A Deal with Death

by Carrie Pulkinen

  The alpha squared his gaze on Odette. “Are you sure this is safe for him?”

  “It’s the only way.” James slipped his hand into hers. “I trust her with my life, and I trust that if anything happens to me, the pack won’t seek retaliation. I’m doing this voluntarily, and I’m aware of all the risks.”

  Luke cut his gaze between them and nodded. “Agreed.”

  “I’ll prepare the vévés.” She shuffled into the kitchen, with James on her heels, as the alpha called his pack into a huddle. “I’ll be right back.” She kissed James on the cheek and glanced out the window at the final rays of light disappearing behind the horizon.

  He clutched her hand. “We’re out of time.”

  Out of time before the Rougarou arrived, before their lives ended, their love lost. “I’ll be fast.”

  Taking a sack of cornmeal from a cabinet, she hurried to the bedroom and drew Papa Legba’s vévé in the entrance.

  “Please, Papa, allow L’Acallemon to enter our world and take James as his host.” She glanced over her shoulder to be sure she was alone. “And please allow Baron Samedi to cross over, should he so desire.”

  Nicolas appeared before her, a confused expression pinching his ghostly brow.

  “Stay with me. You’ll be free from this place soon.” She returned to the hallway as the werewolves headed to the laundry room to hide, and James gave her a questioning look. “One more minute. I need a word with the Baron.”

  James nodded, and she rushed to her altar room. Pausing to take a deep breath and center herself, she dropped to her knees and drew her met tet’s vévé in cornmeal on the floor in front of his altar. “Please Baron Samedi, name your terms. I’ll pay any price if you’ll allow me to be with James, if not in this world, then in yours.”

  His pack mates squeezed into the laundry room, and James tapped Noah on the arm. “A word?”

  “What’s up?” Noah followed him into the hallway, his excitement at being included in the fight evident in his casual smile. Hopefully the pack would continue to include him after James was gone.

  He guided his friend out of the alpha’s earshot and lowered his voice to a whisper. “There’s a ninety-nine percent chance I’m not going to make it out of this alive.”

  Noah’s expression fell. “Wha—”

  “Shut up, man. This is between you and me.” Odette returned from her prayer to Baron Samedi, and he pulled her to his side. “This Spirit is probably going to kill me, and I’m well aware of it. I need you…”

  Noah shifted from side to side, opening and closing his mouth like he wanted to protest.

  James held up a hand to keep him quiet. “I need you to keep your mouth shut, first of all. Second, when this is over, I need you to make sure she’s taken care of. If anyone holds my death against her, you set them straight. Understood?” He stared his friend hard in the eyes, willing him to understand. James didn’t want to die any more than the next person, but if it meant Odette would be safe and no one else would fall victim to the Rougarou again, he’d gladly make the sacrifice.

  He squeezed Noah’s shoulder. “I’m telling you this because I trust you. Will you do this for me? Consider it my dying wish.”

  Noah blinked a few times, his mouth hanging open like his mind couldn’t comprehend. “Yeah. Of course, but…damn, James. Are you sure?”

  “If one more person asks me if I’m sure, I’m going to punch him.” He jerked his head toward Odette. “Whatever she needs, you get it for her. No matter how weird her request.”

  “Got it. I…” His eyes softened, his brow pinching.

  “Don’t you dare say you’re gonna miss me or any bullshit like that.” He was having a hard enough time keeping it together for Odette. If his friend started blubbering, he might lose it right there in front of her. “Get in there and be quiet.”

  Noah nodded and shuffled to the laundry room to join the pack, and James followed Odette into the bedroom, setting the alligator head on the dresser.

  She paused by the bed and ran her hand across the cream-colored duvet. “Now that I’ve had you in this bed, I won’t be able to sleep in it without you.”

  “Come here.” He hugged her tight and caught her mouth in a tender kiss. He started slow, gently brushing her lips with his, but as the reality that this would be their last kiss settled in, he tangled his hands in her hair and drank her in.

