Blood at the Root

While Taron teaches class, Malik and Alexis go to his office and search his belongings. Malik touches a photo on the desk and has flashes of memories of his mother. He takes Taron’s family photo of out its frame and behind it, he finds a torn photo of Taron. He takes out the photo of his mother and realizes they are two halves of the same photo.

Alexis explains that possessions can be used as a “conduit” for magic. The more personal they are, the stronger they are. She asks Malik how he saw Taron’s memories, and Malik explains that he simply touched Taron’s ring. Alexis insists that it’s impossible to see another’s memories. She tells Malik a spell to try, and he repeats it; a portal opens in the office. She is shocked as she explains to Malik that he has the ability to enter Taron’s memories.

Malik steps into the portal. He sees a vision of Taron and Lorraine, exchanging the ring and the necklace. He then sees Taron talking to Samedi. Taron angrily tells Samedi that they had a deal, but Samedi dismisses him. Taron nervously says, “[I]f he finds out what happened that night, we’ll all be in danger” (343). However, Samedi insists that he is taking care of it.

Alexis yells to Malik, which brings him back to the office. Taron is standing in the doorway.

Malik accuses Taron of being a Bokor and hurting his mother. Taron tries to explain, but Malik slams him into the wall. He remembers what he did to Caldwell and tells himself that this time, he won’t stop until Taron is dead. However, at the last moment, he releases Taron. He creates a portal and takes Alexis through it to see Taron’s memories.

Alexis and Malik are transported to the night that Taron’s wife and child died. They watch as Taron fights cloaked figures in his yard. Four come through the door into the house. Taron’s wife kills three of them, but the fourth figure breaks Taron’s wife’s neck and pulls out his child’s heart.

Malik and Alexis are ripped from Taron’s memories and find themselves back at Mama Aya’s house. Taron angrily tells Malik that he is not a Bokor. He is the one who exiled Mama along with the other Divine Elam. They had to stop her after she killed Taron’s family and brought the Bokor back.

Mama Aya is devastated by the revelation and upset that Taron kept the truth from her all these years. Malik tells Mama Aya that Samedi helped, and Samedi admits that he was summoned to help the Divine Elam. Mama Aya angrily banishes him from her home.

Malik insists that they need to find his mother. When Mama Aya tells him it’s not safe, Malik angrily tells Taye to pack his belongings. He storms out of the house with Taye and Alexis and they leave.

Alexis asks where they are going. Malik tells her that he wants to start with his old neighborhood. As the car speeds up, he tries to stop it but realizes he has no control over it. When he looks up, he sees a hooded figure standing in the middle of the road. The figure stops the car, exploding the windows of the vehicle. Malik sees that the cloaked figure is Donja.

Malik recovers from the crash. He is in pain but realizes that he, Alexis, and Taye are all okay. Donja’s magic rips him from the car. The two fight, sending spells at each other, as Malik does his best to protect Taye.

Professor Kumale comes out of the forest and stops their fight. Malik is confused, but then he sees several cloaked figures behind Kumale and realizes that Kumale is working with the Bokor.

Kumale explains that he has committed his life to getting his brother back. The Bokor has the power to do it, but he needs to find the scroll. He explains that Taron was telling the truth: Lorraine was so deep into bane magic that the Divine Elam banished her. He points out that Malik has replaced his own memories of his mother with good ones because of his trauma. Malik then has new flashes of his childhood, where his mother is desperate and angry, consumed by her search for the scroll.

Kumale tells Malik that he is descended from the most powerful conjurers in history. Sacrificing him is the final key to bringing Kumale’s brother back from the dead.

Malik gives up. He is overwhelmed by the betrayal of Kumale and everyone in his life. He is convinced that he is going to die and hopes that Taye and Alexis survive. However, just at that moment, Malik, Taye, and Alexis are transported back to Mama Aya’s house.

Taron asks them what happened. Taye explains that Kumale is part of the Bokor and is the reason for the missing children. Malik insists that they have to get his mother back, but Taron warns him that she is in a place with “dark” magic. He explains that the Divine Elam was behind Lorraine’s disappearance and Malik remaining hidden for a decade. He tells Malik that Mama Aya found a “way to break the spell,” but that it required “a sacrifice” and he couldn’t stop her (365).

Malik angrily tells Taron that everyone in his life has lied to him. He cannot trust anyone. He admits that his mother was behind everything, and maybe she deserves to stay where she is.

