He looks from me to her and doesn’t say anything for a long time.
“Callie,” he says, “do you remember who I said I was when we met?”
I think back to that first day. “You said you were Benny the Shark.” I thought it was so stupid and arrogant of him.
“That’s right. And do you know the Creole word for shark?”
Elias taught me some Creole, but I don’t remember the word shark ever coming up.
Lorena pats him on the arm. “Oh, this is taking far too long. Benny here is Reken, the skull you talk to in the middle of the island. You could even say he is the island.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
My skin goes cold. “No.”
The skull. If I destroy the island, Benny goes down with it too? Not only that, but he’s been feeding information to Lorena. This is the absolute worst thing that could’ve happened to me.
You know what, who cares if he goes down with the island. I never want to see him again. The problem is that he knows my whole plan, and he’s told her too. She will know how to stop me.
“Oh, but he is. Tell her, Benny.”
“Reken means shark in Creole.” He meets my eyes with earnest like he’s willing me to connect the dots, but I don’t.
“I don’t understand.” Something in the back of my mind tickles, but I don’t want to let it.
Benny lets out a breath. “I did not want to move on. Remember? So Samuel and I made an agreement that I would hold the magic of the island. You see, when Lorena took the island from Samuel, she was having trouble controlling the magic. It no longer obeyed Samuel, but she didn’t have complete control either. I didn’t know any of this until after we learned that Lorena was really in charge. The skull is not me completely, but I am connected to it. I am the anchor that holds the magic together.”
“That’s how Lorena knew about my plans to destroy the island. I can’t believe you would betray me this way,” I say to Benny. All those times I was talking to Reken, and it was really Benny.
“Callie, it’s not like that.”
“Oh yeah, then what is it like?” My heart has ripped in two. My whole body feels heavy with his betrayal.
Lorena laughs. “Has Benny gone soft on you? I expected it from Samuel, but not Benny. Oh well. It doesn’t matter. You’ll be gone soon enough.”
“But if you kill me, you’ll be tied to the island again.”
Lorena frowns. “True. But if you destroy the island, I’ll be dead. As much as I hated being tied here, I’d rather have that than death. At some point, I’ll find another way to get off the island. So I will kill you, and then I’ll recreate the circus and draw in more islanders. I can’t believe you let them all go. Well, except the ones in Ruth’s tent. They’ll be so happy to see me, won’t they?”
She paces in front of me. “But I’ll do it better this time. I’ll rule out in the open instead of hiding. I’ll be fair to my islanders. Not that I ever wasn’t before, but this time they’ll know how much they should be indebted to me.”
I’ve learned a lot about ancestral and voodoo magic. One thing I’ve gotten good at is willing people to come to me. I can’t speak out loud, or Lorena will know what I’m doing and try to stop me. I have to keep her talking.
“You made me immortal, so how exactly will you kill me?”
She claps her hands. “You performed a little spell not so long ago that brought you back into mortality. So you can die now.”
My voice catches in my throat. I didn’t realize I could die now from something as easy as a knife or drowning. She doesn’t have to use any magic or spell. That puts me at a distinct disadvantage. I think hard. What else can I say that will distract her?
“Benny, you’re the skull but not her first victim.”
If I can get her to reveal something about where that body is buried, I’ll have a better chance at killing her because then I won’t have to waste any more time.
“No, I am not. That would be her husband.”
Lorena looks from me to Benny, confusion written all over her face. “I don’t understand why that’s important.”
Is Benny not upfront with her about all of our plans? If she truly controls him, maybe it isn’t a betrayal at all. Maybe he selectively provides information to her. Maybe, like killing me, he doesn’t have a choice.
“Who was your husband?”
“That would be me.” I spin around, and Elias stands in the doorway of the tent.
No way.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Lorena’s face screws up. “What are you doing here?”
“You left me at the docks, so I took another boat back.” He’s so damn calm and nonchalant. It’s typical Elias.
“I thought your husband was Sileas,” I say. This is all so confusing.
Elias guffaws. “Embarrassed to tell people I was your true love? She made up that little anagram years ago. I didn’t know she was still using it. She killed me and buried me on the island, but she missed me, so she brought me back. I’m neither dead nor alive. I have a borrowed body, as this is not my true form.”
A borrowed body? So he is buried somewhere here. But where?
A memory slams into me. Once when Elias and I were walking together, he pointed to a spot of land and told me that if he dies on the island, he wants to be buried there.
I know exactly where his body is, and Lorena has no idea this is how I plan to kill her.
Another memory flickers. Lorena avoided that spot, but she would never tell me why.
Her life is tied to the island, and now I can end it. Yes, I will put the ghosts and the remaining islanders at risk, but it’s a risk I have to take.
I don’t have time to think. I just need to act. I concentrate with all my might, and I hear a loud splash outside in the swamp.
The zombies are coming.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lorena spins around. “What’s that noise?”
“You have ghosts. I have an army too.” I smirk at her.
The zombies come in with a roar. Zombie Benny comes straight for me, stops, and waits for me to give him instructions.
