Thanks to Scen for letting me use a certain dead voodoo witch. And a warning to those who hate having to read dialects: dere be accents here, mon! Real t`ick, big, bad accents, mon!
* * *
~*~*~*~*~*~
Part the First: The Other Side
~*~*~*~*~*~
Brer Rabbey lit the last of the pale wax candles in his sanctum and picked up the crucible in the middle of the floor. He stirred and mixed the black paste within before he picked up the brush to smear the paste along the walls in arcane patterns, particularly around the door. He set the crucible aside, next to the altar of animal bones and skulls, which was brightly lit with scores of the short votive candles. He picked up another crucible, the paste within this one a stark white, and drew a circle lined with strange symbols in the middle of a wide circle of candles.
³Lissen to me, o spirits of de oddah world,² Brer Rabbey intoned in his deep, accented voice. ³Brer Rabbey be callen to you now.² He painted lines and marking on his ritualistically scarred and tattooed chest before setting the white paste aside. He picked up a large, oval mirror and set it in the altar before sitting cross-legged in the circle.
³Spirits of de oddah world, Brer Rabbey be wanten to speak to de one dat brought him into de world of de flesh an bone. Lissen to me, and lemme speak to Mama Moolay.²
He threw his arms up, chanting in the ancient Vodoun tongue. His beaded dreadlocks flew back from his raw-boned and tattooed face as his chanting filled the decaying house he occupied. The candles in the room flared a bit as the shadowy magic came to the voodoo priest, and the mirror darkened, in spite of the candles lighting it. Smoke filled the glass, and coalesced into the fleshy face of the dead voodoo witch Mama Moolay.
³Who be callinı Mama Moolay here?² the spirit asked from the mirror.
³It beinı me, Mama,² Rabbey said, smiling with his rotten teeth. ³I be de one callen you from de oddah world.²
³Rabbey? Why you disturbinı Mamaıs spirit now, chile?²
³You be walken wit de ghosts an shadows, Mama,² the voodoo priest replied. ³You beinı dead cos you made a granı mistake in trusten dat fish-mon.²
³You not needinı to tell me dis, Rabbey,² Moolayıs spirit snapped. ³Your Mama was a fool den.²
³Datıs not de only reason I callen you here, Mama,² Rabbey said. ³Cos you dyen too soon, you not passen on jor knowledge of de voodoo to me. You teachen me some of de ways, dis true, but I wanten to know all of dem.²
Mama laughed. ³You gettinı greedy, chile! I know you left Malcovia long ago, so why you needinı this knowledge now? You done got caught by de Guardians, Rabbey. You not deservinı what I know!²
Rabbeyıs dark eyes glinted like obsidian as he dusted his fingers in voodoo powder, then reached out a hand toward the mirror and made a claw of his fingers, twisting them as if throttling something. In the smoky glass, Moolayıs spirit gasped and started to make choking noises. ³Donıt you be talken dat way to Brer Rabbey, you fucken ghost! I be sitten in fucken Guardian custody now, dis true, but it is a testament to my skills dat I contacten de oddah side witıout de propa totems.² He lowered his hand and gestured at the altar of animal bones. ³Look dere! I not even usen de propa human skulls an bones!²
He spat to the side, safely outside the circle. ³I haven to kill de rats an birds dat I find to make de altar!² He glared at Mama in the mirror. ³I wanten to get out of dese fucken Guardiansı fingers, but to do dat, Mama, I need de knowledge of de Shadow-Walk.²
Mamaıs eyes widened. ³De Shadow-Walk? Dat be a dangerous one, Rabbey. You not wantinı to know how to Shadow-Walk. There tıings in de spirit world which will devour your soul if you trespass here.²
³I not caren about fucken shadow-beasts, Mama,² the voodoo priest declared. ³Just you pass on de knowledge I be wanten, an I let you go back to resten in de oddah world.²
Moolay harrumphed. ³I not knowinı what you askinı for, Rabbey. De last person I know of who attempted de Shadow-Walk was my father, Papa Hoosha.²
³Gros-Papa?² Rabbey asked. He shook his head, the beads on his dreads clicking against each other. ³You must be fucken kidden me, Mama. Gros-Papa be insane.²
³True, he has gone mad,² the spirit agreed. ³But dat be because he Shadow-Walked. He saw tıings in de spirit world dat his mind could not handle.²
Rabbey harrumphed now. ³Den he was fucken pathetic. Iıll be getten what I needen to know from Gros-Papa, den.² He raised his hand, preparing to end the spell.
³Wait, Rabbey chile,² Mama said. The voodoo priest looked up at her. ³You knowinı as well as I dat the knowledge of de Vodoun not be passinı de way you want. It can only go from parent to chile, not granıparent to granıchile. All else is just teachings. True passinı of de knowledge, only parent to chile.²
Rabbey frowned a bit, then shook his head again with another rattle of beads. ³Dat not beinı a problem, Mama. I not knowen how to Shadow-Walk, dis true, but I knowen how to Spirit-Walk. Now, begone, spirit, until Brer Rabbey summon you again!² He scooped up a handful of voodoo powder and threw it at the mirror, snuffing several candles. The mirror darkened, then returned to normal.
The voodoo priest rose from the circle and stepped outside of it, walking to the shelves near the altar. Set atop a carved wooden bookstand was a leather-bound book filled with yellow parchment paper. It was filled with Rabbeyıs own Vodoun knowledge, which heıd painstakingly written down for easier reference. He turned to a page headed Spirit-Walking.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Papa Hoosha, once an accomplished voodoo priest, was a shadow of his former self. In his day, he had been renowned for the breadth of his Vodoun knowledge, had been King of Malcovia for three years before he was voted out. Hoosha had sworn to delve deeper into the dark arts of Vodoun than any man had dared, and become King once more. Three years after his loss of the throne, preparing to run for the throne again, he called a gathering to show his new knowledge and Shadow-Walk from one end of Malcovia to the other. When he emerged on the far side of the Island of the Damned, Papa Hoosha was indeed physically intact, but the rite had cost him something in his mind.
Now he was cared after by some of his former proteges, living in a dark hut, tied into a chair, his hands kept bound inside thick mittens to prevent him from tearing at his skin and hair. His eyes twitched in their sockets, seeing things that weren`t there. He shouted and screamed, pleading for mercy from the unspeakable horrors he believed he saw. There were times when he was silent, and that was almost worse, as he would shake in his chair, trembling with terror and soiling himself. He had not seen daylight in years, for every time he was taken outside in the sun, he screamed and thrashed about as though he were being burned.
His thick dreadlocks had long since been bleached bone white, a combination of age and whatever fear had been put in him by his Shadow-Walk. His face was lined with wrinkles, the tattoos and ritualistic scars on his chest faded by time. His once mighty frame had sagged and softened. His hands had become almost permanently twisted into desparate claws as he clutched the arms of his wicker chair.
Hoosha`s head rolled to one side as he looked out the window far across the room. Dark clouds were gathering on the horizon. "A storm be comin`," he whispered in his hoarse, old voice. "Oh, brudda, it gon` be a big one. De spirits gon` be major restless, mon, it gon` be a bad one." His caretakers had gone outside to hunt for fish in the shore not too far away, and so no one heard Gros-Papa`s murmurs.
The mad old voodoo priest`s eyes rolled in his head as he stared out of the window. "De dark spirits be angry. Som` chile is messin` wit big, bad juju, mon. He don` know what he doin`!" His voice started to rise, his words rasping through his scarred throat. "DE SPIRITS BE ANGRY, BRUDDA! DE CHILE NOT KNOW WHAT HE DOIN`! BIG, BAD JUJU, MON! DE STORM GON` STIR UP DE SHADOWS AND GHOSTS!"
