Cursed

Chapter Seventeen

Adrienne didn’t mean to cry herself to sleep. She awoke early the next morning, refreshed although her eyes were puffy. She didn’t want to think about the day before. The only thing that mattered today: figuring out more about the song she’d discovered.

With a jolt, she realized she hadn’t left her daddy dinner and it was almost too late to get ready and make him breakfast. He might think something was really wrong, if she didn’t get herself together. Explaining to him that she’d lost her voice and been made a fool of in front of the school wasn’t how she wanted to start her weekend.

She sat up and glanced around. The apartment was quiet at six thirty in the morning, though her daddy would be up soon to get ready for work. He left at seven thirty, and she left at seven for Madame Estelle’s.

She rose and crossed to her dresser, stopping when she saw the mirror.

You must sing.

The words appeared to have been written in blood. She rubbed her face, upset by the sight of blood but more than that, angered at the constant reminders of a danger she didn’t understand.

“What? You couldn’t find no sticky notes?” she asked in frustration. “You know who has to clean this up? It ain’t you!”

Adrienne almost started crying again, distressed at the reminder that she’d lost more than her faith in humanity the day before. She scribbled the newest communication on a piece of paper and added the note to her collection. Whether it was her sister’s spirit or some other supernatural entity, she was pissed that something had decided to pour salt in her wounds first thing in the morning, not to mention cost her time getting ready by having to clean off her mirror.

She took a quick shower and changed into the long skirt and bright purple blouse that made up her uniform at Madame Estelle’s. She tied a bright scarf around her hips and added a choker then tied her hair in a bun.

“Daddy, you up?” she called, hurrying from her bedroom to the kitchen.

“Yeah,” came the groggy response.

Not wanting to talk to him about yesterday or Candace yet, she made him scrambled eggs as fast as she could then pushed down the handle of the toaster.

“Breakfast is ready!” she shouted and grabbed her cross-body bag then her tarot cards. “I’m late! Email me if you need anything.” She didn’t wait for his response before pulling the door closed behind her and hurrying to the elevator.

Adrienne glanced down to make sure she looked decent, even though she felt horrible. She’d always thought she looked cute in the outfit the Madame Estelle gifted her after being impressed by her reading skills. Swiping on some mascara and lip gloss in the elevator, she readied herself to face the world when all she wanted to do was hide.

She wasn’t excited about going to work to earn money to produce her own album. She didn’t look forward to counting her tips and putting aside lunch money for next week. After a few minutes of thought on the slow elevator, she realized why.

There may not be lunches next week and if there were, they wouldn’t be with Emma, who would probably no longer be her friend. She’d done exactly what Emma said she would and turned against her. And what happened if Candace’s tea didn’t lift the curse before she lost her scholarship? No amount of tip money would let her stay in the exclusive academy. If she couldn’t sing, she couldn’t produce an album or have Christie help her prepare for an audition for a conservatory. She felt like she was about to lose everything that mattered in her life. She’d end up broken and poor, like her daddy, or crazy and poor, like her mama.

The elevator doors opened, and she froze.

Jayden was in the lobby. He turned at the elevator’s ding.

The doors started to close. Adrienne crossed her arms and walked out, afraid to know why he was there.

“Um, you want a ride?” he asked, shifting feet nervously. He wore chinos and a polo that skimmed his muscular form. He held her gaze.

Adrienne shook her head.

“It’s raining.”

She glanced past him out the door. He was right. Her walk to the bus stop would be miserable, but he hated magic. If he didn’t run away from her after yesterday, he would when he saw where she worked.

If he does, I’ll know we just ain’t meant to be.

“Please.”

“All right,” she murmured.

He opened the door for her. “Wait here. I can get the car.”

Adrienne walked past him, breathing in his fresh, masculine scent. She almost objected about not melting in the rain but stopped. She was still angry, and the idea of him getting wet made her feel a little better.

Jayden trotted out of sight and reappeared a few minutes at the wheel of his car.

She got into the passenger side and closed the door.

“You work at Madame Estelle’s?” he asked.

She nodded. They fell into quiet for a moment.

“What’re you doing here, Jayden?” she asked.

“Driving you to work.”

“No. Really.”

He glanced at her. “I wanted to see you.”

Adrienne refused to take his words seriously. He’d been part of her set up. Maybe he was taking pity on her or maybe, he felt guilty and wanted her to make him feel better.

She wasn’t going to, though.

“You not talking to me now?” he asked.

“Should I be?”

“Look, Adrienne, I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say.”

“How ‘bout explaining why you didn’t give me no warning? Or maybe you can tell me how far you went to set me up for such an epic fall.”

“What? I –”

“We’re here. Thanks for the ride.” She opened the door and got out, not listening to him. Instead, she trotted into the small shop.

Adrienne’s plain, dark room fit her mood today. A clean tablecloth was on the table, and she sat, leaning down to put her purse in the box under the table. She closed it then spread out the maroon tablecloth and then set her cards on top.

Rattled, yet thrilled by the idea that Jayden went out of his way to seek her out, she drew several deep breaths before stepping out of her room to see if he’d left.

