667 Issue 2

667
Children of the Beast

Issue #2
“Activation”
E.M. Moon
Copyright © 2016 E.M. Moon
All Rights Reserved
ISBN: 1533642966
ISBN-13: 1533642967
This issue is dedicated to my Adam…
Thank you for rescuing me and never giving up on
me. You’re one of the biggest reasons I keep fighting.
Contents
1. June 4th, 2016: Violet Eve 1
2. Adam Baudin 17
3. Violet Eve 28
4. June 5th, 2016: Adam Baudin 39
5. Violet Eve 44
6. Adam Baudin 52
7. Violet Eve 55
8. Adam Baudin 63
9. Violet Eve 68
10. Adam Baudin 81
11. Violet Eve 89
12. Adam Baudin 102
13. Violet Eve 109
14. Adam Baudin 113
Issue #2
Violet Eve
June 4th, 2016
My cab pulled up in front of the Cat’s Meow

and I slid my new Visa card through the credit card
reader the cabbie handed me. I signed for the
payment and exited the car in front of a karaoke bar
with a line halfway down the street.
Using my phone, I dialed Missy’s number
but when she answered, I could barely hear her.
“Vi! Are you here?” Missy raised her voice
over the yodeling sounds of a man singing a popular
Guns n’ Roses song.
“Yes, but the line is halfway down the block.
It’ll be a minute before I get in there.” I watched as a
few of the people in line stopped to gawk at the
awkwardly dressed Irish girl that was practically
standing in the middle of the road.
“No, it won’t. Give me a minute and wait
outside the exit door.” Missy instructed me as the
receiver abruptly clicked.
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667: Children of the Beast
I nervously stepped up on the curb and

waited alone by the exit door. This afforded me even
more stares from the people in line; I’m sure they
were assuming I would hop the queue and I guess
their assumptions were correct.
The left door opened and Missy’s beautiful
blond head peeked through.
“It’s alright, Alfonso. She’s with me.” Missy
winked at the bouncer by the door and he gestured
for her to sneak me in. But the queue had seen this
and groaned audibly, hurling insults my way because
I got in when they couldn’t.
Lovely greeting from the Americans.
Whatever happened to Southern hospitality?
“You’re finally here!” Missy squealed as she
jumped up and down. She looked way different since
the last time I had seen her. Granted, it had been
almost ten years, but I didn’t expect her to change
this much.
She had always been a dancer. From the day
I met her it was leotards and ballet flats that soon
evolved into tutus and pointe shoes, but the look she
had now was something else entirely.
Now she was wearing a skin tight cheetah
print dress, heels that made her tower over my short
frame, and what appeared to be hair extensions in
her bleach blond waves.
“I am. I’m here.” I smiled awkwardly, but I
felt really out of place. The bar was loud; louder than
the Cock and Crow during Rugby season, which was
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Issue #2
surprising. A woman was now singing a terrible

karaoke cover of Barracuda and all I wanted to do
was put myself in a corner, far away from all the
noise and drunken singing.
“Comfortable?” Missy smiled at me across

the table.
The table. In the corner of the room…faaaaar
away from everyone else.
“Yeah.” I nodded, scanning my surroundings.
Hadn’t I just been at the front door of the bar?
Maybe I was just so jet-lagged that I didn’t realize
we had moved to a table occupied by three other
women.
“This is Candy, Chandra, and Christina.”
Missy introduced me to the ladies sitting with us at
the table. All of them were augmented in some way,
wearing similar dresses to Missy with equally big
hair.
“Hello. I’m—I’m Violet.” I introduced
myself, trying to remember which “C” name went
with which shade of blond sitting in front of me.
“Missy has told us all about you.” The C in
the middle gushed. At least I think she was gushing
over me. I hoped Missy had told her new friends
about her awesome childhood best mate. Awesome
being the variable in that sentence.
“All good, I hope.” I grinned, shrugging my
shoulders slightly in anticipation of their answer.
3
“Oh, yes. All good. She told us you’re an

author?” It was now the C on the left who spoke.
“A writer. I don’t really consider myself an
author yet.” I tended to get overly humble when I
spoke about myself; I was my own worst critic after
all.
“You’ve had books published.” Missy
pointed out, taking a sip of the mimosa in front of
her.
“Self-published.” I argued.
Just take the compliment, Vi!
“Regardless, she’s good. Look her up: Violet
Eve.” Missy tried to sell me to her friends, but I
wasn’t sure if they were buying.
“What? Really?” C on the right exclaimed as
she cocked her head to one side, “You wrote the
Ghost Prophecy series?” She pointed at me with the
biggest smile on her face.
I was really surprised—no, baffled—that she
had even read my books. I, personally, thought they
were rubbish. I tended to not really like anything that
I wrote, yet I kept on writing it. Maybe I wasn’t that
terrible after all…
“I did.” I smugly replied. Wait—she didn’t
say she liked it.
“I fucking love that series. When does the
fourth book come out?” C on the right leaned over
the table, a slight excitement in her brown eyes.
“I’m sort of working on it right now. Part of
why I moved this way…I’m taking Felicity to the
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Issue #2
states for an investigation into—into—something.

I’m hoping being here will give me some ideas.” I
grimaced. I am sure I sounded like I had no idea
what I was even talking about—and I didn’t.
“You’ll find plenty of ghostly history here in
New Orleans. I have been on so many ghost tours
since we moved into the city. Super spooky.” Missy
finished off her mimosa and hollered out to a man
with cat ears on. He wandered off and promptly
returned with a serving tray full of tequila shots.
I fucking hate tequila.
Makes me queasy just thinking about it. Even
the smell made me want to vomit.
“Tequila shots all around!” Missy shrieked as
she slid shot glasses across the table to each of
“To Violet!” Middle C raised her glass and
the rest joined in. I reluctantly lifted my own,
clanked it against theirs, and when they threw their
heads back to take their shots, I threw mine over my
shoulder and prayed that it didn’t soak anyone.
This went on for quite a while. Missy kept
ordering shots, and everyone kept taking them—
everyone except me. Eventually, I had to get the
waiter’s attention and let him know that I wanted
water in mine and told him to leave out the lime.
When he came back with the next tray and Missy
saw that some didn’t have any limes—I lied and said
those were mine because I didn’t like limes.
I love limes.
5
“I thought you liked—limes?” Missy was

starting to slur her words as she propped an elbow up
on the table, her shot glass dangling from her fingers.
“Nope. Nope—can’t do citrus now. Gives me
heartburn.” I lied, hoping that she’d believe me.
“But tequila doesn’t?” Apparently Missy
wasn’t as drunk as I thought.
So, I gave in.
“I haven’t been drinking the tequila. I think
that the Ficus behind me is probably knackered right
now.” I was totally embarrassed. Missy and I were
exactly the same age, yet here I was, sober as a
granny, and Missy was drunk in a skimpy dress and
perfectly manicured nails.
“Vi—you should have just said you didn’t
want to drink. I wouldn’t have been offended.”
Missy seemed to understand.
“I hate tequila and I am just too jet-lagged to
drink. I had a really bad nightmare on the plane and
apparently slept the whole trip here.” I scooted closer
to Missy so the Three C’s didn’t overhear my crazy
talk.
“We need to find you a doctor, Vi. This isn’t
normal.” Missy rubbed my back out of sympathy.
“It’s just stress. All of this has been stressful.
Losing Mum, losing my scholarship—my home. It
didn’t start to get bad until then.” I explained. I
wasn’t going to any doctors; I hated them. Mum
hated them…and for good reason.
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Issue #2
“Why don’t you go home and get some rest. I

have a spare key already made.” Missy pulled a
yellow key with bumblebees on it from her purse and
placed it in my hand.
“Address?” I didn’t even bother to argue. I
was exhausted.
“I’ll text it to you again.” Missy whipped out
her phone and began furiously typing away; I forgot
she had sent it to me earlier…
I shouldered my messenger bag and stood
from my seat. “Is it far?”
“You’re leaving?” I had lost track of the C’s
at this point and just nodded in their general
direction; I didn’t really want any more
conversation.
“She’s had a long flight and wants to get
some rest.” Missy answered her before turning back
to me, “Not even a twenty-minute cab ride.”
I said my quick goodbyes and hurried out the
front door of the bar to face people standing in line
that had been there since I arrived. Some sneered at
me, obviously recognizing me by my unruly ginger
hair.
I sheepishly covered my face with my hand
and bustled up the street, completely forgetting to
hail a cab.
I had only made it up a few blocks before I
realized that the people of Bourbon Street had
dwindled to flickering street lamps and shady
alleyways.
7
There were no cabs to hail now, so I guessed

walking was my only option at this point.
I passed several homeless people begging for
change, but my loose money wouldn’t do them any
good.
My phone had finally gotten good enough
reception to GPS Missy’s address. I was too far in
one direction to turn back for a cab now.
“A ferry? I have to get on a damn ferry?” A
little boat blinked on the route, right at the edge of
the Mississippi River.
New city, new experiences.
I tried to psych myself up for the trip across
the river; I was about as fond of boats as I was of
planes.
I looked both ways before crossing the road
and headed down Canal Street where I knew the
ferry terminal lay.
There were just as few people on this route as
there had been on the walk down here, but the faces I
did see were far from kind.
“Hey, darling. Looking for a good time?” A

man appeared out of nowhere with a fistful of tiny
plastic baggies. Each one contained a blue dust that
was supposed to be this good time that he was
offering.
“No thank you.” I nervously declined, trying
to sidestep him and continue down the street.
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Issue #2
“I didn’t mean the drugs.” He blurted and

roughly seized me from behind. I tried to scream as
he yanked me under an awning with picnic tables
and flung me up against one.
“Please—please don’t hurt me.” I pleaded.
My heart was racing as the man drew a knife from
inside his jacket and held it at my throat.
“If you keep that pretty little mouth shut,
maybe I won’t.” He pushed me back against the
table and spread my legs apart with his knee.
Now was not the time for me to play the
damsel in distress, but he had a weapon and I had
effectively nothing.
I clenched my legs reflexively as he tried to
pry them open again; he was starting to get frustrated
that I wasn’t complying and pressed the knife harder
against my throat. I could feel the skin tear as the
sharpened blade effortlessly sliced my throat, but
just deep enough for me to cry out.
“Let’s play nice now, princess.” He hissed,
leaning in over me. He smelled like booze and bad
hygiene; the scent made my eyes water.
“Get—off of me!” I growled, a sudden
primal urge to survive rising up in my gut. I raised a
knee and caught the man right in the groin. He
howled loudly, gripping his manhood with one hand
while the other still held the knife. I tried to make a
run for it, but his stumbling frame tripped me up and
I came down hard on the concrete.
9
“Ah.” My knees cracked against the

pavement as I practically fell on my face. In my
hurry to get up and away from the man that surely
wasn’t trying to give me a warm welcome to New
Orleans, I got the heel of my boot caught in a
drainage grate and went back down again.
“You little bitch!” The man growled and
jerked me up by my hair. I was finally able to let out
a good long scream before he dragged me back into
the shadows and slung me over another rusty table.
I blacked out.
I couldn’t struggle anymore. I was already so
tired from the flight, from the dreams, from all the
stupid stress that I had been under for the past six
months. I just decided to tune it out and hope that I
somehow survived.
I decided that instead of going to my happy
place, a peaceful mental destination to try and detach
myself from reality, I would write myself out inside
my head.
It was something I had done since a child:
escapism. It was part of what got me in to
storytelling and writing.
This one might have been my final story.
I imagined that I was stronger than my meter
and a half self and I was able to fight his advances. I
could feel his hefty body weighing down on mine as
he still held the knife to my throat. The clanking of
his belt buckle as he unhooked it caused my mind to
wander to another story. Maybe I would play the
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Issue #2
damsel in distress after all and wait for my knight in

shining armor to save me. I’d never known chivalry
before.
“So sweet. So perfect. Such a pity I can’t
keep you.” He purred, sliding the knife from my
throat to the flannel shirt I wore. He popped two
buttons with the blade before dragging it across the
skin of my chest.
I snapped out of my daydream long enough
to instinctively struggle underneath him, but he
wasn’t having any of that.
He backhanded me across the face, causing
me to see stars in the dim light. I groaned as I tried to
regain my composure, but the man had already gone
back to popping the buttons on my shirt.
I tried to meekly call for help, but I knew it
wasn’t going to do me any good.
“Now, this may hurt a little.” His gruff words
were right in my ear. I braced for whatever was
coming, letting myself fall back into the fantasy
story I had fabricated in my head.
I felt his hands slide down the front of my
shirt as I let my mind wander to someone—anyone
—who could come and save me.
I had just felt his fingers find the button on
my jeans when he let out a loud cry and then a
gurgle.
My eyes had been squeezed shut in
anticipation, but the sound of the man in pain made
them pop open.
11
The would-be assailant was slumped over the

picnic bench; it looked as if his neck had been
crushed by a gorilla.
I fought the urge to scream when I saw him.
Another him. My knight in shining armor.
“Shh, shh. It’s ok.” He was much taller than
my assailant had been, but he was standing in the
shadows and the street lamp couldn’t reach his face.
Was he going to try and hurt me too?
A gloved hand reached out into the beam of
light, offering to help me.
“I’m not going to hurt you, but we need to
go.” His deep New Orleans accent was almost
soothing.
“Is he—is he…dead?” I stuttered, reaching
for this man’s hand even though I didn’t even know
him from Adam.
“Considering I crushed his windpipe, I would
say so.” He took my hand and led me back out to
Canal Street.
I could finally see the face of my knight, and
everything else about his towering figure.
He had to be easily over six and a half feet
with thick chocolate waves that were pulled away
from his shapely bearded jaw. His eyes were too
dark in the low light for me to tell what color they
were, but they were almost cat-like in shape. His lips
were more of a distraction than I would have figured,
and I quickly looked away to take in the rest of him.
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Issue #2
He wore a heavy hooded cargo jacket over a

