"Ooh, look at them go." "Look at that costume." "Come on, let's get outta here." "Jack!" "Are you coming, Jack?" "Yeah." "Come on." "There's bands from all over the place..." "Trinidad, Jamaica, Haiti." "Come on." "I've got an old friend coming over." "He's in town for the solstice carnival." "Oh, is he a musician?" "He's a... a legba." "Legba?" "A legba." "He's a high priest of a very old African religion." "His people believe that he's the link between our world and the world beyond." "See, he brings them together with the spirits of their ancestors, and in their-their ceremonies, the spirits possess them and-and they ride them into the spirit world, giving them a glimpse of what's coming after death." "And there are four legbas." "There's one for air, there's one for water, for earth and for fire." "A legba channels the-the energy between people and the spirits, guiding it back and forth between this world and the next." "They're very powerful people." "Now, the spirits are protective, but they can also be dangerous." "They have to be fed... with music and dancing, and-and sacrifices." "And the followers know that the future stems from the past and that life and death are just parts of an endless cycle." "He's one of the four voodoo guardians of the elements." "Uh, did you say "voodoo"?" "Yes, uh, all the guardians are-are coming here." "They're, uh, they're gathering for a special solstice ceremony." "No, no, no." "Wait a minute." "Are you talking about guys who sticks pins in dolls and, uh, people who try to turn other people into..." "Zombies." "What?" "!" "Hedley!" "Micki Foster," "Ryan Dallion, this is my old friend," "Hedley, the guardian of fire." "My friends call me, "Fireman."" "No, no, no, no, no." "Hedley, it's so good to see you again." "Oh..." "What's it been, ten years?" "I'll bet it's nearer 20." "And this is Stacy?" "Hello, Mr. Marshak." "My granddaughter is preparing to follow in the footsteps of her ancestors." "Tonight the Abul Legba, guardian of the air, will ordain her a mambo, a priestess." "Congratulations!" "Voodoo priests are always ordained on the solstice, the beginning of the longest day of the year." "You might find it a little unusual, but you're welcome to join us, if you like." "Uh, Ryan, most of what we hear about voodoo is-is myth." "It's really a very misunderstood religion." "And an ancient one." "We are worshippers of nature, pledging our loa to the service of material elements." "Loa?" "The voodoo soul." "It is believed to live in the throat." "Uh, uh, yeah, well, we-we'd love to come to the ceremony, but we were gonna go out and, uh check out the carnival." "Oh, great!" "Mind if I tag along?" "Sure." "Come on." "Carl!" "I got better things to do than listen to a lecture, David." "I'm not giving you a lecture." "The problem with rushing out of a meeting early is you risk missing the bad news." "I've taken enough crap about how I spend my money." "Write me one of your boring legal letters." "I'm going home." "You don't have one." "As the executor of your father's estate," "I've taken the liberty of selling it." "You what?" "The house, the grounds, and every stick of furniture you weren't able to pawn." "They're gone." "You can't do this to me." "You squandered the family fortune, Carl." "There isn't a coffee bean in all Haiti that you can lay claim to." "The plantations are gone." "The stocks are gone." "The only thing left the creditors could take was the house." "You bastard!" "You can't do this!" "My father was your friend!" "That's why I waited so long." "Well, you can't just throw me out on the street." "Life's tough." "It's tougher if you're stupid." "Go ahead." "Hit me." "Your father asked me to take care of you, Carl, and, by God, I'd love to." "You brought it on yourself, Carl." "You disgraced the family name." "The world just stopped owing you a living." "Okay, who unlocked the door?" "!" "Who's here?" "!" "Where are you?" "!" "This is my house, and I want you vultures out of here!" "You must be Mr. Walters." "Jennifer Sands, Raleigh Real Estate." "Your attorney, Mr. Rhodes, assigned me your property." "I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding." "I'm afraid not." "I have everything right here." "Mmm..." "The eviction notice." "Transfer of deed." "The locks have been changed." "No, everything seems to be in order." "In fact, we're asking that you vacate the premises, uh... within the hour." "Well, who the hell do you people think you are?" "This is still my house!" "Not anymore." "After we fix it up, we'll be offering it at four million." "I'd be more than happy to show it to you then, if you're still in the market." "You little bitch." "Are you familiar with Sergeant Osbourne at police headquarters?" "I always like to check in with him when I'm..." "anticipating a problem." "Mr. Walters?" "Mr. Walters?" "Mr. Walters?" "Honestly..." "Mr. Walters?" "Let's not make