Punished (10 page)

“Sorry.” I shrugged unable to contain my smile any longer.

“Arelia! Why didn’t you stop me? He’s a waiter for crying out loud! A waiter!” She exploded.

“Hey, you were angry at me, remember? You accused me of trying to steal Lucus. You can’t blame this one on me.” I crossed my arms and refused to take responsibility for her actions.

She put her arms around me and rested her head on my shoulder and whispered, “A waiter… Lucus is so much hotter and richer.”

I lifted her head off my shoulder and cupped her cheeks. “You’ll get over it. Let’s go checkout the new guests.”

She immediately perked up. “I can’t wait to see Lucus. I’m so happy you decided to stay, this is going to be the best summer ever.”

Sure.

Chapter 10

New Guests Arrive at Darkwood

The spacious emerald green lawn shone vividly and hosted a breakfast feast fit for royalty. The majestic oaks purred and denied any knowledge of the surreal events that had taken place last night. It gave me shivers to think that an ugly spirit like Sousson Pannan lurked around a place that seemed so beautiful and innocent. Where else did ugly spirits lurk? Did they hang around nurseries and pet shops prying on innocent babies and puppies?
   

The guests were enchanted by row after row of long tables, filled with assorted breakfast foods and colorful pitchers. All of them altogether oblivious to the grisly scene that had taken place a few meters from where they sipped on Creole Bloody Marys and stuffed their faces with calas.

I scanned the lawn for Lucus but couldn’t see him anywhere. I wondered if he was still sleeping and if his wounds had fully healed. Maybe if, he was covered in bite marks, Sabrina would be disgusted and lay off of him. Such a selfish thought, I know, but I couldn’t help it. I didn’t want her fawning over him. I didn’t want her to touch him at all.
 

“Gross. There he is.” Sabrina pointed to Ivan. He was busy filling up Mr. Dumpty’s empty glass with another light pink Ojen Frappe. “He obviously can’t afford decent clothes, that t-shirt is hideous. Where’s Lucus? He sure knows how to dress. I’m starving,” she said, as pulled me to a table.

Next to the table, I could hear Mr. Dumpty bitterly complaining about his drink.

“What’s in this drink here?” he asked, as his sun burnt skin gleamed under the already sizzling morning sky.

“It’s made out of Ojen, a rare Spanish liqueur,” Ivan gruffly replied. “They don’t make that stuff anymore.”

“It seems watered down to me. Listen here, I’m not one to complain, but if I’m paying you $49.99 for an all-inclusive summer vacation, I won’t accept substandard service. Who can I speak to about this?” asked Mr. Dumpty rudely. His squinty blue eyes intently examined Ivan.

Seriously, guests were only being charged $49.99 for a two month, all inclusive vacation? That little revelation only highlighted that Darkwood’s doors clearly weren’t open to make a profit.

“I’ll go find someone Sir,” Ivan replied, as he clutched his left fist. I could see a little vein throbbing on his temple.

I let out a low chuckle.
 
“Go Mr. Dumpty.”

“Arelia!” Ben rushed up to me, his plump cheeks glowing. “I thought you were leaving.”

“Nah, I decided to say,” I said, as I pulled his Yankees cap over his eyes.

“Do you think we’ll finally get to see some ghosts?” he demanded. “We still haven’t been to the swamp, and I’ve been asking forever.”

I had almost forgotten that my swamp dream wasn’t real and that the guests would probably want to go there. “I’m sure we’ll go there soon.” I wasn’t so sure that it was the safest place for a bunch of naïve tourists to head to.
 

“Can you go find out when? Please?” he begged.

“Sure, no problem, I’ll be right back.” I guess there was no harm if I asked Henri.

As I searched the lawn for him, I was distracted by a shiny car that pulled up in the distance. Three vaguely familiar figures got out, but they were too far for me to make out their faces.

 
Sabrina came up behind me with a glass of Brandy Milk Punch in her hands. “God, it’s so hot! What torturous activities are they going to put us through today? Where is Lucus?”

I shrugged. “I have no idea, probably still in bed?”

“Why is he still in bed? By the time he gets up this stupid heat is going to melt off half of my makeup,” she whined.

“Hey Sabrina, is just me or do those people look familiar?” I asked, as I pointed at the mystery guests.

Sabrina stopped her complaining and focused on the path. “Oh my god,” she said, as she squinted harder. “I think it’s the Dreauxs.” Her voice changed from bitter to excited in under a second. She clutched my arm. “It is the Dreauxs! Mrs. Dreaux is a mega-bitch, but Tony’s yumminess makes up for that.”

In that instant, the figures suddenly became clear and I could see Mrs. Dreaux’s fake too-white veneer smile and her stiff blond helmet hair. Mr. Dreaux’s lanky frame and shifty blue eyes came into focus along with one of the ridiculously expensive Gucci suits he always wore, no matter how hot it was.

“Tony is
so
hot, and
so
loaded; not as hot or loaded as Lucus though. Doesn’t he look exactly like a younger version of Jonathan Rhys Meyers before all those nasty rehab stints and suicide attempts? Let’s go say hi.” Sabrina clutched my wrist and pulled me forward.

I viciously shook myself free, unable to believe that they were actually there. “I’ll be there in a second, I’m going to get a…” Before I could finish my sentence, Sabrina had already started to run up to greet them.

