No Mercy (4 page)

“No, but it is too hot for my skin,” I say, reclaiming the chair.

“I’m sorry about that, Madame James. Here, this will help,” the young lady says, taking some of the hair cream on the counter and rubbing it on my wound.

I stare at Mama’s young reflection in the mirror and admire the hairdresser’s work. She’s good: almost as good as me, but I rarely—if ever—burn my clients.

“Thank you. It feels much better now.” I
move my head first to the left and then the right, checking her handiwork. “Rule number one when styling someone’s hair: Always make sure they hold their ears down,” I say, removing the cape from around my neck. “It’s not the client’s responsibility to remember, but rather the stylist’s not to forget.”

“Oui, Madame
,” the young stylist says, bowing her head in shame.

“When someone sits in your chair you want him or her to feel comfortable and to trust you implicitly. Otherwise, you risk losing your client and quite possibly your livelihood.”

I turn the swivel chair away from the mirror. "Please pass me the hand mirror."

Mama's apprentice takes the brass hand mirror from its hook on the side of her station and passes it to me.

"Desiree, you sure do have skills when it comes to those curling irons. Looks like you've been watching me very closely."

"Queen Jayd, you have no idea." Desiree stares at Mama's reflection in the mirror and traps my grandmother in her seat
with her vision. Desiree's eyes begin to swirl like crystal blue tornadoes, her hands open wide beside her directing the wind in her powerful glare. Her hair turns gray and begins to whirl around her head like a clouded halo; her long curls morph into snakes right before my eyes.

“Desiree, what the hell do you think you’re doing?" I ask, my grandm
other's green eyes taking on a glow of their own. I continue staring at Desiree's wild reflection through the hand mirror still unable to move a muscle.

"I'm doing exactly what you taught me to do, Queen Jayd."

The force in Desiree's eyes moves into the center of the wall mirror causing everything in the small shop to shake violently. She moves her hands above her head in the shape of a crown, creates a semicircle and then directs the ball of energy at Mama's hand mirror.

"All hail
the Queen!" Desiree says, opening her hands wide.

Mama’s green eyes are technically working but I’
m still paralyzed, unable to fight back. The shaking worsens and I can't hold on to the mirror any longer. The heavy brass casing smacks me in the forehead and breaks my skin wide open.

"Shit!" I scream, feeling the blood trickle down my cheek.

"That's it, Lynn Mae," Desiree says, sounding more like Esmeralda than herself. "Let the blood of the Queen flow freely. There's power in the Queen’s blood." The snakes on her head elongate and stretch out toward my face. All I can do is watch as they fight each other for the red droplets leaving my grandmother’s body.

"You wo
n't get away with this, Desiree!” I say, doing my best to focus my grandmother’s sight on stopping the reptiles but it’s no use. “Whatever you're trying to do won't work."

"Are
you sure about that, Queen Jayd? After all, it was written that I’d never get this far, and look at us now," Desiree says, putting her head beside my grandmother's now a part of the reflection I see in the small mirror. “A little bit more of your blood and people might think we’re actually twins.”

"No matter how hard you try, Desire
e, you’ll never be a Williams woman."

Mamas green
eyes become powerful cyclones of their own and lock Desiree's vision in the mirror as well. Both visions become too much for the hand mirror; it falls to the floor and shatters upon impact.

             
"No!" Desiree shrieks in pain. "My head! My head!"

I fall to my knees thankful that I can move again
, but not for long. I bring my hands to my face and feel nothing but wetness.

"Oh my God," I whisper, noticing Desiree's head writhing about on the floor like a deflating balloon.

I catch my own reflection in the shards of broken glass; I’m covered in blood from head to toe. Everywhere there is skin I am bleeding. My fingers cloaked in red crystals form permanent lines on my face. I cover my throat with my left hand in an attempt to stop the flow but it is too late.

“Too late, indeed,” Desiree says, beheading her own reflection in the largest piece of the shattered wall mirror.
“We are twins in death, Queen Jayd!” Desiree's headless body comes crashing down beside me.

I stare into the reflective pieces
surrounding me and watch helplessly as my grandmother’s crown falls to the floor.

             
“My head!” I scream. I grab my throat and quickly touch all parts of my face and neck to make sure everything’s still attached. What the hell was that all about?

After my crazy dream I decided to chance driving my mom’s ride and check on Mama before school. I felt like I needed a hug from my grandmother but she’s nowhere to be found. I’m pretty sure her head’s still on her shoulders, but after everything’s that happened around here lately I’d be more comfortable laying eyes on her myself just to be sure.

             
“Good morning, little Jayd," Esmeralda says with her loyal canine man coming outside behind her. "How’s Lynn Mae feeling?"

             
"You know damn well how my grandmother’s feeling, Esmeralda," I say, walking across the front yard toward her house.

             
“Well, I sure do hope the Queen is feeling better. The last time I saw her she looked a little pale, didn’t she, Rousseau?" Esmeralda says to her mate, her crystal blue eyes shining brightly in the morning sun.

             
"Don't you worry about my grandmother," I say, disarming my mother's car alarm. Netta’s son rigged it a bit to get me around for the time being but said that I’d need to invest some cash to get it done right. "She's just fine."

             
"Are you sure about that, little queen?" Esmeralda asks, her two remaining pet crows flying from their cages and landing on her shoulders. There’s something about the way she's questioning my grandmother's well being that sends a chill down my spine. Where is Mama?

