Possessed (20 page)

I ignored him and focused on Sabrina.
“Sabrina, please trust me. He’s bad news. Come with me.” I tried to
grab her hand, but she pulled away.

She looked at me calmly and without a
hint of yesterday’s anger in her eyes. It was strange to see her
without their usual ring of eyeliner and piles of eye shadow. Under
the sunlight, she was almost unrecognizable. “Why is
that?”

Yeah, queen, go on, why is
that?

“
You have to trust me,
please,” I said.

“
What do you know about
trust?”

Ouch. “How many times do I have to keep
apologizing? I thought we were over this,” I said, as I shot Ivan
an evil look. “I need to talk to you.”

“
Fine,” she said, as she
turned to Ivan and gave him a huge hug that lasted for what felt
like ages.

I felt like I was in the twilight zone.
Was she over Lucus and back into Ivan all of a sudden? I couldn’t
allow that to happen. I knew what he was capable of doing and there
was no way I was going to let him abuse Sabrina like he was abusing
me. For a second, I remembered Mait Carrefour’s words, and panic
took a hold of me. I swallowed hard. What if I had to rely on him
after all?

“
Let’s go,” said Sabrina, as
she walked out of the garden and into the kitchen.

I followed her. “Let’s go upstairs to
our room.”

“
No. I feel like taking a
walk outside. I need some fresh air,” she said calmly.

That alone made me beyond anxious.
Sabrina and fresh air were not friends. Anything naturey without
air conditioning was pretty much off-limits, except if she was
trying to impress a guy. Case in point, the little Darkwood River
incident. That was the first time she actually stepped inside a
lake.

A gust of humid air greeted us as soon
as we stepped out on the porch and I immediately felt my blouse and
ugly skirt cling to my skin and my hair grow frizzier. The guests
were sprawled out on the emerald lawn with sweet tea and snacks.
Under the afternoon sun, they looked so happy and carefree, aside
from the minor fact that they were all soaked in blood.

Lucus was deep in conversation with a
very annoyed Mr. Dumpty, who was complaining about the blueberry
pie not having enough blueberries in it. For a second I felt like
strangling Mr. Dumpty and telling him how lucky he was and how
wonderful he actually had it. Who had the time to sit around and
count the number of blueberries in a blueberry pie
anyways?

People like that will never change,
queen. Their sense of entitlement will never change.

I had to agree with Ivan on that one.
Some people will never change. Maybe strangling Mr. Dumpty wasn’t
the sanest move.

Lucus caught me staring. He gave me a
large smile and I my felt my insides melt as I took in the sight of
his tanned skin against his white t-shirt. I thought back to last
night and had the sudden urge to grab his hand and run out of
Darkwood. We could go get some French Vanilla and Strawberry
Cheesecake ice cream and them I’d force him to watch The Nightmare
Before Christmas and even sing along to Jack’s song. Snap out of
it, Arelia. I turned my attention back to Sabrina and picked up my
pace as I chased her down the oak-lined path.

“
Hey, when did you turn into
a speed walker?” I called after her.

She ignored me and continued to walk
faster and faster until she completely disappeared into the maze of
thick oak trees.

“
Hey wait up!” I called
after her. I chased her further into the dense maze, so far that
only slits of sunlight were visible as they fought their way
through the leaves and on to the ground. The humid air grew cooler
and the humming of swamp animals clearer. “Sabrina!”

The buzz of flies and mosquitoes grew
louder as the ground turned soggy under my feet. Why the hell was
she running off to the swamp? “Sabrina! Why are you going to the
swamp?” I shouted as tangles of moss and Cypress trees became
visible. There was a momentary silence that made me nervous. I was
as if all of the animals were warning me to turn back.

“
Sabrina!” I shouted, as I
watched her descend into the murky swamp water.

Chapter 27

Will you help my
baby?

I ran into the warm swamp water right
after her. “Sabrina, what the hell, this isn’t funny. If you’re
trying to punish me, you win. You win. I’m a bad friend. There, I
said it. Everything you said was right. I’m a horrible, lousy,
selfish, self-absorbed ego-maniac. Does me saying those words out
loud make you feel better? I’m not perfect and I know that but I
love you and the only thing I can say is I’m sorry! I thought you
were okay with the whole Lucus thing.”

She stopped and turned. Bees and
mosquitoes buzzed around her head and landed on her arms but she
was completely unaffected by their presence. Sabrina hated bugs
with a passion. Something was really, really wrong. Her blond hair
glistened and her blue eyes were wide with wonder as she stared at
me. When she opened her mouth, she didn’t speak at all. Instead,
she sang in a very angelic, otherworldly and totally un-Sabrina
like manner:

Hush-a-bye, don't you
cry,

Go to sleepy little
baby.

When you wake, you shall
have,

All the pretty little
ponies.

Blacks and bays, dapples
and greys,

Go to sleepy you little
baby,

Hush-a-bye, don't you
cry,

Go to sleepy little
baby.

Daddy's boy Mama's
joy

Go to Slumberland my
baby

When you wake, you shall
have,

All the pretty little
ponies.

I inched closer towards her, unsure how
to react. Had she taken secret singing lessons that I was unaware
of? “Sabrina. Are you okay?”

She extended her hand invitingly. “Will
you help my baby? Please help my baby. He needs your
help.”

“
Sabrina, you don’t have a
baby,” I said calmly. “You think babies are gross because they
drool and poo a lot. The only thing remotely close to a baby you
have is your stuffed pony, Puddles. I know you still sleep with her
even though you hide her every time I come over.”

“
Help my baby. He’s so lost
and so alone. I can’t rest until my baby is safe.”

