Chapter Two

Eve glanced at me, suddenly snatching the faded book out of my hands. I frowned at her, my eyes narrowing.

“What?” I asked, frowning at her. Eve growled from in between her teeth, a low, threatening noise that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

“You do not touch the things below the counter,” she said quickly. “You don’t rearrange things in the shop. Got it?” I nodded, although I was irritated. What was it with this girl and her never-ending stream of rules? Sighing again, I tapped my finger lightly against the counter, resting my cheek on my hand.

Twenty minutes later, no one was in the shop, and I could tell Eve was just as bored as I was. Taking a bracing breath, I turned myself slightly to face her.

“Eve?” I said. “Why do you live with your grandmother?” Eve looked up at me, her eyes narrowed slightly. She exhaled through her nose and opened her mouth, revealing abnormally straight white teeth. She closed it again, took in a deep breath and began speaking.

“A long time ago, my parents, my little brother, and I took a car trip from our house in New Orleans all way to New York City. My brother was barely a year old, and I had just turned four. I don’t really remember the trip itself, but I do remember the drive back. It was getting close to midnight, and we were almost back inside the New Orleans city limits. It had been raining, and the road we were driving on didn’t have any streetlights. A deer ran into the middle of the road, and my dad swerved to avoid it. Since the road was slick with rain, the swerving kept on happening, right into a tree. My parents were killed instantly, and my brother was cut by the window that exploded upon impact, and before the EMT’s could get there, he died of blood loss.” She paused and looked at me balefully, shoulders slumped and a slight frown twisting her mouth.

“My entire left side was cut up by the windows exploding,” Eve continued. She tugged off the sweatshirt she was wearing and turned, showing me the arm with the dragon. Thin, pale scars patterned her arm and neck in almost cobwebbing lines. She pulled the jacket back on and leaned against a stack of boxes behind her.

“I’m sorry,” I said uselessly, glancing at her face to gauge her reaction. She didn’t seem angry with me for asking, more thoughtful than anything.

“What’s your story?” she asked after a minute of comfortable silence between us.

“I was born in Savannah, Georgia,” I said. “My mom died of bone cancer when I was ten, and my dad was in the Army, so we moved a lot, but he was never sent overseas. I was grateful for that, at least. He retired last year, so that way we could tour the states, seeing all his old haunts, before coming back to Savannah, to where he was stationed last, to the same town my mom was buried in. My dad told me that Savannah him too much of Mom, so we decided to move. The problem was, we couldn’t decide where. Being an Army brat, I adjusted well anywhere, but being able to choose where I wanted to live? That was more difficult than I thought it would be. Eventually, we decided on New Orleans, because that’s where my dad had grown up, so that’s how we ended up here, I suppose. That and because he loves this city, he says it holds a lot of good memories for him.” I took a deep breath after my rant and then continued: “I never really got to know my mother all that well, because she got her cancer when I was three, and then it was her in and out of hospitals and treatments. I practically saw her dying through out my childhood. I don’t even remember what color her hair was.” I scowled, mentally beating myself up for not remembering. Suddenly, I felt a slight pressure on my arm. Eve sat next to me, leaning forward, her hand on my arm, looking sympathetic. I took another deep breath and continued. “But her eyes, I remember, they were blue, like the September sky.” I finished my story by looking at Eve; she returned my stare, smiling slightly, only the right side of her mouth pulling up at the corner.

“Quite the life,” Eve said. “How many places did you live?”

“Ah, God, I dunno, we moved a lot,” I sighed, running a hand through my tangled heap of hair. Thinking hard, I started listing the places I remembered. “There was Savannah, Charleston, Fort Wayne, San Diego, Fort Wainwright, and Savannah again.” I pulled down a finger for each place.

“Quite the list,” Eve said, I nodded. Georgia, Indiana, Alaska, California, North Carolina, and now Louisiana.

“Where did you want to go?” Eve asked me. “I mean, when you and your Dad were deciding where to move?” She peered at me with those hard green eyes and I found myself almost telling her against my will, but in a way, I did want to tell her.

“I wanted to move to Paris,” I said. “But I didn’t tell my dad that, I told him I was cool with wherever he wanted to be. Which is true, but I’ve always wanted to live in Paris.” I smiled wistfully to myself, looking down at the only-slightly-dusty counter, my index finger tracing circles in the dust.