this any more difficult than it already is." "Shall we?" "You are really pathetic, you know that?" "I have had it with you." "I'm calling the police." "Oh, my God." "Master Walters?" "Do not be frightened." "I am Laotia, your servant." "It is time to claim your true inheritance." "Let me show you the way." "Do you mind if I ask you a question?" "Why would someone like you, um..." "Want to practice Voodoo?" "Yeah." "It's my religion..." "The path every member of my family has followed." "Your parents are priests?" "Were... they died when I was a baby." "My parents are still near me." "We believe the dead are among the living." "We serve them and they serve us." "Hmm." "Don't fear your destiny," " Master." "It was I who made your father's plantation flourish and the others to wilt in the heat." "Well, we're not on a plantation now." "And if the cops find her body, I'm as dead as she is." "No one can harm you while we are one." "What do you mean?" "Everything you've lost can be yours again." "Let the mask taste light." "That is its life force." "Then it will do your bidding." "Four priests stand in your way..." "The guardians of the elements." "Kill them and all the universe will be at your command." "So, Fireman, what can a legba really do?" "He is entrusted with the care of his element." "For example:" "Abul Legba, guardian of the air, protects the winds and the birds." "Dyzon Legba..." "Guardian of water and everything in it." "Cayon Legba is guardian of the earth." "So what about you?" "I have dominion over fire..." "The life force." "Stacy!" "Ah." "Time for you to go for your ceremony." "I know." "Good luck, Stacy." "Good-bye, Grandfather." "Ryan." "The first part of the ceremony is private." "You can join her later." "Come on, Ryan." "I conjure you unclean spirits to depart on the night breezes." "Release this one who would speak with with the divinities and holy spirits." "Depart this creature whom our Lord has called to his holy ark." "She is the mother of man's life and the mistress to greater spirits than you." "Catch my wind and ride it from this place." "Now, Erzulie, come dance with us." "Blow Rada spirits to this soul." "Bring light to her heart." "Hear us, winds!" "Release us from our chains." "Send a breeze to make us fit our undertaking." "Be gone spirit!" "Be gone!" "This land is holy!" "What in the hell was that?" "Stacy..." "Stacy!" "Grandfather." "What could have done this?" "Must be some kind of animal." "No animal knows of the loa." "Someone has stolen her soul." "Then, what was it?" "Hedley, what did you hear?" "The snake." "What kind of snake would do that?" "Ghede Nimbo..." "The god of death." "Vouduns believe that Ghede Nimbo has the power to swallow human souls." "You trying to tell me that we heard a snake take a soul from a...?" "No, you heard the wind." "But there are legends of angry spirits attacking the living." "Just legends." "Not fact." "What could possibly be gained by stealing someone else's soul?" "There is an ancient belief that the dead can be reborn if Ghede Nimbo can gather four souls for them." "The more powerful the soul, the more powerful the reborn spirits will be in their new life." "And the soul of a legba or a guardian would be pretty powerful?" "Yes." "Tell them the story, Grandfather." "I can't." "20 years ago, in Haiti, a powerful Mambo, a priestess named Laotia, convinced the local plantation workers she could take their souls, if she chose to." "Why?" "To terrorize them to work harder." "She was well paid by the plantation owner," "Jeremiah Walters." "What happened to her?" "She was finally stopped." "But not before she killed many who opposed her." "That's an old story." "Come, Stacy." "There is very little of the night left and the Cayon Legba must finish your ceremony." "Thank you all." "I'm sorry you had to see this." "Uh, Fireman." "Are you sure there isn't something more that we should know?" "Good-bye, Jack." "Ah..." "Come on, we've got work to do." "Where do we start?" "Finding the Ghede Nimbo." "We're looking for a snake?" "No, not for a snake, but for a snake mask." "Listen to this." ""Haitian snake mask sold to one Jeremiah Walters."" "It was Ghede Nimbo, wasn't it?" "You saw someone in a mask... nothing more." "No." "The mask I saw holds the spirit of Laotia." "I saw her, and I felt her." "That's not possible!" "You told me a mask like that killed my parents." "And you described Laotia to me." "Laotia murdered your parents by their own superstition." "The mask had no magic." "Grandfather, I know what I saw." "You taught me to know the spirits." "Then believe me when I say, you never saw one, and you never will see one." "Now, let's go..." "I need to know what happened!" "How can I become a priestess if I'm not ready to know the truth?" "Stacy, I'm not certain if I know the truth myself." "Found it." ""Jeremiah Walters." ""Haitian coffee magnate..." "Family