Malik wakes up in Mama Aya’s house next to Alexis. He is overwhelmed by the betrayal he has felt. However, he assures Alexis that, as long as he has her, he will be okay. She tells him that she needs to check in on campus and leaves.

Later that day, Malik sits with Taye in the yard. He notes the protection spell surrounding Mama Aya’s house and wonders aloud what would have happened if they kept going to California. However, Taye assures him that he is glad they are there and that everything will turn out okay.

Taye looks up and finds his friend Sierra there. He walks with her, and Malik realizes that Taye is in love with her. However, when they get to the edge of the yard, he notices that Sierra starts to “ripple.” Too late, he realizes that it is a trap.

Malik teleports to the edge of the yard and finds Kumale, Donja, and Alexis there. Alexis gives Lorraine’s necklace to Kumale. Kumale explains that Alexis needed Bokor help to build her magic and help the missing children.

Kumale tells Malik that he will let Taye go if he takes down the protection spell from Mama Aya’s house. Malik hesitates, then agrees. As the spell falls, the Bokor walk forward into the yard. Malik grabs Taye and teleports to the house, where he finds Taron and Dr. Akeylah waiting. Brigitte and Samedi also appear, and a fight ensues between them and the Bokor.

Malik joins in the fight, killing several Bokor. A police car then pulls up, and Antwan, Savon, Elijah, and D Low get out. They join in the fight as well.

Donja teleports Malik to the bayou. He sinks to the bottom, overwhelmed by the weight of everything. However, he then hears whispers of his ancestors, who insist that he “fight.” He uses their strength to burst from the bayou. Donja throws Malik against a shack. He tells Malik that, 10 years ago, Malik killed his parents when they came to banish his mother. Malik tries to argue that he didn’t do it intentionally, but rage overwhelms Donja.

Just as Donja is about to kill him, Malik again hears whispering. He hears Miriam’s voice among them. Drawing from their power, Malik pulls ancestral fire from the shack’s fireplace. Shadows begin to move around them. Malik feels himself casting a summoning spell. He then turns all his power onto Donja. Donja’s skin begins to peel from his face as black blood oozes from his mouth. Donja yells in pain, then flees.

Malik falls to the ground, exhausted. Alexis tries to comfort him, but Malik dismisses her, insisting that he doesn’t want her apology.

When Malik and Alexis return to Mama Aya’s house and the battle, Mama Aya comes out of the house. She uses her magic to take out several Bokor, including their leader. She then turns on Kumale, but he holds up Lorraine’s necklace and defends himself. Mama Aya is thrown backward.

Malik rushes Kumale, who slashes open Malik’s arm. His blood drips on the large tree in the yard and Mama’s necklace. Malik’s mother materializes in front of him. Kumale tells her that he did what she asked: He brought the necklace and Malik’s blood to the tree, the source of Mama’s ancestral power.

Malik embraces his mother. He forgets everything else as he finally gets to hold her. However, she immediately asks for the scroll, insisting that Malik has to know where it is. Malik tells her that he doesn’t, and his mother grows angry. As they touch, more memories flash through his mind, of Mama’s anger toward him as a child, her obsession with the scroll, and the night she killed Taron’s family. He realizes that Taron was telling the truth.

Taron approaches Lorraine and tries to calm her down. He insists that she can still stop everything. Briefly, Malik sees his mother soften. He thinks of his own love for Alexis and realizes that Taron and his mother share something similar. However, Lorraine’s demeanor shifts again, and she angrily dismisses Taron. She teleports away with Kumale and the rest of the Bokor.

Malik runs to Mama Aya. They embrace, as Malik tells her how proud he is to be his grandson. However, Donja then appears and stabs Mama Aya.

Malik uses his magic to bind Donja. He is determined to kill him, but Taron begs him to stop, insisting that he is not evil. Instead, Malik tells Donja that he is going to make him suffer for eternity. He chants the “lex talionis” spell and banishes Donja to relive the last moment he had with his parents over and over again.

Malik tries to heal Mama Aya, but Samedi tells Malik that this is what Mama Aya wanted. She sacrificed herself to find Malik. As Malik sobs over her body, he says a prayer over Mama Aya, who turns into a cloud of black butterflies.

Malik spends the next few days grieving. He sits out on the porch, remembering Mama Aya as the sun sets, and Samedi joins him. Samedi apologizes for lying to Malik about what happened to his mother. Malik forgives him.