“Do you think you’ll ever end up there?” Eve asked me out of the blue, her eyebrows raised and eyes curious. “In Paris?” I glanced up at her quickly, before looking back down, flushing slightly.

“Who knows,” I said. “Life is an ever changing road, and I don’t know which way I’ll go yet.” Eve looked at me quizzically, about to say something else, when suddenly Madam Rosa walked in with a flourish.

“Hello, Mr. Du’Paul,” she said jovially, before closing the door and flipping the sign to closed, even though we had barely been open for two hours. I glanced at Eve, who glanced back at me, just as confused at her grandmother’s strange behavior.

“Gran,” Eve said, standing and walking around to the front of the counter, slowly, I stood, and followed her, confused and clumsy. Stumbling, my foot caught on the edge of the counter, and I fell flat on my face, nearly breaking my nose on the painted concrete floor. Groaning, I stood; only to find Madam Rosa and Eve both laughing their heads off at my predicament. I darted up, face firetruck red and then promptly dropped my gaze to the floor. Dark red and blue swirls covered the floor of the shop, accompanied by oddly spiritual symbols that I didn’t know what meant and didn’t want to find out.

“My grandmother wants to read your Tarot cards,” Eve said suddenly, breaking me out of my staring contest with the floor. I looked at her, and she gently grabbed my arm, pulling me to the back of the shop, past a long, trailing, silvery curtain that hid the main shop from a small, warm room in the back.

The heat from many candles scattered around the room washed over me like a bath when Eve and I pushed past the curtain. In the center of the room, a low, old, wood table sat proudly, two white candles burning brightly on each of the ends. A deck of worn cards stood in the center of the table, and Madam Rosa sat in a low chair, her face obscured by the shadows of the room. But I could still see her grinning like a bobcat, her white teeth a startling opposite from her dark skin and clothing.

“Welcome,” Madam Rosa said in a low voice that radiated power.

“Uh, okay?” I said brilliantly, staring at Madam Rosa in utter confusion. Eve, who was about a foot behind me, pushed me forward, and I ended up less than three inches from the low wood table Madam Rosa sat behind. I knelt down on the floor and waited for further instructions, even though I wanted to run out of this stifling room and these two crazy women’s lives as fast as possible.

Slowly, with eyes half closes, Madam Rosa held the deck out to me.

“Shuffle it thrice, pick out your ten cards, and give them to me,” Madam Rosa said, her voice barely above a whisper. I silently took the worn deck from her hands, shuffling the bent card three times, before picking one out and handing it to Madam Rosa, who placed it sideways. The second card I handed to her, she placed on top of the first, and then after she had all my cards, she took a deep breath, opened her green eyes and looked at me.

I flinched backwards slightly, resisting the urge to leave, although I was morbidly curious about what was going to happen next. Suddenly, a long, whistling wind blew through the miniature room, and all of the candles were extinguished, leaving the room in total darkness. The wind blew threw again and I began to get nervous, shifting my position, trying to see in the never-ending darkness surrounding me. I heard cards, possibly from the reading Madam Rosa was doing on me, flutter to the floor. I sat perfectly still, and waited.

A moment later, a blue glow took over the room, and mist rose from the concrete floor. My eyes darted around, the table was gone, as was Madam Rosa, but Eve was still next to me, her eyes and face as terrified as I felt. Our eyes connected, and I betrayed my fear through that one gaze, before she looked just beyond my left ear. My eyes flicked up to see the ghost of a young woman floating several inches above the floor. Her face looked kind with a small nose, wide eyes and a mouth that was curved up in a tiny, knowing smile; long, curly hair extended down her back. She was barefoot, her feet pointed downward in a clearly relaxed position; her only clothing consisted of two leaves covering her breasts and a third covering her crotch. I flushed at the sight of this exposed woman and averted my eyes, staring at the dark ceiling. But still, a cold, gripping fear seeped into my heart, rendering me paralyzed, and my eyes were drawn back to the ghostly woman. I noticed though my panic that on her right arm, she bore a coiling black snake, just like Eve and her grandmother.

“Do not be afraid,” she said in a melodic voice, extending one of her hands as if to reach out to me. “I come bearing no ill will to you, Adam.” I jumped backward, eyes wide. I was terrified that she knew my name, even if she claimed that she wasn’t going to hurt Eve or me.