"And I’m sorry about how my pets reacted to their home being burglarized, but you do know how strong the trespassing laws are in Los Angeles County
,” Esmeralda says, petting the evil birds. “It seems they possess the souls of police officers who know how to serve justice when we need be."

             
No doubt she's got a few officers on her payroll. That would explain how she's able to manipulate the drug game on this side of Compton without getting caught. I wonder if the officers knew part of their cut would come at the cost of their souls.

"Burglarized?” I
say. “It was more like an attempt to save kidnapped souls, or have you forgotten about Misty and Emilio's trapped spirits inside of your new snake pets?"

             
"Oh don't worry about them, mi petite," Rousseau says, stepping in front of his woman. "Our new houseguests are being treated like gods, and fed like them, too." Rousseau looks past me toward the back gate where Lexi walks out, growling at the diabolic duo that turned her against Mama.

             
"Lexi, no!" I scream, worried for Mama's dog. Ever since she attacked Mama Lexi’s been hell-bent on making it up to her owner. "Stay girl; stay!"

             
"No, let the little bitch come on over,” Rousseau says, showing his fangs off with a growl of his own.

             
“The signs are posted," Esmeralda says, pointing to the red and white squares propped up in her kitchen window. "There's one on the back door too, just in case."

             
“We already warned you about trespassing on our property," Rousseau says, whistling at Lexi who’s ready to attack.

             
“Our property?” I repeat. “Do you know how many men have laid in that same bed you’re trying to claim as yours? And you’re barely a human or have you forgotten? How the hell are you going to own property?”

             
“There’s more than one way to stake your claim in this world,” Rousseau says, calming down. I see he’s still enough of a man to have his ego checked.

             
“Be careful, little girl. You don’t want to get in over your head, speaking about grown woman shit when you’re as fresh as a newborn baby,” Esmeralda says, sniffing the air. “Back in the day girls who overstepped their boundaries were swiftly put in their place.” Esmeralda brings her right index finger to her left ear and slowly moves it across her throat to the other side. 

             
“If you lay a hand on my grandmother’s head or any other part of her I will kill you, Esmeralda. Believe that,” I say, hearing Esmeralda’s psychic threat loud and clear. 

             
“I think I just heard a threat, Rousseau. Did you?”

             
“Yes I did, and so did your pets,” he says, resuming his pit bull status.

             
Lexi charges across the front yard before I can stop her. If she dies it’ll be on my head.

             
“Lexi, stop!” I shout but it’s no use. Lexi’s already at the driveway split between my grandparent’s property and Esmeralda’s.

             
“Tell your grandmother we said hello,” Esmeralda says, retreating back inside and taking her animal farm with her. As she closes the door Esmeralda looks down at the growling canine and smiles.

             
Lexi quiets her attack and replaces her threats with moans of pain.

             
"Stop it, Esmeralda!” I scream. “What are you doing to Mama’s dog?" I run over to Lexi who's now squirming on the ground.

             
Without another word Esmeralda disappears behind her front door and takes the last bit of my patience with her.

              Thank God I wasn’t late for school after my exciting morning. I made sure Lexi was okay before leaving but without Mama’s eyes to look over her, I’m not sure if she’s all good. As if I didn’t already have enough drama going on, I unexpectedly started my period. Damn, what a day.

             
I keep a back-up tampon in my purse at all times, but of course it broke. I really need to clean out this purse or get a bigger one. 

“Hola, Jayd,” Maggie says, stepping into the bathroom. The bell for third period just rang
making me officially late to English class.

“Maggie, what up, girl?”

“Nothing much,” Maggie says, hugging me. “Just trying to make it through the day, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” I say, tossing the broken contraption into the trash. They took the
tampon machines out of the girls’ bathrooms last year forcing us to make the trek to the nurse’s office for emergency supplies. Mrs. Bennett better not say a word to me when I walk in late. Pass or no pass, she can choose to be a real bitch anytime she wants.

“I can’t wait until Homecoming, Jayd,” Maggie says, primping her stiff bangs in the mirror. How does she get out of class at the very beginning? None of my teachers on the Advanced Placement track would ever allow me to miss the first five
minutes to use the restroom.

“I’m glad you’re excited, Maggie,” I say, feeling my cramps begin. “You wouldn’t happen to have a tampon on you, would you? Mother nature decided to make
a surprise appearance this morning.”

             
“Si, mami,” Maggie says, reaching into her purse and pulling out one of the miniature tampons I’ve always dreaded using. A beaded necklace falls to the floor as she hands it to me.

             
“That looks familiar,” I say, smiling at her.

Maggie brings the multicolored eleke to her forehead and then kisses it, just like Mama taught me to do with mine.

“Yes, I thought it would,” Maggie says as I claim a stall. “I’ve always wanted to know more about your religion.”

             
“And I always thought your entire crew was Catholic for the most part.”

“We are Catolicos in public, but Santeras at home. My cousins are both very involved in the church and
also hold bembes every weekend in Long Beach. You should come sometime.”

             
“I think I will,” I say, exiting the stall to wash my hands. “I’ve never been to any religious celebrations outside of our house.”

             
“It’s a date then, yes? I will let you know about the next one,” Maggie says, leading the way out.

             
“Bet.” I turn the opposite direction down the main hall. When I reach my class Mrs. Bennett’s well into our morning assignment.

             
“Miss Jackson, so nice of you to join us,” Mrs. Bennett says, giving me her full attention.