Black Dawn (sample chapters)

Prologue

In a celestial sphere of existence unimaginable to most mere mortals, the gatekeeper of the crossroads between the living and the dead sat cross-legged with his head bowed. Through the all-encompassing thick gray mist, the powerful Voodoo spirit couldn't see them. But Kalfu knew they were there. A jury of his peers. There to judge him. To punish him. Maybe even banish him from the spirit world entirely. He cringed. Although he was master of the malevolent spirits of the night, there were others more powerful.

And they knew.

Kalfu allowed himself a slight raise of his head. It would be a severe breach of protocol to hold his head high during these proceedings. He was not there to be worshipped or revered. Through his peripheral vision he saw a small glowing white dot appear, perhaps fifty feet ahead. The dot grew to a full moon. Gray misty streaks swam across it, painting elongated eyes and a garish grin. Bondye, The Supreme Being, spoke: "You have transgressed your boundaries, boundaries that are paramount to keeping the natural order and peace on Earth. You have been meddling in the affairs of humans to such a degree that you threaten the very balance of this natural order. Our governance over the earthly world does not allow wanton pleasures of the flesh with humans for self-serving reasons. With your blatant lasciviousness and debauchery, you crossed the line. And for this you will be punished."

Next to The Supreme Being, another small dot materialized and glowed ominously. It slowly formed a skull with empty black eye sockets and cotton batten stuffed into the nose cavity. A lit cigar dangled from the mouth, blue smoke twirling up, barely visible in the suffused gray light. The Baron Samedi, the spirit of resurrection and the dead, said, "Not only has Kalfu wantonly fornicated with humans, but he has also interfered with my role in the natural order, Your Highness. He has been telling me, according to his whims, who shall be resurrected and who shall not. It is not his decision to make." The Baron glared at Kalfu directly. "Stay out of my affairs. There are others more qualified than you to judge. Nobody died and made you God around here."

Head bowed, Kalfu remained silent.

A thunderous boom echoed through this otherworldly dimension of reality.

Bondye's eyes met the Baron's. "You watch your tongue in my presence," he snapped. "Unless you too wish a severe reprimand."

Kalfu tried but couldn't contain it. A small smile pursed his lips. He wiped it away quickly with a flick of his serpent-like tongue.

"I beg your forgiveness, Your Highness," the Baron said. "I'm sorry."

Bondye's eyes darkened and shrank to tiny slits. They drilled into Kalfu. "You dare smile at such a time? You mock these proceedings? Are they such a joke to you?"

His head still bowed, Kalfu said, "No, Your Highness. I beg your forgiveness."

Another glowing white dot emerged and magically enlarged, transforming into a face not unlike The Virgin Mary. It was Erzulie Freda, the spirit of love. She eyeballed Kalfu scornfully. A lone tear snaked down her face. A white hand appeared and brushed it away. "You are not the council concerning love and lust on Earth," she said. "I've seen multiple transgressions. The earthlings, in consultation with spirits like myself, make their own decisions in these matters. You are an intermediary between the spirits and humanity. You stand at the spiritual crossroads and merely grant or deny permission to speak with the spirits. But you have abused this power. You have made yourself judge, jury, and executioner."

There was a brief silence before Bondye spoke. "We are not here to discuss specific details of Kalfu's transgressions. He knows what they are, we know what they are. There is no question he is guilty. We are here to mete out punishment. And to decide on the severity of the punishment we need to know why Kalfu committed these intolerable breaches of spirit protocol. We need to know if he is repentant for his sins."

Bondye stared daggers directly at Kalfu. "Can you atone for your sins? Are you remorseful? Are you capable of ever becoming a dutiful and law-abiding spirit? Why would you commit such sins? Speak now, for this is your one and only chance at redemption."

Kalfu raised his head. He knew there was no point in denying the accusations. This wasn't a civil or criminal court where you were presumed innocent until proven guilty. This was a jury of his peers, far away from the boundaries and limitations and laws of Earth. He had already been found guilty. In the strange and mysterious world of Voodoo, his peers could see his transgressions, usually as they happened. They didn't need proof.

He applied a properly repentant frown. "I want to apologize to Your Highness, Erzulie, and the Baron for my crimes and transgressions. I am deeply sorry and wish I could turn back the hands of time so those things would never have happened. I realize by straying from my duties I interfered with the duties of all of you. I overstepped my bounds in the spirit world. I know the severity of this and am deeply repentant and remorseful. As my excuse, I can only say Satan got inside my head and I was no longer conscious of my actions. But the Devil has been exorcized from my being and I am once again in full control of my faculties."

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" Bondye said. "You won't leap off the cliff of temptation again? Because if you do, you will plummet to a fate worse than death. Of that I can assure you."

"No, Your Highness. I promise you, if it happens again, you can banish me from the spirit world forever." Why the hell did I say that?

"What makes you think I won't banish you indefinitely now?"

"I pray you won't, Your Highness. Please don't. I promise to stay the path of righteousness." There, that sounds better.

There was a brief silence as Kalfu waited.

The gray mist turned black, pitch black, enveloping the rising sun. Black dawn, sentencing time. A time for punishment. A time for retribution.

The scene was familiar to Kalfu. He had witnessed this darkness before. It was not the first time he had been disciplined, nor would it be the last.

A thunderous boom clapped through the heavens and reverberated into silence. Finally, Bondye spoke. "I hereby strip you of all your spirit duties and sentence you to three years of pain and suffering in the underworld. One year for the affront to my unquestionable power and absolute divinity, and one year each for your affronts to Erzulie and the Baron. You claim the Devil made you do it? Well, you can cavort with his minions in a torturous existence until you atone for your sins..."

"But, Your Highness, that's too—"

"Silence your lips, sinner," Bondye snapped. "Would you rather I banished you to Hell for all eternity?"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. Forgive me, please."

"At the end of three years, you will come before the council. We will decide then if you're worthy to resume your role as spirit of the crossroads between the living and the dead. In the meantime, I will appoint an interim gatekeeper. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Your Holiness."

"This meeting is over. Disperse."

Bondye's image vanished in a flash, leaving only a faint shadow of his former presence, silhouetted against a black curtain. Then the Baron's glowing white skull shrank to the size of a pin before vanishing entirely. With a popping sound, Erzulie also disappeared.

Spiraling down a dark tunnel into the bowels of Hell, Kalfu grinned. They don't have a clue what's coming. Not a fucking clue.