Water is Thicker than Blood (post-apocalyptic blues universe) Read online

  “I’m my own man. I ain’t gonna work for slave wages for Samedi.”

  “Lawd! Listen to you. You were gone almost a week, nearly got yourself killed, lost one of your friends, and earned a grand total of $100. Only thing you a slave to is your damn pride!”

  “Pride is all a man has when the world don’t give him nothing.”

  “I guess I’m nothing to you, then?”

  “Don’t start, woman.”

  “It’s done been started. We ain’t got nothing because you more concerned about your pride than surviving. They got good jobs at the Recycling Center and the Salt Processing plant. Good jobs that have regular pay and don’t require you fighting off cannibals or ferals or getting yourself irradiated. But you hate on the Baron too much to do anything you think will help him look good. So instead you would rather run off and risk getting yourself killed.

  “You been sulking about for days when you could have been fixing things around the house, leaving me to depend on the kindness of neighbors just to have water to drink. Does your pride got any room for me? Do you even know what tomorrow is?”

  Hank looked up at her and scowled. “Now all the sudden you want to do something for your birthday?”

  “Maybe. Maybe just once I’d like to. Even if it was just a card. Card wouldn’t be going too much out of your way for your wife.”

  “Where am I supposed to find a card?”

  “That bookbinder fella down the way.”

  “The mute? Don’t he work for the Circle of Magi?”

  “He just makes paper and binds books for them. He ain’t no wizard ‘cause he can’t talk to cast spells from what I understand. He makes cards for special occasions, too. Folks been getting them for loved ones. He makes all kinds of cards.”

  “Yeah, and how much are they?”

  “I think Lorraine said she spent ten dollars for one she got her parents for their anniversary.”

  “Ten dollars! Ain’t no piece of paper worth that.”

  “It ain’t just a piece of paper.”

  “Ain’t no card worth that, either.”

  Rue slumped her shoulders and went back into the house.

  * * *

  Open sessions at the Old Courthouse were a sight to behold.

  When Baron Samedi arrived in New Orleans all those years ago, the only people with the zombie affliction locals had ever seen were ferals that you shot straight in the head before they attacked you. But the Baron had a way about him despite looking like a corpse. Where a person would think a victim of the zombification would be either completely crazy or always depressed, Baron Samedi wore his affliction like a blessing from God. He often said that the Lord saw fit to preserve him so that he could restore New Orleans to her proper glory and create a community worthy of the people who lived there.

  The Baron had been a civil engineer before Doomsday, so he knew all sorts of things about what the city would need to make itself whole. He and his Chevaliers didn’t just bring their knowledge and skill with them. They brought a sense of self-worth and hope. Sure, there were petty political squabbles between the Zombi Court and the Queen’s Circle, mostly because Lady Rae felt it disrespectful for the Baron to call after himself with the name of one of her revered voodoo loas instead of using the name his mama had given him. But even the Voodoo Queen couldn’t deny the effectiveness of the Court.

  Once a month, the Baron opened the Old Courthouse to the general public so that he and his Chevaliers could give a full accounting of things and hear any problems folks had. People took these sessions seriously and dressed accordingly. Those who could afford it would buy new outfits to wear for the occasions. But everyone made sure their clothes were cleaned and mended even if they weren’t new. Nobody wanted to insult the efforts of the Baron by showing up before him in filthy rags.

  Rue felt a bit like a princess as she walked up the courthouse steps with Lula and Joseph. Joseph had gone to the expense of buying both Rue and his mother corsages. Corsages! It was such a luxury. Each was made of freshly picked crimson-eyed rose-mallow. Joseph said the Circle of Magi cultivated the flowers for various alchemy purposes. She was suspicious of that at first, but Joseph said alchemy was just a more scientific form of the apothecary work folks like Ms. Joleene did to make her remedies. And if God created all plants, then He created them with all of the powers they had inside them. Wasn’t no sin to access that which God put there Himself.

