Bad Juju (45 page)

“Be careful!  That’s Henry’s skin you’re burning.  Just enough to defend yourselves,” Lucien warned.  Henry recovered from the burns and sprung back up to his feet.  “
Djab
, leave them.  I know you came here to kill me.  But before you do, whose idea was it to use Henry’s body as a means of transportation?”

“Giselle was the one who summoned me, but it was your surviving wives and sons who invited me into this boy’s body.  I get to live through him, here on Earth.  I swore to them I’d kill you and your new family!” Henry roared in a demonic voice.

“New family?  I don’t have a new family.  They were my only family!” Lucien cried.

“Then your friends here will have to do!”  Henry leaped ten yards and landed in front of Leah.  He grabbed her face and admired her lips, and then eyed her up and down with lust in his eyes.  “You and I are going to have a real good time before you die!”

Jake picked up his bottle and sprinkled water on Henry’s hands.

The
djab
screamed as steam rose off of his hands.  “I think I’ll burn you alive!”

Lucien opened his tool box and chucked a bronze colored metal into the fire.  He took out a bag of crystals and lobbed them in the flames.  The fire instantly grew higher, turning from red and orange to royal blue.  The color caught Henry’s attention.  As the boy walked closer to the flames, Lucien sang, feeding different metals and crystals into the fire.  The flames turned another hue, violet.   Puffed fireballs sparked from the tips. 
I got him!

“T.J., get over here.  Like we practiced.  Start chanting,” Lucien ordered.

The zombie clomped closer to Henry and recited his newly learned chants. 
“Oh,
djab
, share your evil.  Oh demon, reign through me.  Oh
djab
, we will be so happy…”
  T.J.’s voice was so smooth, he almost sounded human.

As the zombie sang, Lucien passed the mummified hand to Jake and whispered, “Get T.J. to hold onto this and then touch Henry with it.  I’ve got to keep this fire show going.”

As Lucien kept throwing metals and crystals into the fire, his supplies became scarce.  Time was running out.  When the fire returned to its natural state of red and orange, the
djab
would wake from his trance.  Lucien glanced at Jake and saw the boy struggling with the zombie. 

“Take it already!” Jake yelled as he took
his uncle’s dead
hand and wrapped it around T.J.’s patched skin and metacarpals.  “You want to ascend, don’t you?”

T.J. shrieked in fear and dropped the Hand of Glory.  Lucien continued watching Henry.  The boy didn’t notice the commotion.  The fire kept him frozen with fascination.

“T.J., quit being a baby!” Leah exclaimed.  She picked up the Hand of Glory and ordered, “You and this hand are both dead!  Your only chance of going to Heaven is by saving Henry!  Now take the fucking hand and touch him like Jake told you to!”

T.J. cowered as she yelled.  He hesitantly
obeyed
.  Leah calmed down and grinned.  “Told you boys I was good for something.”

“Well done! 
But
we are far from finished.  T.J. has got to invite the spirit inside of his corpse.  If this works, you and Jake will need to back up,” Lucien said.  “T.J., just like we practiced.”

“
I
waaant
yooou
to come inside.  I will
taaake
yooou
for a
riiide
.  Together we’ll
liiiight
the world on
fiiiire
…
”  T.J.’s song wasn’t perfect.  His words were jumbled and he forgot the second verse, but his voice grew louder and more confident as he sang to the
djab
.  Henry didn’t flinch as T.J. reached out with the Hand of Glory and touched Henry’s shoulder.  The point of contact acted like a conduit, causing combustion.  White fire disintegrated the mummified hand. 

Henry howled a piercing wail and then slumped to the ground with his limp arm flopped inside of the fire. 

Lucien pulled Henry away from the bonfire while Jake took off his shirt and smothered the flames flickering on Henry’s arm.  Henry started to shake and foam at the mouth.  His eyes rolled in back of his head, showing only the whites of his eyeball.  Several seconds later he stopped moving.

“Leah, Jake, revive Henry before he dies!  The
djab
is now inside of T.J.!” Lucien directed.

Parts of T.J.’s skin and bones popped off of his corpse.  The zombie screamed, “He’s not alive!” in the voice of the
djab
.  “You tricked me!” 