He began to thrash in his chair, struggling against his bonds and whipping his head back and forth. "DE ODDAH SIDE BE MAJOR PISSED-OFF, MON! DE VOODOO GON` BE DE END OF DE CHILE!" His caretakers, Louey and Selah, came running back up the walk and dropped their catches on the floor, rushing over to try and calm the old priest. "WE GON` BE IN BIG, BAD TROUBLE, MON! BAD JUJU! BAAAAD JUJU!"
Part the First: The Other Side
~*~*~*~*~*~
Brer Rabbey lit the last of the pale wax candles in his sanctum and picked up the crucible in the middle of the floor. He stirred and mixed the black paste within before he picked up the brush to smear the paste along the walls in arcane patterns, particularly around the door. He set the crucible aside, next to the altar of animal bones and skulls, which was brightly lit with scores of the short votive candles. He picked up another crucible, the paste within this one a stark white, and drew a circle lined with strange symbols in the middle of a wide circle of candles.
³Lissen to me, o spirits of de oddah world,² Brer Rabbey intoned in his deep, accented voice. ³Brer Rabbey be callen to you now.² He painted lines and marking on his ritualistically scarred and tattooed chest before setting the white paste aside. He picked up a large, oval mirror and set it in the altar before sitting cross-legged in the circle.
³Spirits of de oddah world, Brer Rabbey be wanten to speak to de one dat brought him into de world of de flesh an bone. Lissen to me, and lemme speak to Mama Moolay.²
He threw his arms up, chanting in the ancient Vodoun tongue. His beaded dreadlocks flew back from his raw-boned and tattooed face as his chanting filled the decaying house he occupied. The candles in the room flared a bit as the shadowy magic came to the voodoo priest, and the mirror darkened, in spite of the candles lighting it. Smoke filled the glass, and coalesced into the fleshy face of the dead voodoo witch Mama Moolay.
³Who be callinı Mama Moolay here?² the spirit asked from the mirror.
³It beinı me, Mama,² Rabbey said, smiling with his rotten teeth. ³I be de one callen you from de oddah world.²
³Rabbey? Why you disturbinı Mamaıs spirit now, chile?²
³You be walken wit de ghosts an shadows, Mama,² the voodoo priest replied. ³You beinı dead cos you made a granı mistake in trusten dat fish-mon.²
³You not needinı to tell me dis, Rabbey,² Moolayıs spirit snapped. ³Your Mama was a fool den.²
³Datıs not de only reason I callen you here, Mama,² Rabbey said. ³Cos you dyen too soon, you not passen on jor knowledge of de voodoo to me. You teachen me some of de ways, dis true, but I wanten to know all of dem.²
Mama laughed. ³You gettinı greedy, chile! I know you left Malcovia long ago, so why you needinı this knowledge now? You done got caught by de Guardians, Rabbey. You not deservinı what I know!²
Rabbeyıs dark eyes glinted like obsidian as he dusted his fingers in voodoo powder, then reached out a hand toward the mirror and made a claw of his fingers, twisting them as if throttling something. In the smoky glass, Moolayıs spirit gasped and started to make choking noises. ³Donıt you be talken dat way to Brer Rabbey, you fucken ghost! I be sitten in fucken Guardian custody now, dis true, but it is a testament to my skills dat I contacten de oddah side witıout de propa totems.² He lowered his hand and gestured at the altar of animal bones. ³Look dere! I not even usen de propa human skulls an bones!²
He spat to the side, safely outside the circle. ³I haven to kill de rats an birds dat I find to make de altar!² He glared at Mama in the mirror. ³I wanten to get out of dese fucken Guardiansı fingers, but to do dat, Mama, I need de knowledge of de Shadow-Walk.²
Mamaıs eyes widened. ³De Shadow-Walk? Dat be a dangerous one, Rabbey. You not wantinı to know how to Shadow-Walk. There tıings in de spirit world which will devour your soul if you trespass here.²
³I not caren about fucken shadow-beasts, Mama,² the voodoo priest declared. ³Just you pass on de knowledge I be wanten, an I let you go back to resten in de oddah world.²
Moolay harrumphed. ³I not knowinı what you askinı for, Rabbey. De last person I know of who attempted de Shadow-Walk was my father, Papa Hoosha.²
³Gros-Papa?² Rabbey asked. He shook his head, the beads on his dreads clicking against each other. ³You must be fucken kidden me, Mama. Gros-Papa be insane.²
³True, he has gone mad,² the spirit agreed. ³But dat be because he Shadow-Walked. He saw tıings in de spirit world dat his mind could not handle.²
Rabbey harrumphed now. ³Den he was fucken pathetic. Iıll be getten what I needen to know from Gros-Papa, den.² He raised his hand, preparing to end the spell.
³Wait, Rabbey chile,² Mama said. The voodoo priest looked up at her. ³You knowinı as well as I dat the knowledge of de Vodoun not be passinı de way you want. It can only go from parent to chile, not granıparent to granıchile. All else is just teachings. True passinı of de knowledge, only parent to chile.²
Rabbey frowned a bit, then shook his head again with another rattle of beads. ³Dat not beinı a problem, Mama. I not knowen how to Shadow-Walk, dis true, but I knowen how to Spirit-Walk. Now, begone, spirit, until Brer Rabbey summon you again!² He scooped up a handful of voodoo powder and threw it at the mirror, snuffing several candles. The mirror darkened, then returned to normal.
The voodoo priest rose from the circle and stepped outside of it, walking to the shelves near the altar. Set atop a carved wooden bookstand was a leather-bound book filled with yellow parchment paper. It was filled with Rabbeyıs own Vodoun knowledge, which heıd painstakingly written down for easier reference. He turned to a page headed Spirit-Walking.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Papa Hoosha, once an accomplished voodoo priest, was a shadow of his former self. In his day, he had been renowned for the breadth of his Vodoun knowledge, had been King of Malcovia for three years before he was voted out. Hoosha had sworn to delve deeper into the dark arts of Vodoun than any man had dared, and become King once more. Three years after his loss of the throne, preparing to run for the throne again, he called a gathering to show his new knowledge and Shadow-Walk from one end of Malcovia to the other. When he emerged on the far side of the Island of the Damned, Papa Hoosha was indeed physically intact, but the rite had cost him something in his mind.
Now he was cared after by some of his former proteges, living in a dark hut, tied into a chair, his hands kept bound inside thick mittens to prevent him from tearing at his skin and hair. His eyes twitched in their sockets, seeing things that weren`t there. He shouted and screamed, pleading for mercy from the unspeakable horrors he believed he saw. There were times when he was silent, and that was almost worse, as he would shake in his chair, trembling with terror and soiling himself. He had not seen daylight in years, for every time he was taken outside in the sun, he screamed and thrashed about as though he were being burned.
His thick dreadlocks had long since been bleached bone white, a combination of age and whatever fear had been put in him by his Shadow-Walk. His face was lined with wrinkles, the tattoos and ritualistic scars on his chest faded by time. His once mighty frame had sagged and softened. His hands had become almost permanently twisted into desparate claws as he clutched the arms of his wicker chair.
Hoosha`s head rolled to one side as he looked out the window far across the room. Dark clouds were gathering on the horizon. "A storm be comin`," he whispered in his hoarse, old voice. "Oh, brudda, it gon` be a big one. De spirits gon` be major restless, mon, it gon` be a bad one." His caretakers had gone outside to hunt for fish in the shore not too far away, and so no one heard Gros-Papa`s murmurs.
The mad old voodoo priest`s eyes rolled in his head as he stared out of the window. "De dark spirits be angry. Som` chile is messin` wit big, bad juju, mon. He don` know what he doin`!" His voice started to rise, his words rasping through his scarred throat. "DE SPIRITS BE ANGRY, BRUDDA! DE CHILE NOT KNOW WHAT HE DOIN`! BIG, BAD JUJU, MON! DE STORM GON` STIR UP DE SHADOWS AND GHOSTS!"
