Blood at the Root

As Malik hugs Alexis, he realizes that he has loved her all these years. Memories flood back to him of their time together at the home. At the time, finding someone else who could do magic made him feel like he belonged. Malik tells Alexis that he has a grandmother named Mama Aya, and he came to live with her. She is shocked that he is related to Mama Aya, who is famous for her magical ability.

Malik asks Alexis if she knew Katia. She admits that she didn’t but insists that her life matters. She tells him that the Kwasan tribe is uninterested in anyone who isn’t magical; they are upset about a student going missing but don’t care about all the Black girls disappearing in a “suspected trafficking ring right in the council’s backyard” (102). Malik tries to ask about the Kwasan, but a bell sounds, signaling the start of class. Alexis gives him her phone number and promises to meet him later.

A young man whom Malik guesses is not much older than him comes up and greets him. He introduces himself as Professor Kumale, Malik’s professor and advisor, and offers to show Malik more of the campus.

The two walk by a tall wall full of names and covered with purple and blue flowers, the same flowers that Malik notices on the Caiman University sign. Kumale explains that it is a periwinkle flower. They use it in remembrance of enslaved ancestors, who once used the flower to mark their dead. Malik is awed by the sheer number of names on the memorial.

As they walk through the campus, Malik asks what is possible with magic. Kumale tells him that almost anything is. Time travel is difficult, as it is usually temporary but can lead to people getting “stuck” in time. Immortality is also impossible—as of right now—as nothing can live forever.

Kumale then takes Malik to buy books. As they cash out, Malik realizes that his app has a cash balance. Kumale tells him that his meals are covered, and he will also get additional money each semester. He stresses that Caiman wants students to focus on their education and not have the worries that typical college students have.

After Kumale leaves, Malik gets a message from Alexis. She tells him to meet him at the quad, where she introduces him to several of her friends: Donja Devereaux, who Malik immediately dislikes because he “oozes” privilege and is flirtatious with Alexis, and twins Elijah and Savon Carrington. Savon uses they/them pronouns and is trying to build the Black Queer Conjurer Initiative, while Elijah studies sports medicine.

After they take a photo together, the bell for class rings again. They all have history together, so Alexis teleports Malik to the building.

In history class, Kumale introduces the Haitian Revolution. He explains that Haiti was the first nation to abolish slavery after a successful revolt against the French. The students chime in to point out that this is not taught in schools because the United States feared that enslaved people in the US would revolt as well. Malik is enthralled by how attentive and smart the class is, especially Alexis.

Kumale then tells the class that they are going to visit the Haitian Revolution through memory. They all repeat a chant, and Malik feels Kumale’s magic flowing through him. The room changes, and Malik finds himself in a field with war drums in the distance.

A fight breaks out around Malik. A Black woman with a machete kills several white soldiers. She fights alongside a Black man, who jumps onto the back of a horse and kills the European rider.

The field disappears, and Malik finds himself surrounded by Black men in white robes. They bring a young boy forward. The boy begs for mercy in Kreyol (Haitian Creole), but the group’s leader stabs him in the heart. A blinding light escapes, followed by a gust of wind that knocks Malik to the ground. When he gets up, the leader is staring and pointing at him. As he comes toward Malik, Malik puts his hand up and the man stops. He hears a crack, then sees bones burst through the man’s body as he cries out in pain.

Malik scrambles away as pain overcomes him. He runs out of the woods but turns back and sees the men following him. They glide across the ground toward Malik and, as he watches, their cloaks turn from white to black. One gets close to Malik, speaking in Kreyol, and points his hand at Malik. A burst of green light shoots at Malik but, just before it hits him, he is back in the classroom.

Malik is in his seat, sweating and panicking. The class around him talks excitedly about the battle that they just saw. He realizes that no one else saw the men in cloaks.

That night, Malik goes to the Student Union (BCSU). He meets his friends there, and they tell him that the campus is locked down because a couple more conjurers went missing.