black tee with baggy camo pants. It was June, in the
South—he must have been burning up! And he had
on gloves as if he was waiting for a snowstorm—or
preparing to knock off a petrol station.
“Aren’t you hot?” I blurted rudely. Not
exactly the way I had planned on saying thank you.
“Miss, I’m always hot.” He responded,
fanning himself with his jacket. I was becoming a
little hot myself.
“Sorry—that was rude of me. Thank you.
Thank you for saving me.” I immediately became
self-conscious and averted my eyes to my combat
boots.
“No problem. What the hell is a girl like you
doing out on Canal Street at—” He checked his
wristwatch, “Almost midnight?” Now he sounded
like he was scolding me for making him have to be
chivalrous at Midnight on a Saturday.
“Does it sound like I’m from anywhere
around here? I have no idea what this city is like.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have been letting some stranger
know how much of a foreigner I really was. He
could have killed me where I stood and no one
would miss me because I was green to this city—to
this country.
“Touché. We don’t need to stand around
here talking, though. If someone sees us and a dead
body, they are going to ask a lot of questions.” He
took my hand once again.
13
“We can’t just leave the scene of a crime.” I

protested, trying to take my hand back.
“You really want to wait for the fuzz to arrive
and then have to answer a bunch of questions as to
why that man’s throat is crushed? Because I won’t
stick around for them so they can arrest me. Besides,
one less scummy fuck on my streets—he was going
to rape you.” The last two words of his sentence
made me draw in a sharp breath.
He was. He was going to do it right there, out
in the open, without a care in the world. He probably
would have slit my throat after and I would have just
ended up another casualty of the city.
“You coming?” I had been so engrossed with
my thoughts that I hadn’t realized he was still
waiting for me.
“Yeah. Let’s go.” I let him take my hand
again and lead me back up Canal Street the way I
had come. I wasn’t going to ask where he was taking
me; I didn’t care at the moment. The magnitude of
the situation had just hit me and I began to shake.
He took his jacket off without a word and
draped it over my shoulders.
“You’re going to be ok. You’ll realize soon
enough that this city isn’t always forgiving. But good
people do exist.” He reassured me.
He was right; good people did exist and he
was clearly one of them.
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Issue #2
Adam Baudin
The gloves Henri had made for me seemed to

be working. He said they were made out of a
combination of Nomex and leather and had been
inscribed with some sort of veve to keep the heat
contained within me unless I chose to use it—I never
chose to use it.
It may have been the beginning of June in my
city, but I was cloaked in a heavy jacket and gloves,
just so I could go DJ at some night club that hired
me for the week. I could actually touch the vinyls
now and not have them warp and melt in my hands,
but the heat inside of me was getting worse.
15
I could have taken my bike to work, but I

decided to walk. Walking always did my head well
when it was in a bad place.
I couldn’t wait to get away from Bourbon
Street and back home.
Henri had taken me in. He didn’t like the
apartment I was living in any more than Nate did,
and offered me a room above the shop. I was more
than glad to take it.
Since I decided to walk, it meant taking the
ferry back home in the dark. It didn’t usually run this
late, but I knew the boat captain and he was out at
the terminal most of the night.
I was getting ready to cross on to Canal
Street when I heard it: a woman screaming in the
distance. Sadly that wasn’t uncommon in the city,
but something about this one made my heart skip a
beat.
How could a random scream sound so
familiar?
I needed to save whoever this was from
whatever was hurting her, and I felt a sense of
urgency to get it done quickly.
There was just the one scream, but I felt like
it still echoed off the buildings and I followed the
frantic panic that was palpable in the air.
I crossed the street finally and was coming
down the road pretty quickly when I saw her.
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Issue #2
The street lamp cast just enough of a glow

where she was pinned against a picnic table, making
her vibrant red hair almost neon in the dark.
Then I saw the glint of the knife as it ran
down her chest.
I didn’t have time to mull the situation over
in my head; I had to act—and I had to act now.
Bounding down the hill to the pavilion as
quietly as I could, I came up behind the man that was
about to harm an innocent woman.
My hand shot out to his shoulder and
incapacitated the arm that held the knife. He spun
around as quickly as he could, but he wasn’t fast
enough. I took ahold of his neck to remove him from
her lap, but I apparently didn’t know my own
strength.
I felt the bones in his neck crumble and his
windpipe collapse like someone crushing an empty
water bottle. He made a wet gurgling noise before
sagging over the picnic bench when I instinctually
released my grip.
The woman abruptly dropped the hands that
were covering her face and her large green eyes
popped open. She caught sight of me in the shadows
and I thought she was going to scream by the way
her brow furrowed and her lips peeled back from her
teeth.
“Shh, shh. It’s ok.” I tried to calm her before
she alerted anyone else. The man was dead and we
17
certainly didn’t need to draw unwanted attention to

ourselves.
I reached my hand out to help her climb over
the now very deceased man that lay partially across
her right leg.
“I’m not going to hurt you, but we need to
go.” I urged her to come with me, but she just stared,
dumbfounded.
“Is he—is he…dead?” She stuttered,
reaching for my hand even though she didn’t know
me from Adam—but I guess she would.
“Considering I crushed his windpipe, I would
say so.” I took her hand and led her back out to
Canal Street.
I could finally see her full figure now. She
was a tiny thing, probably no taller than five feet,
with the brightest orange hair I had ever laid eyes on.
It looked as if it had been braided back in pigtails,
but the right side had been yanked free and draped
her shoulder in waves. Her clover green eyes studied
me under the street lamp, probably evaluating
whether or not I was safe to be around. She fumbled
to keep her red flannel closed over her chest: all the
buttons were now missing.
I watched as her gaze wandered from my
heavy jacket to the gloves on my hands. She
probably thought I was on my way to a robbery.
“Aren’t you hot?” She blurted, her brow still
knit in concern. I assumed she was in shock.
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Issue #2
“Miss, I’m always hot,” I responded, fanning

myself with my jacket. If she only knew how serious
I was.
“Sorry—that was rude of me. Thank you.
Thank you for saving me.” Her words trailed
together as she averted her gaze from mine and
favored her clunky booted feet instead.
“No problem. What the hell is a girl like you
doing out on Canal Street at—” I checked my
wristwatch, “Almost midnight?” It was rather odd
that any woman was out at this hour all alone with
nothing for protection.
“Does it sound like I’m from anywhere
around here? I have no idea what this city is like.” It
was then that I really heard her accent. She was not
from around here and oddly sounded a lot like the
guy that ran the Irish Pub down the street.
“Touché. We don’t need to stand around
here talking, though. If someone sees us and a dead
body, they are going to ask a lot of questions.” I took
her hand once again.
“We can’t just leave the scene of a crime.”
She protested, trying to take her hand back.
“You really want to wait for the fuzz to arrive
and then have to answer a bunch of questions as to
why that man’s throat is crushed? Because I won’t
stick around for them so they can arrest me. Besides,
one less scummy fuck on my streets—he was going
to rape you.” The last part of my sentence caused her
to draw in a sharp breath. I don’t think it had even
19
occurred to her that he was trying to do such a thing.

Based on the look of the knife and the fact that I
could now see blood running down her partially
exposed chest: he wasn’t going to leave her alive.
“You coming?” I waited while she let
everything sink in. I just hoped she made the right
decision and I wouldn’t have to try and force her to
come with me.
“Yeah. Let’s go.” She let me take her hand
again and lead her back up Canal Street the way I
had come. I needed to get her back to a well-lit area
where she was safe. I could tell the magnitude of the
situation had just hit her and she began to shake.
I took my jacket off silently and draped it
over her shoulders as the tremors increased.
“You’re going to be ok. You’ll realize soon
enough that this city isn’t always forgiving. But good
people do exist.” I reassured her.
I don’t know if she believed me or not, but I
wanted her to understand that I would keep her safe.
I felt compelled to. For whatever reason, I had to
make sure that she got home in one piece.
“Awesome. Another bar.” She scrunched her

nose up as I held the door open for her.
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Issue #2
“A safe bar. My friend Nate owns and

operates it.” I followed her through the door and
took her to a table in the far corner away from
everyone. I held my fingers up for two beers as we
passed Nate bussing a table; he returned shortly with
two ice cold stouts.
I offered her one and she studied me for a
minute before taking it from me.
“I wasn’t going to drink tonight. Avoided
tequila for over an hour. Though, I feel like I need
this right now.” She talked past me as she cracked
her bottle cap up against the side of the table and
took a long swig.
“Maybe it’ll calm your nerves.” I uncapped
mine and started to drink. I was going to go home,
but this seemed like it was more important.
“Maybe. Thank you again—” She paused in
her gratitude and gestured her hand towards me. I
wasn’t sure what she was waiting for, but then I
realized I hadn’t given her my name.
“Adam. My name’s Adam.” I would have
extended my hand to shake hers, but I figured she
had had enough of my lava hands for one night.
“Violet.” She smiled slightly, taking another
swig of her beer. She seemed like she was warming
up to me.
“Well, Violet—this your first night in The
Big Easy?” I finished my beer and threw my hand up
for another.
21
“Yeah, fresh off a plane just a couple of

hours ago.” She nodded, finishing her own beer. I
changed my number of fingers in the air to two.
“A couple of hours ago? And you were
wandering down Canal Street after midnight, why?”
She hadn’t been here long and she had already
almost been killed. Welcome to the dark side of the
city, Violet.
“I just moved here. Got in tonight and met
my friend at the Cat’s Meow. I wasn’t really up for
partying after a goddamn nineteen-hour flight, so I
got her keys and address and was going to take a cab
home. Only I got caught up in my stupid head and
before I knew it, I was almost at the ferry and
figured it would be a waste of time to go back and
find a ride.” She sighed as Nate brought over two
more beers. He unsubtly winked at me as he
wandered back off to the bar.
“I guess it was lucky I was out there.” It
really was luck—or something of that sort. I cracked
open our brand new beers and slid one over to her.
“It was. You saved the Damsel in Distress.”
She had a funny look on her face as she locked eyes
with mine for a moment.
“I always wanted to be a Knight in Shining
Armor.” I laughed and she laughed uneasily.
“Missy is going to be worried about me.” She
was talking past me again as she drank.
“Is that your friend?” I asked, trying to keep
her calm in the conversation.
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Issue #2
She looked at me warily for a moment before

responding, “Yes. We were friends back in Belfast
since we were eight. She moved out here ten years
ago and I finally decided to follow.” She answered
me, finishing her second beer.
“Let’s get you home then.” I finished my
own and stood from the table.
“You don’t have to take me home. I’ll just
get a cab.” She denied my help as she slung her bag
across her chest and stood up too.
“No, no—let me get you home safely.” I
urged her, but she still looked undecided.
“How do I know that you won’t hurt me?”
She asked, pulling her bag closer to her body.
“I mean—I did save you once already. Not
the type of guy to play with my food.” I responded
and quickly regretted it.
Her eyes were wide, one eyebrow arched as
she stared at me.
“Poor choice of words—what I mean is I
went out of my way to help you, why would I do that
if my plan was to hurt you? I could have done that
back down at the ferry.” The wording of this
sentence wasn’t much better, but she didn’t seem as
tense.
“I’ll make you a deal. I’ll leave my phone
and wallet here with Nate, I’ll take you home, and
when you get in safely you can call up to the bar and
let Nate know. I can get my stuff then and all is
23
well.” It was a bit of an unnecessarily long-winded

plan, but I wanted Violet to trust me.
“Ok. I guess you can—take me home.” She
caved, but she still looked scared. I couldn’t blame
her.
I took my phone and wallet up to Nate behind
the bar and explained what I was doing. He thought
it was a rather elaborate plan for trying to sleep with
someone when I explained to him why I was taking
her home. He felt like a dick, which he was, but I
didn’t hold it against him.
“Ok, everything is set. Nate has my things

and now we can get you home.” She handed me my
jacket and I helped her outside.
“I don’t know if I have enough money for a
cab now. We’re a good bit further away from
Missy’s than before.” She spoke up as we stood by
the curb.
“I do.” I held up a few twenty dollar bills,
“Address?”
“667 Seguin Street.” She recalled.
I held my hand out as a cab slowed and a
man stuck his head out of the window. “Where to?”
“667 Seguin Street,” I responded, opening
the door for Violet. She climbed in, still visibly
shaken and I entered behind her.
The cabbie set the clock and we headed off
towards the other side of the Mississippi River.
24
Issue #2
Violet Eve
“I think this one is me.” I tapped on the

window of the cab. The house looked like the one in
the pictures that Missy sent me, even in the dark.
The cab pulled up to the curb and Adam got
out to get the door for me.
“Thank you,” I responded meekly and
climbed out of the cab, holding my bag closely
against me.
“I’ll wait here while you get inside. Make
sure to call Nate so I can get my things back.” Adam
25
smirked at me and handed me a piece of paper with a

phone number on it.
“Ok.” I agreed, not making eye contact with
the man. He seemed nice enough, but I was still so
apprehensive and I had been holding in ugly sobs for
the past hour.
I turned to walk up the stairs to the house
when Adam called out to me.
“Can I see you again?”
I thought about it for a moment. I don’t know
what interest he had in me or why he’d even want to
keep in touch with me after he killed a man in my
defense. That would just draw unwanted attention…
but he was so sweet to me. He saved my life and
didn’t even know me from—Adam. It was funny
now.
“I don’t know. You go up to the bar often?” I
glanced over my shoulder. I could only give him a
solid maybe right now.
“Almost every night. I DJ up there on
Tuesdays and Thursdays.” He replied, removing a
stray lock of hair that had fallen over his eyes. His
hair was just gorgeous.
“Then maybe we will meet again.” That was
the only answer I could give him. I hurried up the
stairs and fumbled with the key in the lock before
finally opening the door.
“Night Violet.” I heard him say as the door to
the cab closed and sped away down the street.
26
Issue #2
“Violet! Where the hell have you been?”