He began to thrash in his chair, struggling against his bonds and whipping his head back and forth. "DE ODDAH SIDE BE MAJOR PISSED-OFF, MON! DE VOODOO GON` BE DE END OF DE CHILE!" His caretakers, Louey and Selah, came running back up the walk and dropped their catches on the floor, rushing over to try and calm the old priest. "WE GON` BE IN BIG, BAD TROUBLE, MON! BAD JUJU! BAAAAD JUJU!"
* * *
~*~*~*~*~*~
Part the Second: Spirit-Walking
~*~*~*~*~*~
Brer Rabbey finished mixing a new batch of white paste, setting the crucible aside. He wiped off the old sigils he`d painted on his body for his spirit calling rite, then drew new ones along his scars and tattoos in preparation for his next voodoo spell. He set the bowl down again and picked up a raggedly old shoebox, which shook angrily as he held it. He opened it to pull out the rat within, holding it by the neck and staring at it. He spoke as he held the rat over the bowl. "Lissen to me, o guardians of de oddah side. Lissen to Brer Rabbey. I offa you dis blood sacrifice dat you will protect me on my path." He gripped the rat by the neck and the body, then with a snarl, twisted violently. The rodent`s body cracked in his iron grip, and he held it over the bowl so that its blood fell into the paste. He shook every last drop into the crucible, then tossed the body out the window. Mixing the paste so that it turned a crimson color, he walked to the wall beside his altar, using the bloody paste to outline a doorway on the blank, rotten wood. He sat cross-legged in his circle again, using the paste one last time to mark his arms, legs, and face.
Rabbey had dedicated his life to learning the ways of Vodoun. He started learning from Mama Moolay before even his first decade had ended. When she declared she had nothing more to teach him, he struck off in search of new founts of knowledge. This first led him to Gros-Papa, his grandfather, but he soon lost patience with the mad old man and his demented ramblings and imagined nightmares. He had little patience for people without the backbone necessary to delve deep into the shadowy rifts of the Other Side, the Spirit World. He visited several other shamans and voodoo priests, devouring what nuggets of wisdom they were willing to part with and rushing off to seek another mentor. He learned ancient rites of Vodoun that few of Malcovia`s practitioners were willing to perform, fearing they would anger the old spirits that had died there ages before. Fed up with their lack of will, he left Malcovia and El Nido altogether, slipping first to Medina, then into Guardia itself. He gathered a group of followers, but that had been years ago, before the Guardians had scattered his acolytes to the winds.
"O guardians of de oddah side, guide me on my path. Take me to Gros-Papa," he intoned, picking up a handful of voodoo powder and sprinkling it on his eyes, then throwing it at the doorway. "Take me to Papa Hoosha." He began to chant, low and quiet, a simple voodoo phrase that he repeated endlessly. To the outside observer, that would be all that he would do for many hours.
But to Rabbey, it was as though the world had gone monochrome. He stood up and looked before him. Two thin, pale lines led from the circle of protection to the doorway, which now appeared to lead into a dark, smoky void, with only the path faintly visible. He took a step forward, then glanced back behind him. He saw himself seated in the circle, chanting incessantly. He turned back to the path. When you pass through the Doorway, he remembered from his tome, you pass into the Spirit World. Once in the Spirit World, you must never look back and never stray from the Path, lest your spirit be lost forever. He set his shoulders, staring forward into the empty nothingness before him, then strode straight ahead down the Path.
He recited from his lessons and notes on the spell, steeling his will: As long as you stay on the Path, you remain under the protection of the guardians of the spirit world. Nothing may harm you on the path, but the Things That Cannot Be can try to scare you off the Path.
Far, far ahead of him, Rabbey saw a faint white spot, the other end of the Path, the Doorway which would bring him to Gros-Papa. He walked on, paying no heed to the shapes that beckoned and the voices that whispered to him from the haze beyond the Path. He knew what was taunting him and calling to him from beyond the Path. He remembered them from his grandfather`s few lucid moments. They were the primary danger to those who Spirit-Walked. They were creatures of shadow, forever trapped on the Other Side by the Guardians of the Spirit World. They had no physical form and therefore could not exist in the physical world; the old Vodoun tomes called them `the Things That Cannot Be.`
The Things That Cannot Be hate the living because the living have souls, and the Things That Cannot Be -- the Beasts of the Shadow -- have none.
Brer Rabbey just smiled as he saw the other Doorway get nearer. He was almost there, he knew. Time had no meaning here, but he knew that hours were passing in the real world. This would not take him long. The indistinct faces and shapes about him grew more desparate and louder as he neared his goal. Still, the voodoo priest did not falter or look back. When he was almost upon the Doorway, a huge shadowy form rose up in front of him. It had no eyes, no mouth, nor anything that resembled a face. It was hard to put to words what the Shadow-Beast looked like, for its appearance was constantly changing, seeking something that would touch the frightened part of Rabbey`s soul. Before it could find that form, however, something else, seemingly formed of the haze itself, enveloped the Shadow-Beast and ripped it from the Path.
Brer Rabbey grinned a rotten smile as the Spirit World Guardian -- like the Shadow-Beast, noncorporeal and smoky -- removed the obstacle. "Sorry, mon, but I be haven de protection here." He stepped forward again, and through the Doorway.
Part the Second: Spirit-Walking
~*~*~*~*~*~
Brer Rabbey finished mixing a new batch of white paste, setting the crucible aside. He wiped off the old sigils he`d painted on his body for his spirit calling rite, then drew new ones along his scars and tattoos in preparation for his next voodoo spell. He set the bowl down again and picked up a raggedly old shoebox, which shook angrily as he held it. He opened it to pull out the rat within, holding it by the neck and staring at it. He spoke as he held the rat over the bowl. "Lissen to me, o guardians of de oddah side. Lissen to Brer Rabbey. I offa you dis blood sacrifice dat you will protect me on my path." He gripped the rat by the neck and the body, then with a snarl, twisted violently. The rodent`s body cracked in his iron grip, and he held it over the bowl so that its blood fell into the paste. He shook every last drop into the crucible, then tossed the body out the window. Mixing the paste so that it turned a crimson color, he walked to the wall beside his altar, using the bloody paste to outline a doorway on the blank, rotten wood. He sat cross-legged in his circle again, using the paste one last time to mark his arms, legs, and face.
Rabbey had dedicated his life to learning the ways of Vodoun. He started learning from Mama Moolay before even his first decade had ended. When she declared she had nothing more to teach him, he struck off in search of new founts of knowledge. This first led him to Gros-Papa, his grandfather, but he soon lost patience with the mad old man and his demented ramblings and imagined nightmares. He had little patience for people without the backbone necessary to delve deep into the shadowy rifts of the Other Side, the Spirit World. He visited several other shamans and voodoo priests, devouring what nuggets of wisdom they were willing to part with and rushing off to seek another mentor. He learned ancient rites of Vodoun that few of Malcovia`s practitioners were willing to perform, fearing they would anger the old spirits that had died there ages before. Fed up with their lack of will, he left Malcovia and El Nido altogether, slipping first to Medina, then into Guardia itself. He gathered a group of followers, but that had been years ago, before the Guardians had scattered his acolytes to the winds.
"O guardians of de oddah side, guide me on my path. Take me to Gros-Papa," he intoned, picking up a handful of voodoo powder and sprinkling it on his eyes, then throwing it at the doorway. "Take me to Papa Hoosha." He began to chant, low and quiet, a simple voodoo phrase that he repeated endlessly. To the outside observer, that would be all that he would do for many hours.
But to Rabbey, it was as though the world had gone monochrome. He stood up and looked before him. Two thin, pale lines led from the circle of protection to the doorway, which now appeared to lead into a dark, smoky void, with only the path faintly visible. He took a step forward, then glanced back behind him. He saw himself seated in the circle, chanting incessantly. He turned back to the path. When you pass through the Doorway, he remembered from his tome, you pass into the Spirit World. Once in the Spirit World, you must never look back and never stray from the Path, lest your spirit be lost forever. He set his shoulders, staring forward into the empty nothingness before him, then strode straight ahead down the Path.
