Blood in the Marsh (30 page)

May-May stared at Lyra for a moment then looked at Nick. “And you?”

Nick pulled his wig off and peeled the false beard from his face then took off his glasses. “My name is Nick Zampella and I’m here because Lyra is the woman I love and I want to protect her.”

May-May nodded and stood up. “Come on in the house where we can talk.”

They followed her inside and she led them to the kitchen. While the house was old and small, it was neat and clean and had a cheery feel. They sat down at the table and May-May fixed them all a glass of tea.

“Now, maybe you better tell me how you come to know about the Devil and why you think he’s after you.”

Without hesitation, Lyra told her about Luciuss dying and leaving her as his heir. She told about finding the diary and what it contained and she even told her about the dreams. The only thing she left out was the part about Nick being with the CIA.

When she finished, May-May was quiet for a few minutes then she put her hands together with her fingers laced and looked down at them. “I’m an old woman. I was born on the first day of May in the year 193000, the last of ten children. We were a poor family but we always had food on the table and clothes on our backs. My mother was the youngest of twelve children. She was born in 1870. My grandmother was also the last of ten children. She was born in May of 1830 on what had been known as the Cannon Plantation. My great-grandmother was one of the Igbo who were brought here as slaves for that plantation. Her husband was the chieftain of our tribe. They were on the boat that night at Dunbar Creek. My great-grandmother lost her husband and five children that night.

“She was pulled from the water and taken to the plantation. Being a woman of extreme beauty and strength, the Devil Cannon saw her as prime breeding stock. Over the years, he forced her to bear five more children by various men. My grandmother was one of those children. But her father was not a slave. He was the Devil himself. She was conceived in rape, but her paternity was kept a secret. Cannon believed she was the product of a union between my great-grandmother and one of his hired men.

“My great-grandmother died a slave, but she taught much to her children. To my grandmother she taught all she knew about Cannon and his evil ways. She had seen firsthand his brutality and wickedness. She saw the faces beneath the white hoods and knew the people who followed him. She made my grandmother memorize every detail so that she would not forget and made her promise on her deathbed to pass the information on.

“My grandmother did not forget. The information was passed along to my mother who in turn passed it along to me. Since I no longer have a daughter to entrust the stories to, I cannot pass it along to my blood. So, I guess I’ll just have to entrust it to you, Miss Lyra Seville. Seems like you and me are the answers to each other’s prayers. I prayed that the knowledge would not die with me, and you prayed for a way to know the truth about the one you call the Adversary.”

Lyra searched May-May’s eyes. “Are you sure you want to trust me with what you know? I’m not of your people or your blood. I’ll understand if you don’t want to, May-May, but I really need to know. I know it sounds selfish, and I guess it is, because I’m trying to find a way to save my own life, but I don’t want this to continue any longer. Too many people have died and it really is time for it to stop.”

May-May reached over and took Lyra’s hand. “Maybe you and I are of the same blood, after all. Now listen and I’ll tell you the story of Gilyard Cannon.

“The year was 1870, in the month of June. Even though the War had been over for five years, Cannon still ran his plantation as if the War had never happened. The people were still in shackles and those who tried to escape were generally hunted down and killed.

“My mother, Mayla, was just an infant, a little over a month old. My grandmother was sitting in her little shack, nursing her baby when Cannon walked in. He ordered my grandmother to give the child to one of the other women and come with him.

“She was terribly afraid. You see it was the night of the dark moon and that was the night that Cannon committed his worst acts of savagery. It’s kind of funny that a man like that would refer to his prisoners as savages. None of the slaves ever considered doing the kinds of things he did. Not until they were forced to take part for fear of their own lives.

“My grandmother feared him as well. Not only because she was afraid for her life but because she feared what he might do if he discovered her daughter was also his. She gave Mayla to one of the other women then went with Cannon.

