Page 4 of Voodoo Doll
“Yeah, it’s something, alright.” I winced as my ass hit the seat hard. Sebastien was already around the table, and he seated himself ostentatiously in another chair before steepling his long fingers in front of himself and eyeing me seriously. He seemed entirely focused on me now, almost as if he had forgotten Kayla even existed.
“So,ma chère, you seek to discover if your lover has been unfaithful to you. That is a serious and worthwhile thing to desire. If you are ready, and if you have the strength to face the answer, we may ask the spirits to reveal to us the truth of the matter.Areyou ready, Ms. Landry?Doyou have the strength?” As he spoke, he lit a few black wax candles positioned around the table, and their strangely reddish light lit his face oddly as he smiled at me. The smile didn’t seem to reach his eyes; eyes that reflected the glow of hundreds of candles like tiny constellations.?
I huffed and shrugged with a nod. “Sure, I guess. If it will get Kayla to get off my back, then sure. Let’s do this reading, or divination, or whatever. What could it hurt?”
Sebastien let out a soft, somewhat sinister chuckle. His eye sockets seemed to sink into shadow as he spoke. “Ms. Landry, the voodoo arts can do many things. Some of them can hurt quite severely. Do not take this power lightly.”
I shivered despite myself, and nodded again, sitting up straighter.?
“Good. Now, let us begin. In order to find answers to your questions, I must first create a connection between you and the spirits. They need an anchor for your soul. To that end, I require a small sacrifice from you. If you would be so kind, I need a few strands of your hair… and a few drops of your blood.” He picked up the small knife from the table in front of him, twirling it in his fingers. I hesitated for a moment, glancing at Kayla. She nodded enthusiastically to me, completely spellbound.
Oh, what the hell.“Okay, fine, whatever. Kayla isn’t going to let me leave until I do this. So fine. Just… be careful, okay? I don’t want to have to go to the hospital for stitches after this.”
Sebastien simply smiled wider, his eyes glowing with excitement. He gestured towards my hair, and I leaned forward. Before I could even follow his movements, the knife flashed in the candlelight as he deftly cut a thin lock of hair from my head and placed it carefully on a small tray beside the deck of tarot cards.
“Thank you,chère. Now, hold your hand out to me.” He positioned a small polished silver bowl between us, then gripped my offered hand firmly, turning it palm up. His fingers were warm on my skin, his grip sure, and a bit too tight. I sucked in a sharp breath as the knife bit into the meat of my palm. The edge must have been beyond razor sharp; there was no resistance as he made a shallow cut about half an inch long. Ruby red blood welled immediately, and he held my hand firmly over the bowl as it began to drip, drip, drip. The sound of it hitting the metal seemed to reverberate in the room for a moment.
“What the fuck?! I thought you were going to prick my finger or something, not slash my palm open!” I made to stand, but Kayla put her hand on my shoulder and rolled her eyes at me.
“It’s not even that bad, Lu. Just let him do his thing!” I swear, Kayla was going to be the death of me some day.
I sighed resignedly, and a few seconds later he released my hand, offering me a small handkerchief from the pocket of his suit jacket. I pressed the cool cloth to my palm to stop the bleeding. Oddly, the cut barely hurt.??
“Excellent. Now we may begin.” I watched as he began his ritual, if that’s what you wanted to call it. He began murmuring a steady stream of incomprehensible words and pulled a little cloth doll from his drawer. I recognized it immediately. There had been similar ones adorning some shelves throughout theshop. Placing it down on the table in front of him, he took most of the hair he’d collected from me and affixed it to the head of the doll, then dipped his finger in my blood and drew a symbol on the doll’s chest and back.
“The doll creates a connection, giving the spirits the anchor they need to be drawn to us. Do not fear, I will burn it when we finish, breaking the connection.” His voice had gone all serious and somber, like he expected me to believe that voodoo dolls were real, which I found hilarious. I kept my face still, though; no need to heckle the man during his act.?
He placed the doll back on the table, then gripped either side of the crystal ball, which still glowed from what I assumed was a lightbulb inserted into the base or something.
