Bound, An Arelia LaRue Novel #1 YA Paranormal Romance (21 page)

Henri laughed. “Very good Ben, the
theme is ghosts or as we old people like to call it a gothic
theme.”

“
Are you serious?” I
couldn’t believe that they were so eager to add more weirdness to
this place. After last night’s nightmare, the last thing I needed
was more drama and scares. All day I had been on edge expecting the
guests to suddenly attack me and want to offer me as a sacrifice.
Luckily, things seemed pretty normal.

Although it had only been a little over
a week since I had started studying with Ms. Mae, I was more aware
of what was going on around me in terms of the spirit world. I knew
that Darkwood had more than just one or two ghosts lurking around.
It was funny how once you started paying attention, everything
could become so much clearer, and things that you never saw before
come into focus.

“
What’s wrong with ghosts?”
Ben questioned interrupting my thoughts.

“
Nothing,” I instantaneously
replied. He was right, as of yet, none of the ghosts I saw had
messed with me. They were actually a little terrified of me,
disappearing whenever I looked at them directly. Last night, I had
seen the ghost of a fat chef in the kitchen. He wasn’t doing
anything wrong. He was standing over the shoulder of one of the
cooks while he was making shrimp gumbo. I think the ghost was
trying to warn the chef that he was putting too much salt or
cayenne pepper into the pot. I had told Ms. Mae about this
incident, and she had been less than pleased with my take on the
situation. She thought I was taking the spirit world too lightly,
which according to her, could result in deadly
consequences.

“
Well, I’ll let you two get
back to it. Your mask looks mighty terrifying Ben.” Henri pretended
to be scared by Ben’s skeleton mask. “Arelia, Ms. Mae has advised
me to make you aware that she’s free to meet with you at
six.”

“
Thanks Henri.” I glanced at
the clock on the wall which indicated that it was already five
pm.

“
I think it’s done.” Ben
waved his mask in the air.

“
You’re right. You just have
to let it dry a bit.” I was relieved that the last two hours hadn’t
gone to waste, and Ben was satisfied with his mask.

“
Thanks Arelia. You’re the
best.” Ben gave me a big hug.

“
No problem Ben, I have to
go and do some chores now. I’ll see you later.” I left him to head
to Ms. Mae’s office where I was eager to spend some time alone
reading and learning more about various spells until six. On my way
there, I got distracted by music coming from the ballroom. It
sounded like some kind of Waltz music, so I decided to see what was
up.

“
That’s perfect Mrs. Dumpty,
just like that.” Lucus gently encouraged Mrs. Dumpty as she
attempted to keep up with him.

“
Ellen, you’re moving
beautifully. Don’t you think so dear?” Mrs. Scott gleefully asked
once she spotted me standing at the entrance of the
room.

“
Much better than I could
ever move,” I honestly admitted.

“
I’m dancing the, what is it
called again?” Mrs. Dumpty asked.

“
Viennese Waltz,” offered
Lucus.

“
I adore Johann Strauss.”
Mrs. Scott was clearly relishing the moment. “Why don’t you give it
a try dear?”

“
No, I really can’t. I have
chores to do. I’m not much of a dancer.” I prayed that she would
buy my excuse.

“
We all know that, who can
forget that ghastly scene that took place at the welcome ball.” The
time Mr. Dumpty dragged me all across the dance floor like a rag
doll was permanently etched into my memory. “I’m out of breath!”
Mrs. Dumpty suddenly stopped moving. “Take over Arelia, before I
have a heart attack.

“
I can’t.” I started to back
out of the room, but Lucus gently grabbed my hand before I could
move any further. “Come dance with me Arelia,” he coolly
invited.

“
You kids have fun. We
ladies are going to get some refreshments.” Mrs. Scott wiped her
sweat drenched brow.

“
I must have lost ten pounds
from that dance alone.” Mrs. Dumpty finally caught her breath and
was eager to leave in search of food and drink.

