Tabatha Gray, psychiatrist, and necromancer has returned home to start a private practice. Instead she's faced with finding a child killer, solving a 20-year-old murder case and an organization wanting her dead.
After the murder of her brother, shapeshifter Bobbie Luckman is forced to return home to her village deep in the southern Louisiana swamps.For months, she’s fought
alongside her friends, Necromancer Tabatha Gray, and Firestarter Rhonda Meads, to take down a deadly unseen organization: Guardians Against Paranormal Sinners.Though
in her youth, Bobbie left the swamp, running from her responsibilities, this is home, these are her people, and she has returned to take her rightful place as leader of Clan Moran.
Her childhood friend, Kangee, meets her upon arrival and warns her of the attitudes of the villagers.Since the death of Bobbie’s brother, the clan has become divided.Some remain loyal to Bobbie while others want to leave behind the old leadership to follow the interloper, Cuda.
When rumors of strangers searching the woodland for Bobbie and her friends cause more tension to rise, the clan demands that Tabatha and Rhonda be sent away.
Cuda calls for a vote.The count is tied. Their bylaws state in such matters the final decision is made by the Tree Lady, an immortal sage who lives in a tree house in the
center of the village.Rhonda and Tabatha are allowed to stay.Cuda storms out of the village, his followers behind him.
The Tree Lady, Aetheria, reminds Bobbie of the tale of the True One who will one day come and battle for the end of the Curse of Cain, the mark given to him when hemurdered his brother Abel. Cain was the first shapeshifter, the first dragon. Aetheria assures that not only are the tales true, but that Bobbie is the True One spoken of in the prophecy.
Bobbie’s problems mount as a category five hurricane rages toward the southern gulf.The storm is predicted to hit the village within thirty-six hours. Bobbie orders everyone to evacuate.Bobbie, Kangee, Rhonda and Tabatha are the last to prepare to leave, but it’s too late.The storm is so close that it’s impossible to get away.
The girls must combine their mystical powers to overcome the storm, Guardians Against Paranormal Sinners, and break the Curse of Cain.
Excerpt
New Orleans
Chapter 1
Reporters were already clogging the cemetery entrance when Detective Derek Bainbridge pulled alongside the police units sitting end to end like a funeral procession down Basin Street. He leaned his head against the steering wheel. Bile burned his throat, and his stomach cramped from fighting nausea. He knew what awaited him--another dead child and not a trace of evidence--nothing to help him find the lunatic doing this.
A sharp knock at the window drew Derek’s head up with a snap. Detective Karney smiled through the glass like the brainless idiot he was. “What?” Derek shouted.
“Oh, nothing. Just wondered if you were going to get out of the car during this century. The kid is gonna start getting ripe.”
Gritting his teeth, Derek opened the door and exited his SUV. “You got business here, Karney, or just sightseeing?”
“I heard the call and was nearby. I’m leaving now.” Karney jerked his head toward the scene. “Don’t envy you this one. The Governor’s giving the Chief a lot of shit.” His smile widened bearing crooked, stained teeth. “And, it’s gonna run downhill all over you, Bainbridge.”
Derek swung the car door shut, forcing Karney to move or be knocked down. Derek made his way to the yellow crime tape stretched around an area containing eight elaborate crypts and what he knew would be the body of ten-year-old Selma Fortier. Thunder rumbled overhead, echoing through St. Louis Cemetery Number One as though the occupants of this necropolis were angry over the intrusion of the living.
He surveyed the scene and pulled in a deep breath instantly regretting it. Musty scents of centuries-old tombs and ever-damp soil intermingled with sticky-sweet aromas of gardenias and jasmine in bloom. Summer’s noontime heat settled over him in a humid, suffocating cloak, making the air seem that much more dense.
“Detective.” A uniformed officer stepped up beside him breathing hard.
Derek nodded once. “Who found her?”
Turning red-rimmed eyes to his left, the young officer indicated an old black man losing his lunch behind a grave. Sounds of his retching bounced from one tomb to another. The officer drew another deep breath. “Name’s Earl Levy. Came to visit his wife and found the girl’s body.”
“This your first murder?”
“No, sir. First kid, though. I got a son ‘bout that age.”
The officer swallowed so hard Derek heard his throat clench and then release. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I nearly got sick when I saw her, though. They’re not gonna let me live it down, either.” He gestured with a tilt of his chin toward two detectives trying to keep the press at bay. More reporters and cameramen jammed the wrought iron entrance of the concrete wall surrounding the cemetery, shouting questions and snapping photographs.
