The darkness began to recede, but it was still around me, keeping me from the living world and the pain consuming me. Then a voice broke through bringing awareness of a weakness that pressed down on me, keeping me bound in darkness.
Wake up. Wake up!
It was Mama Akosua. Would that wretched witch never leave me alone?
She had what she wanted, I was dead. I must have been because it felt as though the string that kept me tethered to life had at last been cut. But it seemed as if that wasn’t good enough for her, she had to follow me to the afterlife to continue to torment me.
But beneath the surface, there was a plaintive quality I had never heard before in Mama Akosua’s voice. That was probably what made me stir in response.
Go away.
Her voice came back louder and I heard stirrings of hope, but there was still that uncharacteristic vulnerability.
All right, I will go and let you sleep while Luna dies slowly, and painfully, by your side.
Panic boomed through my mind like a thunderbolt. Luna? Where? What happened? Tell me!
There was no answer.
The last thing I remembered was the chapel, the spirit and its vile proposition. What could Mama Akosua mean? What had happened to Luna?
I continued to struggle against the weakness, trying to block out the rising panic so I could concentrate. It was an effort, but my eyes opened.
The scent of blood attacked my senses, quickening me slightly, but making it difficult to focus on anything else. I saw nothing but darkness and then slowly, the inside of what must have been a cave came into view. One end of the cave led to a long, narrow corridor, the other was a pile of rock. I put together her words and the smell of blood at the same time I saw the hand sticking out of the pile of rubble. Not just any hand—the small brown one I had longed to hold for a month.
A strangled cry escaped me, almost paralysing me with horror at what I was seeing and what it meant.
Strangely, it was the witch’s presence that kept me from completely coming undone in that moment. I half-sat up, the small movement sending excruciating pain through me. My limbs were heavy and as useless as paper when I tried to move some of the rocks away from Luna. I tried to use my mind, but nothing happened. I was so frustrated I almost wept. She was buried under the rubble, buried alive, because I could still hear a faint heartbeat, along with trickles of blood from more than one source, slowly being drained out of her body. Luna was dying and I was too weak to help.
Luna’s blood. Drink Luna’s blood.
I recoiled from Mama Akosua’s voice and the repulsive suggestion, but it came back louder, sounding like a klaxon in my mind.
Do it!
She was right; there was no other option if I wanted to save Luna. I twisted my head to the hand covered in dust and chalk. Thankful she was unconscious, I bit into it. The blood seeped into my mouth, but the usual bliss and the overpowering pull that normally saw me sink until I completely lost myself, was absent today, I could only think of Luna and of how weak the flow of blood was, further evidence she was slipping away.
What happened? I said to the witch. How could you let her be put in harm’s way?
She remained silent. I pulled away from Luna’s hand, feeling strengthened enough to be able to get us out of the cave. I could hear voices outside now. I never thought I would be glad to hear Master John’s nauseating voice, but if he was there, it meant more blood, enough to give me back my strength and heal Luna.
I clasped Luna’s hand and concentrated. The rubble shifted and then she was in my arms. I had to ignore the sharp pain that sliced through my gut when I saw her face: the blood, the eye swollen shut, purple bruising and puffiness around her jaw. The voices outside had grown silent at the sound of the shifting rocks. Then I heard Peter Holbert, Master John’s brother.
“John, we have to go. It’s awake. We have to go!”
I pictured myself outside and gathered the familiar weightlessness to me.
The nothingness opened to me, but it felt as if I were throwing myself through a wooden door as I moved into it.
We were outside.
At first the sun took my breath away, its rays like a thousand needles in my eyes and skin. But then my surroundings came into view and I realised we were at the caves by the Mississippi bluffs. I focused on Master John, who was a few feet away from the entrance of the cave. He went completely white and staggered back, his mind locked on his memory of walking into Luna’s cabin and finding me waiting for him.
I laid Luna on the ground and was upon him.
