Path of Descent: Ambrosine

by Noreen Harrison

  Such a fool…

  “Alixia, I can hear you.”

  I rolled my eyes at him.

  “I wanted you to. Can you hear what else I’m thinking?” He shook his head with a snide smile.

  “Phillip, I’m going to be with Marcus, and you have to accept that.” He walked up behind me, breathing me in.

  “I know I lost you when Marcus returned.”

  “No,” I said, facing him and placing my hand gently on his cheek. “You lost me when you accepted what Angel did.”

  “I’m not going to apologize for that.”

  “I know. You and everyone else in the Family have told me so several times.”

  I sat back down irritated.

  “I have to ask you something. You said she wasn’t going to the West Indies to beg for her life, so what is she up to?”

  He came back to the table.

  “First, the trip is off. We are having another High Council meeting tomorrow night.”

  “Why?”

  He shifted, nervously tapping his fingers on the table, knowing that I was still in his head.

  “Angel is calling a Gathering of all the Family heads, to help fight the Dark Ones that Madame Cecilia permitted to go after the Family.”

  I clasped my hands together, staring at him. My mind raced, imagining the deaths on both sides.

  “Phillip,” I stood up, panic-stricken. “I beg you to let them have her.” He lowered his head and I sensed his discomfort with me. “Phillip, you all know what will happen if you try to fight them.”

  “Then, go to Marguerite and tell her to end it.”

  “She won’t do that, not after the deaths of the Pure Ones. Just give her Angel.”

  “No!” he said, balling his hand into a fist and hitting the table so hard that I heard it crack.

  “Alixia, what was that noise?” I looked past him, seeing Anna coming into the kitchen, yawning and stretching. “Phillip, what are you doing here?”

  “Leave, Anna,” I said, turning her toward the door.

  “Alixia,” she said, “what on earth is going on?”

  “Just go back to your room, please.”

  She left, mumbling to herself.

  Phillip was standing by the back door, calmer.

  “The rain has stopped,” he said.

  “Good, let’s go outside. Anna won’t stay in her room for long.”

  In the garden, he was the first to speak.

  “I wish you could understand.”

  “Phillip…”

  “Wait, just let me finish.”

  “Go ahead, I’m sorry!” We sat on a bench.

  “I’ve come to your aide with Marcus several times, and that’s why I don’t understand why you won’t help me protect Angel. You know how much I care for her.”

  “Phillip, she has killed.”

  He put his hands through his hair, frustrated.

  “I know. You keep saying that, but to me she is no different than Marguerite. She is protecting the Family, as we were born to do.”

  “Wait,” I said. “So, you think this is about her protecting the Family? And that’s why you feel I’ve been way too suspicious of her?”

  “Yes. It’s just like the way you have always defended Marcus to me, telling me to trust him.”

  I sat there for second, digesting his words.

  “Okay,” I said, standing up and moving close to him, so that I could feel his breath on my face. “Maybe I should rethink this.”

  He looked at me suspiciously.

  “What are you saying?”

  “I will help you.”

  “Alixia?”

  “Don’t look so worried,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck and looking up into his eyes. “Isn’t this what you want from me?”

  “Yes, but why all of a sudden the change?”

  I smiled, sensing his apprehension because he couldn’t figure out what I was up too.

  “I should be more trustful of Angel. So, I have a proposition.”

  “For her?”

  “Yes,” I said, sitting up straight.

  “What is it?” he asked, staring down at me with a grim look of unease on his face.

  “I want you tell her to release Marguerite and Millie’s baby from the curse, and if she does, tell her I will help to protect her.”

  He walked over and picked a daisy, twirling it in his fingertips for a few seconds.

  “Okay, I’ll talk to her. But if Marguerite comes for her…”

  “Phillip, reason with Angel, and then we will deal with Marguerite. But I think you will see that she is not really into protecting the Family as much as you think.”

  “Alixia…”

  “I know. Anyway, now I have to deal with Marcus. He will be back tomorrow night. Get an answer from her quickly, and I will come and see you before I meet Marcus at the airport.”

  “I will have your answer.”

  Cursed

  It was early evening. Getting out of my car, I walked up the steps to Phillip’s door and stood there for a second, sensing. Something was amiss. Evil had happened, or was about to happen. It wasn’t clear – something was blocking the image.

  I reached out and knocked, still looking around.

  “Alixia,” Charles said opening the door with a grim look. “Come on in.”

  I walked past him, sensing even more intensely that something was wrong.

  “You know why I’m here?”

  “Yes, they’re in the back.”

  “They?”

  “Yes, Angel is with him.”

  I shook my head, irritated.

  “That’s something I really didn’t want to deal with tonight. I thought she was calling a Gathering?”

  “It has been called, but it starts at midnight. We are waiting for a few more Family members from the West Indies to arrive.”

  I walked into the foyer but it was empty.