Alexis then brings up Katia and the other missing girls. She insists that they should use their magic to help them. She is angry at Taron’s mother, Empress Bonclair, head of the Kwasan tribe, who is not doing anything to help the girls. However, her friends warn her that using magic outside of school will get her expelled.

Malik learns that there are rumors that the Bokor, a group working to “expose” the magical community, are back. The Kwasan shun the Bokor because of their use of bane (dark) magic. Malik is shocked when they tell him that Mama Aya is over 100 years old and helped defeat the Bokor the last time.

Malik thinks about what he saw in Haiti and realizes that he must have seen the Bokor performing the sacrificial ceremony in the war. He also decides that, with his mother looking for bane magic, it’s possible that these same people attacked his mother that night. However, he keeps all this to himself.

After they eat, Malik and Alexis walk around campus, and she tells him more about the Bokor. There are several different magical tribes around the world. The Kwasan tribe rules the magical people in their area, although some groups believe that they should not be in charge. The Bokor historically sacrifice conjurers to take magic for themselves. Alexis comments that they serve “the Loa—spirits in Haitian Vodou—with both hands” (135). She comments that Baron (Bawan) Samedi is a Loa, which shocks Malik.

Alexis teleports Malik home. As they hold hands, he thinks about how much he missed her and how much he likes her.

After Alexis leaves, Malik sits with Mama Aya on the porch. He asks her about the Bokor, but she tells him that they’re nothing for him to worry about. She admits that she was born in 1831 to an enslaved woman named Myriam. She shows him a memory of Myriam and her husband Ephraim. When Malik asks what happened to her, the memory shifts. Myriam and Ephraim run through the woods with a baby—Mama Aya—in Myriam’s arms. He hears shouts from white men and the sound of dogs chasing them.

The next day, Malik has Intro to Black Magical Studies, taught by Dr. Akeylah Green. She begins by asking the class what magic is, and various students give answers related to conjuring, manipulation, and ancestry. She explains that there are two types of magic. The first is ancestral magic, which they all possess. It started in Africa and enslaved people brought it to the Americas. Many people practice Hoodoo, which incorporates elements of Christianity. The other type of magic is bane magic, which uses blood and sacrifice to create new power, instead of drawing from ancestry.

Dr. Akeylah starts a slideshow. One of the pictures startles Malik, as it is the same people in white robes that he saw in history class. Dr. Akeylah explains that they were the Divine Elam, the original group of conjurers in the Americas who helped form Caiman in 1804.

Dr. Akeylah asks a few students to demonstrate their power. She explains that they were all baptized in their ancestral magic, so they tap into different sources of power and have different strengths. She asks Malik to light a candle. He initially struggles, and the students snicker at his attempts. However, he manages to create a flame, which grows until it climbs the walls and sets off the fire alarms. Malik gets lost in his magic until Dr. Akeylah puts out his flame.

After class, Dr. Akeylah asks Malik to stay behind. She tells him not to ever be embarrassed or ashamed by what he can or can’t do. She gives him a book on Hoodoo to help catch up with the class.

On Saturday night, Malik goes to a frat party with Alexis. As they walk around, Malik sees different magical creatures like mermaids and elves, as well as students performing magic like transformation and teleportation.

Alexis and Malik dance together. She comments on how surprised she is that he doesn’t have a girlfriend, but he confesses that he has only ever thought about her. She apologizes for not trying harder to get her family to adopt Malik all those years ago, but he insists it’s okay. Just as they are about to kiss, a fight breaks out in the front yard.

Donja is fighting with a guy that he has been dating. A girl stands between them, trying to break up the fight, but the guy punches Donja in the face. In response, Donja says a chant that slashes the boy’s face open.

The party stops around them. Drunk and arrogant, Donja refuses to apologize. When Alexis tries to help him, Donja pulls away, upsetting Malik. He steps up to Donja and lets his magic out. Donja scoffs at him, then disappears. Alexis tells Malik she has to follow to make sure he gets home okay, then she vanishes as well.

