Hello my dears. This chapter happens not long after Monty dies. I offer the following warnings before you proceed. First, this turns back to the general dark tone of the story. Second, I am fond of giving a background to characters that seem to just exist in cannon when it helps my plot. If a character and/or backstory wasn't in the movie, it counts as not existing. Third, here be references to an established occult religion. If that bothers you (sorta doubt you would have read this far if it did...) then buh-bye, nice meeting you. And yes, I am totally aware of the possible racial interpretations that some may have of this chapter. For those that don't know, I am an African American female; apparently an atypical one. The conflict central to this chapter is very loosly based on a similar issue in my family that happened waaay before I was born.

*wda*

You know the funny thing about running from your past? Having your focus solely on looking forward and getting away makes it ridiculously easy for said past to sprint by and bash you in the back of the head with a fucking brick. This sad truth confronted Lisette DuMonte late one winter evening in the form of her mother showing up unanounced on her doorstep.

"Mama? What-?" She sputtered. Even with the enormous fur coat, the vestiges of her profession were glaringly obvious. The headscarf in place instead of a hat, the bangles jingling on her arms and legs, the lack of gloves because none fit over those gaudy rings...and that cane carved like a damned snake.

"Granmama Addy!" Two voices chimed, nearly mowing down their mom and barreling into the older woman. She squat down to hug them tenderly, all the while glaring at her youngest daughter.

No one in Burgess knew her as Lisette. Or a DuMonte. Not even her devoted husband Chris. No, 20 years ago Lisa Dune arrived in Burgess PA with her nursing license newly minted. Within the 3 years, she met a hansome young resident, Dr. Whitmore, in his 2nd post graduate year and gotten to know him well enough to accept his proposal. After she nearly broke a tooth on the lovely but stupidly hidden ring in her tiramisu.

Then came Claude and Caleb.

And that past tried to bean her. Five years of silence and distance from her roots went up like gasoline soaked kindling. Which lead to fifteen more filled with failed family reunions, contant bickering across all forms of social-media and that one death be fair, that particular piece of insanity was actually localized to a distant branch of the mangrove tree though. Still has no idea exactly, but somehow her family found out about this new life and family. Nothing is more important to the DuMonte clan than family.

"Mama, I don't want to talk about this. You know it's why I left."

"Lisette-"

"It's Lisa." Such a sharp tone for two little words.

"To the people outside your kin, sure. Till the day you die, we will always know you as Lisette Bijou DuMonte. Now hush child, we ain't talking but you will listen. Hear me?"

Flint eyes locked with pale brown. She could have argued, but why bother? All it would do is upset the boys and this had been a rare night when she and Chris were both off duty. When Adelaide dug her heels in, not hell nor high water would budge her. With bitter resignation, Lisa sighed.

"Fine..." She closed the door behind her. Perhaps more forcefully than she intended.

The two of them sat alone in the guest room. Silence passing between then just as it had for so long before. This day, this moment they'd both dreaded. What would come to light after being buried under such anger and guilt left smoldering for a decade or two?

"I let you leave, against the wishes of my elders. This was your life, I had no right to force you to follow in my footsteps as a priestess. But now I regret it." Greying braids swayed as she shook her head sadly. Lisa didn't get the chance to voice her disagreement. "We ain't talking remember? I let you leave all that made you you down in the bayou because I believed that it was right. Wished you the best of luck and asked for the lwa of our line to watch over you, protect you in this new life.

Now, you know I didn't let my rear fall asleep on a plane for six hours to rehash the same old mess when screaming on the phone or sending hurtful messages back and forth handles that all well enough. I talk to the boys all the time child, you know that too. Do you know they are in danger?" Once again ignoring how upset her daughter was getting, she pulled her cellphone from her bag. Allowing her fingers to scroll the screen lazily, she found what she was looking for then resumed speaking. "Just cuz you leave the spirits Lisette, they don't leave you, I didn't raise you foolish enough to think that. They have a friend, talk about him all the time since they were ten but you ain't met him once. None of the parent here have. He's not human."

