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CHAPTER 10
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2021-05-02 15:02:45Rashida guided me through the thrall's quarters, explaining to me where everything was as if I was going to take up permanent residency. I was still in shock that I was abandoned there, but then again, why did I expect anything more from Hezekiah?
Why did I expect anything more from a vampire, at that?
Rashida walked me through the changing room—a small area filled with vanities, lockers and naked women. The thralls stared me down like I didn't belong there or like I was some sort of parasite that was treading my way through. Rashida had to hold my hand and pull me through since my body was nearly immobile. Her words barely registered in my head; my eyes flickered left and rig
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**My kidnapping, in Mama's mind, was a declaration of war.Mama was in hysterics when we got back to the shop. Every House was there; the place was packed to the roof. The Coterie ordered everyone to pack what was needed and get ready to travel to the "safe house" at the first moment of sunrise."That bloodsucking son of a bitch!" she exclaimed in her study. In a large box, she was packing everything—charms, books, time logs, documents. Mama's shop housed every important asset to the Coterie, so they made sure that they left nothing behind for Abraham to use against us again.I sat in the chair across from the desk and watched her run around like a beheaded chicken, eyes as angry as a cruel sea. Mambo Nene, Mother Babette
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Hezekiah stepped around slowly, examining my room with steps that were mute against the old flooring. His eyes narrowed and studied my books, the closet, the TV and everything else. The judgmental state of his gaze made me self-conscious. "You're inside," I tell him. "Now, what is it that you want?" Hezekiah reaches deep into his pocket and pulls out my pendant—the deep blue gris-gris Mama gifted me the day I arrived, blessed by Legba's veve stamped on the front. Against my better judgment, I smiled. "My pendant," I sighed out in relief. "You kept it?" "Actually, I lost it at first. When the Coterie came to the Jubilee, the Elders were the first ones out. Not only did I get separated from you, but I got separated from your little
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Remember when I said that I missed Hezekiah right when he left? Well, I immediately retracted that statement when I woke up. My eyes shot open at the sound of loud thumping followed by shouting. Quickly, I sat up in my bed and looked around my room before slipping on a robe and slippers. The shouting was amplified once my door was opened—the Coterie. "We gave it to you, Alize!" Mother Babette yelled. "I know that! But now, it's gone! It isgone." Everyone was in the meeting room on the second floor—the Coterie and their novitiates stood in the middle while the other House members stood on the outside of the circle, whispering to each other with scared faces. I inched into the room slowly as Mother Babette went on.
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**I came down from my room once the Coterie finally disappeared down the bayou towards the river. Esther, Rocio and Kizzy were speaking in the kitchen, yet I still didn't feel "forgiven" enough to be part of the conversation. Still, I inched myself towards the kitchen with the intention of getting something to snack on.Once I got to the door, I paused before entering."I just don't think it's fair that we don't get to attend the ceremony," Rocio complained to the girls, rubbing shea butter on her hands."Madam Dumont trusts us to keep the house secure while she's gone.""Give me a break, Kizzy," Rocio replied, annoyed. "She left us here to babysit her daughter. Isn't sh
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** Sajida the Shunned was beautiful. From her body to her dress to her desk and even to her entire room, her energy had this allure that was inexplicable. And intimidating. At the time, my breath was caught in my throat because her study indeed amazed me. Every inanimate object was full of life. The dolls she had danced, the brown and decayed plants swayed, and the charms and dream catchers twisted when her fingers moved the same way. Nothing about Sajida's study was bare; there was some spell, parchment, charm, locket or potion scattered around the room. You could even hear everything; there was a magically-induced sound to the entire room. Sajida sat on a large throne covered in spikes and horns. She watched the four o
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** Sasi One was quick to ambush us the moment we rushed out of Sajida's lair. "Leaving so soon?" she asked, following us close to the door. "We've overstayed our welcome," Kizzy told them, already opening the door. "We thank you for your hospitality." "It is no problem! We hope that you come to us again!" "Yes," Sasi Two added, "please come back soon!" "We will," Rocio lied. We walked out into the damp night, the bayou still blanketed in mist. The Gatekeeper was waiting for us at the dock, standing in his pirogue, lantern illuminating the shadows of his body. We weren't hesitant to get in like we were the first time; we we
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** There were many possible outcomes to the situation we were facing. Most of them ended in death. I expected the Elders to leave us to die—I was surprised they hadn't left yet. It wasn't like they were obligated to protect us from the Leeches that approached us. But they didn't leave. They stood defensive, Hezekiah still holding me behind him. I looked over at the girls—Kizzy, Rocio and Esther—and knew that it would end in death for them if we were unsuccessful. My fate lied in the hands of Abraham. That's why the newborn bloodsuckers were after me. And despite this target on my forehead that kept Abraham relentless in his effort to find me again, I thought about the girls. "You have to go," I whispered to them. I didn't look at them; I couldn'
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The moment we reached the safe house, the vampire hunters quickly hauled Evander out of the car. His wound had worsened; he was nearly unconscious. I was afraid that he had vampire venom inside his bloodstream. Mama and the rest of the Coterie immediately came outside when she saw us. Her face was too far away to distinguish; I was thankful. I didn't want to see her fury just yet. "What happened?" she asked, nearing us with the rest of the priestesses behind her. We had to lie. We didn't know if Mama would believe it, but there was no way we were going to admit where we really went. "We found him in the forest," Kizzy explained. Mama was close enough then—she was clearly distraught, confused and upset that we—I—had left again with