“
Sabrina?” I was close
enough to her now that I could see that her pupils were slightly
enlarged and her mouth was twitching in an odd manner. Her head
bobbed from side to side as if she were listening to some sort of
music that I couldn’t hear.

“
My baby is so beautiful and
so sad. He’s been sad for a long time because he thinks I left him.
Everyone leaves my baby but I’d never leave my baby. I love my baby
more than I’ve ever loved anyone. I love him. I love him. Please
make him understand how much I love him. Please, Arelia, please
help my baby. I won’t rest until he’s safe and sound. Until he’s
loved and he’s made peace with his past.”

For a second I just stood there, frozen
and unaware of what to say or how to act. “Who are you and why are
you in my friend’s body?” I asked cautiously, knowing that this was
not Sabrina.

“
My name is Marie and I need
your help, please. I’ve waited years and years for you. I’ve waited
years and years to see my baby again.”

With my mouth agape I stared at her in
silent wonder and fear. I took a step closer even through my body
was trembling. “Marie? But how? I’ll help you, but you need to get
out of my friend’s body, please,” I pleaded.

She shook her head and crossed her
arms. “No, I can’t and won’t until you help me.”

“
Please understand Marie, I
love my friend like you love your baby. I’ve been trying to help
him but he doesn’t want my help. He’s made that very clear. I don’t
know what more I can keep doing or saying. I don’t want to give up
on him but if Sabrina’s life is in danger, I have no
choice.”

“
You love my baby, I know
you love him. How can you not? You can’t give up on
him.”

Apparently ghost moms were just as
delusional as living moms. They thought everyone was obligated to
love and adore their babies. Even though I tried to understand what
she implying or trying to say I couldn’t. I didn’t want her to
freak out and harm Sabrina so I took a deep breath and remained
calm. “I won’t give up on him if you let go of my friend. I
swear.”

Marie walked towards me. “The only way
I can communicate with you is by possessing your friend’s body.
It’s the only way Papa Ghede would let me out of that cemetery- I
offered your friend’s soul to him in exchange for the temporary
release of mine. I need the energy from her body to make you
understand; to show you what you need to see.”

“
You what!” I hollered.
“What the hell, Marie! What the hell! How could you?” In theory I
was supposed to be freaked out that I was speaking to the legendary
Mad Marie, but who was she to offer Sabrina’s soul to Papa Ghede?
“You release her now. You go back to that cemetery and tell Papa
Ghede you made a mistake. Then, I’ll help you and…” I stopped for a
minute and thought about what she said. “You’ve been here at
Darkwood the entire time in that cemetery, you never escaped? You
never ran away and left Louis? Louis never placed a trick on
Sabrina. It was you, this whole time? You’re the one who lured her
to the cemetery?”

I thought back to what Ivan had said:
We each choose to believe what we want. If you think that I’m
playing around with the princess, nothing I can say will change
your mind.

She nodded. “My baby’s not bad. He’s
got the biggest heart. Please help him understand. Please help him
understand what happened. Please,” she pleaded.

“
Why can’t you just explain
whatever you need to explain to him?”

Her eyes suddenly filled with tears. “I
can’t. He doesn’t hear me when I speak. He only hears your friend,
not me.”

“
What makes you think he’s
going to listen to me?”

She smiled. “I know he will. I know
he’ll listen to you.”

“
With all due respect Marie,
I think you’re mistaken. Your son and I don’t get along and sadly I
don’t think we ever will. But I’ll still help you if you let my
friend go, please let her go.”

She shook her head. “No. I need you to
help me first. Please give me the peace I need by making my baby
understand.”

“
And if I refuse?” I crossed
my arms.

“
I’m so sorry Arelia; if you
refuse your friend is going to stay on the other side. I’m going to
use up all the energy her body has and then wait until another
powerful queen comes along and another sad soul wanders into that
cemetery at exactly the right time. I can wait centuries and
centuries. I’d wait until the end of time to make sure my baby gets
the help he deserves. Why should he suffer on the account of my
greed?”

Sheer panic gripped me and I had no
idea what to say. The only thing I could do was understand what
Marie was trying to say or what she wanted me to understand. That
was the only way I could help save Sabrina. “What can I do? What do
you want me to do?”

Her eyes shone and she extended her
arms. I slowly walked towards her and she took me into her arms and
simply held me. Then, she pulled me down into the foggy swamp.
Dirty water gushed into my mouth and my eyes closed.

I love my baby. Help my
baby. Feel what I felt and make him understand why I did what I
did. Tell him I’m sorry. Make him forgive me.

Chapter 28

The Escape

New Orleans July,
1830

When my eyes opened, immediately, the
dank and dismal scent of death, decay and misery greeted me. I
looked down at my hands and realized that I was no longer in my own
body. I was several inches taller. My skin was several shades
darker, I was more muscular and dressed in an itchy and torn
potato-sack like dress.

A tiny part of me still felt like
Arelia but with different emotions, experiences and knowledge. It
was the oddest thing; I felt like a little bird inside of someone
else’s brain and body. I knew that it was the summer of 1830 and I
was determined to make an escape.

I knew that my name was Marie Beau and
I had been born a slave on a plantation a few miles outside of New
Orleans. I was nineteen years old and never had the chance to fall
in love or get married, mostly out of fear and the fact that
nothing was permanent in my existence. I’d always dreamt of getting
married and having a house with a rose garden where I could lay
down under the sun and the stars. I wanted a loving husband and
children to fill the house with laughter and joy.

But I knew that reality and dreams were
two very different things. In my world, people were constantly
coming and out of each other’s lives, disappearing or being traded.
Everyone I ever loved had died before my eyes or had been sold by
the master in exchange for a more worthy slave or to pay off some
of his many, many gambling debts or bar tabs.