Almost there, p.27
Almost There, page 27
She could tell the words affected him by the expression that flashed across his face.
Her heart raced within her chest as she considered her next move. She’d come to know Facilier well enough over the past year to anticipate what he would do.
She peered at the vial. “All I have to do is drink it, and everything I’ve always wanted will be mine. However”—she cocked her head to the side—“I’m willing to make a deal of my own.”
“What do you want?” Facilier asked.
“You know more about how these things work than I do, but I was thinking that maybe if we split it, we can both get what we want.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why should I believe you? You have nothing to gain by giving me half of Roselande’s potion.”
“Well, unlike some people, I don’t do things simply for my own gain.” She shrugged again. “It’s like you said: you gave me an entire year with my father that I would have never had. Maybe I am a fool, or maybe I’m too loyal for my own good, but it feels as if I do owe you for providing such a precious gift.”
“Yes, you do,” Facilier said. He extended both hands, going for the vial. “Give it to me.”
“Not so fast.” Tiana jerked it out of his reach. She had to make him think she believed he was still in control. “If you want this, you have to reverse every awful thing you’ve set in motion over the last year. The fog, the green sludge—all of it! And you have to tell me where to find the missing people. Addie Mae, Georgia, and Eugene. And Mr. Salvaggio and Mr. LaBouff. ”
“Fine,” he hissed, his eyes never leaving the vial. “They’re all tied up in one of the back rooms.”
He snapped his fingers, and just like that, they were back in his house.
Damn him. She knew it had been an illusion.
“As for the fog,” Facilier continued. “Well, that’s up to my friends on the other side. The fog will lift when they get what they want.”
“What do they want?” Tiana asked.
Facilier stared at her with an intense, piercing look. “Your soul.”
Tiana sucked in a swift, terrified breath, thrown off. “My what?” she whispered.
“Well, it doesn’t have to be your soul,” he quickly added. “It can belong to anyone; my friends on the other side won’t care. There are thousands of chumps around this city who no one would ever miss if they just disappeared.”
Like the people you kidnapped? Tiana wanted to rail at him, but she shook her head to keep her cool. She had a part to play, and if she slipped up, Facilier would know that she was on to him.
“Are you sure about this?” she asked, adding extra suspicion in her voice just to throw him off.
“Yes,” he said impatiently, his eyes never leaving the vial. “But you must sign your name to the contract,” Facilier added. “None of the horrors will end if you don’t.”
“What would they do with the soul once they have it?” she asked.
“That’s not my concern, and it shouldn’t be yours,” Facilier said. “Are you ready, Tiana? One last deal.”
His willingness to sacrifice some innocent person’s soul alleviated the last prickle of conscience she felt over what she was about to do. This snake in the grass deserved everything that was coming to him.
“Okay,” Tiana said. “I’ll sign it.”
She followed him to a wooden desk that held a lamp, and grabbed hold of the fountain pen he held out to her. Tiana bent over the contract, turning her back slightly as she scribbled across the bottom of the scroll.
“Okay, it’s done,” she said. She turned and held the vial out to him. “Now, you drink half, and I’ll drink half.”
His eyes were bright with triumph as he snatched the vial from her hand, wrenched the cork out of it, and gulped down the entire contents.
He threw his head back and let out a peal of laughter.
But his laughter quickly died as he clutched at his throat and staggered several steps back.
Tiana held out the contract to him, the words Goodbye, Shadow Man scrawled on the signature line.
His eyes grew wide with panic, and he began to gasp for air. He backed up against the wall and slumped to the floor, his face becoming mottled, bright red splotches appearing all over it.
Tiana had to fight the innate urge to reach out and offer assistance, but what could she do? This was his potion. She had no idea what was in it or how to mitigate its effects.
She looked on in horror as Facilier’s eyes glazed over. For a moment, Tiana thought he was dead, but then he began to mumble words she could just barely make out.
