Possessed Read Free Page A

understand.”
    Ivan ignored me. Instead, he ran his
fingers lightly down my cheeks and across my mouth. “Do you know
what the best part of hoodoo/voodoo is?”
    I shook my head.
    “ You can do all sorts of
things without ever having to actually physically touch someone.
It’s so easy to get someone to behave and do all kinds of bad that
they wouldn’t normally have the guts to do. Let me tell you a
little story.”
    “ Obviously I don’t have a
choice, now do I?” I said through clenched teeth.
    “ No, not really,” he said,
as he gently stroked my forehead and peered at me with serene but
somewhat menacing eyes. “You see, back in the day, when
voodoo/hoodoo was thought of as no more than wild, naked dancing
that involved a lot of snakes, people were scared. Hell, they were
terrified; yet strangely fascinated. Of course, some of these poor,
conflicted souls were morbidly curious and would often secretly
wander into voodoo ceremonies, where they had no place being. Both
you and I know how moody the loa can be. Anyways, I guess you can’t
blame anyone for being curious, it’s human nature, but you can
blame people for being stupid. Most of these people were smart
enough to keep their mouths shut, but not all.”
    “ If you’re going to give me
a boring history lesson, you might as well kill me now. You said I
was a crappy storyteller; well, you’re no better,” I muttered, as I
tried to move his hand away from my forehead.
    Ivan laughed a deep, genuine laugh. “So
much fire, queen. You and I could be great friends only if you saw
things my way. Now, quit interrupting and let me finish. So, the
stupid people were the ones who opened their mouths and ran to the
cops. Yeah, even the cops were cracking down on voodoo back then.
Of course, the media, especially The Times Picayune, got its kicks
from reporting voodoo-related arrests. In 1863, a silly little girl
with a big mouth accidently stumbled into the middle of a ceremony.
She must have been a lot like you, because instead of just ignoring
it and getting on with her life, she reported what she saw to the
cops. Around four hundred women were charged with the crime of
dancing naked. I guess whatever loa they were calling on was in the
mood for a good time. These women were put on trial, but strange
things started to happen. Confusing things. The little girl
suddenly couldn’t remember what she saw. When she opened her big
mouth at the trial, no words came out. The judge was inexplicably
charmed by these supposedly evil women and dropped all charges,
citing a lack of evidence.”
    “ What does this story have
to do with me?” I asked.
    Ivan lowered his head, brought his lips
to my ear and started to gently sing in a mournful tone:
    I got stones in my
passway
    And my road seem dark as
night
    I got stones in my
passway
    And my road seem dark as
night
    I have pains in my
hearts
    They have taken my
appetite
    I have a bird to
whistle
    “ You don’t have a big mouth,
do you, Arelia?”
    I wanted to say yes, but for some
peculiar reason, the word wouldn’t come out. Yes became:
“No.”
    “ I didn’t think
so.”
    You laid a passway for
me
    Now what are you trying to
do
    I'm crying
please
    Plea-ease let us be
friends
    And when you hear me
howling in my passway, rider
    Plea-ease open your door
and let me in
    “ You’re paranoid and
indecisive, and now my thoughts will become yours,” said
Ivan.
    I wanted to scream no they won’t, but
once again the words didn’t come out.
    “ My thoughts will become
yours. Soon, you’ll be so confused that all you’ll want to do is
get as far away from here as possible. You’re the silly, stubborn
girl who just can’t seem to keep her mouth shut, so you’re going to
be taught how.”
    “ No,” I finally managed to
whisper. “No.”
    “ Oh, but yes. You see, I’ve
been watching you, baby; I know your habits, and that gives me
power over you. Maybe you should have been doing the same instead
of constantly calling