A Strange There After (20 page)

Boone repeated it. “She says she has to find
the humor in this mess. It’s how she copes.”

“I wish I could see her, talk to her,” Jason
said.

Boone snorted. “Don’t pout. It’ll all be over
soon, one way or another.”

It hit me. Neither Boone nor Abby had offered
to include Jason in the live EVP sessions Abby used to communicate.
They probably had their reasons, punishing him for not believing,
but it would make things incredibly easier.

“Let him use the...”

Jason glared at Boone, cutting off my
suggestion. “I have to get out of here for a while.”

He strode past us and out the front door. My
heart went out to him. I missed his support, the unyielding faith
he had in me when we met. I got that he was coming to terms with
the situation, probably guilty over not realizing, but I had no
clue how to make it better. Not to mention worrying about his
feelings distracted my attention from more important matters, like
getting my body back and solving the mystery of this Kalfu
character. I sighed. My life sounded like a mystery novel,
paranormal, of course. It was turning out to be such a struggle to
keep all the pieces of my life from falling apart.

“What did I say?” Boone asked in shock.

“He’s having problems adjusting,” Abby
said.

“Does anyone care what I think?” Catherine
interrupted us.

A smile played on my lips. I’d forgotten she
was there. How surprising.

“By all means, Catherine, share your wisdom,”
I drawled.

“Not everyone is cut out for this kind of
drama, a life full of ghosts and things that go bump in the night.
He may be rich and famous, but at the core, he’s a simple guy.”

She lifted her shoulder in indifference then
rose to leave. I hated how true her insight was. Since first
meeting Jason, I worried he wouldn’t understand the world I lived
in. His brother’s death made him curious, but his interest was
small. This was something I’d never be able to walk away or get
closure from, not with my abilities. I wished I could talk to him,
find out what was really going on in his head.

As she passed by, Catherine shot me a glare
before continuing up the stairs. My mouth fell open in shock.

“What color were her eyes?” I squeaked,
suddenly overcome by a tremor.

Boone looked confused, but Abby considered
it. Horror bleached her face of all color, and instantly, I knew I
hadn’t imagined things. “Blue.” She gasped. “But yours are...”

“Green,” I finished for her.

“Holy crap!” my friend screeched. “What is
going on?”

Shaking his head slowly, Boone seemed less
inclined to jump to the same conclusion as fast as we had. “Maybe
the longer Catherine is in your body, the more it actually becomes
her.” He paused. “Sounds like bad science fiction, but you’re both
right. Her eyes are remarkably bluer.”

“Contacts,” Abby said, trying to convince
herself.

“I’m losing myself,” I whisper.

Boone stomped over to plant himself inches
from me while Abby sniffed behind him. “Don’t think that. I won’t
let it happen.”

“I’m running out of time.” Then it hit me. It
wasn’t just the eyes. Her personality, the hair I thought was
highlighted, even how her fingers seemed longer than mine, elegant.
I didn’t voice my observations. They were entirely way too
disturbing to give voice to.

I glanced at Abby, her ever-present earphones
in her ears attached to a device that allowed her talk to me, her
eyes welling with sadness.

“Don’t let it get to you,” my friend said.
“Boone’s right. We’ll figure it out.”

“I know,” I sigh. “And there are more
important things to worry about, such as finding out who this Kalfu
person is.”

“I’m on it. I’ll go down to the library, see
what I can find.”

“The library, Boone?” I teased
half-heartedly, tucking away Catherine’s changing appearance for
later when I was alone. “Can’t you find that kind of stuff on the
internet?”

He grinned. “I’m old-fashioned. I happen to
love the library, the smell of old books, the history. What can I
say? I’m a Renaissance man living in a modern world.”

“Wow.”

Abby laughed then pulled out her earbuds.
“I’ll go with you. Two sets of eyes are better than one.”

I watched them leave, and let the silence of
the house calm me. Brushing my fingertips along the top of an
antique desk, I hated the encroaching loneliness. Everyone had gone
off to do something productive, and here I was waiting, as
usual.

