Bound, An Arelia LaRue Novel #1 YA Paranormal Romance (12 page)

“
It seems that you’ve
already made up your mind about me.” For the first time, I saw
Lucus look a little insecure. I’d always assumed that guys like him
and girls like Sabrina were only superficially insecure. If someone
said something bad about them it stung, but they got over it in a
few seconds. Why should they feel like the rest of us when they had
it all? I knew I was being argumentative and a bit harsh, but for
some reason, I couldn’t stop.

“
I’m sorry, you just confuse
me,” I confessed.

“
I confuse you?” My little
revelation was clearly not what he had expected.

“
Are you guys done yet?”
Sabrina called from the table, how she had managed to keep quiet
for so long was beyond me.

“
Yeah, just a sec,” I
barked. “Look, I don’t mean to be rude, I’m sorry. Thank you for
the chocolate and apology. By the way, Sabrina thinks the
chocolates were meant for her.”

“
You’re fine with
that?”

“
With letting her think you
sent them for her? Sure no harm right?” Sabrina couldn’t resist any
longer and came running up to us.

“
What’s the big secret?” She
was annoyed that Lucus had been talking to someone besides her for
more than two seconds.

“
I was just asking Arelia if
you liked the chocolates I sent you.” Lucus shot me a devious
glance.

“
They’re delish,” Sabrina
cooed. Yes, she cooed like people do when they talk to babies or
puppies. “You’re spoiling me already.”

“
What time are we heading to
the cabins?” I snappishly changed the subject hoping Sabrina would
stop fawning over Lucus for just a split second.

“
I don’t see any reason why
we can’t do that now. It appears the guests have had enough brandy
milk punch for the morning,” Lucus observed. He was right. The
Dumptys had already finished off a pitcher of Bloody Marys and were
starting on a pitcher of brandy milk, so I decided it was time to
round up the guests

Chapter 9

The Slave Song

As we walked towards the slave cabins,
we passed numerous lush gardens and hedges on the property.
However, the guests weren’t interested in analyzing plants, they
wanted to see ghosts. The sun mercilessly beat down on us, and the
water bottles that I had distributed were emptying at a rapid pace.
Up ahead I could see the Dumptys sweating profusely as they tried
to keep up with the other guests. Lucus led the way while Sabrina,
despite wearing six inch heels, was determined to walk beside
him.

“
Are we there yet?” Ben
half-heartily asked for the fourth time within a ten minute time
span.

“
Just a few more minutes,”
Lucus assured him.

“
What kind of crops did the
plantation produce?” Asked Mr. Gopal as he eagerly flipped through
the plantation brochure.

“
It produced mainly cotton,
at times sugar cane as well,” informed Lucus.

“
So, who are you exactly?”
Mr. Dumpty rudely interrupted. “Are you the owner’s kid or
something? If we’re paying you, our hard earned money to show us
around this place, you better know what you’re talking
about.”

“
I assure you Mr. Dumpty I
am very familiar with the property and will make the tour worth
your time. My parents currently own the plantation,” he replied
with ease not at all offended by Mr. Dumpty’s
boorishness.

“
Where are they dear?” Asked
Mrs. Scott. “I would love to meet them.”

“
Unfortunately, they’re
living in Europe at the moment and won’t be able to make it for the
summer.”

“
Mine too!” Sabrina
enthusiastically squealed. “Well they’re spending the summer in
Morocco then heading to Europe for a few weeks in the fall. I could
call them; maybe they can meet up with your parents.” She sounded
so thrilled by that possibility.

“
They are rather booked for
the summer,” Lucus replied. “I don’t think it will be possible for
them to change their schedule.”

“
Oh.” Sabrina sounded
crushed. Her dreams of having her parents meet her future in-laws
were dashed.

“
Look!” Ben pointed ahead.
“It’s a river, can we go swimming?”

“
That’s Darkwood River, I’m
sure swimming would be a great idea after the cabin tour,” Lucus
agreed.

“
Cool!” The burning sun had
robbed Ben of his desire to see any ghosts.

“
Swimming would be awesome.
Luckily, I brought my swimsuit.” Of course, she had. Sabrina
carried her entire universe in her oversized Chanel
handbag.

“
Are those the cabins up
there?” Asked Mr. Scott.

“
Yes, those would be it.”
Lucus pointed to rows of log shacks that were lined up neatly a
short distance from the river bank.

“
Creepy. Do the ghosts live
there?” Ben’s desire to see the ghosts were back.

“
I believe they do.” Lucus
answered rather cryptically as we approached a cabin.

As the group entered the cabin, I was
horrified by its dirt floor and makeshift chimney consisting of mud
and sticks.

“
These are typical slave
quarters as they were exactly in 1830 when the plantation was
built,” Lucus informed the group. “At that time, slaves were
thought to be second-class citizens, so many plantation owners
refused to provide them with proper accommodations. A part of my
family’s unsavory history that I am not proud of. Although, my
great-great great-great grandfather, the founder of Darkwood did
his best to make sure that the slaves were treated humanely as
possible, many of the workers he hired to watch over the slaves
often made their own rules.”

“
Tell us about the ghosts,”
demanded Ben.

“
Yes, please do,” Mr. Gopal
urged Lucus.

“
I read about the curse of
mad Marie,” Mrs. Scott piped in.

“
I could use a good ghost
story to go with this caramel popcorn,” said Mr. Dumpty as he
proceeded to munch on popcorn that Mrs. Dumpty had pulled out of
her handbag.

