Voodoo Love (And the Curse of Jean Lafitte’s Treasure) (15 page)

             
"Ah…" The fire blazed and the Baron's voice cut through the night. "He has accepted. All that's needed is the blood."

             
"No, that's not fair," Marie said. "He didn't know the bargain."

             
"You brokered the deal, my sweet," the Baron said. "You called me forth and he accepted my terms. It is done."

             
An awful quiet grew in the bayou. Marie stared at Jean, her eyes filled with tears.

             
"What is it?" Jean moved towards her and then stopped. His eyes widened and his body shook as if he were in pain. "What's happening?"

             
"Jean!" Marie ran towards him.

             
His eyes began to glow a soft yellow and he caught her as she came at him.

             
"There you are,
Cher
." The body belonged to the man she loved, but the voice did not. "Time for the blood and lust. Then the bargain will be complete."

             
"What have you done to Jean?" Marie stared into the eyes of Jean Lafitte, searching desperately for some sign that his soul still resided there. "You need to get out of his body, Baron."

             
"Nothing he doesn't agree with. He said he would do anything and that includes this."

             
Jean's mouth came down on hers and though she knew it wasn't really him, the kiss burned through her, igniting fires at her core that she couldn’t control. Almost without her being aware of it, her arms came up and encircled him. She deepened the kiss, feeling his body respond as his erection pressed against her. Dimly, she was aware of his hands tugging at her skirts. Cool night air assaulted her legs, bringing with it a dash of reality.

             
"Wait," she gasped, pulling away.

             
The Baron--she no longer saw Jean in his lustful eyes--only laughed and then pushed her against a
Cypress
tree. His lips were warm on her neck and rational thought slipped away again as she let herself be lost in his touch.

             
When he pulled away, she gave a soft moan of disappointment.

             
"Don't worry, my sweet," the Baron said, pulling out Jean's hunting knife. "I'm not done with you."

             
Her head felt so dizzy and the world around her spun. The Baron lifted her hand and a sharp pain pierced through the veil of passion. Blood bubbled up into the cut he'd made along the palm of her hand. She watched him do the same to himself. Then he turned to her with a bright smile and clasped their hands together over the veve.

             
"Your blood mixes with his, sealing the curse. No man or woman shall touch this treasure without being haunted for their deeds. In death, they will become members of the Deadman's Ferry, bound to Jean Lafitte and his bidding until he chooses to release them." The words were soft as the Baron squeezed their hands together. The blood dripped over the fire, turning it from orange to a bright green. With his free hand, the Baron touched Marie's face. "You really love your pirate, don't you, Marie?"

             
"Yes," she whispered, entranced by his spell.

             
"You'd sacrifice much for him?"

             
"Yes."

             
"Hmmm…love always makes curses more powerful," the Baron mused. "Love could override the rules of the captain."

             
"Rules?" Marie swayed, unsure of what was going on. All she knew was that she wanted him. Jean. The Baron. Whoever the creature was that held her in its thrall. The details of the curse were no longer important.

             
"Don't you worry over it, Marie." He pulled on the sleeves of her white peasant blouse until they revealed her shoulders. "It's a small thing. Now let's seal the deal."

             
Taking the knife, he cut a straight line down the front of the blouse, tearing it away and allowing her voluptuous breasts to fall free. He took in the sight of her exposed brown skin and then yanked her skirt down, too. Naked in the night air, Marie Laveau felt there wasn't anything she wouldn’t do for the creature before her.

             
With a sigh of appreciation, the Baron removed his clothes and then pulled her towards him, laying her down by the fire. His hot kisses were wild, frenzied as if he hadn't felt warm flesh in a lifetime.

             
Maybe he hadn't, Marie mused.

             
It was a fleeting thought. As he thrust inside her, all Marie could think of was the pleasure she felt and the triumph of knowing the curse was complete.

****

             
I opened my eyes and found myself staring into Jean Lafitte's green ones. Sadness lined his face and the sorrow emanating from him overwhelmed me.  I wasn't sure what to make of the vision he'd shared with me.