He recited from his lessons and notes on the spell, steeling his will: As long as you stay on the Path, you remain under the protection of the guardians of the spirit world. Nothing may harm you on the path, but the Things That Cannot Be can try to scare you off the Path.
Far, far ahead of him, Rabbey saw a faint white spot, the other end of the Path, the Doorway which would bring him to Gros-Papa. He walked on, paying no heed to the shapes that beckoned and the voices that whispered to him from the haze beyond the Path. He knew what was taunting him and calling to him from beyond the Path. He remembered them from his grandfather`s few lucid moments. They were the primary danger to those who Spirit-Walked. They were creatures of shadow, forever trapped on the Other Side by the Guardians of the Spirit World. They had no physical form and therefore could not exist in the physical world; the old Vodoun tomes called them `the Things That Cannot Be.`
The Things That Cannot Be hate the living because the living have souls, and the Things That Cannot Be -- the Beasts of the Shadow -- have none.
Brer Rabbey just smiled as he saw the other Doorway get nearer. He was almost there, he knew. Time had no meaning here, but he knew that hours were passing in the real world. This would not take him long. The indistinct faces and shapes about him grew more desparate and louder as he neared his goal. Still, the voodoo priest did not falter or look back. When he was almost upon the Doorway, a huge shadowy form rose up in front of him. It had no eyes, no mouth, nor anything that resembled a face. It was hard to put to words what the Shadow-Beast looked like, for its appearance was constantly changing, seeking something that would touch the frightened part of Rabbey`s soul. Before it could find that form, however, something else, seemingly formed of the haze itself, enveloped the Shadow-Beast and ripped it from the Path.
Brer Rabbey grinned a rotten smile as the Spirit World Guardian -- like the Shadow-Beast, noncorporeal and smoky -- removed the obstacle. "Sorry, mon, but I be haven de protection here." He stepped forward again, and through the Doorway.
* * *
~*~*~*~*~*~
Part the Third: Gros-Papa
~*~*~*~*~*~
The world still appeared monochromatic, while he himself still had color. He looked about, and saw the trembling old man tied to the chair. Though Rabbey knew that he was invisible while Spirit-Walking, the old man`s eyes were fixed on him. "Gros-Papa," the voodoo priest said. "Papa Hoosha, you seein` me, aren`t you?"
The old man nodded. "You not like de other t`ings dat be tormentin` me, brudda. Who you, den?"
"I am Brer Rabbey, son of your daughter, Mama Moolay." Gros-Papa reeled back in his chair a bit, but Rabbey continued. "I be Spirit-Walken now, old mon. I comen to you now because I be wanten de knowledge of de Shadow-Walk."
"No!" Gros-Papa cried out. "You not wantin` to know dat, Rabbey chile! De Shadow-Walk bein` too dangerous for mortals! You`ll be disturbin` de spirits, chile!"
"Shut your fucken mouth, old mon!" Rabbey roared, thrusting a hand through the madman`s chest. Gros-Papa wailed in terror and shook as the hand was withdrawn. Nothing had happened. "You fucken lucky dat I jus` Spirit-Walken, old mon. If I be wanten to kill you now, you already be on de oddah side." He stood back from him. "I no wanten you to jus` teach me de Shadow-Walk, Gros-Papa, I wanten you to pass on de knowledge you have."
The old man hacked and coughed, which Rabbey assumed was an angry laugh. "Too bad, chile! Dat not gon` happen now. De passin` on only done to my chile, not gran`chile. And your Mama Moolay, she already on de oddah side now. I know dis cos I seen her, Rabbey chile."
"Dat not gon` be a problem, old mon," Rabbey told him. "Where your caretakahs, Gros-Papa? You callen dem now, or I be maken t`ings much worse for you, old mon."
Gros-Papa stared at him for a moment longer, then twisted himself in his chair, bellowing, "Louey! Selah! Hurry up! Come here! Papa Hoosha needin` to talk to you!" He writhed against his bindings a moment or two, then calmed when the two caretakers arrived. Louey was a pot-bellied man with mocha-brown skin, his head shaved bald. Selah was a very lean woman with uneven teeth and a veritable mane of dark hair tied back in many long braids. Neither of them saw Rabbey. Gros-Papa turned to look at them. "Louey, Selah, we needin` to prepare for a passin`-on ceremony!"
"Papa Hoosha, you talkin` de crazy talk again, you," Louey said, shaking his head.
"Hush, you!" Gros-Papa shouted. "I sayin` we doin` a passin`-on ceremony, we gon` do it!"
Selah pointed out the door. "Dere`s a big, bad storm comin`, Hoosha. We canna be doin` no ceremony in dat!"
Brer Rabbey`s eyes turned more flinty. "We doen de ceremony, old mon." He turned and looked back through the spectral door he`d come through and flung a hand toward it, quirking his fingers like a puppeteer. Back in his room on the other side of the Doorway, his body picked up a handful of voodoo dust and poured it in certain ways within the circle. After this, Rabbey`s spirit on Malcovia seemed brighter to Gros-Papa`s eyes. The spectral priest walked over to Louey and walked straight into him. The caretaker jerked and twitched, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, then straightened.
Louey turned to Selah and stared at her. She stepped back in alarm, for Louey`s stare had a cold, hard edge to it that she`d never seen before. When he next spoke, it wasn`t his tenor, but Brer Rabbey`s deep baritone that came out. "You lissen here, caretakah girl," Louey/Rabbey said, grabbing her by the throat. "I be sayen we haven a passen-on ceremony, so we gon` have de ceremony, or I be senden you on to de oddah side right now, girl!"
"Who you, den?" Selah croaked past the iron grip on her neck. "You not Louey!"
"I Brer Rabbey, me," the possessed caretaker said. "I Gros-Papa`s gran`son, me. And you gon` prepare for de ceremony, girl." He squeezed slightly. "You understanden me?"
~*~*~*~*~*~
Little more than two hours later, the ground in front of Gros-Papa`s hut had been cleared of grass, a large bonfire was lit, several large torches around the area, and candles arranged in three wide circles. Papa Hoosha, released from his chair and bindings, stood in one circle, his old, sagging frame decorated with voodoo sigils. He stayed within his circle of candles, but stared about the clearing, jumping and twitching at his own imagined demons. Selah stood in another circle, also with painted sigils on her body. She looked at Gros-Papa with worry, then looked over at the third circle, where the Rabbey-possessed Louey stood, his body drawn with sigils identical to the ones on Rabbey`s body back in Guardia.
Louey/Rabbey finished drawing voodoo symbols in the dirt, then stood upright. "It bein` time for de ceremony now." He stooped and picked up a staff topped by a collection of rat skulls and shook it. "Lissen, o spirits of de oddah world! Brer Rabbey be callen to you now! I stand here, wearen de flesh of anotha man, but you knowen who I am! I summon de spirit of de one dat brought me into de world of de flesh an bone! Mama Moolay! Come to me!"
Selah and Gros-Papa stared into the bonfire as the heat haze and smoke above it coalesced into the form of the dead voodoo witch. "Why you callin` me again, Rabbey chile?" She looked about the clearing. "What be goin` on here?"
Louey/Rabbey smiled. "It bein` time for de passen-on ceremony, Mama. After dis, I be letten your spirit rest. Dere be de body you usen for de ceremony." He pointed the staff at Selah. "You be taken her for de ceremony."
The spirit shook her head. "No, chile, dis be gran` fool behavior. Shadow-Walkin` is too dangerous for you."
