Warlocks_The Creole Coven

by Latrivia Welch

  Upon finishing the text, she realized why Lafayette had so much hope after eons here, but she also understood what he would have to sacrifice in order to gain his favor with God again…everything, everyone.

  She closed the book to a silenced room, and then looked over at Lafayette, who had a mix of emotions on his angelic face.

  “I’m sorry, Lafayette. I had no clue,” she said, still unsure of why that particular text had come to reveal itself to her now.

  But Lafayette was not offended by her reading or ashamed.

  Over the years, he had tried to prepare his sons for his departure as any good father would. He had trained them to take up their position in the family once he was gone. Because at the end of the day, he wanted to leave.

  “There is no need for apologies,” Lafayette said, looking around the room at his beautiful family. How he loved them so. “To love is to sacrifice.” Raising his wine glass, he made a toast. “On this day, we celebrate your life and life of my grandson, growing strong inside of you. May you be mighty and unapologetic in your love for each other always. To God be the glory.”

  “To God be the glory,” they all said in unison.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “And the dark heir shall be born from sister and brother, an abomination that will rip the very threads of the Earth. He shall emerge from the womb with knowledge and be unclean at his conception. Those who will fight him will know of his coming, and fiercely prepare for battle.”

  The Prophecy

  A bigor felt the moment that his mother, Ophelia, perished under Jericho’s blade a few days earlier, but it did not stop him from his quest. She had promised after Lafayette’s coven’s circle was completed to find a way to still stop them, but ultimately, she had failed. Now, it was up to him to finish was she started by completing the forbidden bond for their own family.

  The key to his mission was a sister he had never met. His mother had given birth to her secretly some years ago with a warlock who had loose ties with the family. Then Ophelia had left the young girl hidden and detached from the family, so that she would not be discovered or killed by Lafayette’s family.

  Over the years, they had lost touch with where the girl was moved, but miraculously came across clues that allowed them to track her down just a month ago right before they found out about Toni.

  Ophelia had called it supernatural intervention and a sign that it was time to usher in the new era.

  Abigor didn’t care what it was. He knew that his mission was to mate with her and create the dark heir. The fact that she was his blood sister was of no consequence to him.

  However, for his sister, it might be. No woman in her right mind would simply lay with her brother, because it was the will of the family who had long discarded her.

  No, he would have to deceive his sister and create the bond without her knowledge. She could never know who he really was or what her purpose had been for them.

  To his advantage, Abigor had always been one of the most beautiful of their coven, and one of the most cunning. Women had flocked to him for years, and he had used his tricks to get whatever he wanted from them. So, it would not be hard to persuade his sister to lay with him as long as he played it cool.

  From what he had observed so far, she was an easy target. Not too bright and not too conservative.

  Sitting in the back of the club, he watched the young blonde at the bar. Her wheat blonde locks pulled up in a messy ponytail and the profile of her delicate features mirrored his mother’s image nearly exactly.

  She sat on the edge of the beat-up leather bar stool, running her red straw around the bottom of her sixth drink in the last hour.

  Earlier, she had come in alone, sulking after missing her flight out of the city, due to a traffic jam on the expressway that kept her pinned behind a six-car fatal pile up until long after her plane was headed back to El Paso, Texas.

  The next flight wouldn’t be until tomorrow, so instead of sitting at the airport all night, she decided to get out and see Bourbon Street for herself.

  So far, she had not been impressed with the selection. All the men were tourists just like herself, and all the locals who hit on her didn’t have two pennies to rub together.

  What did a girl have to do to meet someone interesting?

  Just then, a stranger sat down beside her at the bar and hailed the bartender. “A whiskey for me and another for the lady.”

  His southern accent rang in her ears and his scent pulled at her sensibilities. Turning to put a face with the sexiness, she laid eyes on something better than she had expected.

  Abigor was pale blonde with a sun-kissed tan, a thin wide mouth, sculpted square jaws and a wide, muscular build. He glanced over at her and smiled. “Hello,” he said, voice silky smooth.

  “Hello,” she grinned sheepishly. “Thanks for the drink.” Her eyes were red, and her words slurred, but she still managed to try to put on the charm.

  “It’s my pleasure.” He turned to the woman fully and offered his large hand. “I’m Abigor, and you are?”

  “Alice. Like in wonderland,” she said, stuttering.” She shook his hand and immediately felt an electric wave run up her arm.

  At that point, she was like putty for him to mold. Releasing a sigh, she bit her lip seductively. “What kind of name is Abigor?”

  “Old,” he said deviously.

  “Your eyes are funny,” Alice observed, twisting on her bar stool.

  Abigor leaned into her personal space. “They are contacts,” he whispered. “But keep that secret between us.” Raising back up, he pulled out a money clip and paid the bartender when he brought over the drinks.

  The large bulk of $100 bills caught Alice’s attention.

  “What do you do, Abigor?” she asked, as he put his Mercedes Benz keys on the bar to further impress her.

  “I’m a music producer,” he lied again. “What do you do?”