Samedi then brings up Taye. He and Brigitte want to adopt him. Malik thinks of how he has to start learning “the art of letting go” (391). He realizes that he can’t care for Taye on his own—especially with school and his mother out there with the Bokor. He tells Samedi that he supports the idea.

Samedi then tells Malik that he has to promise to be a kid. Everything in the world will try to steal Malik’s innocence, but Malik has to remember to enjoy life. Malik sobs in Samedi’s arms.

At school, Malik goes to Chancellor Taron’s office. Before Malik can ask, Taron tells him that Caiman is going to expel Alexis. Malik realizes that he is not even upset and understands.

Malik apologizes for what Taron went through. Taron insists that he doesn’t need to apologize, as Malik understands better than anyone else what it is like. Malik also realizes that Taron losing Lorraine is similar to how Malik has lost Alexis. He still loves her but realizes he can never be with her.

Taron tells Malik he is sorry if he ever made Malik feel like he was unwelcome at Caiman. He explains that he was just trying to protect Malik. Malik accepts his apology and realizes how good it feels to have someone say that he belongs.

Malik asks Taron if he was in love with his mother. Taron admits that he was. Malik then asks if Taron is his father. However, before Taron can answer, Taron’s mother—Empress Bonclair—interrupts their conversation. She gives her condolences to Malik over Mama Aya’s death and then dismisses Malik.

Out in the hall, Malik eavesdrops on their conversation. Empress scolds Taron, blaming him for Lorraine’s escape and the return of the Bokor. She tells him that a war is coming between the tribes. She insists that Malik’s presence at the university will only make the situation worse, and Malik is disappointed when Taron doesn’t defend him.

Malik decides to see Alexis so he can say goodbye. As he waits for her by a tree on the edge of campus, his heartbreak overwhelms him. He begins to cry.

Alexis joins him and tries to apologize, but Malik tells her that he loved her. For years, she was the thing that helped him survive. She tries to say that she loves him, but he interrupts her to say that she would not have done what she did if she truly loved him. They kiss and cry, and then Alexis disappears.

Back at Mama Aya’s, D Low, Savon, and Elijah show up. Malik asks if they are going to betray him too, as they are friends with Alexis and Donja. However, they tell him that they had no idea what was going on and don’t agree with bane magic.

Savon and Elijah go inside, leaving just D Low and Malik. Malik assures D Low that he is going to come back to school so that he can learn everything he can to stop his mother and the Bokor.

Malik goes into Mama Aya’s room and finds the quilt she was working on with a note on top. It says that she loves Malik—as did his mother, even if she lost her way. She tells him not to turn to darkness, as magic will always tempt him to do so. She instructs him to go to the tree in the yard to be blessed by her and his ancestors.

As Malik touches the note, he hears a memory of Mama Aya singing. She sang of “way down yonder in de middle o’ de fiel’” and a “chariot wheel” (408). Malik realizes that her words are the missing part of the map his mother is seeking. The note begins to move around the room on its own, and Malik follows it outside. It floats around a chariot wheel outside the door, then around a shack on the edge of the field.

Malik enters the shack and feels the place’s history, with incantations “etched” into its walls. He reaches into a hole in the wall and finds the Scroll of Idan. As he holds it, words fly off the pages and sink into Malik’s skin. He can feel the power of everything inside of it.

The shack collapses and Malik floats into the air. He imagines the bayou parting. He flicks his hand, and it does so. He then uses his mind to repair the bottles hanging on the tree that broke during the fight. He casts a protection spell over the land. He has visions of his ancestors crossing the sea and then turning into animals. He passes out.

When Malik recovers, he is by the tree. He sees Mama Aya, Ephraim, and Miriam standing there. Mama Aya touches his face, and he feels the warmth and the power of his ancestors. She instructs him to “become [him]self” and disappears. In her place, Malik sees a seven-year-old version of himself. He is holding a picture of Mama. Malik takes it, and it bursts into ancestral fire. He realizes that his mother is now his enemy, but he is determined to defeat her.

It is the first day of the fall semester. Malik walks through campus, saying hi to his friends and feeling as though he actually belongs.

He goes into history class. Everyone speculates on who their new teacher will be now that Kumale is gone. A Black woman enters the room. She tells the students to get out their notebooks, as she is going to tell them what really happened at Salem. She introduces herself as Tituba Atwell.