Blood Debts Quiz: Test Your Knowledge

Quiz Instructions

This 20-question quiz covers the entire Blood Debts novel by Terry J. Benton-Walker. Questions are divided into four sections: Plot/Sequence, Character Motivation, Theme/Symbol, and Synthesis. Some questions are multiple choice; others require a short written answer. After you finish, check the answer key at the bottom. Need a refresher? Visit the book summary page, browse questions and answers, or read the ending explained.

Section 1: Plot/Sequence (8 questions)

1. What object does Clement discover hidden under his mother’s mattress after placing the good-luck gris?

A) A family heirloom necklace
B) A hex doll with a talisman and Mama’s missing earring
C) A love letter from Lenora Savant
D) A vial of necromantic powder

2. Why does Cristina blame herself for her father’s death?

A) She accidentally set the house on fire
B) She misused the Scales of Justice spell, which killed him
C) She failed to summon Papa Eshu in time
D) She shared a secret with Oz that led to a car crash

3. Where do Clement and Yves find Auguste Dupre after breaking into Jean‑Louise’s home?

A) In a hidden attic room, alive but hollow-eyed
B) Buried in the backyard
C) At a Redeemer protest
D) In a photograph album

4. Who shoots Yves at the end of the magical art exhibit, and why?

A) A Redeemer who mistook Yves for Clement
B) Jean‑Louise, to silence a witness
C) Oz, to hurt Cristina
D) Lenora’s bodyguard as a warning

5. How does Cristina finally uncross Aurora Vincent at Chateau des Saints?

A) She bribes a nurse to release her
B) She burns her father’s journal and performs a cleansing ritual
C) She calls Papa Eshu directly
D) She convinces Xavier to lift the crossing

6. What evidence does Cristina find that proves Lenora framed Queen Cristine?

A) A signed confession from Bethesda DeLacorte
B) An insurance policy for a blue Mashahir rug transferred the day Alexis’s body was found
C) A video recording of Lenora admitting the murder
D) An autopsy report showing light‑magic crystals and rug fibers

7. During the confrontation on the Montaigne Majestic, what does Clement command his undead army to do?

A) Spare Lenora and arrest her
B) Bring him Lenora’s head
C) Force a public confession from the Council
D) Set fire to the boat

8. At the end of the novel, what political threat does Clement learn about from the news?

A) Lenora has escaped justice
B) Benjamin Beaumont has been elected mayor and plans a Magical Regulation Bureau
C) The Redeemers have outlawed all gen magic
D) Valentina Savant has taken control of the Council

Section 2: Character Motivation (5 questions)

9. Short answer: Why does Lenora Savant frame her best friend Cristine Dupart for the murder of Alexis Lancaster?

10. What motivates Oz Strayer to plant love spells and a hex doll on Cristina’s family?

A) He is in love with Cristina and wants to protect her
B) He is working for Lenora Savant to destabilize the Trudeau family
C) He wants to learn gen magic by experimenting
D) He blames Cristina for his father’s business failure

11. Short answer: Why does Valentina Savant sabotage Ursula’s car with jinx salt and moon-glo?

12. What drives Aunt Ursula to summon Black Wolf and burn down Spirits of Nola?

A) She wants revenge for her brother’s death
B) She is angry that the bar is linked to her curse of barrenness
C) She believes the owner is a Redeemer
D) She hopes to frame Lenora for arson

13. Why does Yves agree to investigate Jean‑Louise for Clement?

A) He hopes to gain magical power
B) He loves Clement and wants to help him uncover family secrets
C) He is blackmailed by Clement
D) He wants revenge on Jean‑Louise for a personal grudge

Section 3: Theme/Symbol (4 questions)

14. What does the hex doll primarily symbolize in the novel?

A) The danger of trusting white mages
B) The hidden, deliberate destruction caused by betrayal and jealousy
C) The power of ancestral protection
D) The fragility of life

15. Short answer: What does the Scales of Justice spell represent for the Trudeau family, especially for Cristina?

16. The Moon King (mentioned in chapter 38) is a symbol of what?

A) The god of crossroad offerings
B) A corrupting force touched by dark magic
C) The rightful ruler of the Gen Council
D) The spirit of vengeance

17. How does the author’s note frame the novel’s central theme about justice?

A) Justice is always clear and achievable
B) There is no right answer— the novel asks how far one would go and when it becomes too far
C) Only blood debt can bring true justice
D) The Gen Council is the only arbiter of justice

Section 4: Synthesis (3 questions)

18. Short answer: Compare Cristina’s and Clement’s attitudes toward revenge and justice by the end of the novel. Use at least one specific example from the plot.

