CONTI
I need your help.
MAMA DELIGHT
Of course you do. But I say go ‘way! Go ‘way! No help here. Some things too strong even for Mama. An’ Rappaccini one of those.
CONTI
I’ll pay. Whatever you ask.

MAMA DELIGHT (a quick beat)
Maybe there is something. Give me a moment. What to do, what to do.
(sings: SACRIFICE)
YOU GOT POISON IN YOUR HEART
POISON IN YOUR VEINS
POISON IN YOUR BLOOD,
POISON IN YOUR BRAINS
YOU GOT POISON IN YOUR LIFE
POISON ON YOUR BREATH
HUSTLING YOU THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH

POISON IN THE GARDEN FROM THE OLD WORLD,
PLANTED IN THE NEW WORLD SOIL
POISON IN THE GARDEN TAKIN' HOLD --
GIRL IS GONNA SHUFFLE YOU OFF OF THIS MORTAL COIL

CONTI
So what can I do?
(Her fingers like claws, she grabs Conti’s wrist tightly, pulls him close.)
MAMA DELIGHT + APPRENTICES
THERE AIN'T NOTHING YOU CAN DO
WITHOUT A SACRIFICE
YOU GOTTA GIVE IT UP
WHATEVER YOU GOT
THERE AIN'T NOTHING YOU CAN DO WITHOUT A SACRIFICE
GOT TO SPILL YOUR SELFISH BLOOD ON THE LOUISIANA MUD
AND THEN MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, YOU'LL HAVE A SHOT

CONTI
A sacrifice. Fine. Name it.

MAMA DELIGHT
Don’ be so quick to say yes.

CONTI
What kind of sacrifice?

MAMA DELIGHT
One that will heal you. Heal you every which-way. But we talkin’ ‘bout somethin’ real, somethin’ deep.
(Mama Delight nods to an Apprentice, who begins collecting a few questionable items, including a thick and murky liquid, into a wooden bowl.)

MAMA DELIGHT
The girl is herself a poison. An’ for that you need an antidote to every deadly thing known to Man or Woman. Don’ come easy.

CONTI
Whatever it takes.

MAMA DELIGHT
It takes some rare ingredients, for sure. Lucky Mama be a collector. An’ then -- something special you an’ nobody else got.

CONTI
Something only I have?
(An Apprentice hands Mama Delight a large, nasty knife and she and her Apprentices begin to circle him.)

MAMA DELIGHT, APPRENTICES
YOU GOT POISON IN YOUR HEART
POISON IN YOUR VEINS
POISON IN YOUR BLOOD,
POISON IN YOUR BRAINS
YOU GOT POISON IN YOUR LIFE
POISON ON YOUR BREATH
HUSTLING YOU THROUGH THE VALLEY
OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH

(Conti offers his hand. She slices the knife across his hand, his blood streaming into the bowl. Conti SCREAMS bloody murder. An Apprentice wipes his hand -- and magically, he is healed.)

CONTI
Is that it? Is that the sacrifice?

(Unfazed, Mama Delight filters the brew into a small glass vial, which glows a bright, yellow-green light.)

MAMA DELIGHT, VOODOO APPRENTICES
THERE AIN'T NOTHING YOU CAN DO
WITHOUT A SACRIFICE
IT'S MORE THAN YOUR SKIN YOU GOTTA SAVE
THERE AIN'T NOTHING YOU CAN DO WITHOUT A SACRIFICE
GOT TO SPILL YOUR SELFISH BLOOD ON THE LOUISIANA MUD
AND THEN MAYBE, JUST MAYBE YOU WON'T DIG YOUR OWN GRAVE

(She places the vial in Conti’s hand.)

CONTI
What...what do I do with this?

MAMA DELIGHT
Good question. What do you do? What do you do?