shoulder-length hair done up into a mane of hundreds of tightly-woven braids. Today she was dressed in a business-casual tan pantsuit with a richly-hued animal print silk scarf and tastefully-sized gold hoop earrings. I could see that Lucinda was in her element, directing the museum staff on where to place the artifacts.
“Dr. Walker!” I called from the doorway, and Lucinda turned to greet me with a big smile.
“Cassidy! Come on in. How do you like the chaos? This’ll be a fine exhibition when we’re through,” she added, “but it’s wild as a hurricane in here right now!”
Lucinda’s energy is infectious. Whether she’s giving an academic presentation or helping Sorren, Teag, and me fight off rampaging supernatural threats, Lucinda has a zest for living that is as powerful as a gale-force wind. “What brings you over here in the middle of the day?”
I grimaced. “We made an acquisition at the store that seems like it’s more in line with your area of expertise,” I replied. Lucinda sobered, understanding the potential for problems.
“Okay,” she said, drawing out the word. She strode over to where her helpers were arranging some display cabinets to give them instructions, then walked back toward me.
“They’ll be busy with that for a little while,” she said, and motioned for me to follow her into a small side room that was currently empty except for a large table. “Now, what did you bring me?”
I put my tote bag onto the table and gingerly drew out the bag that held the beaded skull. Lucinda frowned, then walked counter-clockwise around the table, raising a quick, defensive warding around us. When she came back, she reached into the bag and lifted out the silk-lined box with cautious reverence. “Oh, oh, oh. What do we have here?” she said when she opened the box and stared down at the skull.
I told her about the unclaimed baggage sale and the man who had brought the skull in to Trifles and Folly. She listened as she carefully took the skull out of its box and turned it around in her hands to see the full decoration.
“You didn’t touch it, did you?” Lucinda’s dark eyes met my gaze.
“Are you kidding?”
“Good. Because it’s got some bad juju stuck to it, like stink on a skunk.” She lifted a small round magnifying lens that was on a chain around her neck and bent to get a better look at the beading.
“That’s the Baron’s veve, isn’t it?” I asked.
Lucinda nodded. “Yes it is. But not everyone who calls on the Baron has good intentions. Some of them don’t know what they’re messing with. They think he’s some kind of supernatural frat boy, and they find out fast he does not like to be disrespected.” Baron Samedi, one of the Voudon Ghedes, helps to conduct souls to the afterlife. Tradition holds that the Baron’s spirit likes cigars, rum, and dirty jokes. I always figured that his excesses had something to do with standing on the threshold between life and death, since the Baron is also the Loa of resurrection. If someone summoned the Baron without the proper deference, the situation could go bad very quickly.
Lucinda is a scary-powerful mambo, and together, she and Sorren and Teag and I have done battle with some supernatural creatures that definitely deserve the name ‘monster’. So I wasn’t surprised when she bowed her head, chanting softly as she cradled the beaded skull in her hands. I saw a shiver run through her body and knew that one of the Loas had heard her call.
“Not one of mine.” The voice came from Lucinda’s mouth, but it was a man’s voice, smooth in a riverboat gambler sort of way. Something about the way Lucinda stood, the expression on her face, told me that she was not herself, and I held my breath. Being face-to-face with Baron Samedi had not been on my to-do list for the day.
“I will take this soul,” the voice said. “It has been wronged. Best you watch the shadows. Bad things are a’comin’.” I could feel magic in the air, thick as roux. It felt different, and not just because of how strong it was. Magic done by mortals, even powerful mortals, feels one way. Magic done by supernatural creatures is different, in a way that words aren’t designed to express. The power that flickered in the air for an instant was not of this world. I shivered, and tried not to attract its notice.
With that, another tremor ran through Lucinda’s form,