I nodded at Mikah, giving my approval. We’d need a lot more where that came from.
The vampires continued their assault, striking and then retreating, to thin the legion out as much as possible.
Kalfu must’ve gotten wise to the strategy. The dinosaurs didn’t pursue them this time. They pulled back, and a row of minotaurs formed, replacing the dinosaurs on the front line. They charged us this time. The vampires met them head-on. The minotaurs flung their heads, catching as many vampires in the chest with their massive horns as they could, effectively staking them. Then, breaking their horns off, they’d toss the vampires to the side like ragdolls. They knew they had to keep the vampires staked, so after a minotaur had used both horns on the vamps, Kalfu redeployed them, along with the dinosaurs, on the human Voodoo contingent of our army.
There wasn’t much I could do about the dinosaurs. Not immediately.
“Pauli,” I shouted, “get me as close as you can to the minotaurs, then on my signal bring me back to the line.”
Pauli didn’t question my order. He quickly coiled around me. I reappeared between two minotaurs. I took my katana to their hair and quickly retrieved a tuft of wiry hair from each of them. “Quick, take me back!”
I appeared back where I was before, with a line of vodouisants behind me.
“Do any of you have any dolls prepared? Blank slates will do, you won’t need them for long.”
Nearly half of the hands raised.
Good, I thought, this might just work.
I gave a tuft of hair, one from each of the two minotaurs I’d taken it from, to two of the Mambos who stood up front. I nodded at them. They knew what to do.
They quickly stuffed their dolls, spoke the proper incantations, and began maneuvering them. I watched from afar. Sure enough, the same two minotaurs were now moving as the Mambos directed.
“Use the minotaurs to attack the dinosaurs!” I shouted.
I saw several nods.
“Pauli, let’s do this again.”
We repeated the same process five or six times. We were gradually turning the tide—we had enough minotaurs under our control that we were able to hold them off most of the Hougans and Mambos assembled.
I spotted a red flash out of the corner of my eye. Two fire imps were charging toward our position. I didn’t even need to shout an order. Sauron was on them like white on rice. She raised her hand, and a massive storm cloud appeared, dousing the imps with rain. A cloud of smoke billowed around them as the creatures squealed in agony.
I quickly turned and saw Ellie and Tressa working together—they had something that resembled a one-eyed ogre in a trance. The hulk of a beast fell to his knees in front of the girls, who exchanged high fives.
I made another quick pass with Pauli to acquire more hair from the minotaurs. This would only work on them—so far as I could tell, none of the other creatures had hair. Swabbing the DNA of a dinosaur was pretty much out of the question. But so long as I could turn Kalfu’s own minotaurs against him, we had an advantage.
I saw a giant stone slab fly through the air—I think it was what was left of our old front porch. I traced its path with my eyes, based on the arc it was making, to see Mikah with a look of satisfaction on his face. Damn, I thought. I knew he was strong… but damn!
Again, he combined his strength with Alexa’s powers to give his projectiles extra force. The slab came crashing down, taking out a row of creatures—orcs maybe? Trolls? What do you even call these beasts? I’d have to think up names later, but they sort of looked like that. Leathery skin—more brown than green—with faces even their mothers couldn’t love.
“Pauli!” I shouted. “We have to find Kalfu!”
I felt his weight leave my shoulders for a moment. A few seconds later he was back.
“I think he’s by the summoning pit. He’s calling out something massive…”
“Quick,” I said. “Take me to him.”
We didn’t make it in time to stop him. Kalfu raised his hand, and three giant chimeras—the same three fuckers I’d seen when I was there to rescue Legba—came charging out of the portal. I didn’t have time to think—hopefully the rest of them could figure this one out. I grabbed him from behind, squeezing his arm.
“Kalfu!” I shouted. “I challenge you for control over the crossroads!”
He looked at me and grinned—he clearly hadn’t brushed since he took over Pauli’s body. I almost gagged—the meat between his teeth… that was vampire meat. The stench on his breath… I didn’t want to think about it.