Jayden was the only person seated in the small waiting area. He smiled when she emerged from the back.

“So, um, why do you work here?” he asked, glancing around. While uneasy, he gave no indication he was in a hurry to leave.

“Not many people can read cards like I can,” she said with some pride. “I know you don’t believe in no magic, but I am good at what I do.”

“I believe that without a doubt,” he replied. “Is it … um, real?”

“Yeah. The cards tell a story. It ain’t always easy to understand the story, though. Like each card can mean something different to each person.”

“Interesting.” He didn’t seem to know what to say for a minute. “On TV they always get the death card. Seems … weird.”

“The Death card means change,” she said with a small smile. “It’s a good card in the right context.”

“We won last night,” he said, returning the smile. “You weren’t there.”

How could he bring up such a sore topic? Adrienne started to say something then stopped. The door jingled and someone walked in. By the slightly lost look, she assumed it was the woman’s first reading.

Adrienne shifted her attention to the client then led her back to one of the psychic’s rooms.

When she returned, three more people were standing in a line, waiting to be seen.

Jayden had picked up a Psychics Today magazine and was reading, one eyebrow quirked up skeptically.

The sight made her want to laugh. Was he trying to understand her world or just trying to figure out why he was there?

She took her client back for a reading. They lasted thirty minutes, and as soon as she was finished, the psychic sent over another client.

Adrienne had a steady flow of clients for a few hours before she decided to take a break. Assuming Jayden had gotten tired of being ignored, she was surprised when she went to the front and saw him seated where he had been earlier, talking to a couple of the regulars who came every Saturday since she began reading cards there.

When he saw her, he flashed a smile at the two and stood, crossing to the counter.

“Got you a coffee.” He placed it on the counter. “Not sure what you liked, so I got a mocha.”

“Thank you,” she murmured. “You’re still here.”

“I’ll wait ‘til you have time to talk or until you’re done working.”

Adrienne felt badly. She wanted to despise him and think the worst after yesterday. Gazing at him, she found it hard to deny what her heart told her. She’d been half in love with him since he almost knocked her over in the cafeteria. Yesterday did nothing to change how she felt and neither did the cards that kept warning her that they’d face danger if they were together.

What was she supposed to do?

“Yeah, right,” she said finally.

“I will. Watch. Keep ignoring me.”

She tried not to smile. Adrienne took her coffee and turned away, disappearing behind the curtain leading to the back. The mischievous side of her wanted to prove him wrong, if for no other reason then so she could write him off as the jerk she desperately wanted to consider him. She doubted someone as popular and handsome as Jayden would need to stick around to impress a girl when he had to have a million others waiting for him.

Jayden didn’t budge. Adrienne peeked out at him after each client. She watched him, though, when he didn’t know she was looking. He played on his phone, and made friends of almost everyone who walked in. With his easygoing nature, Jayden got along with everyone from the superstitious old ladies to the Japanese tourists. He seemed to have fun, listening and laughing with them.

What was it about him that fascinated her enough for her to disregard the warnings of her cards? They’d spoken of a connection in their past. Was this what she felt? Their ancestors shared a history?

The mid-afternoon lull came at around three. Adrienne drew a breath and went to the small break area in back for some water. When she returned to her room, Jayden was seated at the table.

“What’re you doing?” she demanded, crossing her arms.

“Getting my cards read or future predicted. Whatever you do,” he replied with a smile.

“So you can make fun of me more after yesterday?”

“I would never do that.” He sounded so sincere that the edge of her anger melted.

Adrienne sat down across from him, feeling nervous being alone with him. She feared learning what he thought of her after yesterday.

“How does this work?” he asked, glancing at the cards.

“Well,” she paused, face growing warm. Would he think she was silly or stupid? “You take the cards and they absorb your energy. Just shuffle them around.” She pushed them towards him. “Think about something you want to know while you do it.”

“Like the future?”

“More like a question or a particular problem or circumstance.”

He was quiet, thoughtful, as he shifted and shuffled the cards. “Okay. Do I tell you?”

“You don’t have to.” She watched him for a moment then patted the table. “Set them cards down.”

He did.

Her heart was beating quickly at the thought of him deciding she was too backwards or superstitious.

Adrienne laid out six cards and studied them, concentrating hard. She wanted to make this good for him.

“This is you,” she said, pointing to the familiar Devil. “I um, pulled your card earlier this week and when Tara came here last weekend. I didn’t know it was you at the time.”

“The devil?” his eyes widened. “Wow.”

“It ain’t bad,” she told him. “Well, I mean, it ain’t like you’re a demon. It means you’re trapped. Or maybe you feel trapped.” She shook her head. “I’m sick of this card.”

“Which one?”

She pointed to the Ace of Cups. “It keeps popping, but I don’t know why.”

“What does it mean?”

“A connection to the past. But like, it means there’s something in your past that is stickin’ with you.”

At his silence, she glanced up.

Jayden was staring at her. He shifted and leaned forward in interest.

Her brow furrowed. “That means something to you?”

“Maybe. What else?”

