Possessed (19 page)

He forgot the slave pens.

“
Because, you were too busy
placing bets on Dotty, right?” And hooking up with lovers? Argh,
who was that girl? Stop it, Arelia. Stop being a paranoid
mess.

He laughed deeply. “She was quite
distracting. After the curse was placed on me, I was determined to
paint every sight and sound I could remember from the city.
Luckily, Jacques Amans agreed to give me lessons, and for years I
was so passionate and dedicated to painting. It gave me an
intangible freedom of some sorts. However, after everyone around me
started to fade, my desire to keep their memories alive possessed
me to a point of lunacy. Then, one day I just stopped. I can’t
remember the last time I actually picked up a
paintbrush.”

“
Well maybe you should quit
being a mopey prince and start again.”

“
Now that I have I reason
to, maybe I will,” he said softly, as his lips slowly grazed my
ear.

“
You’re so
cheesy.”

“
Am I now? Then why are you
smiling?”

“
I’m not smiling,” I said,
as I tried to repress my smile. “I don’t fall for corny
lines.”

“
I see a smile,” he said, as
he spontaneously grabbed my foot and tickled it.

Sadly, I was a ticklish person and
broke out in laughter like a two year-old. “That’s not fair.” Again
that line.

He leaned in and gave me a deep kiss.
“I apologize for being unfair, but I love the sound of your
laughter. Now, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

I took a deep breath and looked up at
the ceiling. “I know I should say something practical. Something
that’ll make the world a better place; like a doctor, engineer,
teacher, or one of those people that save whales. Grand-mere
insists that I go into nursing for some odd reason, but what I
really want is my own hotel. A place where people can go and escape
whenever they need to get away from it all. It’ll have rooms like
these with high ceilings, chandeliers and lace curtains so guests
feel like they’re living in a fairytale even if it’s only for a few
days. Of course, its kitchen will have the best chef in New Orleans
and there will be mouthwatering food, sweet cocktails, and fatty
desserts, most of which will be chocolate-based. I’m a pretty
decent cook so I can help out there too. It’ll also have an annual
The Nightmare Before Christmas masquerade.”

“
The Nightmare Before
Christmas?”

I nodded. “It’s my favorite movie,
because I can’t decide which holiday I like better Halloween or
Christmas. Halloween is awesome because of costumes, candy and
glowing pumpkins plus it’s the one night of the year when babbling
to spirits is perfectly acceptable and even encouraged, so I feel
right at home. But Christmas, oh don’t get me started on Christmas.
It smells like cinnamon and white chocolate, and when you combine
those smells with twinkling lights something truly magical
happens.” Oh my God, Arelia, glowing pumpkins? Stop rambling. I got
really paranoid all of a sudden and clammed up.

“
Go on, I want to hear
more,” said Lucus.

Reluctantly, I continued. “It just
seems like such a small, irrelevant dream, you know. When you
consider things like world starvation, the crappy economy and the
list goes on and on. It doesn’t seem like a super productive thing
to devote my life to. Yes, sadly I do spend way too much time
thinking about the economy. How is opening a hotel where people
escape from their problems going to help them? How is it going to
help anything? It seems meaningless.”

He shook his head. “I think it’s
beautiful. Food, music, laughter and dancing are life’s greatest
gifts. They’re the things that unite humanity, break barriers and
inspire beauty. Any place where people gather to enjoy life is
meaningful. Not everyone is meant to be a doctor or whale
protector. The world would be a sad place if it was full of doctors
but no chefs or poets. Different people are meant to do different
things. You should never feel guilty for pursuing your
dreams.”

I rolled my eyes. “My God, you sound so
French.”

“
What’s wrong with
that?”

I rolled my eyes again and pretended to
be all cool. “It’s just so fluffy.”

“
Fluffy?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Fluffy and cheesy.”
The truth was my world needed some fluffiness and cheesiness but I
wouldn’t admit that to him. I was beginning to realize that maybe
fluff and cheese were actually pretty awesome if administered in
acceptable doses. Fluff and cheese made me feel healthy, happy and
a little less angry.

