Punished (20 page)

“Yes,” I responded with conviction. “This Louis needs some happiness in his life.” He needed to go meet the love of his life and momentarily escape his awful existence.

“Arelia, the spirits always favor you, don’t they?” asked Louis, as my blood slowly met his. I felt his muscles relax, and the pain evaporate from his skin. The horrific gashes gradually closed.

I shrugged. “I guess.”

After a few minutes, he slowly got up from the pile of rags and gave me a long kiss on the cheek. Where the hell did I know him from? I knew his smell, the way he moved and the expression behind those eyes. Watching him gave me an odd sense of deja-vu. Strangely, this Louis had me captivated. Maybe under different circumstances, we could have actually been friends.

“Go and meet her,” I said, as I hid my palm behind my back. I needed him to go, so I could find my way to the swamp and find Gran-Ibo.

He gave me a tight hug, and I inhaled his familiar odor and took in the temperature of his firm body. “Be careful,” I whispered.

 
He gave me a small smile. “I don’t have anything to live for if I don’t meet her.”

“Hey Louis, what do you think about Lucus?” I asked, as I remembered the story Lucus had told me.

“Mr. LaPlante? He’s a kind enough I suppose. I’ve never spoken to him, but he’s never done any of us any harm. Why?” he eyed me suspiciously.

“Just asking,” I replied.

“Don’t tell me you have any thoughts of ever getting together with him. Arelia, you know as well as I do we don’t belong in that world. He’ll never give you a second glance. He belongs with someone wealthy like him. He can have any woman in New Orleans simply because of his name. You should save your energy and try talking to someone like Edward. He’s a decent man. There’s no harm in loving someone who works in the fields.”

I nodded solemnly. Who the hell was Edward, probably another slave? “Have a good night Louis, be safe.”

I gave him an encouraging nod, as he headed out the creaky door and disappeared into the humid night air. What a messed up world this was. I was literally a smelly peasant who ran around in cotton fields.

I thought back to what Mrs. Dreaux had said to me last summer. She still lived in this world. To her, I would never be good enough for her precious Tony. Did I want to live my entire life trying to prove myself to her? Not really.

I wrapped a rag around my palm and started to search the cabin for food. My stomach let out a bitter growl. I couldn’t remember the last thing I had eaten. Obviously there was no chocolate around this place.

Luckily, I found some cornbread in one of the gourds that were slumped against the grubby wall. Even though, I was practically dying of starvation, there was only enough bread for two people. I didn’t want to steal Louis’ share, but I had to make sure I had enough bread to offer Gran-Ibo, and her canary. I was running on pure adrenaline at this point, otherwise; I would have happily dropped on the dirt floor and let the rats consume me.

In a mad haste, I slipped out of the hideous potato sack and back into the green gown. If I got caught running away, maybe I could pretend I wasn’t a slave. I seriously doubted that the awful drivers remembered any of our names or faces. To them, we were disposable and interchangeable pieces of debris. Shame grabbed a hold of me, as I realized I was running away and leaving Louis all alone. Despite the fact, I knew this wasn’t the real Louis anymore; I couldn’t help but pity him and the life he led. It was a brutal existence, but he thrived on unwavering hope and was full of so much love. What had happened to make him so bitter and why was he after me?

I forced myself to snap out of it and put my conscious and neurotic questions aside. I grabbed some blue-grey candles and wrapped them in a tattered rag along with the cornbread, some herbs and oils in case I needed to call on any spirits out there.

I took a deep breath and quickly opened the creaky wooden door and step out into the hot night. If I didn’t escape now and reconnect my soul, I would be a prisoner for eternity in this plane. My life would be a never ending battle that would consist of rotten food and intolerable amounts of labor. Escape was my only option.

Chapter 22

Mait' Carrefour

Outside, the stars and crescent moon bathed the slave grounds in a ghostly glow and the low hum of a coded slave song greeted me. Slaves scurried around the property gathering water and grinding corn. Their weary faces were caked in mud and sweat. I went unnoticed by them. They were too absorbed, with their own tasks, to pay any attention to me. Luckily, I saw that the ugly driver was at the far end of the camp. He slumped in a wooden chair and sloppily slurped from a bottle of rum. He was far away, but I could see that he was half asleep.

The slaves moved with a rhythm that was heartbreakingly wretched, gloomy, but oddly optimistic. For a split-second I second guessed my decision to run away. Why was I so indecisive? The primal part of me wanted to fight for my own well-being, but the emotional side of me didn’t want all of these people to suffer. I had toiled with them all day in the fields, yet didn’t know any of their names.

“You’re not meant to be here,” hissed Bade. “Run Arelia, run.”

Too tired to argue, for the first time in my life, I simply listened. My legs wobbled, and I was certain that I would collapse at any second, but I ran like hell. The muddy earth and sharp rocks scrapped the bottoms of my feet and the lack of food was catching up with me. I could feel my energy slowly draining and my willingness to fight abandoning me.

After what felt like forever, I was unable to run any longer, I stopped and caught my breath behind an oak tree. I forced back the hot tears that started to slide down my cheeks. There was no way I would make it out of this mess alive. The soles of my feet had started to bleed, and my hand was in agonizing pain. The savage hunger in my belly was beyond distracting, and to top it off, I had no idea how I would get to the swamp without someone from the main house seeing me.

