Chapter 136: The Voodoo Curse

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the illustrious Mrs. Devereaux," Jon said, his hands clapping slowly, the sound echoing ominously in the grand hall. His eyes, alight with a mischievous glint, betrayed no hint of trepidation at the sight of the shotgun leveled at him.

Caroline's gaze, however, was laced with apprehension. Her instincts as a nurse had always served her well, and they screamed that something was amiss. The room felt wrong, charged with an unseen malice that seemed to emanate from Mrs. Devereaux herself. "Jon," she said, her voice low and urgent, "I know you're not afraid, but please, be careful. This woman... there's something very wrong here."

Jon turned to her, his expression softening for a moment. "Fear not, Caroline. I've danced with devils and dined with demons. A mere mortal with a shotgun is a walk in the park."

Beside Caroline, Nancy stood with an eerie calmness, her eyes fixed on the unfolding drama. Caroline leaned in, whispering, "Nancy, aren't you the least bit concerned? Jon's in the line of fire!"

Nancy's lips curled into a knowing smile. "Jon's more than he seems. That shotgun might as well be a child's toy to him."

Mrs. Devereaux's grip on the shotgun tightened, her knuckles whitening. "Move aside, you insolent cur!" she spat venomously. "I've dealt with vermin before, and I won't hesitate to do so again."

Jon's face remained impassive, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Vermin, you say? Now, isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?"

The old lady's eyes narrowed to slits. "What are you implying, you little pest?"

Jon's shoulders lifted in a nonchalant shrug. "Oh, nothing much. Just pondering who the real infestation is in this grand old house of yours."

The word 'nigger' fell from Jon's lips like a stone into still water, sending ripples of shock through the room. Mrs. Devereaux's face contorted with rage, the insult cutting deep.

"You wretched boy! One more word and I'll—"

But her threat was cut short as Jon's movements blurred, the shotgun wrenched from her grasp and snapped over his knee like a twig. The sound of splintering wood was a death knell to the old woman's composure.

As Jon's hand shot out, encircling her throat with an iron grip, lifting her off her feet, Caroline and Nancy cried out in unison, "Wait!"

Nancy's eyes were wide with shock, her mind racing to piece together the puzzle that had just violently come together before her. She had known something was amiss, but the sudden brutality of Jon's actions left her grappling with a mix of fear and confusion.

"Please... I beg you!" The words were choked out of the old lady, her voice laced with terror and desperation.

Jon's smile was chilling, a stark contrast to the warmth that had once played upon his features. The flames in his eyes danced with a supernatural light, revealing to him the hidden truths of the woman before him.

"Goodbye, Mama Cecile," he whispered, almost tenderly.

The sound of the neck snapping was sickeningly crisp in the silence that followed. Mrs. Devereaux, or rather Mama Cecile, lay motionless, her life extinguished in an instant.

[Ding! Main mission updated: Break the Voodoo Curse and eliminate Papa Justify and Mama Cecile, current progress 1/2]

[Ding! Your legendary mission has been updated: Judge a thousand sinful souls across all worlds. Current progress: 76/1000.]

Caroline's reaction was immediate and visceral. "My God, what have you done?!" She fell to her knees beside the body, her hands searching for a pulse that she would not find. Her eyes, filled with horror, turned accusingly towards Jon.

Nancy remained still, her hand covering her mouth, a silent observer processing the scene. She didn't question Jon, not yet. She sensed there was a depth to this narrative that she hadn't been privy to.

Jon's voice cut through the tension, matter-of-fact and devoid of remorse. "I am an exorcist. My presence here is to purge this place of its darkness. One half of my mission is now complete. The other half awaits."

He moved towards the house, his resolve unshaken, but Caroline sprang up, blocking his path. "Don't hurt Ben!" she pleaded, her voice a mix of command and desperation.

Jon's gaze softened slightly, a hint of empathy breaking through his stoic exterior. "I have no intention of harming Ben. On the contrary, I'm here to free him. Without my intervention, you would have likely met a grim fate at the hands of this woman."

He gestured to the lifeless form of Mama Cecile. "This person was not Violet Devereaux. She was Cecile. A name I'm sure resonates with tales of darkness and voodoo you've heard whispered around these parts."

Caroline's hand flew to her mouth, her eyes widening as the name struck a chord within her. "Cecile?! But... how is this possible?"

The Voodoo group was mostly black, and Cecile was a member. They didn't worship gods, just magic, which only worked on believers.

Caroline had been told a grim history by Mrs. Devereaux. Cecile and her husband Justify, once bonded in both servitude and matrimony within the house's walls, met a fiery end for imparting the forbidden knowledge of Voodoo to the master's children.

"But, Cecile's no longer among the living, right?" Caroline questioned, her mind entangled in the web of the past.

"Truth is a peculiar creature," Jon remarked, his eyes fixed on the house. "It can be straightforward or a puzzle. There's only one person who can validate what I've said."

"You're talking about Ben?" Caroline inferred.

With a confirming nod, Jon advanced toward the house. Caroline, however, stood in his path, her skepticism a barrier.

"Why should I take your word as truth?" she challenged.

"Consider this," Jon proposed calmly, "you've witnessed my capabilities. If my intent was to harm, I wouldn't have hesitated, regardless of your intervention. Yet, here I am, conversing with you."

Caroline processed his words, then reluctantly stepped aside.

"Do I need to get in touch with Luke?" she inquired, a new thought striking her.

"Who's that?" Jon queried.

"He's their estate attorney. He's been guiding me through this situation," Caroline elaborated.

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