Chapter
Twenty-Two

Catherine and I were alone in the living
room. It’d been six hours and thirty-nine minutes since Abby and
Boone left. But who was counting? Glaring at a small framed photo
of Catherine and Jason, my gaze roamed over her appearance. It must
have been taken in the beginning. Her eyes were still more green
than blue, the hair blacker than it was now. Spinning, I blurted a
question that had been burning me since earlier.

“You’re wearing contacts, right?”

She crossed one leg over the other and cocked
her head. “I’ve always had perfect vision.”

“Then, why are your eyes blue?” I practically
shouted.

She didn’t have a chance to answer. Boone and
Abby returned, with company. The second Boone came in the door his
eyes sought me out, and he offered me an encouraging grin.

Abby sighed dramatically. “Those
photographers are crazy. They know Jason’s staying here, so it’s
like there’s blood in the water or something.”

Jason slipped quietly into the room, as I
studied our newcomer. Her light brown skin glowed with youth, while
her eyes displayed a vast depth of wisdom. It was impossible to
guess her age. She had black hair, pulled back in a bun and a long
flowing skirt. Strangest thing—when she scanned the room, I swore
her gaze rested briefly on me.

Finally, Boone introduced the older woman.
“This is Meena. She’s a voodoo priestess who’s agreed to try and
help us.”

Meena inclined her head in way of greeting
and focused on Catherine. “There is evil in this house.”

I couldn’t stop my grin. The lady sure didn’t
mess around, getting straight down to business. I liked her
already.

“Well, ma’am, you’re not wrong,” Jason
answered. “We need some assistance. This is important.”

“Before I go any farther, I need to secure
this room. The only spirits I will allow in are the one who doesn’t
belong and the girl standing near the sofa. I assume the latter is
who ya’ll are concerned about?”

She
had
seen me! Boone glanced over
and winked. Catherine hopped out of her seat, bringing my elation
to a halt.

“I can’t be here.” Panic laced her voice. “He
won’t be happy if he thinks I’m part of this ridiculous plot.”

Meena ignored her, letting Jason and Abby try
to subdue her. Instead, the woman reached into her canvas tote and
pulled out a variety of items. Using a small bottle, she sprinkled
some kind of liquid over the threshold going out into the foyer,
the only entrance into the living room. Next, as she hummed an
off-beat tune, she opened a container of red dust, creating a line
separating our space, using her fingers to mix it with the wetness
on the floor. Lastly, she pulled out a packet of what looked like
herbs and hung it from a bare nail.

The simplicity of what Meena did surprised
me. Had I been able, I would have asked her a million questions.
Maybe I could. If she’d seen me, more than likely she’d hear me.
But I didn’t want to interrupt. She waited patiently as Catherine
calmed down and reluctantly sank down into the couch. The others
took their seats as well, but I remained standing, on high alert.
Boone stared openly at Catherine, a heavy mask of curiosity on his
face. My fists clenched. I didn’t want him to fall under her ‘poor
me’ spell.

Finally, Jason said, “The best way to proceed
is for Abby or Boone to explain what’s happened, what they’ve
learned, then we can listen to what Meena has to say. I’ve only
known for a day so my input is worthless.” Bitterness laced his
tone.

Something drew me toward the woman as Abby
started with Marietta and the night in the cemetery. I felt safe
with her, and I appreciated how she kept her body angled, as if she
needed to keep an eye on the rest of the house. She listened
closely, her expression never changing.

Once Meena was caught up, Abby asked, “So,
can you give us any information?”

Boone laughed, kind of an ironic, ‘are you
kidding me’ laugh, cutting in before Meena’s answer. “No one’s ever
heard of anything like this. It’s similar to a possession but a
million times worse. I have a feeling the solution will be as
unique.”

Disappointment settled on the faces of
everyone in the room, except Catherine whose gaze constantly
strayed to the threshold of the room. Her eyes were wide, wild,
reminding me of a trapped animal. Fear pulsed between us, through
the connection, and it became so intense, I almost believed it was
my heart pounding in my chest. But no, it was merely an
illusion.

When Meena spoke, her answer rang with
wisdom. “No exorcism will cure this, at least not the traditional
kind. What do any of you know about voodoo?”

“I did some research yesterday at the
library,” Jason offered, explaining where he disappeared to for so
long and surprising everyone. “But there’s more than one kind, and
it got a little confusing.”