Missy greeted me as soon as I opened the door. She
was sitting on a huge sectional couch, flanked by the
Three C’s and a few other women that were all
pretty much dressed the same.
“I got lost. It’s a long story and I just don’t
have the strength tonight, Miss.” I tried to make
myself look as tired and sickly as possible. I
clenched the top of my shirt closed so she couldn’t
see the blood that had dried on my chest. I wanted a
hot bath and a cup of tea and then to sleep as long as
I possibly could.
“Get some sleep, Vi. Your bedroom is in the
back and your bags arrived while we were still out.
You even have your own bathroom. I’ll see you in
the morning, yeah?” Missy got up and came over to
give me a hug. The other women didn’t even really
seem to notice me as one lit up what smelled like a
joint and began passing it around.
“Night, Missy.” I trudged off to the back
bedroom and locked the door behind me.
Then the dam broke.
I tore off my flannel shirt and held it in front
of my mouth as I cried. My whole body shook with
equal parts fear and rage. Since I had been here I felt
like the only person that really gave a damn about
me had been this Adam guy and I had just met him!
Missy hadn’t even called to check on me!
I tried to suck the tears back, but that only
made the crying worse. My sobs were almost silent
27
as I blindly rifled through my messenger bag for my

phone, but I couldn’t seem to find it. I angrily
dumped out the contents and spread them out on the
floor: my journal, keys, cigarettes, the new lighter I
bought when I got off the plane, my lip balm, tons of
pens, and a bag of sour jellies…no fucking phone.
There was no way I was without it; I knew I
had it the whole time because I used the GPS on it.
I had finally stopped crying and wiped the
tears from my rosy face, fixed my hair in the mirror
and then poked my head out the door.
“Miss, do you have a house line?” I called
out into the living room.
“Jeremy has one at the end of the hall!” She
called back and I stepped out of the room with the
slip of paper Adam had handed me.
I picked up the receiver and dialed the
number, waiting as it rang on the other end.
“O’Neil’s Bar and Night Club, this is Nate
speaking.” Nate picked up the phone after the fourth
ring.
“Hi.” I hesitated nervously, “This is Violet; I
was just with Adam up at the bar.”
“Oh, hey Violet. Adam got you home
safely?” He asked. I could hear him cleaning glasses
on the other end.
“He did; you can give him his wallet and
phone back. I have a question though…” Maybe my
phone was at the bar or Adam had seen it and Nate
could ask him since I clearly didn’t have his number.
28
Issue #2
“Shoot.” He responded. I could hear him set

down a glass and pick up another with a clink.
“I lost my phone somehow and I was
wondering if maybe you’ve seen it?” I hoped he’d
say that he already had it behind the bar.
“No one has brought anything up here and I
already bussed the tables and didn’t see anything.
When Adam gets back I can ask him though.” That
was kind of him to offer.
“That’d be great. Kind of hard to function
nowadays without a phone.” I joked.
“Don’t I know it. Can you be reached at this
number?” Nate asked as I heard him switch the
handset from one ear to the other.
“Yeah, it’s my roommate’s house line.
Thanks, Nate.” Two good people in this city so far.
“No problem. Have a good night, Violet.” He
hung up and I set the phone back down.
I aimlessly sauntered back to my room and
immediately drew the hottest bath I could stand.
The cut on my neck seemed pretty superficial
and wouldn’t need stitches; which was good since I
couldn’t afford them.
I cleaned myself up in the sink before
climbing into the tub and fully immersing myself. I
let my hair down and felt it ripple around me in the
steaming water.
I started to cry again; I knew that I would.
29
Stuff was just way too much for me at that

moment and I surfaced, hanging myself off the lip of
the claw foot tub to get my bearings.
“Mum—what the hell am I doing?” I asked
to no one. I was miserable without her. And to top it
off, I was still convinced that she was murdered. My
mother wasn’t a drunk and there was no way that she
should have lost control and collided with that oak
tree. Someone set her up somehow, but no one
would listen to me. Maybe the brake line had been
cut or something—but it was no accident. I could
feel it in my gut.
She had been having issues with a certain
medical facility whose name she wasn’t even
allowed to mention because it didn’t exist, at least
not as far as her department went.
It had to have been them—I knew it.
“Vi! There’s a phone call for you!” I could

hear Missy standing outside the bathroom door.
“It’s open.” I hollered and she cracked the
door, bringing me the wireless phone from the
hallway.
Maybe Nate had found my phone after all.
“Hello?” I took the phone and slunk back
into the water after Missy closed the door.
“Hey, Violet.” It wasn’t Nate—it was Adam.
“Hey, did you find my phone?” I really
hoped he had.
30
Issue #2
“Yeah, do you want me to come bring it to

you?” Adam asked. He sure was eager to see me
again.
“Not tonight. Maybe we can meet up
somewhere tomorrow and I can get it from you
then.” I suggested instead. I just wanted to finish
scrubbing the city’s bad first impression off of my
skin before getting some sleep.
“Sure. Want to meet back at Nate’s bar?” He
wasn’t pushy; that’s good.
“That works. What time?” I yawned. I
needed to get out of the bath and into bed before I
fell asleep and drowned.
“Nate opens the bar at eleven, so then? That
way there isn’t a bunch of noise and distraction
going on.” Adam suggested a mid-morning meetup.
What would he not want us to be distracted from? I
was just coming to pick up my phone…
“That sounds good. I’m going to go finish
my bath and drag myself to bed before I drown.” I
yawned again.
“Yeah. You go do that.” There was a strange
tone in Adam’s voice.
“Night, Adam.” I bid him goodnight.
“Night, Violet.” He hung up and I sank back
into the water to finish my bathing.
31
It was so goddamn hot. The room was

sweltering and I thought I was going to pass out. I
felt like my hands were on fire as they gripped the
sheets. Waves of intense heat were washing over my
body, undulating hot air into my face so that I
choked.
I couldn’t decide if I was asleep or not, but I
assumed it was just another nightmare.
“No more. Wake up, Violet. Wake up!” I

tried to make my lips work to form the words aloud
—but I was already awake.
“No more. No more fire!” I heard myself
blurt as I writhed in the bed from the excruciating
pain; I felt like I was being incinerated from the
inside out.
“No more!” I belted and instantly I felt a
wash of cold fill my body up till I was almost
shaking from the chill.
I pulled my blankets around me and drug
myself out of bed over to the window. I wrenched
the curtains open to find that it was already morning
and it was incredibly overcast outside.
I wiped the sweat from my body with the
sheet and went into the bathroom to freshen up
before digging through my bag of clothes for
something to wear.
When I was satisfied that I didn’t look like
something the cat dragged in, I left the room to find
32
Issue #2
at least seven girls asleep all over the living room

and Missy in the kitchen cooking breakfast with a
strange man.
“Morning, Violet. Jeremy made us bacon and

eggs.” Missy brought over a cast iron skillet full of
scrambled eggs and fat slices of bacon.
“Thank you,” I responded, but Jeremy made
me anxious. He was already dressed to impress this
morning with a three piece suit, slicked hair, and
fancy tie. His skin was deeply tanned and his hair
was dark, but they were a stark contrast to the light
grey of his eyes. He could have easily been Missy’s
father with his age, but who was I to judge?
“You are most welcome. I’m so glad that
Missy is going to have someone here around the
clock when I’m gone.” He gestured for me to take a
seat right next to him.
“Oh, do you travel?” I asked, taking a bite of
my bacon.
“Yes. I am a manager and promoter as well
as an investor. I travel all over the world and I can’t
always take Missy with me.” Jeremy sipped at his
black coffee. It was nice of him to open his home to
me, but something about him still made me uneasy.
“I’m glad to be here. I needed to get away.” I
had just put a forkful of eggs in my mouth when
Jeremy’s response made me choke.
“Missy told me about your mother’s
accident; I’m so terribly sorry.” Jeremey lamented,
33
but something about his response was disingenuous.

I also hadn’t wanted Missy to go telling everyone
about it. I didn’t want the pity and I didn’t want to
talk about it.
“Yeah, well—I have to go meet a man about
a phone that I lost last night. So if you both will
excuse me…thanks again for breakfast.” I grabbed a
bottle of water off the counter and rudely exited the
kitchen and straight out the front door.
I hadn’t meant to be so curt, but just talking
about the accident made me want to fucking scream
because it wasn’t an accident.
There wasn’t really any money on my debit
card and I had very little cash, so I guess I was
walking to O’Neil’s.
At least it would give me time to cool the
anger that had started to pool in my fists. Didn’t
want to knock anyone out now.
34
Issue #2
June 5th, 2016
Adam Baudin
I got to the bar the same time Nate did. He let

me in the back and poured me a soda before getting
to work on opening the place up.
“You think she’s gonna show up?” Nate

flipped over one barstool after another in front of the
long mahogany bar.
35
“If she wants her phone she will. She’s going

to need it being in a new city with only one friend.” I
propped my feet up on the table and drank my soda.
“Two if she counts you.” Nate laughed,
implying that I had already laid claim to her.
“She’s cute.” I agreed. That accent really
made it too. But I wasn’t looking for anything
serious with everything else that had been going on.
She wasn’t a girl you just slept with one time and
never spoke to again; she was worth more than that.
“Not that now would be a good time to ask
her out after what happened last night.” Nate had a
point there too.
Someone knocked on the front door and Nate
opened it to reveal Violet dressed in cut off shorts
and a black shirt with some sort of band logo on it.
“Morning, Violet. Adam’s over there.” Nate
pointed at me and I waved. She had her hair down
today and I could see how incredibly thick it was,
like a horse’s tail. Despite being a red head she had
not a freckle on her body save for a few light ones
speckled across her nose.
“You have my phone?” She slung her bag on
the table and waited impatiently.
“I do. You’re welcome.” I pulled it out of my
front pocket and slid it across the table. Violet
snatched it and started going through it like I was
going to leave lewd pictures somewhere on her
phone.
36
Issue #2
“You want to go for a walk with me? Maybe

get some coffee and beignets?” For someone who
didn’t want to date, I sure wanted to take her out to
places. She had this strange hold over me.
“I don’t know…” Violet looked down at her
phone.
“Got other plans?” I figured she and her
friend Missy would be up to something with her just
coming into town.
“Not till later this afternoon.” She spoke
quietly, still going through what seemed to be her
text messages. “She did try to call me.”
“Missy?” I asked. Violet wasn’t totally part
of our conversation.
“Yeah. She was still up when I got home. I
thought she hadn’t called to check on me, but she
did; I just didn’t have my phone.” Violet finally
stuffed it in the front flap of her bag and stood from
the table.
“You leaving so soon?” I lifted my feet from
the table to stand with her.
“Didn’t you promise me beignets? I’ve never
had them before.” Violet gave me the most genuine
smile that I had seen since we met.
I began to walk her towards the door, “I
know just the place.”
37
“These are like eating the sweetest, fluffiest

clouds. And the coffee—” Violet licked powdered
sugar off her fingertips before taking a sip of her
coffee.
“Yeah, they really are wonderful.” I laughed.
The expression on her face was sheer joy as she took
the last bite of her beignet and finished her coffee.
“Where do you want to go now?” I asked,
walking closely alongside her.
“It’s only noon; I don’t have to be back till
three.” She shrugged, checking her phone.
“Good; then there are two things I want to
show you.” I hurried her down the street towards the
spot I had found her the night before.
“You know, I have no idea where you found
my phone,” Violet questioned me suddenly as if she
knew where I was taking her.
“I’m going to show you.” I took her hand and
jaywalked across the street to the exact same spot we
had met the prior evening.
“I must have lost it in the struggle.” It
dawned on Violet when she had actually lost
possession of her phone.
“I walked back by here last night on the way
home and found it. Notice anything strange though?”
I stepped under the awning where the tables were
and waited for it to sink in.
38
Issue #2
“Where’s the body?” Violet furrowed her

brow and looked from me to the spot where I had
killed the man that had been attacking her.
“It wasn’t there when I came back here last
night. There’s no police, no police tape, no chalk
outline. The body is just gone and I don’t think
anyone even noticed it was here.” I pointed out the
lack of any sort of police presence.
“Somebody did because the body is gone.”
Violet pointed out. She was right about that.
Someone had to have found the man’s corpse, but
why had they taken it and not reported anything to
the authorities?
“Let’s get out of here just in case.” I grabbed
Violet by the elbow, but she jerked her arm violently
away from me.
“I’m sorry.” She sputtered, backing away
from me as her chest heaved up and down.
“No, I’m sorry. I should be more thoughtful.”
I wanted for her breathing to level out before I urged
her to follow me in a different direction. I was going
to take her to my home and introduce her to Henri.
He had a few things to say about the situation
that I had gotten myself into with her the night
before, though I hadn’t been very specific. I figured
he’d change his tune when he met her.
39
Violet Eve
“Seriously, what’s with the gloves?” I joked

with Adam as I pointed at the black ones that came
up just past his wrists.
“I have sensitive hands.” He mockingly
defended himself.
“Or you’re an X-Men.” I laughed at him. The
gloves really weren’t that odd to me; everyone had
their own style.
“Here we are: the Crescent City Shaman.”
Adam held the shop door open for me like a
gentleman and we both were greeted with the scent
of sweet woods and smoldering resins.
“Adam. Come here and taste this.” A
handsome dark-skinned man with short red locks
was rolling something between his hands before he
handed it to Adam, who popped it right in his mouth
without even asking what it was.
“That tastes like strawberry ass. What is it?”
Adam scrunched up his nose and let his tongue
dangle over his full lips. I noticed then that the
middle of his lower lip was pierced with a silver
ring.
40
Issue #2
“It’s supposed to make you virile, but I don’t

want it to taste too bitter because of the Horny Goat
Weed.” He went back to rolling herbs in a fruit paste
and then in powdered sugar.
“Well, that’s not what I need right now…
Henri, this is Violet.” Adam introduced me and
Henri’s head snapped to where I was standing.
“She the girl you saved last night, Captain
America?” Henri studied me intently.
“Yes, she is.” Adam kicked up in front of the
bar and left me to look around the huge shop. There
were rows and rows of books, herbs, totems, dolls,
and a large assortment of occult items all around me.
I had always been interested in the magical,
metaphysical, and supernatural: all my stories had
those themes. We had Witchcraft shops in Ireland,
but Voodoo was something new to me entirely.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Violet. Have a seat
and I’ll make you something to calm your nerves and
help with that jet-lag you are still feeling.” Henri
began snatching pinches of herbs from the glass
apothecary jars behind the bar. It was almost set up
like an ice cream parlour, but instead of ice cream,
there were magical herbs and resins.
“Nice to meet you too.” I climbed onto the
stool next to Adam and sat down.
“You’re Irish, hm? Always wanted to go over
to the UK and see the sites. I hear Stonehenge is
beautiful.” Henri continued to mix and mash herbs
41
before smearing what looked like a guava paste onto