“Kill her,” I say and point at Lorena. They rush for her, but the ghosts stampede off the bleachers to protect her. Soon there is a brawl between the ghosts and the zombies. I can no longer see Lorena through the fighting armies.
I race for the door, but someone catches me around the waist.
Benny whispers fiercely in my ear. “Do you know where you are going?”
I nod, still shocked that he caught me. Also, I don’t know if he intends to help me or hinder my progress.
“There is a shovel in Luke’s tent along with all the things you need to perform your spell. I’m sorry I betrayed you. I did my best not to. Go. Do your thing, and Lorena will die.”
“But what about everyone else?” What if when I do the spell, the island implodes?
“If you want to survive and stop Lorena, this is your only option. Go. I’ll distract her.”
Benny’s right. I have no other options. Even if I do end up killing everyone on the island, at least then, Lorena won’t be able to recreate it and imprison even more people.
Benny lets go of me, and I slip out the side door. I rush to Luke’s tent and find all the materials I need, including a shovel. Benny didn’t betray me after all. At least, I don’t think he did. I don’t even know what to think anymore, but I do know I have to trust him. If he’s leading me astray, I’ll take my chances because I have no other options.
I hate feeling stuck. At least I have one plan that might work. I’m grateful I have my zombies fighting the ghosts for me.
I rush to the spot where Elias told me he wants to be buried and dig down as fast as I can. The ground is soft and muddy after all the rain, and it goes faster than it should. After a few minutes, I hit wood. I use magic to clear as much of the mud away as possible, and within fifteen minutes, the long wooden box is clear.
I wonder if the fight is still go
ing on in the tent. I listen, but I can’t hear anything. Thunder rumbles in the distance. Or maybe that’s what the fighting sounds like this far away. Lightning slices across the sky, revealing a strange pattern on the box. It’s the glowing green symbols that are all over the island. Lorena’s magic has penetrated everything.
I reach down and open the box, and a skeleton stares back at me. I try not to think about the fact that the skeleton is Elias. Maybe he was a better-looking man in this form.
The spell is as much the words as it is the intention. My goal is to destroy the body to take down the island. I put the four candles on the ground around the hole. One at each side. They are to protect the spell from intrusion. I light the one at the feet first, then the one on the left, then the one on the right. Then, muttering the words of the spell all in Creole, I light the candle at the head. I started at the feet because my intent is to bring the island down, not raise it up.
I speak the spell at the head to signify that destruction begins at the head.
The skeleton glows blue, and I know I’m on the right track. I sprinkle alligator blood over the body. We’re giving the island back to its rightful inhabitants.
“You never stop, do you?” Lorena’s voice is full of anger, but I don’t really care. I can’t afford to be distracted now. I have to cast the spell and get rid of the skeleton.
I take a deep breath and continue. If Benny is still looking out for me, he can stop her. Though, he might not be able to.
I pick up the ashes of an ancient cypress and pour them carefully on the head of the skull. Another intent to give the island back to its original inhabitants.
Lorena grabs my hair and jerks me back. “Looks like that grave will have one more body added to it. You and Elias can rot together forever.”
I will not let her get to me. I am a powerful ancestral witch, and I will succeed. I make my skin white-hot, and she squeals and jumps back. I race for the other side of the grave and hope that she doesn’t catch me again. But she’s right behind me. Lorena shoves me hard, and I fall into the hole with the skeleton. My ankle twists, and I cry out in pain.
Lorena cackles with delight above me. I shake off the pain, reach up next to the candle by the head, and grab the salt. I blow the candle out, and the whole swamp goes pitch black. Holy smokes. It’s working. Lorena screams, but she’s too late. I sprinkle the salt over the body and whisper the final words of the spell. The skeleton glows a bright green.
She can’t stop me now.
“No!!!” Lorena howls again. I stand up. She glows green as well, her face contorting in pain, and her hair floats around her like she’s been electrocuted. Her body starts to float away, and her skin separates and flakes off like snow. Soon, she’s a mass of floating dust in the air.
Lorena is dead.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Footsteps pound the earth, and soon, Benny looks down at me. He’s scraped and bruised, but I think he’s okay.
“Lorena’s gone,” he huffs. “Isn’t she?”
“How do you know?” I ask.
“Because I felt her hold on my mind go away. It was very physical. You did it.”
He reaches his hand down. I’m still not quite sure I can trust him. I want to. I want to latch onto him and never let go, but the whole time he was Reken, and he never told me.
I grab his hand, and he pulls me up out of the hole and gives me a massive hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I’m so sorry about Lorena. I did everything I could to fight or thwart her. You have to believe me.”
The ground underneath my feet gives way, and I reach for Benny. He drags me a few feet away from Elias’s grave. I turn back. What was a small hole has grown into a massive one.
A tree crashes next to us, and I jump. “I do believe you, but I don’t think we have much time.”
He nods. “Let’s get the islanders and get the hell out of this place.”
We run to Ruth’s tent, the earth shaking under our feet. Other tents collapse as we pass. Amy and the rest of them are already outside.
