Read Online Healing the Bayou by Mary Bernsen - Free Book Online

They wanted me to go through an online college, but I insisted that no matter what my career choice at some point I would have to come into contact with people.
    I had spent the last eight years slowly inserting myself into a seminormal early adulthood, and I must have been fairly successful because they didn’t fight me on my decision to get a graduate degree. I chose psychology because secretly I believed my abilities were nothing more than an extreme manifestation of some kind of anxiety disorder.
    The analyzer in me was beginning to rear its head. I observed Aunt Vivian frowning as she stared out into the distance, afraid to ask the question that was beating down on me. But if I was going to be staying with her I needed to know who she was.
    “Aunt Vivian, do you practice dark magic?”
    She welcomed the distraction from whatever was going on in her mind. “Of course I have at one time or another, but I don’t make a habit of it.”
    She said it so nonchalantly it was a little troubling, and I didn’t have any desire to learn the details of her past. What if she had hexed someone? Everyone had heard of Voodoo dolls and I’d bet she’d used her share.
    “Did my mother practice as well?”
    “Your mother was the Queen!”
    “What does that mean?” She had used the term along with priestess, but she hadn’t elaborated.
    “She led our community. Once she died I took over as matriarch, but I was never announced as the new Queen. I was training Camille to take over my position, and it killed me to take the role outside of the family. But now I don’t have to do that. And with the amount of power you have, you’ll be Queen in no time.”
    Surely she wasn’t suggesting I convert into her world of magic? I tensed at the expectation, but her eyes looked so hopeful I knew it would break her heart if I chose not to.
    “Aunt Vivian, I have to return to Florida next week.”
    Her brow creased and her smile faded. “But you’ve only just gotten here!”
    “I know, but I have to start school again in the fall.”
    “It’s barely June. You can stay a while longer, can’t you?”
    “I…I don’t know—”
    “Eliza, stay a few weeks. Learn about your history and about the religion you were born into. It’s almost Saint John’s Eve and a perfect opportunity for you to see what kind of life you could have here. No other day is as powerful. At the end of the summer if you still want to leave, then you can. But there are colleges here too, you know.”
    I sighed heavily. I wanted to learn about this world. I belonged here, I could feel it. But I was also terrified of what was under the surface of it all. There was a reason the true members of the religion stayed so hidden, and if my dream was any indication of what it was all about, there was no wonder. I needed to think about it all, but it didn’t make any difference whether I thought about it here or back home.
    “All right, I’ll change my flight,” I caved.
    “Wonderful!” Aunt Vivian jumped to her feet with excitement. Why was she was so limber today when just yesterday she couldn’t bring herself to her feet without assistance? Perhaps she had taken one of the healing baths she had drawn for me last night. It really was remarkably relaxing. Of course what aches would a twenty-four-year-old have in comparison to Aunt Vivian?
    The sky was darkening, and we made our way through the maze of crypts back to Aunt Vivian’s house. I kept my distance from the frightening tree until I noticed someone standing behind it.
    I stopped. Did the Voodoo community still have enemies? The thought spiked my adrenaline. Maybe the person was going to jump us when we passed a quiet alley? My aunt was their leader. If there were enemies to speak of, she would be an ideal victim.
    A surge of protectiveness came over me, and I charged over to the tree, paying no attention to the features that had once made me uneasy. Whoever it was would have to look me in the face if they were