samedi's aspect to command them. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."
I nodded. "Thanks for trying."
Mercy cocked her head and looked off in the distance. "Looks like fishermen, maybe?"
I followed Mercy's eyes-the boat approaching looked like it might be the sort of boat one might take deep-sea fishing. Not as large as The Little Ship of Horrors, but a good-sized vessel no less.
Then I sensed it. Magic... it tasted Fomorian. Almost like the magic, I could already detect that Agwe had was suddenly growing or expanding. Agwe couldn't do that. He wasn't a siphon. He reached his magical capacity, and unless he was casting, the magic levels surrounding him remained constant. So it had to be coming from someone else who had Fomorian magic...
Neither Odette nor Nephtalie had such magic... Marinette did. But I only saw two figures on the boat. From a distance, it looked like it could have been Odette and Nephtalie.
Nammu, I said, speaking through our connection. Be ready. I think we have visitors...
Chapter Forty-Two
As they approached, I recognized them both. Odette was older than when I saw her last on the original Little Ship of Horrors. And Nephtalie, well, she looked a lot like Henry Campbell. But she and I had the same eyes.
"La Sirene!" Odette shouted from her bot to ours. "It's about time you've come."
I shrugged. "You were expecting me?"
Nephtalie was smiling wide. She had my abilities. Somehow she'd harnessed Fomorian magic.
"We were," Odette said. "But I suppose the situation calls for formal introductions. La Sirene, Joni Campbell, meet your great, great, something or other aunt Nephtalie."
I cocked my head. "You sure that is how it parses out? I mean, once you get past second cousins and go back a few generations, I'm not sure what to call it."
"Either way," Odette said. "You too come from the same lineage.
"You stole her from her parents," I said, shaking my head. "You raised her as a caplata, here, in this century?"
"She's exactly your age," Odette said. "And I didn't steal her. I saved her. They would have killed her otherwise."
I shook my head. "You didn't have the right."
"But I thought that was what you wanted, wasn't it? You wanted a Campbell girl to live, did you not? Isn't that why you thwarted Mister Campbell's attempt to end the pregnancy?"
I took a deep breath. "It's true. I didn't want her to die. But Odette, you lied to me. You used me to bring back Marinette. To summon her in a body of her own."
"It was for the greater good, La Sirene," Odette said. "And I should thank you for completing the task for which you were summoned. You severed Marinette's connection to Erzulie, and now my dear child, Nephtalie has harnessed all of her Fomorian magic."
"All of it?" I asked. "If she became mortal, that means... you killed her?"
"At least in this form. We shall see if Bondye finds her worthy on her own merits to grant her passage from the void to Guinee."
"And you said you summoned me?" I asked. "You said that before..."
"Only before, when I summoned you, you retained your freedom."
"I do now, too! I still have my mortal body!"
Odette laughed. "You honestly believe that your body survived for six months in that dungeon? You think the kelp helped you access the aspect of Legba?"
I shrugged. "Yeah, because that was what happened. I was there."
Odette shook her head. "Oh, dear child. You found your way from the void to the crossroads because your spirit as a Loa is attuned to Legba and his aspect. But you did nothing to realize the potential of his aspect. You simply died. It was Nephtalie, here, who summoned you out of the void, it was she who through Marinette bound you again to a restored body, one like your own, and it is she who commands you still."
"No one commands me, I'm-"
"Quiet!" Nephtalie shouted.
I couldn't speak. I tried to move my mouth, but the words wouldn't come.
"And it was by your power, by seizing your aspect, that Nephtalie now controls the sharks. And it is through you, La Sirene, who shall serve our will, that we might conquer the seas, and from there, remake the world."
Where the hell was Agwe? Where was Tahlia? They were under the water on their wyrms. Did they know what was happening?
Nammu knew. B
ased on our connection, she could hear my thoughts. She could read my mind. And if she knew, she could tell Tahlia. I had to believe they knew. And if they knew, I hoped they had a plan.
"Call the rest of the sharks, La Sirene," Nephtalie commanded.
A power came over me. I sensed, suddenly, thousands of sharks. In my mind's eye, I could see through each of their eyes.
"Tell them all to descend on the wyrms beneath us now!" Nephtalie commanded.
I didn't do a thing. It was as if when Nephtalie spoke, what she ordered simply happened. Every shark, whose vision I saw in my mind, started to move. They were coming here.
There were too many to handle, even with three wyrms, even with their armor.
"Screw this shit!" Mercy shouted. The next thing I knew, a sharp pain pierced my neck. The vampire bit me...
Why did she...
The only way to stop me was to kill me... the only way to stop Nephtalie, who was wielding my aspect, was to send me back to the void.
Chapter Forty-Three
Darkness. Nothingness. I looked around. I was in a cave. That cave. The same cave I was in the first time I went to the void. It wasn't like the void was a cave. But it was the way I experienced it. It was the form the void took in my consciousness. It's impossible for a human, or a Fomorian for that matter, to imagine pure nothingness.
The hallucination of the "cave" filled the void of what I couldn't comprehend about the void itself.
Why didn't I remember going here before? If I really did die in shackles in old Fomoria, if I went to the void...
All I could assume was using Marinette, they'd summoned me almost immediately. The swirl of colors, on account of the kelp, the hallucinations I saw must've all obscured my experience of being here. And if I was brought to the crossroads almost immediately, when they summoned me, it made sense.
I pulled myself to my feet. For some reason, while I never shifted into human form, I saw myself with legs in the void. All a part of the illusion, I supposed.
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