The cemeteries in Cadjins were different, they were unique, for they were made above ground because it was said the water systems caused the graves to overflow, causing the bodies to come above the graves.
Sous sat on a hill with Thibodeux as they watched the other members of the club go forth into the cemetery.
It was idel to catch spirits during the night when they roam the cemetery. It was also easier to see them because they tended to glow within the night versus the day.
Sous sat cross legged stitching a doll. She placed black buttons for eyes and used yawn for hair. She gave it clothes which was blue overalls. Thibodeux helped her place the cotton into the doll to give it some volume. She held the doll up when it was done so little baby basilisk could see.
"The best spirits are the tormented ones. People like their spirits violent, it makes the dolls more powerful."
Sous looked up at Thibodeux and places her doll in her lap. "What do you mean by violent?"
"Spirits who committed violent crimes while alive. Spirits who were victims of violent crimes. People like it when their spirits are tormented and violent."
Sous looked out to the cemetery and saw Jacquis and some of the other boys run up the hill toward her and Thibodeux. They dropped off a few dolls then proceeded to go back down toward the cemetery. When Sous looked at the dolls the boys had dropped, she noticed their button eyes were glowing. She pointed at it.
"Whats going on with that?"
"The spirits are trying to escape through the eyes."
"Why the eyes?"
"Because the eyes are the windows to the soul." Thibodeux looked at Sous and saw she was done with her doll. She slapped her thigh. "You ready, suga?"
Sous nodded her head, the two girls stood up and traveled down to the cemetery. Thibodeux had placed the dolls with new spirits in them in a big black duffle bag.
"Here, hold out your hands, suga."
Sous held out both of her hands. Thibodeux pulled out a needle from each of her hands with Sous watching with amazement. Her eyes wide and her mouth gaped open, she bit her lip seeing these huge needles that were four inches long and about three inches in circumference. Once they were completely out of her hands, she held onto them. They dragged onto the ground because of just how heavy they were even for Sous' growing body.
The needles left drag marks on the ground with the two girls walking further into the cemetery.
"We won't lead you to the violent spirits but there are some spirits who have trouble crossing over that can be taken."
"What about helping them go to the other side?" Sous asked, thinking of what the girl from school.
Thibodeux shook her head, standing with one hip cocked the side. "We're not in the industry of doing that. This is what we do in this club, the funds go along way at Hacate and we get a percentage."
Sous was a bit shocked the school would participate in this activity especially since Sous was told the school recieved funds from the public and government.
Thibodeux patted Sous on the shoulder and pointed at a spirit that looked to be young. This young spirit seemed to be crying as it sat on the ground next to its tombstone. Its head buried in its knees.
Thibodeux placed her doll on the ground and suddenly stabbed the doll with her needle, making Sous jump. She winked at Sous then threw her needle at the spirit. It stabbed the spirit in which the spirit screamed out, unexpected to Sous.
The needle was attached to a thread and the spirit was being pulled through the thread, screaming as it did so within so much pain. Sous wasn't expecting to hear any screams. She didn't hear screams from the other members.
This spirit was just a child and its spirit was being pulled into a doll. She stood there watching the spirit go from the needle to through the body of Thibodeux back to the other thread, the other needle, and then into the doll. Thibodeux pulled the needle out of the doll and looked at Sous. She smiled at Sous but Sous didn't know what to think. Especially after seeing a spirit, an entity that was dead experience pain.
"Why was it screaming like that? They're dead."
"It has something to do with the threads and their interaction between this realm and their realm. Come on, suga, let's try and get ya one. Do you have your doll?" Sous held it up.
Toward the back of the cemetery, there was swampland. And this was where Sous got involved. There was a malevolent spirit that was quick on his toes, a serial killer who had been roaming without passing to the other side for years. His spirit within a doll could be worth thousands of don. But the priestess and the priest were too slow for him, they weren't able to get ten fear near him even when threading. Years had gone by and Thibodeux wanted to accomplish this feat that others in the spirit catching club haven't been able to accomplished. Then there was Sous who she heard about from the agility team.
"Alright suga, here's your man." She pointed to a man who wore a suit, the spirit in the color of white and blue, a hue. He dashed off leaving a trail of his shirt. "And there he goes. See how fast he is?"
"You want me to catch him?" Thibodeux nodded her head at Sous. "Is the thread long enough?".
"Its infinite."
Sous knelt down and then she took off. She kept her eyes on the spirit, its trail zigzaging. The spirit made its way into swamp, making it difficult because Sous still hadn't mastered the ability to run on water, murkey water at that, so she had to stay in the trees.
Sous took the doll and stabbed the needle into it and kept it stabbed onto a tree branch. As she threaded through the swamp attempting to catch up to this serial killer of a spirit, she kept her eyes on his spirit trail, not his spirit body. The trail told her where the spirit was going to land next.
She threw the needle when she saw the trail heading toward a open patch of water infested with alligators. Her not catching him prior to the water would allow him to get further away.
The needle hit the spirit in the back, stopping him immediately. He looked down at the needle as if trying to pull away but he couldn't. This spirit didn't scream but he gave up a fight that saw him struggle with the thread.
With the spirit trapped, Sous made her way back to where Thibodeux was. She saw the others had returned with even more dolls. When they saw Sous come back, they cheered. The serial killer was shoved into the doll. The eyes of the doll glowing bright even as Sous got back to campus by twilight. In the student council office where the spirit catcher club met, she stared at the doll.
"Because of you, this doll will bring a lot of money into Hacate," Thibodeux said. She looked at Sous while packing her dolls. "So do ya stay with us?"
Sous wasn't sure still. She didn't care about the serial killer but the child and its scream was burned into her memory.
She looked at the dolls. The victims of violent crimes for them to not be able to pass on, she didn't like that. There wasn't an answer she could provide Thibodeux at that moment. She hoped she would have time to think but when she walked to her dorm down on the hall of the library, the girl that she met yesterday at dinner was there leaning on the wall.
The girl turned to Sous. "Well, how was it?" She took the handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her nose.
Sous shrugged. "I don't know. I don't feel bad for the bad guys."
"Even if they are bad, they need to cross over. Priestess' and priest are suppose to help spirits move on not trap them here for some monetary gain."
Her vocabulary was wide. Sous wondered what year she was in. She licked her lips, deciding to test this student's knowledge.
"Who is Apex?"
"A wolf pack in Red Woods with significant power and influence that transcends nations."
Sous gulped. This girl knew her stuff.
"Who is the leader of Apex?"
"Doureena Apex."
"Who am I?"
"Sous, the daughter of Puimo." She answered, her knowledge went deeper than Sous thought.
"What elf community or nation provides potions to Apex?" Sous asked, wanting to confirm her new suspicions.
"Dimona. The island you were on a month or so ago."
Sous paused for a moment, realizing this girl would make a good ally, a good friend. "What do you want?"
"I want to grow up and send spirits to the other side."
Sous took a deep breathe knowing what she was going to bargain. "I will help you send the spirits to the dolls to the other side if you help with the potions of Dimona." She watched the girl's face scrunched.
"If Thibodeux finds out we're sending her spirits to the other side, she will be angry."
"Do we have a deal?" Sous stuck out her hand for the girl.
The girl took Sous' hand. "Deal."