I sat down and placed my hands over my eyes. I needed a moment to think and recompose. Everyone kept telling me to be strong, but where was I supposed to keep finding enough strength to go on when everything around me reeked of death and misery.

“Where do you think you’re going?” asked a gruff voice, as a beefy hand gripped my scrawny arm.

Like a helpless ragdoll, the red-headed driver pulled me up from the ground and shook me viciously. His green eyes were filled with utter fury and hatred, as he dug his grimy nails into my arm. I was horrified to see that he carried a whip in his right hand. There was no way I was going to let him use that thing on me.

“Get the hell away from me!” I kicked his shin hard which momentarily shocked and prompted him to abruptly release me. At that point, all I could think of was running despite the blinding pain. I ran as fast as I could. Unfortunately, the stupid dress was too long. I was mortified when I tripped over a rock and landed flat on my face. I brought my hand to my cheek and realized that I had cut myself on the rock. Blood from my cheek slowly drizzled down to my mouth.

As I looked up, I saw the driver standing over me, his face was twisted in a cruel snarl and he took grisly delight in my horror, as he cracked his whip in the air.

“Nowhere to run slave,” he taunted.

Grand-mere Bea and Aunt Mae had always taught me never to mess with unpredictable spirits unless I was willing to pay the price. As I lay on the dirt, with the horrific slave driver standing over me, I knew I was willing to pay any price to retain my dignity. There was no way I would let him take a piece of me.
 
He didn’t deserve the satisfaction. He took pleasure in other people’s pain and now, he needed to be on the receiving end of his own cruelty.

I needed to call on someone powerful and as dark as this guy.

The driver kicked me in the stomach, and I let out a shriek. “You ass!” I hollered. “You don’t want to mess with a powerful voodoo queen!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. I was powerful, and now I would have to prove it.

He let out a deep laugh, as he leaned to the ground and hovered over my face. His rum infused breath was unbelievably overpowering. The satisfaction in his eyes was infuriating. “Let me go, or you’ll be sorry. I don’t make threats that I can’t keep,” I said.

The driver grabbed a fist full of my hair and pulled my head back, so that my eyes met his. “That blasphemy can’t save you. Nothing can!” he yelled.

He brutally let go of my hair and clutched my arm again. Waves of utter despair and helpless crossed over me. I tried hard to think back to what spirit would be able to help me, but no one came to mind. I couldn’t call on Sousson Pannan because he was totally unstable; it had to be someone calm but powerful. It had to be…
Think Arelia. Think.

I tried to, but as I got hauled across the muddy path. The only thing I could think of was how much pain I was in. I glanced up at the driver, and wanted more than anything to make him disappear altogether. I focused on the LaRue family spell book and slowly recalled a useful name.

“Mait' Carrefour are you near?” I whispered. I remembered that he was the spirit who controlled more demonic night spirits. He was Legba’s counterpart. While Papa Legba, gave gentle spirits and souls permission to cover over from the other side, Mait' Carrefour gave more ruthless spirits and souls permission to cross.

He also was responsible for allowing a queen to cast vast amounts of destruction and bad luck upon another person. When I had read about Mait' Carrefour, I had found him threatening and vowed that I would never ask him from help, but now I needed him more than ever. Supposedly, he was feared because he was misunderstood. I figured if I was respectful he would help me. However, I didn’t have anything to offer him except for some cornbread and blue-grey candles. What would he ask of me?

“Mait' Carrefour please answer me.”

“I’m here Arelia,” responded a deep and strangely seductive voice.

The driver stumbled on a rock and fell face down on the dirt which caused him to release me. I quickly got up and sprinted as fast as I could.

“Come to me Arelia,” beckoned the voice.

“Where are you?” I screamed as I looked over my shoulder and saw that the driver had gotten up and was fast on my heels.

“Here,” advised the voice. “Come to me.”

Up ahead, I saw an uncommonly tall, muscular and embarrassingly handsome man. Moonlight bounced of his high cheekbones. His large bare torso was perfectly sculpted, and his full lips held a hint of arrogance. He leaned carelessly against an oak tree and smoked a large pipe.

“Mait' Carrefour?”

“Yes.” He casually blew a cloud of smoke right on my face.

I choked as it hit me. Be respectful. Be respectful. I reminded myself. “I need your help, please,” I pleaded. The driver was getting seriously close.

“You need to escape from that ugly man?” he questioned.

“Yes, I can’t outrun him. Please help me get rid of him. I’ll do whatever you want.”

“Do you want me to take him to the other side?” he innocently asked.

“The other side?”

“Yes, where he can roam around with other ugly souls.”

I glanced at the driver as he approached. I thought about how he had whipped Louis and how he took pleasure in others humiliation.

“But isn’t this the other side?”

“No silly girl, there are many other sides. Where do you want him to go? I can take him there. What nightmare do you want him to experience? I can call up on all sorts of demons and ghouls that would love to play with this little man.”

“I want him to feel the same pain he inflicts on others.”

Mait’ Carrefour leaned closer to me and blew some more smoke into my face. “An eternity of lashes?”