“Are…you…ready?” he murmured, the words thick and slurred as they left his tongue. “Are you…ready, Tiana?”
“I think that’s a question for you to answer, Shadow Man.”
As she stood over him, Tiana noticed her silhouette shrinking as the sun dipped below the horizon. The air turned ice cold. The sound of faint, indiscernible groans rumbled behind her, growing louder with each passing second. Fear and shock rooted Tiana’s feet to the floor as the dark shadows slithered along the walls and floors.
Her mouth hung open in dismay as the Shadows wrapped themselves around Facilier’s limp body and carried him out of the room.
Tiana wasn’t sure how long she stood there, her body too exhausted for her to consider moving even a single limb.
Had that really just happened? Was she actually—finally—free of Facilier? Even though she’d seen it with her own eyes, it was still hard to believe she’d eradicated him from her life once and for all.
She spotted the rolled-up sheaf of papers on the floor. She picked it up and unfurled the tattered pages, taking a moment to read over it. Tiana’s breath caught in her throat as she absorbed the words, her heart thumping wildly as the enormity of the fate she’d just escaped sank in. She could have very well signed away her soul.
She gripped each end of the contract and tore the document in two. Then she tore it again. And again. And again. Each rip was like music to her ears.
It sounded like freedom.
“Tia! There you are!”
Tiana swung around, surprise and happiness lifting her heart at the sight of her friends. Charlotte led the charge, followed by Naveen, Louis, and Lisette.
“What are you all doing here?” Tiana exclaimed. But her voice held no censure. She was so happy to see them all, grateful they hadn’t heeded her command to stay away.
Charlotte wrapped her arms around her. “Oh, Tia, I was so afraid for you. I went to see you when I heard about your daddy, and Lisette told me you’d left. I realized you must’ve gone after that awful man.”
“I’m okay, Lottie. And we don’t have to worry about Facilier anymore.”
Charlotte jerked her head back and regarded Tiana, concern etched across her furrowed brow. “What happened?” Charlotte asked.
“He got out-tricked,” Tiana answered, leaving it at that. No one else needed to know what had taken place in this room.
Naveen walked up to her and gently cradled Tiana’s cheek in his warm palm. He brushed his thumb over her cheekbone. “You have been hurt, ma poupette,” he said.
Tiana was surprised by the bright red blood glistening on his thumb when he pulled it away from her face. She had no idea when she’d been cut.
“It’s…it’s nothing,” she said. “I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure? Lisette!” he called over his shoulder.
“No, really, I’m fine,” Tiana said. She turned to Charlotte and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Lottie, your daddy is here somewhere—and others, too. We just have to find them.”
“What?” her friend gasped. “Where?”
“I don’t know. Fan out,” Tiana called to the group. “Search every nook and cranny. Facilier told me they were hidden in a room somewhere in this house.”
She pivoted on her heel, setting out for the door just to the right of them, but Naveen caught her arm and pulled her back to him.
“Tiana, are you sure you’re okay?” he asked. “At least let Lisette take a look at those scrapes.”
His concern touched her. She was struck once again by how different he was from that self-absorbed cad he’d been when she had met him a year earlier. Despite her best efforts not to, she’d fallen in love with him then. It would be so very easy to love this kinder, more considerate Naveen.
Tiana’s breath caught in her throat, and her eyes grew wide as it suddenly occurred to her that there was nothing stopping them from being together anymore. Facilier was gone, and with him the barrier keeping her and Naveen apart.
Tiana beamed up at him.
“I promise you that I am just fine,” Tiana reassured him. She cradled his face between her hands. “I will explain as much as I can very soon, but right now we need to find those folks the Shadow Man kidnapped.”
She grabbed him by the hand and headed for the rear of the house. The structure was so much larger than it had seemed from the unassuming entrance, stretching back at least a half block or more. Before Tiana could turn the knob of the first door she came across, she heard Louis’s rousing call from somewhere down the long hallway.