estates..."" "Here it is, "primary residence Beresford Downs."" "Couldn't ask for a better address." "Wait a minute, he died 14 months ago." "Jack, you still want us to check out this address?" "It's the only thing we've got to go on, isn't it, Ryan?" "I'll go talk to Hedley again." "I think he knows more than he's telling us." "What do you mean?" "Well, this store has transformed that mask from a symbol of evil into an active tool." "One that possesses the powers of the Ghede Nimbo?" "Yeah." "Now, the vouduns believe that spirits can reside in objects." "And Lewis has freed one of those spirit." "Hedley can tell us how to fight it." "He doesn't seem to want to tell us much though, hmm?" "No, I know." "I'd sure like to know why." "It's open." "Looks like only one person lives here." "The whole upstairs is empty, except for one bedroom." "Is that the basement?" "Yep, this way." "Ryan!" "What?" "What?" "What?" "What is it?" "Oh, my God." "Who was she?" "A real estate agent." "There's a name next to this address..." "David Rhodes, attorney." "Ryan, come on." "Let's just get the hell out of here." "Come on!" "Yeah." "Let them go." "But they saw the body." "You still don't understand, do you, my master?" "There is no danger." "But..." "The soul that we took from the throat of that priestess has made the mask stronger." "Pick up a branch." "Imagine a bird and draw it." "You now have power over air." "Now you may survey your enemies like a god." "Very good." "Three more souls, and you will have command of man and matter for all of eternity." "And what do you get out of this?" "I will ask only one small reward." "What?" "When my services are fulfilled," "I will tell you." "In the name of Damballa Ouedda, master of heaven, accept the sacrament." "In the name of Papa Legba, master of the gate, accept the sacrament." "Join hands with Obaluaye, your new father." "He is the bringer of lessons." "Serve him until you are ready for the final lesson... death." "Join hands with Yemanja, your new mother." "She is the source of emotion." "Let her guide your heart." "In the name of Loa Simba, we of the elements welcome you." "Rise, chosen spirit, and meet your people." "You are a victory for the light." "Jack." "Jack." "Hmm?" "We went to the house, and found a body." "A woman with the same wound." "The whole throat just torn away." "It's the spirit of Laotia." "Stacy, no." "Grandfather, you have to tell them." "We are all in danger." "It's not possible!" "I saw her die." "What are you talking about?" "Laotia created the snake mask to enslave her people." "Stacy's parents and I fought her magic." "They died in the battle, but I drove Laotia into the sea." "What happened to the mask?" "It vanished with her, swallowed in the water." "What if the spirit lives on in the mask?" "Such things aren't possible." "That mask was in Lewis Vendredi's store a year ago." "It was a place contaminated with evil forces and with demon worship, so anything is possible." "Jack, there's no way" "Laotia could be physically alive." "No, she isn't." "But her spirit could still be clinging to that mask." "That's right." "Lewis found the mask and discovered Laotia's spirit." "And made sure it got to the right person..." "Jeremiah Walters." "Yes." "Fireman, you fight evil your way, we fight it our way." "Believe me, this is very possible, my friend." "No!" "Grandfather!" "Mr. Marshak, please." "Someone is hunting the guardians of our religion." "We've go to find out who has that mask now." "I'll check with the lawyer who listed the house." "I've got to warn the guardian of water." "Wait." "Not alone." "I'll go with you." "Micki, be very careful." "Keep a close watch on Stacy." "I'll bring this gentleman back to the store with me." "Okay." "Come on, my friend, I need your help." "No." "Dyzon Legba!" "It's Stacy." "Leave me alone." "Please." "We've got to talk to you." "It's very important." "Ghede Nimbo is hunting souls." "You young ones are always so frightened of legends." "Heh!" "Ghede Nimbo would not dare to harm me here." "Go!" "Run, Stacy!" "Run!" "Stop them!" "Where the hell are you?" "!" "I am here, Master." "They are no danger to you." "All you need do is follow the Haitian girl." "What are you talking about?" "Why?" "Why?" "Because I have given you dominion over air and water." "She will lead you to the soul of a third guardian." "Mr. Rhodes, it's very important." "All right, kid." "I remember the mask." "Now, can't we do this in my office in the morning?" "Please!" "Can you just tell me anything you can remember?" "The Walters plantations were in Haiti." "The mask was used to scare the workers into delivering a bigger harvest." "Old Jeremiah wasn't a very scrupulous man." "When was that?" "Oh, 20 years ago, at least." "Then it just disappeared." "As far as I know, he forgot all about it until last year, when somebody returned it." "And, then, do you know where the mask might be