“I wondered how long it would take you,” Kalfu said.
The next thing I knew, the world around us froze. Where the portal had been, the two gravel roads intersected. Three of the four roads going out of the cross were occupied. Kalfu stood on one side. Hailey on the other. I was on the third. The fourth remained unclaimed.
“Choose your second,” a voice from beyond declared—a voice I’d only heard once before. It was Bondye.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I didn’t have time to think. I couldn’t make up my mind before. I glanced at Kalfu, then back to Hailey. A green glow was pulsing in her eyes. That’s Isabelle in there, I thought. Suddenly I blurted it out. I don’t know why. Something about seeing Isabelle—well, the evidence of her presence in Hailey—compelled me.
“Mikah!” I shouted back to Bondye. “My second is Mikah!”
Kalfu laughed as he pressed his hands together. “A fine chance to exact my revenge, on both of you!”
“We’ll see about that,” I said. “How does this work?”
“You are the challengers,” Kalfu said. “We stand our ground. You stand yours. Unless you can displace us both, each of you crossing over to our respective positions, we will retain control. Both of you must succeed.”
“And if we fail?” I asked.
Kalfu shrugged. “When you fail, you will die. For I will not permit you to return to the realm of the living.”
I exchanged glances with Mikah. A battle to the death—I think that’s what I expected all along. Hearing it was true, though, put a sinking feeling into my gut. I didn’t want to die. But if I didn’t fight, we’d all die anyway. This was it. This was where we drew the line.
I raised my blade. “Come and get it,” I said.
Hailey raised her wand and zapped a spell my direction, I refracted it with my blade. She shot another one, and it hit my leg, dropping me to the ground.
Kalfu was already laughing. “I bet you miss your little bitch of a partner now, don’t you?” Kalfu asked rhetorically. Of course I did! Isabelle could heal this, she could even protect me. But Isabelle didn’t do this. Hailey clearly hadn’t figured out how to access her power.
One leg still limp, I struggled back to my feet as Mikah extended a hand and shot a barrage of lightning bolts at Kalfu. Kalfu’s body shook a little, but it didn’t even move him an inch.
“That tingles!” Kalfu said through his laughter as Mikah, his eyes narrowing with focus, turned up the amperage.
Still, the effect was marginal.
“Why don’t you give us a shot, Kalfu? Show us what you can do?”
“I don’t need to,” Kalfu said. “You are the challenger. All I need to do is stand my ground.”
I glanced at Mikah. He looked back. I mouthed her name—Isabelle. He nodded. I think he got the idea.
We both looked at Hailey.
“She’s in there, isn’t she?” Mikah asked her.
Hailey nodded.
“You realize,” I said. “She’s a girl a lot like you.”
“Dear lord,” Kalfu interjected. “You can’t talk your way out of this!”
Hailey bit her lip. “How so?”
“Hailey, don’t entertain them!” Kalfu insisted.
“No,” Hailey said. “I want to hear what they have to say. You said you need me here on my own accord, so I’m going to listen!” Hailey quickly rattled her head, as if to correct her tone, for Kalfu’s sake. “Plus, ma
ybe what they’re telling me will help me get control.”
“Did she tell you about how she lost her family?” I asked.
Hailey just shook her head.
“She was born a slave. Her father tried to resist, and he was killed by her master. Then she and her sister were shipped off to another family.”
“What’s this have to do with me?” Hailey asked.
“The man who killed her father, that was my great-great-grandfather. I thought when she took over my mind, she’d hate me. I thought she’d want revenge. She had the power to kill me. She could have.”
“She probably should have,” Hailey said.
“Then finish the job for her!” Kalfu shouted. “Kill Annabelle Mulledy!”
“You do it,” Hailey said.