  Her fingers dug into his back as she held him, and she leaned into him, returning his passion with an unbridled heat like nothing he’d ever felt before. He’d barely scraped the surface of her cool and refined shell. If he’d had more time with her, he could imagine the ecstasy they could have shared.

  Her sweet scent. The warmth of her body. The softness of her curves. She was built to be in his arms, and this was the most wonderful, painful moment he’d felt in his entire life. “I love you, Odette.”

  “I love you too.” Her lips moved against his, her sweet breath sending shivers down his spine.

  What he would have given to make this moment last forever.

  But a bang sounded against the window, the pane rattling with the impact. James spun around, shoving Odette behind his back and widening his stance. The silhouette of a hand with elongated fingers slammed against the glass, and the piercing screech of claws dragging down the pane resonated in his ears. He reached for the gator head, ready to let L’Acallemon kill the bastard, but Odette stopped him with a hand on his arm.

  “Let him come inside first. If he senses the Gator Man, he might run.”

  His heart pounding in his throat, James clutched her hand and lowered his arm to his side. His wolf howled inside him, begging to be released, but James held on to his humanity a little longer. His human side had to be fully in control in order to accept the Voodoo Spirit into his body.

  The creature outside grunted and shattered the glass with a fist. Uncurling its claws, it gripped the windowsill and hauled itself into the opening. Squatting on the ledge, its legs resembled canine haunches, the knees bending backward with an extra joint below the hip jutting forward. Its fingers extended into sharp, black claws, and its face… Good God, its face.

  The skin appeared half-melted, while the bone structure looked stuck mid-shift between human and wolf. Its nose and mouth jutted forward in a short, malformed muzzle, and its pointed human ears sat too high on its head—above the temple, but not quite where a wolf’s would be.

  Odette gasped, and the beast jerked its head toward them, a menacing sneer curving what was left of its lips over canine teeth. It lowered itself into the bedroom and straightened to its full six-and-a-half-foot height.

  “The bitch dies first.” Its gravelly voice sounded more like a growl.

  James released Odette’s hand and stepped forward. “Not a chance.” He reached for the alligator head and shouted, “Now, Odette.”

  She began the ritual, asking the Spirit for help, and the beast snarled as its head morphed into a wolf with glowing red eyes and razor-sharp teeth. The Rougarou lunged, swiping the gator head from James’s hands, and it slid across the room, slamming into the wall with a thud.

  “Damn it. Noah! Luke!” He was no match for this beast in his human form, but he needed that head before he shifted. With his arms stretched wide, he backed Odette into the hall.

  But the beast moved like lightning, gripping James’s shoulders and tossing him aside as if he were weightless. His head slammed into the hardwood floor, and his vision spun as he scrambled to his feet. He righted himself, and the room tilted on its side. Not now. He couldn’t afford to black out.

  Odette screamed, and his heart stopped for a beat or two before pounding against his ribs. He would not let that thing hurt his fate-bound. Grabbing the gator head, he placed it on his own and raced into the hallway.

  Luke howled, and the other wolves joined in, charging the Rougarou as it advanced on Odette. Luke swiped a paw across its back, and it reeled, spinning and running into the foyer. Odette locked eyes with him and quickly ca
lled on the Spirit, her magic intensifying, filling the room with a static charge.

  Noah glanced between them, rubbing the goose bumps from his arms. “I’m going to miss you, buddy, but I know you’ve got this.”

  James closed his eyes and invited L’Acallemon inside him, relinquishing control and giving himself over to the Spirit. The top of his head heated, and vibrating magic bore into his skull, filling first his head, and then his entire body with Spirit energy.

  He looked at Odette and opened his mouth to tell her goodbye, but the Spirit took over, using James’s magic to transform him into his wolf, absorbing the gator head into his form.

  As his paws hit the ground, James darted down the hall toward the fray. Odette started to follow the sounds of snarling beasts, but Noah stopped her with a hand on her arm.

  He jerked it away and rubbed his palm on his jeans. “Is he possessed now? Like, that’s not James anymore?”

