The Captain of the Manor Read Free Page A

Soto, in the waters of the upper Lesser Antilles. While the captain flew under an unknown flag, sailing deep on his keel, and Edmund knew his ship could attack and plunder this under his written proclamation.
    Though he tried to prevent the deaths of the captain, this time it didn't happen. The captain was severely injured, bleeding on the deck when he boarded to oversee the situation after the quick, fierce battle. The rest of the crew was tied to the masts before his crew began to plunder the cargo holds. It was later, when he released the second mate, who rushed to his captain's side. He learned who the Portuguese man was and his protect. De Soto was under the protection of his mistress, a powerful voodoo priestess. This lady was a wise and powerful priestess well known throughout the Caribbean. Her name was Marie Gedeon. Anyone who attacked her lover would be found and cursed by her protective spirits.
    Sailing throughout these waters and visiting the ports, Edmund knew all about this ancient African practice which came here with the slave market. Many believed in the magic and mysticism of voodoo and their houngan and priestesses. He didn't return the plunder for it would make him appear weak in front of his crew. When this priestess learned of her lover's death at his orders, Edmund knew he would face her wrath and spirits. He sailed away, headed toward home before the Calypso could reach the priestess.
    He wasn't lucky. Problems soon began amassing during this fateful voyage home. Several barrels of fresh water became contaminated. More containers of food were decimated. Multiple crew members died with unknown factors and causes. The voyage lasted three times as long once the full moon of the Autumnal Equinox rose and fell in the dark sky.
    The week of All Hallows' Eve, he watched the skies darken with a rush of deep black-gray clouds rolling across the sky. The wind whipped around them, tugging and pulling at the sails until three ripped. He ordered the crew to the rigging to take down the rest. They would be at the mercy of the current and waves, but there wasn't another choice. He stayed at the wheel, issuing orders, and watching the skies.
    In a flash of lightning, a dark-skinned woman in colorful fabrics, a scarf around her neck, and items in her hand which she waved in his direction, her mouth forming words, as she danced around him. The final curse came through the darkness along with dust and power:
    Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust Twist and bend the bones to dust I scatter these bones, these bones full of my rage Take them as an offering to bring thy enemy pain I see thy enemy before me now I bind him, crush him, and knock him down With these bones I now do crush Grind thy enemies into dust With the eternal fires out of control With this curse I take thy soul Take the form as a ghost for eternity Betwixt the time of the autumnal equinox and all hallows' eve thy will become corporeal Learn the will of thy heart This is my will let it be done
    As she finished the curse, Edmund lost feeling in all his limbs. He stared at his feet as they faded to invisibility and gradually climb up his body. As he screamed against her, the spirits, and into the wind, he disappeared completely from life.
    After All Saints' Day, he reappeared in this suite in his current form and figured out what the priestess did to him. The following autumn, he learned about the corporeal state, disguising his appearance from family and friends. He couldn't leave the manor except to reappear at the lighthouse. He was connected forever to this manor; it recharged his energy and held him in this life between worlds.
    Adjusting to this ghost form and half-life, Edmund accepted his fate. He integrated the changes of the manor to a B&B after the last of his family passed and he adjusted the name on the deed to whatever current one he chose. He took a lover, preferably a male, when his body craved the sensation during this short reprieve and entrance into