Title: Candomblé
Author: Dancing Star
Crossover: PSI Factor/ Sue Thomas FBEye
Pairing: Connor/ Lindsay, Jack/ Sue
Rating: 12
Summaries: In Brazil, the team meets followers of the Candomblé cult. A novice curses Lindsay...
Comments: This story was written in beautiful Brazil when I was there in February 2012. Traveling to Rio changed my life.
Candomblé
Since two weeks they stayed in the Brazilian rain forest and now Peter struck the twentieth fly, who dared to plunge him. It was late February and in this area it was the best time for mosquitoes. "During the people in the North Hemisphere freeze, we in Brazil sweat till death and get bitten by malaria mosquitoes," he grumbled, wiping the insect off on his pant.
"I haven´t been bitten yet," Lindsay Donner laughed.
"Miss-know- it- all!," echoed again from the other side of the excavation site. Their colleague Cooper asked them to dig for the fossil of a dinosaur in the Brazilian jungle. Because their team was currently available and hadn´t to deal with a "serious" paranormal case Cooper asked if Connor, Peter and Lindsay wanted to travel to Brazil otherwise the tickets would expire. Cooper actually wanted to come to this country, accompanied by two colleagues, but he got sick after his last yellow fever immunization.
Peter then arose, threw his brush frustrated into the sand: of course they hadn´t found a fossil until now. "Where are you going?", Lindsay asked and then laughed again, "When will you come back? You bring me something?"
"Wherever I go, there are no souvenirs."
"Peter has to be alone for a moment!", now Sue Thomas giggled and her hearing dog Levi barked.
"Take care you won´t be eaten by a piranha!", Lindsay yelled after him, but they weren´t even close to the Amazon.
"Why should I and Jack come along, too?", Sue asked. Peter´s complaint made her doubting their need in this trip. Moreover, she had no idea why her and Jack's presence was so important. When Lindsay had suggested that Sue and Jack should come to South America with the team, too, Sue had thought about a fun holiday. She hadn´t known they´d come for professional reasons.
"I wonder how long we´ll look for that fossil", Lindsay stretched in order to survey the area, in which they had searched during the last two weeks. For hours they freed old stones from dust to find Coopers fossil. Her neck muscles burned terribly. "I tell you, we should get out of here as long as our visa is still valid and do something exciting."
"That's a good idea," Sue agreed and wiped the back of her hand across her forehead.
"Let's stop looking for dinosaur bones for today," Peter suggested, who now came back and had heard their conversation, "I´m dying of hunger."
They drove to a small native village and decided to wait there for the night. The river was in flood at the moment and on the radio Jack had heard the only bridge in the area was inundated. The next bridge was 1,000 miles away and therefore they couldn´t reach their small hotel in which they stayed. The weather experts, however, believed the situation would improve soon.
During a friendly, local family prepared a cabin for the guests, Connor, Lindsay, Peter, Jack and Sue walked with Levi through the village. In the middle of the village square, a group of women had gathered. Their white clothes were lined with lace. Their coffee-colored skin was painted with chalk and their short hair was dyed blue. The women seemed to pray.
"What's that?"
"My guide book says this women are novices of the Candomblé cult," Sue flipped through her book, "The Candomblé cult originated in West Africa and has brought to Brazil in the 16th Century by slaves. This cult is closely related to VooDoo and they have various gods." Sue had guessed that the little guide, a Brazilian samba dancing woman was on the cover, was worth it.
"A cockroach!", Lindsay suddenly shouted and because Sue couldn´t see what Lindsay had said she just saw how her friend jumped back a step and finally stamped.
Next to the fire, another group of women had gathered. One of the women with a strange face paint got up and mumbled a few unintelligible words when she looked in Lindsay's direction. Lindsay and the rest of the team noticed and looked at the woman helplessly.
"I don´t understand a word of what she had said," Sue whispered frustrated. It was hard for her, that very few people in Brazil spoke English, so she was glad she had her friends with her.
"I didn´t understand anything, too," Jack confessed and was hoping that would calm Sue a little.
"Let's get out of here as soon as possible," Sue asked, "It's scary here."
"We've scoured the area, which was marked on the map by Cooper, but we didn´t found what he was hoping for," Connor said the next day, "Shall we continue searching?"
