Midnight Fantasy [The Doms of Sybaris Cove 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  Had they known they’d die, or had they believed the curse was bullshit? Or, had they simply been that brave and arrogant as to believe they could defy it anyway?

  She turned and watched the casual way everyone stood around in small groups, making small talk, as if they were at a family picnic instead of what might be the most important night of their entire lives. Was it in their blood? This casual indifference? Or was this merely a defense mechanism for most of them? Were they each as terrified inside as she was right now?

  She watched Celina, Arizona, and Dallas arrive. While the men went to talk to Javier and Garrett, Celina joined Renata on the beach. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “You know, I’ve never told Arizona or Dallas this. When I went to New Orleans last summer on my job interview, the plane hit some turbulence as soon as we took off. I had this horrible vision of it crashing right back into the Gulf, and me dying all because I’d had sex with a Durante and Raleigh man, as if the curse applied to any woman who dared to become involved with them.”

  “If that were true, a large percentage of the women on this island would be dead by now.”

  Celina chuckled. “That’s for sure. But it was scary enough at the time that I imagined how those original four must have felt right before they died.”

  Renata smiled. “I was just thinking of that. I wondered if they were simply too arrogant to believe the curse was real, and that’s why they left the island.”

  “I think that’s likely the reasonable explanation. From what I’ve heard all my life, they weren’t the same men we all know and love. They were just as greedy and ruthless as the stories indicate. Did you know that none of them took their wives with them when they tried to leave?”

  Renata shook her head. “I’ve always wondered about that. No one talks about the women who bore them children.”

  Celina leaned closer. “That’s because they all had affairs, and the great-grandmothers of several in this generation of Durantes and Raleighs likely weren’t married to one of the original four.”

  “Holy shit.”

  “Yeah. For all we know, some of us are actually their distant cousins. None of that is written down, of course. It’s speculation, but names have been mentioned from time to time.”

  “So, they probably did deserve the curse, then.”

  “I think so, yes. But that’s also why I believe this curse will be lifted tonight. Sure, some of them still do terrible things, but overall the families have turned things around. Phoebe’s Playthings gives back to the people here, and most of the Durantes and Raleighs are above-board now.”

  “That is true.”

  Celina studied her face carefully. “You love them, don’t you? Javier and Garrett.”

  Renata wasn’t the least bit surprised by Celina’s question. “Does it show?”

  “Yes.”

  Renata didn’t say anything. Instead she picked up a rock and tried to skip it across the waves, but it was lost in a swirl of dark water.

  “None of my business, but do they know?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  She finally made eye contact. “Because I wanted to wait and see what happened tonight.”

  “Renata, no one is going to be sacrificed. For heaven’s sake…I believe in all this stuff. I have my entire life. But that is not going to happen. Zaire, or one of us, will have to find another way to persuade these demons that the Durantes and Raleighs have learned to do good. That was the original condition of the curse, after all.”

  Renata stared at Celina for several seconds. “I should have told them I love them.”

  “So tell them now.”

  She and Celina were distracted by approaching headlights as they walked over to join Arizona, Dallas, Javier, and Garrett. Renata didn’t have the chance to ask her Doms if she could speak to them quickly in private because Zaire, Petra, Phyllis, Nita, Mark, and Brett had arrived.

  She grabbed Javier’s and Garrett’s hands as the crowd made their way across the beach, following Zaire and the others. He stopped near the base of one of the rocky hills and said something to those with him that Renata didn’t hear. Then Petra picked up a bullhorn.

  “All right, everyone. Zaire says to stay back about twenty feet. Nita, Mark, Brett and I are going to make a circle of stones around Zaire, but do not enter the circle unless you’re asked to. After that we will begin.”

  Most of the men stepped forward and began gathering rocks to help make the circle. One of them had a tape measure and actually walked off twenty feet. Renata leaned close to Celina. “What’s the significance of the number of feet?”

  “No significance that I know of. Sacred circles can be as large or small as you want them to be.”

  “He needs room for the loa and demons,” said Arizona, winking at Renata.

  Celina gave her Dom a dark look, but then the six turned their attention back to Zaire. He stripped down to nothing but a loincloth and then began to paint symbols on his torso.

  “If he wanted tats he could have gotten them downtown,” said Dallas.

  Celina slapped at his arm, and Renata relaxed a bit. If these two could joke about it, she wondered if anyone else in the crowd would take this seriously.

  Zaire took several implements out of a large black bag and began to chant, blessing each direction with a lit torch.

  “That’s Taino,” said Celina.

  “He’s actually speaking it?” asked Javier.

  “Well, it sure sounds like the dialect I’ve heard spoken. My maternal grandmother used to sing songs in Taino to me when I was little.”

  “I thought it was a lost language,” said Garrett.

  Celina shrugged. “It is. She told me the songs were passed down to her from her grandmother, so for all I know it’s not Taino but another language. But she said she was told it was Taino, and I’ve never been told otherwise, so there it is.”

  Renata hugged herself as a cold breeze passed over her. The sky was beginning to darken now, and she could no longer see the sun over the clouds that had formed at the edge of the horizon. Where had they come from? The night had been perfectly clear only moments earlier.

