Voodoo Queens of New Orleans - Vol. I | ✓

Chapter 34: Visions of Root House

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The smell of rich spices and sausages filled up Miss Aza's home once she and I made the journey downstairs. The Coterie was making gumbo - a huge pot of it for everyone that sat around in the living room. The Coterie was in the kitchen when we made it downstairs, whereas everyone sat on the couch or on the floor, their clothes still dirty and tattered. All them stopped their chatter when they saw me. Everyone went quiet, plagued with questions that they didn't know how to ask.

Kizzy, Esther, Imani, and Rocio sat together and stood together when their eyes landed on me. They probably assumed I was dead. They probably thought that I was a lost cause. But I wasn't. I was there, in the flesh, staring at them and waiting for one of them to say something. But none of them did. I wanted to say something - I wanted to tell them of the revelations that had come upon me regarding my family; regarding Marie Laveau herself. But I knew better than to open my mouth. Instead, I walked over to them, expecting an embrace. And they expected one, too; our arms were open, a sigh of relief escaping our mouths, our joints released of some tension. But this feeling of comfort and contentment was short-lived, for Mikael turned the corner in the hallway from the bathroom.

The moment I saw him, my blood began to rise in temperature before coming to a boil. The image of him holding Kizzy's crossbow in the undercroft, aiming it at Hezekiah's heart with complete disregard for my wellbeing began to brand itself in my head. Mikael knew I was angry at him, yet he didn't know how to approach the situation. And frankly, neither did I. But before I could gather clear judgment, I marched forward and met a clenched fist to Mikael's nose.

Gasps and yelps erupted throughout the living room, and immediately, Aza ran over towards me as Mikael stumbled onto the ground. He held his nose and shook in fear as he stared up at me.

"You dumbass!" I yelled at him. The knuckles of my right hand were throbbing. "This is all your fault!"

This wasn't entirely true. This was my rage speaking, seething and foaming at the mouth, almost. Had Mikael not shot the crossbow, there's no guarantee that my words and patience would have kept Hezekiah calm; in that state, Hezekiah wasn't himself. He was completely overtaken by the vampiric disease. However, it was Mikael that lunged Hezekiah into that fit of rage, spiraling us into the situation that followed when Abraham entered the house. So, in my mind that was practically mush and a jumbled mess of information, it was Mikael's fault; I needed someone to blame.

Aza grabbed my arm and pulled me back, and by then, the rest of the Coterie had come out of the kitchen to see what was happening.

"What the hell is goin' on?!" Mambo Nene shouted into the living room, but once she saw Mikael on the ground and Aza's grip on my arm, she knew; she immediately rolled her eyes and looked at Mama, who was just as confused as everyone else.

After a moment, Mikael managed to pick himself up. Crimson liquid was dripping from his nose, staining his palm. I didn't feel any sense of remorse, and neither did Kizzy, who was trying her hardest not to smile.

"What is wrong with you?!" He exclaimed, eyes large like a frightened child.

"You're the reason shit went south," I said. "Had you not tried to play hero and shoot Hezekiah, none of this would have happened!"

"You what?!" Aza and Mama exclaimed at the exact same time. It was fascinating - they were both in sync with their words, but their facial expressions were completely different. Mama looked shocked, almost proud, at Mikael's boldness. But Aza quickly became distraught and bothered; upset.

Aza looked at Kizzy and the girls. "And none y'all thought to tell me this when you got here?"

"We were more focused on not being killed by bloodsuckers on our trail than detailing everything that happened," Rocio replied, sarcasm drenching her tongue.