“Don’t let them fool you, kid. They’ve done their share of puking at crime scenes.” Derek swooped under the tape and strode to the remains of the murdered child. The killer had taken the time to pose the child’s nude body against a mold-blackened tomb--legs crossed at the ankles, tiny hands folded in her lap and head tilted to one side. The pose would appear peaceful had her face not been streaked with dried blood from maroon hollows where innocent eyes once viewed her world. The girl’s injuries exposed raw, bloody bone and ragged-edged flesh where her scalp belonged. As with the five children murdered before her, elaborate symbols were carved into her torso.
Mrs. Fortier’s tortured expression flashed across Derek’s memory and tore at his gut. For the last three days, she’d come to the station begging for answers. Having to tell the woman her baby was dead made his insides twist painfully.
A cocksure photographer from some supermarket rag made it over the wall and dashed close enough to snap a shot of the naked victim before two officers tackled him to the ground and confiscated his camera.
Frustration and anger fueled Derek’s temper. “Why don’t we have a blind up? Hasn’t the ME been here yet?”
The young cop’s back stiffened. “No, sir. Not yet. I roped off the area and kept everybody away. Crime scene’s not been messed with.”
Derek’s eyes were drawn to the front of the crypt where words written in blood taunted him. Always the same enigmatic message: Ogou La Flambo, Lieutenant of burning battlefields, gorge with this blood and grant me my revenge.
He turned when Detective Frank Panner, approached. Running fingers through his sandy-blond hair, Panner shouted orders to nearby men to blind the scene with tarpaulins. He glanced at Derek. “Found out what that Ogou La Flambo shit is.” He flipped his cigarette beyond the cordoned area. “Voodoo head-honcho. Some war god or something.”
“You think this could be a cult gone bad?”
Frank reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out another Marlboro. “Best motive I’ve heard so far. Isn’t this cemetery where Marie Laveau is supposed to be planted? Maybe . . .” He wiggled his eyebrows, and the corners of his mouth twitched with mirth.
“I’m in no mood for jokes, Frank. We have another dead kid. Or didn’t you notice?”
“Yeah. Number six.” Frank lit his cigarette and drew in a smoke clogged breath. “The Governor thinks you should be replaced, you know?”
Derek brought his face so close to Frank’s he smelled a mixture of peppermint and smoke on his breath. “I don’t give a damn what the Governor thinks. Let him come out here and see these kids. Then see if he can tell me what I’m not doing to find the son-of-a-bitch doing this.”
Frank held up his hands in stop-sign fashion. “Hey, man, I’m with you. Don’t kill the messenger. I’m just telling you what he said.”
Derek stepped away. “Sorry, man.”
“No need. I understand. This case is eating at everybody.”
“Have you talked to the guy who found her yet?”
With a shrug and a flick of his hand to dust away a smear of dirt from his shirt, Frank said, “No. Figured I’d let you talk to him first. But, Derek, do him a favor. Soften up that scowl. You look like you have a mad-on for the whole damned world.”
A shrill whistle drew their attention.
“Found something,” an officer yelled.
Detectives and officers converged on a pale yellow sheet of notepaper with two bloody orbs placed on top. Four words mocked them: She has to pay.
“Is . . . is that . . .?” The officer didn’t finish his question. “Oh, God.” He gagged and ran a few feet away before throwing up.
Frank whistled low. “You think those are the kid’s eyes?”
Derek gritted his teeth. “Bastard’s playing with us.”
Memories of a twenty-year-old unsolved murder teemed inside his skull like the buzz of a low hanging power line. As with this one, the killer’s note baited him. The taunting message reverberated over and over like a mantra in his brain.
I couldn’t let you have her.
Professional Reviews
Affaire de Coeur
Fugue Macabre: Ghost Dance
C.J. Parker
Light Sword Publishing
Trade Paperback
978-0979203008
****+ ( 4 ½ )
The voices of the dead have always been a part of Dr. Tabatha Gray’s life. Now those voices may do more good than she ever imagined by helping to solve a case and catch a killer. She’s a necromancer, and still learning to use the ability she has always considered more of a curse than a gift. There’s a fine line between good and evil and Tabatha has to maintain control of her power or she could find herself living a darker existence. Now that she’s returned home her life is in danger, along with everyone around her, and the police can’t keep them safe. It’s up to Tabatha and her friends to put an end to the evil stalking their every move.