“He took her to the main house and ordered her to draw him a bath. She did as she was told and when the bath was ready, he had her undress and bathe him. After his bath, he dressed in a robe of fine white silk that was embroidered with strange symbols in gold thread. He wore nothing beneath the robe.

“He took my grandmother into the marsh. She followed on foot as he rode his big black stallion. She had never been so far from the main house and soon she was lost, having no idea where she was or how to get back. At last, they stopped, and he tied his horse to a tree. They proceeded the last leg on foot. Cannon stopped as they came to a clearing in the marsh. My grandmother had never seen anything like what she saw there. The earth was devoid of all growth, appearing to have been burned clean. A circle of white had been drawn on the ground; strange symbols decorating it. Inside the circle was a kind of star with more symbols painted in red at each point. Just behind the star, a large, high bench had been set. It was covered in a rich, white velvet cloth and big torch holders stood at each end.

“As she watched, people appeared out of the darkness. Like Cannon, they were all dressed in white robes, their hoods covering their faces. Like silent ghosts, they took their places around the outside of the circle, clasping hands and swaying back and forth in unison.

“A tall man in a robe edged in red with a red sash broke through their ranks to stand in the middle of the circle. He admonished them to humble themselves before their master and pray for his continued benevolence. They all fell to their knees, prostrating themselves on the ground with their clasped hands extended forward, forming a many pointed star directed toward the center of the circle.

“Cannon turned to my grandmother and took her by the shoulders. She saw his eyes glow with a strange light, and was so afraid she could hardly breathe. ‘You will do exactly as I instruct. If you hesitate for even a moment in carrying out any of my commands, I will take you home and make you watch as I skin your children alive and boil them. Then I will do the same to you. Is that clear?’

“Terrified, she nodded. ‘Then follow me.’ he said as he turned and walked toward the circle.

“They stepped through the circle of people who were still on the ground and walked to the center of the star in the circle. Cannon pointed behind him and told my grandmother to kneel and bow her head. She did as he said, but watched everything that happened. He raised his hands and fire shot from his fingertips, igniting the torches that rimmed the circle. “Rise,” he said in a voice like thunder.

“As if in the presence of a god, the people rose and looked at him with reverence and awe. ‘My faithful followers,’ he said in an intimate tone. ‘Soon I must leave you. But I do not leave you alone. I have chosen one from among you to carry on in my absence. The time has come for you to witness the transformation, to know the scope of my power. After this night, you will no longer harbor any secret doubts. You will know that I am eternal and that you are forever in my grasp. I see your thoughts and know your hearts and I can make you as kings or plunge you into eternal suffering. You are mine now and forever. Serve me well and you will be richly rewarded. Fail me and die.’

“He turned to the man with the red sash and nodded. The man walked out of the circle and disappeared into the darkness. When he returned, he led two people behind him, a man, and a woman. They were nude except for the ropes that circled their necks and bound their wrists.

“Cannon ordered my grandmother to help the young woman to lie on the raised bench. She stood up and did as she was told as the man in red led the bound man to stand on the other side of the star in the center of the circle. He left the man standing there and walked to stand behind Cannon.

“My grandmother did not understand what was going on. She had heard the stories about the young women who were raped and killed, about how Cannon’s followers gorged themselves on the flesh then rutted like animals, smearing themselves with blood. But this was something different.

“Cannon pulled a small flask from the pocket of his robe and walked to stand in front of the bound man. My grandmother realized that both the bound man and the young woman were drugged. Their eyes were unfocused and they appeared as if they did not know what was going on around them. Cannon stopped in front of the bound man and said a few words in a strange tongue and suddenly the man’s head jerked up. His eyes blazed with anger and he spit in Cannon’s face. ‘You will not get away with this. My family will avenge my death.’

“Cannon laughed and grabbed the man’s hair, forcing his head back. The man in the red sash moved beside him and held the bound man’s nose so that he could not breathe. Cannon waited until the man gasped for breath then poured liquid from the flask into his mouth. Retching and gasping, the man swallowed.