             
"You are destined to break this curse laid not only on me, but on those of my line." Lafitte looked over at Euralie. "All of my descendants have watched over my treasure, keeping others from it, sometimes at great costs to themselves. But I grow tired of being the captain of a ship full of darkness. Ferrying lost souls takes a toll, even on someone of the undead like myself. I cannot move on to my beloved Marie until someone takes my place as captain."

             
"Are you trying to get Juan to take your place," I asked. "I won't help you if that's the case."

             
"No, I don't imagine you would. And that's not what I'm asking. See, the Baron left me a loophole, one I've been unable to use until now. I collect the spirit of those that die at sea, but only the souls that are dark, torn, sullied with evil." Jean pulled a gold coin out of his pocket and held it up. "Recognize this?"

             
"Yes. That's Juan's coin."

             
"No. It's my coin. Juan stole it from the cursed treasure. However, he died with it in his possession at sea. Unfortunately, for him that coin bound him to me, but his soul isn't dark. That complicates things a bit," Jean said.

             
"How?"

             
"He doesn't belong on my ship. True, he's done things that aren't always been considered legal or moral, but his soul is not dark with evil, like some be."

             
"Unlike Diego." An idea was coming to me, one that Juan had put in my head and now I understood better. "You need to get Diego to replace you."

             
"It would be the perfect punishment for him, although I've rather enjoyed the small torments I've provided him the last two years."

             
"If Juan hadn't died, would he have been treated the same as Diego? Would he have been haunted by his past mistakes?"

             
"Oh, yes. No one escapes the curse." Jean laughed at turned from me. He walked to Euralie. "Not even my own kin."

             
"Since Juan doesn't fit the dark soul criteria for your ship, why can't you just let him go?" I watched emotions streak across Jean face, but couldn't decipher them.

             
"I can't just release spirits at will. They have to prove they’re worthy of moving on. Most never do. The bond of the Baron's curse is great, but there is a loophole." Jean stroked his chin, thoughtfully.

             
"What is it?"

             
"Love. If someone sacrifices themselves for the one they love to the Baron, then that is more powerful than any curse. Love does indeed conquer all." Jean studied me, waiting to see how I would react to this news.

             
"What do you mean sacrifice myself? Do you mean that I have to die or something?"

             
"No," Jean said. "You have to give yourself to the Baron."

             
Give myself?

             
"He means you have to have sex with the Baron," Euralie said, barely containing her frustration at my ignorance. "The Baron is known for his sexual appetite. To him, there is no greater expression than the act of pleasure. That's why female voodoo priestess stay away from his sort. Invoking him never comes to any good. It's more likely that he will end up controlling you, tricking you into something you never intended. It's why you must never even say his name without being prepared."

             
"That's why I erased your memory,
Elizabeth
," Jean said. "As soon as Juan Montoya passed, I looked into his heart and saw everything. He begged me to take the true name of the Baron away from you so that you would never take the chance of calling him up. It was written on the piece of the map that Euralie gave you. If you couldn't remember it, then there would be no chance of you falling under his spell or being harmed. I don't think Juan counted on the resilience of his enemy though."

             
"Then why did you give it to me?" I felt frustrated. I mean, c'mon! Jean was the one who'd possessed Euralie, making her give me the small piece of paper that had changed my life. There must have been a reason for that.

             
"I had no idea of all that would occur. I was just thinking of protecting Euralie, getting her away from that man," Jean explained. "It wasn't until Juan's death that I even realized that there might be a chance for me to get off the Deadman's Ferry. The wheel of fate has an odd way of turning sometimes."

             
No kidding.

             
"Look, I can't pretend to understand this whole curse business, but I'll do what's needed to set things right," I said.

             
Euralie's eyes narrowed with suspicion.

             
"Even if that means sleeping with the Baron? What would your ghost lover say about that? I bet he won't want to share his woman. Might even toss you aside over it. 'Course, you seem pretty eager to jump into bed with anyone," she said.

             
"Back off," I said. "I never even slept with Eddie. You don't have any right to talk about me like that. And maybe I can work out a deal with the Baron so I don't have to sleep with him."