Possessed Read Free Page B

me a creep and running off to his arms. Now,
we’re going to get up and go back to the party before anyone starts
to really worry, aren’t we?”
    “ No. No, we’re not. I have
to go find Sabrina.”
    Ivan brought his face close to mine. He
slipped his fingers around the back of my neck and looked me
straight in the eyes. His gaze was deep, forceful, and strangely
dangerous. My hands fell unwillingly onto his chest and I tried to
push him away, but I couldn’t. Cigarettes, chocolate and Louis.
“No, you don’t,” he said afterwards. “We’re going to have some fun
and then you’re going to pack your bags and leave.”
    “ No.”
    “ Yes,” he said, as he slowly
released me.
    “ I don’t see things your
way,” I said. “You won’t be able to control me or get rid of me!” I
hissed.
    He grinned as he got up and put on his
white shirt and black tie. “You’ll see.”
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 4
    Blood-filled
Boxes
     
    Numbly, I followed Ivan down the stairs
and out the front door. My body was no longer heavy and useless,
but my mind was cloudy. All I could think about was boxes and
blood.
    Big boxes. Small boxes.
Lucus and I belonged in different boxes. He belonged on the box on
top of the list and I belonged on the box at the bottom. I had to
leave Darkwood. Darkwood was filled with blood. Lucus deserved to
live in rooms full of blood. Lucus was the enemy .
    I wanted to go search for Sabrina, but
it was clear that Ivan had some kind of sick power over me. I
wondered how he had done it, and more importantly how I could stop
it. In the voodoo/hoodoo tradition, I knew that there were a
thousand methods that one could employ to dominate and possess
another, so finding and stopping Ivan’s exact formula was going to
be tricky. Had he used an Arelia voodoo doll? Had he laid a trick
somewhere? Had he made an offering to a spirit and if so, which
one? Think, Arelia.
    He took my hand and intertwined his
long fingers with mine. I wanted to shake him free, but some
twisted, inexplicable force kept me attached to him. I took a quick
glance at his rugged profile with its proud bum-chin and wanted to
smack him. He caught me staring.
    “ I’ve said it before and
I’ll say it again, violence is never the answer,” he said calmly,
as he gave me a sweet smile.
    I let out a frustrated sigh but didn’t
say anything. I needed my energy to think for myself and shut his
voice out of my head. I was used to the spirits messing around up
there. I didn’t have room for another voice. Things were getting
too complicated. The lines between good and bad, right and wrong,
were quickly becoming blurred into one big gruesome pot of
gumbo.
    Outside, the low moon shone down
carelessly on the mowed lawn and the emerald grass glowed. The
giant oaks were still and silent, as if they were lamenting and
mourning with me over what had happened. The humidity was
overpowering and even the usually cool marble of the porch seemed
to burn my bare feet. An hour ago the sweet smell of jasmine had
lingered in the air, but now the only thing I could smell was
cigarette smoke infused with sweet chocolate and Louis.
    As we approached the lavish rose
garden, I could hear the drunken laughter of guests as they shouted
over the increasingly lively jazz band. The scene that greeted us
was exactly as I had left it. Guests mingling in careless abandon,
Aunt Mae and Grand-mere deep in conversation while multi-colored
roses danced around them and the Greek-style fountain soothingly
drizzled in the background. Mrs. Dreaux stood scowling at the crowd
and Tony stood beside her.
    To my horror and relief Lucus stood by
a corner table. In a vastly corny and predictable move, my heart
skipped a beat when I caught a glimpse of him. He gave me a small
smile, but his dark eyes became increasingly narrow when he caught
sight of my hand intertwined with Ivan’s. I noticed that the
muscles in his jaw tightened, but he didn’t move. I mentally begged
him to come