  She glanced around and realized for the first time how many people were here now. They pressed close to the circle, watching Zaire. He was alone inside the stones now. Even Phyllis, Petra, Nita, Mark, and Brett stood outside it.

  Zaire said something to Petra, and then she picked up the bullhorn again. “Zaire is ready to begin. He asks that there be complete silence as he prepares to call forth the loa. They usually appear as humans to our eyes, but if they choose to take another form, please do not react in any way that would make them believe you are afraid of them, or offended by them. If they refuse to help us tonight, we will have lost our chance to lift this curse.”

  Celina tapped Arizona on the shoulder. “I hope you’re listening to this, Sir.”

  He pulled her close and ruffled her hair. “Only because I love you, I’ll stay quiet.”

  Renata glanced up at Javier and Garrett in turn. If she didn’t tell them now, she might not have another chance to. But then Petra put down the bullhorn, and Zaire’s voice rang out over the crowd, surprisingly loud without the benefit of electronic amplification.

  She didn’t understand the words, but she recognized the names of the loa as the ones Jan had found listed in the clues and in Shona’s diary. At first, nothing happened, and all she heard were the waves crashing along the shore.

  But then a rumble started, and at first she thought it was thunder. She glanced toward the horizon, where the clouds were thick and dark now. They were much closer than they’d been only a minute earlier. She was about to say something to Javier and Garrett, but laughter rang out, chilling the blood in her veins before she could speak.

  It wasn’t human laughter. That much she knew. And judging by the looks on the faces of those closest to her, so did everyone else. It filled her senses until she had t
o clamp a hand over her mouth not to scream, and then it dissipated as four shapes took place inside the circle, next to Zaire.

  Chapter Sixteen

  If Javier hadn’t seen the four men appear next to Zaire inside the stone circle with his own eyes, he’d never have believed such a thing was possible. They were dressed in clothing that would look more appropriate on a pirate ship than in the twenty-first century, but at least they looked human.

  Renata squeezed his hand, and when he glanced down at her face, she didn’t look frightened. Rather, she looked both amused and skeptical, as if she didn’t want to believe what her own senses told her.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” whispered Arizona.

  “We already are,” said Garrett. He grinned in Javier’s direction, and then both men turned their attention back toward the circle.

  Zaire took more items out of his bag, including what Javier swore was a bottle of tequila, and laid them at the feet of the four pirates. “We seek your help tonight,” said Zaire. “You know why I have called you forth. The families of this island were cursed over sixty years ago, and their descendants are here tonight. They are ready for this curse to be lifted.”

  The loa glanced out over the crowd, and Javier shivered. They weren’t quite close enough to see the loa’s eyes, but he caught their aura easily enough. Humor mixed with greed was the best way he could describe it. They picked up the tequila bottle and the food that Zaire had placed in front of them and proceeded to eat and drink.

  “What’s next?” whispered Arizona. “Card tricks?”

  Several people standing near shushed him, including Celina. Renata glanced up at Javier with a confused look on her face, so he squeezed her hand. No matter what happened in that circle tonight, he was going to tell her that he loved her. He and Garrett both had waited long enough. She needed to hear it, and he needed to let her know.

  * * * *

  Renata thought this whole thing had gone from a bit scary and intriguing to ridiculous. The four loa, dressed as pirates, for God’s sake, sat down in the middle of the circle. They ate something she couldn’t see and shared a bottle of tequila, while the crowd around them watched in near silence. Except for Arizona’s comments and a few others she heard, no one moved or spoke, just like Zaire had requested.

  It was colder now, and she moved closer to Javier and Garret for warmth. The dark clouds were overhead, and when she glanced up at the sky, she swore they were becoming thicker with every passing second. If it rained, she was out of here.

  Finally, the silly pirates stood, and one of them asked Zaire what he wanted.

  “I ask you to call forth Succorbenoth, Verin, Xic, Nybras, and Patan, and beseech them to lift this curse once and for all.”

  “They require a boon.”

  “We are prepared for that.”

  “The hell we are,” said Arizona. He spoke so softly that Renata barely heard him, but one of the loa turned toward them and grinned.

  She swallowed hard and squeezed Javier’s and Garrett’s hands harder.

  “And why do you think they deserve the curse to be lifted?” asked the loa who had grinned in their direction.

  “The current generation have redeemed themselves,” said Zaire. “They are intimate with island natives, their company is legal, and they contribute to the society of this island, and to the societies on the mainland.”

  “Not all of them do this,” said another loa.

  “There is evil all over the world,” said Zaire. “All should not be punished because of the actions of a few.”

  The four loa bent their heads together and talked in tones so soft she couldn’t hear them. Renata chided herself for becoming so upset over this. It was like watching a bad play, and she couldn’t help but wonder now if the curse had ever been real to begin with. The fact that these creatures had appeared out of nowhere wasn’t lost on her, but she truly wondered how much actual power they had to do anything other than finish off a bottle of tequila and a plate full of Cajun food.

  Finally, the one who hadn’t yet spoken stepped closer to Zaire. “Very well. We have decided to help you. But we are not responsible for the demons’ decision.”

