(This is a remake of The Witching Hour)

(Also on deviantart at mezame9)

The Introduction

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I suppose you're wondering how I ended up here, kneeling humbly before a group of powerful voodoo spirits.

It's a long story, but suffice to say I stumbled upon them when I found a supernatural presence in the city of New Orleans and it was my duty to investigate the haunting. I had no idea that I was about to uncover an abandoned voodoo emporium from the nineteen-twenties. The moment I set foot inside I was immediately captivated by all the ancient amulets and talismans scattered about the place, the sight was truly enchanting to a young witch like myself. It was a shame I couldn't use any of the magical instruments that laid before me. Not only were they all...broken, but I still couldn't use my magic yet.

I know I shouldn't really call myself a witch if I don't possess the ability to wield my magic, but I assure you, I am a real witch. I became an apprentice to a powerful entity named Suenamoon, also known as The Keeper. She has been my master for the past three years, but I was now at the age of twenty-two and I had come no closer to unlocking the power she was supposed to have given me. I was even presented with a grimoire, a spellbook, full of wondrous enchantments. From the simplest of transformation spells to the most haunted curse in the entire book. Luckily I would never have to worry about mastering that one, only a god like The Keeper can perform the destiny bond.

Nevertheless, magic or no magic, I am still The Keeper's apprentice and it is my job to help her in the duty she is burdened with. 'What duty might that be?': I hear you ask. Well, you know that death is something that we are all destined for, but sometimes when people die they don't cross over to the other side. We all end up in different places when we die and it's Suenamoon's job to help souls who have gotten lost or stuck on their way to the next life. She must find out what is tying them to this world so they can go in peace. If the unfinished business cannot be found the she must look after that person for all eternity. She too was once like them, a human who died and became lost in death so she understands what they are going through. As her apprentice I am obliged to help her find these ghosts who have lost their way this and I wasn't going to let a holiday away from England stop me from fulfilling my task.

I've been using my death daisy talisman to search for spirits that may be lost ever since I came to New Orleans a few days ago. My mother has been invited to star in a television program called 'Dragon's Den' and she took me and my little sister with us. A holiday with my mother might sound nice, but trust me, it really isn't. You see, my mum is a celebrity business woman and business is all she ever does. She hardly ever has any time for us even when she tries to take us to America and turn her television deal into a family holiday.

Myself and my handicapped sister will be on our own for most of the time with only for each other for company and she isn't much better than my mum. Don't get me wrong, my sister and I are good friends but she doesn't understand me. No-one does really, but I manage to avoid rejection and discord by keeping my feelings to myself. I'm too afraid to tell people how I really feel, especially my pushy mother. She's always expecting me to do things I don't want to do. Things that, well, just aren't me. She treats me like a porcelain doll and tries to preserve my beauty and dress me up to make me look elegant just so she can appear proper in front of her class… I shouldn't be boring you with all this. I'll tell you about something else. This is too upsetting for me to talk about right now.

How about my sister Jenny? Well, when I say she's handicapped I mean she has spina bifida and she's in a wheelchair. She'll probably never be able to walk but that doesn't stop her from having a big personality, as well as a big mouth. She has a rather cunning and sarcastic attitude and likes to make her feelings clear. Jenny is certainly not afraid to insult someone if she doesn't like them and she's very good at choosing her words when she mocks those who get on her bad side. However she can be quite the opposite when she meets someone she does like. Jenny possesses a talent which I fear will forever be beyond my understanding. She is good at making friends.

For the past few days since we got here Jenny has been constantly going in and out of the restaurant next to the river bay. But it's not for the food, (mostly), it's because she's recently befriended the restaurant's owner, Princess Cameron of Maldonia. I was greatly surprised when I heard that landmark of New Orleans was owned and run by royalty. Jenny tells me that the restaurant was handed down to the Princess from her grandma Tiana, the Queen Mother. Telling me that the Princess was an amazing chef and had a gift for cooking. But when my sister started talking about food I was forced to ask her to stop. I strongly dislike food, it embarrasses me and almost scares me. I've had an issue with eating ever since I was a child. My mother tells me that I have a lovely figure that most women would die for. But Jenny tells me that the words 'die for' should be taken literally because she thinks that I look like an x-ray. I am a very petite young woman and I wish I could change my ways and face the eating disorder but I lack the confidence to try.