Louey/Rabbey scowled and dusted his hands in powder from a pouch around his waist, then clenched his fist at Moolay`s spirit. She twisted and writhed in agony, the gunshot wounds that killed her in life opening on her spirit. "For de last time, you fucken ghost, you gon` do dis ceremony, or I be marken you for de T`ings Dat Cannot Be."
"No!" Moolay cried out. "I doin` dis for you, my chile, but you have been warned." She turned to face Selah, who looked about ready to bolt, but the spirit swept forward and into the caretaker`s body. She jerked and twitched, choking a bit, then straightened up. Selah/Moolay looked up and then picked up the staff set in front of her own circle. Louey/Rabbey nodded once, then looked over to Gros-Papa. The old man was trembling, partly because the temperature was dropping as the storm approached, but mostly because of the everpresent fear. Under that cold glare, the mad priest picked up his own staff.
"Now," Rabbey said out of Louey`s mouth, "begin de ceremony."
Gros-Papa took a deep breath, attempting to calm his shattered nerves, then started stamping his feet within his circle, pumping his arms up and down, raising his staff high and pounding it into the packed dirt. He flung his head about, his bone-white dreadlocks shaking in the rising wind. Slowly, Selah/Moolay started to do the same thing, stamping her feet, pumping her arms and pounding the staff. Then Louey/Rabbey did the same, the three of them dancing a simple ritualistic dance, turning within their circles as they did so, chanting simple voodoo phrases to help collect the power needed for the spell. The wind was blowing much fiercer now, the grasses outside the clearing rustled loudly as the moon was blocked out by dark, roiling clouds.
Gros-Papa, roaring despite his ancient throat, sang:
Spirit World, be hearin` me now as I call to youn!
Listen to me, an old priest of de Vodoun!
I call to you to help me pass on what I known!
Pass it on to one of my blood, flesh, and bone!
Lightning seared the aky, snapping an old tree in half. Rain started to slice the air, the wind and the chill making it like stinging razors on the flesh of the three around the fire. The fire flickered and almost blew out, but the chanting and the power in the ritual kept the torches and candles upright and lit, kept the bonfire going. Gros-Papa, upon finishing his verse, stomped both feet at once and held his staff overhead with both hands, punctuating it with a loud voodoo incantation, which turned into a wordless yell.
When he finished, Selah/Moolay sang next:
Spirit World, be hearin` me now as I call to youn!
Listen to me, an adept one of de Vodoun!
I call to you to help me catch what was passed!
So dat I may know it in future, present, past!
Another crash of lightning, this time striking the not-too-distant beach, where it fused sand into glass. The rain turned from razors to full-out knives, the cold cutting the three to the bone. The wind howled, as though possessed itself, the howl its scream of outrage at the three heedless voodoo people. Gros-Papa shook from the wet chill, but held his place, still holding his staff high. Selah/Moolay stomped her feet and raised her staff overhead, speaking her own incantation, yelling her defiance at the elements. The torches and candles flared around the two, as the light seemed to twist about Papa Hoosha, moving up through his body before spinning through the air to sink down through the body of his possessed caretaker.
Louey/Rabbey had not ceased his own dancing, but smiled as he saw this part of the ritual completed. He looked to Selah/Moolay as she all but collapsed from the rush of knowledge, glaring until she too stood up and began to chant again. She jumped and almost fell over as a bolt of lightning arced over the clearing to strike a tree beside Gros-Papa`s hut. The thunder rang their ears, driving them deaf, but the possessed caretaker glared over at the witch inside the girl. The sheer determination behind that gaze was enough to stiffen her resolve as she said her next verse:
Now de arts have been passed!
I shall guard dem until my last!
Use dem well and use dem true!
Use dem like Vodoun anew!
Gros-Papa, breathing shallow because of the cold, clenched his teeth and managed his next:
I have done my part of dis ancient rite!
Passed on what was mine dis very night!
Spirits, I place my trust wit`in my chile!
Else may my soul be eaten by beasts most vile!
The storm intensified as the two completed the transfer of knowledge, but Louey/Rabbey was not finished with them. He pounded his staff and shouted his chants louder, his cold eyes blazing. Another nearby lightning strike set their hair on end, but seemed to reenergize the other two. Selah/Moolay danced in a circle and repeated the first verse of the ritual:
Spirit World, be hearin` me now as I call to youn!
Listen to me, an old priest of de Vodoun!
I call to you to help me pass on what I known!
Pass it on to one of my blood, flesh, and bone!
She raised her staff high and shouted the incantation, yelling. Rabbey quickly picked up and sang the second verse:
Spirit World, be hearen me now as I call to youn!
Listen to me, an adept one of de Vodoun!
I call to you to help me catch what was passed!
So dat I may know it in future, present, past!
He raised his staff high and yelled the incantation. Once more, the flaring of torches and candles. Once more, the twisting of the light around Selah/Moolay, except this time passing up through her, and down through Rabbey. Within the caretaker`s body, Rabbey`s spirit reeled under the influx of knowledge. There was far more to Vodoun than he had ever suspected, as he learned of all the rituals and rites that Moolay had withheld from him, and those that had been withheld from her by Papa Hoosha.
He also learned of just what had driven his grandfather mad. Shadow-Walking was indeed as dangerous as Mama and Gros-Papa had warned him. When Spirit-Walking, the priest was at least protected against the Things That Cannot Be by the sacrifice given and so under the escort of the guardians of the Spirit World. Nothing could harm the Spirit-Walker unless they turned about while on the Path or strayed from the Path. Shadow-Walking, however, had no such precautions. There was no Path, and the protectors ignored the Shadow-Walker, for it requires a much higher toll than a simple animal sacrifice to be safe from the Things That Cannot Be in that state. When Papa Hoosha had Shadow-Walked across Malcovia, he had stirred up angry spirits, so instead of being physically stolen away by the Shadow-Beasts, his mind was snapped by the horrors visited upon him by the spirits that lay in the Isle of the Damned.
Rabbey steeled himself, however. ~I not a gran` fool like Gros-Papa. I Brer Rabbey, me! Not`ing will affect me like him!~ He straightened Louey`s body, and intoned:
Now de arts have been passed!
I shall guard dem until my last!
Use dem well and use dem true!
Use dem like Vodoun anew!
The storm was throwing hail at them now, small marble-sized stones. Gros-Papa crouched down in a ball, shielding his old head, while Selah/Moolay crumpled and nearly fell out of her circle. She pulled herself up using her staff, then finished:
I have done my part of dis ancient rite!
Passed on what was mine dis very night!
Spirits, I place my trust wit`in my chile!
Else may my soul be eaten by beasts most vile!
Louey/Rabbey nodded, and pounded his staff against the ground once. Selah/Moolay did the same, followed by Papa Hoosha. With the third strike against the soil, the torches were promptly snuffed by the gale-force winds and toppled to the ground. The candles were sucked off into the sky. The bonfire flickered and almost went out completely. The mystical protection that had shielded the ritual from the full force of the storm was lost. The tempest almost seemed to sense this and redoubled its efforts.
"We disturbin` de spirits, mon!" Gros-Papa wailed. "Dis is BAAAAD JUJU!"
Part the Third: Gros-Papa
~*~*~*~*~*~
The world still appeared monochromatic, while he himself still had color. He looked about, and saw the trembling old man tied to the chair. Though Rabbey knew that he was invisible while Spirit-Walking, the old man`s eyes were fixed on him. "Gros-Papa," the voodoo priest said. "Papa Hoosha, you seein` me, aren`t you?"
The old man nodded. "You not like de other t`ings dat be tormentin` me, brudda. Who you, den?"
"I am Brer Rabbey, son of your daughter, Mama Moolay." Gros-Papa reeled back in his chair a bit, but Rabbey continued. "I be Spirit-Walken now, old mon. I comen to you now because I be wanten de knowledge of de Shadow-Walk."