his cutting board and began rolling it all together.
“Yeah, I’m from Belfast.” I nodded,
watching him expertly make the squishy herbal
candies. “You both from here?” I figured as much,
but I wasn’t very good at making conversation.
“Henri is, but I was adopted. They think I
was born here, but they aren’t sure.” Adam
answered.
Adopted. I hadn’t expected that.
“Our mother worked for an adoption agency
for years. She saw Adam and just fell in love with
him. After me, the doctors told her she couldn’t have
anymore, so Adam was her miracle baby.” Henri
smirked, winking at Adam.
“Brothers. Your mother must be a very lucky
woman.” I smiled. I loved to see blended families;
mine never seemed to work out that way.
“What about you; any siblings?” Henri asked,
finally rolling up at least a dozen herbal candies
before piling them up inside a parchment lined box.
“I had a few step-siblings over the years, but
none blood. My mum re-married a few times.” I
nodded, taking a loose piece of candy that Henri
offered me. I popped it in my mouth and chewed; it
was most certainly guava.
“And where’s your mom?” Adam asked me.
Instant rage…but I quelled it.
“She passed away about six months ago.” I
drew my lips into a thin line.
42
Issue #2
“I’m so sorry—I had no idea.” Adam looked

as if he felt terrible for even asking.
“Don’t be sorry; not your fault,” I assured
him that it was alright; I was going to have to learn
to control my anger.
“Is that what brought you over this way? Her
passing?” Henri kept asking more questions and I
was oddly ok with that.
“Pretty much. My best friend since forever
moved down this way about ten years ago. I had no
one left over there anymore so she insisted I come
here.” I explained how I had even ended up in New
Orleans in the first place.
“She’s worried about you; you haven’t been
sleeping well.” Henri handed me the box of candies.
“Does it show on my face?” I was sort of
embarrassed that he had even noticed.
“No; your face is perfect. I can sense it in
your energy field; it’s weak. Having nightmares?”
Henri started mixing a new batch of something as he
spoke to me.
“Uh—well, I do. I do have nightmares.” I
was too baffled to deny it. Adam was now looking at
me oddly as he chewed on a tea tree stick.
“What about?” Henri apparently had no
boundaries, but his intuition was spot on.
“Stuff. I don’t usually remember. I just know
that I generally wake up terrified.” I tried to skirt the
answer, but Henri caught my attention.
43
“I want to try a little thing with you.” He

dusted the powdered sugar off his hands and started
going through the dusty bottles on the shelf behind
him. He grabbed a glass orb that swirled with an
indigo liquid; how it got in the seamless globe was
beyond me.
“What is that?” I wondered what the orb was
used for.
“I call it the Destiny Diviner. It’s this fancy
thing I whipped up a few full moons ago; very
intense stuff.” Henri came around the counter with
the globe in his hand and stepped right in front of
me, offering it for me to take.
“This is going to divine my destiny? A snow
globe?” I was skeptical.
“She may not be ready for that.” Adam
sneered. He started to laugh as Henri pulled the
globe into his chest.
“I know the first one didn’t work, but this
one is different. I made sure I got it perfect this
time.” Henri waved Adam off and turned back
around to me.
“Just try it. Maybe it will give you some
insight into your dreams.” Henri urged me to take
the orb.
“What could it hurt?” I lifted my shoulders in
indifference and reached out for the Destiny Diviner.
My fingers had barely grazed the glass when
I felt like an explosion went off in my brain.
44
Issue #2
Images of war and famine, of pestilence and

death whirred around in my head. Leathery wings,
fire, bloodshed; these images were unlike anything I
had ever seen.
Flashes of children, happy children that grew
up to be monsters. Fire rained down from the skies
and the seas ran red with blood. And then I caught a
glimpse of myself.
I wanted to let go of the orb, but it just kept
showing me more terrifying images...
I was in the middle of a cemetery, knelt down
in front of a gravestone as I laid a flower I couldn’t
identify on the plot.
Then I seized up.
I watched as my body began to twitch. I was
alone, having some sort of seizure and no one was
there to keep me from choking on my own tongue. I
flailed back on the ground and started to scream,
clawing at my face.
I could tell that I was in immense amounts of
pain just by looking at myself, but I physically didn’t
feel a thing.
When the seizing finally stopped I witnessed
myself roll over so I could finally see my face…
I screamed, almost dropping the orb as I

snapped back to reality. Henri had torn it from my
hands before I could let it go and I just stood there
drenched in sweat, eyes wild with fear.
45
“Keep that thing away from me,” I

whispered, raising my tone at the end as I batted
Henri out of my face. What kind of fucking game
was he playing?
“What did you see?” Henri’s eyes were wide
with wonder.
“You’re a sick bastard. I don’t know how you
did any of that. Was there something in the candy?” I
began to gag at the thought of it being laced with
LSD or something worse.
Before Henri could answer me, I had turned
heel and ran out of the shop with Adam calling my
name as I fled.
46
Issue #2
Adam Baudin
“What the hell did you put in that candy,

Henri?” I had never been this furious with my own
brother, but Violet had been through enough already.
“I didn’t put anything in the candy, Adam!
The Diviner worked!” Henri seemed elated, but I
could tell that the more he thought about it, the
worse he felt.
“Even if it worked—whatever she saw—it
scared the hell out of her.” I was rather furious at
Henri; I’d probably never see her again after this.
“I wish I knew what it was; did you see the
look on her face?” Henri widened his eyes as far as
47
they would go and flared his nostrils. It was close to

the face Violet had made, but not quite.
“It was terrifying, whatever it was. I’m going
to see if I can catch up to her.” I had already swung
my long legs to the ground and lifted the hood on my
jacket before snatching another tea tree pick from its
cup.
“Tell her I’m sorry, man. I didn’t know it
would work that way.” Henri’s forehead was
crinkled as he spoke.
“Will do.” I nodded and slipped out the door.
The street was filled with panhandlers, street

vendors, and people just hanging out in front of the
shops. I stopped a couple people and described
Violet to them, but no one had seen her. I wasn’t
quite sure how that was possible because on this side
of the Mississippi, she basically stood out like a sore
thumb.
“Hey, Jackie. You see a girl about yay high,

long curly red hair, cut off shorts—uh, green eyes?”
I stopped when I saw my cousin standing outside of
a convenience store.
“Looked like a little leprechaun walking
around here.” Jackie laughed as he recalled her.
48
Issue #2
“Where did she go?” I wanted to find her

before someone preyed on her foreign sensibilities.
“Up that way; she looked like she’d seen a
ghost,” Jackie noted that she had been fearful as she
charged by.
“Thanks, Jackie.” I slipped him a cigarette
and prepared to jet.
“Hey, Adam—find her quick, ok? Something
just don’ seem right today.” Jackie had the Baudin
genes for foresight just like Henri.
“I will. Thanks again.” I nodded and took off
up the street.
I don’t know what he felt, but I could
definitely say that something was off. My hands
were hotter than usual and I was surprised the gloves
were retaining all that heat.
The intensity had increased when Violet had
taken the orb from Henri; it was probably just a
coincidence, but I had fire hands for Christ’s sake.
Regardless of the searing heat I was feeling, I
needed to catch up to Violet and try and calm her
down before she got herself into trouble.
49
Violet Eve
I just ran. I kept running. I even tripped over

someone’s fruit stand and almost busted my arse in
the middle of the street. There were plenty of people
to see my comedic panic, but embarrassment just
wasn’t something I was feeling at the moment.
I made it far enough up the street and the
throngs of people that had been outside of the shops
and businesses had thinned to almost no one. The
sky was even greyer now in the mid-afternoon and it
made the streets look almost post-apocalyptic.
I stopped at a crosswalk to catch my breath,
thinking I had put enough distance between myself
and the Crescent City Shaman when a very robust
woman approached me.
“You’re not from around here.” She circled
me, one perfectly thick eyebrow arched as she
studied my frame.
“What gave it away?” I forced a smile, but
she made me a tad nervous with how scrutinizing she
was being.
50
Issue #2
“Ah, not even from this country, mm?” She

cocked her hip to the side, still looking me up and
down.
“No, Ireland.” I really wasn’t in the mood for
conversation—I just wanted to get back home, as
weird as that sounded, and try to forget what I saw
when Henri handed me the globe.
“It’s not safe for tourists on this end and you
just scream foreign—or weird, whichever.” She
scolded me—and possibly insulted me as well.
“I didn’t really ask to come down here—I
was brought down here.” I huffed, getting a little
irritated.
“Someone kidnapped you?” She seemed
shocked, yet intrigued.
“No, I was with—a guy. A guy I just met last
night…maybe it wasn’t the best decision.” I rambled
as I thought about how stupid I was being, “Either
way, I just want to get home.”
“You look a bit on edge, why don’t you come
inside and sit for a bit. I can do your hair for free,
press it out. You look like you need some hair
therapy.” The woman pointed to the sign behind her:
Medusa’s Mane-Hair and Nails.
“Are you Medusa?” I wondered if it was just
a cute name or her real name.
“You can call me Mama Medusa; it’s how
everybody else knows me.” She winked and gestured
for me to follow her into the salon.
51
“I guess I could sit for a minute. I need to

gather myself any way.” I followed her into the shop
and she led me past three women, all chatting away
as one got her hair done. She sat me in an empty seat
and draped a cape around my shoulders.
“So, tell me what happened.” Mama Medusa
grabbed a spray bottle and began spritzing my hair
with water to tame it.
“Long story short, I just moved here—like
last night moved here—and it has been eventful, to
say the least. I met a guy and somehow managed to
lose my phone while we were out. We met up today
so he could give it back to me, because he had found
it, and somehow I end up down here and—let’s just
say I didn’t expect what happened.” I sighed as she
picked up a blow-dryer and a round brush to blow
my hair out.
“Well, what happened? Don’t leave me
hanging.” Medusa belly laughed, turning the dryer
on low so she could still hear me.
“He took me to this shop called The Crescent
City Shaman. His brother or whatever—” I went to
tell the rest of the story when Medusa shut off the
dryer and cut me off.
“You were with Adam?” She locked eyes
with me in the mirror.
“Yeah—you know him?” I didn’t expect for
everyone to be so tight knit here in the states like we
were across the pond.
52
Issue #2
“Him and his cheating brother.” Medusa

pursed her lips.
“Well, Henri is the reason I look so freaked
out; I think he gave me laced candy or something.” I
could still detect a hint of guava on my tongue.
“Henri doesn’t mess with that sort of stuff—
strictly green—but his magick has been known to
freak out one or two people. What trick did he
perform for you?” Medusa went back to paddling my
hair straight.
“He handed me this glass ball called the
Destiny Diviner—or some such fuckery—and I had
just eaten this destressing candy when I took it from
him…I don’t know what the hell I saw.” I wasn’t
sure I wanted to give away too many details.
“Henri has a knack for tapping into things he
shouldn’t be tapping his ass into—did what you see
scare you?” Medusa had finally finished with the
dryer and was now taking a flat iron to my hair.
I hesitated for a moment, “Yes. Yes, it did. I
don’t know what game they are playing, but I don’t
want to be part of it.”
“Those boys used to get themselves into all
sorts of shit. Adam is the younger one and being the
only boy of his—kind—on this side…he got himself
into a lot of trouble.”
“You mean white?” I knew she was hinting
at the color of his skin. This area was predominantly
African American and Haitian—Adam was really
the only light skinned person I had seen.
53
“Yeah. The kids picked on him when he was

young for it—before they realized that he understood
part of the struggle. He’s a good guy; orchestrating
an art show through the community center for the
kids and trying to get the older ones off the street
through music, art, and sports. He still gets hell from
time to time, but don’t we all. No one seems to be
safe from hatred.” Medusa finished my last section
of hair and draped my smooth tresses over my
shoulders.
“I feel that.” I really meant what I said. I had
always been empathic since day one and more and
more that ability caused me pain.
“The problem is Henri. He gets himself into
all this trouble in the magickal community because
he plays with things: science and magick. There are
a lot of clergy that don’t like what he does.” Medusa
continued to babble as she shook the cape from my
shoulders.
“Well, I’d have to agree. I didn’t very much
care for it either.” I wasn’t lying. I believed in this
sort of stuff but had never admitted it to anybody.
The dreams I had been having, the things that I had
been seeing—something else was at work. I could
feel it.
Thunder clapped overhead and shook the
building. The lights flickered and the ladies on the
other side of the salon started to murmur to one
another.
54
Issue #2
“Stay away from them, ok?” Medusa seemed

to take the thunder as some sort of sign.
“Yeah. Ok.” I agreed as I heard someone
talking rather loudly outside of the shop.
I was now having second and third thoughts
about befriending Adam and Henri.
Then he appeared in the open doorway.
“Hey!” Adam called out. How in the hell had

he found me?
I ducked in my seat as Medusa placed her
thick frame between me and Adam’s line of sight.
“What do you want, Adam?” She crossed her
arms over her chest, prepared to kick him out if she
had to.
“Have you seen a red-head running around
out here? Green eyes, little freckles on her nose.” I
could see Adam’s elbow bobbing around Medusa’s
body.
“Nope, can’t say that I have.” Medusa’s
response was flawless; I would never have known
she was lying had the lie not been about me.
“Are you sure?” Adam’s voice had a tone to
it; a tone that said he didn’t believe a word Medusa
said.
“Yes, I’m sure. You don’t think I’d notice a
girl like that running around out here?” Medusa
swirled her finger in the air.
“I think you’re hiding her.” Adam sounded a
bit mischievous.
55
“Excuse me? Are you insinuating that I am a

liar? She ain’t here, Adam.” Medusa put her foot
down.
“Then move and let me see what it is that you
are hiding. I know you, Medusa; I can tell you’re
lying just by your stance.” I could tell that Adam had
come further into the salon.
“Stop right there, Adam Baudin! Get the hell
out of my shop with those accusations.” Medusa
backed up a bit closer to me.
“Come on, Medusa. We are practically
family: if you’re hiding her, I don’t know why. I just
want to talk to her and make sure that she is alright.”
Adam sounded like he might truly be concerned
about my well-being.
“Fuck off, Adam. I’m not going to tell you
again.” She spat, tapping her sandaled foot on the tile
floor.
But Adam didn’t listen. He just kept walking
closer and soon he would be right on us. With his
size, he could easily move past Medusa and find me
sitting there, huddled up in the salon chair like a
scared child. I needed to stop being such a weenie,
but I wasn’t ready for the confrontation.
Medusa tried to fight him, but Adam just
laughed as he brushed passed her to check the chair
that she had been trying to block.
All he would find was an empty seat, proving
that Medusa had been right all along.
56
Issue #2
Adam Baudin
“Anything?” Henri asked as I walked back

