To my boys. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.
And never forget what I’ve always quoted to you:
When I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun …
There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.
Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?
And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.
Together, we will rise, and we will overcome. You are my lights in the darkness and never has any mother been prouder of her sons. I love you now and forever.
And for my grandfathers, who each taught me different life lessons.
As always, to my most awesome Tor team for everything they do! You guys are the best! And for Robert, Linda, and Claire for being there! Thank you so very much!
“Oh great Ghede, rise up! Come to us and do what we say!”
Valynda Moore rolled her eyes at Helena Day as she and her sister, Prudence, danced around the small beach fire in sheer chemises. Their loose, pale blond hair trailed about their plump shoulders as they drank rum and frolicked in the moonlight. “Your father will kill you if he sees you like this.”
Taking another deep drink from the bottle before she passed it over to her sister, Helena scoffed at her. “Don’t be such a ninny prig! Come and join us.”
Seated on the ground beside Valynda, Margaret Latimer turned to another page in the book she was reading. She glanced up toward Helena. “It says here to scatter the white rum with herbs to entice him from his sea kingdom.”
Pru quit dancing to blink at Margie. “Scatter it where?”
“The fire, no doubt.” Helena grabbed the rum back from her sister’s hand, and before Valynda could warn her that it was highly flammable, slung it at the flames.
The girls shrieked as it exploded toward the heavens and caused hot, sparkling embers from the sea breeze to rain down on them.
Except for Valynda, who never screamed, and especially not over such foolery. Rather she thought them ridiculous in their drunken revelry.
“Now toss in the herbs!” Margie reminded them.
Herbs which also turned out to be highly flammable, as there was no telling what those silly lunatics had gathered for their summoning ritual so that they could entice the ancient being they wanted to ask about their future husbands.
As if!
After shrieking and hollering some more over the small explosion they caused, they returned to singing their lude chant to invoke their Voodoo spirit.
Her ears ringing from the raucous cacophony, Valynda sighed in irritation. It was more than she could take. It was one thing for her friends to tell her they planned to be this ridiculous, it was another to witness it firsthand and lose all respect for them. She’d tried on multiple occasions to tell them that the ghede Nibo was the spirit for the dead and wouldn’t know anything about their would-be husbands. Still, they kept insisting … provided he existed at all, which Valynda highly doubted. Such was her very nature.
And they callmeridiculous for my sanity.
Worse, they’d ignored her completely, while they went around the island compiling a list of what they’d need to perform a hokey Voodoo ritual from the hodgepodge of people Val was rather certain had been mocking them.
Unable to stand any more acoustic abuse, Valynda pushed herself to her feet, intending to head home.
Helena tossed more rum on the fire. “Oh great Ghede, come to us and do what we say!”
Valynda ducked the flames as the fire exploded around her. Enough already! They were about to summon the watch and be caught.
