Voodoo Queens of New Orleans - Vol. I | ✓

Chapter 24: Spirits Dance

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, Alize - "

"How did this happen?" Mama finally spoke up, turning towards all of us. I had rehearsed in my head how I would explain this to her, but being in the moment had made it hard for the explanation to come out of my mouth. But suddenly, as if the moment couldn't be any tenser, Hezekiah opened his eyes. And the moment we gasped and warned Mama to get away from him, he lunged forward in an attempt to grab her. But the silver chains around his body made the task impossible. 

The restraints yanked him back into the coffin, no matter how hard he tried to break free. His dark skin strained against the bright silver, which clearly caused him some pain when he exerted himself too much. So, shamefully, he stopped trying to escape and settled for giving us menacing looks. His eyes were almost fluorescent, bright with hunger and anger. Mama stepped back and stared at him with eyes almost as bright as his, and slowly, her expression deepened into a scowl when her gaze studied his face. But again, she was silent. We all knew that he was powerless in his shackles, so we just watched him as he eyed us all. And when his eyes landed on me, I knew I was fucked. 

"You," he growled, then began to laugh. "You sneaky little bitch! I swear when I get out of here -"

"'If you get out of there," I said, my breath shaky. "We'll let you go if you cooperate." 

Mama slowly turned to me, surprised at how bold I was. 

"So, you calling shots now?" Hezekiah practically spat on the notion. "You made one good pass. One." 

"I made several, which is why you're down here." 

Hezekiah laughed, turning away from me most likely out of shame for being foolish enough to allow a Dumont to seduce him into entrapment. He knew that his ticket to freedom was cooperation. If he didn't want to tell us what we wanted to know, he would be stuck here with us. He couldn't bear the thought, so I knew it would only be a matter of time before he cracked. I almost felt proud of myself. Despite the method I used to get him into this state, the point was that we had an Elder vampire in our possession - Abraham's right-hand man. Hezekiah-fucking-Mercier himself. The possibilities we had under our sleeve and all the achievements we had set before us. I knew Mama was upset we kept this secret from her (as well as the fact of a Vampire chained in her basement), but I thought she would be happy that we had such a huge advantage. 

I was wrong.  

I remember the look on her face the most - this stone cold, vacant look, as if she wasn't herself. The anger was there, but it was almost as if it didn't belong to her. I was well aware of how loud and mean Mama could get when she was upset with me, but this was completely different. Her eyes glowed bright, and suddenly, the entire basement began to darken. Whispers echoed around us, Kizzy and I trying to find the source. But Aza did nothing; she knew what was happening, yet I did not. 

Mama's hands clenched tight in an effort to suppress, but it wasn't working. The energy emitting from her was daunting, and in that moment, I remembered where I had seen this before - which "sister" displayed the same type of "power" or "energy" that Mama was showing right now. We weren't in a bayou, surrounded by the Shunned or being followed by triplets who were invasively interested in our presence, nor were we face-to-face with an infamous "bayou witch," but it was the same energy we saw that night - the darkness, the shift in the air, the sense that there were otherworldly beings in the room with us. I knew then that Sajida was right about Mama and her power - her gift. But in that moment, it didn't seem like a gift, but more along the lines of a curse.