"Maybe we should ask Cooper" , Sue suggested, but it was meant sarcastically. She wasn´t in the mood for melting in the blazing heat of the jungle.
"Good idea. I´ll call him immediately, "Connor reached for his cell phone and realized he had no service, "What do we do now? I urgently need a phone that works!" They were here in the densest jungle and Peter didn´t thought that a missing dinosaur fossil made a phone essential.
"What is the nearest big city?", Sue wanted to know.
"Salvador, I think... It could also be Belo Horizonte."
"What about Rio de Janeiro?"
"That's too far away," said Connor, when he walked past Sue.
"But can´t we go there? This week's Carnival and I´m sure Rio is a very nice place then."
"You seem to forget we aren´t in Brazil for fun," Connor continued searching a network for his phone.
"I haven´t forgotten, but in Rio de Janeiro you´ll get a working phone at least. "
Connor started to argue and say he certainly would get a phone in Belo Horizonte, too, but he had been overruled when they began to pack their bags.
The next day they reached Rio de Janeiro via airplane. The Cargo-machine with the mobile lab would arrive in a few days.
Their hotel was located in the suburb of Ipanema and was about 200 meters away from Copacabana Beach. After they checked in, Lindsay and Sue got dressed in summer clothes and decided to go to the beach. "Copacabana or Ipanema, you have to decide," Lindsay said, "The Copa is very beautiful. Ipanema Beach is always very crowded and very loud."
"I don´t care about the noise," Sue said and Lindsay apologized. From the corner of her eye she noticed when Connor was now entering the lobby. Apparently he had already brought his bags to his room. "Connor, we want to go to the beach. Do you want to join us?", she asked.
"Where's Peter?"
"I don´t know," Lindsay replied honestly, "But I definitely won´t stay only in this hotel and wait for him during our stay in Rio. Are you coming with us, or not?"
Connor thought that was a pretty significant announcement and even if it was amusing, but he wondered who actually the boss on this team was. After all, Lindsay and Sue had already persuaded him to travel to Rio, although this city wasn´t even close to their route.
They waited until Jack came to them and together they walked along a crowded street, past many small grocery stores, until they reached the Copacabana after two minutes. The air was hot and the sun beat mercilessly on the sand under their feet. Finally, they borrowed four beach chairs and an umbrella and placed it in less distance to the water. Lindsay explained she always wanted to put her feet in the Atlantic Ocean and she announced the water was fresh when Jack and Connor were done with their beach chairs. Levi also jumped into the water and Lindsay grabbed a stick that was washed on. "Levi, catch!", Lindsay held the twig in Levi´s direction, but he tucked his tail between his legs and began to growl at her. "Why´s Levi growling?", Lindsay wondered, "He never growled at me before." Normally, the dog liked to play catch-sticks.
"He probably got problems with the heat," Sue suggested, called for Levi and when her furry friend was sitting next to her, she gave him her hat. Under the umbrella, the air was a little cooler.
"What did Cooper say when you told him we won´t continue searching for his dinosaur?", Lindsay asked.
"He wasn´t thrilled," behind his sunglasses Connor rolled his eyes.
"Sue, what do you think if we walk on the beach later?", Jack asked and Sue seemed quite interested. "Jack, stop flirting with Sue. We aren´t here to have fun", Lindsay yelled. She didn´t open her eyes, but still had the sun shining in her face.
"But..."
"That´s what Connor would say now."
"No, I wouldn´t," Connor interrupted their discussion.
"Yes, you would," Sue agreed and Connor now also decided to give up. Some traders walked past them without getting their attention.
"What do you want to do tomorrow?", Lindsay asked, "Shall we book a trip to the Sugarloaf and…", she looked at Sues book about Brazil, "Cristo Redentor, which is also known as Christ the redeemer?"
"This is a very good idea," Connor agreed and Sue left with Levi to buy herself a drink. "Coming to Brazil was the best idea you've ever had, Connor," Jack admitted, when he put on his sunglasses.
"But coming to Rio de Janeiro was my and Sue's idea," Lindsay disagreed and Connor didn´t want to earn the fame for this idea. They were sunning themselves on for a while, when Sue came back. She held fruits in her hands.
"The fruits in Brazil are great," Sue enthused and when Lindsay asked her where she got the pineapple and the coconut from, Sue pointed to a small kiosk on the beach.
"How did you do that?", Lindsay wanted to know now, "I thought, you don´t speak Portuguese."