He laughed and for a second his eyes
danced exquisitely. “I suppose I inherited my fluffiness from my
father. It only comes out to play when I’m with you.” He gently
cupped my cheek and suddenly his expression went serious. He looked
deep into my eyes. “I love you, Arelia. When you’re close to me I
don’t feel like a ghost. I don’t feel invisible and insignificant,”
he said softly.

Don’t tell Ken you love him.

Shut up, Ivan.

“
How could someone like you
ever feel invisible and insignificant?” I asked.

“
The same way someone as
beautiful and unique as you can.”

“
What’s going to happen to
us?” I asked suddenly and out of nowhere. I had no idea where that
came from. I didn’t sound like something I would ever say or even
dream of saying, yet I did say it. I couldn’t blame Ivan for this
one. I didn’t want to be insta-love girl, yet here I found myself
in the exact position I’d tried so hard to fight.

He let out a deep breath. “You’re going
to teach me how to be useful. I’ll teach you how to paint and pick
out rats that are guaranteed to double your money. We’ll open up a
Hotel that will have the grandest Nightmare Before Christmas
masquerades and we’ll live happily ever after. And I apologize if
all of this sounds fluffy.”

It was then and there I decided that no
matter what happened, I couldn’t and wouldn’t give up on him. You
never gave up on someone you really loved.

“
Come here, you,” I said, as
I pulled him towards me and locked my lips against his.

That night, in a blood-filled room,
safe in Lucus’ arms, I fell into a deep, dark, sweet slumber and
for a few blissful hours forgot about how ugly the world could be.
Thoughts of property and boxes vanished and all that remained was a
rare peace that I longed for.

Pathetic girl with a silly little crush
on a murderer. How much would he have paid for you?

Chapter 26

Snake Dance

Sunlight spilled through the lace
curtains and the sweet chirping of blue birds reminded me that it
was time to wake up. I groaned and simultaneously smiled as the
smell of intoxicating flowers crawled up my nose, then I sank
further into the comfy duvet even though it was dreadfully hot. I
wanted to stay in my happy place forever despite the fact that my
body was numb, heavy and almost lifeless.

A warm breeze combed its fingers
through my hair and I knew I had uninvited company.

“
Time to wake up, Arelia.
How can you sleep at a time like this?” asked Bade.

“
Bade? It feels so good. I
could sleep forever and ever. I feel like I’m sleeping on a cloud
of cotton candy and melted chocolate. Delicious and fluffy. Fluffy
can be good.”

“
I know you can sleep
forever because Louis wants you to sleep forever. Do you know what
time it is?”

“
Time for bed.”

“
Silly. Silly, Arelia. Why
do you think Louis made it so easy for you to be with Lucus last
night?”

“
Hmmm.”

“
Wake up. You’re needed.
Sabrina needs you.”

“
Sabrina?” My mind was
sluggish and heavy. “Where is she? Is she snoring?”

I tried to move my arms, but I
couldn’t. It was as if they were bound by some invisible force. I
felt something unidentifiable rub against my leg and quickly opened
my eyes.

I opened my mouth to scream but no
words came out. My ankles and wrists were bound by to the bed posts
by four khaki cotton-mouth snakes. Their leathery skin was tightly
wrapped around my bones and their ugly tongues darted in and out of
their mouths threateningly as if they were daring me to
move.

Good morning, queen. Or should I say
good afternoon. Did you have fun falling asleep in Prince
Charming’s arms?

Soon, the four snakes were joined by
two others, and then three more. They slid up my thighs and made
themselves at home on my stomach. One slithered its way up my chest
and lazily wrapped itself around my neck. With each passing second,
I could feel its grip getting tighter and tighter until I could
barely breathe. Chills overtook my body as I tried to shake myself
free. The more I revolted, the greater and more determined their
grip became.

