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CHAPTER 37
I struggled with sleep for the rest of the night. I was a fool to believe that sleep would be easily achievable after what happened between Hezekiah and I in the kitchen.
I laid awake in the darkness, my body tense next to Esther's on the blow-up mattress. Hezekiah had left into the night then, but his presence still loomed over me; his influence still lingered. I felt like he was still inside me; I felt his lips on mine. The taste of them. I heard the sounds of his moaning, and I saw his eyes, so bright and fluorescent like hellfire, but dark in intention and motive. All of my senses were overtaken by him completely no matter how hard I fought against them.
It was just sex, I assured myself - a meaningless encounter between two bodies that meant nothing beyond
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Voodoo Queens of New Orleans CHAPTER 38
I said nothing to no one about the conversation between my djab and I. In fact, I made an attempt to not even think about it; I didn't want to let it consume me. Today was of large importance, and I needed to be focused. Aza had dropped off the parchments at Doctor Ben's house for him to try and translate them. We waited in her living room for her to get back. We were all dressed in white, per usual. Some of us had to borrow Aza's clothes. "What do you think Sajida's going to say?" Esther asked me, nearly impatient to meet her again. "I don't know." My answer was purposefully short; I didn't want to give much of myself away. "I'm surprised the Coterie was so quick to trust her,"
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Doctor Ben was dead. It made sense to believe it - there was no possible way in my mind that he could have been alive. There was blood - so much blood. Enough to make someone wonder how it was humanly possible for us to possess that much blood in our veins. Aza's scream of sheer terror carried until she was at Ben's side. Her hands trembled over him and hung over the gushing wound on his neck. I felt, suddenly, like I was about to collapse. Ringing had replaced any sound coming into my ears, and everything began to spin around me. Sajida and Mama ran into Ben's office while I stood by the door frame, hanging onto the wall for support. I couldn't go in. I wouldn't and I couldn't. I looked on from afar, Mama, Sajida and Aza sitting on the floor next to Ben's unconscious body, his
Voodoo Queens of New Orleans CHAPTER 40
** Tempus Summatum -drifter of time. One who can manipulate time. One who glides on the sands of time. When I had come back into consciousness, Aza explained to me - to us - what tempus summatum was; Sajida had left right when I passed out. Silently, like a cold, bitter wind pushing through. "It's a form of black magic," Aza said. "It's the type of magic that most witches don't go near, 'cause not only is it dark, but it can be deadly. To force your body to bend to the will of space and time, manipulating it to your benefit, is an act against nature. Against the universe. Against thegods. The concept of time is just forward, with the past having already happened, the events set in stone. We can't be jumping forward or falling backward in it
Voodoo Queens of New Orleans CHAPTER 41
** I had seen more blood that night than I had wished to. It stained my dress, Ben's blood. And now my hands were stained by my own blood. It became almost a normality to have it so close, and this scared me. I stared down at my hands and watched the red liquid drip onto floor like a leaky faucet. "Come on." Aza helped me to my feet. "Let's get you cleaned up." "No." Mama's voice was dry and emotionless. "I'll clean her up. You go check on Ben." Aza looked at Mama without moving from my side. I wanted to say no to her suggestion because I didn't trust her. Or rather, I didn't trust the spirit guide that accompanied mama; Mama was acting as if the words that came out of her m
Voodoo Queens of New Orleans CHAPTER 42
Once I finished reading the letter, I knew immediately what it meant. "I deeply enjoy you in the color red." One might wonder how Russel Van Doren could know what I looked like in red. But once I put the pieces together, the theory proved itself as more concrete: Russell Van Doren, the leader of the Council, knew me from the past. The sweat from my palms began to seep through the parchment, making it damp. I stared at the words over and over again, rereading the letter, memorizing Russell's penmanship. I did this until Mama came into the kitchen and snatched the letter from my hand. I didn't try and take it back from her; I stared at the ground, deep in thought. I couldn't move from my post. My mind began making up these images - of Russell, of me, of the past. I imagined Ru
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**The next morning, we were to convene with the rest of the priestesses that practiced across the city. After the attack on Ben and the delivered invitations from the Council, the priestesses and priests contacted agreed to meet with the Coterie; they were afraid. It was clear. If they weren't, they would want nothing to do with us. I got up that morning and began to get ready. The events of last night took a heavy toll on me, causing me to get no sleep. My eyes were heavy and my nose was beginning to bruise, but I tried to ignore it as I got dressed in jeans and a tank top. The only ones who were dressed in white were the mambos of the Coterie. Everyone else, even the hounsis, were dressed in casual wear. I walked into the living room of Aza's house where the meeting was to
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** That skill I had learned to use was coming back into full circle - the skill of silence. The skill of quietly planning. When Sajida had left, my mind was buzzing frantically. There was a lot she knew that Mama wouldn't allow her to tell me. The only way I was going to find out any of this information was if I went to the Bayou of the Shunned to speak with her privately. But I would never tell this idea of mine to the Coterie. So, I remained silent. The Coterie looked to Mama for clarification on what just happened; on what Sajida just said. Mambo Nene, Mama's trusted advisor and the one who always comes to her defense, stepped forward and wore a look that expressed loss and confusion. "What Sajida talking 'bout, Alize?" Mambo Nene asked. "Nothing. She's crazy. Y'all know this already." "She mentioned tempus summatum," Ava Claudette said. "That same word that was mentioned last night." "Does Lisa really travel
Voodoo Queens of New Orleans CHAPTER 45
** "You must be hungry." This is what I said - the words that sparked the fire. The catalyst for our fallout. Simple words that managed to anger him. I walked over to Aza's vanity and used my old cotton shirt to dry my hair in the mirror. "When's the last time you've fed?" I asked him. I heard him growl from behind me. "Lisa," he said. "This ain't funny." "I never said it was. I was just making an observation. Your vampiric powers strengthen the longer you don't feed, which is why you're so easily annoyed and angered with me right now." "I'm always annoyed with you. You're a pain in the ass."
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