“Who are you?” Eve asked quietly behind me, I turned and saw her sit on the ground, a determined expression gracing her features.

“I am your ancestor,” the ghost said, her gaze turning to Eve. “The first Eve, the first woman to walk the earth.” The way she stated her last sentence was so calm, almost rehearsed sounding. She then looked back at me.

“You are early this century, Adam,” the ghost Eve said, her eyebrows coming together to form a line, and she frowned slightly. I blinked rapidly at the statement, before recovering and clearing my throat.

“What?” I asked, more than confused. What did she mean by early? I was a senior in high school for Christ’s sake! I couldn’t possibly be who she thought I was.

“You do not know the curse, I see,” the original Eve said with distaste. Her face softened. “But you are remarkably similar to my husband. Even the eyes are the same.” She looked a little wistful for a moment, before recovering and turning to Eve.

“I know you know of the curse, my daughter, and it is your duty to stop the forthcoming events before someone is hurt,” Eve said, turning to the Eve I knew, before once again looking me in the eyes. “You tarot cards were not meant to be read, Adam, do not participate in the witchcraft my daughter Rosa performs, for your own sake.” And with that, she faded back into mist, the blue light emitting from her skin extinguishing. Suddenly, the blown-out candles returned in full force, illuminating the once-dark room. The table from the center of the room, along with Madam Rosa, had returned, with Madam Rosa looking no worse for the wear, except for being slightly anxious looking.

“Eve!” Madam Rosa exclaimed, leaping from behind the table and moving swiftly over to her granddaughter, enveloping her in a tight hug.

“Gran!” Eve gasped, tugging on her grandmother’s arms. “Can’t…breathe!”

“Oh,” Madam Rosa said, releasing Eve from her death grip. Eve took a deep breath in and then glanced at me, resignation that she was going to have to explain to me what the heck was going on was written all over her face.

“What happened?” Madam Rosa pestered, eager, and yet still anxious.

“Adam and I were visited by the ghost of the first Eve,” Eve explained quietly, frowning, her hands clenching into fists. I nodded and Madam Rosa gestured for both of us to sit across from her at the small table. Eve took a deep breath, before beginning.

Chapter One

A hand snapped out in front of me and landed on the wall. I almost fell backwards in shock. Someone else was down here?

“Don’t even think about moving,” a quiet voice whispered just next to my ear, I couldn’t tell whether the voice belonged to a male or a female. The tanned arm in front of me had a black snake tattooed from wrist to shoulder, with the tail snaking onto the person’s finger and the head disappearing up it’s arm and into the dark all around me.

“Can I ask why?” I said quietly, my eyes darting around, the flashlight in my hand flickered before coming back on with full force. I heard them sigh slightly and come into the circle of light next in front of me. It was a girl with spiky brown-black hair, and sparkling green eyes with just a hint of malice, she seemed to be fifteen or sixteen. She was frowning at me like I was scum. Her was tanned, but not excessively so, and she had a wide, almost African looking nose.

“No,” she finally responded. I looked her up and down again. Black loose jeans, black tank top with a faded Aerosmith logo plastered across her chest. She wore combat boots and had black dragon on her other arm. The heads of the two creatures were on either side of her neck, making her look even more terrifying than I already thought she was. She crossed her arms across her chest and glared at me, green eyes almost slits, glinting in the scarce light of the tunnel.

“Who are you?” I asked, backing up further. My flashlight was still trained on her, I knew that nothing in the dark could touch me, and it was her I was terrified of.

“Eve,” she said. Suddenly, I started laughing. My entire body shook with this laughter, I felt tears of mirth prick my eyes and I quickly wiped them away, training my eyes back on her scowling face.

“What’s funny?” Eve snapped, her earrings clanked angrily against her head and she twisted her head to glare at me again, scowling. I immediately stopped laughing; this girl was absolutely terrifying, I didn’t want to get on her dark side.

“My name is Adam,” I said, smiling lightly at Eve lightly.

“Absolutely hilarious,” she snapped at me, frowning. “Why are you down here? This is my family’s property that you’re trespassing on.” I noticed that she had a slight hint of a Creole southern accent.

“My dad and I moved into the house on the other side of the hill. My father decided to take early retirement and pursue his passion of researching New Orleans history,” I said, shifting slightly so that the light wasn’t directly trained on her face.