now?" "Haven't a clue." "Uh, uh, Carl might know." "He's Jeremiah's son." "Of course, if it's worth anything, he's probably sold it." "Do you know where I can find him?" "Up till today, he was living at home." "Now I don't know and I don't care." "Hey, what are you doing?" "Go on!" "Get out of here!" "Get out!" "Ah." "How about this?" "Ah!" "Haichonga root." "Chew it." "Put it under your tongue." "It will prevent her from possessing your spirit." "I wish I could offer you something more." "Jack, he killed a woman!" "Ghede Nimbo..." "He came again!" "What did you see?" "A man with a snake mask came out of a pond..." "And tore out her throat." "The evil didn't die with Laotia." "It lives!" "I went to the home of the man Laotia worked for." "I found this." " What is it?" "It's the residue a spirit leaves when it comes to this plane." "What brought her back?" "There's something about Laotia I've never told you." "She was my wife." "Your father died fighting her, fighting his own mother." "Laotia was my grandmother?" "I thought she was gone forever, but she was just waiting until you became a woman." "She needed the guardians to regain her power, but she needed your body for life." "She's gonna possess her?" "Just before dawn, she's gonna take my soul, then she's gonna place the mask on Stacy and enter her body forever." "Where the hell is Ryan?" "We gotta find out who's helping her." "Some fool who doesn't know he's already damned." "She's tricked him into believing he has power." "But the power is hers." "Jack!" "Jack, I found it!" "Ryan!" "The crow got me in the neck!" "The crow?" "Carl, Jeremiah's son, he's got the mask, Jack." "Jeremiah's son?" "He's mine." "Laotia." "I am as you remembered me, Hedley." "I am as you loved me." "Can you kill me again?" "Grandfather!" "Stacy!" "No, Hedley." "If she hasn't got you," "Laotia can't harm Stacy." "There's nothing you can do, Jack." "We only know tricks, but she can do the magic for real." "She'll be back for me when she's ready." "Not if we get to her first." "Put her in the chair." " Tie her." "She is so beautiful." "She has the eyes of her father." "Why did you stop me from killing the young one?" "I had his life right there." "Could have crushed him, like I could crush her now." "Don't touch her." "She is the wish you will grant me." "Through her, I will live again." "What are you talking about?" "With your great powers, Master, and the dawn of the solstice sun, I will have a new body." "And the moment it is done," "I will be gone forever." "And you will be master of the Earth." "What do I do?" "Give me the mask." "It is only for a moment." "Ah..." "I can't stay here." "Fireman, we've gotta get you down into the vault." "It's almost dawn." "Stacy's all I have." "I can't let Laotia kill her." "There's no need to sacrifice yourself." "Wait a minute." "Like last time." "What?" "Last time, 20 years ago," "I convinced her I had nothing to live for, and I was ready for her when she came for me." "We've got to get down to the house." "But what if she...?" "Come on." "No, don't!" "Ah..." "Jack, she's here." "Easy, Stacy, we'll get you out of here." "Hurry, Jack." "Jack!" "Jack, what's wrong?" "!" "Hedley the fireman, where is he?" "He's safe where you can't get him." "I can drain your life." "Where is he?" "No!" "What have you done with him?" "!" "Laotia!" "Let her go." "I knew you'd come." "Offer your soul to Ghede Nimbo." "I won't let you damn Stacy with my blood." "You have no choice." "I took your life." "Now I offer you mine." "Avenge your spirit, but let our granddaughter go." "My death won't be as sweet unless you can taste it." "I remember how good yours tasted to me." "I can still feel my hands around your neck, holding you beneath the water." "It was so good to hear you choke and feel you struggle." "I can still see your eyes staring up at the surface as your miserable soul slipped away." "I'll have you both!" "Ghede Nimbo..." "a la cha." "No!" "Oh, Grandfather!" "Well, Jack, I buried that mask deep in the back of the vault." "Good, then it and Laotia are never gonna see sunlight again." "Micki, this job gets more and more painful." "Damn Lewis anyway." "The most strenuous thing I want to do today is exercise my right not to do anything today is what I'm gonna do." "Jack, Micki, why you aren't out dancing?" "!" "You guys are missing a great carnival out there." "So's Ryan." "He's spending all his time at the food booths." "I've got to keep up my strength after all that dancing out there." "How can you people party after all we've been through?" "Because we got through it." "Can you think of a better reason for partying than that?" "Where's that food?" "You know, Fireman, when I was in high school," "I learned the saxophone." "I was pretty good, too." "I often thought I should have joined a band." "I mean, I could have been out there playing." "What?" "And miss all that excitement?"