A few days had passed since the incident with Ed, Sam and Jonny and Samantha was worried. She hadn't seen Facilier since the day after that ordeal and it had her on edge. Finally, when she couldn't take it anymore, she went to visit him.
She walked down the street, not letting anything distract her from her task at hand. She swallowed, trying to keep the thoughts of what could have happened to him out of her mind. Finally, she reached his emporium. She noticed an unnatural purple glow coming from under the doorway and a chill ran down her spine.
Leave, a voice hissed into her ear. She shook her head and put her hand on the door nob. She cracked the door open slightly and gasped, frightened by what she saw.
Break
Facilier stood in his emporium, surrounded by masks of various sizes. He took off his hat and gave a low bow.
"Friends," he said, greeting the masks politely. He stood up straight and placed his hat back on his head. "If y'all don't mind me askin', why exactly are y'all here? I've already told y'all, I'm gettin' souls as fast as I can. I-I thought I made that clear last Thurs..."
Quiet! The head mask snarled. Facilier winced, his heart quickening. This wasn't the first time in as many weeks that The Friends had visited him and he was becoming concerned. He new the were growing more and more impatient with him, and he knew he couldn't stall forever. The Friends wanted one of two things, result, or him. And lately he wasn't giving them much so far as results. That isn't the issue at hand. The problem we wish to deal with, is that distraction of yours.
"Distraction?" He asked. "Beg pardon, but I don't know what you mean." The mask glared at him and let out a low growl.
You know perfectly well who we speak of, it snarled. That female. The new one. The one with the green eyes. Facilier froze.
"S-Sammy?" He asked. The main mask grinned cruelly.
Yes, it hissed, it and the other masks chuckling. Sammy. Your constant time with her is unexceptable. You are supposed to be out feeding us, not mating with every female that offers. Your disobediance is unexceptable, and we think it is high time you were punished for it. A clawed, shadowed hand appeared from the ground and slashed Facilier across his stomach. Facilier cried out in pain and dropped to the ground, his arm curled protectively around his belly, trying to keep his insides just that. He stared up at the masks, his eyes wide with fear. The masks chuckled menacingly as the hand morphed into a large axe. It positioned itself over Facilier's neck and lifted up into the air. Facilier closed his eyes, waiting for the end. Before the axe could come down and take off his head, Samantha cried out.
"No!" She gasped. The masks turned to look at the direction of the noise and smiled. The axe vanished and a shadow grabbed hold of Samantha dragging her into the emporium and lifting her up into the air. Facilier looked over and frowned.
"Sammy?" He choked out, trying to lift himself off the ground. The masked chuckled and brought Samantha over to them
Look whose here, they hissed in unison. Just the female we wanted to see. They looked at Facilier than back at Samantha. You care for him, don't you? They asked her. Enough to risk your own life to save his, hmm? Samantha nodded, too frightened to speak. The masks chuckled menacingly. Than you are a fool, they hissed. A purple dagger appeared in front of Facilier. You will see soon enough where his loyalties lie. They dropped Samantha and turned to Facilier, who had cautiously picked up the knife and was now staring at them, confused.
"What..?" He started.
If you value your life, they growled, then kill her. Facilier stared at them before shaking his head.
"No," he said. The masks looked stunned for a moment then glared down at him
What? They snarled.
"I said 'No!'" He snapped, throwing the knife across the room. The masks just stared at him, stunned.
Hmm, they said. Perhaps we have underestimated you affection for this female. The shadowed had re-appeared and slashed Facilier across his throat. He coughed, struggling to breath. The hand disappeared and the masks vanished with a chuckle. Once they were gone, Samantha rushed to Facilier's side.
"Hold on," she told him. The cuts across his throat weren't very deep, but they were deep enough to impair his breathing.
"Shadow," he choked out. "T-the blue powder." Shadow nodded, and limped off to get it, as injured as his master was. Samantha looked over Facilier, who was laying on his back, gasping for breath. The slashed across his stomach had cut clean through his skin and muscles, leaving his entrails visable. His blood flowed from the wounds and soaked into the floor beneath him. Shadow came back over with a blue sack and handed it to Samantha. Samanth opened the bag and dumped the contents onto Facilier's wounds. Slowly, they started to heal. Carefully, Samantha picked him up and carried him to the couch. Once his breathing had returned to normal she spoke.
"What were those thin's?" She asked. He looked at her and shook his head.
"What day is it?" He asked.
"Monday," she said. He looked up at her and moaned.
"Just my luck you'd visit me on a Monday mornin'," he said. "What a way to start a week." Samantha frowned.
"What were those thin's?" She asked again.
"My Friends," Facilier responded, putting an odd emphasis on 'friends.' Samantha looked at him as a horrible relization came to her.
"They're the ones you've been killin' for, ain't they?" She asked. Facilier nodded.
"If I don't they'll kill me," he said.
"Then why didn't you kill me?" She asked. Facilier looked up at her, appauled.
"S-Sammy," he stuttured. "No. Just no. We're friends chere. I wouldn't do that to y'all." He tried to stand up but fell back onto the couch.
"You're still hurt," Samantha said. "Just relax." Facilier nodded and leaned back into the couch, closing his eyes. Within a few minutes he had fallen asleep. Samantha got up from the couch and walked around the emporium, not willing to risk what might happen if she left his side. Finally she wentt and sat back down next him. Soon, she too was asleep.
Another hoodoo superstition. If a woan visits you on a Monday morning, you'll have bad luck for the rest of the week. Though in fairness to Samantha, Facilier's luck went South years before he met her.