Possessed (18 page)

“
Yeah. I’ll be right back.
Don’t go anywhere,” I said, as I gave him a quick kiss before I
slipped into my bedroom.

Chapter 24

The Spark

The room was dimly lit with three white
candles, so I didn’t have to scurry around in the dark. After
managing to place the gris-gris around Sabrina’s wrist without
waking her up, I took a deep breath and observed her for a few
seconds. Her lips were slightly parted and there was a subtle
stream of drool trekking down the right side of her mouth, meaning
all was well.

I slowly slipped my hand under her
pillow and felt for a possible trick. I peeked under the bed but
there was nothing there expect for a pair of sky high heels.
Quietly, I opened all seven pieces of her Louis Vuitton travel set
and pulled out dresses, shoes, shirts, skirts but found nothing.
After opening and carefully sniffing what felt like a million pots
of concealer, moisturizers and various other products, I still had
no luck. I opened every dresser drawer and searched every possible
place I could think of, I still didn’t find a trick. I finally gave
up and decided that I would wait until the morning light before
searching every inch of Darkwood.

I examined Sabrina again and felt the
sudden need to speak to her right away even though I probably
should have let her sleep. I tended to be pretty annoying when I
was determined. I wanted to make sure she was okay. I wanted to
make sure that we were okay.

“
Sabrina.” I kneeled down by
her side and gently shook her. “Sabrina,” I said again.

“
Hmmm,” she
muttered.

“
Wake up.” I shook her. I
needed to talk to her now.

“
What?”

“
Open your eyes.” I climbed
in bed beside her and shook her again.

Slowly her eyes opened. I let a huge
sigh of relief when they met mine. They weren’t red or anything. I
had no idea why I was expecting them to be red. “Arelia. What’s
going on?”

“
How are you
feeling?”

“
I’m sleepy.”

“
Have you noticed anything
weird?” What types of signs was I going to tell her to look for?
Looking for signs of possession wasn’t exactly like diagnosing the
common cold.

“
Yeah, that bath smelt funny
and you’re stupid.”

“
I already said I’m sorry.
How many times do I have to keep apologizing? What do you want me
to do? Are you going to disown me? Cold shoulder? Weeks of silence?
Sigh. We’ve been through it all before.”

She shook her head and sighed. “You’re
stupid for being here with me when a totally hot guy is in love
with you and is waiting for on the other side of this
door.”

I unwillingly grinned. “You’re not mad
at me anymore?”

“
Arelia, I may be a bitch
but I’m not stupid. I see the way he looks at you. I never thought
you actually liked him back so I thought hey what the hell. But it
sucks because I actually did fall for him. So next time let me in
on what’s going on so I don’t turn into a Hurricane-infused
lingerie-wearing maniac, please. But I still don’t believe you
about the curse thing. I don’t understand why you can’t just be
honest with me.”

“
I’m not lying about that.
How else can you explain what happened tonight? How else can you
explain any of it?”

“
I was confused. That’s all.
Nothing lured me there. After I saw you guys making out under the
oak tree I got so angry and then I drank too much. I needed some
time to think so I took a walk. Then I slipped into that hole. I
don’t remember what happened afterwards. I blacked out or
something.”

“
And you don’t think that’s
weird? You hate graveyards. You hate funerals and anything that
reminds you of death.”

She shrugged. “I don’t remember how I
ended up there. I was upset and drunk.”

“
I don’t think it’s safe
that you stay at Darkwood.”

“
Oh please, if you think I’m
going to get all freaked out if I see you and Lucus making out, I’m
not. I’m over it. You win the prize. I don’t want to spend the rest
of the summer alone in that big empty mansion. It’ll be super
depressing if you’re not around. The staff is horribly boring and
who the hell knows when my parents will be back. Besides, if you’re
staying then I’m staying too. You win- no harm, no
foul.”

Frustrated that she kept referring to
Lucus as a prize, I had to say something. “He’s not a prize,
Sabrina. He’s a person and I didn’t win. You can’t compete for
someone’s attention or their feelings.”

She rolled her eyes. “Sure. Keep
telling yourself that. The Real Housewives of the Garden District
do it all the time.”

“
Do you really want to be
like the Real Housewives of the Garden District? They don’t even
remember what their real faces look like anymore. That’s
scary.”

She sighed. “Name one thing I’m good
at. One thing that makes me stand out on my own. If you take away
my last name and my parent’s money, there’s nothing spectacular
about me. Nothing at all. Unlike you, I don’t have that spark. That
something that tells me that despite whatever happens, I’ll be
okay. Don’t roll your eyes and say that I’m young and I have my
whole life and blah blah blah. Maybe if I had more of a spark,
someone like Lucus would actually pay attention to me.”

“
Sabrina, you’re the most
dramatic person I know. Your ability to throw cocktails in people’s
faces, draw attention to yourself and cause a scene goes unrivaled.
There are big name actresses that would kill to have your skills.
How can you even think that you don’t have any spark?”

She smiled. “Maybe I should open up a
Sabrina’s School of Drama and charge people for
lessons.”

“
I would pay good money for
that.”

She took a deep breath. “Go. He’s
waiting. I can hear him pacing.”

I shook my head. “No. I’m going to stay
here.”

“
Arelia, I already have a
babysitter,” she said motioning to Grand-mere.

“
Promise me you’ll keep that
gris-gris on at least until the morning.”

“
You mean this ugly thing?”
she asked pointing to my poorly constructed attempt at a gris-gris
charm.

“
Yes. And once again I’m
sorry for being such a crappy friend. I’m sorry that I was watching
you sleep and sorry that I’m going to go meet Lucus right
now.”

Why did I constantly feel that I had to
apologize for everything?