"I don´t," Sue replied, "Before we left the States, I photographed all kinds of food and stored the pictures on my BlackBerry. I showed the photos of a pineapple and a coconut to the seller at the kiosk."
Lindsay now had to admit this was an excellent idea. "I'll be right back," Jack got up, "Sue, can you borrow me your BlackBerry? You get it right back."
Sue handed him the phone.
"I'll go buy an ice cream and a coconut. Do you want some, too?", Jack asked and Connor, Lindsay and Sue shook their heads. When Jack went to the little kiosk, Lindsay sighed.
"What?", Connor looked over the rim of his sunglasses and looked at her.
"Nothing. It's just... It´s very nice here. The sun, the beach, Sugar Loaf Mountain", she pointed to the huge mountain which was near the Copa, "Why can´t we stay here?"
"I'm afraid that's impossible. Even if I have to agree with you: It´s a perfect place."
They leaned back in their beach chairs, enjoying the sun. Lindsay noticed two children playing in the surf. One of the boys grabbed a surf board, plunged into the waves and swam out to the sea. He was caught by a wave and the surfboard capsized. The boy fell into the water and didn´t appear.
Lindsay noticed and sat up in her beach chair. "The boy will drown."
"There are quite a few lifeguards. One of them would have noticed if something´s wrong", Connor tried to calm her down.
"No, he´s really drowning!", Lindsay said, jumped up and also dived into the cold water. Although the sun shone from the sky, the ocean was ice cold. She swam as fast as she could and when she reached for the boy's arm, she noticed he drove lifeless in the water. Together with some other helpers, she pulled the child out of the water and at the beach they put it in the sand. A dark-skinned woman, apparently the boy's mother, was crying terribly, while some lifeguards tried to revive the child.
Lindsay was horrified that the child had drowned so quickly and she was shocked a little. She desperately needed fresh air.
"Is everything all right?", Connor suddenly asked and started to reach for her hand, but she evaded.
"I'm fine," she promised him and went back to her beach chair alone. There she picked up her towel and put it in her purse. Sue looked at her anxiously. Suddenly someone touched her shoulder and she turned around.
"What's going on? Did I miss something?", Jack asked. He was perplexed that Lindsay already left the beach.
"Lindsay saved a dead boy from the sea," Sue told with a dry voice and now she saw the flower in his hand, "What´s that?"
"This orchid is for you," Jack said and Sue smiled. "Thanks, I've never seen a blue orchid."
"Let´s go back to the hotel," Connor suggested, "We should after for Lindsay."
Jack and Sue finally agreed they had to return earlier to the hotel than planned.
They found Lindsay in her hotel room: She was standing at the window and stared at the people in the busy street. "Can we do something for you?", Connor wanted to know when he was sure Lindsay had noticed him, Jack and Sue.
"No," Lindsay shook her head listlessly. She had never seen a dead child and it was a terrible moment for her.
"If... If you should need something, or someone to talk to, you know where to find me."
"Thank you, Connor."
As Sue watched the two, she knew what was going on: She believed Connor had fallen in love with Lindsay, but he hadn´t told her yet. Sue was relieved when Connor and Jack finally left the room and she was alone with Lindsay. "Lindsay, what was that?"
"What do you mean?", she asked while Sue was standing next to her.
"Oh, you really have no idea. I think Connor is in love with you. You haven´t seen his eyes when he has just told you that you can always talk to him about this incident at the beach and...", Sue turned around as Levi, who was still sitting beside the door, was barking," What is going on, Levi? Lindsay, would you please hold my orchid for a while?"
"Of course." Lindsay took the flower and didn´t pay attention while Sue went to her dog. Levi moaned, when Sue was petting his head. "I think Levi is sick," Sue suggested, "I should go to see the vet." She wanted to go back to Lindsay and still get the first blue orchid that Jack had given her. But instead of a beautiful plant only a dried caulis with also dry leaves was in Lindsay´s hands.
"What have you done to my plant?"
"Nothing."
"And why does it look as if it had not been cast for months?"
"I swear I didn´t do anything."
Sue understood. She had to get Connor and Jack.
