Voodoo Queens of New Orleans - Vol. I | ✓

Chapter 36: Magnet and Metal

**

It was a theory - an outlandish theory, but a theory nonetheless. One that made sense. One that would explain a lot.

We couldn't prove that Marie II was Mama's spirit guide - the one responsible for possessing her and taking over her body and will. Spirit guides - met tet, djab, whichever term - were personal. Therefore, it would be difficult for us to find out exactly who Mama's djab was unless Mama went through a head washing or lave tet. This process took days, and if done incorrectly, could result in bad luck, mental illness or even death. But with a proper lave tet, one could come into direct contact with their met tet and their identity.

No one in the Coterie had ever gone through a lave tet.

"Too risky," Aza said when I asked her why it hadn't been done before. "And the Coterie got this fear that finding out who their met tet is will bring them bad luck."

"You're all seasoned priestesses -"

"That don't mean nothing if the spirit got bad intentions," Aza said seriously.

I shook my head as if the notion wasn't making sense. "Okay. I understand not telling Mama that you and Hezekiah are related or that he had anything to do with Camile and Marie II's escape, but this? Aza, Mama needs to know that her spirit guide might be Marie II, not the Marie Laveau. Marie II was - "

"I know," she interrupted. "I know who Marie II was, I know how she was. But we got no business getting involved in other people's spirit guides. And besides, ain't no way to prove it unless Alize agree to a head washing and she ain't gonna do that."

Again, I felt powerless. I felt like all of this information - these revelations - were being put to no good use; were not being used for a good cause. In reality, the only thing we could do is stand around and wait until the right moment came along. But when would that moment be?

"So, what do we do?" I asked Aza expectantly. Almost with a hint of sarcasm; patronizing.

She didn't answer, but even if she were to, the sound of her front door opening and slamming shut caught both of our attention.

"Those heffers got some nerve, I tell you!" I heard Mama yell. "Making us seem like we the crazy ones. They gone know what crazy really feel like when they co-workers end up dead on the street with bite marks in they necks!"

Aza and I shared one look. Not a word, she said with the mere look in her eyes. I complied, following her through the hall and down the staircase. Kizzy and the girls were on the couch, standing up when they saw us. They had questions; they must have heard everything. What if they did? Would they rat us out, tell the Coterie that Hezekiah was Aza's ancestor? What if they told Mama that there was a possibility her met tet was actually Marie II? Regardless of what they might have heard from us upstairs, they definitely heard what Doctor Ben told us today about the history between Marie and Terah's clan. And because of this, Aza gave us all a terrifying warning look that put the fear of God in us.

By the doorway, the Coterie stood, slowly filing into the living room. Their co-workers were missing, this being the first detail I noticed.

"What's going on?" Aza asked them. The Coterie turned to look at her, all of them clearly exhausted.

"We went to go see some of the other priestesses," Qadira said. "Hoping we could convince them to ally themselves with us against Abraham."

"We went to see four of them." Mama held up four fingers towards Aza, those fingers trembling in anger. "Four. After I said that they wouldn't want to listen to us, I was outvoted. And what happened, Qadira? What happened?"