One Blood (47 page)

The rough twine of the noose scratched his neck as Lafitte encircled his head with the rope. Then the mansion fell away in a disorienting blur. One reality melted away, only to reveal another right behind the curtain. In this reality, Lincoln sat astride a horse, his hands tied behind his back. The heat was stifling. He and the horse were underneath the shade of a large tree in the front lawn of an antebellum plantation house, the mid-morning sun blinding him.

He looked at his naked body. The damage he saw took his breath away. He was mired in a screaming chorus of swollen insect bites. There was a circular wound of cauterized flesh where his manhood had once been. Lincoln nearly fell off the horse, the pain emanating from his groin was so profound.

What did I do to deserve this?

Lincoln couldn’t remember.

He raised his head and looked upon an angry mob. Their eyes screamed for the sort of retribution only bloodshed could bring. Before them, Randy Lafitte stood with his back to Lincoln, reading from some strange rolled up paper.

Please God, let them hang me and be done with it!

A wave of lightheadedness overtook him as his eyes fell on Coral Lafitte kneeling for some reason in a pile of wet leaves. She held a match. Irrational hope consumed him.

Light it, Coral! Blast this tree to fucking hell!

But Coral cowered as her husband turned to Lincoln and said, “Do you have any last words?”

Lincoln was struck by déjà vu. He’d been here before. He knew what he was supposed to say, but seeing Coral gave him pause.

* * * * *

Karen struggled to get to her feet. To her surprise it was daytime. Light streamed into the house from all angles.

Is it over?

She gazed around, hope turning into despair as she recognized where and when she was. They were too late. Something shifted within her abdomen. There was a kick. Karen looked down, mouth wide.

A baby!

She cradled her protruding belly in wonder. This wonder became dismay as she heard shouting from outside. She went to the open door and saw a crowd of people standing around the tree. A black man sat on a horse wearing a noose around his neck. Her father was addressing the crowd.

I’m not too late! I can stop this!

Karen ran up the stairs with purpose. She made her way into the attic and climbed out the one window, nearly breathless. She stepped out onto the ledge and prepared to jump. Then a voice spoke up from behind her.

“
I’ve got you, Karen. Don’t worry.” Arms enfolded her waist pulling her away from destiny.

“
No!” she screamed. “I love him. He can’t kill him!”

“
I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about, girl, but we gotta get out of here.”

Karen turned to see Brandon holding her upright. But that didn’t make any sense. How did he get here?

She looked around and realized they were standing in the living room. She looked up to see her father push Lincoln off the landing.

The first explosion rocked the house as gravity took hold of Lincoln’s body.

* * * * *

Lincoln was cast out into space. He felt the freedom of weightlessness before invisible anchors tethered to his ankles began jerking him to his death. He wondered if the noose around his throat would snap his neck (bringing instant mortality), or slowly strangle the life out of him.

He’d rather go quick.

Everything morphed again as he fell. The great room gave way to the outdoors and the screaming mob. Then the full weight of his body was snapped rigid by the rope around his neck. The noose cinched tight against his jaw, creating an excruciating burning sensation. His already raspy breath was sucked from his lungs, as his neck muscles stretched to the breaking point.

But his neck did not snap.

Inertia swung his body in a semicircle, around to where he knew Melinda and their love child lay dead.

At least we will go together.

But Melinda hadn’t jumped and something was burning. The darkness called to him and Lincoln followed. It felt like falling.

* * * * *

Coral had given up hope when, miraculously, her second-to-last match lit. If she’d been outside the protective canopy of the trees leaves there’s no way the match would have caught fire. Clearly, someone or something was helping her. Unfortunately, it had a very short fuse. Before she could properly light the kerosene-soaked leaves, the fire was nipping at her fingertips. She dropped the match with a cry and was nearly blinded by a greedy burst of flame.

She shielded her eyes and fled from beneath Melinda Weeps, back out into the elements. Behind her, the ancient tree roared in agony. Coral was almost to the front door when an explosion from inside the house tossed her back into the night. Her home was torn open by brilliant bursts of fire.

The flames moved slowly until they located traces of spilled kerosene on her person. As her hair caught fire, instinct commanded her body to stop, drop, and roll. She writhed around on the ground until the flames were extinguished. Then she crawled back toward her burning home with one thought on her mind.

I have to save Karen.

* * * * *

Randy’s elation became consternation as he watched Lincoln fall to his death.

Something was wrong. Things were different.

He looked around wildly.

Melinda isn’t dead
, he thought.

Through the window, Randy saw Melinda Weeps burst into reddish-orange flames. But that wasn’t all that had gone wrong. Lincoln’s rope had burned through.

I will finish him myself.

The explosion shook Randy to his knees.
What the fuck had exploded?
From this vantage, he watched the roof of his beautiful home start to cave in, chased to the ground by the relentless rain. He crawled to the banister and watched Lincoln’s long fall to the first floor as his noose snapped. Randy got to his feet and hurried down the quivering spiral staircase to where Lincoln lay defenseless.

* * * * *

Brandon got Karen just outside the front door before the first explosion. But he’d lost his balance and dropped her as the force from the blast sent them flying.

Karen felt Melinda’s presence dissipate as soon as she hit the ground. She felt lighter and freer until Kristopher invaded her mental space.

“
I’m back,”
Kristopher spoke inside her mind.

“
What’s happening, Kristopher?” Karen yelled as the roof in the great room crumbled.