Oh, I wish they wouldn't confront me about it, everyone is so conflicting about what they expect of me. Expectations I never seem to meet, just like the expectations Suenamoon had of me when she gave me this magic, thus far I had not accomplished a single spell. I was hopeless!

But regardless of my incompetence at being a witch I was determined to be of some use to my master as I wandered around the French Quarter of New Orleans with my glass rose in my hand. My talisman is the only magic I bear that is of any use to me, but that's be cause this floral amulet wasn't given to me by Suenamoon. It was given to me by a lady named Heidi when I was sixteen, but that's a story for another time.

My talisman also has a name. It is called a Death Daisy. Yes, I know it's a rose but Death Daisies can be any flower and they can be made out of any material. Pot, wood, bronze. Mine is made of glass and it is designed to bloom during the presence of a ghost or spirit. I know I said that I'd had it since I was sixteen but I never knew it was magic until I was nineteen years of age. It only started working three years ago when it led me to my master, The Keeper of souls. Now I was using it to find more spirits like her and just like my ghost friends who myself and Suenamoon watch over.

Here I was, away from Somerset, away from England, away from my master. One night I wandered around the once busy streets of New Orleans that had become empty when the rain started. When others fled from the falling droplets I remained present as I embraced the cooling weather. I loved the rain, it gave me peace since it was one of the few places where I could be alone.

As I walked past the balconies and into the alleyways my rose started to bloom and emit a teal green light. Something was here. My search led me down a narrow passage, through a tall rusty old gate and into a secluded area away from the busy streets. I briefly studied this wide open space and noticed the dead tree that still stood strong in the middle of this concrete square. This outside space was closed off by buildings in every direction, the only way in and out of this area was the passageway I had come from.

Old fire escape stairs and ladders hung from the sides the buildings. I say 'old' but it looked like they had been fixed and restored since the day they were first assembled. Climbing ivy clung to the walls, reaching out its stems vastly across the cobblestone. Dead weeds and moss grew out from in between the slabs of concrete beneath me. This place was actually quite warming to me since it was full of dead things. It almost reminded me of my ghost friends back home.

I looked up at the dead tree and aimed my face in the rain's direction as the drops pattered on my cheeks. I tried to look at the waving branches but I couldn't stop myself from blinking as the rain hit my eyelids. I suppose it didn't matter anyway, I wasn't supposed to be gazing at around at stone walls nor the dead organic matter that once thrived on it. I was supposed to be looking at my glass rose.

I glanced at my pretty little talisman and noticed that it had bloomed a step further and its light had also intensified. 'Somewhere here?' I thought. 'But why would there be a ghostly presence here? The buildings are restored and refurbished. Everything here is inhabited by living people.'

I spoke too soon when I laid eyes upon several wooden boards that lain horizontally across the wall in a dark corner. Had something been boarded up? But why? Why restore all the other buildings and merely abandon this one?

I wandered to the planks of wood and examined them closer, using my rose to shine a light on the timbers as I peeked through them. I saw a purple door with badly faded symbols painted onto it, but without my grimoire (my magic book) I couldn't translate them.

I had to remove at least one of these boards, but I had nothing on me that could manage such a task. There had to be something around here I could use. I looked around the floor in front of the wooden panels. Just leaves, litter, dead plant life…but then I saw something disturbing.

There was something next to the door, it looked almost humanoid in shape. Wooden perhaps? As it had decayed and turned almost black. An idol... Pins... Voodoo!... I wondered why on Earth there would be voodoo merchandise here in the corner of an alley square?... But my rose never lies… Something was here. I had to get inside. I had to know.

These timber boards were very old, some of the wear and tear over the years had to have compromised the material. I tugged at the one in front of me. It creaked but did not strain. I am quite weak in my physical strength. I'm a bookworm, not an athlete. I'm also scrawny with little muscle or fat on my bones, I seriously doubted that I could pull any of these planks off with my bare hands, but I had to try.

The bottom one. If I could get that one off then it meant I wouldn't have to pull any others away, I could just slide underneath. That's one advantage about being small I suppose. I pulled and tugged, splinters prickling my fingers and the solid wood dug into the heel of my palm, causing it to ache. I pulled at the weak parts at the edge where the nails were rusty. When the board still would not give I retrieved a large pin in from the idol-like figure that lain next to the door. I hacked at the wood around the nails, attempting to widen the holes and weaken their grip. I seemed to be making progress, the plank started to creak and strain. I ignored the aching in my wrists and palm and relentlessly yanked and pulled and then my body completely overbalanced and fell backwards as the stubborn board came loose in my hands.