"Do I understand this correctly?" asked Connor when Sue told him, Peter and Jack the story for the second time in the lobby. A few minutes ago Sue returned from the vet, who assured her Levi was healthy. Thank god the the wife of the veterinarian was good in sign language and so it was easy to tell why she was worried about her dog. Now Sue suspected Levi´s aggressive state had something to do with Lindsay. Finally, he had never growled at her before and in her hotel room it almost seemed as if Levi was afraid of her. Because Peter didn´t understand her excitement, she again told him the story about the dead boy, who was fetched from the sea by Lindsay and Sue added, she thought perhaps the boy wasn´t dead but only when Lindsay touched him.
"My goodness," Lindsay murmured when she realized what that meant, "I killed the boy... But... But I've only touched him and... "A big lump formed in Lindsay's neck, "This is not... I mean, why should I be able to do such a terrible thing?"
"Do you remember the Candomblé novice who has come to you in the jungle and was muttering something unintelligible?", Sue asked, "Maybe she cursed you."
"But why?"
"Is there something written in your guide that the novices of the Candomblé cult worshiped different gods?", Lindsay wanted to know, "Maybe they have a cockroach-deity. The woman only cursed me after I crushed the cockroach."
Now Sue also remembered and Lindsay sat on a chair and hid her face in her hands, "If you're right, then..." She couldn´t stand any longer. Suddenly she felt sick and she got dizzy. "Excuse me for a moment," Lindsay got up and hurried out. All she wanted was running away, , but the road was crowded. When she realized what this terrible gift meant for her life, she also realized she couldn´t go anywhere without hurting someone.
For the rest of yesterday Lindsay hid in her hotel room. Connor, Peter, Jack and Sue met her again at breakfast, when she took a cup of coffee and local fruits. Her friends had released a chair for her at the table and even though Lindsay was afraid she could touch one of them accidentally, she sat down with them.
"Good morning, Lindsay," Peter said, "How many people we have been killed until now?"
"Peter!", Connor exclaimed in horror, "That's not the right time for insensitive jokes!"
"Sorry," Peter had to admit internally it was really stupid of him, "But Lindsay is something like a modern reaper."
"How are you today?", Connor asked and Lindsay smiled sadly.
"I know you won´t like it, but we must protect ourselves from Lindsay," Jack said, reminding them of the biometric protection suits, which were stored in a glass case in the mobile lab.
"We?", Peter asked, "Why should we spend the day in these uncomfortable suits if Lindsay is the danger?"
Lindsay followed the discussion stunned. Finally, Connor said: "I´m sure it isn´t necessary and it´s enough if Lindsay doesn´t touch anyone of us."
"I would be reassured if you could wear some gloves at least," Sue said, "Please don´t get me wrong."
"That's okay," Lindsay took her cup of coffee with trembling hands and took a sip. The summer heat seemed to increase again.
"The question is how you get rid of this curse," Connor explained and Lindsay nodded in agreement. It would be a pretty lonely life when she wasn´t allowed touching anyone. She remembered how much she wanted to embraced Connor now so he comforted her, but of course she couldn´t.
"Maybe we should return to the rain forest and try to find the followers of Candomblé cult", Sue suggested. She knew this wouldn´t be easy, because they didn´t even know the name of the woman who had cursed Lindsay.
"I'll call the airline and ask when we can fly back to Belo Horizonte," Connor decided to have the conversation here and when he put back his cell phone on the table, he didn´t look very enthusiastic: "We can fly in three days. All other flights are fully booked."
Lindsay looked disappointed.
"Don´t worry, Lindsay," Connor tried to reassure her, "You shouldn´t think about ... Let's do something," he suggested and while he was talking, Sue noticed a twitch in his hand. He would like to reach for Lindsay's hand and held it, but he remembered about the curse and didn´t do it. Sue held her breath when she realized it. Her friends were so stupid, she thought. They didn´t even know how much they were in love.
"Thanks, but... I can´t," Lindsay shook her head without looking at her friends, "What shall I do if I touch one of you accidentally and that person drops dead in the next moment?" She got up, walked quickly to the elevator and went to the eighth floor where her room was located. Lindsay threw herself on her bed and looked out of the window. On the other side of the street there was only an old building and she could look directly into the living room of a Brazilian family.
A little later she registered how the door opened and then she noticed that her mattress sagged down a little bit on the left side. Sue had come to talk to her. "I have no idea what to do with you?", Sue said, "How much evidence do you need?"