"No!" Gros-Papa cried out. "You not wantin` to know dat, Rabbey chile! De Shadow-Walk bein` too dangerous for mortals! You`ll be disturbin` de spirits, chile!"
"Shut your fucken mouth, old mon!" Rabbey roared, thrusting a hand through the madman`s chest. Gros-Papa wailed in terror and shook as the hand was withdrawn. Nothing had happened. "You fucken lucky dat I jus` Spirit-Walken, old mon. If I be wanten to kill you now, you already be on de oddah side." He stood back from him. "I no wanten you to jus` teach me de Shadow-Walk, Gros-Papa, I wanten you to pass on de knowledge you have."
The old man hacked and coughed, which Rabbey assumed was an angry laugh. "Too bad, chile! Dat not gon` happen now. De passin` on only done to my chile, not gran`chile. And your Mama Moolay, she already on de oddah side now. I know dis cos I seen her, Rabbey chile."
"Dat not gon` be a problem, old mon," Rabbey told him. "Where your caretakahs, Gros-Papa? You callen dem now, or I be maken t`ings much worse for you, old mon."
Gros-Papa stared at him for a moment longer, then twisted himself in his chair, bellowing, "Louey! Selah! Hurry up! Come here! Papa Hoosha needin` to talk to you!" He writhed against his bindings a moment or two, then calmed when the two caretakers arrived. Louey was a pot-bellied man with mocha-brown skin, his head shaved bald. Selah was a very lean woman with uneven teeth and a veritable mane of dark hair tied back in many long braids. Neither of them saw Rabbey. Gros-Papa turned to look at them. "Louey, Selah, we needin` to prepare for a passin`-on ceremony!"
"Papa Hoosha, you talkin` de crazy talk again, you," Louey said, shaking his head.
"Hush, you!" Gros-Papa shouted. "I sayin` we doin` a passin`-on ceremony, we gon` do it!"
Selah pointed out the door. "Dere`s a big, bad storm comin`, Hoosha. We canna be doin` no ceremony in dat!"
Brer Rabbey`s eyes turned more flinty. "We doen de ceremony, old mon." He turned and looked back through the spectral door he`d come through and flung a hand toward it, quirking his fingers like a puppeteer. Back in his room on the other side of the Doorway, his body picked up a handful of voodoo dust and poured it in certain ways within the circle. After this, Rabbey`s spirit on Malcovia seemed brighter to Gros-Papa`s eyes. The spectral priest walked over to Louey and walked straight into him. The caretaker jerked and twitched, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, then straightened.
Louey turned to Selah and stared at her. She stepped back in alarm, for Louey`s stare had a cold, hard edge to it that she`d never seen before. When he next spoke, it wasn`t his tenor, but Brer Rabbey`s deep baritone that came out. "You lissen here, caretakah girl," Louey/Rabbey said, grabbing her by the throat. "I be sayen we haven a passen-on ceremony, so we gon` have de ceremony, or I be senden you on to de oddah side right now, girl!"
"Who you, den?" Selah croaked past the iron grip on her neck. "You not Louey!"
"I Brer Rabbey, me," the possessed caretaker said. "I Gros-Papa`s gran`son, me. And you gon` prepare for de ceremony, girl." He squeezed slightly. "You understanden me?"
~*~*~*~*~*~
Little more than two hours later, the ground in front of Gros-Papa`s hut had been cleared of grass, a large bonfire was lit, several large torches around the area, and candles arranged in three wide circles. Papa Hoosha, released from his chair and bindings, stood in one circle, his old, sagging frame decorated with voodoo sigils. He stayed within his circle of candles, but stared about the clearing, jumping and twitching at his own imagined demons. Selah stood in another circle, also with painted sigils on her body. She looked at Gros-Papa with worry, then looked over at the third circle, where the Rabbey-possessed Louey stood, his body drawn with sigils identical to the ones on Rabbey`s body back in Guardia.
Louey/Rabbey finished drawing voodoo symbols in the dirt, then stood upright. "It bein` time for de ceremony now." He stooped and picked up a staff topped by a collection of rat skulls and shook it. "Lissen, o spirits of de oddah world! Brer Rabbey be callen to you now! I stand here, wearen de flesh of anotha man, but you knowen who I am! I summon de spirit of de one dat brought me into de world of de flesh an bone! Mama Moolay! Come to me!"
Selah and Gros-Papa stared into the bonfire as the heat haze and smoke above it coalesced into the form of the dead voodoo witch. "Why you callin` me again, Rabbey chile?" She looked about the clearing. "What be goin` on here?"
Louey/Rabbey smiled. "It bein` time for de passen-on ceremony, Mama. After dis, I be letten your spirit rest. Dere be de body you usen for de ceremony." He pointed the staff at Selah. "You be taken her for de ceremony."
The spirit shook her head. "No, chile, dis be gran` fool behavior. Shadow-Walkin` is too dangerous for you."
Louey/Rabbey scowled and dusted his hands in powder from a pouch around his waist, then clenched his fist at Moolay`s spirit. She twisted and writhed in agony, the gunshot wounds that killed her in life opening on her spirit. "For de last time, you fucken ghost, you gon` do dis ceremony, or I be marken you for de T`ings Dat Cannot Be."
"No!" Moolay cried out. "I doin` dis for you, my chile, but you have been warned." She turned to face Selah, who looked about ready to bolt, but the spirit swept forward and into the caretaker`s body. She jerked and twitched, choking a bit, then straightened up. Selah/Moolay looked up and then picked up the staff set in front of her own circle. Louey/Rabbey nodded once, then looked over to Gros-Papa. The old man was trembling, partly because the temperature was dropping as the storm approached, but mostly because of the everpresent fear. Under that cold glare, the mad priest picked up his own staff.
"Now," Rabbey said out of Louey`s mouth, "begin de ceremony."
Gros-Papa took a deep breath, attempting to calm his shattered nerves, then started stamping his feet within his circle, pumping his arms up and down, raising his staff high and pounding it into the packed dirt. He flung his head about, his bone-white dreadlocks shaking in the rising wind. Slowly, Selah/Moolay started to do the same thing, stamping her feet, pumping her arms and pounding the staff. Then Louey/Rabbey did the same, the three of them dancing a simple ritualistic dance, turning within their circles as they did so, chanting simple voodoo phrases to help collect the power needed for the spell. The wind was blowing much fiercer now, the grasses outside the clearing rustled loudly as the moon was blocked out by dark, roiling clouds.
Gros-Papa, roaring despite his ancient throat, sang:
Spirit World, be hearin` me now as I call to youn!
Listen to me, an old priest of de Vodoun!
I call to you to help me pass on what I known!
Pass it on to one of my blood, flesh, and bone!
Lightning seared the aky, snapping an old tree in half. Rain started to slice the air, the wind and the chill making it like stinging razors on the flesh of the three around the fire. The fire flickered and almost blew out, but the chanting and the power in the ritual kept the torches and candles upright and lit, kept the bonfire going. Gros-Papa, upon finishing his verse, stomped both feet at once and held his staff overhead with both hands, punctuating it with a loud voodoo incantation, which turned into a wordless yell.
When he finished, Selah/Moolay sang next:
Spirit World, be hearin` me now as I call to youn!
Listen to me, an adept one of de Vodoun!
I call to you to help me catch what was passed!
So dat I may know it in future, present, past!
Another crash of lightning, this time striking the not-too-distant beach, where it fused sand into glass. The rain turned from razors to full-out knives, the cold cutting the three to the bone. The wind howled, as though possessed itself, the howl its scream of outrage at the three heedless voodoo people. Gros-Papa shook from the wet chill, but held his place, still holding his staff high. Selah/Moolay stomped her feet and raised her staff overhead, speaking her own incantation, yelling her defiance at the elements. The torches and candles flared around the two, as the light seemed to twist about Papa Hoosha, moving up through his body before spinning through the air to sink down through the body of his possessed caretaker.