  “The Gator Man is inside him. I don’t know how much control he has. If L’Acallemon were a loa, James would have no control.” And a little dizziness would be the only symptom he’d experience when it was done.

  She paced toward the fight, keeping Nicolas in her peripheral vision. The ghost needed to see what was about to happen if he was ever to be free from this realm.

  “And it’s going to kill him?” Noah followed on her heels.

  “Probably going to kill him. It might not.” I hope it won’t.

  She rounded the corner as a sandy-colored wolf and a light-brown one sprang toward the Rougarou, each one clamping onto a shoulder. The beast cried out, hurling its lanky arms in circles, throwing the wolves to the ground. Damn, that thing was strong.

  The Rougarou lunged for James, biting into his back as it clung to his gray fur. James spun, snapping his jaws at the beast, but he couldn’t reach. Dark-red blood soaked his coat around the puncture, and he stumbled.

  Odette gripped the doorjamb to stop herself from running into the fight. Would he heal instantly if his soul were whole? They hadn’t mentioned his problem to Emile. How much would his weakness hinder his ability to stop the monster?

  The beast snarled, wrapping its arms around James’s chest, and he let out a pained yelp. Odette’s heart raced at a hummingbird’s pace. The Gator Man Spirit was supposed to make James stronger. He was supposed to kill the Rougarou. She had to do something.

  Fisting her hands, she inhaled a deep breath and called upon her power. Her energy built, emptying the room of its buzzing life energy, filling it with the static emptiness of the spirit world.

  The Rougarou hesitated, glancing at her, and the reddish wolf rammed into the beast and knocked it to the ground before sinking its teeth into the creature’s malformed leg. It cried out in pain, and the two other wolves gripped its upper arms, spreading it out on the floor as James loomed over it, one paw pressing down on its chest.

  James growled, peeling his lips back over his teeth, and positioned his head to strike the killing blow.

  “Wait.” Odette poured her magic into Nicolas, filling the ghost with energy until he became as solid as a living being.

  “Holy shit.” Noah stood next to her, his eyes wide as he stared at the specter. “Is that a ghost? Has he been here the whole time?”

  She ignored him, focusing her attention on Nicolas. The spirit’s brow lifted, his expression becoming even more confused. “Serafine?”

  “This is who killed Serafine. Look at him, Nicolas. He’s your brother. He killed you too.”

  The ghost floated toward the creature and peered down at it. “Antoine?”

  The Rougarou shifted, a sickening sloshing sound filling the room as its face transformed into the half-human abomination it was when it broke in. James growled again, shifting his weight forward, onto the beast.

  Turning its head toward Nicolas, the Rougarou winced in pain before its eyes widened. “Brother, have mercy,” it croaked.

  Nicolas shook, a rage filling his ghostly form as he gathered more of Odette’s energy. “You don’t deserve mercy.” Gripping the table in the foyer, Nicolas flung it across the room. It hit the wall with a crash, the wood splitting and falling to pieces on the floor.

  “That’s enough, Nicolas.” Odette reined in her power, the high of opening herself to the other realm dissipating as the spirit grew transparent.

  Nicolas grasped at a broken table leg, but his hand passed through the wood. He grunted and whirled to face Odette. “He must pay for his crimes.”

  “He will, but his curse has bound his soul to the earth. L’Acallemon can break the bond and end his life.”

  The Rougarou struggled, yanking its leg from the red wolf’s grasp. James snarled and delivered the killing blow, clamping his maw on the creature’s throat. He held on, his wolf form convulsing as L’Acallemon ripped the curse from the creature’s body, scattering the dark magic into the universe.

  The Rougarou gasped, a gurgling sound emanating from its throat as its face finally made the full transformation back to human, and the life in its eyes dimmed. Antoine’s soul lifted from his body, and Odette called on her power again to force him to cross over.

  The spirit disappeared, whisked away to the underworld, where he could never harm a living being. They had broken the cycle. She’d never have to die in her lover’s arms again.