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** I waited in the living room of Sajida's treehouse. Sasi One had directed me to a chair once I had come up the ladder; Sajida wasn't present. "Mere will be down shortly," she said to me, her skin even more sickly looking than before and her teeth seemingly moments away from falling out due to rot and decay. "Would you like a beverage? Perhaps a cup of tea? Water?" I nodded, "Water would be nice." Sasi One smiled even wider. "Be right back!" she said, pivoting and sashaying down a hallway to the kitchen. I sat alone with my backpack on my lap, looking around at my surroundings. The treehouse wasn't as frightening to me as it was before, and neither was the bayou. The journey here felt like a normality. Maybe it was because th
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I wanted to remember what it was like to be possessed by my djab, but it was an event that would not come back to me. But everyone else around me had seen what I became during my body's surrender to Marie Laveau, and they could not see me the same because of it. All of the priests and priestesses that attended the Council's party the night before were hounding the Coterie with questions about what happened to me. Word had spread that I was possessed by Marie Laveau's spirit, while other rumors consisted of me being a demon, a witch, an incarnate of a voodoo god. Regardless of the validity of these rumors, there was no denying that what everyone witnessed was an anomaly of sorts; Marie Laveau had been quiet since her death, so to now harness my body as her vessel raised a lot of questions about me. I was no longer just Madam Dumont's only daughter. People knew my name. And they w
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** When I awoke, the sun had already risen. It poured into my room, filling it with warmth. I sat up but very slowly; my head was throbbing to the point of it being hard to concentrate on where I was. It took me a few moments to realize that I was in my bedroom, lying in my bed, in my mama's house. The last thing I remembered from the night prior was Abraham threatening to kill Miss Aza. With this memory, I jumped out of bed in a panic, wondering if he had succeeded and oblivious to the events that preceded his threat. I ran out of the room, through the quiet hall and downstairs, yelling her name. The longer the silence carried, the larger my fears grew, I imagined that everyone was at a service for Aza or burying her body in
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I have tried with every fiber of my being to remember the rest of that night from my own account. I have gone through multiplelave tets, have spoken to my ancestors and to the loa, have channeled my djab, have convened with other mambos in an attempt to remember the events that preceded Abraham ordering Hezekiah to give Aza the Gift of Darkness, but it doesn't come to me. Some have told me it's common to black out after possession, so I have settled at that conclusion. I only remember the moment right before Marie Laveau possessed me and the moments after she abandoned my body. Everything between was told to me by others, so this account is stitched together by other witnesses; it is not my own, though I hope it will be one day. **
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** For some reason, I felt like I had been waiting for this meeting with Abraham my entire life. Walking towards the balcony after the meeting was over, this feeling of forbiddance deep within me as I had snuck off while the Coterie was not looking, I felt like I was reaching the end of the race and near claiming my prize. But what prize was there to claim from him? Knowledge? Deceit? I was unsure. I wouldn't find out until I opened the balcony door in front of me. The balcony had to be reached by entering the master bedroom, which was, of course, unused and completely empty, save for a bed and a dresser, both covered with a white sheet. The room was completely dark, and the only source of light came from the moon outside shining through the balcony doors.
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** Abraham's hand was cold and lifeless, like the gradual shift of the air in the room. My hand looked small in his—puny. His fingers completely enveloped mine. The music, which was still playing, was a slow and almost melancholy piano number, however, Abraham wanted to dance to it, so we did. My left hand rested on his shoulder (which wasn't an easy feat; I had to stretch a bit) and his right hand rested directly underneath my arm. We started off slow; I followed his lead. My body was stiff out of extreme nervousness. I couldn't look at him; I looked at his bowtie, which was nearly eyelevel. He knew that I was overtaken with nerves; he could sense it. Smell it. We moved slowly in our little space, the entire world, it seemed, watching.
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** There were eyes on me from every corner of the room. All from different factions, and all for different reasons. Never would I think I would be at a level of such importance at a function such as this one—with vampires and witches and voodoo priestesses, all high and low in rank, but still more significant than me. However, I was more influential than I thought; I was more significant than I thought. And I was coming to terms with this newfound jump in rank. Yet it wasn't the time to bask in this new knowledge. I was here to find a different type of knowledge—from Abraham. It would be nearly impossible to find a good time to speak to Abraham and ask him what I wanted to know; there were people everywhere, and most of these people were infected with the disease that not only g
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** I had locked myself in the guest bedroom with the black box as my only form of company that night. No one came to me; I was left alone, which heightened my suspicions about the truth I had brought to them. I sat on the floor, still dressed in white and covered in dirt and dried sweat. The ball gown lied on the bed, staring back at me. I thought about trying it on; I didn't need to know how it fit, since Jeffrey assured me that the dress was correct to my measurements. But I wanted to see myself in this dress. Is this how Russell Van Doren remembered me one hundred and fifty years in the past—wearing this gown when it was common attire at the time? I expected Hezekiah to knock on the window and let himself in the room, trying to explain himself and his actions; his reasoning f
