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CHAPTER 16
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Sasi 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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** I dressed quickly. Sweat stains were already showing through my white blouse. Seeing the altar for the very first time pushed my nervousness to an entirely different level. It was large, heavily accented and decorated with sparkling jewels, bric a brac, flowers and bottles of rum and wine. And the candles - dozens of them, not yet lit but bright with innocent colors of blue and pink, Erzulie's veve painted on some of them. When I came out of the bathroom and back into the room everyone was already dressed, having taken less time hyperventilating since a ceremony like this isn't unfamiliar to them. As a supplicant, I was the one that was to tell Erzulie what I wanted. The hard part was if she was going to listen to our plea for help anyway. The dozens of candles that crowded the a
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** Erzulie's point was made abundantly clear. Well, I was a little confused when she began crying, rambling about the fate of humanity, but besides that, she had made her point very clear. Once she left us, Rocio was in denial about what had just happened. "No." she shook her head, expelling the ideas from her mind. "There's no way. Erzulie isn't going to make Lisa do that, Aza. Right?" "Her terms were clear," I said, trying to keep a level head. "She said -" "I know what she said, Lisa," Rocio snapped at me as ifshewas the one tasked with seducing a vampire. I didn't have the energy to deal with Rocio's rudeness but instead wondered just how this was go
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** It was ironic, how quickly the tables had turned. The last time we'd known each other, Hezekiah intentionally bed me without even "bedding" me at all, successfully using me as a passage to steal what belonged to Mama and the Coterie. I felt like an idiot for letting that happen. My body gave into him so easily, hypnotized by his touch and his mastery of the female body. Goddammit, I was completely submissive to him that night. But now, the tables have turned. Oh, how they've turned. Now, my hands were pushed into Hezekiah's firm chest until his back was against the couch completely. I let him know that this time, I was in control. And he was willing to play along only because I had teased him to the point of him needing me
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Mama hadn't said a word after Sajida left. Even when she went into the basement and saw Hezekiah's body asleep in the coffin we put him in, she was speechless. Kizzy and I stood back and just watched her, waiting for what she would do next. My pendant was still in her hand; she hadn't given it back because she did come in contact with me other than the deathly look I got from her when Sajida left. Aza stood beside her, wanting to explain, but waiting to see if Mama was ready to hear it. She just continued to stare at Hezekiah's body like she refused to believe or like she was struggling to understand how this was possible right under her nose. "I was trying to find the right time to tell you," Aza said softly, like trying to calm a lion. "I was going to tell you, A
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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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** 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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** 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