  She allowed herself a single breath of relief, but no more. Killing the Rougarou had been the easy part.

  The wolves released the body and backed away, their gazes locked on Antoine’s lifeless form. Seemingly satisfied that the creature was dead, Luke shifted, a mist gathering around his fur, elongating his body until he stood erect, and then disappearing into his human form.

  The other wolves followed their alpha’s lead, shifting to human form, their faces bright with satisfaction that they’d rid the world of such a terror.

  But Odette’s nightmare had just begun.

  James shifted, rising to his feet as L’Acallemon ripped from his body. The mummified alligator head tumbled to the floor, shattering into dust on impact. The Gator Man had been created for a single purpose: to fight the Rougarou. With the threat extinguished, the magic holding the Spirit together dissipated into the atmosphere, leaving James drained and dying.

  He collapsed into her arms, and she lowered him to the floor, her heart beating a frantic rhythm in her throat as she held him tight to her chest. “Please, Baron, don’t take him yet.” If her met tet took James, he’d have to take her too.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Luke dropped to his knees beside them. “Alexis, heal him.”

  Alexis knelt and put her hand on the bite mark on his back. “Unless that thing was venomous, this wound shouldn’t be fatal.” She closed her eyes for a long blink and opened them with a confused expression. “The wound is healed. I don’t sense any poison, but he’s slipping. His heart…it’s not beating.”

  Odette loosened her grip, letting James slide from her lap, and gently laid him on the floor. Sitting back on her heels, she focused on his lifeless body, waiting for his soul to ascend, and a sob lodged in her throat. Or was that her heart wrenching from her chest?

  This was not the end. She would be with him forever—one way or another. “Please, Baron Samedi, I need your help. I’ll keep my promise; name the price.”

  She dropped her walls, opening herself to every ounce of magic the loa had blessed her with. No more restraint. No more self-imposed blocks on her power. Rising to her feet, she let it all go and focused on her connection to the spirit realm. She wasn’t merely a conduit; she became a portal, an open doorway to the other side, the energy flowing through her like the river Styx through Hades.

  “Jesus Christ, it’s getting cold in here.” Cade rubbed at his arms.

  “Well?” Luke gave Alexis a pointed look, but their conversation barely registered. Odette stood with one foot in the spirit world.

  “I can’t heal him. Nothing is broken.” Alexis’s tone raised an octave with her panic.

  “Star
t CPR.” Luke began chest compressions, and Odette wandered into her altar room.

  James and Nicolas stood side-by-side, two parts of a single soul, and Odette’s chest ached at the sight of the spirits. Her magic had solidified them, but the werewolves were too concerned with his body to notice his soul. The commotion in the other room dulled to a hum as James drifted toward her.

  A sad smile curved his lips, and the love in his eyes made her breath catch. “I told you I wouldn’t let you die in my arms.”

  “Yeah, but you weren’t supposed to die in mine.” Something between a laugh and another sob bubbled up from her chest. Where was Baron Samedi?

  James ran his fingers down her face leaving a trail of warmth on her skin and giving her hope. The heat meant his soul remained, not just his spirit energy. “Why can I touch you? Is your magic doing this?”

  She nodded. “I’m giving you everything I’ve got.”

  “That’s all I ever wanted.”

  Like it or not, he was about to get more. Holding her arms to her sides in the most open posture she could manage, she lifted her chin and made one final plea to her met tet. “Baron Samedi, grant me the power to mend this fractured soul. My body is yours. I open myself to your magic.” She absorbed the deep blue of her soulmate’s eyes. “I refuse to live without him.”

  Baron Samedi’s presence pressed on her shoulders, building in intensity as the temperature in the room plummeted. She exhaled a breath of fog, and her body hummed with new power. Magic so pure and white that her fear crumbled, her core filling with warm light. The magic to heal a soul.

  Holding her arms in front of her, she motioned for the spirits to come toward her. As they approached, she took James’s face in her left hand and Nicolas’s in her right. Both men were warm and soft to the touch, almost as if they were alive.