Tempt Me (24 page)

Papa Legba patted his shoulder consolingly. “They don’t know how strong Toussaints are.”

Gabriel stepped back abruptly. “No disrespect intended, but why do I suddenly feel like a piece on a fucking chessboard? Isn’t this my life? Don’t I get a say? And what does Angelique’s influence have to do with any of it?”

Papa Legba soothed the woman beside him, shaking his head at Gabriel. “Careful, boy. There are things in this world you don’t understand, nations and families of Loa who rarely see eye to eye, but you have one thing right. It
is
your choice. You’ve always had it. The Marassa offer you a gift, but whether you use it for good or evil is up to you. There will be choices down the road, important choices and powerful consequences. Consequences that affect everyone. Even here. But today’s, I think, is the most important choice for you. You love her.”

It wasn’t a question. “Yes, I do.”

The old man nodded. “If she were lost and made to suffer, you would seek revenge?”

“Yes.”

He sighed sadly. “Then they would win. They have been there all your life, boy. Poking holes in your heart and shaking your faith. The last thing they wanted was for you to come home, to find her. Find love. Those meddlers always lusted for battle and destruction, and that has its time and place, but they are wrong about you. You are no Dark Messenger. Not Gabriel Toussaint. I have faith in you. And I know you can save her.”

Save her from what? The locket? Angry Loa? He felt like falling to his knees in pain, ready to beg them. “Please, you have to send me back. I have to help her.”

Papa Legba backed away from him slowly. “Yes, you do. In fact, I’m afraid you’re the only one who can. They made sure of it. They don’t think you’re strong enough yet, and that is their mistake. They think they’ll win. It’s also why we made sure you came here first.”

What? If he had to sacrifice himself, he would. “Anything. Tell me what to do.”

The two women shared a look and then began to walk toward him simultaneously. He couldn’t move. His feet felt as though they were glued to the street. What were they doing to him?

He heard Papa Legba’s voice over the rushing sound in his ears. “They give you again what was yours from birth, Gabriel. Light and dark. Love and hate. You can see it all now. See it . . . and use it if there is a need. Use it to protect your family. For Angelique.”

The Marassa Twins reached him, both standing on tiptoe to press two perfect bow mouths to either cheek. Their whispers echoed in his ears. “Our gift to you, brother of
bon ange
.”

The sky that was too blue and the grass that was too green started to swirl together like a ruined watercolor. And still, Gabriel could not move.

“Hurry to her now, Toussaint.” Papa Legba’s voice seemed to come from far away. “And welcome home.”

 

 

“HE’S OPENING HIS EYES. GABE? GABRIEL, WAKE UP.” BETHANY sounded anxious.

Gabriel opened his eyes and looked around. He was lying on the floor by the window. The hotel room. He was back. His shirt still clutched in his hand. “How long was I out?”

BD, leaning against the window ledge, looked over at the clock. “A few minutes only. Did you hit your head?”

“No, he didn’t.”

Gabriel looked down at Ben’s hand on his arm and sighed. “Never could keep anything from you. Not even when we were kids.”

Ben dragged him up to a sitting position. “I saw it. Holy shit, Gabe, I saw it. And heard. I had no idea—” He shook his head roughly, obviously trying to clear it. “We can talk about that later. If they were right, which is a given, we need to leave now and get Bethany to tell us what she knows. Can you stand?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. We need to go.”

His head was spinning. And—he rubbed his eyes—everyone looked . . . off. Like he’d stared directly into the sun before he’d looked at them. He would think he was still in Loa land if his jaw wasn’t hurting again.

Bethany looked up at the men around her, a frustrated sound emerging from her throat. “Who? What? When? What did you see, Ben? What just happened? Did someone mention me?”

BD smiled down at his wife. “I’m betting they saw Papa Legba, Blue Eyes. The one who used to lecture
me
all the time on interfering.” He sighed, shaking his head. “I must have been a good influence.”

Gabriel nodded, slipping on his shirt for the second time. “And the Marassa Twins. They said . . . a lot of things. Most important, that Angelique was in danger, and if the other women are with her . . .”

A sound of gut-wrenching pain emerged from Celestin’s throat. “Allegra and the baby.”

Gabriel strode ahead of them out the door. “We need to get to my mother’s as soon as possible, and, Bethany? On the way, you need to tell us about that damned locket.”

“Is it a
djab
?”

Taken what? “Where is
here
?”

“Because it isn’t a soul. Not really.”

Gabriel listened intently. What Bethany had told them was already terrifying.

According to her, after Emmanuel had talked with her about what he’d seen at Angelique’s, she’d gone back to the journals. One of them had a picture inside. An aged, sepia-toned picture of a woman wearing the locket.

She’d read every entry last night, her horror growing with each turned page. It told the story of a New Orleans family of hougans and mambos. A lineage of powerful priests and priestesses going back to Haiti, as long as anyone could remember.

The author of the journal had inherited the home, as well as the knowledge that her ancestors had strayed far from the path.

Bokors
, dark priests, had dwelt in the house. Bones were found in the basement, as well as other macabre signs of sacrifice. Bloodstains were hidden behind painted walls. And something unnatural roamed the house at night, getting into the new owner’s head. Into her heart. Scaring her and her young husband so much, they nearly lost hope and each other.

When all of the artifacts had been destroyed, and no smoke or sage ritual could seem to cleanse the house of the evil, they called in help.

A hougan and a mambo agreed to work together on her problem. She gave them one of her great-grandmother’s lockets to use as a lightning rod, something the energy would recognize.