On Sunday, Malik practices his magic in the field near Mama Aya’s house while Taye watches. He is gaining better control, able to create flames in the air and move them on gusts of wind. As he practices, Taye tells him that he is happy living there. Malik agrees but admits that something strange is going on. He explains about the missing children, but Taye insists he feels safe.

The next day, Malik wakes up late. He rushes to school and finds Alexis and the other students gathered in a group in the hallway outside of class. They are looking at broken glass and powder on the floor in a “snakelike shape.” One of the students comments about the Bokor being back, while some of the other kids start to panic. Malik approaches the symbol and finds a broken frame with a picture of his mother inside. Chancellor Taron directs Malik to his office.

In Taron’s office, Malik sits nervously while the Chancellor types on his computer. Malik notices a gold ring on his hand, but Taron hides it when he sees Malik looking.

When he finishes typing, Taron brings up Malik’s mother. Malik puts the photo of his mother on the desk and demands to know what she has to do with the situation at the school. He asks if she is alive, but Taron insists that he doesn’t know. Malik then asks if the Bokor is back and if the tribe is related to his mother, but Chancellor Taron still refuses to give any answers.

Taron tells Malik that he is being upgraded to a full-time student. He is adding an advanced magic class to Malik’s schedule and giving him a room in the dorms. Malik questions whether it has anything to do with the Bokor and the disappearing children, but Taron dismisses him without answering.

Malik goes to his dorm room and meets his roommate, D Low. Malik tells him that he hopes he’s only there temporarily because of the Bokor, and D Low agrees that they are back—even if Chancellor Taron won’t admit it. He also tells Malik that his mother was one of the best students ever at Caiman. She was part of the Divine Elam and her notes and work from the university are still in the library but no one can get to them.

Malik gets a text from Alexis telling him to meet her after dark in the quad. There, she tells him that Katia died. Alexis is angry that the magic community didn’t help and is going to Mama Aya’s to meet with Samedi. She teleports them both there.

Alexis explains that she “summoned” Samedi “for a bidding” (188). Two of the men who took Katia died, and Samedi, the one who transports the dead into the afterlife, has access to their souls. The three of them get into a rowboat and cross a dark river to a cemetery. Samedi explains that it is “the crossroads,” where souls are transported to Guinee.

Samedi warns Alexis and Malik to be careful. They are outside the gates of Guinee, where souls wait until they pass on.

Alexis begins to chant, and a snake rises from the ground. She cuts it open, spilling its blood, and speaks more incantations. Two ghosts rise in front of them, and she accuses them of torturing and killing Katia. Katia’s spirit appears, floating above them. Malik tries to stop her, but Samedi insists that he let her continue.

Alexis tells the two spirits that they will be tortured for eternity for what they did. She chants another incantation, and a fire dragon rises from the ground. It surrounds the two ghosts and explodes, dragging them into the ground. Above them, Katia’s spirit rises into the air and is gone.

Alexis thanks Samedi for helping her cross, giving him a bottle of rum and a case of cigars. Malik is shaken by the entire thing, but Alexis acts as if nothing extraordinary happened.

Afterward, Malik sits with Alexis on Mama Aya’s porch, neither of them speaking. Eventually, Alexis angrily confronts him, asking what he is thinking. Malik tells her that what she did was wrong—that she is not “god.” However, Alexis insists that she was giving the men what they deserved. She is going to continue to use her magic to help the Black community—outside of the magical community—even if no one else is going to help her. She also admits that she used bane magic in the graveyard.

Alexis angrily tells Malik that she knew he wouldn’t understand what she was doing, that only Donja understands. Donja’s name makes Malik angry, and he accuses Alexis of having sex with him. She dismisses Malik, saying that he just doesn’t understand, then leaves.

Sitting alone, Malik wonders if Alexis changing is part of the “price” for the magic she does. He wonders if “having magic [is] even worth it” (198).