Kalfu huffed. Why didn’t he? Why couldn’t he? He hadn’t accessed a single power since we’d been here. He was letting Hailey fight this battle for him. I suppose, knowing I had no power to speak of, he figured Hailey could handle Mikah. He’d seen them both in action, and truth be told, it’s hard to know. But either way, all he needed to do was hold his own spot. He could sacrifice Hailey, get another second—if it meant he’d win, we’d be gone.
“He’s using you,” I said. “More than any slaver ever used Isabelle.”
“I don’t think…”
“He is. Think about it, Hailey! Why isn’t he fighting?”
“He can’t fight…” Hailey said out loud.
Kalfu narrowed his eyes and stared at the girl.
“Because if he does, the power he gained from my father will activate, won’t it?”
Hailey didn’t respond. She just stood there, gripping her wand.
“You realize what he’s doing? He doesn’t have to win here. You don’t have to win. He’s trying to use you to hopefully make good work of us. But if one of us eliminates you but can’t eliminate him, he’s still in charge! All he needs to do is find a new second to replace you. He’s throwing you on the front lines and gambling with your life, Hailey. Don’t you see it?”
“Don’t listen to her, Hailey! I’ve promised you the world! You can have it all!”
“Not a promise he’ll have to fulfill if you’re dead, by the way.”
I’d seen enough of Kalfu’s deals, his bargains, to know how he worked. He hadn’t bound Hailey to a bargain—he couldn’t if he was still going to use her as his second. But that was a technicality. He was manipulating her the same way he manipulated everyone.
“Let her take the reins,” I told Hailey. “Just relax and let go…”
“I can’t…”
“Yes you can,” I said. “Unlike him, I don’t break my promises. I’ll take care of you. Just let go of the reins.”
Hailey took a deep breath. She lowered her wand.
“No, you stupid…” Kalfu shouted at Hailey, but his words were interrupted as her eyes began to glow, fully green.
“Isabelle!” I shouted.
“Hey there, old friend!” Isabelle said, grinning through Hailey’s face.
A rage overtook Kalfu. “Hailey, you’re going to regret this! You can’t do it!”
A red glow overshadowed Kalfu—he was getting ready to use some kind of ability, who knows what. All it would take was one massive blow to knock us all off our positions, and he’d win no less. Not the way he wanted, but he’d win.
Before he could get it off, a pulse radiated through the air, a ripple of magic energies filling the space—the crossroads and all the air around us.
I looked around, Isabelle’s natural form floating above Hailey’s body as the girl collapsed to her knees holding her head. Alexa floating outside of Mikah’s body.
I wondered if what Legba said about hosts applied here, too. Once one has inhabited a body, there will always be a home there…
“Isabelle!” I shouted. “Quick, on me!”
Once the pulse faded, Isabelle darted toward me, her translucent form enveloping mine in a green energy. We had to move quick—before Kalfu released another pulse, this time intentionally.
“Beli!” I shouted. My soul blade formed in my hand. I charged after Kalfu.
He raised a hand—a force of some kind pressing against me. I tried to fight against it. My feet were sliding in the gravel beneath me as I struggled for traction.
“Mikah!” I shouted. “Do something!”
He didn’t have to—Alexa reclaimed her spot in Mikah’s body. She jumped right in and took over—Mikah gave her control. A full storm, something like a tornado, struck Kalfu. I didn’t need much, just a short window, enough to take two steps…
I felt the force release.
I charged Kalfu and plunged Beli directly into his heart—what had been Pauli’s heart. His body fell, it started to wither.
Kalfu screamed. His eyes glowed one more time. He released one last pulse before his body disappeared.
Chapter Thirty
The second pulse, not cast with intention, had a force to it. I went flying through the air and crashed in the grass. Isabelle was yanked out of me again, just as Kalfu dissipated. Alexa, again, out of Mikah. And there Isabelle stood—not in a body at all, but did it matter? I suppose it didn’t. She stood on the crossroads. Her on one side, Mikah on the other.
“Behold,” a voice from the heavens declared, “two new guardians of the crossroads.”
Mikah… and Isabelle? Now together.