  “Where are they?”

  “In the study.”

  A quiet conversation stopped when they saw us.

  “Alixia,” Phillip said, coming toward me. “You’re here.” He took my hand.

  “Yes, as I promised,” I said noticing the slight smile on Angel’s face.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

  “No. Let’s all sit down.”

  I stepped away from Phillip.

  “No, I’m not staying. I’m just here for her answer.”

  He pinched his brow nervously as Angel stomped over to me.

  “You want my answer? No, I will not release them. We need to protect the Family!”

  “This is ridiculous,” I said, knowing her real intent. “What you mean to say is that you’re protecting yourself, and enjoying the power you have over them. They are innocent. See, Phillip, I was right. She doesn’t want to end this.”

  Angel looked back at him, screeching her defense.

  “No, that’s not why! As I told you, we cannot trust them. I need to keep the curse for leverage. Phillip, tell her that you agree with me.”

  He shuffled one foot in front of the other, not wanting to look at me.

  “I have to agree with Angel. We have no guarantees that Marguerite will keep her word, if Angel does release them.”

  A smile of satisfaction appeared on her face, but I wasn’t about to let her get away with this deception. I wanted to show him what she was, an evil bitch!

  “You might be right about Marguerite,” I said. “So, just release the child.”

  “No!” she yelled. “The child will stay cursed, along with Marguerite.”

  I looked at Charles and Phillip, who were both standing there and not opposing her at all.

  I shook my head, furious.

  “Phillip, do you think James should stay cursed?”

  “Calm down,” he said, looking over at Angel. “The child will be released when Marguerite is stopped from…”

  “Phillip, this is insane!” I said, interrupting him. “You all are keeping an inno
cent child hostage to a curse of death, just to protect the Family. None of you should ever have allowed it to happen! I am not helping any of you.”

  I glared over at Angel.

  “You could have met me halfway.”

  “There is no halfway!”

  “You’re a bitch! I have to get out of here.”

  I moved toward the door.

  “Alixia, wait!”

  “For what, Charles?” He came up to me, his eyes fixed on mine.

  “There is something else you should know that hasn’t been said here, and might change your mind about helping us.”

  Angel came up behind him, angrily taking hold of his arm.

  “Charles, don’t. Not until the Families have seen what she has done!”

  “Angel, step back from me, please” he said firmly, pushing her off him.

  “Uncle,” Phillip said, “you should listen to Angel.”

  “No. Maybe Alixia can help her.”

  “Whom are you talking about?”

  “Madame Cecilia.”

  “What about her?”

  He lowered his eyes.

  “She has been cursed. She’s at the Ambrosine mansion.”

  “No!” I cried out, running to the front door. “Why did you keep this from me?”

  “Wait!”

  “No! I need to see her!” I left my car and accelerated through the backwoods of the Bayou. I didn’t look back, but I heard them calling out as they followed close behind me.

  Madame Cecilia – that must have been the evil I sensed, but how did they block it from me?

  I landed and ran into the house. I frantically called out to her, going straight up the stairs. In the bedroom, the staff was kneeling around her, chanting. They looked up at me as I stepped toward them.

  “Alixia.”

  Gabriel spoke up first, getting up anxiously as the rest followed.

  “I’m so sorry.” He bent down and kissed my cheek, and then left. The other staff followed, offering their regrets, too.

  I looked down at Madame Cecilia. The familiar foul smell hit me right away, as I saw the dead blackbird beside her. She lay there, still on the floor, in a paralyzed state. Bird scratches cut deep into her face, and there was a pentagram drawn around her with the Family‘s white symbols. The flickering lights of candles were placed in the corners of the room, bringing out some illumination to the darkness.

  “Alixia, don’t touch her! Angel has forbidden it,” Phillip said, coming up behind me with a hushed tone in his voice.

  “Why?”

  “We are to wait until the Families all arrive.”

  I knelt outside the circle, wanting to reach out to her. Her eyes were the only things moving, and I could see her terror but her thoughts were trapped in her mind.

  “Phillip, when did this happen?”

  He put his hand on my shoulder.

  “The curse took her early this morning, before sunrise.”

  I looked toward her balcony, seeing broken glass in the door and shards still on the floor trailed to the circle.

  “Why would Marguerite do this?”

  “Because she knows that Cecilia helped in the ritual,” Angel said, standing in the doorway. She spoke with a matter of fact tone, as if my grandmother deserved it.

  “How did she find out?” I asked.

  She lowered her eyes, choking out the words as if they were stuck in her throat.

  “It was the young Priestess.”

  “So, is she in the same state as Madame Cecilia?” I asked as she came toward us.

  “No, her fate was swift. As it should have been, for one as young as she was.” I felt sadness running through me. So many lives taken…

  And then the anger came.

