Possessed (3 page)

“
No.”

“
Yes,” he said, as he slowly
released me.

“
I don’t see things your
way,” I said. “You won’t be able to control me or get rid of me!” I
hissed.

He grinned as he got up and put on his
white shirt and black tie. “You’ll see.”

Chapter 4

Blood-filled
Boxes

Numbly, I followed Ivan down the stairs
and out the front door. My body was no longer heavy and useless,
but my mind was cloudy. All I could think about was boxes and
blood.

Big boxes. Small boxes.
Lucus and I belonged in different boxes. He belonged on the box on
top of the list and I belonged on the box at the bottom. I had to
leave Darkwood. Darkwood was filled with blood. Lucus deserved to
live in rooms full of blood. Lucus was the enemy
.

I wanted to go search for Sabrina, but
it was clear that Ivan had some kind of sick power over me. I
wondered how he had done it, and more importantly how I could stop
it. In the voodoo/hoodoo tradition, I knew that there were a
thousand methods that one could employ to dominate and possess
another, so finding and stopping Ivan’s exact formula was going to
be tricky. Had he used an Arelia voodoo doll? Had he laid a trick
somewhere? Had he made an offering to a spirit and if so, which
one? Think, Arelia.

He took my hand and intertwined his
long fingers with mine. I wanted to shake him free, but some
twisted, inexplicable force kept me attached to him. I took a quick
glance at his rugged profile with its proud bum-chin and wanted to
smack him. He caught me staring.

“
I’ve said it before and
I’ll say it again, violence is never the answer,” he said calmly,
as he gave me a sweet smile.

I let out a frustrated sigh but didn’t
say anything. I needed my energy to think for myself and shut his
voice out of my head. I was used to the spirits messing around up
there. I didn’t have room for another voice. Things were getting
too complicated. The lines between good and bad, right and wrong,
were quickly becoming blurred into one big gruesome pot of
gumbo.

Outside, the low moon shone down
carelessly on the mowed lawn and the emerald grass glowed. The
giant oaks were still and silent, as if they were lamenting and
mourning with me over what had happened. The humidity was
overpowering and even the usually cool marble of the porch seemed
to burn my bare feet. An hour ago the sweet smell of jasmine had
lingered in the air, but now the only thing I could smell was
cigarette smoke infused with sweet chocolate and Louis.

As we approached the lavish rose
garden, I could hear the drunken laughter of guests as they shouted
over the increasingly lively jazz band. The scene that greeted us
was exactly as I had left it. Guests mingling in careless abandon,
Aunt Mae and Grand-mere deep in conversation while multi-colored
roses danced around them and the Greek-style fountain soothingly
drizzled in the background. Mrs. Dreaux stood scowling at the crowd
and Tony stood beside her.

To my horror and relief Lucus stood by
a corner table. In a vastly corny and predictable move, my heart
skipped a beat when I caught a glimpse of him. He gave me a small
smile, but his dark eyes became increasingly narrow when he caught
sight of my hand intertwined with Ivan’s. I noticed that the
muscles in his jaw tightened, but he didn’t move. I mentally begged
him to come rescue me. How pathetic, considering that a little over
a month ago I had thrown clumps of mud at him. Even though that
little experience had been really fun, I did feel a tiny bit guilty
about it now.

“
Let me go.” I tried to
shake my hand free from Ivan’s.

“
No. We’re going to dance,
queen.”

I wanted to shout no we’re not, but
instead, no came out as, “Okay.”

Ivan pulled me close to him and started
to move in a surprisingly graceful manner that was in perfect
harmony with the music. All around us guests swayed and moved,
unaware of the little drama that was playing out between Ivan and
me.

“
Look at me, queen,” said
Ivan, as he turned my head towards him. His grey eyes gleamed.
“Don’t we make a cute couple?”

