E. A. Koetting and Baron DePrince - The Spider and The Green Butterfly

E.A. Koetting/Baron DePrince
The Spider and the Green Butterfly
of the building, but the moment that she was on the
sidewalk, she was seized by a stroke. John heard about this
as she was being taken to the hospital, where she later died,
but justified his harshness with her to himself.
Unknown to John, of course, was the fact that the
janitor's brother-in-law, the brother of his hospitalized
wife, was a Grand Houngan, and a feared Bocor. A day or
two after the confrontation with the woman, John was
leaving the office and saw a black man walking up to him,
his eyes gripped in focus of his target. The black man
opened his palm and blew some powder in John's face. As
John coughed and tried to brush the powder off of his suit
jacket, the man told him that in one year he would lose all
that he cared for in life.
This entire incident had vanished from John's
memory until he sat across the table from Baron DePrince.
"You'll be seeing the Petro Room after all,"
DePrince said, standing. John followed him into a smaller
room, his eyes widening as they entered. The room was
dark, the only illumination coming from a three-legged
black pot in which some sort of oil was burning. The walls
were dressed in black, red, and purple cloth. On one wall
was a drawing of the Three Barons of Vodoun, Baron
Cemetery, Baron La Cross, and Baron Samedi, along with
their Veves. On the floor beneath the Veves was a full
wooden casket, over which dangled a mutilated and burnt
plastic doll, looking much like a murdered infant.
This room is a gateway to hell, John thought,
repulsed by the sight of the thing.
DePrince seemed to read his thoughts and echoed
them, stating, "Yes, this is the Gateway to Hell," with a
smile. "This is a power room, much like the Guinea Room,
but the Petro Loa, the Evil Gods, have more power in here.
The Petro are powerful in changing events of life, in
bringing money, love, fame, and especially in revenge.
Please, if you would, remove your shoes and your glasses."
Confused, but not sure what other options he might
have at that point, John took his shoes off and placed his
glasses in his pocket. DePrince directed him to sit in a
chair. Using the bones and the flaming bowl in the Guinea
Room, DePrince had been given the name of the Loa that
the Bocor had called upon to place the curse on John. He
drew the Veve of this Loa on the floor in the Petro room
and called it down into this world.
John began to tremble lightly, which quickly
became light tremors or convulsions, his head snapping
sharply backwards, and finally falling down, his chin
resting on his chest. John's eyes moved up to meet
DePrince, his head lifting slightly, and he spoke, not in the
timid and beaten tone that he had used when he entered the
shop, but instead in a forced and throttled voice that
seemed to be forcing itself from his throat.
"Amends must be made to the one who has been
harmed. The woman has died, but her husband still suffers.
Find him and give him this last year's pay in return, as if he
had never been released. Employ him again in your
service, and all that you have lost will be returned. Only
when these wrongs have been made right will this curse
reverse itself."
With a gasp, the spirit was gone, and John shook his
head, wondering what had happened. He had simply lost
consciousness, not remembering anything that had come
from his own mouth. DePrince informed him of the spirit's
advice and sent him on his way to rebuilding his life.
John returned to DePrince a while later, letting him
know that he had found the janitor, had paid him a year's
salary, and had reinstated his employment. Days later, his
attorney called to announce that all charges had been
dropped against him in a court case that had siphoned away
most of his money. His divorce was finalized without
incident, and he began to collect another, more firm
clientele base than he had ever had before. One of his first