“Great Belial,” Brother Samuel began, “cast out of the spirits of Zion that want this man to bow before the bloody hill where you wrecked the faith of mighty Jerusalem, and let him take the snake to his cheek.” Samuel picked up the snake fang in his fingers and held the curved ivory point over Jeffry’s stomach. “With the sign of your kingdom I plunge the poison of the shade into your enemy’s heart.” He brought the snake fang down and struck the center of the cross.
“I’m bleeding,” Jeffry said. “Look at what you done. You stuck me full of poison. I heard you say so.”
There was a small drop of blood at the joint of the cross.
“I never seen nothing like that,” Daddy Claxton said.
“Jeffry don’t look good.”
“What the hell do you think I look like when somebody is sticking snake poison in me?”
“I didn’t put no poison in you,” Brother Samuel said.
“I heard you say it.”
“That’s just part of what I got to say to cast out the spirit.”
“You feel any different?” Daddy Claxton said.
“Yeah. I got a hole in my belly that I didn’t have five minutes ago.”
“I reckon it takes some extra conjuring to get you healed,” Benoit said.
“I had my fill. I don’t want no more.”
“It’s a powerful spirit got hold of you,” Brother Samuel said.
“It ain’t no spirit. It’s the runs. Everybody gets the runs,” Jeffry said.
“Try another cure, Brother Samuel.”
“Not on me. I ain’t having no more.” The men still held him to the ground.
“I ain’t got but one left.”
“Go ahead and use it. Jeffry is willing to do anything to get rid of the runs.”
“You sonsofbitches.”
“Don’t use cuss words when we’re talking about things of the spirit,” Benoit said, his pig-eyes smiling at Jeffry.
“I wouldn’t do this to none of you when you was sick,” Jeffry said.
“That’s because you got no charity. You got no faith, neither. Ain’t that right? Jeffry’s got no faith.”
“You rotten bas…”
A man clamped his hand over Jeffry’s mouth.
“Get on with the conjuring. We got to use force to get him healed.”
Jeffry’s eyes rolled wildly.
“What are you going to do with that ball of hair?” Benoit said.
“It’s for casting out the spirit.”
“How’s it work?” Daddy Claxton said.