“
No,” I viciously hissed. In
a miraculous moment of clarity, I was able to shut out his dogma.
“You’re only doing this because you haven’t gotten over the fact
that the girl you loved had a thing for Lucus. The only person
you’re hurting is yourself. Lucus doesn’t even know any of this.
He’s just as lost as you. If you have any sense, you’ll stop this
sick game and work with me, not against me.”

“
Like I said before, this is
not about her. This is about him. It’s about respecting the fate my
mother wanted him to suffer. I don’t want your help. Not everyone
is a tragic little victim who needs rescuing. I refuse to be a
victim,” he said.

“
You don’t know why your mom
did this! You said so yourself. You said that you’ve stopped trying
to figure it all out.”

“
Queen, you only hear what
you want, don’t you? I knew my mother. I know this is what she
would have wanted. If I can get back at him even in the slightest
way possible, I’ll take it.”

“
And your father? Is this
what he would have wanted?”

Ivan tossed back his head and let out a
loud laugh. “Oh, that poor bastard was caught running away and was
killed by a bloodhound. Not exactly Father of the Year material, or
a role model. Don’t remember his face or care to remember it. Ken
is watching. Come on now and give me a kiss.”

In my head, I screamed, No!, but my
body unwillingly leaned close to his.

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. It
was Henri. The sight of him in a sunny yellow evening jacket and
sky blue tie was a welcome relief. “Sorry to interrupt, but there
are guests to serve,” he said, directing his comment at
Ivan.

“
Sorry, sir.” Ivan gave me a
long, leisurely kiss on the cheek and headed towards the corner of
the lawn where other waiters filled cocktail glasses.

Henri’s soft eyes were filled with
worry as he took in the sight of my bewildered expression. “Arelia,
are you okay?” he asked.

“
I…” I wanted to tell him
everything. The words were on the tip of my tongue, but like a
mute, nothing came out. Louis is Ivan. Ivan is Louis. I don’t know
what’s going on. “Everything is fine,” I said, as I feigned a small
smile.

“
Are you sure?” he asked
again, as he stood there and eyed me suspiciously.

Around me, the faces seemed to blur and
contort. The sweat that dripped down from their foreheads slowly
transformed into a rich red liquid. The Sezeracs and Vieux Carres
glasses that were in their hands overflowed with endless streams of
deep red blood. The band had started to play “Happy Birthday”, and
the guests started to sing.

Happy Birthday to
you.

Happy Birthday to
you

Happy Birthday dear Mr.
Dumpty

The large red velvet cake that Mr.
Dumpty stood over was lavish and flawlessly decorated with tiny
rosebuds. However, for some strange reason as I looked at the cake,
my skin became clammy and I could feel vomit crawling its way up
the back of my throat. My neck muscles tightened as he blew out the
candles and brought a large knife to it. As he sliced it, blood
gushed out of the cut. It flowed from the cake in a strong and
malicious stream. Soon, the lush green grass turned a brilliant
shade of red that stained my bare feet. In that second three things
became very evident: I needed to stop running around without any
shoes on. The party was paid for by money made off the blood of
others. I needed to get out of there.

“
Yes. I’m fine,” I
stuttered. “I just need a minute. I have to go check on Sabrina,” I
said, as I turned my back on him and ran out of the
garden.

In reality, my head felt heavy. A dull
ache had settled in and the only thing I could think of was what
Ivan had said. Stupid boxes. Blood. Rooms full of buckets of blood.
Anger is all I have left.

I needed to be alone. I needed to focus
and concentrate on shutting out his voice. Unaware of where I was
going, I stumbled into an adjacent garden. The enchanting sight of
purple and white water lilies floating on a pond caught me off
guard and temporarily silenced Ivan’s voice. They elegantly
meandered under the pale moonlight and reminded me that the world
wasn’t as ugly as Ivan thought it was.

I kneeled by the large pond, placed my
fingers on my temples and ran my fingers through my hair, which was
no longer straight but incredibly wild and frizzy, thanks to the
humidity. I looked down at the grass and gave thanks that it was a
beautiful shade of emerald green rather than a disturbing
red.