When he comes across a scene right out of a horror movie, Detective Derek Bainbridge can hardly believe his eyes. Seeing Tabatha raise the dead and question them gives him the idea that she may be able to get the information they need to find the killer in a line of children’s murders. When it becomes clear that someone is out to get Tabatha and her friends, they’ll need all of their strengths to survive.
Fugue Macabre: Ghost Dance is an action-packed paranormal mystery. With a gathering of new friends, Tabatha delves into her power to find a killer and to stop a group of people intent on eliminating anyone they deem different. With a fast moving and suspenseful storyline, C.J. Parker takes readers on thrill ride of madness, love and the supernatural. Readers will be eager for more exciting adventure in the next installment.
Kimberly Swan
Affaire de Coeur
Tulsa World
Fugue Macabre: Ghost Dance
By C. J. Parker
(Light Sword Publishing: $16.95)
Previous Columns
Reviewed by: Patricia Ann Jones
The paranormal genre has a new star with the publishing of C. J. Parker's first volume of her trilogy, Fugue Macabre: Ghost Dance.
Parker's deftly written tale begins with the discovery of a little girl's mutilated body in an ancient New Orléans cemetery. This child is the sixth such unsolved murder. Think of it? Six children dead at the hands of some demented fiend. Who could commit such heinous crimes and why? All the victims were blond, young girls, all their bodies desecrated in the same manner. The cryptic message left at each scene suggests a Voodoo cult could have been involved. True, or simply a bit of misdirection?
Detective Derek Bainbridge, officer in charge, is to find the answers and solve these crimes. The governor has already put pressure on the New Orleans police chief to replace Bainbridge. The governor and others feel Bainbridge is burned-out, unable to perform due to the older, unsolved murder of his fiancé. A taunting message had also been left with Elizabeth's body -- "I couldn't let you have her." But that had been 20 years ago, just hours before Derek and Elizabeth were to be married. Surely there was no connection between her murder and the senseless killing of children.
Far away from New Orleans, in a New York City hospital, the story shifts to Psychiatrist Tabatha Gray. Dr. Gray is a respected physician, but she is something more. Tabatha is also a Necromancer, an animator, one who can raise and talk to the dead. Only her friend Bobbie Luckman, a nurse attendant, has actually witnessed Gray's secret-self. Bobbie has her own secret life to protect . . . don't we all?
Very soon we learn both Dr. Gray and Bobbie are from New Orleans. Both are planning to return back home. Dr. Gray to make amends with her estranged and ill mother. Bobbie to bury her brother who has died under mysterious circumstances.
Oh yes, Bobbie's secret? She is a Shape Shifter. The last of her line now that her brother is dead. Her special ability is to become, as needs dictate, either a large cobra or a sleek, black panther.
Of course Tabatha and Bobbie meet Detective Bainbridge in New Orleans, and as Sherlock Holmes might say, "The game is a foot."
At Gray Manor, Tabatha's New Orleans home willed to her by her deceased Grandfather, we meet Nyssa Bouchard. Nyssa befriended Tabatha and protected her from her seemingly cold- hearted and unloving mother until the day the mother sent Tabatha up north to school. Nyssa also has her own secrets. She was in love with Grandfather Gray and expected to be his heir. She couldn't have been more wrong. Nevertheless, Nyssa stayed on as the grounds keeper and lives in a small cottage behind the great house. Bertha, a servant at Gray Manor, and also a dear friend to Tabatha doesn't trust Nyssa.
Upon learning of Tabatha's return to New Orleans, Rhonda Meads, comes to Gray Manor seeking Tabatha's help. The two were not friends, but once knew each other as young girls. Rhonda's visit isn't a welcome one. All too well Tabatha remembers the red-haired woman's taunts and name calling. But now she dares to ask for "Witch" Tabatha's help? "You are going to help me," Rhonda screams at Tabatha. "I'm not taking no for an answer." Rhonda has quite a flaming personality. One might truthfully call her a Fire Starter!
So, there you have the story's ingredients: "One reluctant Necromancer pursuing peace. One burnt out Homicide Detective hunting a serial killer. One Shape Shifter seeking forgiveness. One Fire Starter searching for truth." Oh my, I must not forget . . . "One paid assassin seeking their deaths." Now, add to that mix liberal amounts of family secrets, lies, and treachery. Stir constantly until boiling begins. Serve with murder, suspense, and a dash of romance on the side.
Parker laces all the complex aspects of this strange, hypnotic story into a totally fascinating whole. Fugue Macabre: Ghost Dance has just the right flow and weave to cause readers to leave their disbelief behind and leap into this fantastic tale with wild abandon.
