Unsympathetic Magic - Laura Resnick [78]
She had also seen the walking dead in her dreams: glassy-eyed men with dull, sunken skin who didn’t breathe or talk, and who moved in response to commands from an unseen master.
“It’s freaking me out!” She scowled and kicked the nearby garbage can. “I can’t stand it anymore!”
I could understand why she feared sleep—and why she was forcing herself to stay awake at night, to the point of hurting her health and her temperament. I could also understand why her mother thought that sleeping pills and time were probably the answer to her problem. The images haunting Shondolyn probably convinced her mom that she was a sensitive and impressionable youngster going through a troubled phase, and if her family was supportive and patient, it would pass.
Whereas I feared she was being menaced by the mysterious bokor who was summoning dark forces. And the next thing she said convinced me of it.
“I also hear names in my sleep. I can’t remember most of them, but there’s one that sticks in my head: Mama Brigitte.” Shondolyn looked at me. “I’ve never met anyone with a name like that. Why is it in my dreams?”
Thanks to the reading I had done on my way here, I recognized the name. And because of that, I suddenly felt so cold, I almost wished that Puma hadn’t given me those books.
“I want you to go see a friend of mine. Right now,” I told Shondolyn. “Her name is Puma, and she runs a voodoo shop that’s only a few blocks from here.” I wasn’t sure where Max was, and I thought this girl needed immediate help.
“Whoa!” Shondolyn resisted as I tugged on her arm, trying to drag her out of the bathroom. “No way am I going to some voodoo shop! I’m a good Christian!”
“So is Puma,” I said. “In a sense. She’ll explain.” I hoped the Catholic paraphernalia in the shop would reassure Shondolyn. “Puma studied with a respected, uh, priest and teacher. I want you to tell her what you’ve just told me—”
“You’re not coming with me?”
I was leading her down the hall toward our classroom now. “I have to finish teaching this class. But I don’t want you to go anywhere alone. I’m going to ask Jamal to escort you to Puma’s shop.”
Shondolyn curled her lip. “That boy with the baggy pants and sloppy shirts?”
Apparently Jamal’s interest was not reciprocated. Well, this was his chance to prove to her that he had strength of character, even if he lacked fashion sense.
I said, “He’ll be glad to be asked. I think he likes you.”
“He can dream on.”
At the door to our class, I summoned Jamal, advising him to bring his daypack with him. Then I said quietly to Shondolyn, “Puma can probably explain some of the images in your dreams, and she’ll give you something to protect you.” No doubt the houngan had taught Puma how to use some of those amulets and herbs in the shop. And we’d need to locate Max, in whose powers I placed the most faith.
Jamal’s shoulders straightened and his eyes lit up when I explained that I wanted him to escort Shondolyn to Puma’s shop and to protect her—this, in particular, seemed to appeal to him. Shondolyn looked as if only her fatigue kept her from rolling her eyes. I gave them my cell phone number and told them to call me as soon as they reached the shop. Then I sent them on their way.
Only after they were gone did I realize that I still didn’t have my cell phone. “Damn!”
Some of the kids paused in their rehearsals and looked at me.
“Sorry,” I said. “Uh, let’s get back to work.”
While teaching the rest of the class, I tried not to speculate frantically on why Shondolyn was dreaming of Mama Brigitte, a dark and dangerous loa who was the wife of Baron Samedi, the Lord of Death.
14
“Apparently there was some commotion after you left my office yesterday?” Catherine said to me.
I was in her office again today. I looked up from the employee paperwork I was filling out so that I could get paid and also so that I could work with the kids. There were various forms I had to sign guaranteeing that I didn’t have a criminal past and that I wouldn’t lead my students astray. I felt very glad that no record existed of my recent arrest.