“
Arelia, you know I’ll
always love you. You’re the only one who bothers looking past my
bitchiness.”

“
Right back at
you.”

“
Be safe, if you know what I
mean.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes mom.”

If anything happens to Barbie her blood
is on your hands. That’s what happens when self-sacrificing girls
don’t know what the hell they’re doing. You’ll be a murderer just
like your little boyfriend.

Even though I tried to ignore Ivan’s
voice, I couldn’t help but agree with him. If something did happen
to Sabrina, it would be all my fault. Maybe I should have stayed in
the room with her and watched her sleep all night, but Grand-mere
was there and Lucus was waiting for me…

I took a deep breath and opened the
bedroom door.

Chapter 25

What do you want to be when
you grow up?

Lucus took my hand and led me down the
long, blood-soaked hallway and into his room. The comforting yet
exhilarating scent of cognac and wax filled me with a sudden burst
of serenity. The rain relentlessly beat the window pane while a
light breeze prompted the flames from several low burning candles
to do a ghostly night dance which was strangely hypnotic. My
attention immediately fell to a painting that hung on the
wall.

“
You put this up?” I asked,
as joy came over me.

“
I did. Suddenly, looking at
them isn’t as painful as it used to be. ”

I bit my lip as I tried to repress my
smile. He put a painting up. Finally a painting. Progress! He
wasn’t doomed to be a miserable prisoner. He wanted to move on.
Mait Carrefour was wrong. He had to be wrong.

“
Is that you with your
parents?” I asked, as I examined the painting of a man, woman and
an adorable chubby infant with loose dark curls. The man was no
older than twenty-five with perfectly sculpted cheekbones, a
generous mouth and penetrating brown eyes. The woman was extremely
beautiful with her large animated eyes, heart-shaped face, raven
locks and Mona Lisa smile. I was mesmerized by the lifelike
painting with its happy warm tones- that was, until drops of blood
started to stream down the foreheads of the models. I immediately
looked away.

Monsters. A family of
monsters.

In attempt to block out Ivan’s voice, I
hurried over to the heavy wooden table and poured myself some vile
cognac. I closed my eyes and let the hot liquid rush through
me.

“
Yes, it is. It was painted
by Jacques Amans in 1838, a couple of years after I was born. At
that time, he was the most popular painter amongst the upper class,
especially plantation owners. My father commissioned him to paint
all of our family portraits,” said Lucus, as he approached me. “My
mother wouldn’t have it any other way. She always insisted on the
best and he happily obliged.”

Another painter being paid off by blood
money.

“
You look exactly like your
dad. He was really handsome.” God, nice move Arelia, drool over his
dad. I felt my cheeks get hot for no logical reason what so ever. I
turned to face him.

“
You think I’m handsome?”
asked Lucus teasingly, as he raised an eyebrow.

“
Maybe a little. Don’t get
too cocky, now,” I said, as I tried my best to ignore the fact that
slowly, the entire room was turning a rich shade of red.

My attention fell on the heavy rain
that poured beyond the lace curtains, and immediately my nostrils
filled with the metallic scent of blood. I closed my eyes. I would
not scream.

I felt Lucus’ warm hand against my
cheek. “Arelia, are you alright?”

I nodded and let out a low
sigh.

You’re not going to win, Ivan. This
isn’t real.

Oh yes it is. It’s as real as those
graves you saw in the cemetery. He’s a monster and I’m not going to
stop until you realize that too.

No.No.No.

I stood on my toes, slipped my hands
under Lucus’ t-shirt and parted his lips with a determined and
forceful intensity. I slowly grazed my tongue against his and took
in the smooth and slightly sweaty feel of his skin under the weight
of my hands. I yanked off his t-shirt and lightly traced the firm
outline of his chest and flat stomach. There was no way I was going
to hand him over to Mait Carrefour or let him rot in Darkwood
forever. Or was I?

“
I thought you despised the
sight of me shirtless,” he whispered breathlessly, as his fingers
ran through my tangled hair.

Our eyes met and I smiled slightly.
“Stop living in the past.”

He grinned and playfully pulled me
towards the bed where we effortlessly sank into the silky duvet.
The smell of blood was replaced by that of fresh rain and lilies.
Ivan’s dogma vanished as Lucus covered my forehead in soft kisses
which slowly made their way down to my lids and finally my mouth.
His hands were almost weightless as they slowly stoked my lower
back and his kisses were the perfect blend of hard and soft. Strong
and gentle.

Blood-filled kisses.

We were a tangle of duvet and limbs as
we stopped to catch our breath. “What do you want to be when you
grow up?” I asked out of nowhere.

Lucus lay on top of a pillow and held
me close. I rested my head on his chest and took a secret sniff of
his delicious skin, as I waited for him to respond. “No one’s ever
asked me that before,” he said after a long pause. “If I tell you,
you swear you won’t laugh?”

“
Okay, I’m going to use your
line, why would I laugh?”

For a spilt second the candle light
made his eyes appear infinitely sad and distant. “I
wanted…”

“
No, no,” I corrected him.
“You want.”

His face lit up. “I want to be a
painter.”

“
Why?”

“
The sights and sounds of
New Orleans always seemed to put a spell on me. The fierce beating
of drums and wild dancing in Congo Square on Sundays. The
never-ending bustle of the French market where people of all
shapes, colors and sizes would gather to trade, banter and bicker.
Ships gliding on the Mississippi River against a fiery sunset. The
never-ending exhilaration and danger that bars, gambling dens and
the many theatres provided. All of it was so alive and vibrant,
almost overwhelming. I figured if I could paint it all, it would
somehow be immortalized and its beauty would never fade. Of course,
at that time, I never had the patience to actually learn how to
paint.”