  Her opinion of Joseph, and his friends at the Circle, had changed a bit. He was still the same good son he had always been. He took good care of his mama and by all appearances was using his magic for good. He had taken it upon himself to help Rue in her time of need when nobody would have expected him to do so or blamed him if he didn’t. If his power was coming from the Devil, Satan must have been furious that Joseph was doing God’s work with it.

  Several women in the assembly stopped them to comment on the corsages. It was a nice change to be the one people looked on with admiration instead of being the one doing the admiring. She was glad to be here with her friend and Joseph instead of Hank. Hank would have just made her feel guilty for enjoying the attention.

  Chevalier Armand, the only member of the Zombi Court who was not afflicted with zombification, stepped onto the stage and asked everyone to take their seats so that the open session could begin. A few women hooted at him, causing a contagious giggle to spread throughout the assembly. Armand was a handsome man; a type of handsome that belonged to another time. Like the type of handsome hinted at on the worn movie posters or in mildewed magazines that occasionally turned up in the city. Even Rue made a mental note to ask the Lord for forgiveness later for the sin of wondering what that man looked like naked.

  He went through the ritual of presenting each Chevalier one at a time. When the entire Zombi Court was on the stage, only then did he introduce Baron Samedi. The assembly stood and cheered as he walked toward his chair. He turned to the audience, removed his purple top hat, and bowed before taking his seat.

  “My dear brothers and sisters of this Blessed City, I thank you for extending me the kindness of your presence this evening,” began Samedi. “My heart is filled with joy seeing you all here to lend your voices to ours, so that we may together decide on the future of Nola not only for ourselves, but for our children and our children’s children.

  “We have struggled long and hard together. We have sacrificed. We have done without so our neighbors would not. We have stood firm against the evils of the apocalypse and refused to allow the forces of chaos to drive us from our righteous course. We have pushed ourselves to the limits of human ability, and then broke those limits through faith in God and faith in each other.”

  “Praise Jesus!” shouted a woman from the back.

  “Amen!” shouted several others, included Rue. Lula clutched her hand in agreement.

  “It is with elation in my soul that I can tell you that our perseverance has bore fruit. Our engineers have achieved a breakthrough at the Algiers Power Plant. A breakthrough that will finally restore electricity to the entire city!”

  A collective gasp of excitement flowed over the audience. The Baron offered a summary of the plan. Phase one would launch in two months with the restoration of the power lines through the Algiers district. Once the power grid was confirmed for Algiers, the efforts would expand to each district until the entire city had power. The Baron estimated that the complete project would take five years. He then asked Chevalier du Os to explain the process in detail.

  Rue’s mind was racing. Electricity! It sounded like a fantasy. No more burning candles for light at night or having to fill a generator to operate the water purifier. In five years or less, she’d be able to flip a switch just like in the days before the war.

  Hank would find fault. He always found fault with Baron Samedi. Hank took a disliking to the Baron the first day he saw him. Said the Baron was up to no good and would turn Nola into his own little dictatorship. And each time the Zombi Court announced a new
initiative, Hank would go on about how it would fail or turn out to be bad. And the more times the Baron proved Hank’s suspicions wrong, the worse Hank’s hatred grew.

  Rue always suspected Hank just hated on Samedi because his brother had been killed by ferals, and the Baron being a zombie himself reminded him of that. But it wasn’t Christian to hate on people just for sharing the same affliction as those who did something wrong. Even the Voodoo Queen, for all her venom-spitting in the Baron’s direction, still respected his good works for Nola. Rue supposed Lady Rae just put on airs to keep Samedi on his toes. Way he gave as well as he took from her; it wouldn’t surprise Rue if there wasn’t in fact some affection between them even with him being a zombie. Stranger things have happened.

  Joseph bought them all sweetened drinks from a street vendor after the session ended. It was close to midnight by the time they left the courthouse, but lots of folks stayed in the street socializing and buzzing with excitement about what had happened.

  “You know, Ms. Rue, Mr. Hank could profit from this if he up for it,” said Joseph.

  “He ain’t gonna look for no work at the power plant.”