into the shop, my head held low.
“No. Gone.” I threw my hands up and came
to sit at the bar.
“Call her,” Henri suggested as he wiped
down his workstation.
“I don’t have her cell number, just her
roommate’s house line. I’m sure Violet will warn
them to screen her calls.” I was a bit bitter that I
hadn’t caught up to her.
57
“And no one saw that flaming red hair

fluttering up the street?” Henri was just as surprised
as I had been.
“Just Jackie,” I responded. I was sure that
Medusa had been hiding her, but there had been no
one there but patrons and another stylist.
“Jackie called me. Said something felt off to
him; like a big storm coming.” Henri informed me as
another huge clap of thunder shook everything up
and down the street.
“Yeah. It’s called thunder.” I laughed. Not
that I didn’t believe in their intuitive abilities, but I
was still somewhat of a skeptic.
“Seriously, Adam—when will you just let
yourself believe? With all that you have seen, you
are still so cynical.” Henri berated me.
I shrugged.
“Your hands for fuck’s sake!” Henri poked at
my gloves with a spoon.
Yeah, those. My lava hands. Good luck ever
getting a girl with these…unless they’re into that sort
of thing.
“Maybe I’m cursed.” I only half believed
that.
“I’m beginning to wonder…if it is some type
of curse or track that has been laid; it’s nothing like I
have ever seen before.” Henri went back to cleaning
up his counter.
“Well, if you figure it out, let me know. I am
going to go take a shower and maybe get a nap in
58
Issue #2
before work.” I stretched and hopped off my bar

stool.
“Where you spinning tonight?” Henri always
wanted to know where I was, like a good big brother.
“Some party this entrepreneur is throwing.
Nate got me the gig. It’s like a high-end rave or
something—think Coachella but with less art and
more strippers.” I rolled my eyes. It was good
money, just not my crowd.
“Have fun with that.” Henri waved me off as
I headed upstairs.
I had to take cold showers all the time now;

hot would surely kill me. I’m pretty sure the
bathroom filled up with more steam now than it
would have in a hot shower.
I watched as the ice cold water cascaded over
my hands, temporarily quenching the lava filled
veins that crept through them and past my wrists.
Henri was right; how could I not believe in
the supernatural? The Otherworldly? I was looking
right at it.
And Violet. What was it about her that
caused me to want to rescue her so badly? I had this
intense draw towards her and this compelling
59
sensation that forced me to make sure that she was

safe no matter what. I didn’t know where she was at
the moment, but I hoped wherever it was, she was
ok.
I got out of the shower and toweled myself
off as best I could without charring my white towels;
I should have bought black.
Shaking my hands dry was pretty much the
only thing I could do, but they never stayed wet for
long.
I hadn’t even had a chance to throw my
boxers on when my cell phone began ringing. Nate’s
number burned hot on the face of the phone and I
tapped the screen to answer.
“Yello?” I flounced back on the bed as I held
the phone with my shoulder.
“Adam, are you ready for tonight? There are
going to be so many fine ladies and free drinks. This
is the best gig ever.” Nate sounded overly excited.
“Well, I won’t be talking to any ladies seeing
that I will be behind a DJ booth all night.” My hands
were now dry enough to slip my gloves on.
“I’ll make sure to send plenty of strippers
your way with song requests for them to dance to.”
Nate clicked his tongue and laughed.
“Thanks for that. I’m going to get a nap in.
Will you call me in like two hours and wake me up?”
I patted my hair dry before finally slipping my
boxers on.
“Ooof course.” Nate sounded too chipper.
60
Issue #2
“Thanks, mom.” I joked as I lay back on the

bed.
“Anything for you, son.” Nate responded
with a sugary voice, “I’ll see you tonight. When I get
the address, I’ll text it to you.”
“They better send it to you in enough time so
we can get set up before the party starts.” I yawned.
Sleep had been eluding me lately.
“They will; trust me.” Nate tried to reassure
me
“Alright. Nap time. Talk to you in a bit.” I
hurried to get off the phone and Nate got the hint.
Tonight was going to be great, or so I kept
telling myself. A fat check, beautiful ladies, free
drinks, and good publicity.
Yet for some reason, I couldn’t stop thinking
about poor, scared Violet.
61
Violet Eve
“Vi, you’re home!” Missy stood to greet me

when I walked through the front door. Jeremy was
gone but had been replaced by half a dozen scantily
clad women.
“Yes.” Was all I could reply. I was still a bit
shaken after my escape from the salon and
desperately wanted to clear my head.
“So— we’re going to a big party tonight that
Jeremy is throwing for us!” Missy leapt up off the
sofa and came to jump in front of me.
“Great.” I feigned excitement, but I am sure
it fell flat.
“Wear something sexy.” Missy winked,
looking down at my tattered shorts and shirt.
“I don’t really have anything fancy, or sexy
for that matter,” I admitted. I had cut down over half
my wardrobe but had never been one to dress “sexy”
as Missy put it.
“Take my card, buy whatever you want.
Jeremy said that whatever you need, he’s got you.”
Missy fished around in her purse before handing me
a Centurion Black Card.
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Issue #2
“Oh, uh—I don’t even know where to go.” I

obviously didn’t know the area and didn’t want to go
out alone…not after what had just happened.
“I’ll call the car to take you a few places. Get
a dress, some shoes, accessories—whatever. Then
you can come back here and get your hair and
makeup done by Mika. She’s fantastic.” Missy
gestured to a very flaxen-haired woman that was
rolling a trolley of makeup into the living room.
“Let me go freshen up real quick.” I just
needed a moment before heading back out again.
“You do that and I will call the car around.”
Missy patted my backside as I headed to my
bedroom.
I was in there long enough to wash my face

and hands, pull my hair into a ponytail, and change
my shoes from combat boots to sneakers before
Missy was yelling at me about the car.
I trudged out of the room and waved goodbye
to her as I climbed into Jeremy’s chauffeured
Mercedes and sped off towards some expensive
shopping.
63
The first three shops were a bust. The

employees were rude and stuck up; not the sort of
place I wanted to purchase clothing from. Besides,
all of it was hideously gaudy with neon colors and
animal prints that made my stomach churn.
I made the car wait for me as I wandered up
and down the streets in the area, trying to find a store
that suited my sensibilities. The driver had told me
that I needed to be back at the car by four, but it was
already three; I needed to find something and quick.
A little shop with a hand painted sign caught
my attention. The scent of sandalwood and flute
music lingered in the air as I almost passed it by.
“The Rabbit Hole,” I spoke the name aloud
as I stepped over the threshold and into a haven for
weirdos like me. Everything was draped in lush
velvets and dragon tapestries with novelty knick-
knacks and racks of hand-sewn clothing.
“Hello, Alice. Is there something I can help

you find? The Queen of Hearts, perhaps? Or maybe
the White Rabbit?” A woman with a hot pink pixie
cut greeted me from behind the counter.
“Hi. I’m actually looking for a whole outfit
for some fancy party tonight; my friend and I are
going out for our birthday.” I stopped to check out a
rack of jewel toned corsets.
“Well, happy early birthday.” She smiled,
and stopped for a second to scan the outfit I wore, “I
take it you aren’t a silk and chiffon type of person.
64
Issue #2
No long fancy dresses, but nothing too short either.

Maybe in purple?” She came around the counter and
meandered through the racks that were all color
coded.
“I love purple.” I smiled as I followed her
through the shop.
“Let me see, let me see—I have just the dress
in mind.” The pink pixie sorted through the rack
before finally snagging a piece to hold out and show
me.
It was gorgeous.
The fabric was soft and flowy in a print that
looked very much like a swirling violet galaxy. The
hemline was high in the front as it cascaded longer
down the back. The sleeves were capped and the
back had sheer lace corseting.
“Oh…that is just perfect,” I exclaimed,
bringing my hand to my mouth.
“I figured you’d like it. Try it on.” She hung
the dress from my fingers, “You said you needed
shoes too? A necklace maybe?”
I followed her back to the heavily curtained
changing stalls, “All of the above. I was told to get
whatever I wanted.”
I thought about how fun it might actually be
to dress up for once.
“Oh, yes. Since it is your birthday and she
told you to get whatever you want, I am going to
create you an absolutely killer outfit. How old are
65
you going to be?” She brushed the curtain back for

me to step inside one of the changing rooms.
“Thirty.” I hated saying it out loud. Thirty. It
was all downhill from here—or at least it felt that
way.
“You’re older than me? No way.” She didn’t
believe me, “I just turned twenty-eight in April.”
“Yup. Thirty tomorrow.” I nodded, sliding
the curtain back.
Thirty. Tomorrow.
I didn’t look my age, but I was starting to feel
it. I was going to be thirty with nothing to show for it
but a few self-published books that made me a minor
amount of money and a stupid blog that no one
followed. I had not met my goal of becoming a
heavy hitting fiction writer like I had planned.
I slipped the dress on and checked myself out

in the mirror. It surprisingly lay well on my
shortened frame, but I would definitely need some
sort of heel to make my legs look longer; they were
so…stumpy.
“What’s your shoe size?” I heard Pink Pixie
ask through the curtain.
“Six?” I think that was the right conversion
for US sizes.
I heard her pad off and went back to admiring
myself in the mirror. I felt like maybe I needed a
new bra and a necklace or something to finish it all
66
Issue #2
off, but other than that—I actually liked the way I

looked for once.
My eyes fell on my slicked hair that now
hung over my shoulder. I wasn’t sure how I felt
about it straight; I kind of liked my unruly curls.
Maybe I’d have Mika curl my hair when I got back,
but even then it needed something to completely tie
it all together.
A crown—a headband of crystals in hues of
the night sky…
If I had had the time and prior notice, I could
have possibly found the stuff to make one, but now it
was too late. It’d be nice if The Rabbit Hole had
something like that.
Doubtful.
“Come out here and try these shoes on; I

think they will be perfect,” Pixie called out to me as
I slipped through the curtain. She handed me a pair
of calf high velvet boots with a rather large wedge
platform.
“Almost five inches.” Pixie pointed out the
height as I slipped my sneakers off and laced up the
boots.
“Wow. I’m impressed by myself.” I caught a
glimpse of my figure in a full-length mirror.
“It’s perfect on you. I thought this necklace
would go well with it.” Pixie handed me choker
made out of velvet ribbon with a singular silver
67
moon dangling in the middle. Now if she only had

that crystal crown I dreamed up.
“I’ll take all of it.” I tugged the boots off and
pulled the dress up over my head; I hadn’t even
bothered to take my clothes off before trying it on.
Pixie folded the dress and snagged the shoes
before carrying them back to the counter. I stuffed
my feet back in their sneakers and shouldered my
bag. I did want to see if she had any cute accessories
that I could wear in my hair; the shocking ginger
color left the whole ensemble too open for me.
“I want to wear something in my hair as a
sort of finishing touch; do you happen to have any
crowns or cute headbands?” I placed my hands on
the counter as Pixie started to ring the dress up.
“Oh!” A lightbulb went off in her head and
she ducked under the counter before she slid back
the door on the glass case. “This. This would be
perfect.”
Pixie stood up holding a wire wrapped
headband in silver, studded with purple and black
crystal points.
“Rainbow and lavender aura quartz with
onyx?” I breathed in question; the crown looked just
like the one I had put together in my head; I had a
fondness for crystals.
“I don’t remember stocking that, but we get
artists who sell their work in here all the time.
Maybe someone else set it up for display.” Pixie
68
Issue #2
shrugged and went to ring up my shoes as I gazed at

the crown in awe.
“I don’t care how much it costs; I’ll take it.” I
set the band back on the counter.
Pixie finished ringing everything up and
slipped it into a black bag before giving me my total.
“$354.78.” She sucked air in through her teeth at the
steep total. I was also shocked; I never spent over
£50 on anything.
I took the Black Card out of my wallet and
handed it over to Pixie.
“A Black Card? What does your friend do for
a living?” Pixie eyed me suspiciously for a second.
“It’s her boyfriend’s card.” Maybe that was
too much information. Did I look dodgy?
“I’ll have to call and verify with him.” Pixie
picked up the phone and dialed a number that was on
the back of the card. After chatting with the person
on the other end of the line for a few minutes, they
must have put her through to Jeremy.
“Yes, Hi. My name’s Angelica and I work at
the White Rabbit here in New Orleans. There is a—”
Angelica paused and mouthed for my name so I told
her, “Violet Quirke that is using your Black Card to
make a purchase for—oh, you don’t care the cost.
Alright. You’re most welcome. Buh-bye.” Angelica
hung up the phone.
“Am I in the clear?” I had been nervous there
for a second; I didn’t want to make Jeremy mad at
me.
69
“He said to give you whatever you wanted.”

