Chapter 3
He was in the St. Louis Cemetery near Basin Street. Drawn here before the first rays of dawn, compelled to this place, though he wasn’t sure why. He’d arrived in time to witness the departure of the teenagers in ghoulish masks who’d dared each other to brave the dark beside the mausoleums and grave sites.
Luckily for them, the Ghede family were protective of foolish children. In his experience, when humans looked for trouble they usually found it.
He reached a beautiful marble mausoleum, smaller than the others. The profile of a lovely woman’s face was carved into the doorway like a heartbreaking cameo, just above the image of a small boy at play. Both so young? Such a waste. He searched for a name, but there was nothing. No family to mourn them, nor a record of the years they’d lived and died. Why would someone go to all this trouble to make a remembrance so detailed, only to keep the identity of the dead a secret?
That was his idea of hell. To be unremembered and unsung.
“You’ve come.”
BD whirled around, seeing nothing, but easily recognizing the old man’s voice. What game was he playing now?
“Did you think I wouldn’t?”
“Why would I ever think that?”
He could hear the sarcasm. “I thought All Saints’ didn’t require me to possess a body. Please don’t tell me my punishment already begins and I’m to take over a corpse.” He shuddered. “Spending my last day of freedom in a state of decay would be cruel and unusual. Even for you.”
The laughter wrapped around him like an embrace, making him smile in spite of his suspicions.
“I wouldn’t do that to you, son. We’ve been through too much together, you and I. No. You’ll have the body you came with, whole and alive, as promised. You earned it and then some. That particular djab had been a thorn in my personal side for centuries.”
“Then why am I here? What are we waiting for?”
“I’ll tell you, but first you need to heed my warning. You haven’t experienced what’s coming before. You’ve taken over bodies, but today you’ll be fully human, with no powers or magnetism beyond your own natural charm.”
“Which is substantial,” BD couldn’t help but remind him.
“So you claim.” His mentor continued. “Being human, you will feel hot and cold, hunger and thirst. All the pangs that come with mortality, good and bad, will be yours to experience, including emotions that might overwhelm you.”
“Are you trying to scare me, old man, or turn me on?”
“I’m trying to warn you. Actions have consequences. For humans most of all.”
“No orgies while bungee jumping,” BD acknowledged, rubbing his hands together in excitement. “Any other ominous warnings? Or will you lighten up and join me? I know a few hidden hot spots you would love. Great music. Great food. And the women…”
The deep sigh was a breeze in the damp morning air. “Some of us have to stay behind to keep the home fires burning. It’s time, BD. Time for you to have your day. Use it well. Be with the people who matter, and try not to waste a moment.”
BD glanced around the cemetery again. He’d expected to see the others. “You said you’d tell me why I had to come here.”
“One journey begins where the last met its end.”
“A riddle? For me? You usually save your mystic haikus for the humans.” He knew the old man was gone, he could feel it. “And you can never just answer a damn question.”
Suddenly, he could feel it coming. The sky had lightened, setting the stage for the new day. His day.
He would seek out his friends, have as much food as he could fit in his stomach, and take as many lovers as time allowed. Maybe he could even spare an hour or two to convince young Rousseau to put the past behind them. He’d grown fond of the boy, and it hurt him more than he was willing to admit to be cast as the villain.
He’d grown rather attached to all of them. Michelle and Ben, sweet, brave Allegra. Maybe the Loa who’d sat in judgment were right, and he’d lost his perspective. He was no family ghost. No pet. He was supposed to be above it all. Guiding humans as the others did toward a better life. In his case, a better sex life.
Soft morning light hit the distressed grey stones and monuments around him, and he began to feel it. A shimmer. A tingle. Little ants on his skin.
Skin?
He looked down and saw himself begin to change. Solidify. It was slow and painful, though some part of him knew it happened in an instant. Everything hurt. Heaviness, like lead in his limbs, dropped him to his knees, and the impact startled him.
“Damn.”