“
You did it. Isaac and Melinda are gone. It’s almost over.”

It didn’t feel anywhere close to being over. As the shockwave of the first explosion dispersed, three more ripped through the house. At least the bombs Brandon had placed were working.

“
It’s time to finish this,”
Kristopher said, taking control of her mind.

Chapter Eighty-Three

Lincoln awoke to large chunks of plaster falling from the ceiling in a torrent. He was lying in several inches of water that was rising steadily. His handcuffs had broken in the fall and he was able to rub his sore wrists. Remembering the noose, he reached for his throat. Then he thought of Isaac.

We broke the cycle. Somehow, we did it.

A blast of heat brought him back to reality. The mansion was on fire. He had to get out before it was too late.

What about Brandon? Coral? Karen?

Lincoln struggled to sit up and was greeted by a searing ache in his lower back. He didn’t know if he could walk, but he had to get up or die trying.

Sharp metal sliced into his shoulder. Lincoln screamed.

“
Thought you were rid of me, Boy?” Randy Lafitte said from behind him.

Randy swung the blade again, just narrowly missing Lincoln’s torso. Another chunk of ceiling crashed down next to Randy, knocking him off balance.

As adrenaline coursed through his veins, Lincoln lunged at Randy, slamming him into the staircase. Randy lost his grip on the knife and Lincoln could tell his adversary was weakening.

A giant funnel of wind was headed directly toward the house. Another explosion divided the men and threw Lincoln onto his back. The floor rumbled beneath them as the tornado rushed onshore and tore through the house. The bay windows buckled and then imploded, sending thousands of glass shards leaping at him. The roof flexed downward as if something heavy had landed on it, and then rippled upward. Lincoln stared into the center of hell as rain and glass whipped him.

As the roof went, the chandelier broke free and nearly crushed him. Randy was not so lucky. He’d recovered the knife, only to be stopped in his tracks by the falling fixture. Randy grunted and went silent.

Thankfully, the knife was just out of Randy’s reach. The collapse had also knocked off his mask. Amazingly, not only was Randy still alive, his hand was floundering for his weapon.

Lincoln made his way back to Randy, and the knife. He was about to pick it up and finish him off when a thought gave him pause.

“
Who would want to kill their own father?”

“
Aren’t you trying to do the same thing?”

Was he? Lincoln had never hesitated to kill in the past. In the hood and in prison, that type of hesitation got you killed. He wasn’t in prison anymore though.

The patio door blew open and the lake poured in, interrupting these thoughts. Before he could reconsider, Lincoln cleared the chandelier off Randy, pulled him to his feet and carried him to the front door before the water dragged them both to their deaths. He got Randy outside and closed the door on the chaos, only to see the tree where Isaac had died completely engulfed in flames.

He dropped Randy in a heap on the front steps. He couldn’t believe what was happening right before his eyes.

The tree was burning and surrounded by an ominous red glow. There was a square opening in the trunk. It appeared to be a doorway. As he watched, Karen Lafitte ran across the yard and into the mysterious portal while Brandon held her hysterical mother back.

“
Karen!” Coral screamed. “What are you doing? You’ll die in there!”

A moment later, Karen was swallowed whole by the void. It might have only been his imagination, but as she entered, Lincoln swore he heard the tree howl in agony. Then the rain, raging wind, and fire shut off like someone threw a switch. Seconds later, Kris Lafitte stepped out of the hole and walked toward Lincoln.

Holy shit!

Lincoln’s mouth gaped as his best friend and brother approached. He didn’t know how to react. Coral had the right idea. She fainted away in Brandon’s arms.

“
Kris?” he stammered. “Is that really you?”

“
Sure is,” Kris replied, smiling. “As real as I get these days anyway.”

Lincoln moved to hug him and hesitated.

“
Go ahead, Link. I’m real enough for that.”

They embraced. Lincoln kept repeating, “I’m so sorry.”

“
It’s okay, Link. I’m sorry, too. Sorry you got dragged into the craziness of this family.”

“
I was a little more involved than that,” Lincoln admitted.

“
Not really,” Kris replied. “Kidnapping Karen wasn’t your idea. You weren’t even looking to get out of prison until you met Amir and Panama X.”

“
You know about them?”

“
Of course. How do you think I got here? It was their belief that brought me back.”

Lincoln hadn’t been clued in on that part of the plan. Had he known, he never would have agreed.

“
So, you’re here to kill me, right?” he asked.

Kris looked disappointed. “Not even close. I’m here to finish what I started ten years ago. But this time I don’t have to worry about getting sidetracked having to save your black ass.” He smirked.

“
So what happened that day at Simmons Park had nothing to do with the curse?”

Kris frowned. “After all you’ve seen, do you still believe in coincidences, Link?”

Lincoln looked back at his friend and replied, “No. I guess not. So Randy set you up then?”

“
I set myself up,” Kris said. “I believed in the curse from the moment I learned of it. I couldn’t bear the idea of someone in my family suffering just because I had another birthday, so I figured I’d end it early. But you put a monkey wrench in that plan, didn’t you?”

“
If you would have died that day you tried to hang yourself…”

“
It wouldn’t have changed a thing for Karen when she turned eighteen. But because of you I got the chance to come back and finally set things right. Speaking of which, where’s that devilish Dad of ours?”

Lincoln looked around to see that Randy wasn’t where he’d left him. He heard a grunt and saw Brandon topple over in the yard. Randy stood with his arm around Coral’s throat, pressing that strange revolver to her head.