They both smiled. They started to run to the middle, but Mikah quickly stopped. “Wait! Bondye? I assume that’s you. I can step off my spot now, right?”
“The contest is ended,” the booming voice replied. “You may.”
How they touched, I don’t know. The divide between body and spirit means little here, I suppose. First they touched, and then they kissed.
This time, I didn’t have to experience the taste of cherry chapstick afterward.
Tears welled up in my eyes—I was happy for them. They were here, together. Could they stay? It seemed they could. Two souls, two soulmates, if you will, guarding the crossroads together… forever. At least, so far as I knew. Forever is a long time, after all.
I looked over at Hailey, still clutching her head.
“The pain… the headache…”
“I know what you’re feeling,” I said. “I’ve been there.”
I helped Hailey to her feet—however we got out of here, I’d promised to help see her through this. I had to. Everyone deserves a chance at redemption—especially from the mistakes of youth. Not to mention, she was still a vampire—and probably the only one I knew who’d been actually soul-fused with anyone. How that worked, I didn’t know. After all, as far as I knew, vampires had lost their souls.
“Isabelle,” I asked. “Is she going to be okay? Can you sense anything?”
Isabelle looked at Hailey. “Her aura is strong.”
“Her what?” I asked. “Vampires don’t have souls.”
“This one does,” Isabelle said. “Seems like she cast some kind of ward over herself before she got bit. She never lost her soul.”
“Well how about that,” I said. “What a brilliant girl.”
At this point, I wasn’t sure if she could hear me. Her eyes were rolled back into her head. The pain was sometimes so bad after letting a familiar take the reins that you’d pass out. It had happened to me many times.
I looked above Hailey. Alexa was floating through the air aimlessly.
“Alexa!” I shouted.
She paused and looked at me.
“What’s next for you?” I asked. “I mean, if you need a body, I’m quite used to sharing mine.”
Alexa laughed. “I appreciate the invitation, Mulledy. Means a lot. But I think I’m ready to move on. I’m ready to see the other side.”
I grinned and nodded. “But would you mind helping us with something first? When we came here, Kalfu unleashed some nasty chimeras. We need to finish this war.”
“You got it!” Alexa shouted.
I looked at Mikah and Isa
belle, who stood there looking like a wedding portrait. “I suppose this is goodbye?”
“Are you kidding?” Isabelle asked. “You have Legba’s aspect! You can access us at any time!”
I chuckled. “I guess I do, don’t I?”
“And if you ever need to summon Beli,” Isabelle said. “Well, once a soul has inhabited a body, it always has a home there.”
“So we can still do this?” I said, smiling wide.
“All you have to do is call me up!” Isabelle said. “And once we come back here, now that I’m a guardian of this place, you should be able to drop me off. We won’t be stuck together anymore.”
I laughed. “We were never stuck together, Isabelle. You made my life richer every day for being a part of me.”
“That’s sweet,” Isabelle said. “But be honest…”
I laughed. “Okay, yeah, there were some moments…”
“I could use you once more. After that, I don’t know when I’ll need you next. But you want to go take on these chimeras together, for old times’ sake?”
Isabelle smiled. “Only if I can hold the reins.”
Chapter Thirty-One
I don’t know how they did it—Isabelle and Mikah—but they opened the crossroads, and all of us tumbled back onto the battlefield. I screamed “Beli!” and felt my soul blade form back into my hand. I grinned. “You ready, Isabelle?”
Hell yeah!
I relaxed—it was even easier, for some reason, now that we weren’t technically fused, at least not permanently. I felt Isabelle’s power course throughout my body. It was a rush I’d miss—sure I could still call on her for help, but asking one of the guardians of the crossroads to give me a “fix” of Guinee power for no special reason probably wasn’t appropriate. I wanted to go after the chimeras—but there were too many bodies, all scattered and wounded. Hougans, Mambos… and where the hell were the vampires?
Pauli! I shouted, from within my body. I knew he’d still hear me, even if Isabelle held the reins.
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