Louey/Rabbey had not ceased his own dancing, but smiled as he saw this part of the ritual completed. He looked to Selah/Moolay as she all but collapsed from the rush of knowledge, glaring until she too stood up and began to chant again. She jumped and almost fell over as a bolt of lightning arced over the clearing to strike a tree beside Gros-Papa`s hut. The thunder rang their ears, driving them deaf, but the possessed caretaker glared over at the witch inside the girl. The sheer determination behind that gaze was enough to stiffen her resolve as she said her next verse:
Now de arts have been passed!
I shall guard dem until my last!
Use dem well and use dem true!
Use dem like Vodoun anew!
Gros-Papa, breathing shallow because of the cold, clenched his teeth and managed his next:
I have done my part of dis ancient rite!
Passed on what was mine dis very night!
Spirits, I place my trust wit`in my chile!
Else may my soul be eaten by beasts most vile!
The storm intensified as the two completed the transfer of knowledge, but Louey/Rabbey was not finished with them. He pounded his staff and shouted his chants louder, his cold eyes blazing. Another nearby lightning strike set their hair on end, but seemed to reenergize the other two. Selah/Moolay danced in a circle and repeated the first verse of the ritual:
Spirit World, be hearin` me now as I call to youn!
Listen to me, an old priest of de Vodoun!
I call to you to help me pass on what I known!
Pass it on to one of my blood, flesh, and bone!
She raised her staff high and shouted the incantation, yelling. Rabbey quickly picked up and sang the second verse:
Spirit World, be hearen me now as I call to youn!
Listen to me, an adept one of de Vodoun!
I call to you to help me catch what was passed!
So dat I may know it in future, present, past!
He raised his staff high and yelled the incantation. Once more, the flaring of torches and candles. Once more, the twisting of the light around Selah/Moolay, except this time passing up through her, and down through Rabbey. Within the caretaker`s body, Rabbey`s spirit reeled under the influx of knowledge. There was far more to Vodoun than he had ever suspected, as he learned of all the rituals and rites that Moolay had withheld from him, and those that had been withheld from her by Papa Hoosha.
He also learned of just what had driven his grandfather mad. Shadow-Walking was indeed as dangerous as Mama and Gros-Papa had warned him. When Spirit-Walking, the priest was at least protected against the Things That Cannot Be by the sacrifice given and so under the escort of the guardians of the Spirit World. Nothing could harm the Spirit-Walker unless they turned about while on the Path or strayed from the Path. Shadow-Walking, however, had no such precautions. There was no Path, and the protectors ignored the Shadow-Walker, for it requires a much higher toll than a simple animal sacrifice to be safe from the Things That Cannot Be in that state. When Papa Hoosha had Shadow-Walked across Malcovia, he had stirred up angry spirits, so instead of being physically stolen away by the Shadow-Beasts, his mind was snapped by the horrors visited upon him by the spirits that lay in the Isle of the Damned.
Rabbey steeled himself, however. ~I not a gran` fool like Gros-Papa. I Brer Rabbey, me! Not`ing will affect me like him!~ He straightened Louey`s body, and intoned:
Now de arts have been passed!
I shall guard dem until my last!
Use dem well and use dem true!
Use dem like Vodoun anew!
The storm was throwing hail at them now, small marble-sized stones. Gros-Papa crouched down in a ball, shielding his old head, while Selah/Moolay crumpled and nearly fell out of her circle. She pulled herself up using her staff, then finished:
I have done my part of dis ancient rite!
Passed on what was mine dis very night!
Spirits, I place my trust wit`in my chile!
Else may my soul be eaten by beasts most vile!
Louey/Rabbey nodded, and pounded his staff against the ground once. Selah/Moolay did the same, followed by Papa Hoosha. With the third strike against the soil, the torches were promptly snuffed by the gale-force winds and toppled to the ground. The candles were sucked off into the sky. The bonfire flickered and almost went out completely. The mystical protection that had shielded the ritual from the full force of the storm was lost. The tempest almost seemed to sense this and redoubled its efforts.
"We disturbin` de spirits, mon!" Gros-Papa wailed. "Dis is BAAAAD JUJU!"
* * *
~*~*~*~*~*~
Part the Fourth: The Big, Bad Vodoun Priest
~*~*~*~*~*~
Mama Moolay, still wearing the body of Selah the caretaker girl, turned to Rabbey. "Now, chile, we gotta get inside, out of dis storm!"
The voodoo priest smiled with Louey`s teeth. "Whyfor I wanna be doen dat, Mama? I getten what I come here for!"
"`Least bring Louey inside," Gros-Papa croaked, wincing as a hailstone caromed off his head. "He too big for us two to be draggin` in!" To both the witch/caretaker and the old man`s relief, he did so. Hoosha fixed him with a glare. "You knowin` now why I no wantin` you to know de Shadow-Walk."
Louey/Rabbey grinned again. "Oh-aye, dat I do, Gros-Papa. But you forgetten somet`ing, old mon." He reached into the soaked pouch around his waist and pulled out a small leather tube. In the hours between his arrival via the Spirit World and the ritual, he had mixed a batch of dark paste in preparation for this very moment. He went to the wall and squeezed the tube against the joint between floor and wall. Dark red paste emerged, and the possessed caretaker painted a door on the wall.
"NO!" Papa Hoosha exclaimed. "Don` be doin` it, chile! Don` stir up de spirits anymore! Dat gran` bad juju! You doom us all!"
"No, Gros-Papa," Rabbey said, his cold eyes shining with malevolence, "I only be doomen you." He clasped his hands around his staff and faced the outline on the wall. "Spirits of de oddah side! Brer Rabbey be callen you now! I callen on you to open a door t`rough de Spirit World for me!"
"Rabbey, don` open de door!" Moolay cried, hurling Selah forward to stop him. She laid one hand on Louey before he spun about and hurled her forcefully against the wall. She collapsed in a heap, coughing and breathing hard. The collision had popped out a lung.
"Spirits, I offeren you dis sacrifice! Spare me, your humble servant, from your gran` wicked wrath!" He slammed the tip of the staff against the floor, then threw the voodoo powder on Selah`s body and against the outline.
The paint brightened to a bright, hot white, then went utterly dark. The wall disappeared, leaving only a space so dark it seemed to suck in all the light in the world. The Shadow Door was open, a physical portal to the Spirit World, and therefore quite visible. Selah lifted her head and screamed as baleful yellow eyes peered at them from deep within the Door. Unearthly wailing joined the caretaker girl`s terrified yells as the angered spirits sensed the trespass. Rabbey stepped back as Selah struggled to her feet, then hit her over the head with his staff with deadly force. She toppled forward into the void, vanishing into the darkness. The spirits quieted slightly, the eyes swirling about chaotically as they received two fresh souls to calm them, for Mama Moolay was still possessing the caretaker girl.
Hoosha stepped back, hefting his staff and swinging it at Louey. The caretaker stumbled and fell to one knee, dropping his staff, but Rabbey`s voice spoke again. "What you doen dat for, old mon? You just hurten your ol` caretaker!" He stood up in a flash, grabbing the old man`s staff and breaking it over his knee. He grabbed Hoosha by the shoulders and threw him toward the Shadow Door.
Gros-Papa desperately grabbed the threshhold and held on as the darkness seemed to boil behind him. "Rabbey chile! You messin` wit t`ings you don` understand!" Papa Hoosha yelled from the darkness as the wailing increased in volume.
"Wrong, old mon," Rabbey chortled. "I knowen exactly what I doen." He planted his bare foot in the old man`s stomach and sent him tumbling through the Door. That done, he walked over to one of the old shelves on the far wall and pulled out a bone knife. He smiled as he looked at it, then went back over to the Door. "I haven one more sacrifice for you, o spirits of de oddah side." He stood at the threshhold, dropping the staff, and spreading a coating of powder on the handle of the knife. He reached up and took hold of the edge of the door, so his hand rested across the painted outline. With one more grin, he plunged the knife into the gut of Louey, his host, and whispered, "I dedicate dis soul to you, o spirits of de oddah side!" Then, as he felt Louey beginning to fall, he disconnected his spirit from him.
