Sasi 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
** 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'
The moment we reached the safe house, the vampire hunters quickly hauled Evander out of the car. His wound had worsened; he was nearly unconscious. I was afraid that he had vampire venom inside his bloodstream. Mama and the rest of the Coterie immediately came outside when she saw us. Her face was too far away to distinguish; I was thankful. I didn't want to see her fury just yet. "What happened?" she asked, nearing us with the rest of the priestesses behind her. We had to lie. We didn't know if Mama would believe it, but there was no way we were going to admit where we really went. "We found him in the forest," Kizzy explained. Mama was close enough then—she was clearly distraught, confused and upset that we—I—had left again with
** The vampire hunters called themselves the Silver Syndicate. Founded in New Orleans right after the civil war ended—1865 or 1866, Jonathan wasn't too sure on the exact date. At first, their sole purpose was to hunt down any abominations against God—witches, werewolves, vampires, what have you. Then the vampire epidemic began to worsen (coincidentally, after Marie Laveau's death in 1881). People went missing, ravaged bodies were found by riverbanks and in alleyways and people reported mysterious "human bite marks" on their necks. That's when the Silver Syndicate became dedicated to the eradication of those infected with vampirism. And quickly, their membership began to grow. "We're a fraction of a small collective," Jonathan explained to Miss Az
** 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
** 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
** 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
Stabbing Hezekiah and rendering him unconscious was the easy part, believe it or not. The hard part lied in what to do with him next.Jonathan and Miss Aza hauled Hezekiah up and carried him to the exit of the attic. I helped, too; Hezekiah was heavier than I thought. His skin was cold and lifeless."We got to get him to the basement," Aza told us, sure of herself. So, we opened the door and gently walked down the stairs with a vampire around our arms. Kizzy, Esther, and Rocio were behind and in front, acting as the look-out, but their effort was quickly shot down when we saw someone coming down the hall. We stood completely still as Imani turned the corner, her eyes narrowed as if she was awakened suddenly. Hezekiah's collapse must have been louder than we anticipated.It was fo
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