"If you are on the theory that Connor has feelings for me, then this realization comes at a wrong time. I can´t... I can´t accept Connor's invitation, even if I wanted to. So I risk his life."
"I think Connor knows what he´s doing, so you should go out with him."
"He doesn´t want to go out with me. He wants to cheer me up a little and..."
"Anyway. He didn´t ask me, Jack and Peter if we want to come along, so it's a date... Go on, go to him and tell him you would like to spend a day with him."
"All right," Lindsay finally gave in and Sue was delighted. They both rose from the bed and Lindsay stroked a few strands of hair from her face.
"You look like a stewardess," Sue said and Lindsay looked down at herself. What was wrong with the black skirt and white blouse?
"I happen to know that Connor likes flight attendants because he thinks they´re hot: I've seen how he and Peter talk about it. Of course, Connor denied, but... Well, you know him. And now go to the lobby. He is waiting for you there."
In retrospect, of course, asked Lindsay why Sue was so sure about that and she thought Sue must have told him to wait a while. When she got off the elevator and entered the lobby, she was surprised Connor was actually still here. Peter and Jack were gone.
"Don´t be mad at me," she began, "But I don´t want to risk your life."
"I'm sure we´ll have a nice trip. Just come with me", Connor said. He had considered her condition, but didn´t tell her what they would do.
In the taxi Lindsay tried to sit as far away as possible from him. After a short ride the taxi driver released them at Ipanema beach. "You see these islands?", Connor pointed to a group of rocky islands in the sea, not too far from the coast, "This is an ideal place for divers."
"We´ll dive?"
"Of course," Connor agreed and went to the boat, which would bring them out to sea. After Connor got dressed with a diving suit and disappeared in the depths of the ocean and wait there with the instructor who would lead the trip, Lindsay thought they probably could have beautiful day. The more time she spent under water, the further away her problems were. When she and Connor should follow the instructor to an underwater rock, Connor reached for her hand because she wanted to move it, he held her hand as tight as possible. At that moment, Lindsay realized Sue was right: She was more than a co- worker to him. And she was sorry she couldn´t tell him what she felt for him. This forced distance broke her heart, but at least here, separated by their wetsuits, she could hold his hand for a moment.
They were out all day for diving and went back to the mainland only when the sun was already beginning to set. It was a magical sight and then Lindsay regretted she couldn´t lean to Connor and enjoy the sunset properly. Today's dive was all she had.
Let me take you to Rio, Rio
fly'o the ocean like an eagle
and when can chillin' like a zebo, a zebo
All in together now, hang like the weather now
right here, show me now
You know how to put it down
you gotta light girl, turn it on, here's mine, turn me on
you gotta wild side, let it out, ima make you bring it out ("Take me to Rio" by Ester Dean)
In the evening, Lindsay gushed about the dive trip and Sue listened to her with a satisfied smile. She was right with her suggestion that the two had feelings for each other.
The longer Lindsay thought about it, the more she had to admit she liked the idea. At night she hardly slept because she had to think about how it was when Connor was holding her hand. And she wondered if he probably felt the same way and if he was thinking about today, too. Lindsay sighed, wishing she could ask him. But if he should tell her that he also thought about her, she would kiss him and now she remembered this was a pretty stupid idea at the moment. At some point, Lindsay was in a long, dreamless sleep. Next morning she woke up only by the sun's rays.
"What are you doing?", Connor found it odd that Jack, Sue and Peter seemed to wait with backpacks in the hotel lobby.
"I've booked a trip for all of us to Sugarloaf Mountain, followed by paragliding," Jack told, "What about you?"
"I'll go to get Lindsay." Connor got into the elevator to the last floor of the house. Lindsay was sitting on the rooftop terrace of the hotel, like he had expected and she was staring at the dilapidated high-rise buildings in the area. As this week carnival began and small crowds of people already played music in the streets. They sang merrily.
"Come on, let's take a trip," Connor suggested, sat down beside her and he was relieved that she didn´t slip away immediately, "I´m sure it´ll be funny. Jack wants to try paragliding and has booked a flight for each of us", Actually, Connor could not believe he had really said this.
"Thanks, but I'm not in the mood for adventures. Wherever I go, I'm always afraid that I happened to touch someone and the person is dying in the next moment."