In a moment of pure wonder and magic, a
light breeze stirred the water and the delicate lilies started to
swirl. The purple and white spun together at a maddening speed,
creating an inky lavender pool that glittered under the
starlight.

“
Arelia, Arelia. Do you like
my little trick? It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” asked an eerie but
familiar voice.

“
Bade?” I cautiously
asked.

“
Who else?”

Great. Ivan’s obnoxious voice mixed
with Bade’s creepy hiss. This was going to be good. Be respectful.
Yes. I had to remember to be really respectful. “Hey Bade. What’s
up?”

“
Why are you kneeling in
front of a pond full of lilies, Arelia?”

“
Because they’re really
pretty. I’m hoping they can shut out the ugly voice in my
head.”

“
Oh Arelia, you know that
poor Louis isn’t ugly. He’s just misunderstood. You know what it’s
like to be misunderstood, don’t you?”

“
I guess.” I
shrugged.

“
Anyways, I don’t want to
talk about him. I want to talk about her.”

“
Who?”

“
You know, her.”

I took a deep breath. More games and
riddles from Bade. “Please tell me who you’re talking about Bade,
please.”

“
Your friend.”

“
Sabrina?”

“
Who else, silly Arelia.
She’s upset. Powerful things happen when people are really upset.
Strange things. Why did you make her so upset?”

I quickly got up from the ground. “Is
she okay? Is she upstairs?”

“
No.”

“
Where did she go? Please
tell me, I’ll give you anything you want.”

“
I’m not going to tell you
until you tell me why you made her so upset.”

“
I didn’t mean to hurt her.
I was too afraid to admit something to her. I didn’t think she
would understand.”

Bade let out a wicked laugh, and a
chilly wind crept through my lace dress. “You always think no one
will understand. You still aren’t letting others in, and that makes
you very egotistical.”

I covered my face with my hands and
muffled a scream. After I regained my composure, I spoke carefully.
“Bade, can you please tell me where she is? What strange things are
you talking about? Please tell me,” I begged.

“
Will you try not to be an
ego-maniac?” he asked.

“
Yes. I promise,” I
reluctantly agreed. Was I really an ego-maniac?

“
Fine. She’s run off to the
old cemetery.”

“
Why would she go there?”
Sabrina was a massive chicken. The scariest thing she ever did was
sleep with Ivan. I prayed that she was okay so I could yell at her
for running off to a cemetery in the middle of the night. Although
it didn’t really surprise me. Whenever she got really upset she
always lashed out in a dramatic and reckless manner.

“
When you humans are upset,
it makes the process so much easier. Everything is so much easier
when the soul is weak and vulnerable.”

“
What process?”

“
Oh silly Arelia, I can’t
tell you. You know I won’t tell you. Why do you even bother
asking?”

Why did spirits insist on calling me
silly? “Does Sousson Pannan have her?” My voice
screeched.

“
No. Not him. He’s not very
powerful at all, just really hungry and greedy.”

Clearly, Bade wasn’t going to reveal
the identity of whoever had Sabrina. “What should I do, Bade, can
you please tell me?”

“
I think I already did,
Arelia. Go to the old cemetery. Go to the old slave
cemetery.”

“
Why should I trust you?
What do you want?” As much as I wanted to trust Bade, I knew
spirits could be pretty tricky and if I didn’t ask what he wanted
upfront, it could come back to haunt me later.

“
I want you to listen to
me,” he hissed. “I want you to respect me and promise that this
lily pond will always be taken care of.”

As he spoke, I noticed that the largest
purple lily had separated itself from the others and gently twirled
while the rest of the flowers stood still. The wind became warm and
tender as the lily danced in the night air. I realized that Bade
was in love with the lily. He wanted to protect her forever and
always. Who knew spirits were so sentimental?