“I’ll explain them then put them together into a story,” she said. “This one indicates you’re afraid of yourself or at least, of letting who you are shine through. This one, that you must not fear change. This one …” She flushed. “… could indicate that you fall too quickly in love or um, don’t think twice before making a decision that backfires on you.” She rushed on. “This is strange. It shows that you um, have a duality of heart. You fall for two women?” She eyed him.

Jayden met her gaze then laughed. “No. Definitely not me. I don’t need any woman right now.”

“Oh.” The words hit her hard.

“I mean, I don’t mean that like that … not about you,” he stumbled. “Anyway, what story does it tell?”

Wounded, she nonetheless studied the cards. The sense of danger lingered around his cards.

“This one means there’s hope,” she said. “You, the man trapped by his past, will make a hasty decision that backfires on you, possibly about the women in your life. But that there’s a chance for you to redeem yourself, if you’re brave enough to make a choice that takes you out of your comfort zone.”

Jayden was quiet.

“Did you ask about um, romance?” she asked him.

“No,” he said then laughed. “I asked what was going to happen next week.” He shrugged. “I didn’t know what to ask. This really means I’m trapped by my past?” He touched the two cards.

“It means you might feel that way, yes. Do you?”

“Actually, yeah. I don’t know about the rest of it, but that part is true.”

“Why?”

“Long story. Not a good one.” He studied her then fingered the dog tags at his neck. “Tara said you want to drop out of school.”

Adrienne ducked her head. “I can’t go back.”

“You have to. Emma needs a friend.”

“I messed that up, too. I make a mess of everything.” She saddened to think of Emma eating lunch alone.

“That’s totally not true.”

“I stood her up Friday to eat with y’all.” Adrienne’s face flushed, this time in anger. “I knew I should’ve sat with her but I didn’t. I thought … I thought Kimmie and you and everyone else were my friends.”

“I am. Or, I want to be,” he said. “Kimmie is a lost cause. You can’t let one stupid person run you out of school.”

“One stupid person. Hmm. How about the half a dozen people who knew what she was fixin’ to do and didn’t tell me?”

“You have every right to be mad. It’s cool. I get it.” Jayden cleared his throat. “Don’t let her … or I guess, us, be the reason you don’t come back. I’ve heard you sing, Adrienne. You deserve that chance to break into the industry. I know you can do it.”

“I can’t keep up with the classes and I have no singing voice. They’ll kick me out soon anyway,” she said miserably.

“Then I’ll help you with class.”

Just thinking of her embarrassment in front of the whole school made her want to run away to New Orleans.

“Think about it?” he prodded. “What do your cards say?”

She said nothing for a long moment. “They say I need to be here, but that there’s danger here, too.”

“Worse than Kimmie?”

“A lot worse.”

“Take these.” Jayden pulled off the dog tags he wore around his neck. “My grandmama put a protective spell on them to keep me safe.”

Her eyes flew up to his. “I thought you didn’t believe in that stuff.”

“I don’t. Not really,” he said with a shrug. “But Tara said you do, and your card trick kinda has me wondering. If these help you stay, then I’ll believe they’re magical.”

Adrienne’s determination to keep her distance began to crumble. She took the dog tags carefully. They were faded and warm from time, but she was able to read the name stamped on them.

“Jayden, I can’t take them.”

“They’re yours. If you decide to go back to Georgia, then maybe you can remember me when you look at them. If you want to remember me,” he rushed on with a sloppy smile.

“You’re serious?” she asked, searching his gaze. “You want me to have them?”

“Yeah.” He took it out of her hands then stood and leaned to drape the ball chain over her neck. “They’re almost a hundred years old. They’ve gotta be good luck to make it that long, right?”

She chewed on her lower lip, not wanting to smile. It tugged free, and she nodded, touched by his thoughtfulness.

“Thank you, Jayden,” she murmured.

“You’re welcome. Adrienne,” he paused, visibly struggling with the words. “I want a second chance with you.”

She gazed at him longingly, wanting to believe him and the idea they had a chance.

“There’s an issue, though. I’m not sure how to deal with it.”

“Issue?” she asked, thoughts on her daddy’s run down apartment and the dog tags.

“Not with you,” he said quickly. “My family. Your cards … they kinda hit home. I need to think about something.”

“They want to cut off my other ear?” she half-joked, blood racing as she tried to interpret what he was saying. Did he want to see her again or not? Were the dog tags a farewell gift or a gift to someone he hoped would become more than friends?

“No, nothing like that.” His gaze was distant. “Can I ask you to be patient with me, until I figure this out?”

“Patient? What do you mean?” Her thoughts went to the cards that said there was someone else in his near future, someone he might love.

“I guess I mean, I want a second chance with you. More than anything else in my life.” He frowned. “I have to figure out something first.”

“Stop being so vague!” she said, sighing. “You either like me or you don’t!”

Jayden laughed. “I do. I know I do.” The intensity of his gaze made her face warm.

“You ain’t embarrassed to be seen with me at school, are you?” she whispered.

“Of course not. I plan on talking to Kimmie about what she did. It was stupid to mess with your scholarship like that. Just … let me think a little this weekend, okay?”

Adrienne wasn’t certain how to feel. He’d spent the whole day waiting for the opportunity to talk to her but wasn’t willing to go out with her for reasons he wouldn’t say.