The sound of peaceful bird chirps was
replaced by that of whips and chains, and the metallic scent of
blood overpowered that of the flowers. I looked up at the ceiling
and was mortified to see tiny drops of blood trickling down and
making their way onto my lips. A warm rustiness invaded my mouth
and I immediately clamped it shut. Soon, a flood of blood started
to pour down on me and stained the clean white sheets.

“
Bade, help me,” I muttered.
“Help me.”

“
You need to help yourself
Arelia, and quickly. You need to help Sabrina before it’s too late.
You need to give her peace. She needs peace.”

“
But,” my words were
muffled, as a snake shamelessly wiggled its tongue into my
mouth.

I closed my eyes and reminded myself
that this wasn’t real. It wasn’t real.

It’s as real as all of the blood that
was shed, queen. Every bit of it was very real.

No. I pushed Ivan’s voice out of my
head and focused on what Aunt Mae had told me. Never give into a
psychological attack. I gathered every bit of strength and power I
can manage and willed the snakes away. Yet, they
remained.

Say you’ll leave and I’ll let you go.
I’m not afraid of taking more drastic measures, if you know what I
mean.

The snake tightened the grip it had on
my neck and I felt my skin get hot and panicked.

One. Two. Three.

The hold became tighter and tighter
until I thought I was going to slip into a pool of empty darkness.
“No,” I gasped. “No. This isn’t right. None of this is right or
real.” I couldn’t let him win. I wouldn’t.

“
Arelia. Arelia. Fight for
your life, Arelia. Go give her peace,” whispered Bade.

I closed my eyes and refused to give in
to the attack.

Slowly, the snakes around my neck,
wrists and ankles loosened their grip and I could breathe again. I
let out a giant sigh of relief as the snakes vanished one by one
and the blood stopped pouring.

Ivan, you will not win. What have you
done with Sabrina?

We’ll see who’s going to
win…

I jolted up and glanced around the
room. On the table next to me was a bouquet of red flowers, a small
box with a pink bow and a note that simply said:

Je t'adore

-Lucus

My heart skipped a beat and giddiness
came over me. On any other day I would have ripped open the box,
but Sabrina needed me.

I darted out of the room and into our
bedroom. Sabrina wasn’t there. I glanced at the clock on the wall
and realized that it was already three o’clock. How the hell I had
slept in for so long, and why hadn’t anyone woken me up?

I quickly changed into the hideous
white and navy blue Darkwood uniform just because I had no idea
what else to wear. I wasn’t even pretending to work anymore, was I?
Most pathetic summer help ever.

At the bottom of the stairs, the
heavenly smell of pralines, blueberry pie and sautéed bananas
greeted me. Clearly, it was afternoon snack time. In a fury, I ran
down the long hallway and into the busy kitchen. Where was
Ivan?

I scanned the spacious kitchen but
couldn’t see him anywhere, so I ran into the little garden,
figuring that he was probably smoking a cigarette. The sun beamed
down on the white wire furniture and my haunting flowers did a
happy dance in the afternoon wind. When my eyes finally rested on
Ivan, I was horrified. Wearing a crumpled grey t-shirt and smoking
his usual cigarette he slumped against an oak tree. Sabrina stood
beside him with one arm around his around his shoulder.

“
Sabrina? What are you
doing? Get away from him.” Not that I had any right to boss her
around or expect her to listen to me.

They turned to look at me and I was a
little shocked to see that Sabrina was actually wearing her uniform
properly. The skirt was all there and her legs didn’t have six inch
heels attached to them. Her usual cherry red lipstick and thirty
layers of mascara were missing, and unfortunately so was the
gris-gris I had placed on her last night.

“
Good afternoon, Queen
Arelia,” said Ivan once he saw me. “Now that you’re sleeping with
the boss, I guess you don’t have to worry about waking up early
like the rest of us peasants. It must make you feel so
powerful.”