They left me alone with Lucus in the
ballroom. A sense of utter panic gripped me. It was the first time
we had been alone since the conversation in my bedroom. Was I
supposed to continue our discussion on why he said he needed me?
Was I supposed to ignore that it ever happened? Besides, after last
night and what he did in my nightmare, I was a little hesitant to
go anywhere near him. Lucus looked as anxious as I did. He slowly
drew me close to him. My heart started to rapidly race. I could
smell him. His hand on the small of my back gave me unexpected
shivers.

“
Dancing is easy,” he said
finally.

“
I’m sure it is, just not
for me,” I quickly replied.

“
How do you know if you’ve
never given it a fair chance?” He had a point. I had always
convinced myself that I couldn’t dance, but had I actually really
tried to dance? No. It was like most things that I was scared of; I
learned to fear them before I gave them a chance. It was just
easier that way I guess. If you didn’t let yourself try certain
things, you’d never be disappointed if they never worked
out.

“
Follow my lead and I
promise you will be fine.”

“
I’m pretty sure Mr. Dumpty
said the same thing to me.”

Lucus laughed as he started to move.
“That man is quite the character. That’s it, from side to side,
nice and slow,” he guided me.

“
I think I’m actually doing
it.” I was exceptionally delighted to find that I wasn’t tripping
over my feet or stepping on his.

“
Yes, you are.” Lucus smiled
which encouraged me to try harder. I let myself feel the music, and
in response, my body relaxed. “Right, left, twirl,” he spun me
around. That was the first successful twirl I had ever done in my
entire life. For the first time, I allowed myself to forget about
everything that had taken place over the last few weeks. The
confirmation that I was a voodoo queen, the horrid fight with
Sabrina, Ivan’s incessant torment, and the swamp nightmare. I let
it all go and gave in to the moment. My body felt light as whipped
cream as I spun around the dance floor in pure exhilaration. If
someone had told me a few weeks ago that I would be ballroom
dancing with a LaPlante, I would have snickered in their face. Once
the music stopped, I was more than a little
disappointed.

“
That wasn’t so bad, was
it?” Lucus eagerly studied my face. His hand was still on my back,
but I didn’t mind.

“
It was pretty fun.” We were
dangerously close now. I looked down at my worn out flats, not
knowing how to bring up what I really wanted to ask without seeming
overly eager. I mean, I didn’t want him to think that I was some
kind of obsessive stalker or anything. I need you could have meant
lots of things like I need you to take out the trash. I need you to
go downstairs and help with the dishes. I need you to stop fighting
with my girlfriend because she’s a blond goddess and we’re so happy
together.

“
Hey have you ever seen
Dancing with the Stars?” I spat out the first thing that I could
think of that wasn’t related to what he had said to me last. I
figured since we were dancing, and everything, I could at least
pick a relevant topic.

“
Is that the name of an
opera?” Lucus scrunched his eyebrows.

“
No! It’s a dancing show
that my grand-mere loves to watch. They take a bunch of celebrities
desperate for attention, pair them up, and make them compete
against one another.”

“
Sounds interesting?” Lucus
scratched his forehead, as he tried to figure out whether he was
supposed to be excited by the concept or horrified.

“
Yeah, kind of. I mean they
like to do crazy dances like the tango and stuff. Can you tango?
Grand-mere Bea is an awesome dancer. I didn’t take after her or
anything though.” I was talking too much and too fast. It was
something I tended to do when I was nervous.

“
You mean like this?” With a
dramatic gesture, Lucus placed his cheek against mine, grabbed my
hand and extended both of our arms outwards. “I’m not quite sure
what we’re supposed to do next,” he admitted.

“
That’s about all I know
too.” I laughed hoping he wouldn’t catch on as to how nervous I
actually was.

I felt safe standing so close to him,
but at the same time, terrified of being unsure of what to say or
do. He spoke first. “Arelia, I didn’t mean to ambush you in your
room like I did. I know that I must have confused you.”

“
Just a bit,” I shrugged
unwilling to admit that I had been thinking about his statement
every day since he had said it.

“
It’s just that you’re the
only person who can help me, but I don’t know if you’re willing
to.”

“
I can’t help you if you
don’t spit it out.”