"I understand your concern. And I also understand you can´t accept this situation as permanent. I promise you we will do everything we can to help you... But please come with us. It will be a beautiful day and if you don´t want to try paragliding, we don´t force you to do... You know, I know a person who told me on our first day in Rio, that she surely wouldn´t spent the entire stay at this hotel ..."
Lindsay smiled when he remembered her about this. "Okay, I'll come with you," she gave in, "Thank you, Connor... Um, would you please wait here for me for a moment?"
"Sure," he promised and watched silently how she re-entered the hotel and came back two minutes later with a large, thick blanket. Without saying a word as she hugged him. The blanket was between them all the time.
The next day they left Rio and Lindsay hoped she could get rid of this horrible gift. She didn´t want to think about she first had to find the novice, who cursed her. During the two-hour flight to Belo Horizonte, she tried to sleep a little. She dreamed about their yesterday's trip to Sugarloaf Mountain and she had been watching her friends´ paragliding for safety reasons only. "What would my girlfriend say about that?", Jack suddenly asked and Lindsay was alarmed. He never told about his girlfriend and she felt sorry for Sue because Lindsay knew how much her friend liked Jack. "Hey, calm down", Jack replied and grabbed for Sue´s hand, "So honey, what do you think?" And Sue answered: "It´s really reckless to risk your life like that."While Sue then had clung to Jack, she had cried anxiously but also laughed at the same time. After the flight, she thanked Jack with a kiss. Lindsay also dreamed about being alone with Connor on the huge mountain of granite and they were dancing in the moonlight and she kissed him. But then the dead boy at the beach turned up in front of her eyes. His skin was dry like leather in seconds and in some places the bones of the skeleton revealed.
Lindsay screamed when she woke up.
"Is everything all right?", Connor asked worried. He sat with Sue, Jack and Peter in the small row next to the corridor, while Lindsay was sitting at the window and she had three seats for her own. Levi was sleeping in the corridor but he wasn´t even shy to growl at Lindsay when Sue got angry.
Lindsay nodded wordlessly, staring out the window, watching the clouds passing by outside. Connor was worried about her more and more: She had changed since she was in this state and he hoped they could help her soon.
"What do we do now?", Peter asked, as soon as they left the airport in Belo Horizonte.
"I suggest we rent a car and drive to the jungle," Jack replied and Levi barked approvingly, "Don´t you think, Levi?" So they set out together to the airport station and wanted to talk to a woman in a counter for car rentals.
"Do you speak English?", Peter wanted to know from a young woman and he was relieved when she nodded, "We would like to rent a car."
"The deposit is 300 Reais. You can pay the rest if you return the car."
Peter pushed six bills a fifty Reais through the switch. The woman counted the money and finally she said: "I'm sorry, I have no rental cars available,"
Peter stretched out to look out of the window behind the young Brazilian. He saw there were three cars with the label of the rental company in the parking lot.
"But in the parking lot..."
"These cars have been reserved."
"Do you have any other vehicles that you can offer us?"
"No."
"Then I want my money back."
"No money back."
"Listen, little girl!", Peter beat his palms angrily at the switch and his friends became a little bit scared, "You heard what I said: We want to rent a car quickly!"
The secretary reached under her desk and the next moment the five looked into the barrel of a gun. "If you threaten me, I'll call the police. But before I shoot you and believe me, this is not bullet-proof glass, " the young woman said.
Lindsay and Sue realized they didn´t actually come to Brazil, so here they are threatened with a gun. Jack now mingled in the discussion: "No one will be shot. Aren´t we all Amigos?", while Jack spoke, he pushed Peter away so he was the first person at the switch, "Listen, we are honest people who paid you for the car. If you don´t have a car for rent, you have to return the money. It's the law, even here in Brazil." Just because they were tourists, the woman should not believe, she might steal money from them.
"If we call the police, what do you think will happen then?"
The woman glanced down at the colorful bills that lay before her on the table. She hesitated for a moment and then she pushed a key with a plush pendant through the switch. "This is my private car," she muttered defiantly, "If you bring it back to me, you´ll get your money back."
They thanked her, the woman described the car and then they rushed into the parking lot. The journey into the jungle lasted nearly two hours and Peter began complain again about the mosquitoes. "That means we´re near," Jack laughed.
Sue sat with Lindsay and Peter in the back seat. Lindsay was wrapped in a blanket and she was sweating. Levi had to travel in the luggage compartment of the old Jeep, because he was always growling at Lindsay angrily. In the afternoon they reached a small native village, but they didn´t know whether the novice, who had cursed Lindsay, lived here.