"Mama, Jack is an older boy they play with. His family seems to only be around in the winter but I've seen him plenty of times. " She scoffed. "Never asked to stay over or come in so I guess the twins didn't see a point in introductions."

"Now since when does 'seen' and 'met' mean the same thing college girl? Did I ask you that? You can see it because you have the gift all DuMonte women do." Adelaide pulled her thin lips into a frown. "That boy has been inside your house many times. They've invited something they don't understand into their home and it aims to take them from you. Didn't you ever think this Jack was strange?"

If she were honest with herself, she'd have said yes. Silvery white hair and skin so pale it looked like glass. Wore nothing but a hoodie old pants and no shoes in the dead of winter. Yes, strange. But of course, she hadn't the will to be that truthful in so long. The desire to distance herself kept the rational part of her mind bound.

"A strange child isn't any reason for you to fly here. Quirks aside, he's never done anything out there enough for me to tell him not to come around."

"Really now?" She then read the scariest private message she'd ever received aloud. "You talk to spirits all the time Granmama so it's okay to ask you. We want to tell mom and dad about Jack but we don't know how. He gave us these cool tattoos cuz the moon said the seven of us are special. They connect us to him and each other.

Monty died last week. We all felt it, like something inside us broke.

When Jack first told us and we were given the choice of knowing the how or when Monty asked the winter spirit to mess with his head and take those memories away. He already worried enough. Being certain his 18th birthday wasn't gonna happen was just too much. Mrs. Felder hasn't come out of the house since the funeral and Jacob's losin it.

Will you help us explain? We don't want them to be sad when we die. Caleb texted that to me two weeks ago."

"WHAT?!" Despite the outburst from from her daughter, it was the elder who looked ready to blow her top. Deep breathes helped her school her features into a strained faux calm.

"If at the very least, you didn't deny what Bondye gave you, this could have been prevented. A few simple wards or charms is all it takes. Now, Caleb and Claude have been claimed by a wicked lwa that collects children. Steals their souls and leaves their empty shells for parents find. Lisette that spirit has already marked them! Branded them long ago..."

She denied it even as her mother walked her up the stairs. She refused to believe. Right up until the door to their room creaked open and reality succeeded with that brick.

A fucking cheap shot as far as she was concerned.

There it was, plain as day. A deep blue snowflake rested on Caleb's bare shoulder. His wife beater made it visible as he rested. Years she wished to forget are what made her recognize it for what it was. Not a tattoo, fake or otherwise. The way it gleamed in the full moon's light was proof enough that this was no man made mark.

It oozed with power from an entity beyond the mortal realm. The kind she hoped to dull her senses kind she had tried with all her might to get away from.

The very thing she had been training to be a intermediary for before college. Before she decided she wanted to be normal.

She turned her back on her destiny as a voodoo priestess and this was her punishment. Her children's lives in retribution for her cowardice and arrogance.

"Mama can't we do anything?! Stop this!"

"I tried child. No lwa loyal to our family will touch this. This spirit is far stronger than even Madame LaVeau had been in life and beyond. What's worse, for it's hold to be this absolute, they had to let it infect them. Whatever it promised them was enough temptation to surrender their souls."

At 16, both boys still prefered to sleep in the same bed rather than the separate ones they got once they out grew the bunks four years ago. Even though twelve seems to be the age their bodies stopped growing. Not just them; the Bennett kids were almost the same size now even though Jaime was in high school, his sister in elementary. Monty was buried in a child's casket. This force was stunting their growth...but why?

The lwa, Jack, sat on the bed nearest the windowsill. Claude's head was in his lap with Caleb curled up next to him on the otherside; both dead to the world. The marks humming with power in response to their creator's presence.

"I came here because I sensed Caleb was worried, Claude isn't sleeping either. He heard you say I wanted to steal their souls. Do you really believe that?"