Calm down. Calm down. I walked over to a table and grabbed a buttermilk drop and an apple. I wasn’t hungry, so I wasn’t sure why I did that. I knew the logical thing to do was to put on a phony smile, walk up to them and pretend that nothing had ever happened. Yes, that would have been the mature, reasonable and very adult thing to do.

Buttermilk drop and apple in hand, I took a deep breath and started to make my way over to the path when I panicked. I should have walked straight, but instead I took a sharp turn to the left and started to run. I had no idea where I was running to, all I knew was that there was no way I could face Tony and his stupid family after what had happened last summer. This was the first time I had seen them in almost a year and I still didn’t have anything to say to them.

I ran for what felt like forever with the food firmly in my hand, the unforgiving sun punished me with its blistering rays, but I couldn’t stop. Finally out of breath and exhausted, I found myself at the Darkwood River. My clothes were drenched with sweat and my hair was wild, thanks to the humidity.

However, the river was serene, peaceful and inviting. I found shelter under an enormous oak and caught my breath. Why were they here? Didn’t they have anywhere better to go, like the South of France, Milan or wherever else wealthy, pompous people spent their summers?
 
There was no way I was going to put up with Mrs. Dreaux’s condescending attitude for the rest of the summer.

I was deep in thought contemplating how I could avoid the devil’s family, when I saw a bright rainbow form over the river. Its colors blended together in sublime harmony as they shone radiantly above the water. It was kind of odd that a rainbow would appear at exactly that second; it had to be some sort of sign or a spirit, so I listened carefully and took in my surroundings.

 
After a few moments, I could hear the savage rhythm of drums approaching, it started out faint but progressed with a brutal intensity that simultaneously startled and absorbed me to my core. The sound echoed within every particle of my body and being, until I could no longer separate the sound from myself.

I got up and as if by some wild force beyond my control, found myself partially immersed in the warm water. I prayed that whatever spirit wanted to talk to me wouldn’t try to drown me. I thought back to the morning lesson and remembered that it had to be a Rada spirit, someone wise, but why would it want to speak to me?

“Hello,” I said cautiously. After last night, I wasn’t going to take any chances and invite in another foul spirit.
 

“Good morning, Arelia,” whispered an unfamiliar but strangely saccharine voice.

Respect, I had to be respectful. “Good morning, who are you?” My tone was sickly sweet.

“Look at the rainbow,” replied the voice.

I studied the massive rainbow for a few seconds but still couldn’t figure it out. What was it with these spirits? Why couldn’t they answer in plain English? Everything had to be so complicated with them.

“Ayida Wedo, giver of blessings, wife of Damballah,” it whispered. “I am here to help.”

It couldn’t actually be Ayida, the epic spirit of blessings. She had managed to seduce and marry the father of all spirits, Damballah. Why was she wasting her time speaking to some lowly queen in training? It had to be a trap, but there was a rainbow. Every time grand-mere saw a rainbow she would give it thanks. She always said that rainbows meant that a blessing was near and that the spirits were in a generous mood. Maybe this spirit was telling the truth.

“I don’t have anything to offer,” I said. I was unwilling to go through another excruciating blood sacrifice that involved stabbing my palms numerous times. “I’m not sure what you expect of me either.”

The voice laughed delicately. “I don’t want anything from you, I’m in a giving mood today, and I’ve decided that you could use some help.”

“But there’s always a price.” I argued. So many contradictions. Last night, Sousson Pannan had made it clear that there always needed to be a fee to pay and now this spirit didn’t want anything. Why could they just make up their minds?

There was a long pause before the voice replied. “I want to help you, if you do as I say, I will not ask for anything, but you must follow my directions carefully.”

“Why don’t you want anything and what do you want me to do?” I was horrified that she would ask me to perform some grisly task that involved a hen sacrifice.

 
“And what exactly are you helping me with?” I wondered if she was going to make Ivan and Tony magically disappear.
 
Brainwash Sabrina, so she would be repelled by the sight of Lucus.

“Balance,” said the voice, as it tossed another cryptic answer at me. “There needs to be balance.”

“Okay.”

“Louis’ slave cabin.” The rainbow abruptly changed its position and settled above a shabby, sunken slave cabin in the distance. It was the cabin where Lucus had told us the story about Mad Marie and Louis Beau.

“What about the cabin?” I eagerly asked. Maybe she genuinely did want to help me with the supposed curse of Mad Marie.

“Go there, and look carefully. You need to understand. You need to be aware that not everything is as straightforward as it seems.”

“What’s going to happen if I don’t listen to you?” I asked, perversely curious.

“You’ll never be able to help. Go to the cabin now, do as I say. Don’t disappoint me. You don’t want to upset me.”

 
Even though, the voice was sweet, I could hint an undertone that was subtly menacing and vastly powerful. I didn’t want to upset the spirit of blessings by refusing to do what it said. What choice did I have?

Aunt Mae had told me to rely on my instincts and have faith in my judgment. In my heart, I knew that this spirit wasn’t malicious, and I would need to trust it.

“I’ll do as you say if you promise me that I won’t be harmed.” I tried to bargain.

Ayida Wedo let out a hallow laugh. “I won’t hurt you, my dear, not everyone wants to harm you. Now go to the cabin and it will help you understand.”