Angelica winked and reached up to grab a crescent
moon shaped bag off the wall. She rang that up too
before scanning the card.
She stuffed the receipt in the bag but paused
before she handed it and the card to me.
“I’m Pixie, by the way.” She smiled, the
studs in her cheeks spreading wide.
“I thought it was Angelica,” I smirked.
Obviously, Pixie was a nickname and, oddly enough,
the one I had given her.
“That too. And you’re Violet—come back
and see us soon, ok? Bye, Alice.” She winked at me
and passed my bag off.
I grinned shyly before exiting the store and
made my way down to the car that was thankfully
still waiting for me.
My new home was a total mad house when I

got back. Missy was running around with a cocktail
in her hand, directing some girls to Mika and others
to the kitchen for drinks. There was loud talking,
even louder music, and a haze of smoke hovered in
the air.
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Issue #2
Missy stumbled over to me drunkenly and

handed me a cocktail of my own before shooing me
to the bedroom to bathe and get myself dressed; she
wanted me to get my hair done soon.
I had no idea what to do with my makeup, so

I left myself blank and donned my new dress and
boots before stuffing what little things I needed into
my new moon shaped bag.
When I came out of the room, two girls were
standing on the bar in the kitchen, hollering at the
top of their lungs as a song blared on the Bluetooth
speaker in the living room.
Missy was sitting in front of Mika as she
curled her bleach blond hair with a barrel iron. Her
makeup and nails were already done; she didn’t look
like the Missy I knew, but people did change. This
new Missy, however, was very different from the
one I grew up with.
“Viiiiiolet. Get over here and get your hair
done. Oh, my God…” Missy jerked in her seat and
Mika had to follow the movement so she didn’t burn
any hair, “Your outfit. Where did you get that?” Was
she impressed with my ensemble?
“The Rabbit Hole? I didn’t like any of the
other places.” I scrunched up my nose.
“This is definitely you. And those shoes
make your legs look so long.” Missy let Mika finish
the last curl and spray her down with hair spray
before she got up from her seat and patted it for me.
71
“Can you just make it less flat?” I asked the

hairdresser as Missy flopped over the couch,
drinking a martini.
“Did someone just straighten your hair?”
Mika asked me and I murmured with a yes.
“Besides shopping, where did you go today?”
She was suddenly interested in what I had been
doing since I got here last night.
“Off with the man that found my phone; it’s
complicated.” I closed my eyes, hoping that Missy
wouldn’t be asking me any more questions.
“You haven’t even been here twenty-four
hours and you are already getting into trouble.” She
clucked at me.
“No trouble. Just—New Orleans is a weird
city.” I replied. That was the best I could do without
word vomiting about all the other crap that was
going on.
“You should invite him to the party.” Missy
winked at me; she didn’t care about my personal
drama.
“I don’t have his phone number, besides— I
don’t think it would work out.” I was still very
shaken from earlier.
“Either way; you’re the last one to get ready.
Let Mika do your makeup real quick and then meet
us out front. Jeremy got us a stretch Hummer!”
Missy clapped her hands and leapt up off the sofa.
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Issue #2
She gathered up all the other women and

started steering them to the front door while Mika
got to work on my makeup.
Why did I have the sinking feeling that
something was wrong tonight? Maybe the moon was
full—or maybe it was just this city.
I just hoped that this birthday celebration
didn’t end in chaos.
73
Adam Baudin
“This is quite possibly the craziest party I

have ever done music at,” I spoke to Nate as he
helped me finish getting my equipment set up.
People were lining up outside the gates, waiting to
get inside.
“I know, right? A fucking cemetery! I heard
the place isn’t even on the map and you saw what the
drive was like out here. Seriously crazy.” Nate
hooked up my final speaker as I connected
everything with the lighting rig that had been
provided for me.
“And what is this party for, exactly?” I didn’t
even know what I was doing music for exactly.
“This dude owns like twenty ‘gentlemen’s’
clubs in the Southeast area. It’s his girlfriend’s
birthday or something.” Nate waved his hand in the
air.
“Today?” I wondered. Mine was tomorrow,
th
the 6 .
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Issue #2
“I don’t know. I think he mentioned

something about a special thing he wants to do at
midnight for her 30th.” Nate looked like he wanted to
get over to the bar that stood near a huge
mausoleum.
“Same as me.” I muttered. What were the
odds?
“Oh, yeah. Your birthday is the sixth.” Nate
had forgotten, as usual. “Gotta get to the bar; they’re
going to let the ghouls in!” Nate wiggled his fingers
in the air as he backed over to his station.
Whoever was controlling the lighting at this
party flipped a switch and little pricks of shimmering
light started flitting about like tiny ghostly spectres.
Small fires erupted in urns lining the trails and lit the
dirt pathway with an orange glow. The gates opened
and I could hear people filing into the cemetery as I
started my first track.
Most of the woman I saw pass by my booth
were in shiny vinyl dresses with hair twice as big as
their heads.
Strippers. They were all strippers.
Not to say that they weren’t attractive, but the
strippers down here had a reputation for getting
themselves into drug troubles and drama. Regardless
of the company, the check was too good to pass up.
Woman after woman stopped by my booth
and danced for a minute, drink in hand, before
winking at me and wandering off to be with friends.
A couple girls even slinked by in furry boots and
75
fuzzy eared hats with glow sticks around their necks

and wrists.
Stripper rave…that sounds like there won’t
be any trouble at all.
Then the men started coming in: a lot of
college guys and quite a few business types. This
made the atmosphere change. Groups of women
started flocking to one or two men, usually the ones
that I pegged as being wealthy, while a few of the
more innocent looking girls walked around arm and
arm with the college guys.
It went on this way for some time.
Eventually, a crowd had formed in front of
my booth as I laid track after track of popular
remixed songs and a few of my own.
Nate came over about an hour in and brought
me a drink. I told him that I was going to need more
than that; I felt anxious for some reason and knew
the alcohol would soothe the worry.
I was starting to heat up. That wasn’t helping
the anxiety either. My hands felt hotter than usual
and I worried that I might melt through the flame
proof gloves and destroy my expensive sound
equipment.
I beckoned for Nate to get me two more shots
of vodka and a glass of ice. Make that three glasses
of ice. No— a whole pitcher.
Nate wasn’t aware of my condition, so I
played it off with a lie about the combination of the
Southern heat and the lights I was standing under.
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Issue #2
He was pretty much drunk already; the lie worked

better than I had expected.
I started a new track, one that I knew didn’t
have to be messed with for a while, and took the
pitcher out of sight. I tore my gloves off and plunged
one scalding hand after the other into the ice.
The movement was so quick, yet when I
pulled my hands from the pitcher, they were
steaming from the cold; the ice now nothing but
water.
That quelled the heat a little, but the fire still
crept through the rest of my body.
I pulled my jacket off and tossed it over the
chair next to me. I had a few layers on so I could
afford to lose one or two. My hair had been down
with my hood up, but now that there was no jacket
and I physically felt like I had been dropped in a
volcano, I pulled it back from my face and tied it all
off with a bandana. Naked would have been the best
option at this point, but highly inappropriate given
the company.
I was just going back to mix my track when a
hand fell upon my shoulder. My first reaction was to
swing, but the voice that accompanied it made me
rethink my actions.
“I’m very disappointed in you.”

“Henri—what the hell are you doing here?” I
let the track play as is and turned to my very
disgruntled brother.
77
“I tracked you down. Called the bar and they

told me that Nate was out with you at a cemetery
party. This is sacred ground, Adam, and you are
participating in its desecration.” Henri’s eyes shone
red amidst the dancing lights.
“I’m just working a job, Henri. Nothing is
being destroyed. This cemetery hasn’t even been
kept up in years.” I pointed out the crumbling tombs
and mausoleums that were scattered about. It hadn’t
been vandalized or anything, but it was ancient.
“That doesn’t matter! You all are just adding
insult to injury. You were raised better than this,
Adam.” Henri’s nose was scrunched up in
frustration.
I did know better. The dead were sacred. I
was taught our ancestors were something that we
revered; we respected them. They came before us
and paved our way. They were part of our ancestry,
of our blood…
But I hadn’t known it was going to be at a
cemetery; they didn’t tell us till we had already
driven to the first stop point to get the address to
here.
“I didn’t know we were going to a party at a
cemetery. It was one of those invitation-only,
scavenger hunt sort of deals. Exclusive isolated
location full of debauchery and drunkenness.” I tried
to defend myself.
“But you’re still here, Adam. You could have
declined when you found out. These people have no
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Issue #2
respect for the dead! Look at them: half naked,

having sex on the crypts and leaving their empty
cups and used condoms littered about. This is just
bad energy for all of us.” Henri was a lot angrier
than I thought.
I had really fucked up.
“What do you want me to do? I can’t just
leave right now; it would be unprofessional and I
won’t get paid.” I was being selfish, but I didn’t
want to live in Henri’s upstairs apartment for the rest
of my life.
“Then this is on you. You deal with the
consequences. I’m not going to stick around here for
the aftermath.” Henri was really, really disappointed
in me, but what did he think was going to happen?
“What’s going on, Henri?” I had completely
forgotten about my set and just let it loop to the next
song on the playlist.
“Something isn’t right. The whole day has
been off; wild energy all about. Jackie told you he
felt it, I feel it—do you not?” Henri wasn’t sure why
I wasn’t picking up on the weird vibes that had been
floating around all day. It’s not like we had the same
DNA; I didn’t have the gifts that he did. Though I
did feel weird—physically. I was sweltering now,
sweat dripping down my face. I had to have a fever
or at least I was getting close to it. These hands
weren’t normal either—but that had been going on
for weeks now.
79
“I do feel it. You think this has anything to

do with it?” I held my gloved hands up for him to
see that they were practically steaming.
“I don’t know. I thought it was a curse, but
after today—after what happened with your friend
Violet—I did some divination. I pulled the Devil
card, Adam.” Henri came closer to me to speak. I
glanced out at the crowd in the cemetery; it was
much bigger than before. At least people looked like
they were plenty satisfied with the music I had
picked.
“Go on.” I urged him. I knew a little about
tarot, but nothing that pertained to what he was
divining for.
“Some negative outside influence is bearing
down on us; it’s been a long time coming. I didn’t
want to get you involved, but others have felt it too:
seen it in the bones, read it in the cards, divined it in
the stars. And it’s been stronger today than any other
day; we’ve seen the signs. Something bad is going to
happen—and tonight.” Henri looked almost scared
and he was never that.
“It’ll be fine, Henri. If anything is going to
happen it won’t be right now. The sky is clear, the
weather is nice; nothing bad out here tonight.” I
assured him, turning back to my computer.
That’s when I saw her.
Amidst the gyrating strippers and flashing
rainbow lights, she was standing still next to a
disintegrating statue.
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Issue #2
She stood out from the crowd, dressed

completely different from all the other women. Henri
may have been feeling the negative energy, but the
mere presence of this girl struck a positive chord
deep within me.
I turned back to see if Henri was still waiting
around for me to change my mind, but he was gone.
And when I looked back into the dancing crowd, the
woman that had captured my attention was gone too.
Violet Eve
It was dark by the time we left and Missy still

hadn’t told me where we were going; she kept saying
that it was Jeremy’s surprise.
The other girls in the limo were beyond
rowdy the whole ride to wherever the hell we were
going. A winding road led us just out of the city and
into the countryside where it twisted around through
81
cypress trees dripping with Spanish moss and

culminated in old wrought iron gates.
A cemetery.
Happy birthday to me!
Despite the events of the day, this was a

pleasant surprise. Maybe not for your average
normal human being, but there was something so
peaceful and yet exciting about being amidst the
dead. I had visited many a historic and ancient
cemetery in Ireland and the surrounding area, but I
had never seen a cemetery like this. All of the graves
were in above ground mausoleums and crypts
because of the flooding in the area and the swampy
marshlands; no one was buried underground here.
“A cemetery?” I breathed as the limo pulled

up to the gates and I tried to desperately peer out the
windows to see where we were.
Missy noticed my interest among the girls
chattering and passing around glasses of champagne.
She hit the button for the sunroof and I was able to
straddle the seat and poke my head through.
I could hear music and see lights waving in
the air as they illuminated the darkened night around
the gates.
We were “fashionably late” as Missy called it
and everyone else seemed like they were already
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Issue #2
within the cemetery, partying like it would be their

last night on Earth.
“Surprised?” Missy tugged at my dress and
pulled me back down into the limo.
“You knew?” She had apparently known all
along; she wanted me to be surprised.
“Of course I knew; it was my idea. Jeremy
just organized it all. I remembered how much you
used to love trekking out to the family plots to do
gravestone rubbings and have picnics. I knew you’d
love it.” Missy smiled at me. There she was; my old
Missy. The best friend that I spent my childhood and
beyond with.
“Thanks, Miss.” I tried not to tear up. As
hard as things had been, she always knew how to
make them just a little bit better.
“Enough chit chat, we have a birthday to
celebrate!” Missy held her glass in the air and
everyone clanged their own against hers.
Doors started to open and we all filed out to
the gates. A bouncer, the one from the Cat’s Meow,
greeted us at the front and gladly let us inside.
I had never seen so many scantily clad
women in my life. There were at least three to a man,
all past the point of inebriation as they screamed in
excitement when they saw Missy. She was quite
popular, it seemed.
All of her other friends flocked to her side
and began talking at once about the party, their
outfits, the drinks…I lost interest.
83
That little glimpse of the old Missy was gone.

Maybe I needed a drink. I still wasn’t feeling
like myself, even if I looked good or not. I spotted a
bar that had been set up over near a crypt with the
name “Willis” chiseled into the top and bumped my
way through the crowd that was dancing in front of
the DJ booth. I thought the music was quite good
despite my anxiety over the night.
“Double shot of Jameson, please.” I laid my

hand out on the top of the glittering bar and waited
for the bartender to turn around. He was bobbing his
head, engrossed in the music, when he turned to face
me.
“Violet?” He exclaimed as he turned around
with two shot glasses of whiskey.
It was Nate.
“Nate?” I was just as surprised to see him
here myself.
“Look at you; haven’t even been in the city
twenty-four hours and you’re already attending
exclusive secret parties.” Nate set my shot glasses
down and I took one right after the other.
“Yeah.” I breathed, holding up two fingers
for another set.
“How did you manage that one?” Nate
poured two more and passed them to me.
“It’s—its’ my birthday party…sort of.” I
went to take the shot when Nate stopped me and
filled the two glasses all the way to the rim.
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Issue #2
“This is your party? You—you aren’t Mr.

