“That’s a small bayou,” I said. “It’s an off-shoot of the Vermilion River. It’s a little over twenty acres, I think.”
Miles nodded. “That would work.”
“But it’s too far from the house,” I said. “I don’t want to be that far away from Lyla.”
“I’ll be here to protect her, my baby,” said Cee Cee.
“We’ll lead them away from the house,” added Noah.
“But Charmagne will be coming for her, one way or the other,” I insisted. “If we give them any vantage point, they’ll use it to get to her.” I looked at Cee Cee. “Is there any spell you can do that can stop that?” I knew the answer was no before I even asked.
No one knew what to say, because they all knew I was right, and our situation seemed hopeless. Until Ruby spoke.
“I think I know something.” She looked down at the map and pointed to a section of back road. “Is this far?” she asked me.
“Kinda far to walk from here.”
“You know how to get there?”
I nodded.
“C’mon. We’ll take my car. The rest o’ y’all go about your plan. We’ll be back in a little bit.”
***
“Who did you turn for?” I blurted out the question during the few minutes we rode in silence.
Ruby’s eyebrows scrunched. “Hmm?”
“You became a dark paladin, a line walker, for someone, didn’t you? I turned for Lucas, Noah for Nadia, Miles for my mom. Who did you turn for?”
She kept her eyes on the dark road in front of us, but it looked like they were lost in a memory. She said nothing and finally came to a stop at a dirt crossroads a couple of miles from Clothilde’s house. Before we had left the house, she had gone to the back yard and grabbed a chicken from the coop and placed it in a burlap sack. It clucked quietly in my lap.
Ruby pulled her staff from the back seat and went to open the door to get out of the car, but I placed my hand on her arm to stop her. “You’re not, uh, going to kill this chicken, are you?”
She rolled her eyes at me. “We don’t do that anymore.”
We got out of the car and went to the dead center of the crossroads, where she used her staff to draw a circle in the dirt and spat in it. She reached into her bag and pulled out a silver dollar, placing it in the circle. She motioned for me to hand her the sack with the chicken, and she put it on top of the silver. She then pulled out a small dagger and grabbed my hand.
“Gonna hurt a little.”
Before I could say anything, she pierced my palm and drew blood, which she let drip onto the sack in the circle.
“Ow!”
“Told ya.” She used the dagger to do the same to her hand. I think she was starting to like me, because the old Ruby wouldn’t have warned me.
She joined my hand with hers, mixing our blood, and we walked in a square, stopping at each corner, and then diagonally through the crossroads. Holding our hands above the sack with the chicken, she called, “Papa Legba! We come with gifts and ask for your help!”
I looked over my shoulder, in the sky, turned around, squinted at the trees and wild grass and brush.
Nothing.
I was about to make a snarky comment, but I heard footsteps just then. I peered into the darkness down the dirt road in front of us, and soon saw a small, twisted figure coming our way: a man in black, skin dark as night, snow white beard, and wearing a ragged suit, barefoot, strolling at a leisurely pace. His black eyes held us in their gaze as he approached. The memory of me slugging Ruby a few months ago came back to me. She had told me I would pay for it. I panicked for a second, wondering if payback had come.
He stopped at the very edge of the circle, bent down, and picked up the sack. He opened it, pulled out the chicken, and let the sack fall to the ground. After inspecting the bird, he beamed. “Dat’s a nice, fat one, yeah! Ooo-wie! I like dat!” His voice was a rich, rolling baritone. Grinning, he picked up the silver dollar and put it in his pocket. “Nice to get silver sometime. E’rybody always wanna gimme copper.” He looked at us, one at a time, taking us both in. “What you need?”
“Papa, we need help with a cloaking spell. We need to hide her house—to protect it—and everyone in it.”
He stroked his beard and looked the chicken over once more. “I will give you the power to do this.”
