“I look forward to that, but for now I should be doing something for you.” Evie ran her hands over his chest and moved them down to his groin.
He wagged his finger at her like she was being a naughty girl.
“What you need to do is conserve your energy. I want you to sleep for a while until Georgia returns.”
Evie settled under the covers, with Heath lying on top and cuddling up to her back. He gave her strength and security with his love, and it did not matter what lay ahead because she was happy to have had this moment.
When she awoke, the bed was empty, but she could hear voices in the other room. The lack of light from the window showed it was evening, and she guessed that would mean the time had come for the ceremony. There was no point lying there anymore, so she got out of bed and went to shower. The pain was completely gone from her abdomen, but her legs were like jelly, and she reckoned she had just gone through a bout of the flu. She noticed her skin was pale when she glanced in the mirror while drying off. She pinched her cheeks to give them some color so Heath would not worry. As she finished dressing, Heath walked back in. From his expression with a raised eyebrow, the pinching hadn’t worked, and he was not pleased. She sat on the end of the bed. He stood before her.
“You don’t look well. I think we should delay this.”
“We can’t. I’m not going to get any better. To be honest, if I hadn’t met and bonded with you, I would have been dead already. We haven’t said it, but we both know it’s true. No point chickening out now.” They both had to accept whatever tonight would bring. “If he can’t get the darkness out of me, I think my body will give up.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
He helped her up, and as always, when he was by her side she felt stronger. Maybe she was like a leech, stealing his energy. It wasn’t a pretty picture. In the other room, everyone was sitting around. They looked up as she walked in. Aunt Georgia came across and had a tall man with her who had dreadlocks hanging down past his shoulders but wore a smart suit. The look was definitely different.
“Evie, this is Calloue. He is the Obeah man I spoke of,” Aunt Georgia said.
Evie shook his hand, which was unusually warm, or maybe she was just cold. He stared at her intently, and she wondered if his eyes could see things others could not. Maybe he could read auras. Hers would have lots of dark splurges on it. She wouldn’t shrink under his gaze and chose to instead stand tall. Having Heath there behind her helped.
“I can see she’s your niece, Georgia. She has the same defiant look in her eye. I also see she is strong, but there is a darkness eating her away.”
Evie smiled at him. “That doesn’t sound good. I think I would have preferred the sugar-coated version. Well, what do we do now?”
Calloue smiled at her. “You are human, but Georgia has told me these other people are different. I can tell as much from looking at them.”
Georgia walked forward with Genia at her side. “Genia is a healer like you, but for her people called Midworlders. She has agreed to show you what they are, but we can never tell.”
Genia moved forward and closed her eyes. Within seconds her wings appeared, and Evie smiled to see the wide-eyed expression on Calloue’s face. The wings were beautiful and appeared to have gold threads though them that caught the light.
“I’ve always known the angels walked amongst us but never thought I would see one myself. If it is not impertinent, may I touch one of your wings?”
“You may.” Genia turned her back to him, and Calloue gingerly moved his hand forward to touch the wing.
“Thank you.”
Genia waited a while and then retracted her wings and returned to her position beside Georgia, who was beaming as if she was the one who had sprouted the wings. Evie loved these people.
Calloue walked forward. “There is a place not far from here in the foothills where there is a cave I use for rituals. For some reason, people don’t like you practicing in next-door suburbia.” Calloue laughed.
Evie liked him, she decided, as she listened to his deep-belly laugh. If Aunt Georgia trusted him, then so would she. They made their way out to the car, and Evie didn’t let go of Heath’s hand as he gripped hers. The ride didn’t take long as they followed another car with Genia and the other Midworlders in it. The sun was down, and they pulled up a dirt road surrounded by trees, and it was only at the last moment she saw the hole in the mountainside where the cave was. Her lungs no longer wanted to take in the air being offered to them. Fuck. She was having a panic attack. Even with all the shit that had happened to her, she had never gone crazy. Then she had never been at the point of trying to get rid of the darkness before. She clutched Heath’s hand so tight, she was surprised he wasn’t complaining that his bones had been broken.