Not that she would trust him or let him back into her life so easily. But she wanted to know that she hadn’t lost him, either.

“We both need to think,” she said. “I don’t want to risk our feelings if I can’t stay.”

Jayden searched her gaze. “You have to stay, Addy. No matter what happens. You have to follow your dream. Once the right people hear you sing, you’ll be famous. I know it.”

I have no voice! She wanted to scream the reminder, but didn’t, afraid of crying if she brought up what happened if she failed to recover her singing voice.

“Sometimes, timing is just … not quite right with things,” Jayden continued. “I know I want to be more than your friend. I don’t know how to juggle dating and everything else.”

There was more that he wasn’t saying, and she couldn’t guess what. He said it wasn’t directed at her, but she couldn’t help thinking that her family and humiliation at school were part of it. The troubled look that crossed his face when she told him about being trapped by his past returned.

“It’s okay, Jayden. We both have a lot to think about,” she murmured.

“I promise, I’ll tell you more in a few days.”

She nodded, not really believing him. On Monday, she’d figure out for sure what he was trying to say. If he avoided her at school or helped others to ridicule her, then she’d know he was trying to alleviate his own guilt this weekend without any real interest in dating her.

But maybe, that was for the better. With the Red Man haunting her, did she really want to drag Jayden into her backwards world anyway?

“I can drop you off at home, if you’re ready,” he said.

She was almost relieved at the chance for some time alone to think.

Adrienne rose and wove her way through the tables to the door. Jayden pushed it open for her, and she stepped into the balmy, cloudy afternoon.

He was trying. She’d give him that much. She couldn’t believe he’d given her his great grandfather’s dog tags, and she wasn’t certain what exactly that meant. He’d helped embarrass her yesterday then given her something of great value today.

They were quiet on the short drive home. Adrienne was surprised to see someone waiting for her in front of the apartment building.

“Hmmm,” Jayden said. “You want me to walk you in?”

“No. That’s Rene. He’s nice. Well, he’s always cranky, but he’s a good person,” she said.

Jayden didn’t look impressed at the sight of the thug.

Adrienne smiled. “Thank you, Jayden.”

“You’re welcome. Think things over. Email or call or whatever, if you want.” His narrowed gaze was on Rene.

“Okay.” She got out of the car and closed the door, waving.

Jayden drove off.

Adrienne approached Rene, planting her hands on her hips.

He rolled his eyes at her. “You back with the rich boy?”

“He drove me to work and back. That’s it,” she said. “You have anything for me?”

“Maybe. You got time to see Candace?”

“I don’t feel like it. Had nothing but bad luck the past couple of days.”

“You a diva, girl. She’s got news for you. You don’t want it, that’s on you. I ain’t gonna let anything bad happen to you.”

Ugh. She kept getting sucked in. Was she foolish for wanting to trust Jayden and Candace?

“Okay,” she said unhappily.

“You got your drawing?”

She nodded.

Rene pushed himself away from the wall and walked with her the ten minutes to Candace’s café. Two customers sat in the corner, drinking coffee and talking. Candace was at the counter. She opened the curtains for them to enter the protected area of her shrine room.

“I’ll join you in a minute,” she said, then closed the curtains.

A stack of paper was in the middle of the table.

Adrienne gazed at it then gasped.

“Rene! You did it!” she exclaimed, recognizing the writing from her sister’s journal. He had copied each page of the journal.

Adrienne flung her arms around Rene. He hugged her back.

“You wanna thank me, hook me up with that piece of ass I saved in the alley last night,” he told her, his breath tickling the hair around her ear in a way that made her shiver.

“Tara?” she asked. “Really?”

“She’s hot and you ain’t interested.”

“I never said …” She stopped, suddenly aware of what he was saying. She was surprised to feel a little jealous. “You never asked me.”

“I ain’t your type. You like rich boys with no spines.”

“You don’t know that,” she returned.

“He wasn’t man enough to stand up for you after you lost your singing voice.”

“At least he was man enough to ask me out, and he came to see me today!” She pushed him away enough to glare up at him. “It doesn’t matter what he did or didn’t do yesterday.” The pain of the memory caught her by surprise, and her eyes watered. “What would you have done?”

“Messed up anyone who hurt you. Not let you run out into the city on your own. You a good girl. You need someone who sees that and treats you right. Obviously, he don’t.”

Adrienne’s anger swirled away. “That’s real sweet, Rene.”

“Yeah, well …” His blue-green gaze was intent enough to send a flutter through her. His hands lingered on her arms. Despite the tattoos and roughened exterior, he had a gentle heart, one she innately knew was good. “You wanna go out?”

She hesitated. Strong and confident, Rene was the one who knew the most about her and the only one who had never let her down or run away. He was frustrating at times, but he never disappointed her.

But Jayden went out of his way today to sit with her and apologize, to try to get to know her world, even if he disliked magic.

“Think about it.” Rene took a step back and cleared his throat, uncomfortable in the awkward silence that fell between them.

“Okay. I will,” she said.

Rene flung himself into his corner chair.

