Nancy K. Duplechain - Dark Trilogy 01 - Dark Bayou (29 page)

“What happened?” I asked, alarmed.

“She’ll be okay. It just took a lot out of her is all,” said Cee Cee, reaching out for Clothilde’s hand.

“Aunt Leigh?” Lyla said, weakly.

“I’m here, sweetie.” I held her in my arms and did my best to shield her eyes from the rain. I looked over at Lucas. He was carefully examining Jonathan to see if he was okay.

Lucas turned to Ben. “
How
?” was all he could muster.

“I think we should go now before we all get pneumonia,” said Ben.

Without another word, Lucas and Ben carried Clothilde to one of the boats, of which there were three now. Ben, Cee Cee and Clothilde took one boat back. Lucas tied up the boat Clothilde came in to ours and he, Lyla, Jonathan and I rode back together. Not a word was spoken between us, but every now and then Lucas looked at me with both confusion and a little fear in his eyes. I doted over Lyla, making sure she was okay. She seemed back to normal, physically anyway. Jonathan was quiet. He looked worried, like he had done something bad but didn’t know what.

By the time we got back to her house, Clothilde was awake, but still very weak. Lucas and Ben helped her to her bedroom. They left the room while Cee Cee and I got her out of her wet clothes and into some dry ones. We left her there to sleep and then joined the others in the living room. No one knew what to say for a moment.

“Lyla? Why don’t you and Jon go upstairs to play?” suggested Lucas.

Lyla nodded, obedient, though I could clearly see she wasn’t in a playing mood. She took Jonathan by the hand, and they quietly ascended the stairs. I had a feeling that they would both be asleep within the hour.

When they were out of sight, Ben and Cee Cee each took a seat on the sofa. I sat in Clothilde’s chair. Lucas remained standing in the center of the room, his hands spread out on his hips, braced for a question-and-answer session, fully intending on asking the questions. I already knew what he would ask. I made up my mind to let Ben and Cee Cee handle it. I was still a newbie to this whole secret society business. It was more their club than mine at the moment. Besides, I wanted an answer or two myself.

“I’ve seen some strange things these last few months,” he started, careful to keep his voice low so as not to wake Clothilde in the next room. “But, my own
son
? Someone, please tell me what the hell is going on?” Ben and Cee Cee exchanged a guarded glance. Lucas turned to me, but I just shrugged. Ben motioned for Lucas to have a seat. Reluctant, he sat in my grandfather’s old chair, near me.

“What I’m going to tell you goes against a very old code set a very long time ago,” said Ben, cautiously. “However, these are extraordinary circumstances. I’ve never seen a child as young as yours … well, let me start at the beginning.” Ben told Lucas the same story he told me. He went on about Charlemagne and his paladins and Les Foncés. I watched Lucas’ face carefully. It looked set in stone as he listened to the fantastic tale. I already knew what was coming, though I didn’t know how it was possible. I saw the moment when Lucas realized what Ben was telling him.

“And you’re saying that Jonathan …?” Lucas said after Ben was through with the part about the bloodlines. Ben nodded.

“How?”

“Tina Geautreaux. Your ex wife. Her grandfather was our friend, Clovis.” The realization dawned on me, and I was dumbfounded.

“The only reason we tellin’ you, baby, is because, as Jonathan’s daddy, you need to know,” said Cee Cee. “With our abilities, you have to make a choice to use them. We just never seen someone that young have to make a choice that big before. He didn’t know he was doing it when he did it. All he wanted to do was help his daddy and his friends. He has a remarkable gift, but you’ll have to tell him to keep it a secret.”

Lucas shook his head. “This is unbelievable. Even after everything I’ve seen.”

“You knew, didn’t you?” I asked Ben. He looked at me. “You knew we would need Jonathan there to save us. You told Clothilde to bring him after we left, didn’t you?”

Ben closed his eyes and nodded. “I’m a little too old to be lifting roofs,” he said with a solemn smile.

“And you?” Lucas said to me. “What’s your
power
?” He sounded a little frustrated, like he was angry with me for not telling him.

“I can heal people,” I said, meekly. “At least I think I can.”

“You helped your maw-maw heal Lyla,” assured Cee Cee.

Lucas turned to Ben, “And am I right to guess that you’re some kind of psychic?” And then to Cee Cee. “And from what I saw, I guess that you’re a witch or something?” He was beginning to sound irate.

“Miss Cee Cee can perform certain feats of magic,” said Ben. “I can see the future. And your son seems to have prophetic dreams, by the way, though I’m not sure why. Might have something to do with his Down syndrome altering the DNA of his bloodline. Or maybe because he’s so close to Lyla.”

“Luke, I know it’s a big leap of faith. I just found out about this not that long ago and I’m still having a hard time understanding it all, but—”

“You knew about Jonathan?” He glared at me, silently accusing me.

“Of course not! I’m just as shocked as you are! I would never have allowed them to bring him out there had I known.”

“Then you both would be dead right now,” Cee Cee scolded, and it was the first time I heard anger in her voice.

“I don’t care about me, but putting my son in danger—that’s where I draw the line. You had no right—”

“I know what it’s like to lose a child.” We all turned to the direction of Clothilde’s bedroom. She stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame for support. I had never seen her look so tired, not even after Mom died.

“You should be sleeping, chère,” said Cee Cee.

“I know what it’s like to lose a child,” she repeated. Very slowly, she came toward us, grabbing onto end tables and furniture for support. Ben got out of his chair to help her to the sofa. She sat and took a moment to catch her breath. “I didn’t want Mary to chase after Les Foncés. I tried to talk her out of it. She was headstrong and bent on saving the world. You can’t stop a spirit like that. When you’re dealing with what we’re dealing with—what our ancestors and their ancestors dealt with—you can’t stop fate from happening. Mary made up her mind. She chose to do this. Jonathan made his choice, too. It was supposed to be.”