He tucked the chicken under one arm and reached into his jacket pocket with his other hand. He pulled out an old, dark bottle and offered it to Ruby. She drank from it and then offered it to me. I knew better than to ask what it was. The man eyed me keenly. Those dark eyes seemed ancient and all-knowing yet still twinkled with a hint of shrewd delight.
It was the most god-awful thing I had ever tasted, but I refrained from making a face. A strong metallic taste coated the back of my tongue, and I was sure there was blood in there somewhere, buried beneath the overpowering taste of tobacco juice and mint, as if mint could disguise any of that. My gut clinched and my mouth watered. I had to will myself not to throw up.
He reached into his pocket again and pulled out a tiny capsule containing three grains of sand. He gave it to Ruby. “Your spell will last one hour once you cast it.”
“Thank you, Papa,” said Ruby. After a moment of silence, she glared at me.
“Thank you,” I said. “Uh, Papa, thank you.”
He laughed, held the chicken in front of him and said, “Come, pretty lil’ bird.” Whistling happily, he walked back down the road at that same leisurely pace, and disappeared under the shadows of the trees.
***
Back at Clothilde’s, everyone was waiting for us outside, a mix of fear and determination stamped across their faces. Cee Cee said she would stay and guard Lyla. There were fourteen of us, and about a dozen turned nephils. Our best bet was to turn as many as possible in the bayou, which was about three hundred yards from the house. Clothilde’s place was surrounded by a small wooded area, with the now-burned sugar cane field to the right. Behind that was a bigger tree line, behind which was the small bayou. While we waited, Noah and a few of the turned nephils flew out in a five mile radius in separate directions to keep watch.
Miles brought Ruby with him to the bayou so she could bless the water, turning it to holy water. Saul went with them. His job was to form a giant dome shield to protect us all once we made it there. Aimee, Sonja, Olivia, Casper, Alex and Oscar waited with them.
I stayed by the house with Felix and three turned nephils. Ruby returned shortly. We needed to wait until the last minute for Ruby to perform the cloaking spell so that we’d have the most time. Once the house was cloaked, we’d head for the field and the bayou beyond. Noah could out-fly the Nephilim, but the rest of us would need the turned ones under my command to fly us to the bayou.
“You up for this?” It was Ruby.
“I have to be,” I said.
She nodded and then smiled. “We got this, girl. We got this.” She wasn’t trying to show it, but I could tell how frightened she was.
Felix took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one up. He took a long drag and smiled at me. “I haven’t smoked in over ten years.”
Ruby reached for the pack and took one. “I haven’t smoked in over ten hours.” We all laughed, a little too much. She took a long drag, held it, and then exhaled a long plume of smoke. Her eyes found mine, and then she said, “My mom.”
“Come again?” said Felix.
She faintly shook her head, showing him that it was nothing. He dropped it but still looked perplexed. I knew right away what she meant. It was her mother she had turned for. She never explained what happened, though. And I never asked.
Noah returned twenty minutes later with the nephils.
“They’re coming,” he said. He caught me staring at his wings and grinned. “I took your advice.”
I smiled. “I’m glad.”
Ruby took a last puff of her second cigarette and then crushed it with her heel. Raising her staff, she said, “Papa Legba has granted me the
power of invisibility! We thank you again, Papa, for this gift, and ask that this home and everything surrounding it be hidden from our enemies!”
She pulled out the capsule, and the wind gusted, blowing in dark clouds overhead. She broke the capsule, and the wind caught the grains of sand and multiplied them, over and over, creating a blanket of sand. The house and everything in it faded until I could clearly see the property on the other side. Even the foundation disappeared, and the shrubs and trees around the house copied themselves in a pattern to make it look like there was never anything there. The garden, outdoor kitchen and chicken coop vanished, too. I reached out, expecting there to be nothing, but my hand hit the wall that I could not see, and felt the roughness of the sand on my skin.
“We have an hour,” she said.