  “Agreed and understood,” said Zaire. Then he bowed, and Renata heard someone behind her laugh softly. “And we thank you for your intercession,” said Zaire. “All of us here tonight thank you.”

  “There are skeptics in this crowd,” said the loa who had told Zaire they would help them. “Instruct them to keep that in check or the demons might decide to curse everyone on this island.”

  The maniacal laughter rang out again, and then the four men disappeared in a swirl of black smoke. The air grew thick, and a foul smell wafted across her nose. Apparently everyone else smelled it, too, because the crowd grew noisy.

  Zaire picked up the bullhorn. “You must be quiet! Do not react to them! Do you want this curse lifted or not?”

  That worked, but at the same time, Renata had an urge to bolt for the Jeep and get the fuck out of here. The smell grew worse, and then thunder and lightning forced screams from several people. A thick, dark cloud descended inside the circle, and Zaire stepped toward the edge of the stones, but he didn’t cross them. Renata decided that he was either very brave or incredibly stupid.

  She drew in a sharp breath but held back the scream that threatened as five creatures appeared inside the cloud. Their hideous form was brief, but she knew it was real. It was no longer possible to deny what her own senses told her she’d seen. They took human form when the smoke cleared, but there was no way that everyone here hadn’t seen their demon forms for a split second or two.

  Everyone around her grew quiet, except for one person she heard sobbing.

  “We’re not in Kansas anymore,” muttered Arizona.

  One of the demons turned his gaze in their direction, and then he smiled, but it was more of a sneer and Renata had to close her eyes to keep from passing out.

  “What do you require of us?” asked the one closest to Zaire.

  “The current generation of Durantes and Raleighs has proven themselves worthy of you lifting the curse placed on them. They ask this of you tonight.”

  “All have not proven themselves worthy.”

  “There are evil men all over the world. All should no longer be punished because of the sins of a few.”

  “So then you admit a few have not learned the evil of their ways.”

  “Do not twist my words, Patan.”

  “You and I have no quarrel, Zaire. Why do you intercede for these people? They are strangers to you.”

  His voice was like butter, cutting through her thoughts, but also confusing them. All the stories she’d heard growing up came rushing back at her. Demons are crafty. They use your weaknesses against you, and trick you into believing the sky is green and grass is blue. But surely Zaire would know that, and he wouldn’t allow himself to be out-foxed.

  “I am here to proclaim they have proven themselves. They have lived up to the terms of the curse. I command you to release them from it.”

  The four loa appeared again, one on each corner. The demons glanced toward them but didn’t move or speak to them. Instead, Patan addressed Zaire again. “You have many friends here, but that will not change the fact that we require another sacrifice to lift this curse. It has been too long now.”

  “We are prepared for that.” Zaire raised his hands in the air. “But I need your oath on this, in the presence of the loa, that you will keep your end of the bargain. If a boon is offered, the curse will be gone forever.”

  Patan nodded once. “You have our word.”

  Zaire picked up the bullhorn again and addressed the crowd. “It is time for the volunteer to step forth. The only way to end this is to offer up another boon.”

  No one moved. Several people turned to look at her, but she ignored them. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t possibly be real. Any second now, she’d wake up and realize it had been nothing but a terrible dream.

&nb
sp; Arizona and Dallas bent their heads together and then whispered something to Celina. Arizona whispered something to Javier, and Dallas whispered close to Garrett. Her Doms let go of her hands, and then Celina was at her side. “Don’t worry,” she whispered. “Their plan will work.”

  “What plan?”

  Celina shook her head. “Just watch.”

  The four men went forward into the crowd, each one saying something to a Durante or a Raleigh as they moved closer to the circle. As the men moved forward in a group, more men joined them, including all the other Doms in the current triads. Arizona and Dallas led them, arms linked, and the men behind them walked in columns like soldiers used to do, their arms linked as well.

  Renata hugged herself as shivers ran up and down her spine. They were going to approach the demons, united as a family. As both families. The bravery and determination was palpable, and her heart swelled with pride for Garrett and Javier.

  When the men reached Asa and Tim, Renata couldn’t hear everything they said. Asa didn’t even hesitate to join his son. Tim, however, did not join Dallas.

  Celina leaned close to her. “I want to get a better look. Come on.” She took Renata’s arm and led her toward the fringes of the group. They circled around and made their way to a large rock, where they scrambled up and had a much better view of the circle, almost directly below them.

  Goose bumps broke out over her limbs as Renata watched the wall of men march toward the circle, arm-in-arm, with Arizona, Dallas, Asa, and now Javier and Garrett also leading the way. Their faces held no trace of fear. Their heads were high, and confidence graced their features. She was more in love with them now than she’d ever been.

  When they reached the stones, everyone close to them moved aside so the men could face the demons. “You won’t take one of us,” said Asa. “Enough is enough. We have proven ourselves worthy time and again these past sixty years. Lift this curse now.”

  The only sound was the constant crash of the waves. The demons stared down Asa, Arizona, Dallas, Javier, and Garrett, but none of the men even flinched. Renata glanced toward Celina, who had tears in her eyes. She beamed with pride.