  “No, no. I mean a man of his skills could scav up all those old appliances that got left behind and that nobody ever bothered with all these years for want of electricity. I didn’t see no for any other scavengers in the assembly, so word will be slow reaching them.”

  “Oh, that’s a good idea!” said Lula. “Hank could go find all those things maybe even still in the boxes, and you could sell them for a fortune to people!”

  “Archmage Hex paid a man $200 for a microwave oven, and it needed additional repair for it to work. Imagine what people will pay for working ones don’t need no repairs once power is restored.”

  Rue nodded in agreement, but then tilted her head in confusion. “Why your Archmage be needed a microwave? Amount of fuel it take to run a generator to power it just as for cook on a fire.”

  Joseph looked around for eavesdroppers before leaning in to Rue. “We’ve had electricity at the Circle for the last year.”

  Lula slapped her son on the shoulder. “You ain’t told me that!”

  “I’m telling you now!” He rubbed his shoulder. “Ain’t known yet. Archmage want to keep it that way until we’re for sure it’s stable.”

  “How you all get electricity? Ain’t none of you engineers, are you?” asked Rue.

  “Engineers? No, ma’am. But we have alchemists been working on a special generator that don’t need fuel. Runs on crystals.”

  “Oh hush your mouth!” said Lula. “Now you are telling stories.”

  “Mama! You gonna say something like that before Ms. Rue knowing what you’ve seen? Besides, it ain’t all that strange. A quartz battery is made from a tiny little quartz crystal. Same principle just on a bigger scale is all. So far, the generator’s been stable enough to power lights inside so as no need for oil lamps and candles. You know this been a concern for the Archmage after that fire few years back damaged a bunch of books. And we’ve been doing more and more with it to see how much power it can output. Archmage got big plans.”

  “And what you all gonna due with this crystal generator?” asked Rue.

  “Well, Archmage is hoping we can get enough power make Bywater its own local water purifier, so we don’t has to wait on the Court and all. We know the Baron means to get around to citywide plumbing on day, but one day is a long ways off. So the Archmage, he got to figuring be good to take care our neighbors while we wait.”

  “Well bless his heart,” said Lula. “But… this probably ain’t the time… but don’t you just…” she waves her hands around wildly as it casting a spell.

  “Mama, hush.” Joseph looked around again, and then motioned for them to start walking home. “Ms. Rue don’t want to be hearing this.”

  “No, it’s fine,” said Rue. “I was sort of wondering what you meant before ‘bout conjuring water.”

  Joseph took Rue’s hand in his and gently squeezed it. “Ms. Rue, I know you been disapproving of me practicing magic. But as I explained to mama, magic just another talent. Like being able to do math without needing for scratch paper or running fast or being able to lift heavy things. Or like getting an old power plant up and running, like they doing now. Talents are just talents. It’s what you do with them decide whether it’s good or bad.”

  Rue nodded. “Well true that I suppose.”

  “He just conjure a tub full of water at a time,” added Lula. “He ain’t Moses parting the Red Sea.”

  “Still, a tub full of water out of nothing is something!”

  “That’s how I been taking care of mama. I conjure water then sell it to folks in Bywater. It’s good for everyone ‘cause I sell it for less than the market in the Quarter, and folks don’t have to go out their way to get it. But I can only conjure so much a day before I start to tire. Otherwise, I’d probably just give it away for free.”

  “If you working, even if it’s conjuring, you should be paid,” said Rue.

  “That’s kind of you, Ms. Rue. Very kind. Archmage doesn’t like the idea of charging people for something they need to survive, but he understand that when something hard to get those that got it need to make something for it. But that’s why he hopes to get a purifier up and running. We got so much water up and around here in Bywater but it just needs cleaning. If we can clean it all nobody ‘round here ever need to pay money for water again.”

  “And too that be helping the whole city, ‘cause if Bywater is self-sufficient then Baron don’t need to put resources into it and can help others quicker,” added Lula. “That’s a fine thing he’s doing. A fine thing.”

  “Lawd, child. Lawd,” said Rue. “You need be apologizing to that man for me, seeing how I had so many bad thoughts about him.”

