Page 16 of Paranormal Love From an Immortal Thug
His voice had that calm gangsta tone to it, like he dared anything in that moment to test him. He opened the door, motioning for me to step inside first. And as soon as I crossed the threshold, a wave of cold air washed over my skin.
The inside of the shop looked ancient, like it’d been here long before any check-cashing or pawn shop was ever built. The walls were lined with dark wooden shelves, bottles filled with cloudy oils, bones, herbs, and preserved things floating in murky liquid. Animal skulls sat in corners, and candles dripped wax in every color. And at the center of it all was a woman with a slight smirk on her face.
“Welcome. I am Madame Divine.” She was short, pudgy, and dark-skinned with locs wrapped in gold thread. She wore a black dress covered in red veves and protection symbols, and her eyes were unnervingly white, like she was looking past the flesh and into whatever lay beneath it. “You brought a soul back from the grave on All Hallows’ Eve to meet your needs…” She wasn’t asking. She knew.
I stiffened. “I mean, I didn’t really mean to. It was just—”
“Intent doesn’t matter, baby girl. Blood does. Spirit does.”
Khalid stepped forward, protective as hell. “Aye, we just need to keep me here. She ain’t mean no harm. Just tryna get hers.”
Madame Divine gave a low chuckle. “Mmm, all the girls say that… ’til the grave comes knockin’.” She turned her head slowly and walked toward the back, motioning with one long finger. “Come.”
We followed, Khalid’s hand finding mine. I didn’t even realize I was shaking until he squeezed it. The back room looked like a damn portal to the underworld. There were symbols etched into the walls that I recognized from doing my research hours earlier. Some were for summoning, others were for binding, and one large circle was drawn on the floor in white chalk with two pillows inside.
“Sit. Both of you,” Madame Divine said, voice suddenly deeper. I obeyed quickly with my heart pounding. Khalid sat beside me, and she placed a wooden bowl between us. Next, she reached into her dress and pulled out a vial. The liquid inside shimmered with flecks of gold. “Drink this,” she said.
Khalid didn’t hesitate. He downed it like it was a damn shot of Henny. I swallowed hard and took mine, almost gagging on the nasty aftertaste. That’s when thick and dark smoke slowly appeared before the lights flickered violently. My eyes widened as a cold gust of wind swept through.
“Now… the binding can begin,” Madame Divine whispered. “But know this. If your bond ain’t real… if your desire for each other ain’t rooted in more than lust… it’ll fail. And if it fails, he goes back… and you just might go with him.”
My heart thudded. “Wait, what?”
She ignored me and lit a black candle, then a red one, muttering in a weird language I couldn’t understand. Khalid reached for my hand and pulled me closer, his other hand resting on his chest.
“I ain’t lettin’ you go,” he said low, eyes locked on mine. “Ain’t no woman ever thought to do no shit like this. Keep me here. You a real one, Wednesday.”
I blinked, chest rising fast. “Khalid…”
“If we got one shot to stay like this, we gon’ take that shit. You feel me?
I nodded, the tears already rising. Madame Divine began drawing blood from his fingertip, then mine. She mixed it into the bowl with ashes, dust, and a string of my hair.
“Repeat after me,” she commanded, eyes glowing now. “I bind myself to you. In spirit, flesh, and time.”
We both repeated her words, holding hands, and a blast of energy slammed through the room like a tidal wave. I screamed as it knocked us both flat onto our backs for just a second until our bodies arched. It felt like something ancient was stitching us together, nerve by nerve, breath by breath. And then, there was a long, eerie silence before Madame Divine’s voice broke it.
“My Cash App name is $RootWorkRealQuick. Don’t play in my face. This magic ain’t free.”
As we sat up, my body trembled, and Khalid let out a low laugh while rubbing his chest like his soul was still vibrating. “She gangsta for real.”
“And don’t forget to tip,” she snarled, already disappearing into the dark. “Y’all ain’t the only horny couple I’m tryna help tonight.”
???
W ew e r eb a r e l ytwo blocks away from Madame Divine’s before I finally exhaled. My heart had been beating double-time ever since that potion hit my tongue.
Khalid eased the seat back a little, his arm stretched casually behind my headrest, and let out a slow, throaty chuckle. “I thought that old lady was gon’ snatch my soul and stuff that shit in a mason jar.”
I snorted. “Honestly? Same. The minute she started chanting in that language, I thought life as I knew it was over.” We laughed for a second, and then the car got quiet, both of us probably wondering the same shit. “Think it worked?” I asked, quieter than I meant to.
He didn’t answer right away. Just flexed his jaw and gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, staring ahead at the road like he was watching something nobody else could see.
“I don’t know,” he finally muttered. “But if it didn’t, I’m gon’ need to fuck you again before the clock strikes twelve.”
My breath caught. He said it so calmly. So matter-of-fact. But I could feel the weight behind it. The urgency. The truth. I smirked a little. “You serious?”
His eyes slid to mine. “Dead serious. Ain’t tryna risk disappearin’ mid-stroke ‘cause some spirit ain’t convinced we locked in. A nigga gotta leave a final impression. Just in case.”