Beaumont’s girlfriend are you?” Nate posted up on
the bar, prepared to grill me for information.
“No. My best friend is; we just have the same
birthdays.” A downed my other two shots.
“So, is your birthday today?” Nate glanced
over at the DJ booth and back to me.
“Tomorrow. All of this was a surprise to
me.” A slid the empty glasses back over to him.
Before he could say anything else, an older
man sidled up next to me and ordered a gin on the
rocks.
“Ah, Violet.”
It was Jeremy. I knew he’d be here, but I had
hoped that I could avoid him. There was just
something about him that was unsettling to me.
While I appreciated the party, I didn’t really want to
sit and chat.
“Hello, Jeremy.” I forced a smile and tapped
on the bar for another shot.
Nate brought it to me, but before I could take
it, Jeremy had his own drink and started to lead me
away from the bar.
“What do you think of the party? Missy
mentioned that you were fond of cemeteries.”
Jeremy led me over to a quiet spot near a plot
flanked by two angels…if you could call anything
quiet around here.
“I am; there are a lot of beautifully haunting
ones back home. This one is—incredible, though.
85
I’ve never seen a cemetery in Ireland with plots like

these.” I was actually carrying on a conversation
with him unintentionally, but I liked to talk about
weird things with just about anyone.
“This is Beaumont cemetery sitting on what
used to be the Beaumont Plantation; my families
original home here in Louisiana,” Jeremy smirked at
me. I could see why Missy was attracted to him. The
accent was just a bonus.
“Well, it’s beautiful. I’ve always been
interested in the past: who we were, how we
advanced, what brought us to where we are today.
It’s part of why I’m a writer.” I was talking about
myself. This felt weird.
“Missy mentioned that you were an author
with a few books published already. Do you do
well?” Jeremy was talking business with me like I
was someone important.
“Oh, I’m hardly an author. I have a few
books in my Ghost Prophecy series self-published
online. I make mediocre money at best; I’m hoping
I’ll find better work around here.” I nodded, wishing
I had another drink in my hand.
A woman passed by me with a tray of
mimosas; I snatched one up and began sipping.
“Well, you could always work for me. Missy
makes plenty of money to live comfortably and then
some.” Jeremy leaned into me as he finished his gin.
“You know, I have no idea what it is that you
do…Missy never told me.” She hadn’t.
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Issue #2
Ever.
Why was that just now striking me as odd?
“An entrepreneur, an investor, a manager—
amongst other things. I own and operate over twenty
gentlemen’s clubs in the Southeast area. We also run
a few burlesque shows and several nightclubs.” He
entailed to me what he did for a living.
Missy told me she had been dancing. She had
come over here to the states on a scholarship for
dance, but school hadn’t worked out. She told me
she was employed with a company and was making
tons of money…
As a stripper.
This wasn’t Missy. Missy had never been one
to use her body to get what she wanted, but she
didn’t seem like the girl I had known for all those
years in Belfast. Exotic dancing was a lucrative
profession, but not one for her. What had happened
to Missy over here?
“You want me to work for you—doing

what?” If he said stripping, I was going to bash him
over the head with the plastic cocktail glass in my
hand.
“Well, you have something I haven’t seen in
my girls—natural hair, natural body, innocent face…
you’d make a killing. And your style is so unique—I
think you could draw all new clientele.” Jeremy’s
smile widened as he sized me up in the strobe light.
What the fuck?
87
Stripping wasn’t my cup of tea… getting

naked around anyone wasn’t either.
Who the hell did he think he was, asking me
to become one of his dancers when he hardly knew
me? I told him I was a writer…a very introverted,
awkward as fuck, writer.
“I’m good.” I wanted to tear him a new
arsehole, but I couldn’t find the words.
This was not what I had expected, nor
planned. I came here to start a new life, not become a
stripper and get wrapped up in whatever mess Missy
was in. I realized in the limo ride over that she had
become quite a fan of a drug that had the same name
as a certain carbonated beverage.
“Think about it, won’t you? I’m sure it isn’t

what you want to be doing right now, but you could
take all that money you make and invest it in your
books.” Jeremy chewed on a partially melted ice
cube.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be interested, but
thank you for the offer.” I was polite but hoped that I
had made myself clear.
“Too bad. Enjoy yourself, but be back here at
midnight; I have something planned for the birthday
hour.” Jeremy winked and bowed out of our
conversation.
I breathed a shaky sigh of relief as he left me
alone with the rest of the party goers.
What just happened?
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Issue #2
Here I am, wandering around this new city

with some naïve expectations as to what my new life
was going to be like.
Instead, things were vastly different.
I strolled over to a crumbling statue, weather

worn and lichen covered, and paused as I continued
to think about everything.
On my first night here, I had almost been—
sexually assaulted and possibly killed, Missy had
been all flippant and nonplussed by the goings on
around her, that orb had shown me some terrifying
things, Jeremy propositioned me to dance naked for
his company, and then there was Adam…
There was already enough on my plate and I
didn’t need this.
I hadn’t realized that I had been staring into
the blinding lights of the DJ booth, the music
reverberating around me as people seemed to dance
in slow motion. My chest felt tight and my arm
started to tingle as I took in heavy breaths, but never
felt like I was getting enough oxygen.
I was starting to have a panic attack.
There was no way I could calm down here
amidst the chaos, so I decided a late night cemetery
stroll would do me good.
I didn’t even know what time it was, but I
didn’t care; I needed to get the hell away from all the
crap that had just surfaced.
89
The path I was on led around the back of the

cemetery. Since the festivities seemed to be centered
at the front of the graveyard, this direction would
have fewer people to make me panic more or get in
my way.
I clutched at my chest as I hobbled down the
dirt path in a direction unknown.
I found myself in the far back of the

cemetery. The music was but an echo back here and
the lack of artificial lighting made it possible to view
a heaven smattered with a trillion stars.
This is what I did when I was upset or
anxiety reared its ugly head: I’d take to nature to
heal me, to calm me down.
Mum had always been a very spiritual person
who was connected with the Earth, and she had
passed that trait on to me. Nature and times before
our own featured heavily in my writing, but none of
the content that was published. I wrote paranormal
romances and historical fiction with a paranormal
twist—but I wanted to branch out. New Orleans was
supposed to help me finish up Ghost Prophecies,
which was New Adult fiction, and then finally
branch out to Adult Urban Fantasy and Adult
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Issue #2
Romance—just Fiction for adults. I was going to be

thirty after all.
“What the fuck am I doing with my life?” I

scolded myself aloud as I sat down on a rough stone
bench, my hand still over my heart.
This wasn’t what I had in mind for my
birthday, either. I loved the atmosphere of being
surrounded by those that had lived before me, but I
wasn’t a live people person. To say that I was shy or
quiet was an understatement—I was a full-blown
introvert. Life just worked better for me that way.
I wanted to be home—real home—with a hot
cuppa and a good book, playing the classics on the
radio as I silently rang in my thirties. Just another
night alone.
But here I sat, dressed up far nicer than I had
ever been in my life, alone on my soon-to-be
thirtieth birthday.
I got the alone part right at least.
I was a sad creature; I could feel it deep
inside me. I had done nothing with my life; nothing
to show for the good woman my mother tried to raise
me to be. All by herself, I might add.
I had dropped out of school, decided that I
wanted to be a writer and spent the better part of my
later twenties working menial jobs with no benefits
while I struggled to be the author that I so
desperately wanted to become.
91
I not only wasted good years of my own life,

but my mother’s too. I tried to take care of her, tried
to keep her from them. I had thought she was
paranoid at first, but some things just didn’t make
sense.
My time was so preoccupied with a fantasy
world that I forgot about reality and let my own
mother die because of my carelessness.
I deserved to be alone on this milestone; it
was my punishment for the poor decisions that I had
made.
When the clock chimed midnight, I wouldn’t
be any different than I was at this moment…
Still a fucking loser doing nothing with my
life.
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Issue #2
Adam Baudin
“Did you see her?” Nate ran over to my

booth and tapped on the table.
“See who?” I had just put my headphones on
after Henri had made his abrupt exit and was trying
to get back to my set.
“Violet. She’s here.” Nate looked excited.
“Violet is at this party?” From what I knew
of her, that seemed highly unlikely.
“Her best friend is the birthday girl. Well,
they both are.” Nate relayed to me what he knew.
93
“Her birthday is today?” I was a bit baffled

by what Nate was saying to me.
“No, tomorrow. The same day as yours.”
Nate shook his head.
She had a June 6th birthday too? What were
the odds…
“Where did she go?” I asked. I needed to talk
to her; I had never been able to find her earlier today
and I needed to apologize.
“Mr. Beaumont took her off to talk, but I
didn’t see where to. She had this purple, starry print
dress on and big platform boots; you can’t miss her.”
Nate described what Violet was wearing.
I hadn’t missed her; I had just seen her
standing by the statue.
“I was going to say something earlier, but it
looked like you were talking to Henri?” Now it was
Nate’s turn to seem confused.
“Yeah, he was chastising me for desecrating
sacred ground.” I set up a new playlist to loop and
took off my headphones.
“It’s a cemetery.” Nate didn’t understand
Henri when it came to that side of things.
“But he’s right. If it wasn’t for the money, I
would have left.” I came around the side of the table
and scanned the area for any sign of Violet, but all I
saw was a boat load of strippers and men who were
enjoying their company.
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Issue #2
“She was over in that area.” Nate pointed to a

specific crypt. Downwind of that was the statue—
maybe she had gone down that row of tombs.
“Keep an eye on my booth; I need to go find
her.” I instructed Nate. He knew a little bit about
what had happened this morning, so he knew how
important it was for me to talk to her.
“Do what you have to; I’ll cover the music.”
Nate nodded as I ran off in the direction I figured
Violet had gone.
I found her all the way in the back of the

cemetery, alone, sitting on a memorial bench.
Violet’s head was hung low, her hair shrouding her
face. From the looks of her defeated posture and
shaking shoulders, she was crying.
“Violet?” I didn’t want to scare her, but even

for my size, I was known for being stealthy.
Her head shot up and she wiped away the
makeup that was running down her cheeks.
“Adam?” She wasn’t expecting to see me
either.
“Are you ok?” I was cautious with her.
Didn’t want her running away like a frightened
animal again.
95
“I’m fine. Peachy. Fucking fantastic.” Her

words were slurred slightly; she had been drinking.
“The birthday girl shouldn’t be this sad on
her special day.” I tried to make light of the situation
as I sat down beside her.
“Thirty. I’m going to be thirty and I haven’t
done a goddamn thing with my life.” She was drunk,
but her thoughts were still clear.
“What do you mean? You’re here in New
Orleans, living your life; trying to move on from
things you’d rather leave behind. You’re doing
pretty well.” I assured her.
She just looked at me like I was crazy.
Apparently, she didn’t believe a word I said.
“You said you were going to be thirty?” I
steered the conversation somewhere else.
“Yeah, tomorrow.” Violet bit her lower lip,
looking like she was trying her hardest to fight back
tears in her drunken state.
“Me too.” What were the odds that she and I
had the same birthday and were turning the same
age? Maybe that’s why I was drawn to her. Henri
was better with all that astrological stuff, but I knew
a little.
“Really?” Violet tried to sober herself up as
she shakily withdrew a cigarette from her moon-
shaped purse. She offered me one and I accepted.
“Yup. Thirty at midnight or something like
that. I’m not even sure the exact time.” I shrugged,
lighting my own cigarette.
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Issue #2
“What are the odds?” Violet leaned back on

the bench and stared up at the sky.
“Slim to none,” I replied and looked up to
stargaze with her.
“Do you believe in God, Adam?” Violet
uttered out of nowhere.
“Not Biblically per se, but I do believe there
is some form of higher power, whatever it is,” I
responded, scooting closer to her when I noticed her
shivering. It wasn’t cold by any stretch of the
imagination, but I was just the man to warm up
anyone who was a bit chilly.
“That’s how I feel. Like, this God that they
all talk about—if all of that is real—seems kind of
cruel to me to doom the creatures that it so lovingly
and painstakingly created to hellfire, all because they
don’t follow its rules. Humans are too complex to
just take orders and follow blindly, yet we do. And
to what end? Your government is rife with so-called
Believers that are ready to condemn anything that
their God tells them is bad based on a book that may
or may not have been written by their higher power.”
Violet just word vomited; this milestone really had
her mind going.
“Gay marriage is legal now.” Score one for
the United States…
“I think I am having a mid-life crisis.” Violet
slapped her hand to her forehead, causing the crystal
crown on her head to slump forward.
97
“You’re not even thirty yet—slow down; you

have plenty of time,” I assured her, but she wasn’t so
sure herself.
“I was supposed to be a best-selling author
by now and instead I am getting propositioned by my
best friend’s boyfriend to be a stripper for his—
company.” Violet scrunched up her nose and took a
long drag.
“Seriously? What did you say?” I asked
uriously. That was forward of a man she barely
knew.
“No. Fuck no—but nicer. Missy ran off when
we first got here and I figured I would just spend the
rest of the evening alone and wait out the big 3-0 all
by myself.” Violet turned herself away from me
slightly—that may have been my hint to go.
I noticed a morning glory flower creeping up
the side of the bench and picked it from its vine
before leaving her to herself.
“Happy birthday, Violet. If you decide that
you don’t want to be alone for the whole night, come
find me.” I went to hand her the flower when she
looked up from her lap.
“I don’t need you to keep running after me,
Adam. I don’t need saving.” She didn’t even budge
to take the flower from me.
Something in me snapped and I flung the
flower down on the bench and stormed off back to
the party.
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Issue #2
I didn’t need to be so concerned with a

stranger anyway, especially not now. The heat from
my hands was creeping up my arms and I noticed
that the charred parts of my flesh had now begun to
peek out from the cuff of my gloves.
My not catching fire was more important
than trying to save someone that didn’t need a
Knight in Shining Armor anymore.
99
Violet Eve
I hadn’t meant to be so mean to him, but I

didn’t need anyone taking care of me, or even trying
to.
As positive as I tried to be, I was pessimistic
about tonight and this whole birthday thing. I wanted
to get the fuck out of here, but I had to wait because
the limo driver was the only one that could get me
home.
I got up from the bench and picked up the
Morning Glory. Such a beautiful flower with a color
that matched my name. I loved flowers; mum had
too. We had a garden for a while where we grew all
sorts of things. All of that died when she did.
I hadn’t even bothered to check the time; I
knew Jeremy had said Midnight, but I didn’t really
care. Missy wouldn’t miss me then if she wasn’t
already.
I started running one hand down the crypts
while I twirled the flower between the fingers of the
other.
Calm and quiet. That’s what I wanted and
that’s what I was getting right now.
I stopped at a particularly grand mausoleum
to see the name Beaumont carved out in large stone
letters.
100
Issue #2
“Maybe I should pay my respects.” I looked

down at the flower between my fingers and bent
down to place it in front of the grave with other long
withered bouquets and candle wax.
I didn’t notice the music anymore, or even
the lights flashing on the opposite end of the
cemetery—I also didn’t notice the fog that had rolled
in.
It was light at first, a fine mist that laid low to
the ground.
Slowly it crept in thicker and started to
envelop everything. I couldn’t even see my own
hand in front of my face as it slithered through me.
“What the hell?” I spun in a circle, trying to
figure out which way I had been originally standing.
The fog cleared almost as quickly as it had
begun. I spun back around to face the crypt when
everything inside me just seized up.
Every joint in my body was locked in place,
every muscle rigid. I felt as if the sinew would snap
any moment if I went to move.
Was this another panic attack? Had the fog
somehow brought one on for no reason?
Then I felt it. Like a tiny atom bomb went off
in my gut. It felt like someone had shot me, but then
the pain multiplied as millions of other explosions
went off in my body.
It felt like my cells were ripping themselves
apart one by one as the tension in my muscles
101
released and my joints allowed me to fall over on my

face.
Then the screaming started.
I could feel something visceral tearing
through my DNA, multiplying at such a rapid rate
that I thought I would explode.
I recognized this feeling, this agonizing
rearrangement of my cells at a molecular level. I had
seen this all before—when Henri had handed me the
Diviner.
Was I dying? If I was—why?
I just kept screaming, clawing at my face and
body as I felt it morph underneath my touch.
“UUuuuauaaaaagh!” A primal roar escaped
my lips as it felt like every bone in my body
shattered into a million pieces, my nerves on fire
from the excruciating pain that was pressing against
my person.
Death had to be the only option in this.
My skin began to crawl and I felt like my
eyeballs were melting in their sockets.
I was now hyperventilating as I struggled to
not lose consciousness. The searing sensation in my
eye sockets had subsided, but I was now blind.
Everything around me was dark and all I could hear
was the distant screams where the party had just
been going full force.
“Help me…please,” I called out to no one as
I felt one last agonizing pop within my body before I
passed out from the pain.
102
Issue #2
Adam Baudin
I went back to spinning my set, but not

before someone handed a microphone to the man
who organized the party.
103
“Excuse me; can I get everyone’s attention?”