  “Oh, never you mind that, Ms. Rue. Archmage Dex got himself a thick skin and don’t worry none what people think in the privacy of their own heads.”

  “Just the same, you let him know I said he doing God’s work.”

  They approached Rue’s house to find Hank on the front step drunk.

  “Where you been, woman?”

  “Hank, get inside and go to bed. What wrong with you drinking in public like a fool?”

  “I ain’t drinking in public. I’m on my own porch.”

  “Mr. Hank, the public can see you, sir. Might do well to go sleep some.”

  “Shut your mouth, Devil boy!”

  “Hank! That’s about enough! Get inside. Folks around don’t need to hear your bellowing.”

  Hank stumbled off the front step toward Joseph. “You think you man enough to take me, Devil boy? You trying to come between me and my lawful wife?”

  “Oh Lawd!”

  “Hank, stop being a mule’s butt,” said Lula.

  “I ain’t got no want to fight with you, Mr. Hank,” said Joseph. “You and Ms. Rue always been good to me and mama. I just showing proper respect is all.”

  “Respect? Taking a man’s wife out on the town is showing respect? That what they teach you up at that Devil tower?”

  “Hank, that is enough. Get inside. Carrying on like you ain’t got no sense.”

  “I’m about tired of your mouth!” Hank pulled back a fist.

  Joseph stepped in from of Rue and stared Hank in the eyes. “Ego te impediendum motum.” Hank froze in place mid-swing. The only thing that moved on Hank were his eyes. They were wide in horror and moving rapidly back and forth. Tears started streaming down his cheeks.

  “Lawd, what did you do to him?” asked Rue.

  “He’s fine, Ms. Rue. I didn’t hurt him. Just gave him time to calm himself before he done something he’d regret. It’s a little thing I learned at the Circle for those times want to end a confrontation peaceful.”

  “Sweet Jesus,” whispered Lula.

  “Mr. Hank,” said Joseph as he looked into Hank’s eyes. “You are a good man. You been on some hard times and you under stress. Ain’t no shame in feeling like you do.
But Ms. Rue don’t deserve what you were thinking of doing. I ain’t gonna fight with you. But I ain’t gonna stand aside while you strike a woman, either.”

  Joseph waved a hand at Hank, who almost collapsed to his knees before finding his footing. He stagged backwards away from Joseph. His entire body was shaking. He pointed at Joseph and his mouth moved, but no words came out. He then turned and fled into the house.

  “I’m sorry you had to see that, mama,” said Joseph. “And I am sorry it came to that, Ms. Rue.”

  “It’s alright, child,” said Rue. She managed a weak smile. “Something tells me if you were a bad man, you could have done worse things to him.”

  * * *

  Hank no longer slept in the same room as Rue. Sometimes, he didn’t even sleep in the house. His body was covered with mosquito bites from sleeping outside in a hammock. Rue would try to put an ointment on the bites to keep them from getting infected, but he would push her hands away. She’d try to warn him about the recent cases of malaria and how the mosquitos spread it, but he would just shrug.

  He ate, but never at the table with her. He’d take his meal out on the porch or the back stoop. If Rue came outside, he would go back inside. Rue would wake up each morning to yet another empty liquor bottle either on the front step or next to the sofa in the living room. Hank hadn’t done any more scavving since Paul died. Rue wondered where the money was coming from to buy liquor. Then she woke up one morning to find their broken water purifier missing. She didn’t ask Hank what happened to it. She already knew.

  Rue took to hiding the water Joseph brought her. She had come in from gardening one day to find Hank pouring it down the sink. When she asked him why he did it, he just stared at her with the eyes of a dead man.

  She returned hom from visiting with Lula one day to find the dress she had worn to the courthouse torn into pieces and left on the bedroom floor. Hank stood in the hallway and watched her gather up the pieces. She didn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She walked passed him and out the front door. Lula cried with her.

  Other items started to disappear from the house to pay for Hank’s drinking. Twelve years of marriage sold off bit by bit in exchange for liquor. Rue took to hiding her most precious things at Lula’s house.