She and Felix and I climbed onto the backs of the nephils. They flew us to the bayou with Noah and the others taking the rear position. When we got to the bayou, we found our allies on a small, mossy island in between a couple of tupelos. Everyone was dry, and Oscar looked a little drained. I assumed he created an ice path to the island. I heard a faint hum and saw a large, shimmery, translucent dome around the island. Saul’s eyes were closed in concentration.
The nephils set us down, and Noah landed beside us. In a matter of moments, we saw them coming, a group of maybe a hundred from the north. Everyone took a fighting stance. Noah squeezed my hand once and then let go.
“Remember, no one get in front of me,” said Sonja. “Unless you personally don’t like your ear drums.”
“And stay out of the water,” added Felix.
The first wave of Nephilim became clearer as they drew closer. Some of them were truly as beautiful as Noah, looking mostly human with colorful wings in jewel tones. Others were the definition of monsters with yellow or red eyes and marbled veins and ugly skin. One of them, a male, could have been Arcelia’s twin brother with his alabaster skin, a flying statue with flaming red hair and eyes.
“I’ll get the first line,” said Alex.
They charged us from the sky.
Alex raised his hands and emitted a wall of fire that took down the first line. Their burning bodies fell down around us.
Some of them who survived the fire found themselves trapped under a thick sheet of ice created by Oscar, and they drowned.
The others used their powers full force to fend off the approaching Nephilim.
Electricity and fire balls shot through the air.
Vines crawled from the earth and wrapped around the necks of low-flying nephils.
Ruby threw dust in their faces that made them burst into flame. She raised her staff, whispered a few words, and a group of them impaled themselves on branches.
Olivia had shadows drag other nephils away into dark oblivion.
Sonja issued a great roar that pushed dozens back into the nephils behind them, creating mass confusion. Some landed on their backs in the water which became like acid to them; they convulsed as their skin dissolved and bones protruded. Others seemed immune to the acid effect. They landed on their feet and began to run at us, but were soon trapped in ice thanks to Oscar. Now, stuck in the holy water, their life drained from their bodies, and they collapsed, breaking the ice beneath them.
Some incoming nephils managed to break through the chaos and smashed up against the invisible dome, knocking them back into the water that killed them almost instantly.
Others were electrocuted when Felix placed his hands in the water.
Noah and Aimee went outside of the dome to fight on land and air.
Miles and I took turns pushing our energy to replenish our friends and we also strategically drained the life force from nephils who piled up against Aimee and Noah.
This continued for nearly twenty minutes before the dome surrounding us flickered and began to fade.
“I’m almost out!” said Saul, looking faint.
Miles scooped up some water with his hand that he now placed on Saul’s shoulder. He whispered a prayer, and the dome seemed solid again as Saul’s strength returned.
An icy wind surged from Oscar’s hands, knocking several nephils back against a tree. Frozen, they shattered to pieces.
Noah flew toward us. “Incoming!” Behind him, about three dozen Nephilim approached.
“I’ll get this group,” said Olivia, “but I’ll be drained for a little while.”
Noah entered our safe spot as the Nephilim drew closer. Olivia’s pale eyes narrowed. Every shadow from every tree and shrub came together and formed one giant, black mass, creating a tidal wave of ink that spanned the small bayou, pouring over the onslaught of enemies. Their bodies looked drenched in tar. Nephils fell from the sky, barely able to use their wings. They flailed about in the holy water of the bayou, dying.
Still, more came.
Olivia collapsed from exhaustion. Oscar caught her and rested her against the trunk of a Tupelo.
Miles scanned the mass of bodies piling up around us. “Leigh! Do it now!” he ordered. His eyelids were heavy, his breathing labored. Saul looked no better, and the dome flickered and dimmed once again.
Three nephils broke through the dome, but Noah and Aimee took them down.
I grasped the Heart of Charlemagne with my hands. Ruby placed hers around mine, and she recited the spell.