I remained there for a few brief moments, regaining my composure both physically and emotionally as I looked up at the task I had just accomplished. Brief moments they were as I had no time for staring and dawdling. With the plank gone I had created a gap big enough for me to get through however I had forgotten one rather important problem that would most likely have stood in my way. What if the door was locked? I knew it had to be, no-one would leave the door unlocked before handing the keys over to the council so they could board it up. It's just common sense.

But how sturdy was to his door? Could it be broken down? Had it rotted and become loose over time? I picked up my rose and held it up to the door once again to make sure I was heading in the right direction. Another positive reaction from my talisman encouraged me to proceed.

I brought my body the ground with my rose still in my left hand. My chest pushing against the hard damp floor as I pulled myself along until my head was under the newly created gap in the boards.

I pushed the door gently with my free hand to see just how solid this door had remained over the years. As I pushed I felt the door move with my hand. I waited for the bolt inside the lock to make contact with the frame, some doors rattle when they're locked but they're still sealed. But as I continued to push and wait for the abrupt end of movement it soon became clear that things were not as I expected them to be. When the door opened a jar and separated from its frame it was obvious that it was not locked at all. I applied further pressure on my arm and force the door to open completely.

The moment the dark musty smelling interior was revealed to me my rose exploded into full bloom. The light from the rose shone on my face and revealed a curious smile as I eagerly yet cautiously dragged my damp body into the abyss...

…

That was yesterday. Since then I had discovered the presence of several powerful entities dwelling in this haunted emporium, most of which were probably protecting it. But there was another presence I had detected alongside these great spirits, it was the presence of a moral. An ordinary being like myself.

I went to investigate into what kind of spirits could be inhabiting such a place, and who was the mysterious mortal soul who existed with them? What would they be doing with an ordinary human being? My grimoire, the Book of Astaroth, told me of an ancient hierarchy of voodoo spirits that were associated with the symbols I found upon the door. One symbol in particular had embedded itself in my memory. In the lower left corner I had seen what looked like the veve of the Loa. A collective of voodoo gods whose power almost rivaled that of my master. I became certain that these were the powerful entities who resigned in this haunted territory.

But as for the mortal soul I had found, solving that mystery would require more than my book had to offer. My grimoire was ancient, forged more than three thousand years ago. If I was to discover the truth about who this person was and reveal their identity then I would need modern day information. Luckily my sister was there to inadvertently shed some light on my problem when she told me about her conversations with Princess Cameron. The Princess of Maldonia had spoken of a fairy tale which her grandma Tiana used to tell her, about how she defeated a voodoo witch doctor known as the shadowman by destroying the only object that might have helped him pay back his debt. The spirits he worshiped ended up dragging him to the other side, and that was the last anyone ever saw of him, eighty years ago.

Suddenly I understood it.

Despite the fact that this gentleman was taken body and soul I felt it my duty to try and deliver him from his predicament. I am only supposed to help the ghosts of people who are trapped in this world, but since I was the one who had discovered his presence I felt obliged to at least try to do something. It was safe to assume that I would be the only person to ever set foot inside that establishment again with the power and knowledge to reveal the Loa spirits or even realise they were there.

I returned to the haunted emporium during the early hours of the morning to seek out the spirits. I knelt down upon the bare wooden floor and began making my respectful attempt to make contact. I couldn't summon them using the spell in my book, I had no magic. I had to rely on them using their magic to contact me. I only hoped that they would heed my request and reveal themselves to me.

At three am in the morning, the demonic witching hour, I made my attempt to communicate with them… They answered my call.

They responded by appearing before me in the form of tiki masks suspended in front of the far wall, which was once covered over by the many drapes that had been hung around the stage I was kneeling on.

I suddenly felt terrified as their obvious leader glared down at me and scowled.

Here I was, alone with potentially the most dangerous entities I had ever stumbled upon, and I was the one who had awoken them from their slumber...

"Suenamoon…" I whispered my master's name for some kind of comfort in the face of my fear, although I knew she couldn't hear me from here in the mortal world. "...help me."