Meena paced, never straying far from the
doorway. “All forms have roots in African religions, brought to our
continent by slaves and adapted by them as they morphed with their
new environments. New Orleans Voodoo is pretty specialized to that
part of the country. It mixed with the French Creole population and
became its own subset. It’s also become the most commercialized and
misunderstood.” Her lips quirked up in amusement. “Stores catering
to tourists and mass marketed love potions. Such nonsense.

“I am a practitioner of what is commonly
referred to as Haitian Voodoo and am a priestess, or Mambo. We
believe in a central god named Bondye, who is worshipped by lesser,
but often just as powerful, spirits called loa. The loa are who we
call upon to aid us in our lives, as each is responsible for a
particular aspect. We do this by offerings and rituals. As with any
religion, we have our good and bad spirits since balance is a vital
aspect. It’s not all about animal sacrifices and sticking dolls
with pins.”

She paused, pursing her lips. “If you say the
spirit tormenting you is named Kalfu, I believe you. When this
slave woman died, she must have used a powerful incantation, a
death spell, to connect with the other side. I have heard rumors of
the crossroads being in disarray for quite a while, strange things
happening to souls who are supposed to pass through. Kalfu is the
keeper of the crossroads, controlling who comes and goes.”

“So Cora invited him into our world?” Jason
asked. “Is he trapped?”

“He may very well be. I’m more concerned with
the possibility he isn’t. That by aiding her, he got a taste of
this place and its freedoms.”

The room was silent as they mulled over her
statement. I knew what it meant.

“It means he’s here by choice,” I
muttered.

Meena turned to me, a warm smile transforming
her features. “Exactly right, my dear.”

I gaped at her. “You can hear me?”

“And see you. At least, I notice a slight
shimmer.” I expelled some of my tension with a deep breath. “Now I
sense your relief.”

“You’re talking to her?” Jason’s question
carried a sharp tone and interrupted us.

“Maybe you don’t care enough about Quinn to
really hear her,” Catherine supplied, her tone laced with sadness.
Was she really talking about me and Jason or someone else? Like her
mama or Jackson.

Jason shot her a glare and let the subject
drop, returning instead to the task. “Please tell me we can reverse
this.”

Meena was quiet as she considered it,
mumbling to herself a couple times. I wandered over to sit beside
Jason, who appeared a little overwhelmed and drawing a frown from
Boone. I laid my hand on Jason’s, happy when he flinched in
response. After a couple seconds, he relaxed.

“I may be able to accomplish what it is you
ask. Defeating Kalfu benefits us all. I need a few days to gather
what I require. It will take each of us to overcome him, but in the
end, I am confident we can rid you of this dark presence and send
her,” she nodded in Catherine’s direction, “where she belongs.”

“I’m confused,” Abby said. “It sounds
ridiculously complicated. Cora sought help for getting revenge on
Catherine’s family from Kalfu. Catherine, in turn, made a deal with
Kalfu, who decided he wanted to set up shop in our world, to make
her family suffer. It seems a bit excessive.”

A tiny sliver of my conscience wanted to
argue. Everyone’s talk of beating Kalfu, of banishing him from our
world, made me nervous. So far he’d been the only one to offer me
an out, a viable form of assistance. If he left, he took his
promises with him and any chance I might have had at recovering my
life. I didn’t fear
him
, in particular. I feared the unknown
associated with him.

“It does, but as Cora died, she called upon
Kalfu. In doing so, her and her son’s subsequent deaths acted as a
blood sacrifice. She used their blood to seal the deal, so to
speak. What power that gave him over this world and the Roberts
family, I cannot say because this is unprecedented. Sending not
only Catherine, but Cora as well, where they belong may not be
enough to shake Kalfu’s hold.”

“Why would he let Cora stay? Seems a little
out of character for a loa, according to what I read,” Boone
asked.

“She and Catherine are bound to him. Cora
mutes his power, keeps him from regaining his full strength. Here,
she is the one with authority. I don’t think he
lets
her do
anything. I imagine Catherine is the only one benefiting from his
presence. Yet, in a way, he and Catherine are servants to Cora’s
whims.”