“My grandmother and I live at the house at the edge of the graveyard,” Eve explained quickly, examining my face. “Still, why are you down here?” She crossed her arms again, contorting her face into an unsightly scowl. I frowned slightly, raising my eyebrows.

“I thought this place was abandoned,” I said, touching the gravelly gray wall. “I wanted to explore.” Eve studied my face, before she grabbed my chin and made me look into her eyes. I could see my own terrified expression mirrored in those glowing green orbs. Suddenly a surprised expression flickered across her face, eyebrows up, eyes wide, mouth forming a slight ‘o’. It was gone as soon as it had come. I blinked rapidly, and she pushed me away slightly.

“Come with me,” she said, grabbing my wrist and tugging me down the long passageway in front of us.

“Okay,” I said quietly. I was only following her because I wanted to, or at least that’s what I tried to tell myself. Suddenly, Eve stopped and turned a corner I didn’t see. I rammed into the wall.

“Ouch!” I shouted, rubbing my nose with the knuckles of the hand that contained the old red flashlight. Eve stopped about halfway down the tunnel, and turned again, opening an almost invisible door. She then fumbled around in the dark, until a light clicked on. I flinched at the sudden light, and turned off my dying flashlight. Finally, she let go of my wrist. I sighed and rubbed it, knowing the worst was yet to come.

“Come on,” Eve said irritably, grabbing my wrist again and tugging me up the stairs.

“Okay,” I muttered, more than confused. After a minute of climbing the ancient wooden stairs, Eve opened a second door and tugged me through it. Her grip was too tight on my wrist; I was going to have bruises there. Sighing, I rubbed my wrist again, focusing on the floor. Had this crazy girl just brought me into her house?

“Grandma Rosa!” Eve yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth. I glanced around; it appeared that we were in a large kitchen. The floor and cupboards were old, at least 1800, as well as the counters, but the appliances seemed to be straight out of the 1950’s, from the chunky, rounded fridge, to the minuscule stove and sink. The kitchen had one large opening that at one point must have held a door, but it was long gone, instead a long sparkling curtain was pushed to one side. Besides the door we just came from, it was the only other exit. I debated leaving, but my southern instincts told me to be polite and hear these people out.

“Evie?” a much quieter voice called from upstairs, before a loud clomping came from outside the door and a portly old African American woman clad in a long, flowing navy blue dress and dozens of sparkling sashes walked into the kitchen, smiling at Eve before training her eyes on me. Her smile wavered some and she walked over to me, right up close. I had to look down so she could peer into my face. I noticed this old woman, in her eccentric get-up, had the same snake tattoo that Eve had, on her right arm and the same piercing green eyes.

The woman pulled back, frowning at me.

“Who are you, boy?” she asked me, crossing her arms across her chest. “Full name, age, place of birth. Go on, explain yourself!” I was taken aback, but I cleared my throat, ran a hand through my blonde hair and put the flashlight on the nearest counter top before speaking.

“The name is Adam Isaac Du’Paul, ma’am,” I said. “Age seventeen, I was born in Savannah, Georgia, ma’am.”

“A’ight,” said the old woman, looking slightly more satisfied, she smiled lightly and adjusted her head wrap, glancing at Eve, before turning back to me.

“Who are your parents? Got any brothers?” the old woman asked, still scrutinizing me.

“Elane and Abraham Du’Paul, my mother is deceased, and I’m an only child, ma’am,” I responded quickly, brushing my shaggy hair out of my face.

“Dear Lord, help us,” the old woman breathed, suddenly, she turned to Eve and tugged her out of the room, beyond my hearing and sight. I leaned forward, trying to listen to their conversation, but to no avail. Suddenly, I heard them reenter the room and I pulled back, trying to look as innocent as possible. Eve glared at me as if she knew I was eavesdropping. I shrugged lightly at her, as if saying whatever.

“I’m Madam Rosalie Evrianah, you can call me Madam Rosa,” the old woman said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Adam.” She smiled at me, before turning to Eve. The difference between the two women was astounding. Eve was taller and much thinner, her skin paler, hair lighter and straight, but the eyes were the same and that surprised me.

“Eve,” Madam Rosa said. “I need you to take Mr. Du’Paul to the shop, and I need you to talk to him, until I can make it.”

“What?” Eve said, looking appalled and confused at Madam Rosa’s statement.