Adrienne sat down and pulled the stack of papers towards her. Someone had started circling the capitalized letters already, and she picked up a pen, flipping pages until she found one without the circles.

“I found out something,” Candace said, watching her. “You want to hear it?”

Adrienne nodded, focused on her task.

“There are three original Houses here in New Orleans, bloodlines with roots in serving the spirits who have been here for four hundred years. Your appearance marks the return of the Fourth House, which started out in New Orleans and then disappeared. Rene and Jax are from House DuBois, my brother and I are from House Igbo. The third is just outside of the city,” Candace started. “I called everyone I could from all three families. I found someone I think can help, a powerful priestess. She’s a little … off.”

Adrienne glanced up. Candace appeared baffled and amused at the same time.

“She knew things I didn’t know were possible, like another verse of the lullaby your grandmama sang you.”

“Seriously?”

“It’s the beginning of the story. The man who bought the spell was in love with the bokor who created it. He was from a poor family and she from a wealthy one with secret, superstitious roots. She warned him, but he insisted she make the spell, so he could have the gold he needed to win over her father and marry her. That’s how it starts.”

Adrienne listened. “I’m guessing by the second verse Mama sent me things didn’t go the way they intended.”

“No, they didn’t. The curse of ninety nine fell upon both. Marie Toussaint believes ninety nine refers to the number of people meant to die in each family as a result of what these two did.”

Adrienne’s mouth fell open. How many years and people were caught up in the curse?

“We think the two lovers were separated, but both their bloodlines suffered from the jinx, which could’ve spanned about four hundred years. If true, Marie believes your family’s penance should’ve ended with the death of your sister. It didn’t, if you’re marked. It’s spreading instead.”

“Why?”

“Not sure.” Candace shrugged. “We need the third piece of the lullaby, the part that discusses what happens if the curse is not carried out. We think there might be information about a prophecy connected to the curse. I’m not even certain how this fits into it.” She motioned to the stack of papers. “Your sister found something.”

“How to break it?”

“Maybe. Or maybe how to evade it. This … song, if that’s what it is, could be very dangerous, Adrienne.”

“Therese wouldn’t want me to find it, if so.”

“What makes you think she wanted anyone to find it? That it’s not a demonic spirit trying to trick you?”

“She told me.”

Candace was silent.

Adrienne glanced up and saw the surprise on her face.

“I forgot to tell you about the stickies,” she said. She put her pen down and pulled out the iPad, to the notes she’d made of the sticky note mysteries. She handed it to Candace. Candace read them aloud.

“I’m glad you’re here.

Be careful. He is coming.

Keep the journal safe.

Free us. Find the key.

Get my journal back.

You must sing.”

“It’s her, isn’t it?” Adrienne said. “Except each note is written in a different person’s handwriting and none of them are Therese’s.”

Rene stood fast enough to knock his chair over. He left quickly, startling both of them. Adrienne stared after him then shook her head, assuming the gang member was having one of his moods.

“What do you think?” Adrienne asked.

“I think something else is going on here. It’s not unheard of for a mambos or houngan to write or speak in tongues when the spirits take them. Different handwriting would indicate different people were possessed. But six notes all for you, by six people … someone is trying to talk to you. Your sister or someone else with an interest in you and her fate,” Candace said slowly. “I’ve never seen this level of persistence.”

“There’s a very important reason behind all this,” Adrienne said matter-of-factly. “I know it. Now that I know what this writing is, I can piece together the music.”

“To do what?”

“Sing it. I mean, Therese and I both sing. Maybe that’s the key to freeing her. Somehow.”

“Freeing her from what?”

Adrienne shrugged. “First, I need my voice back.” She sighed.

“That could take a while,” Candace said. “If it comes back at all.”

“You think I should go back to school and confront Kimmie.”

“I think that is the quickest and best solution. She can help you get it back.”

Adrienne bit her lower lip, disturbed by the idea of facing the entire school.

Jayden wanted her to stay. He’d made that much clear.

“Candace, why didn’t you tell me you were dating my daddy? Did you know that when Rene brought me here?”

“I knew when I saw you. Your daddy is very proud of his girls. He showed me pictures,” Candace said, smiling. “I’m sorry, Adrienne. I wanted things to unfold at their own pace.”

“It hasn’t been an easy move,” Adrienne murmured. “I miss my friends and school, and I’m trying to find out what happened to Therese, because … ” She stopped.

“You’re afraid it’ll happen to you.”

Adrienne nodded.

“It’s a lot to deal with for someone your age.” Candace said. “I’ll talk to Marie Toussaint again this weekend and do some more research. Try out another week of school and focus on healing your voice and figuring out this song. We’ll meet here next weekend and figure out what our next steps are. Does that sound okay?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Unconvinced about school, Adrienne knew she at least needed time to write out all the notes of the song.

Candace wasn’t wrong about asking Kimmie to drop the curse, either. Adrienne wouldn’t be able to do it, if she wasn’t at school.

“I’m going home,” she decided. “I’m taking these, okay?” She picked up the papers.

“Of course. You should wait for Rene, though.”