  “Waitress for now. Sort of in between jobs at the moment, but I’m thinking about going to nursing school.”

  Abigor nodded like he was listening to her. Instead, he was planning his move. She went on for a minute, talking while he tuned her out, and then he cut her off. “So, you live around here?”

  “No, I missed my flight back home. So, I’m stuck until tomorrow. Dumb luck, I guess.” She had to lean in to talk to him with the loudness of the bar, but she didn’t mind because of his intoxicating cologne. “I’m just trying to get out and see the sights since I’ve got some free time. What about you?”

  “Oh, this is home for me. Got a place right here in the district. I like to keep my ear to the ground, you know. Never know when I’ll run up on some talent.” Glancing over at the band playing on the stage, he shrugged. “Or not.”

  Alice laughed loud. Too loud. “You’re funny,” she said, hitting his muscular arm.

  “What?” Abigor asked, leaning in to offer his ear. “Sorry. I can barely hear you in this place.”

  “I said you’re funny!” she screamed above the band.

  “Oh, thanks.” He looked out of the corner of his eye and saw three girls down the bar checking him out. They waved to get his attention, but instead secured Alice’s.

  “I guess you get that all the time, huh?” she said, instantly feeling insecure. They looked like they were into the wild and freaky, offering three times the fun she could, which meant there was no way that he was going to spend any more time on her. She prepared for the let down as he smiled at the women and then turned to her.

  “Yeah, I’m sure you do too. A pretty girl like you. The men must be knocking down the door to get to you.” He swept a gaze down her body that landed square in between her legs and let her know that he wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Not really, well, not the ones I like. I guess this time I just got lucky,” she said, sticking her chest out a little farther so he could get a better view of her perky breasts. Right now, they were the only things going for her.

  “So, why are you here
in New Orleans, Alice in Wonderland?” Abigor asked, moving closer to her.

  When the bartender set her drink down, he grabbed it quickly and pushed it toward her, but not before he slipped a pill inside. He passed it to her, certain she didn’t suspect a thing.

  Alice tried to out scream the horrible band doing a cover of Van Halen. “Well, I got a letter from my birth mother asking if I could come down and meet her. She sent a plane ticket and everything. I even talked with her over the phone a few times, but when I got here a few days ago, she stood me up.”

  “You’re adopted?” he asked with a faux surprise.

  “Yeah. My mother gave birth to me and left me at the fucking hospital. I was a preemie. Guess that turned her off. I spent most of my life bouncing from one foster home to another until they turned me loose when I was 18.” She felt like she was going on and on, but for the first time, a man actually seemed interested.

  “Well, it’s her loss, not yours,” he said, putting a hand on hers. “My mother just died like three days ago.” Abigor rolled his tongue over his teeth and nodded toward her.

  “Damn. That’s fucked up,” she said, taking a large gulp of her drink.

  “Yeah, it is fucked up. I figured I would just get out and try to feel better. Pity really isn’t my thing. When I get knocked down, I just get right back up.” He watched her as she took another sip of her drink. The drugs would kick in soon enough, so he had to move quickly to get her back to his place.

  “At least you had a mom.” Alice twisted up her lip, refusing to feel sorry for herself either. “I’ve never had a family. I always wanted one though.” She shrugged. “You know, have someone to love me.”

  “I’ve always wanted a family of my own too. A little blonde boy. Someone I could run around with, teach things to; someone to look up to me.” He could see her falling in love with him with every word.

  “I bet you’d be an awesome dad,” she offered. “I can just tell that about you. You have a bright aura.”

  Abigor laughed at that. He had pegged her for average intelligence, but this bimbo was just flat out dumb. “Hey, I know you just met me, but do you wanna get out of here?” he asked, grabbing his keys. “My place isn’t far. We can walk or take my car. It’s parked down the street. I’ve got a great place, and I would love for you to see it. Pool. Stocked bar. Good music.” He smiled at her. “It’s better than this.”

  Alice eyes rolled involuntarily as she debated what she should do. After the last one-night stand that led to her purse being gone in the morning, she had sworn off casual sex, but this guy was hot. Way too hot to pass up. And way out of her league.

  “I don’t know,” she said, taking another sip of her drink. “We just met and...”

  “Come on. Don’t be like that,” Abigor urged playfully. “What do you have to lose? You’re leaving tomorrow. If you don’t like me, you don’t have to call me when you get back home, but don’t leave on such a sour note after your mom blew you off. You only live once. Hang out with me tonight. It will be fun. I promise.”

  Alice smiled and shook her head, giving in to his pleas after eyeing the three women down the bar again. If she turned him down, they surely would not. “Okay, let me pay my tab first.”

  Abigor grabbed his meaty chest. “Don’t insult me. Please, I’ve got it.” Throwing a few twenties on the bar, he stood up and offered his hand. “Let’s blow this popsicle stand and go have some real fun.” He smiled as he took her hand and helped her off the barstool.

  It was a personal best for him in terms of picking up a woman. No doubt, he would have her naked in his bed and pregnant with their son within the hour.