19. Short answer: How does the novel explore the idea that magic is a neutral tool? Support your answer with two characters who use it for very different purposes.

20. Short answer: What role does the concept of “blood debt” play in both the plot and the theme of intergenerational trauma? Refer to the resolution of Lenora’s story.

Answer Key

Section 1: Plot/Sequence

B – Clement finds a hex doll with a talisman and Mama’s missing earring under the mattress, confirming someone is using dark magic to kill her (Chapter One).
B – Cristina cast the Scales of Justice spell without fully understanding its cost, which unintentionally killed her father (Chapter Two, revealed in Chapter Three).
A – In Chapter 18, Clement and Yves discover Auguste alive but emaciated with black eyes, the result of Jean‑Louise’s partial necromancy.
A – A Redeemer in a ski mask shoots Yves, saying “It was supposed to be you,” meaning he mistook Yves for Clement (Chapter 32).
B – Cristina sacrifices her father’s journal, mixes the ashes with moonlight, and performs a cleansing ritual that uncrosses Aurora (Chapter 35).
D – Cristina finds an autopsy report showing a three‑day death‑date discrepancy, light‑magic crystals, and traces of Mashahir rug fibers that link the killer to wealth (Chapter 21).
B – Clement orders the undead army, “Bring me her head,” leading to Lenora’s execution (Chapter 41).
B – In Chapter 45, Clement learns Benjamin Beaumont won the mayoral election and plans to create a Magical Regulation Bureau targeting magical cultures.

Section 2: Character Motivation

Short answer: Lenora was obsessed with power and believed Cristine’s refusal to teach a white girl gen magic angered Bethesda DeLacorte. Lenora conspired with Bethesda to murder Alexis and frame Cristine so Lenora could seize the Gen Council throne (Chapter 22, 38).
B – Oz admits he planted the hex doll and is working for someone else (Lenora); his love spells and the hex doll were part of a plan to destabilize the Trudeau family (Chapter 26).
Short answer: Valentina sabotaged Ursula’s car because she wanted to delay or hurt the Dupart family after the pier confrontation where Ursula accused Lenora of framing Cristine. Valentina acted out of loyalty to her grandmother and a desire to secure her own future as heir (Chapter 7).
B – Ursula summons Black Wolf and burns Spirits of Nola because the bar is where Clement’s father died and because Celeste Richard, a former friend, cursed her to be barren (Chapter 23).
B – Yves agrees to investigate because he cares deeply for Clement and wants to help him uncover the truth about his family’s secrets. Their romantic bond grows stronger through this collaboration (Chapters 12‑13).

Section 3: Theme/Symbol

B – The hex doll, planted under Mama’s mattress, symbolizes the hidden malice and betrayal from someone close (Lenora via Oz) that intends to destroy the family from within.
Short answer: The Scales of Justice spell represents the power to hold others accountable for wrongdoing, but also the risk of unintended consequences. For Cristina, it becomes a symbol of her guilt over her father’s death, and later a justification for collecting blood debts from Lenora.
B – Cristine’s spirit warns that the Moon King has touched Clement (Chapter 38), symbolizing a dark, corrupting force that endangers anyone connected to necromancy or unchecked power.
B – The author’s note explicitly says morality is gray and leaves the reader with two questions: how far would you go for justice, and when is too far? It does not prescribe one correct answer.

Section 4: Synthesis

Short answer: Cristina is willing to be ruthless—“I’ll be the reaper for all of us if I have to” (Chapter 38)—and she orchestrates Lenora’s execution. Clement, though complicit, feels queasy afterward (Chapter 39) and later hesitates when Yves dies, questioning the cost. For example, Clement watches the undead dismember Lenora but does not stop it; Cristina commands the fire and feels no regret.
Short answer: Magic is neutral: Oz uses love spells to manipulate Cristina without consent (Chapter 14), while Cristina uses a cleansing ritual to free Aurora (Chapter 35). Both employ gen magic, but Oz’s intent is betrayal and control, whereas Cristina’s is healing and justice. Mama also reminds Cristina that magic is “a neutral tool” (Chapter 16).
Short answer: Blood debt is the central plot mechanism—Lenora owes the Trudeaus for murdering their grandmother, father, and attempting to kill Mama. It also embodies intergenerational trauma: the debt spans thirty years, and collecting it requires Clement and Cristina to embrace violence they might otherwise reject. Lenora’s public confession and execution at a dress rehearsal show that the cycle of revenge may continue, as hinted by Ursula’s mysterious call and the new political threat from the Beaumonts.