“It’s the middle of the day. I’ll be fine,” Adrienne replied, tired of being treated like a kid. She was capable of walking home by herself, if not figuring out her sister’s clues. She tucked the papers into her bag then stood. “I’ll see you later, Candace.”

“Take my card. If you need anything, call.” Candace handed her a gray business card.

Adrienne tucked it into the front pocket of her bag. She left the café and glanced up at the sky. It looked and smelled like more rain was coming, but the clouds were holding their downpour for now.

She started down the street, reviewing her day mentally. It started out as miserable with the rain, work and too painful memories of the day before.

Jayden managed to change all that. No matter how confused she felt about him, she could appreciate seeing him sit in the psychic’s waiting room all day, waiting for her to give him a chance to say his piece.

She touched the dog tags at her neck. Maybe he was confused, too, but he’d given her a gift of great personal significance. That had to count for something, right?

She half expected Rene to appear to escort her and was pleased that he didn’t. She kept to the sidewalks and avoided the alleys, knowing he was probably the only one willing to help her out, if she ran into his gang.

The rain started the moment after she stepped into the lobby of her daddy’s apartment building. It smelled like bleach, a sign the ancient caretaker had mopped at some point this afternoon. She went up to her floor and walked into the apartment.

Deep in thought, she tugged off her cross-body bag and dropped it on the kitchen table then stuck a cup with water in the microwave for tea.

The sound of the floor creaking beneath someone’s feet caught her attention. It came from the direction of the hallway leading to the apartment’s two bedrooms.

“Daddy?” she called.

No answer.

Brow furrowed, Adrienne walked down the hall, pausing to peek into the living room. It was quiet, the television off. She went to her daddy’s room. His door was open, the bed unmade, as usual. He wasn’t there.

The creaking came again. From her room.

She tiptoed the rest of the way down the hall to her doorway and froze.

Someone was in her room. A woman in jeans and t-shirt, tall with dark hair and pale skin.

“Who are you?” Adrienne demanded.

The woman turned. Her eyes were a bright shade of blue, her features pretty. She didn’t seem surprised, as if expecting to be discovered. She cocked her head to the side, blue eyes sweeping over Adrienne curiously.

The strange sense of standing close to Jax returned, as if this woman wasn’t completely … natural. The hair on Adrienne’s arms rose, and her pulse flew. It took every piece of her will power not to run.

A sticky note was on Adrienne’s nightstand.

The woman’s gaze followed hers, resting on the yellow square.

Adrienne studied the woman again, noticing the sweat dripping down the side of her face and the clammy sheen of her skin. The woman appeared to be under some sort of strain. She weaved as she stood, and there was tightness around her eyes and lips. Her clothing was rumpled, dirt along one leg of the pants.

Was she diseased? Sick? Crazy?

Moving back into the hallway, Adrienne silently thanked her daddy for paying the phone bill, so she could call the police.

“Don’t run, Adrienne,” the woman said, her attention slowly shifting back to her. “Please. Just let me talk to you.”

“You know who I am.” Adrienne’s panic grew too strong for her to contain.

She wasn’t calling the police – she was getting the hell out of there! She turned to dart down the hallway towards the door.

The woman was at the other end of the hallway.

Adrienne froze, her body aching with the tension of her muscles.

“Please,” the woman said again. “I don’t have much time or … ” She wobbled and caught herself against the wall.

Adrienne backed away. A frantic glance into her room revealed it was empty. Her breathing was fast enough that her ears were starting to buzz and tunnel vision formed. With her escape route and ability to reach the phone blocked, Adrienne sank against a wall, shaking.

The woman knelt as well, even paler.

Adrienne closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on her breathing, terrified of what might happen if she passed out. Tears squeezed from her eyes as she struggled to control her body’s frantic response to finding a stranger in her house. After a moment, the dizzy spell passed, and she forced herself to focus.

The woman was leaning against the wall, eyes closed. Her breathing was rough and quick.

“What do you want?” Adrienne managed.

“I brought you a … note.” She pointed with a quaking hand towards the bedroom.

With effort, Adrienne pushed herself up and went to her room. She picked up the sticky note on her nightstand.

“It’s blank,” she said, confused.

“I know,” the woman said from the hallway.

Curiosity got the better of her. Adrienne went to the doorway of her room, feeling somewhat safe knowing she could close the door and hide, if need be.

“I didn’t have time to write it,” the woman admitted.

“What should it say?”

“Help Jax.”

“What? Why?” Adrienne asked. “Omigod! Is he the man in red?” As soon as she asked the question, she realized it was stupid to ask a stranger about something from her sister’s journal.

“No,” the woman said. “He’s lost his way.”

The woman appeared to be growing weaker in front of Adrienne.

“Who are you?” she asked again.

The woman laughed, a husky, strained sound. “I don’t even know.” She drew a deep breath then pushed herself up to her feet.

“You came here to my home to tell me to help Jax. Did you write the other notes?”

“Yes and no.” The woman took a step towards her.

Adrienne shrank away, recalling what Candace said about the possibility that a spirit possessing different people had written the notes. This woman didn’t know who she was. Was she under the influence of a spirit?

“I wrote the warnings. Not the notes.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You will. Just … you have to sing, Adrienne. You have to. Soon.” Her voice was growing faint, more strained.