Lucus looked hesitant to tell the group
the supposed curse of mad Marie but caved in under the pressure.
“Marie Beau was a slave here at Darkwood. She was also a powerful
voodoo queen. Whenever one of the other slaves got sick or anyone
in the LaPlante family needed help, she was the first one they
called upon,” he paused. “Although many other plantation owners
immensely feared slaves who practiced voodoo, at Darkwood, the
philosophy was that you never messed with a powerful queen. You
see, at that time many other plantation owners had lost numerous
fortunes and came across vast amounts of bad luck if they crossed a
powerful witch or queen.” Lucus glanced around the cabin to monitor
the reaction of the guests.

“
Go on, why’d you stop?” Mr.
Dumpty shouted as continued to indulge in caramel corn.

“
Marie’s life hadn’t been
easy. She had lost her husband and two of her children before she
was bought to work at Darkwood. Her other masters had been
exceedingly cruel, and her family was forced to survive under
unbearable circumstances hence the death of her husband and two
little girls.” He ran his finger through his hair, I noticed that
he was prone to doing that when he was nervous or caught in an
awkward situation.

“
How did her husband and
girls die?” Asked Mrs. Gopal.

“
They died due to the same
reasons most slaves died, starvation and disease.” Lucus paused for
dramatic effect.

“
If she was such a powerful
voodoo queen then why didn’t she save them?” Mrs. Dumpty gruffly
inquired between mouthfuls of caramel corn.

“
The stories I’ve heard say
that they died while they weren’t at her side. By the time she got
to them, there was nothing that she could have done. Despite her
struggle and hardship she never once gave up hope that one day she
would be a free woman of color. When she got to Darkwood, she
managed to get pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy. Her life was
hard, but she was optimistic that one day her son would be free and
acquire a better life for himself. At Darkwood, she was treated
humanely, and there was a time when she was reasonably happy.
However, everything changed the day her son died right here in this
cabin.” With those words, the room went dead silent, and the
Dumptys managed to stop munching on their popcorn.

“
Right here? Cool!” Ben’s
voice broke the eerie silence.

“
How did he die?” Asked Mrs.
Scott her voice barely above a whisper.

“
The stories say that he was
mercilessly beaten to death by one of the LaPlante’s workers who
was responsible for supervising the slaves. They apparently had an
argument and Louis Beau tried to stand up for himself which didn’t
go over well.”

“
Why didn’t she save him?”
Mr. Dumpty questioned.

“
She wasn’t here. She was
called into the main house upon the request of my great-great
great-great grandmother Eleanor LaPlante. Her son, my great
great-great grandfather, had the yellow fever and was on the verge
of death. Marie, she saved him.”

“
So, she didn’t save her own
son but saved her boss’s son?” Mrs. Gopal was confused.

Lucus hesitated for a moment before
continuing. “It drove her mad. I suppose it was the final
straw.”

“
What happened next?” Probed
Mr. Dumpty. “Go on tell us.”

“
She tried to bring her son
back to life.” Lucus furiously cracked his knuckles, as he dug his
shoe into the dirt floor.

“
Cool, like a zombie?” Ben
was excited at the prospect that there might be a zombie running
around.

“
Not exactly like a zombie.
Queens like Marie, who are powerful enough, are able to bring back
the dead if they have the blessing of the spirits. However, within
the voodoo tradition all types of magic including bringing back the
dead requires some sort of sacrifice.”

“
Like killing babies?” Mrs.
Gopal was horrified.

“
I’m not quite sure what was
used in this case,” Lucus admitted. “The legend says that although
she tried to bring back her son from the dead, the spirits wouldn’t
permit him to pass from the land of the dead and back into the land
of living. Mad Marie was able to contact her son’s soul which was
still bound to Darkwood. Horrified by the fact that he would be
trapped at Darkwood forever, she made a pact with one of the
spirits.”

“
You mean the Devil?”
Whispered Ben.

“
Not the Devil, but Papa
Legba, the spirit who stands at the crossroads between the living
and the dead.”

“
What was the pact?” I
curiously asked.

“
A soul for a soul. Papa
Legba would only allow Louis Beau’s soul to leave Darkwood if
another soul would stay trapped here forever. However, the trade
had to be equal, and the chosen soul had to be the same age as
Louis Beau at the time of his death. The only person the same age
as him was my great great-great grandfather, so mad Marie offered
his soul to Papa Legba.”

“
So your great great-great
grandfather is going to haunt us? That’s awesome!” Ben jumped up
and down when he should have been horrified.

“
Have you seen him around?
Have you seen the ghost?” Mr. Dumpty was every bit as fascinated as
his son in seeing a ghost or two.

“
I have,” admitted Lucus.
“You can see him all around Darkwood if you’re lucky enough to
notice.”

“
That is like so creepy.”
Sabrina was probably worried that a ghost would see her
naked.

“
What happened to mad
Marie?” I questioned eager to know if she had escaped, if somehow
she had freed herself from her horrendous existence.

“
No one knows. Everyone
believes that she managed to escape safely and made it to the
center of New Orleans where she established herself as a free
woman.”

As Lucus continued to answer questions
about mad Marie, I heard what sounded like voices singing in the
distance. I left the cabin to see where they was coming from, but
could see nothing. The singing was getting louder as I approached
Darkwood River, and I was able to make out the words which
mesmerized me even if I had no idea what they signified.

Wade in the water

Wade in the water

Wade in the water

God's gonna trouble the
water

If you don't believe I've been
redeemed

God's gonna trouble the
water

I want you to follow him on down to
Jordan stream

(I said) My God's gonna trouble the
water

You know chilly water is dark and
cold

(I know my) God's gonna trouble the
water

You know it chills my body but not my
soul

(I said my) God's gonna trouble the
water

(Come on let's) wade in the
water

Wade in the water

Wade in the water

God's gonna trouble the
water