It was with some trepidation that I followed Kato into the woods at dusk in order to view the chapel. Julia, on the other hand, seemed to have forgotten about her misgivings and was chattering away about how much she was looking forward to telling Minny the good news, assuming she would want to come with us, that is.
As if she has a choice, I thought wryly, remembering all too well how the Fosters had appeared to jump at the idea when we suggested it at dinner. They refused to accept any kind of payment in return for the slave and told us we could tell her the news when we returned from the chapel. I also remembered the derisive smile Alden quickly hid behind a napkin when the matter was agreed upon.
The other thing making me uneasy was Kato. So far he had shown a degree of arrogance and a mild condescension whenever he was with us, almost as if we were the trapped slaves instead of him. But when Jothan Foster ordered him to take us to the chapel after dinner, his manner changed dramatically. Throughout the walk through the woods, I noted he became increasingly nervous, his green eyes darting among the trees as if he expected something to pounce on him at any second. For someone who appeared to be immune to the heat—apparently the Negroes had an innate tolerance to it—there were now rivulets of sweat running down his brow. His breathing was also quite shallow, although the walk wasn’t particularly taxing. I barely listened to Julia as a turgid knot of trepidation began to form in my stomach.
We finally came out of the trees into a clearing. The chapel sat in the middle. It was a quaint white building made all the more appealing by the atmospheric setting of the trees as the sun set, turning the sky a deep, sultry azure with only the barest hint of gold lining the dark grey clouds. A small stream cut along the back of the clearing, disappearing into the trees. But looking at the chapel made chills race down my spine.
I had spent most of my adult life in devoted service to the Almighty and I sought, and was rewarded, with His presence daily. From the moment I entered the clearing, I knew we had walked into the midst of evil and I found myself in darkness.
“Oh my, Avery,” Julia said. “Isn’t it in the most beautiful setting? Oh, I cannot wait to see what it is like inside.”
I barely heard her. I was staring at Kato. He hung back in the trees as if he would burst into flames if he stepped out of them, his gaze jumping from the chapel to the trees as if searching for some hidden danger. His eyes only met mine for a fraction of a second, and the most peculiar thing occurred. I saw pity in his eyes. Then, without uttering another word, he turned on his heels and fled.
As I watched him run away, I knew I had gravely underestimated the danger we were in. I seized Julia by the arm in a punishing grip, ignoring her soft gasp, my gaze locked on Kato’s diminishing form.
“Julia, you have to go. Quickly, follow him and run as fast as you can away from here.”
“But...but—”
“Do it now!”
I pushed her away from me toward the trees. She stumbled but regained her footing, shock etched on her features, her lip quivering uncertainly. It was the first time I had ever raised my voice, let alone manhandled her. But, dutiful to the last, she began to move away, eventually turning and running into the woods.
At that moment the sound of laughter, a woman’s cold, brittle laughter, rang through the clearing, sending spasms of unparalleled dread through my mind and soul. I spun toward the sound, turning around in a full circle. But I saw no one. I was alone in the clearing. As I faced the chapel once more, the most extraordinary sight greeted my eyes.
There was someone standing on the roof.
It was a woman, a mulatto of astonishing appearance. Her skin was so pale she would have passed for white, were it not for her features: the broad nose, full lips, and the shock of unruly, woolly ginger hair that had been placed in two bunches. She was dressed in men’s clothing, emerald green breeches, coat, and waistcoat, and wore lavish jewels.
At first I was simply confused at how she had gotten to the top of the roof, when only a moment ago there had been no one in the clearing with me.
My hands shook as I reached for the Bible I kept in my coat pocket. But I was struck dumb, unable to utter a word of prayer as I stared at what could only be an apparition. Her laughter became more shrill as she straightened and stepped off the edge of the roof to glide through the air to the ground. She landed lightly on her feet.
Even more extraordinarily, there were now two others standing beside her. One was a tall, glacial-looking blond male, with a strong jaw and dark, heavy eyebrows. He was dressed in ivory breeches and coat. But it was the one standing between the two who held my gaze. It was the dark-haired woman I had seen by the graveyard the last time I had been at my church in England. Her gold gown glinted in the light of the setting sun along with the lavish jewels they were all draped in.
Still laughing, the mulatto vanished right before my eyes. The sudden absence of that laughter was even more unsettling, but then it burst forth again and she was standing about four feet from me. She howled at my expression then walked toward me, assuming a coy, feminine pose and fanning an imaginary fan. She closed the space between us, grabbed me by the head and placed a kiss on my lips. She vanished again just inches from me.
Horror washed over me and my heart slammed against my chest. I perhaps could have explained away everything else I had seen up until that point—the effortless leap from the roof of the chapel, the other two appearing out of thin air. But those cold lips against mine were proof that all of this was real. That I was somehow alone here with these three who could not be human. But then what did that leave me with? Devils? The gravity of my error in not listening to Minny hung heavily on me.
The dark-haired one spoke then, revealing a Spanish accent.
“Devils? No, my sweet one. And it would have made no difference if you had left the moment that stupid girl told you to. I would never have let you go.”
The fact that she had responded to thoughts I had not uttered, and what this signified, was overshadowed by a scream from the direction of the woods.
Julia.
I had been so wrapped up in the extraordinary things I was witnessing that I had completely forgotten about Julia.
I turned and ran toward the trees only to come to an abrupt stop. The mulatto was already back in the clearing and Julia was caught in her grasp. I watched, horrified, as the mulatto grasped one of Julia’s breasts, causing her to wince in pain. Julia struggled fruitlessly as the mulatto’s lips closed around her ear. The mulatto sucked on her ear and then glanced up at the dark-haired woman. I stumbled toward Julia.
“L-Let her go!”
But it was as if I hadn’t spoken and the mulatto pulled her lips away from Julia’s ear to address the dark-haired woman.
“I like this one, Auria. Can we keep her for a few days?”
“No!” Her voice was sharp and shrill with anger. “I have had to watch her fawn over what is mine for far too long. Kill her.”
The mulatto shrugged. One moment Julia was struggling in the monster’s grip. The next moment, the mulatto grasped my darling wife by the hair and snapped her neck in a quick, merciless motion. I heard it snap from where I stood and then Julia sagged lifeless against the monster, her eyes open as if she were gazing at something only she could see in the twilight sky. The monster let her fall to the ground and stepped over her as if she were a log in her path.
The Bible fell from my grasp, as ineffectual as the leaves it fell among. I wasn’t aware I had fallen to my knees until I felt the grass against my hands. I fought to control nausea as I stared at Julia’s body, not wanting to believe what I had just seen.
“Julia,” I whispered, trying to crawl toward her.
But the mulatto was before me. She moved past me, grasping the collar at the back of my neck. She dragged me backward with strength beyond that of any human being.
The clearing wavered as the world seemed to cave in before my eyes, hurtling toward me. I closed my eyes against the sight, and when I opened them again, I was in a completely different place.