The heat shot through my body and out of my hands. The water around us boiled. Steam filled the atmosphere so that we could barely see more than a few feet in front of us. My comrades still battled through all of this, and every new body that fell to the water became one of our new soldiers. Over two hundred dead, dripping nephils arose, fanned their wings and awaited my order.
I took a long, deep breath and shouted for all to hear: “FIGHT FOR US!”
They shot into the sky, ripping into a new wave of their brothers and sisters. They were savage. Tattered wings and bodies and severed heads fell from the tree tops. Those who broke through our nephil barricade were stopped by the rest of us.
Even Olivia was starting to regain her strength. Miles and Saul were near fainting. I went to them and pushed some of my energy. They began to come around, but a new set of worries was coming our way.
Hearing a stampede from behind us, we turned to see a horde of demon hounds charging at us from the sugar cane field where Eloise and her three remaining sisters could be seen by the light of the moon. They stood on the edge of a deep crack in the earth that was never there before. From the crevice came the hounds and an abundance of black smoke that crawled along the field.
Ruby’s shoulders slumped. “Shit. For real?”
Miles said to Saul, “Put up as much of a shield as you can.” He looked at me next. “You won’t be able to resurrect these things. Focus only on the Nephilim.”
I ordered some of the turned nephils to attack the hounds and then Ruby and I focused our energy on breathing life into the fallen ones in the bayou and scattered along the banks.
Saul put up a smaller shield than before. We were mostly back-to-back, fighting from every direction. Only Noah and Aimee left the safety of the dome to fight, but they didn’t stray far. Noah fought nephils in the air a few yards above us, while Aimee stood just outside the dome, crushing incoming demon hounds.
Miles and I again took turns re-energizing everyone. I looked over at the sisters in the field. They stood, cloaked, eyes closed, their mouths moving in synch as they chanted. Even from this distance, I could see snakes—giant water moccasins—coming from the banks of the bayou to wrap themselves at the witches’ feet and slither up their legs.
“The hounds will just keep coming unless we stop the witches,” I said.
Sonja, her voice hoarse, said, “What do you have in mind?”
I ordered a group of ten nephils to attack the witches. As they were about to land on them, the snakes shot up and attacked them, wrapping themselves around their necks, piercing them repeatedly with their fangs. This distracted them long enough for some demon hounds to strike and soon ripped them to piece
s. The witches never flinched.
“Crap,” I whispered. “Ruby, you know any counter spells?”
She shook her head. “No use. I can’t balance out against them when it’s four against one. Even with Auntie Cee Cee we’d still be outnumbered. We can only counteract their magic when it’s balanced.”
“Let’s try to lower their number, then.”
I ordered another group of nephils over toward the witches, but had them focus on only one sister. Again, the snakes and demon hounds attacked, bringing down six nephils, but five more charged through the chaos and snatched up one of the witches.
Their spell was broken, and the smoke and hounds stopped coming from the crevice which remained open. The witches, noticing their taken sister, opened their eyes—solid white now—and screamed. In unison, they raised their hands toward the nephils and brought down three of them while the two who carried the other witch made it to the bayou where they impaled her on a sharp, jutting tupelo branch. She thrashed and convulsed as dark, inky liquid oozed from her mouth. And then she exploded into a million black flies.
“That’s one down,” I said and then turned to Ruby. “How are we on time?”
She checked her watch. “About ten more minutes.”
“Where’s Charmagne? I don’t even see her! We need to get back to the house.”
The wind picked up just then. I looked over at the remaining witches. Their white eyes were upon us and each had a finger pointed in our direction. Clouds swiftly covered the moon, and we found ourselves in total darkness.
Miles shouted to Saul, “Keep up the shield!”
Thunderous thudding pounded in our ears from the bodies hitting the other side of the shield.
Alex created a fireball in each hand. Sonja grabbed a few branches and wrapped them with Spanish moss for Alex to create torches.
Nancy K. Duplechain - Dark Trilogy 03 - Dark Legacy Page 26