“Almost immediately his eyes widened in fear. My grandmother could see his eyes darting back and forth as the man in the red sash released him and she wondered why he didn’t try to run.

“‘Frightening, isn’t it?’ Cannon laughed. ‘To find your body suddenly no longer under your own control. Your mind screams for you to move—to run, to fight. But you cannot do anything. All you can do is wait for what is to come, for what I wish to happen.’

“He turned and walked over to the bench and looked down at the girl. ‘Tilt her head back,’ he ordered.

“My grandmother did as he said and he poured the liquid into the girl’s mouth then muttered a few unrecognizable phrases as he looked into her eyes. As if coming out of a trance, the girl’s eyes focused and looked at him in horror.

“Cannon dropped the flask to the ground then ran his hand down the girl’s body. He ordered my grandmother to step back and kneel. She did as he said, stepping so that her skirts hid the flask on the ground. As she knelt, she picked it up and hid it in her skirt.

“The people standing around the edge of the circle began to chant a strange litany, one my grandmother did not understand. They swayed back and forth with their eyes glued to the center of the circle where Cannon stood stroking the girl. He threw off his robe and grabbed the girl, pulling her toward him so that she was impaled on his erection. My grandmother watched in horror, seeing the look in the girl’s eyes and knowing that she wanted to scream or fight, to even beg. But she could not move to do anything.

“Cannon pounded against her furiously and the blood began to run down his legs. He smiled and jerked the girl up against him, clamping his mouth to the side of her neck. A great gush of blood washed over him as he jerked his head and her throat tore. Like a starving baby at its mother’s breast, he latched onto her neck, taking big gulps of the fountain of blood.

“To my grandmother it looked as if the girl’s eyes were turning to frosted glass. Cannon raised his mouth from her neck and kissed her. Light seemed to flare briefly from the union of their joined lips. At almost the same instant, his body tensed and then he released the girl, letting her fall limply to the bench. ‘Now,’ he said as he turned to the bound man. “It is time.”

“There was complete silence then suddenly the wind howled like a storm all around them, driving dirt and leaves before it. Cannon threw his arms out to his sides and laughed. Lightning slashed the clear sky and thunder deafened everyone with its sudden boom.

“All at once Cannon’s body fell to the ground and the bound man staggered slightly. The wind and thunder died and everyone waited in anticipation. The bound man looked down at his wrists and his arm muscles bunched. Suddenly the ropes broke and he laughed and turned around.

“‘Yes, this body will do nicely,’ he said, and looked at the astonished faces of those around him. ‘Do you not recognize your Master?’ he asked arrogantly. ‘A demonstration, perhaps.’

“He pointed to one of the men and the man’s body jerked, his legs unwillingly carrying him into the circle. ‘No!’ he gasped, ‘Please, Master. I do not doubt you.’

“‘But you have withheld something you owe.’

“‘No, please,’ the man begged. ‘I was going to…’

“He never got to finish his sentence because his body suddenly burst into flames. He danced and writhed, beating at the flames and screaming in agony. The Devil in his new body laughed at the sight, watching as the man fell to the ground, his body charred and black within a matter of moments. Then he looked around at his followers.

“‘Never forget what you have seen,’ he told them. ‘I can be anyone at any time. You will never know where I am—whether I am the man on the street corner watching you, or the old lady at the market. You can never escape me. I own you. But come, I am a generous master. Take part in the feast I offer.’

“My grandmother looked at the body of Cannon on the ground. He turned his head to look at her. ‘Please, kill me now,’ he begged. ‘He has taken my body but please do not let me die this way. If you have any compassion, kill me now.’

She looked around at the people who were crowding into the circle. Some were trying to touch the new body of the Master, groveling at his feet. Others were already at work on the body of the girl, ripping at her flesh with knives and fingernails. She looked back at the man on the ground. ‘Who are you?’