Lucien only had a few moments to send the spirit back to the Crossroads.  He retrieved a can of mineral spirits out of his bag and squirted half of it over T.J.  With a running start and every ounce of strength
his old body had left, he pushed T.J. into the fire and watched him ignite.  Fire clouds sparked off of the bonfire. 
Could this be over?

“T.J.!  No!  Not again!  I love you and I’m so sorry!” Leah cried.

“He’ll be at peace,” Jake defended.  “Now if only Henry would wake up.”  Jake attempted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Lucien watched the fire, still unconvinced the demon was gone.  Filled with dread, the moment he spent his whole life avoiding was about to arrive.  While T.J.’s decaying body
ashed
in the flames, the fire spewed embers the size of tennis balls high in the air.  A blue smoky haze drifted out of the fire, almost iridescent, and floated over Henry’s slumped body as if it was waiting for something.

“What the hell…” Leah said to herself.  She stood up and tried to pop it like a bubble, but her hand went through it like air.  “T.J.?”

“That’s his
ti
-bon-
ange
,” Lucien said, never taking his eyes off of the fire.  As he feared, a flame from the fire broke away and rose above them higher than the trees like a blazing star.  Although day time, the sky grew dark.  The blaze changed into different formations of people and places from Lucien’s past.

“My family…my home.  Oh
Bondeye
, is there any other way…” Lucien mumbled to himself.  The blaze danced in the sky, repeating flaming images of all Lucien’s compunctions of his life in Haiti.  The blaze ended the show and resumed its own form, suspended above the trees.  A appalling boom shook the ground.  With only one last chance to make things right, Lucien began to sing.  “
Come on inside, my
djab
.  Come on he’s dead and I’m alive, my demon.  We’ll go for a ride.  Come on and kill my soul tonight
…Jake, remember what I showed you in my bedroom.”  Lucien kept on singing and emptied the rest of the can of mineral spirits over himself.  “May the
loas
give me mercy!”

“No Lucien!” Jake screeched.

“Son, I’m already dead.  It’s the only way!”

The blaze suddenly blew out, leaving nothing but clouds of smoke.  The smoke wafted towards Lucien as he sang and then entered the old man’s nose and mouth.  Lucien instantly changed.  His eyes burned orange, matching the fire.  He looked at Leah, Jake, and Henry’s dead-looking body and wickedly grinned.  Before the
djab
completely took over, Lucien plunged into the bonfire and caught aflame.

Chapter 5
2

Natalie stayed home by herself like she did for most of the summer.  Henry’s needs came first.  Her mother spent her days taking him to doctors while her dad worked around the clock to pay for them.  In the past, her grandmother came over to baby-sit.  But now that she was about to enter high school
, she
pleaded to be alone. 
Be careful what you wish for… 
In hindsight, her grandmother’s cheery company would have spared her from loneliness.

Natalie’s mother promised to take her back-to-school shopping in the afternoon.  She glanced at the clock, 1:00 p.m.  Her mother left early and should have been home.

Natalie planned on calling after she polished her toe nails neon pink.  While she applied top coat, she watched music videos in the basement.  Her phone buzzed.  The mini-polish brush fell through the couch cushions as she dived for the phone.

“Hi Allie. 
Whatcha
doin
?” she answered.

“I’m at the pool and it’s packed.  It’s boiling out.  Some really cute guys are here, maybe juniors or seniors.  A band is setting up in the pavilion.  I’m here by myself and it’s a little awkward.  Can you join me?” Allie asked.  Natalie heard a swarm of voices in the background.

“Sounds fun.  I’m not supposed to go to the pool by myself,” Natalie hesitated.

“You’re fourteen now.  Don’t need Mommy
’s
or Daddy
’s
permission.  And I’ll be here so you won’t be alone,” Allie persuaded.

“Well…You’re right.  I’m bored out of my mind.  I’ll leave my mom a note.  I’m in the middle of polishing my toes.  As soon as they dry, I’ll ride my bike over.  Bye.”