  ***

  Two hours later…

  Late afternoon was relaxing at Cypress Pointe. Stuffed from a great meal, everyone sat around the dining room table talking and getting Toni acquainted with her new coven while Martha went to the kitchen to grab more pies.

  Jericho was utterly exhausted from his long days with no sleep, but he couldn’t bear to pull away from the nostalgic conversation. With his arm behind Toni, he cradled a cup of coffee and joked with Jules about when they were kids.

  “He could never stand to pass up a bet,” Jericho told Toni. “No matter how dangerous, no matter how stupid, Jules was always the first one up for whatever.”

  “What I don’t understand was if you knew I was going to take the bet, why would you continue to challenge me,” Jules said with a shrug. “Just out of brotherly love, you should not have tempted me.”

  Nadia rubbed her husband’s arm. “Leave my baby alone. It’s not his fault that he has a weakness.”

  “He’s insufferable,” Jericho laughed. “You know that art heist in Boston was all based on a bet between Jules and this other warlock named Desmond. They got this bright idea while at a pub that they could lift all of this art by pretending to be security guards.”

  Toni’s mouth dropped open. “So that painting hanging in the hotel is the real thing?”

  Jericho raised a brow. “One in the same.”

  “How did you go so long without someone calling it in to the FBI?” Toni asked, surprised at Jules.

  “I had to cast a spell on it. Only warlocks can tell that it’s the real thing,” Jules explained.

  “Yeah, but he only did that after Father threw a fit about all the attention it was getting,” Jonas pointed out.

  Lafayette was enjoying the stories and the fellowship between his sons and their wives until he saw the darkness approaching on the horizon out of the corner of his eye.

  Slowly blotting out the sun, the dark ominous cloud moved across the sky, bringing with it roaring thunder and blinding lightning.

  “Is it supposed to rain today?” Toni asked, turning to look out the window. Her smile was broken in half as she caught Lafayette’s pale reaction to the weather. Something was wrong?

  “No,” Lafayette said, standing up. The smile faded from his face as well. With a tilted head, he walked toward the window unable to take his eyes off the wicked storm that approached. “That’s not a rain cloud.”

  A howl mimicking a banshee could be heard in the distance. Bolts of lightning cracked inside the dark, charcoal cloud and threatened absolute destruction as it moved quickly toward the property.

  The jovial mood quickly dissipated, and the men of the family all got up from the table and walked to the window with their father.

  “What’s wrong?” Toni asked the women who sat with her.

  No one answered.

  “It’s happening,” Jericho muttered, dropping his head. He had hoped for more time, had hoped for so much, but life waited for no man.

  Suddenly, the chandelier above the table started to sway, and the lights flickered on and off around the room.

  Feeling what started out a low rumble, the women grabbed the table as the second wave of trembles jolted the mansion’s foundation with violent thrusts.

  Family pictures fell to the hardwood floor, and glass and splintered wood splattered across rugs. The china cabinet rocked side to side before finally falling forward, destroying 300-year-old family heirlooms.

  The room was consumed by a thunderous roar as the front doors to the house flew open from the straight-line winds. The tiffany stained glass that once decorated the doors were now on the floor in large broken shards.

  Each man ran to his wife while Lafayette grabbed the leather-bound book on the table, knowing his sons would need it soon.

  The rumbling became more powerful, making it hard to stand on the once solid floor.

  “Get out of here; get outside!” Lafayette ordered, motioning toward the front door. He cradled the book to his bosom.

  “Out in the storm?” Jules asked, holding Nadia’s hand.

  “Yes, out in the storm!” Lafayette screamed. “Go! Go! Go!”

  Running out of the house as bolder-sized chunks of the plaster ceiling, crown molding and light fixtures crashed to the floor, all thirteen members of the coven darted out on the porch,
down the stairs and into the yard several feet from the house just in time.

  “Oh my God, help us!” Maria cried out as she watched the family home implode.

  The men cast a spell to protect the women from the debris, but as they were sheltered by an invisible bubble, they heard a loud crack and boom before the middle of the house split into.

  As if in a movie, the earth opened and swallowed the large edifice into a gaping sinkhole that expanded over several hundred feet wide.

  Trees that had towered over the mansion fell into the depths of the void. Birds crashed into the ground, unable to fight against the powerful winds. Fire shot out of the earth along with steam from the pipes that were unearthed. The once-manicured lawn looked more like a war zone covered in upturned sod, rocks and branches than a beautiful show place.

  And then suddenly, all stood still. The wind ceased its angry howling and the heavy clouds released a flash food of rain.

  In shock, Toni held on to Jericho, afraid for her life. “Was that an earthquake?” she asked, looking to her husband for answers. “What was that, Jericho!”

  “The bond,” he said flatly.

  “As in the bond you’ve all been talking about?” Toni asked, hoping he would elaborate, but maybe he was in as much shock as she was.

  “Yes, the dark heir has been conceived.” Jericho pulled Toni close to him and wrapped his arms around her to keep her safe. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”