Voodoo Queens of New Orleans - Vol. I | ✓

Chapter 4: And Then There Were Eight

Gee, I'm glad she cared.

I was doing 70 in a strict 40 zone, tightening my grip on the wheel in hopes of stopping the shakiness in my fingers. Imani was oddly calm in the face but tense in the muscles and joints. I, on the other hand, was crying hysterically. And it wasn't just "crying" but the "quivering-bottom-lip-hiccup-and-gasping" crying. The House screaming for mercy while they were brutally fed on and killed like cattle was ringing through my head like Tia Valeria's first scream of terror. And frankly, I regretted even thinking of making the journey to the Saint's Sector to see if she was where Ina said her and her House would be. Mikael (by Abraham's words) was supposed to report to the Coterie on what he saw; he was witness to the Valeria House's slaughter, therefor if Imani and I never went out there, the gruesome murder would still have a culprit and a witness. We were naïve, but I was especially ignorant.

I drove on.

**

We got back to the city without any major physical trauma. The French Quarter was the alluring antipode of the forest we were just in—beautifully lit up, full of tourists, loud and bustling. Still, Imani and I fumbled out of my car and ran to Mama's shop exactly how we ran when Their 'feast' commenced.

The door was locked, the lights inside dimmed low. I banged rudely on the windows until the door opened and the lights brightened up the store. When I saw Mama in the doorway, I immediately took off my glasses and collapsed in her arms and made sure not to let go. In Mama's hold, I felt like a little girl who had just awoken from a nightmare, not a twenty-four-year-old woman. A part of me, additionally, was relieved to see her alive and well after what Imani and I saw happen to the Valeria House; the House perished specifically because of their involvement with voodoo and for Abraham's apparent conscious years in the dark, cold earth. My judgment told me that Mama would surely be his next victim; weakest to strongest.

My eyes where shut tight and my head was buried in her shoulder. I heard the door close and lock behind us. The Coterie were speaking loudly over each other and consoling Imani, then the voices turned frantic and angry. They all started arguing about what happened even though Imani nor I said a word about what we saw yet. That's when Mama let go of me and shouted them all to silence. The room went cold and quiet.

When I put my glasses back on, I surveyed the display cases, the decorated walls, the items for sale, and the Coterie—all seven members left besides Mama—sitting together on the couches. I recognized each member immediately: Miss Aza sat next to Mama Hepzibah (Miss Aza happened to be the second strongest in the Coterie—a close second, if I may add), the only one who didn't have a readable expression underneath the large sunhat she wore. Next to Mama Hepzibah was Mother Babette, with Missus Taima sitting closely to her, stress-smoking a cigarette. Priestess Ava Claudette, the only white member of the Coterie, sat alone in a chair by a curtain-covered window, and Priestess Qadira shared the love seat with Mambo Nene and Imani between the two of them. To the right of the Coterie by the staircase were a group of women that I did not recognize; the only one I recognized was Ina, who's eyes were red and heavy. Their eyes bore into me curiously, their bodies were huddled together like an expedition in a snowstorm. They were all fairly young; I assumed they were the rest of the Novitiates.

"Imani, sweetheart," My mama said to her. With the help of Qadira and Mambo Nene, Imani stood and approached Mama by the door. I saw in the light how rundown she really looked—her skirt was ripped and snagged, her blouse drenched with sweat, and her ankles were marked with small scratches above the tattered mess of her shoes. I didn't even want to know what I looked like.

I knew what I smelled like, though.

Mama tried to reassure Imani and I with her smile, but the smile slowly faded when she looked deeper into Imani's eyes.