“Or bee bee holes.” Kerry chuckled. “Didn't seem to have done you much harm.”
Dar moved over to the guides to confirm their registration, leaving Kerry to peruse the window. She let her eyes run over the candles, incense, herbs, charms, trinkets.. it seemed to be a veritable cornucopia of magic inspired products including books and magazines she imagined were devoted to the practice.
“If you go in there.” A woman who had been leaning against the wall turned to speak to her. “Don't take pictures and don't ask questions about black magic. It pisses them off.” She advised. “I went in there today and they threw this guy out because he opened one of those books.”
“Really?” Kerry turned and leaned her shoulder against the window surface, folding her arms. “Not very customer centric, I guess.”
The woman shrugged. “Mostly tourists, I guess, so they get tired of it.” She acknowledged. “I did get my palm read though, and that was amazing.”
“Really? I was thinking of doing that tomorrow.”
The woman nodded emphatically. “It was really amazing. Probably.. eighty percent accurate? I was blown away. So weird. But I enjoyed it and my husband did too. It's our first time in New Orleans.”
“Ours too.” Kerry decided she'd somehow wrangle her partner into the place. “So far it's been a lot of fun. We just got here tonight.”
“We came this morning. It's our wedding anniversary.” The woman smiled. “Something different! Last year we went to Vegas.”
The woman was middle aged, and about Kerry's height, with curly brown hair. She was stockily built and had a knit pull on cap on her head to ward off the night chill. “I can't wait to see the ghosts. Some people take pictures of them.”
The husband came back over with Dar right behind him. “All right, Sarah, you ready?” He looked good humored about the tour. “Let's go find you some spooks.”
The woman beamed at him, and they moved off to get in line as the tour guides got ready to lead them off.
Dar and Kerry joined the queue, and Dar put her hands behind her and rocked up and down a few times on the balls of her feet.
“Are you going to kill me?” Kerry asked, slipping one hand into Dar's front pocket.
Dar chuckled. “Only if you keep me up all night yelling about ghosts.”
“Well.” Kerry started forward as the group did. “You'll have to find something else to distract me with then.”
“Heh.”
**
Kerry felt that it would likely seem far spookier on the tour if she couldn't hear people partying a street or two over. The stories behind the haunted or so called haunted places were interesting, but she didn't feel even a twinge of creepiness as they moved along from the Lalaurie Mansion to the next tale of the Octaroon Mistress.
The tour guides were dramatic and fun, and everyone was having a good time though. Kerry was standing in the front part of the circle around the guide, and Dar was behind her, casually resting her arms on Kerry's shoulders.
“That's right ladies and gentlemen, right up there, on that ledge, only in the coldest nights you can see a figure... a wispy figure.. of a woman mostly naked, up there on the roof!”
Kerry fastened her eyes attentively on the spot. “You think it's cold enough?” She whispered to Dar.
“I think if we see someone, it has to be a ghost because it's too damn cold to be up there naked.” Her partner responded practically. “Even piss ass drunk.”
“Can you just picture it?” The guide said. “As the moon rises over the building, as the mist comes up from the river..”
A gasp went up, as motion was detected across the roof, and for a brief moment, a dark shape could be seen. Then it was gone
“Did you see it!” The guide said, excitedly. “Anyone get a picture?” He moved over to look at one woman's digital camera. “You did!”
“Mm.” Dar grumbled softly. “Did you see it?”
“I did.” Kerry admitted. “I've got no idea what it was... at this distance it could have been a cat for all I know, but I saw it. Did you?”
“I saw something.”
The excitement around the group was now electric. Many gathered around the woman with the camera, others shaded their eyes from the street lamps, peering up at the ceiling.
“The ghost is Julie.” The guide said. “She was an octaroon. Does anyone here know what that is?” He looked around, but no one answered. “It is someone who is one eighth black, seven eighths white. In the old days, there were many of these women in New Orleans and legend says they were very beautiful.”
Kerry listened with interest.
“These women were much desired by the Creoles and the Frenchmen who made their home in New Orleans, but because of their social status, they could never marry.” The guide motioned them closer. “The Octaroon Julie fell in love with a Frenchman, and very much wanted to marry him. But he refused her, because of her status.”
“Prick.” Dar enunciated softly, making her partner smile.
“So one night the Frenchman thought he would put Julie's love to the test, and if she met the test, he would think about marrying her. He brought many friends to his house, and told her if she would take all her clothes off and wait for him on the roof, he would come get her, and bring her down to introduce her to society. He never thought she would take the dare.”
The wind seemed to get colder, all of a sudden. Dar lifted her head and felt her ears twitch, as above the revelry streets over she thought she heard a moan through the trees.
“But she did.” The guide said. “She went up on the roof, and took off her clothes, and stood up there, waiting for her love to come meet her.”
“Ugh.” Kerry muttered.
“But he never did. He finally went to bed, and was surprised not to find here there warming the sheets for him. So he rushed up onto the roof, and there, on the roof, in the cold, was her dead, frozen body.”
The crowd murmured.
“He died himself, several months later.” The guide said. “Many say, of a broken heart.”
“Don't really have much sympathy for the guy.” Dar commented quietly. 'But it says something about how it was back then.”
“If they were that hung up about one eighth of someone's blood I can only imagine how they would have felt about us.” Kerry responded. “Sheesh.”
“So often, today, those who work in that building say they hear Julie running around the top floor, where her rooms were, and hear her laughing, and too, they see the Frenchman in the garden, a sad and lonely figure.” The guide continued. “Of course, the fact that a palm reading and tarot company owns the building probably makes the encounters all the more interesting.”
“And a good advertisement.” The middle aged woman's husband commented.
“That too.” The guide agreed, with a cheerful smile. “Let's move on to see the garden, shall we? Maybe we'll see the Frenchman in there.” He led the way across the street towards the shadowed, gated space.
“Oh my gosh, this is so exciting!” Sarah said, reviewing her camera. “I can't believe I got a picture of it!”
Kerry glanced up at her partner. “You're not buying this, are you?”
Dar remained silent for a moment then she coughed a little. “There was something behind us back there.”
Kerry almost came to a halt, so surprised was she to hear that. “What?” She looked back the way they came, seeing nothing more interesting than a lamppost. “What?”
Dar put her hand on Kerry's back to keep her on the path. “There was something back there watching us. I could feel it behind me.”
“Something like... a stray dog or a cop or..” Kerry asked, hesitantly.
“I don't know. I could feel cold breath on my back.” Dar said, with devastating calmness. “Sort of like in the condo, when you' stand in that spot outside the kitchen? Under the vent?”