They tried to ask the residents, but no one understood their language. An old man finally had an idea and went to his tent to pick up a young girl there. The little girl was not more than twelve years old. "My name is Ariane," she said, "Can I help you?"
"You speak English?", Peter was astonished.
"I usually visit a private school in the city. The summer holidays I spent mostly with my grandparents in the village." The girl smiled and Peter thought it was unusual to call February as the summer.
"We are looking for a Candomblé novice who has cursed me," Lindsay said.
"The novices had left our village yesterday," Ariane replied and Lindsay´s hope rushed apart like a house of cards, "But my grandmother was one of them many, many years ago. Follow me."
Ariane went to a small hut, pushed a curtain aside, so her guests could enter. "Descuple vovo," she apologized to her grandmother, "These people came a long way to seek your advice." Now Ariane turned back to her visitors.
"This is my grandmother Artemis. She´s speaking your language and can understand what you´re saying. I can´t judge if she can help you,." Ariane took a step back.
"What are you searching for?", Artemis asked. Her hut was illuminated by the fire.
"We are looking for a woman that cursed a friend of us," Sue told, "Every person she touches, dies."
"I know," the old woman muttered and in the glow of the campfire Sue saw that her eyes were covered with a white film. So Artemis was blind. "I can smell it. Death clings to your girlfriend, "she said," What´s the name of the novice that cursed you?"
"I don´t know, unfortunately," Lindsay admitted and knelt down in front of Artemis, "Can you help me?"
The woman, who cursed you, was a sister of the Good Death. I can feel it," the blind Artemis said, "She probably has cursed you because you hurt her soul mate."
"The Cockroach" Lindsay whispered and Artemis nodded, "What can you do for me to get rid of the curse?"
"I can´t help you, my child," the old woman croaked, "You are the one who can break the spell." The fire danced mysteriously over the wrinkled face of the former novice.
"But how?", Despair mingled with Lindsay's voice, "I kill all the people that I touch and I can´t be close to those for which I yearn. I'm sorry I killed the soul mate of the novice and I wish I could undo it."
Artemis smiled now satisfied. "I know, my child. And now, I'm tired. It´s been a long day for me."
They were all disappointed when Ariane escorted them out of the hut and then they should return to their car. They brought the car back to its owner, because as Jack had said before: they were decent people.
Throughout the flight back to Rio de Janeiro, they didn´t talk a word to each other and not even during driving from the airport to the hotel. Sue hadn´t to care for Levi staying away from Lindsay.
While Sue, Jack and Peter wanted to go to dinner, Lindsay said she wanted to sleep. "I take you to your room," Connor said, "Peter, I´ll join dinner later."
In the elevator, both didn´t talk to each other. "Give me your hand," Connor said when they reached her room after a seemingly endless time.
"If I do, you die"
"No," Connor sounded pretty sure and Lindsay was frightened, "Trust me and give me your hand."
She held her breath as she slowly put her hand in his and nothing happened, except that he held her tight. A smile flitted over Lindsay's face and that's when Connor pulled her close and kissed her. Lindsay held her breath. In the first second she was shocked, of course, that Connor was able to such impulsive acts but she kissed him back.
"How did you know...", she began, as he broke their kiss. She noted he now pressed her against her door.
"Levi wasn´t growling at you. He does, since you are cursed and when he stopped, I thought... Well, it's true anyway." He kissed her again. This time, consensual and passionate, but Lindsay interrupted him. "Come on, I got an idea," she smiled, grabbed his hand and they went back into the elevator to the roof terrace of the hotel. "From here you can see the sunset," Lindsay told him, "The sunset we saw at the boat was very nice, but I think now it will be more beautiful." In fact, they could see very well how the sun touched the horizon of the Atlantic Ocean. She noted happily when he put his arms around her, pulled her close and looked at the beautiful spectacle of nature. "I love you," Lindsay suddenly said and Connor smiled.
"I love you too."
At the same time in the restaurant Jack, Sue and Peter were still waiting for Connor. "Where is Connor?", Peter asked and Sue shook her head helplessly while she knew very well where he was. "I'm hungry. Let's order something", she suggested, therefore. Now that Lindsay was fine, Connor would use the time with her.
Fin