"We know what you are. I saw you at the Felder boy's funeral. You killed him but you will not have my Claude and Caleb. Release them, now!" Lisa held out the necklace she always wore. The ruby stone pulsed for a moment then to her horror it began to crack.

"I can't do that Lisette. Even if I wanted to my magic has...already infected them as you put it Ms. Adelaide. Please don't activate that spell ma'am, you won't like what happens." Jack turned to face Mrs. DuMonte who had pulled her daughter back as soon as thr talisman failed.

"Why will no others of your kind stand up to you devil? The spirit world knows of you and your fixation on the youngest of us. Why do they fear you?" Ignoring the warning, the priestess touched the line of cornmeal on the floor with her foot. This caused an intricate pattern encompassing the entire room to flare bright yellow. Her confident smirk faultered as she saw Jack grimace, his left eye twitching but nothing more.

Claude wailed in his sleep, unconsciously clawing at Jack's thigh. His twin wasn't doing much better; sobbing as he rolled on to his back arching off the matress.

"Stop it. You're hurting them not me!" He barked. "Why do adults all assume I'm evil?" Before the pair could respond, a gust of wind broke the lines of glowing powder to negate the spell. The pained moans gradually quieted to restless whimpers. They were fighting sleep...

Lisa realized thier opponent wasn't allowing them to wake. How dare it control them like puppets!

"You have to understand, I never wanted this. No other spirits will answer your prayers because they know the Moon has set this in motion. I take no joy in killing but it's pretty much why I was created. Very soon, they will be like me." Pale hands made soothing motions against each teen's back.

"Why? Why must you have them? Why are are you stealing the children? Why-?" Words failed Mrs. Coleman as she brokedown sobbing against her mother. Please wake her from this nightmare!

"I'm not stealing anyone. I love your boys, the same as Jaime, Sophie, Monty, Pippa and Cupcake. I've been alone for nearly four centuries because the Moon made a mistake." His crystal blue eyes hardened, anger sparking there. "To fix it, he gave them to me. All seven of them. I'm not stealing what is promised to be mine"

"If that's true...how can you hurt them like this? Never letting them grow then killing them before they truly live?" Adelaide demanded. He was so possessive in his speech and mannerisms. So child like.

Then it hit Lisa and she had no idea what to feel now. Anger and pity meshed together as she held her mother for dear life.

A lonely child.

A lonely, immortal child.

He wanted playmates that could never leave him.

"Whatever magic you do will only harm them, remember that. Treasure what time you have left, then let them go; they don't fit into you world anymore. They belong to me"

Gently, Jack moved Claude to lay close to his brother. What the ghost child did next made Lisa's skin crawl. He bent down low...to kiss those wretched marks on their shoulders. A soft glow responded to the touch. The twins both grinned and snuggled closer together, still without waking.

Then Jack was gone.

His satisfied smirk haunting them both.

*wda*

...And I'm slowly turning Jack into a creeper. Or am I? Any one notice Lisette was only Lisa when no one was speaking? This took place from her perspective, and in her mind, she's not Lisette anymore. She's refusing to accept something she can't change. Adelaide fully believes in her abilities, has faith in herself as a voodoo priestess so her trap worked (to a point). If Lis(a)ette just acknowledged her heritage, the talisman might not have cracked like it did.

Big might.

AN:

Most of the 'mainstream' knowledge about voodoo or really any 'occult' faith is utter BS. We live in a world where my 79 year old great uncle regularly Skypes with his girlfriend when she visits family in Italy and participates in online poker tournaments... FROM HIS GALAXY MEGA CELLPHONE. There's wi-fi in nearly every public building, data connective devices are dirt cheap (it ain't gotta say Apple or Samsung to be worth anything peeps) and when all else fails, library computers are free to use if you don't fancy old fashioned books. Limited acess to information is no longer a good excuse for being ignorant. Don't understand something?

Google it. Just, ya know, be careful what you read ;)

Sorry, some of the messages I get form my more magically involved stories kinda piss me off yo.

Reviews are like hugs! Sirensoundwave out.