“
Believe me I want to, but I
just can’t find the words or the way. I’m afraid,” he admitted.
“I’m afraid that…”

“
Hey lovers sorry to
break-up the party, but Ms. Mae needs to speak to you queen,” Ivan
snapped me out of the moment. I pulled away from Lucus in
embarrassment. Ivan would never let me hear the end of
it.

Lucus pulled me close again and
whispered in my ear. “Meet me tonight in the garden, after dinner.
I’ll explain everything,” he promised.

“
But Sabrina,” I wasn’t
going to risk another confrontation.

“
Please, trust me,” he
pleaded.

“
Fine,” I agreed hoping that
Ivan wasn’t listening in on our conversation.

Chapter 16

Revelations

“
Ms. Mae?” I softly knocked
on her office door before opening it.

“
Come in child.” Ms. Mae
gradually looked up from behind a pile of books. Her desk was
cluttered with various herbs and pieces of cloth.

“
What are you doing?” I
questioned.

“
I’m attempting a new
mixture for a love gris-gris,” she answered like it was as normal
as clipping her toenails. “Henri advised me that you were eager to
speak to me. What can I do for you my dear?”

I sat down, “I had a dream last night.
Well it was actually more of a nightmare, but anyways I need to
know what it means.”

“
Go on.” Ms. Mae focused all
of her attention on me.

I recalled the nightmare in detail. As
my description progressed, Ms. Mae’s grip on the beads around her
neck grew firmer. By the time I was finished, it was obvious that
Ms. Mae was as upset as I had been.

“
Mon Dieu,” she finally
spoke.

“
So what does it mean?” I
was anxious to hear her opinion.

“
Someone wants you gone from
Darkwood.

“
What else?” I pressed her
for more details. “And who?”

“
I’m not certain,” admitted
Ms. Mae. “I need to consult the cards.” She got up and pulled a
deck of tarot cards from the shelf behind her desk. As she started
to read them, her expression changed from worried to downright
terrified.

“
What is it?” I asked
again.

“
Possession.”

“
Umm, okay. What does that
mean?”

“
Louis Beau.”

“
Louis Beau? You mean mad
Marie’s son?”

“
Yes, that Louis Beau.” It
seemed as if Ms. Mae couldn’t believe the words that were coming
out of her own mouth.

“
But he’s dead. Lucus told
us the story of mad Marie and how she put the spell on his great
great-great grandfather. She did that so Louis Beau’s soul could
leave Darkwood. It’s impossible that he’s still alive. What is he
some kind of ghost?”

“
No. The cards tell me that
his soul left Darkwood, but it never left this plane. It never
passed on to the next. The cards say that he is very close, but
they do not tell me his exact location. Of course, that is why
Lucus is bound here ageless and immortal because Louis needs him to
stay that way, so he can continue to live.” Ms. Mae paused for a
minute reflecting on the revelation before continuing. “Louis fears
your powers because you’re the only one who can help Lucus. You are
the only one that can break the curse and free him.” Ms. Mae stood
up and came towards me. “Arelia you need to talk to Lucus. There
are things that he needs to explain to you.”

I felt my pulse quicken and my mouth
get dry, as I tried to connect the dots. “Lucus is under a curse?
The story he told us at the slave cabins was about him, not his
great great-great grandfather?”

“
He meant to tell you
Arelia. He’s been trying for weeks now.” Ms. Mae came to Lucus’s
defense.

The room started to spin as my mind
reviewed the facts. Mad Marie’s curse consisted of a soul for a
soul. Louis Beau was still alive. Lucus’s great great-great
grandfather’s soul was bound to Darkwood, so Louis Beau could
escape. Lucus wasn’t like any other seventeen year old I’d ever
met. So that meant Lucus was the great great-great grandfather he
told us about in the story. Lucus was bound to Darkwood and was
probably centuries old. I was drooling over a very old man. He was
an extremely well preserved old man, but still a very old man. It
made perfect sense. Lucus knew much more about Darkwoods’s history
than he should have. He never spoke about his family or friends. He
had told me that physically he was seventeen, but felt much older.
At the time, I hadn’t given it much thought, but in hindsight, it
had been a hint.