“Loa, spirits of the underworld, answer this woman’s call. Come to me. Give us the answers we seek.” He continued beseeching theseLoafor answers, whatever they were. After a few moments, he fell silent, seeming to stare deeply into the depths of the crystal ball. He occasionally nodded or raised his eyebrows, pretending to be gaining some deep, profound understanding. I suppressed a sigh of annoyance as I waited for the show to end, so we could get out of this creepy room.
After a few moments that seemed to stretch for hours, he released the crystal ball, which faded back to dull darkness. He looked up at me and nodded. “TheLoahave answered your call and have spoken to me. I saw your lover in the depths of the crystal and saw the truth of him.”
Kayla shifted and grabbed my hand, making me wince as she squeezed the place where I’d been cut. “Well, what did they say? Please tell Luna that she’s worried about nothing, that Joshua would never cheat on her. That’s what they said, right?”
Sebastien glanced over at her with a look that seemed almost annoyed, then back to me. “I am truly sorry, miss Landry, but I am afraid it is not good news. The spirits have shown me thatyour lover is indeed being… unfaithful. He has been for quite some time, it seems. I never enjoy being the bearer of bad news.” A small smile crossed his face as he finished speaking, making it seem like hedidenjoy doing just that.?
I sat in the chair, trying to sort out my emotions. I didn’t believe in any of this voodoo crap, did I? I didn’t believe in spirits, or the supernatural, or psychics, or anything like that. And yet, his words seemed to grip my heart like a vice, and I didn’t know how to process that. Of course I didn’t believe this stranger! But… my heart told me he was right; Joshuawascheating on me, even if I didn’t believe that he’d seen it in his little ball.
Kayla’s entire demeanor shifted from excited to shocked, and she turned to me. “I… I can’t believe that he would do something like that to you! Maybe the spirits are wrong. You don’t actually believe that, do you?”
Suppressing what my gut was telling me, I shook my head. “No.. no I guess not. I don’t know. I don’t believe in this stuff, anyway. No offense, Mr. Broussard.” I glanced worriedly towards the man, although I couldn’t place why I was worried. What was he going to do, kick us out without paying? Yet, I had to admit that I didn’t want to offend the man, for some reason.
“You must choose what you believe,ma chère. Believe the truth I have spoken this day, or believe the lies you tell yourself. The choice is yours.” He stood and walked to the fireplace, tossing the doll into the flames. The fire flared up for a moment, flickering to an odd pale green as it consumed the cloth figure. I’d read about powders that could change the color of flames; he was still putting on a show, it seemed.?
I stood, pulling Kayla to her feet as well, and gestured for her to pay the man. “Well, thank you anyway, Mr. Broussard. This has been… interesting. Your shop is lovely, by the way. We appreciate your time. I’m sure you have plenty of things to getback too, so we won’t take up any more of your day. Come on Kayla, let’s go.”
I walked back into the main lobby, leaving the two of them to square up the payment for today’s entertainment, unable to shake the feeling of icy fingers gripping my heart at what Sebastien had told me. It was all made up, right? It had to be. I had to be worried about nothing. Joshua wasn’t cheating on me! I rubbed my nose, that phantom perfume plaguing me once more as the others rejoined me. I had been certain he was before walking into the shop, but now, after hearing Sebastien confirm it, I suddenly wanted to doubt it.
“Thank you for your patronage, Ms. Landry. Perhaps we will see each other again, hmm? For now, you must think about what I have shown you today, and decide what you believe.”?
“Thank you again, Mr. Broussard.”?
“Of course, Ms. Landry. Please, come again soon.” He smiled in that slightly sinister way once more, and I gave him a polite smile back before grabbing Kayla’s arm and making my way towards the door. I needed to get out of here and back to the real world. The normal world, where things made sense.
Just as I was getting ready to leave, I felt an icy chill run up my back, making my whole body shiver violently for a moment. I stopped and glanced back to see Sebastien watching us go, that grin still apparent on his face. He gave me a silent nod. I turned quickly and exited the store.?
I swore the sound of a low, dangerous chuckle followed me as I dragged my friend back towards our car.