“Follow my orders, Eve,” Madam Rosa said threateningly. “He might find the shop interesting, after all.” Eve sighed, glanced at me from the corner of her eye, before shaking her head and turning to me.

“Come on,” she muttered. I waved pleasantly to Madam Rosa, grabbed my flashlight off the counter and followed Eve outside, not able to spare a glance to the house.

I found Eve leaning against a rusty, old and dented black VW Beetle. I glanced behind my shoulder, stumbling at the sight of the house behind me. It was crumbling and looked almost derelict. The wooden wrap-porch was falling apart, and the white paint that covered the broken bricks of the front of the house, was chipping and dirty.

“Stop staring and get in the car,” Eve sighed, tugging open the passenger side door for me, before walked around the car and climbing into the drivers seat. I took a deep breath and climbed in. It was a pleasant surprise to find the car clean, smelling of mint and lemons. A dream catcher shook when I slammed my door and Eve started the engine. Small beads hung from every available surface of the car, catching the light in a rainbow of shades.

“Who’s Madam Rosa?” I asked when we pulled out of the driveway.

“My grandmother,” Eve sighed. I spluttered for a moment before recovering.

“But she’s black,” I said, confused. Eve glared at me, looking both ways before pulling out onto a dirt road that was clearly well worn and much used. Trees lined either side of the road, shading a decent part of the road.

“So?” Eve asked, tapping one of her fingers nervously on the steering wheel and speeding up slightly.

“You’re…not,” I said after a moment. I had meant for it to come out suavely and much nicer than it did. Eve scowled at me.

“I’m a quarter African American,” she snapped, enunciating the last two words carefully. I took the hint, nodding.

“Okay,” I said. “Where are your parents?” I turned slightly, the seatbelt cutting into my neck. Eve kept her eyes on the road, scowling.

“They died, a long time ago,” she said finally. I faced front again, sighing. I pushed back the memories that threatening to surface and blinked rapidly, keeping my eyes on the green blur that was the bordering trees.

“I know how it feels,” I said quietly.

“I know,” Eve said, I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, surprised.

“I heard you tell my grandmother that your mom was deceased,” she explained quickly, yanking the steering wheel and turning onto the main road. I watched the scenery change from trees to strip-malls in silence.

“Oh,” was all I could muster up. We sat in silence for the remainder of the trip, until she pulled into the only empty parking space in front of a narrow shop in downtown New Orleans. The sign on the door was hand painted and read:

Witch Doctor and Fortune Teller
Madam Rosa’s
Shop of Magic

“Is this the shop your grandmother was talking about?” I asked; as Eve pulled a key out of her pocket and opened the wooden door, pushing it out of the way and putting a large glass ball on the floor to keep it open. She flicked on lights and flipped the closed sign in the window to open, before she turned and sat behind the counter, and gestured for me to sit on the second seat next to her.

Cautiously, I followed her and perched myself on the well worn wooden stool and glanced at her face. She was much more serene now and she examined my face with interest.

“I’m bet you’re really confused,” she sighed finally. “I’m really sorry, my grandmother can have that affect on people. So can I.” She flushed slightly. The defiant, cold girl I met in the underground tunnel was gone; in her place was a normal teenager. I tried to keep myself from staring at the tattoos snaking around both her arms, but ended up looking at them anyway.

“You wanna know the story behind these, don’t you?” she asked, poking herself in the arm. I nodded, looking up and meeting her green eyes.

“This one,” she pointed at the long black dragon. “I got last year, for my birthday. The snake is a birthmark.”

“What?” I asked, surprised. “That can be a birthmark!”

“If you aren’t as stupid as I think you, I bet you noticed that my grandmother had the same one. It isn’t a tattoo, Adam. It’s a birthmark,” Eve said. She reached under the desk and pulled on a sweatshirt, even though it must have been at least ninety degrees outside, and humid.

I opened my mouth to say something when customers started arriving, walking up tot Eve and asking her question after question. I sighed and picked up a book I noticed under the desk, and pulled it out, brushing the dust of the well-worn cover. A faded black title in an old-fashioned curly script greeted me as I brushed a layer of dust off the red cover. The Life and Times of Madam Eve it read. Frowning I opened it to the title page.

Sorry about the delay

Hi, I'm so sorry I didn't update sooner, but I've decided that I'm not going to be posting some of my "already-written" work. Instead, I will be posting chapters of a shot story I'm working on, starting today.

Cheers,

KMT