Natalie anxiously looked for the polish brush that disappeared inside of the sofa.  She looked under the couch, shook out the blankets, and yanked off the seat cushions.  There it was.  As she placed the cushions back on the couch, she felt something bulky inside.  Curious, she unzipped the slipcover and took out the foam.  Henry’s missing backpack was scrunched inside. 
Wonder what he has to hide. 
She shook it upside down and a leather bound scrapbook bounced to the floor. 

Flipping through the pages, she struggled with the
scrolly
handwriting. 
A recipe book?  If so, why hide it?
  At second glance, she noticed ingredients such as cigar butts, juniper, sand, and Spanish moss. 
Ah, spells.  Love spell?
  The book explained Brittany’s attraction to her brother. 
The loopy designs had to be Voodoo symbols!  That’s why Ms. Fontana…

She should have immediately called her mother and told her about the book.  However, she was much too tempted to read through it.  The spells could implicate Henry in Brittany’s death.  Quickly, she thought of a solution that would absolve her from feeling guilty.  For the time being, she would hide the book and wait for Henry to recover.  Once he explained his shiftiness and the book itself, she would turn the book over her parents.

She stuffed the empty backpack back inside of the cushion and looked around the basement for an alternative hiding spot.  Her eyes gazed at the drop ceiling.  She slid a cork panel off of its metal brackets and felt around for a support.  She found a beam and stashed the book on top of it.  Sliding the panel back in place, she changed into her swimsuit and packed up for the pool.

***

After Jessica ended the call with Jake and Lucien, she drove into the grassy highway divider and made a
u-turn
.  She floored the gas to beat them to her house where they would all meet within an hour.  

Tom was on his way up to Eau Claire.  He promised to comb the area and handle the police.  She was about to call him, but changed her mind.  He was much too close-minded to consider the
paranormal
as an explanation to her son’s vicious behavior.  Voodoo, demons, all of it sounded ludicrous, but she was always more desperate when it came to her children, especially Henry.

She pulled into her driveway and remembered Natalie. 
Oh, what am I going to tell her?
  She saw a note on the counter, ‘gone to pool with Allison.  Be home around dinner time.  Have money and my cell.  Love, Natalie’. 
The pool?  Guess she’s old enough now.  And she’s safe and out of the house…

Jessica texted her a fast ‘have fun’ message, relieved her daughter wasn’t involved.  She gulped down a couple glasses of water, washed her face, and stared at the clock.  Five more minutes would equal an hour since she last spoke with Jake and Lucien.  She waited another twenty minutes then assumed she had been blown off.  She jumped back into her SUV and sped over to Lucien’s trailer.  Several knocks later and no answer, she ran over to Jake’s trailer.  No answer.

An elderly woman was playing outside with a toddler between the two trailers.  Jess approached, hoping she knew them.  “Hello.  I’m Jessica Novak.  My son, Henry, is friends with…”

“Oh, Henry, I know him.  Yes, Jake’s friend.  I’m Esther
Muddraker
.  You his mom, right?  Haven’t seen Henry, but Lucien, Jake, Leah, and some other fellow left a little bit ago.  I’m watching Leah’s daughter.  Not sure where they were headed, but they were walking in that direction.  There’s a picnic area way back there, next to the forest preserve.  It’s a good half mile or so.  Maybe that’s where they went.  Lucien likes to go there from time to time.”

“Thank you, Esther!  Thank you so much!” Jess exclaimed.  She sprinted down the dirt path Esther pointed to.  Her stride hastened as she panicked.  The heat and the exercise lathered her with sweat.  Minutes later she knew she was close.  There was a rope looped across the path with a reserved sign hanging from it.  She stepped over it and continued down the path.  She could feel the extra heat and hear the crackle of a fire.  As she crept closer to the flames, she heard voices.  Several yards away she saw Lucien.  He looked maniacal with eyes blazing like fire. 
Henry’s eyes were glazed with the same shade of red,
she thought.
Fear made her dash behind a tree and watch from the hidden position.  The old man flashed a hideous smile.  The wicked image left an imprint in her memory so vivid, so real.  She’d be seeing it in every future nightmare for the rest of her life. 
Where’s Henry?