Adrienne didn’t know what to say.

The stranger smiled then turned and started towards the door.

“Wait!” Adrienne cried, forcing herself forward. “I have so many questions! What does the song mean or do or …”

“Sing, sweet Addy. Sing.”

“Please wait! Tell me what this veve means!” Adrienne ducked into her room and wrenched open the nightstand, where she kept the other sticky notes and the drawing she’d traced of the Red Man’s veve.

When she returned to the hallway, the woman was gone.

With some apprehension, Adrienne ventured away from the safety of her room. She peeked into her daddy’s bedroom once more and the living room then the kitchen.

“Hello?” she whispered.

The door was locked from the inside, and the woman gone.

Shaking, Adrienne sat down numbly on the couch, unable to explain what just happened. Had she just met a possessed woman? If so, whose spirit was inside her?

I wrote the warnings. Not the notes.

Adrienne didn’t let herself consider the possibility she’d just run into her dead sister’s spirit in a new body. After minutes of furiously searching her mind for a different explanation, she finally relented and gave the idea a full minute of thought.

It scared her, but it was possible.

Adrienne grabbed a pen from the coffee table. She wrote the woman’s warning on the sticky note.

Help Jax.

Two people thought he’d lost his way, and Adrienne didn’t understand what that meant or what it had to do with her.

Afraid to be alone in her own home, she grabbed her bag and left, too rattled to sit and think in the silent apartment. She didn’t go far, but curled into one of the faded, old chairs in the lobby. The in and out of residents and weekend visitors soon eased her fear and tension. She watched for a while, unable to digest completely what happened.

A strange woman who knew her randomly appeared in her apartment with a message. Then disappeared, after alluding to the idea she might be Therese.

Why didn’t she come out and say so, if she was? Had Adrienne missed her chance to ask her sister directly what was going on? What happened to her?

What if this was the only chance she’d ever get to ask and she blew it?

Distress growing, Adrienne nibbled on her lower lip, staring at the floor a couple feet in front of the chair. She found herself gripping the dog tags for comfort and praying to the family gods that the protective spell was enough to keep away whatever danger people seemed to think was headed her way.

Unable to understand why the woman showed herself now, after leaving anonymous notes for two weeks, Adrienne focused on what she knew. She had to figure out the song from her sister’s journal. Jax, Therese, the curse, the robed man … all were somehow tied to the song encoded in the journal.

Adrienne pulled out the sheaf of papers with trembling hands. She blinked away tears, studying the first page again. She wrote out the notes in the lower margin then paused, frowning. She knew the notes, but a string of notes wouldn’t give her the rhythm required to turn it into a true song.

She gazed at the first line of the journal and began counting the letters and spaces between the circled letters. The rests and slides were there, disguised as more letters and spaces.

She wanted to cry but concentrated instead. She drew an uneven staff and bar lines then began to fill in the notes and their lengths and pauses between.

After ten grueling minutes, she had the first three lines decoded into what resembled a tiny musical score.

She started to hum the tune, coughed loudly then stopped, eyes watering.

She couldn’t sing. No matter how horrible school would be Monday, she had to find Kimmie and ask her to lift the curse. There was no other guaranteed way to get rid of the hex preventing her from singing.

Adrienne stared listlessly into space for a moment. Monday would be the worst day of her life, but Candace was right. If she didn’t go back and try to reason with Kimmie, she’d end up disappearing or dying like her sister. The curse might take the rest of her sisters.

Therese discovered how to stop it through the song. Why didn’t she do it? Was it incomplete, inaccurate or did it not work when she tried?

They were questions she should’ve asked an hour before but didn’t.

Adrienne covered her face with her hands, feeling very alone. She drew a deep breath and pulled out the iPad. She responded to Jayden first.

J-

Thank you so much for today. You’re the only good part of my life right now. I’ll see you at school Monday.

A.

She sent it then systematically deleted all the horrible emails from kids at school. She paused at Emma’s, her guilt making her want to cry again.

Emma,

I’m so sorry I didn’t have lunch with you Friday. I was stupid. If you don’t want to have lunch with me again, I totally understand. If you do, I’ll buy us both salad on Monday.

Adrienne

It didn’t seem like enough, but she didn’t know what else to say to her friend. If she had the money, she’d offer to buy Emma lunch every day for as long as it took to win her back.

If I don’t get my voice back, I can use my album money. Adrienne sighed, not wanting to consider what happened if Kimmie refused and Candace’s tea didn’t work.

“Why you down here?”

She looked up, not noticing Rene’s approach until he stood right in front of her.

She shrugged.

He sat down in the chair beside her, managing to take up the whole space. He hung his arms over the sides of the chair and sat with his knees a part. She envied him for a moment, wishing she was as unapproachable looking as he appeared to be. People were probably afraid to embarrass him in public or break into his apartment to leave mysterious sticky notes. Even the Red Man would be leery of executing the curse.

Residents that had ignored her eyed the muscular thug in baggy clothing seated beside her.

“How did Jax lose his way?” she asked.

“None of your business.”

“It is now.” She slapped the sticky note down on his arm. “Some crazy person broke into my apartment to tell me that.”