“I think they’re in here!” Louis called.
Tiana and Naveen raced to where Louis stood. Naveen put his ear to the door.
“Mr. LaBouff?”
There was a pause, and then a cacophony of muffled cries clamored from just beyond the door.
“Yes, they are here,” Naveen said excitedly. He tried the door handle, but it was locked. No matter how violently he wrenched at it, it wouldn’t budge. “Should we search for a key?”
“In this house?” Tiana asked. “That could take a lifetime. Who knows where the key to this door may be hidden?”
Or, even worse, what if Facilier had taken the key with him to the other side?
“Maybe we can knock it down?” Louis suggested.
“Outta my way,” Lisette demanded, pushing her way through. She reached under the cloth covering her hair bun and retrieved a hairpin, then stuck the pin inside the lock and jiggled it. There was a click. She turned the knob and pushed the door open.
For a moment, no one moved. They were all stunned at the sight before them. Eli LaBouff, Addie Mae, Georgia, Eugene, and Mr. Salvaggio sat on the floor with their backs against the wall and their hands tied together with twine. Ragged pieces of cloth covered their mouths, preventing them from talking. And they were filthy, with dirt and grime streaking their faces.
“Big Daddy!”
Charlotte rushed into the room and threw her arms around her father.
“Let’s get him untied first, Lottie,” Tiana suggested.
She, Naveen, and Lisette made quick work of untangling the knots and setting the five of them loose from the bonds Facilier had used to imprison them.
“Where is he?” Mr. LaBouff said, scrabbling from the floor.
“It’s okay, Daddy,” Charlotte said. “You don’t have to worry about him. Tiana took care of Facilier.”
“That’s right. No one has to worry about the Shadow Man again,” Tiana said. She turned to Addie Mae and wrapped her friend up in a hug. She turned to Georgia and Eugene and did the same. “I am so, so sorry for what he did to all of you. It’s over now.”
But as she stood there with her arms around her loved ones, Tiana realized that it wasn’t over. Her heartache was beginning anew as reality sank in. She would once again have to endure the pain of living in this world without her father.
As she waited for the soul-crushing grief to envelop her, an odd thing happened. The grief failed to materialize. Instead, she felt…joy. An overwhelming sense of peace weaved its way around her sadness.
Tiana knew she would always miss her daddy, but the hole his passing had left in her heart wasn’t as hollow this time around. It was filled with memories of the past year—the laughs they’d shared, the meals they’d prepared together, and the all-encompassing love they’d experienced every single day. And a true goodbye.
Tiana closed her eyes tight, holding onto those memories. They would be with her always. Just as her daddy would be with her.
Always.
A muted rumble sounded from somewhere in the distance. Tiana tipped her head to the side to hear it better.
“What is that?” she asked. The growing noise quickly became clearer. It was the sound of a jazz band playing and the roar of a crowd.
“That’s Mardi Gras you’re hearing,” Louis answered. “Time for me to get my horn and join in the parade!”
“I guess a little fog and green scum ain’t enough to stop Mardi Gras,” Charlotte said. “Come on, Lisette,” she said, taking the girl by the arm. “We don’t want to miss the floats!”
Tiana followed the others out of Facilier’s home.
“The fog,” Lisette said once outside. “It’s gone.”
“So is that nasty green stuff from the river,” Charlotte remarked.
“Sure is,” said a guy standing next to them on the sidewalk, bobbing his head to music from the band. “Most peculiar thing. Just as the sun went down, that fog rolled out as quickly as it rolled it. Same goes for the algae from the river.”
Sundown?
“Symmetry,” Tiana whispered.
“What was that?” Naveen asked.
“Nothing,” she said. She looked up at him and smiled. Then she tipped her head toward where the others had wandered off, following the marching band and crowd of costumed revelers as they made their way through the French Quarter.
“What do you say?” Tiana asked. “You want to join the parade?”