She clutches Jeffrey’s and Jeremy’s hands, and Collette holds the baby. “What’s going on?” Amy’s voice is full of fear, and I hate that I’ve done this to her again.
“The island is dying. I don’t know what that means for us. You need to go.”
Harsh rain pelts my arms and face. As if we need one more thing to make this harder than it already is.
She stomps a foot. “Not without my husband and Juliette.”
I clench my fists. “Amy, do you trust me? I’ll save Juliette and Tyson, but I need to know you and the rest of your family are safe first.”
She looks at me for a long moment. “Okay. Where do you want us to go?”
I think for a moment. The island gives a giant shudder at the same time thunder claps in the sky. We don’t have time. “Take the islanders and get on the ferry. Unhook from the dock and float a ways offshore. I’ll get the ghosts taken care of and send the survivors to you in a group. Once they are with you, get as far as you can from the island. I will do my best, but it might not work fast enough. If you see the island imploding and no ghosts in sight, you turn on that engine, and you fly. Do you understand?”
She hesitates for a moment then gives me a stiff nod and takes off toward the docks with the others.
I grab Benny’s hand, and we race for the big top. This is the moment of truth. Either I’ll be able to save them, or we all go down with the island.
I find the ghosts and the zombies still fighting in the tent. I don’t know if that’s because they are still under some spell or if they are just caught up in the fight. I race up the bleachers and look down at the chaos.
“Stop!” I yell as loud as I possibly can, and the entire group freezes. The island trembles again, and I stumble. Focus.
“Zombies, thank you for your help. You may return to your resting place.”
They extract themselves from the ghosts and take an excruciatingly long time to exit the tent. The island continues to shake as I run back down the bleachers and find Juliette. She’s bloody and bruised, and she breathes heavily.
“Do you know me?” I ask her.
She creases her eyebrows, and for a half-second, I’m afraid she’s still under whatever spell Lorena cast on them. But I don’t know how that’s possible since she’s dead.
“Duh. What kind of question is that? Dude, those zombies are freaky.”
I give her a quick hug and then find a place in the middle of the tent. “Can I have your attention please?”
All heads turn my direction. Benny is on the side of the tent gathering all the voodoo dolls. Miraculously, the bowls of absinthe are all in place.
“We don’t have much time. Lorena is dead, and I’ve destroyed the magic on the island. I don’t know what fate befalls you. I have a spell that will allow you to come back to life or move on, but we must have an even number. One sacrifice for the other. I cannot stress how we need to do this quickly.” As if on cue, the island shakes so violently that a few people tumble over. “If you want to come back to life, please go to the left side of the tent. If you want to move on, go to the right.” I really hope the ghosts are decisive. I don’t want to go down with the island.
The ghosts quickly separate, and it looks like the number is even.
“Benny, will you count the ones who want to move on? I’ll count those who want to stay.”
I count as fast as I can. One, two…fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight.
“Fifty-six,” Benny says, coming to my side.
Oh crap. I look over the ghosts on my side. “I need one person to go to the other side.”
This is a huge decision, and I’m asking one of them to change it so the numbers are even. Surely there is someone on the fence. The island gives another giant shake, and Benny grabs the voodoo dolls and hands them out. I’m grateful for his action.
“We don’t have time. I can’t start the spell until everyone is ready.”
No one
moves. I close my eyes for a second. Can I force this choice on someone? Yes, absolutely. For the protection of everyone else, I would sacrifice someone. I would choose randomly, but I would do it. I just don’t want to.
“If someone doesn’t step forward, we will all die.”
“I’ll do it,” a voice from the back calls out. A voice I know quite well. My stomach sinks.
“Luke, no.”
He shoves his way through the ghosts and stops in front of me. My throat clogs up. I don’t want to lose him now.
He takes my hands in his. “Callie, I’ve been on this island for too long, and I don’t know how I’ll fare in the real world. I love you, and I promise I’ll watch over you. But I won’t let everyone die.”
I nod, knowing that if I try to talk, the words will come out in a sob.
“Can you do me a favor though?” he asks.
“Anything,” I answer in a shaky voice. I don’t want to lose him.
“Will you save my cats?”
“We will do our best.” I can’t promise that even if I want to. I can’t promise that any of us will get out of here alive.
Luke gives me a tight hug and moves to the other side. I want to run over and hold his hand and spend as much time as I can with him, but I don’t have time. I have to perform this spell and then get the survivors off the island.
Oh, and save the cats.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“I need you to all take a few strands of hair and tuck them into the voodoo dolls. Remember we need to work quickly.”
The island is vibrating now, and I have no idea how much time we have left. “Now, I’m going to do a quick spell to make your right index finger bleed. Once you see that drop of blood, press it to the face of the voodoo doll.”
I’ve never performed this spell for a whole group before, and I’m not sure how well it’ll go over. I close my eyes and concentrate on the whole room and feel my index finger bleed. I open my eyes and see the group pressing their fingers to the faces of the dolls. Benny is handing out the sandalwood to each of the ghosts who want to stay.
Circus of the Dead: Book 4 Page 14