Rene caught the note before it fell, glancing up at the tremor in her voice.

“Who broke in?” he asked warily.

“I don’t know. Some woman. There was something … unnatural about her.”

He read the note and passed it back, unaffected. “She’s wrong. You need to keep away from him.”

“So … what? Jax is in trouble?”

He said nothing.

“No, I get it now,” she said, angry and upset. “Jax wants me to go home. Maybe because I remind him too much of Therese. You’re the voodoo warrior gang member who’s supposed to be protecting people like me, except you won’t stand up to your brother. In the meantime, the Red Man is fixin’ to show up in my house and kill me, because of some curse started by people I ain’t never heard of, but who happen to be related to me. I could stop it, but I can’t sing!”

Rene rested his head against the back of the chair, watching her calmly.

“Am I right?” she demanded.

“Not really.”

Rather than anger her further, his words crushed her. Adrienne pushed the things in her lap to the side of the chair and pulled her knees to her chest, burying her face in her arms. She couldn’t cry. She was too angry.

And scared. The sticky notes appearing hadn’t bothered her, but their delivery by a woman who might’ve been possessed by her dead sister – that was something worth fearing.

“I just want to be normal,” she murmured. “Instead, I’m just waiting for some stupid curse to get me.”

“It’s not that bad.” Rene sounded distracted.

Adrienne twisted her head to see him. “How so?”

“You ain’t dead yet.”

“You are getting on my everlasting nerve, Rene.”

“If you angry, you fine. If you hurt, you alive. Be grateful.”

“I can’t be grateful. I’m scared.”

Rene shifted, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. He was quiet for a long moment.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Do me a favor,” he replied. “Don’t leave your apartment tomorrow.”

“I have to sing …” she stopped, throat tightening. “Never mind. I guess I won’t be singing at the church anytime soon. But I do have to work.”

“Call in sick. Quit. Just don’t leave the house.”

“Why?”

“Something’s not … right,” he said. “I don’t know what. But I know I can figure it out. Work on your sister’s journal.”

Adrienne considered. It did sound like a good idea – staying home to put together the music mystery her sister left. She didn’t have to tell her daddy she was skipping. She’d send him off like she did the past three Sundays, telling him she’d be at church then at the psychic’s. He used Sundays to wrap up any outstanding work from the shop and to do paperwork. He’d yet to come home early, so he’d never know if she stayed home.

“What if … she comes back?” she asked tentatively.

“She won’t.” Rene was firm. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“You gonna sit down here all day?”

“No.”

“You are moodier than any woman I’ve ever met.” Puzzled, she sensed his mood was turning from cooperative to stonewalling, like usual. “I’ll stay home tomorrow, if you tell me what’s going on.”

“I will later,” he said gruffly and stood. “Candace walk you home or you just act stupid and walk on your own?”

She said nothing.

“You just asking for it,” he snapped, frustration clear. “I’m going out of town for a couple days. Stay away from Jax and don’t walk anywhere alone. You got it?”

She rolled her eyes and nodded.

Satisfied, Rene left.

Adrienne watched him walk out of the building. People moved out of the thug’s path, and she almost smiled. She wondered why he was so nice to her, if Jax insisted, because of Therese.

She stayed downstairs until her daddy got back from work then joined him in the elevator. He was tired looking today. For his sake, Adrienne put on a smile she didn’t feel.

He didn’t need the added burden of her life issues.

“So, we gonna talk about Candace, Daddy?” she asked, needing a distraction from her worry.

“What about her?” he asked gruffly.

“Like … maybe you can tell me why it’s okay for you do date a black woman and I can’t even study with a black kid from school?” she challenged.

“Black man and white girl.” He shook his head. “Ain’t no excuse for that.”

“Daddy, Jayden’s father is like some sort of genius and he’s rich. He’s smart and sweet and plays football. Football, Daddy. You love football,” she pointed out.

“Every man born south of the Mason-Dixon line loves football, if he wants to call himself a man,” he replied. “Don’t mean I want black football players in my living room.”

“You’re not making sense,” she complained. “Candace is beautiful and nice. It’s not fair!”

“You’re a different kind of girl, Addy,” he said, narrowing his eyes at her. “Almost unnatural like. I don’t know where you get this stuff. Therese never would’ve let no black man in my house.”

Therese was in love with a voodoo-practicing gang member! Adrienne crossed her arms, moping. Her daddy didn’t know anything about Therese. She wondered if anyone actually did. It seemed liked every year her sister only got smarter and sweeter and more religious and better than Adrienne in every way.

Who had Therese really been? She practiced voodoo and dated someone she could never bring home to her daddy. Was she really what others thought she was?

For the first time in her life, Adrienne wished more people knew about Therese’s dark streak and how she’d dabbled in black magic. Maybe the comparisons would stop.

This thought helped ease some of the guilt Adrienne felt at lying to her daddy. Perfect, beautiful Therese had kept secrets, which meant it was okay if Adrienne did, too.

Like seeing Jayden and trying to break the family curse. Her daddy could never understand these things, but she began to think that her long-dead sister could.

We aren’t as different as I thought.