Naveen’s brow furrowed. “Are you sure you’re not too tired?”
“Nope.” She shook her head. “I’ve realized just how short life is. I think I should let my hair down for a change.” She winked and held her hand out to him. “Let’s go have some fun.”
The Kingdom of Maldonia
Three months later
Naveen could not hold back his smile as the car traveled along the tree-lined boulevard leading up to the grandiose entrance of the Grand Palace of Maldonia. The white marble dome atop the massive, two-hundred-room royal residence sparkled like a newly harvested pearl. After a three-week journey aboard a passenger ship and more than a year in America, the sight of his family’s home brought more joy than he had anticipated.
The car rounded the reflection pool and fountain, coming to a stop before the twenty-foot, gold-plated doors.
“Ah, it’s good to be home,” Naveen said. He looked around at the other occupants in the car, who all sat in stunned silence. “What is wrong?” he asked.
“What is this place?” Lisette asked, her eyes wide with wonder as she stared out of the car’s window.
Naveen shrugged. “It is home.”
“This makes Big Daddy’s house look like a shoebox,” Charlotte said.
“I can’t believe you grew up living in a place like this,” Tiana said. She looked over at him. “Then again, yes I can.”
Naveen threw his head back and guffawed at the car’s ceiling.
“This looks like a place with really tasty food,” Louis said.
“That it is.” Naveen laughed again. “Come on. Let us go in. I’m sure my family is eager to see us, and if I know my mother, she has instructed the cooks to lay out a feast for the ages.”
They were greeted by the king and queen the moment they walked into the palace. Naveen was staggered by the rush of emotion that hit him the minute he saw their faces. Formalities were brushed aside as he wrapped his mother and father in a hug.
“I’ve missed you,” he said.
His younger siblings flooded the grand entrance, embracing him like a prodigal son returning. Which, he guessed, he was.
As Naveen predicted, his parents had ordered a grand celebration to mark their son’s return home—temporary though it was. He’d informed them before he boarded the ship that he had chosen to make New Orleans his permanent home.
At Lisette’s insistence, Naveen took their guests on a tour of the palace, including a drive around the hundred-acre estate. By the time they returned, more than fifty of his closest friends and family had arrived for the celebration.
Naveen felt conspicuous dressed in his traditional royal regalia, but one look at Tiana’s face when he walked in the grand ballroom changed his mind. Following dinner, he immediately escorted her to the dance floor, where they waltzed until his father finally cut in.
Now, Naveen stood at the periphery of the dance floor, leaning against one of the marble columns and observing the guests enjoying themselves. His mother came up to him and patted his arm with her gloved hand.
“How are you, son?” she asked.
“I’m well, Mother,” Naveen answered.
“You look well. And you look happy.” She glanced over at Tiana, who studied the traditional Maldonia folk dance his younger sisters were trying to teach her. “Does she have something to do with that?”
“She does,” Naveen answered, unable to suppress the grin that drew across his lips. “I am in love with her, Mother. She is…my everything.”
She arched a regal brow. “Now I understand why you turned down our invitation to return.” She tipped her head to the side. “Should I expect a wedding and grandchildren soon?”
“Mother!” Naveen felt himself blush.
“You cannot fault me for asking.” She looked over at Tiana again. “They will be lovely grandchildren.” Her eyes lit up with excitement. “It will be fun to spoil them.”
“Please do not speak of such things with Tiana,” Naveen said. “We have only been together a few months. I have not brought up the subject of marriage.”
“What are you waiting for? Get on with it.”
He chuckled. “I will. Soon.” Then he sobered. “You know, Mother, there are other reasons that I have chosen to remain in America. None more important than Tiana, of course.”
“Of course,” she said.
“But I like the person that I have become over this past year. I learned that I’m really good at selling things and helping others,” he said with a laugh. “See Lisette over there? I just helped broker a deal for her to sell her homemade medicinals in the biggest department store in New Orleans.