“He’s only six years old!” said Lucas, pleading for reason from the group. “He can’t make choices like that!”

“He already did,” reminded Cee Cee. “Today. When he saved you and Leigh and Lyla.”

“But you knew it was going to happen. You could have stopped it!” He was looking at Ben.

Ben shook his head. “It was
his
role to save the three of you. It was
my
role to make sure he was there to do it. I’m an old man. Over the course of my life, there’s one thing I’ve learned to be true, out of every good or bad thing that happens, it all happens for a reason.”

Now the anger was rising up in me. “What was the reason for my mom being murdered?!” I asked him. “And David? And Michelle? What’s the reason for any of it?”

Ben never got angry. If anything, he was tired and weary. “Everything that has happened is so that you can be here, in this moment, right now. You are supposed to be here. We are supposed to be here. Those who go before us, do so to make room for the living to take care of the things they need to. They move on to a different state of existence so that we may do what needs to be done here. It’s all a chain of events that leads us right to where we’re supposed to be.”

Lucas stood up. “Jon!” he called. Then he spoke to us. “Look, I’ve had to swallow some pretty amazing things in the last few months that make me question my sanity and my beliefs. It took a lot for me to believe in some evil being running around, killing people, not to mention my best friend and his wife. And, I wouldn’t have believed my son is some kind of superman if I hadn’t seen it, but if you want me to believe that he’s supposed to put his life at risk to stop some ghosts or whatever, you can forget it. Good luck with your little club, but don’t expect my son to be a part of it.”

Jonathan came downstairs and joined his father by his side. Hearing the tone of Lucas’ voice put new worry lines across his little forehead. I could see Lyla’s feet at the top of the stairs, but they stayed put.

“C’mon,” Lucas told him, holding his hand. They walked over to the front door.

“Luke,” I started, but he kept going, shutting the door behind them.

“It’ll just take him a while to get used to the idea,” said Cee Cee.

“Why does he have to get used to the idea at all?” I asked, angrily.

“Because Les Foncés will know Jonathan’s a paladin now,” said Ben. “When your light shines so brightly, the dark will seek it.”

“And there’s no turning back?”

He shook his head, and Cee Cee noticed the despaired look on my face. “You finally made the choice tonight, when you healed Lyla,” she said. “You are one of us now. And everything that led up to that, as tragic as it all was, happened because there’s something greater in store for you that you can only do as a paladin.”

I regarded Ben with a sarcastic glance. “And what does your crystal ball say that I’m supposed to do?”

He shrugged and said, “Don’t know. Too many links in the chain to determine what that is yet.”

I sulked in my chair, still feeling how unfair it all was. I glanced up and saw that Lyla’s feet were still planted at the top of the staircase. I wondered if she understood all that she was hearing. I wondered if they knew she was listening.

“I’m going to bed,” I announced at last.

“That sounds good to me,” said Cee Cee, getting up from her chair. “I think I’ll do the same. I’m going back to the hotel. Goodnight, everyone.”

“Night, Cee Cee,” said Clothilde.

Ben rose from his seat. “And I’ll go home now. Will you ladies be okay for the night?”

“Ouais,” said Clothilde. He nodded, and he and Cee Cee showed themselves to the door.

I ascended the stairs and saw the landing was empty. Lyla had retreated to her room. I went to mine and looked around at what was once my grandparent’s master bedroom. The bed was made, though I hadn’t remembered making it. I supposed Clothilde had done it when I was gone during the day. My bags, never fully unpacked, were in the corner, near the antique chifforobe. And that old feeling came over me again. I could leave. Not tonight because I was so exhausted from the day’s events, but I could steal away in the early light of dawn before anyone awoke. I could go back to Los Angeles and pretend this all never happened. I could go back to my little job at the clothing store and my little apartment in Hollywood. I could lie out on the beach every weekend and let the sound of the waves take me away to—

“What’s a paladin?”

I turned to see Lyla in her nightgown behind me, staring down at the wooden floor. I sat down on my bed and my eyelids suddenly got very heavy. I patted the blanket, and Lyla sat beside me. “It’s a holy knight,” I told her, trying to stifle a yawn.

“What do they do?”

“They protect people.” I recalled her gift and added, “And sometimes animals.”

“I’m a paladin?”

I nodded.

“And you and Maw-maw Clo?”

I nodded again.

“And Jonathan?”

“Looks like it.” She was quiet for a long time, thinking things through. I almost fell asleep sitting there. While she was thinking, I kicked off my shoes, got up and changed out of my damp clothes and into an old t-shirt and some pajama shorts.

As I crawled into bed, she asked, “What made us paladins?”

I let out a deep sigh, which turned into a deep yawn. I patted the blanket again, and she crawled into bed beside me, nestling into the crook of my arm. “A very long time ago,” I started. I told her the story Ben had just told Lucas, the one he told me earlier. The last thing I remembered saying was something about the knight, Roland, and I trailed off, sleep taking over.

When I awoke, the dim, gray light of pre-dawn was showing through the windows. The lamp on the nightstand was off, and I suspected Lyla had turned it off not long after I fell asleep. She was on her stomach, breathing deeply, and I knew that it would take a sonic boom to wake her. I let the fog clear from my brain as I grew closer and closer to alert consciousness. I looked at my bags in the corner, and I remembered I had thought about leaving before I fell asleep. I had thought this would be the perfect time to slip away and go back down I-10 West, back to the Pacific Ocean, back to carefree days and party nights.