Rabbey, now once again Spirit-Walking, stepped back from the dark door as Louey`s body fell through it, his hand smearing and breaking the outline as he vanished through. The door disappeared, leaving a blank wall. The spectral priest laughed and turned back to his Spirit-Walk Doorway, which was still open in the corner. He walked up to it and laughed. "You all seriously underestimaten me, you gran` fools!" He disappeared into the Doorway just as the raging storm outside blew the hut off its foundation and carried it off into the night.
Back on the Path, Brer Rabbey looked up as the smoke-like environment churned about him. Shadow-Beasts took form briefly and hissed silently at him with no mouths, but the spirits which had called to him the first time had gone quiet. Except, as though coming from a great distance, four voices raised in tormented screams, two elderly and two young. Rabbey smiled and bowed his head as, it seemed to him, faces peered at him from the Other Side.
"I be de Vodoun priest that calmed you, o angry spirits. I knowen dat de four I given to you now not enough to sate your rage." He lifted his head again, spreading his hands. "But I promisen you dis: iffen you helpen me in de future, I helpen you quench your t`irst fo` vengeance. I, me, Brer Rabbey, de Big, Bad Vodoun Priest!"
The faint whispers of the spirits went silent. On the periphery of the Path, the Things That Cannot Be took form and seemed to stare at him, and then, with no heads, they seemed to nod to him. Even the invisible guardians of the spirit world apparently approved of this. Then, without further molestation, Brer Rabbey walked back to the other Doorway and back to his waiting body.
~In days dat come, dey be wonderen: Brer Rabbey, how you Shadow-Walk wit`out goen mad?~ The Big, Bad Vodoun Priest smiled to himself. ~An` I be tellen dem: dat be a gran` dark secret. All you need knowen is dat it fucken voodoo magic, mon!~
Part the Fourth: The Big, Bad Vodoun Priest
~*~*~*~*~*~
Mama Moolay, still wearing the body of Selah the caretaker girl, turned to Rabbey. "Now, chile, we gotta get inside, out of dis storm!"
The voodoo priest smiled with Louey`s teeth. "Whyfor I wanna be doen dat, Mama? I getten what I come here for!"
"`Least bring Louey inside," Gros-Papa croaked, wincing as a hailstone caromed off his head. "He too big for us two to be draggin` in!" To both the witch/caretaker and the old man`s relief, he did so. Hoosha fixed him with a glare. "You knowin` now why I no wantin` you to know de Shadow-Walk."
Louey/Rabbey grinned again. "Oh-aye, dat I do, Gros-Papa. But you forgetten somet`ing, old mon." He reached into the soaked pouch around his waist and pulled out a small leather tube. In the hours between his arrival via the Spirit World and the ritual, he had mixed a batch of dark paste in preparation for this very moment. He went to the wall and squeezed the tube against the joint between floor and wall. Dark red paste emerged, and the possessed caretaker painted a door on the wall.
"NO!" Papa Hoosha exclaimed. "Don` be doin` it, chile! Don` stir up de spirits anymore! Dat gran` bad juju! You doom us all!"
"No, Gros-Papa," Rabbey said, his cold eyes shining with malevolence, "I only be doomen you." He clasped his hands around his staff and faced the outline on the wall. "Spirits of de oddah side! Brer Rabbey be callen you now! I callen on you to open a door t`rough de Spirit World for me!"
"Rabbey, don` open de door!" Moolay cried, hurling Selah forward to stop him. She laid one hand on Louey before he spun about and hurled her forcefully against the wall. She collapsed in a heap, coughing and breathing hard. The collision had popped out a lung.
"Spirits, I offeren you dis sacrifice! Spare me, your humble servant, from your gran` wicked wrath!" He slammed the tip of the staff against the floor, then threw the voodoo powder on Selah`s body and against the outline.
The paint brightened to a bright, hot white, then went utterly dark. The wall disappeared, leaving only a space so dark it seemed to suck in all the light in the world. The Shadow Door was open, a physical portal to the Spirit World, and therefore quite visible. Selah lifted her head and screamed as baleful yellow eyes peered at them from deep within the Door. Unearthly wailing joined the caretaker girl`s terrified yells as the angered spirits sensed the trespass. Rabbey stepped back as Selah struggled to her feet, then hit her over the head with his staff with deadly force. She toppled forward into the void, vanishing into the darkness. The spirits quieted slightly, the eyes swirling about chaotically as they received two fresh souls to calm them, for Mama Moolay was still possessing the caretaker girl.
Hoosha stepped back, hefting his staff and swinging it at Louey. The caretaker stumbled and fell to one knee, dropping his staff, but Rabbey`s voice spoke again. "What you doen dat for, old mon? You just hurten your ol` caretaker!" He stood up in a flash, grabbing the old man`s staff and breaking it over his knee. He grabbed Hoosha by the shoulders and threw him toward the Shadow Door.
Gros-Papa desperately grabbed the threshhold and held on as the darkness seemed to boil behind him. "Rabbey chile! You messin` wit t`ings you don` understand!" Papa Hoosha yelled from the darkness as the wailing increased in volume.
"Wrong, old mon," Rabbey chortled. "I knowen exactly what I doen." He planted his bare foot in the old man`s stomach and sent him tumbling through the Door. That done, he walked over to one of the old shelves on the far wall and pulled out a bone knife. He smiled as he looked at it, then went back over to the Door. "I haven one more sacrifice for you, o spirits of de oddah side." He stood at the threshhold, dropping the staff, and spreading a coating of powder on the handle of the knife. He reached up and took hold of the edge of the door, so his hand rested across the painted outline. With one more grin, he plunged the knife into the gut of Louey, his host, and whispered, "I dedicate dis soul to you, o spirits of de oddah side!" Then, as he felt Louey beginning to fall, he disconnected his spirit from him.
Rabbey, now once again Spirit-Walking, stepped back from the dark door as Louey`s body fell through it, his hand smearing and breaking the outline as he vanished through. The door disappeared, leaving a blank wall. The spectral priest laughed and turned back to his Spirit-Walk Doorway, which was still open in the corner. He walked up to it and laughed. "You all seriously underestimaten me, you gran` fools!" He disappeared into the Doorway just as the raging storm outside blew the hut off its foundation and carried it off into the night.
Back on the Path, Brer Rabbey looked up as the smoke-like environment churned about him. Shadow-Beasts took form briefly and hissed silently at him with no mouths, but the spirits which had called to him the first time had gone quiet. Except, as though coming from a great distance, four voices raised in tormented screams, two elderly and two young. Rabbey smiled and bowed his head as, it seemed to him, faces peered at him from the Other Side.
"I be de Vodoun priest that calmed you, o angry spirits. I knowen dat de four I given to you now not enough to sate your rage." He lifted his head again, spreading his hands. "But I promisen you dis: iffen you helpen me in de future, I helpen you quench your t`irst fo` vengeance. I, me, Brer Rabbey, de Big, Bad Vodoun Priest!"
The faint whispers of the spirits went silent. On the periphery of the Path, the Things That Cannot Be took form and seemed to stare at him, and then, with no heads, they seemed to nod to him. Even the invisible guardians of the spirit world apparently approved of this. Then, without further molestation, Brer Rabbey walked back to the other Doorway and back to his waiting body.
~In days dat come, dey be wonderen: Brer Rabbey, how you Shadow-Walk wit`out goen mad?~ The Big, Bad Vodoun Priest smiled to himself. ~An` I be tellen dem: dat be a gran` dark secret. All you need knowen is dat it fucken voodoo magic, mon!~