They all walked in together, and the three Jamaican Midworlders took guard on the entrance, while Georgia helped Calloue with his equipment and they lit lanterns around the walls. Suzie and Genia were deep in discussion as Heath took her off to one side and pulled her into his arms. Before he said anything, she put a finger to his lips.
“Don’t say anything. You’re more than I’d hoped for. Whatever happens, remember we had this,” Evie said.
“No. Don’t stop me, Evie.” He got down on one knee and her eyes watered as she bit her bottom lip. “Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife when this is over?”
“Yes, a million times yes.”
“I was a bit presumptuous and brought this ring with me from England.”
It was a beautiful gold band with a huge ruby in it, surrounded by tiny pearls. He tried to put it on her finger. It didn’t fit because her hands were swollen.
“I’ll put it in my bag for now and wear it on a necklace until these fingers get back to normal size again.”
He hugged her, and the world seemed more complete. The others in the room clapped, but now they needed to get on with why they were there. Popping the ring in her purse, she noticed her hands were trembling. Her heart was bursting with joy, but her body wasn’t fooled about what was to come.
The cave wasn’t wet and damp as she had expected. In fact, it was surprisingly cozy. The ceiling was not too high and there were two camp beds set up. Evie’s stomach turned as she stared at them. Calloue had brought a large picnic basket from the back of the car, and somehow Evie didn’t reckon there was tea and cucumber sandwiches in there. Namid opened a trestle table, so the contents of the basket could be displayed. There was a vacuum flask and a variety of canisters. Some pots looked like they contained herbs and spices, while others looked like pots of paste. He poured the hot water from the flask into two glasses and mixed in a spoonful of some liquid, and then powder from another pot. The drink looked red like blood, but the aroma that filled the air was sweet like strawberries.
“I want you to both drink this,” Calloue said, as he handed them the drinks.
Evie took the glass and really hoped it tasted like strawberries. “I don’t suppose there’s any Jamaican rum in it?” Evie asked.
Calloue raised an eyebrow and shook his head at her. It was worth a try. She took a mouthful, and it wasn’t that bad. A bit sickly sweet, but she reckoned she would keep it down. One thing she was certain about was she didn’t want to know what was in it. If he had dried blood of a chicken or goats testes in it, he could keep that secret to himself. Heath knocked back his drink and handed the glass over.
“Show off. I hope it gives you indigestion,” she said, as she smiled at him.
Calloue picked up a pot, which contained a blue paste of some sort. He came over and painted marks on their cheeks and forehead. She glanced to Heath to see they both had a snake painted on their cheeks. Calloue then took her right hand in his and painted her fingertips with the solution and then drew a cross on one palm and swirls on the other. She should have done a quick course on some of this before she left England, but then again, perhaps it was better not to know.
“Now go and lie down,” Calloue ordered. “I will be calling upon our most powerful god to come and heal you. He will make this evil leave your body for good.”
She did as she was told and watched as Heath had the same procedure done to him. Everyone was standing around and not speaking or moving, giving Calloue the reverence he deserved. Georgia stood at the head of the cots and smiled down at her. Evie wished she had met her aunt years ago. Now, it seemed so much time had been wasted when they could have been in each other’s lives.
She looked to the Midworlders watching in silence. They had seen so much in their long lives, and yet, even they didn’t know what would happen.
Calloue came and stood between their two beds and started to chant. His eyes were closed, and she didn’t understand the words. It could have been Jamaican or maybe an older language. Georgia said sometimes they used a language brought to the Caribbean from Africa. It didn’t sound like the chanting Georgia had performed back at the manor house. Evie peered across to Heath, who mouthed the words “I love you.” She was about to repeat the same words back to him, when the pain hit and a scream of agony was ripped from her throat.