I snatched him off his feet by the shirt as he began to scream. I tore into his neck, not bothering to spare him pain. I was vaguely aware of Master Peter mounting his horse and fleeing as I took savage gulps of his brother’s blood, irritated by his screams. They were making it harder to hear Luna and the heartbeat that was slowly weakening. He eventually quietened and only low moans escaped him. I would have loved to draw out the moment, torture him and make him pay for the countless crimes he had committed against Luna, and others like her, but I didn’t have the time.
I let him fall to the ground, alive but incredibly weak. I would have to come back for him later, along with the others he had been with, and amend their memories so Luna would not face any reprisals for her daring rescue. I gathered her in my arms and brought my blood to her lips, praying the entire time. It seemed God hadn’t forsaken me, because her bruises slowly disappeared and I heard multiple cracking sounds as her bones knitted together. Her heartbeat quickened and her breathing grew stronger.
As strength returned to her body, her mind also quickened, and in my weakened state, I caught glimpses of her surface thoughts.
I heard the words she had spoken to Master John when I was on my knees trapped by the silver chains. Then I heard the words she had spoken in her mind as she glared down at me in contempt.
Don’t listen to my words, Avery, listen to my thoughts. I loves you. Please, listen to my thoughts and know I’s gonna find a way to get you out of this.
Pain bit into me and for a few moments, I could only stare at her beautiful face. I kissed her on her forehead.
Somehow, she had done exactly as she had promised to do and had almost died in the process.
Her eyes began to flutter open. I made her lapse back into sleep because if she awoke, and I looked into those raven eyes knowing she loved me, I would not be able to do what I needed to do.
I took Luna back inside the cave where she would be safe. Then I went back to Master John.
***
I did everything I could to tend to the aftermath of Luna’s actions, often with not so gentle nudges from the witch. I modified the memories of everyone involved so it appeared as if I escaped on my own, taking Luna as a hostage. I also made them believe I had been the one to fire at Luna’s pursuers so there would be no consequences for Luna, or any of the slaves in that area. When it was done, I returned to Luna. Thankfully, her mother faded away completely.
The afternoon had died away and it would be dusk soon. Luna was still sleeping when I returned to the cave. I picked her up and walked to the little house I had built for her by the Mississippi bluffs. When I got there the sun was setting. I sat in the grass outside the house and watched the sun sink beneath the trees. It was difficult not to be overwhelmed with emotion and I wept softly.
In the distance I could hear two horses heading in our direction. I already knew who they were and that they were headed to the farmhouse. She was beginning to wake up. I looked down at her beautiful face, the face that had kept me in the wilderness, the Lodebar I thought I would never be free of. How could I give up all I had waited so long for?
I pressed my tear-stained face against hers and kissed her gently on the lips for the last time. Then I disappeared inside the house. I removed her Bible from my coat pocket along with the gold chain and placed it on a table in the living room. I disappeared, leaving Luna to awaken outside her new home.
I ran the rest of the way back to Louisiana, but when I got there, I did not enter the mansion. There was nothing there for me now.
I went instead to the plains and spent the night there, thinking of the moment when I had come across her at the chapel. A few hours before dawn, I ventured back to Mississippi. She was in her new home. Jupiter and Father Geoffrey had stayed at the house with her. Father Geoffrey was asleep in one of the rooms upstairs. Luna was awake and sitting on the porch searching the night. Jupiter was asleep beside her. I was only there for a few seconds but, as if aware of my presence, she sprang to her feet and stepped off the porch, stopping after taking a few steps forward.
I retreated from the house and returned to Louisiana, to the lake, haunted by Luna’s face, the feel of her touch, her lips against mine and all I had lost.
A month later she married Jupiter. It should not have come as a surprise to me, but I was still devastated by the news. Every day the loss seemed even greater and I agonised over the thought of her with Jupiter. She loved me. I should have been the one to watch her walk down the aisle and place a ring on her finger.
Each night I considered going to Luna and begging her to come away with me, but I only had to recall the chapel entity, its proposition, and the chain of human skulls around its neck. If Luna was mine, it would only be a matter of time before I turned her into a vampire, and to do so would mean giving her over to evil. So I lived with my loss and the memories of that precious month we spent together.