He cleared his throat and the crowd ceased their
noise as I paused my music.
“My name is Jeremy Beaumont and I just
wanted to thank everyone for coming out to Missy
and Violet’s Thirtieth Birthday bash.” The crowd
erupted in hoots and hollers, accompanied by
applause.
“It’s almost midnight, and when the clock
strikes twelve these two beautiful ladies will enter a
new decade of their lives and I want to ring it in with
a big surprise!” The crowd got excited all over again.
I hadn’t seen Violet; she never came back.
Her party was just going to go on without her.
A woman, who I could only assume was
Missy, strode up and wrapped her long, tan arms
around Mr. Beaumont’s waist. He smiled down at
her, still holding the mic in the other hand.
I watched him signal to someone I couldn’t
see as he pressed the microphone back to his lips.
“10…9…8…” He started to countdown. I
checked my watch and it was indeed almost
midnight.
“7…6…5…” The crowd had joined in with
him and Missy was jumping up and down with
excitement.
“4…3…2…” It was almost midnight. What
sort of surprise did he have planned for the girls?
“One.” The number echoed in my head.
Everything seemed to pause around me as a lazy fog
104
Issue #2
crept into the cemetery from the gates. It was low at

first, but as it billowed in, it began to thicken.
People were murmuring as they watched the
mist roll by, but Mr. Beaumont just stood there
silently, his arm wrapped around Missy’s waist. Her
eyes were lit up with anticipation as the fog trailed
over the party goers. It made its way to her and
began winding around her body like some ethereal
shroud.
“We need to go, Adam.” Henri snatched me

by the arm and pulled me back from the booth.
“What the hell, dude?” I snapped out of
surprise.
“I already have Nate in the car. This fog; the
Shamans have seen it in their visions. It’s starting.”
Henri pulled me further back. I watched as the mist
had woven itself fully around Missy and was now
settling from her body.
Her smile quickly faded and she started to
gag, choking on nothing but the air around her.
“Now, Adam! We have to go now!” Henri
urged me. I watched the fog slither its way down the
path; it was as if it had a mind of its own.
“Violet’s here. I have to go find her.”
Suddenly I wanted to save her again. That anger I
had harbored didn’t last long.
“Where is she?” Henri’s eyes were wide as
he stared over my shoulder.
105
“In the back of the cemetery.” I handed him

my laptop; I needed that at least if I had to leave
everything else behind. I knew better than to
question Henri’s foresight.
“Go round the other side and steer clear of
that fog; it brings something terrible with it.” Henri
took my computer and ran off towards the exit as I
heard a scream behind me.
Missy was now seizing on the ground and the
people around her were panicking as something
clearly painful took over their bodies. Jeremy didn’t
do anything to help anyone and just watched, still as
a statue, as others began to cough and sputter, not
able to help her or themselves.
As much as I felt for them, I had to find
Violet before that fog reached her too.
“Violet!” I bellowed, kicking dirt up behind

me as I flew down the path I had taken earlier to find
her.
I was soaked from head to toe in sweat as my
body rose well above a safe temperature, but I had
no time to stop and cool down.
“Violet!” I screamed again as I came to the
spot where I had left her.
106
Issue #2
She wasn’t there.

This place was more of a maze than I
thought. If she had gone down one of the many paths
that were in front of me, the fog could have easily
gotten to her already.
Then I heard a scream in the distance. And
then another—but they weren’t coming from
Violet’s direction.
“UUuuuauaaaaagh!” That one was Violet.
I sprinted off in the direction of her pained
screams, but before I got to her they had stopped.
“Help me…please.” I heard a hushed voice
on the other side of a metal fence that surrounded a
private crypt.
But the fog had found me now.
It hadn’t just snuck up but had come at me
from all directions.
“Violet!” I called out again and rushed in
headlong, but not before the cloudy mist finally
trapped me.
I threw my arms up instinctually to shield
myself, but there was nothing I could do to fend off
air as it slithered up my body.
Maybe it wasn’t fog at all, but some sort of
nerve gas that Missy’s dick of a boyfriend had
psychotically set off in the cemetery.
The fog had subsided, leaving me standing
there, still able to look around. I charged forward
again, hoping that I’d at least make it to Violet
before the effects took hold.
107
I leapt the fence to find her on the other side;

she was face down on the ground, her head turned
away from me.
Before I could step forward to see if she was
alive, the fog started working its magic. My body
went rigid, my knees buckled and I began to seize
violently only feet from Violet’s lifeless form.
I clenched my teeth as I felt the fire inside me
explode like the volcano that it had become. Red-hot
embers ripped through my muscles and melted bone
as I felt my body turn to ash from the inside out.
The fancy gloves Henri had made me melted
from my fingers and fused to the dirt on the ground
around me.
Tiny cracks in my forearms started to form,
bubbling and blistering as the blood ran like molten
rock in my veins.
I couldn’t take the pain and I felt like I was
going to bite my tongue off if I didn’t scream and let
some of it out.
A growl erupted within me as I threw my
hands to my face; it too burned like the charred flesh
of my hands. My breathing was heavy as I struggled
to keep myself conscious.
One last searing jolt, like a million hot knives
to the gut, and then it all stopped.
My skin didn’t hurt anymore, my hands
didn’t feel hot—I didn’t feel hot either.
108
Issue #2
Maybe Henri was wrong, maybe the fog had

been a good thing; it seemed as if it had cured
everything that ailed me.
I carefully peeled my body from the dirt path
and pulled myself into a standing position. When my
vision adjusted from the blinding agony I had just
been in, I took a look at my hands, expecting to see
flesh and bone.
But it was worse.
The charred skin and ember-filled veins had
crept their way up my arms, almost to the elbow.
Every time I breathed out, sparks of orange popped
from my mouth. I threw my hands up to my face, but
they didn’t burn the flesh there—because there
wasn’t any.
Reptilian scales armored the sockets of my
eyes and the skin of my forehead; the plates altering
my vision somewhat.
My hair was tangled in something and when I
reached up to fix the knot, I felt them.
Horns.
Hard spirals of keratin protruded from the
crown of my head and curled back from my
forehead.
My only instinct was to roar into the air like
some feral animal.
What had I become? What had that fog done
to me? Done to Violet? And Missy?
I could hear loud screams now: screams of
agony and fear. I scooped Violet up in my arms, her
109
body limp in my grip; she was practically dead

weight, but she was breathing. I threw her over my
shoulder and sprinted off towards the cemetery
gates.
It sounded like people were being

slaughtered.
Total chaos had broken out as Jeremy and
Missy stood near the bar, watching as the people
around them writhed in torment on the ground.
They were dying, all of them were dying.
Their bodies had swelled up and boils had formed on
every exposed surface of their skin. Flesh was
splitting and blood had begun to seep from orifices.
I heard Violet stir in my arms.
“Don’t look,” I whispered as I ducked behind
stone obelisks and cherubs until I came to the gates
that still stood open.
Jeremy’s attention snapped in my direction as
I slipped under a velvet rope blocking the front gate
and began running towards the tree line in the dark.
I hoped that Henri was still waiting for me…
110
Issue #2
I effortlessly carried Violet down the dirt

road for a quarter of a mile before I saw Henri’s
truck. The headlights flashed at me, and the engine
roared to life.
I picked up my pace and brought her right up
to the passenger side where Nate sat.
“What the fuck?” He screamed and flailed
himself backward into Henri.
I forgot that I didn’t look like myself, and felt
sort of bad as I began to laugh at Nate’s apparent
panic brought on by my disfigurement.
“You never listen to me, do you? I told you
to steer clear of that fog!” Henri slammed his fist
down on the steering wheel.
“Adam?” Nate’s eyes were so large; I
thought they were going to pop out of his skull.
“Yes. Help me get Violet in to the truck.” I
lowered my head through the window and Nate
backed himself up again like a cornered cat.
“Help him, Nathaniel. Now is not the time to
judge your friend.” Henri pinched the underside of
Nate’s arm and he jerked, unlocking the door to
come out and assist me.
“Is she alive?” Henri narrowed his eyes at
me.
“Yeah.” I responded, holding her close
against my chest.
111
“Does she look as ugly as you?” Henri

picked at me, knowing that I already felt bad enough
as it was.
“I haven’t checked anything on her. It was
dark and she was facing away from me.” I spouted as
Nate got into the bed of the truck and arranged some
blankets and a tarp to set her down on.
Henri climbed in the bed with him and held
out his hands to take Violet as I passed her off. He
laid her out on the blankets as I leapt up in to the bed
next to her.
“Looks like her hair went white from fright.”
Violet’s head lulled to the side as Henri went to
remove the hair from her face and see what damage
had been done.
Her skin already had this weird dusty purple
color to it, but when Henri moved the thick locks
from her face, it surprised everyone.
“Jesus fuck! What the hell is going on?” Nate
needed to stop being so hilariously scared, but at
least he was for good reason.
Violet’s eyes were closed, all except the third
one that was planted in the middle of her forehead.
The hair on her head was virgin white, as were her
eyelashes and eyebrows. Her skin seemed to glow a
faint lavender under the blanket of stars above.
“Is she—is she looking at us?” Nate pointed
at the beautiful indigo eye that sat in the middle of
her forehead.
112
Issue #2
“No, she’s still unconscious, but we need to

get the hell out of here before that girl and her crazy
ass demonic boyfriend gets ahold of us.” Henri
covered her with the blanket.
“But is she going to be ok?” I had been able
to survive the ordeal and stay conscious, but her tiny
body hadn’t been able to withstand the pain.
And the others…why had we reacted
differently than they had?
“You stay in the bed with her; keep her warm
until we get back to the city. Then we can start to
figure out what the fuck happened to the both of
you.” Henri jumped out of the bed of the truck
followed closely by Nate.
I huddled Violet close to me and swaddled
her in the wool blankets that had been provided. The
engine of the truck roared loudly as Henri made a
hasty U-turn in the dirt road and headed back to New
Orleans.
The stars streaked by in the sky as I leaned in
to the cab of the truck and wrapped Violet in my
arms. I wasn’t able to save her from this, even
though she had warned me not to. I had become a
casualty because I couldn’t leave well enough alone.
But something in the back of my head asked
me if it was worth it…
Happy fucking Birthday to us, Violet.
What the fuck are we going to do with these
lives now?
113
114
Issue #2
667
Children of the Beast
Issue #2
“Activation”
Next Issue:
#3
“Transformation”
115

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667

Children of the Beast

All Rights Reserved

My cab pulled up in front of the Cat’s Meow

I nervously stepped up on the curb and

surprising. A woman was now singing a terrible

“Comfortable?” Missy smiled at me across

“Oh, yes. All good. She told us you’re an

states for an investigation into—into—something.

“I thought you liked—limes?” Missy was

“Why don’t you go home and get some rest. I

There were no cabs to hail now, so I guessed

“Hey, darling. Looking for a good time?” A

“I didn’t mean the drugs.” He blurted and

“Ah.” My knees cracked against the

damsel in distress after all and wait for my knight in

The would-be assailant was slumped over the

He wore a heavy hooded cargo jacket over a

“We can’t just leave the scene of a crime.” I

The gloves Henri had made for me seemed to

I could have taken my bike to work, but I

The street lamp cast just enough of a glow

certainly didn’t need to draw unwanted attention to

“Miss, I’m always hot,” I responded, fanning

occurred to her that he was trying to do such a thing.

“Awesome. Another bar.” She scrunched her

“A safe bar. My friend Nate owns and

“Yeah, fresh off a plane just a couple of

She looked at me warily for a moment before

well.” It was a bit of an unnecessarily long-winded

“Ok, everything is set. Nate has my things

“I think this one is me.” I tapped on the

smirked at me and handed me a piece of paper with a

“Violet! Where the hell have you been?”

as I blindly rifled through my messenger bag for my

“Shoot.” He responded. I could hear him set

Stuff was just way too much for me at that

“Vi! There’s a phone call for you!” I could

“Yeah, do you want me to come bring it to

It was so goddamn hot. The room was

“No more. Wake up, Violet. Wake up!” I

at least seven girls asleep all over the living room

“Morning, Violet. Jeremy made us bacon and

but something about his response was disingenuous.

June 5th, 2016

I got to the bar the same time Nate did. He let

“You think she’s gonna show up?” Nate

“If she wants her phone she will. She’s going

“You want to go for a walk with me? Maybe

“These are like eating the sweetest, fluffiest

“Where’s the body?” Violet furrowed her

“Seriously, what’s with the gloves?” I joked

“It’s supposed to make you virile, but I don’t

before smearing what looked like a guava paste onto

“I’m so sorry—I had no idea.” Adam looked

“I want to try a little thing with you.” He

Images of war and famine, of pestilence and

I screamed, almost dropping the orb as I

“Keep that thing away from me,” I

“What the hell did you put in that candy,

they would go and flared his nostrils. It was close to

The street was filled with panhandlers, street

“Hey, Jackie. You see a girl about yay high,