  “This has to stop, Angel. No more! Release Marguerite and Millie’s baby before many more die, or lie paralyzed like Madame Cecilia!”

  She looked over at Madame Cecilia with no remorse,

  “I can’t Alixia, and…”

  I stood there listening to her self-righteous reasoning about how she would make them all pay.

  “No,” I said, losing control and taking hold of her. I slammed her into the wall.

  “Alixia!” Phillip said, coming up behind me and pulling me off her.

  “Let go of me,” I said. “I’m tired of her selfishness.”

  “It’s not selfishness!” Angel yelled out. He stepped in front of her to shield her.

  “Yes, it is,” I said trying to get around Phillip. “You can’t protect anyone, or Madame Cecilia wouldn’t be lying here like this. As I said earlier, you’re just protecting yourself from death. Maybe I’ll take you to Marguerite’s, and then you can end each other.”

  She stepped back behind Phillip, cowering.

  “Alixia,” Charles called out, coming through the door. His face was grim with worry.

  “I didn’t tell you about Cecilia for you to go after Angel.”

  I stepped back, hearing his thoughts.

  “Yes, Charles, I know. I’ve heard all of you. You want me to go after Marguerite.”

  I stopped what I was saying and turned.

  I could suddenly hear Madame Cecilia’s pleas in my head, begging me to release her. I crossed into the circle.

  ”Alixia what are you doing? No!” Angel yelled, pushing Phillip to the side. “You can’t touch her.”

  I glared back at her.

  “Shut up, Angel!”

  I knelt down, and Madame Cecilia’s green eyes moved frantically from side to side. I placed my hands on either side of her face, covering the scratches of the bird.

  ”It’s all right. Let me see,” I said softly. Closing my eyes, I moved through her mind, seeing her soul trapped in darkness and feeling the imprisoning pain in her body. I went deeper, seeing the strike of the bird tearing at her face as a blackish haze engulfed her, taking her to the floor. She convulsed violently, foaming at the mouth, until the poison’s curse stilled her.

  Suddenly I turned, losing the images of her and sensing someone else. I looked up toward Phillip and the others. Their eyes had darkened: they had sensed her, too.

  “No!” I yelled, seeing my mother appear at the balcony door. I jumped in front of them, blocking their path to her as they moved swiftly toward the door.

  Charles spoke up.

  “Alixia, move out of the way. Lucida is not to be protected.”

  “No!”

  “We can’t allow this!” Angel said, moving up by him.

  “You will allow this, so back off. I’m letting her in,” I said, reaching for the gold door handle. “She needs to see.”

  “Alixia,” Phillip said, “she could have others.”

  “Phillip, do you sense anyone else?” I asked, glaring at him. He shook his head, and I opened the door.

  “Mother.”

  “I have come for her.”

  “No!” Angel shrieked, taking a step, “She will take her soul!”

  “Stop her, Phillip!” I yelled, moving in front of my mother, “or she will die.” He pulled Angel back. I reached into Mother’s mind, seeing why she had come. Angel and Phillip saw, too. She wasn’t here to take her soul to the darkness; she was here to release her into the light.

  “Angel,” I said with a threatening look toward her. “You will let her pass.” She bit down on her lip, grimacing in irritation, and pulled her arm away from Phillip.

  “Go to her,” I said.

  Mother nodded, and moved past me. Her touch was cold as she brushed my hand. She walked to the corner of the room, picking up the candle. She slowly went to Madame Cecilia keeping a watchful eye on us. She bent down, dripping wax around the pentagram, and chanting “Protégez le cercle d'obscurité” as the hot wax sealed the lines. Then she stepped over, and knelt down.

  “Lucida,” Angel called out,”don’t do this!”

  Mother looked up at her, her eyes black as night, and then she spoke in a hissing voice.

  “Her soul needs to be released now. Or is there
something you don’t want revealed?”

  “No,” Angel said, looking at the rest of us nervously.

  “Then let me continue.”

  Phillip took Angel’s arm, and Charles stepped up to her, speaking French. Then Charles turned.

  “Lucida, continue. You will have no more interference from us.”

  I looked at all of them suspiciously. They kept their thoughts in French, blocking me out for now. I focused back on mother. She picked up the dead bird and crushed it in her hands, turning it into ash. Then she let it release through her fingertips as she went up and down Madame Cecilia’s body, covering her with the foul smelling bird. She then leaned down close to her ear.

  “I will free you soon,” she said quietly. She closed her eyes, chanting something under her breath, and then placed her arms under her mother’s body and picked her up caringly.

  “Alixia, come with me,” she said, adjusting Madame Cecilia’s motionless body in her arms.

  “Where?”

  “To the swamp.”

  Landing on the east end of the swamp at the edge of Marguerite’s property, but not crossing the boundary, we took a left and went deeper into the trees.

  I looked up at the moon coming out of the clouds, making the beautiful Spanish moss even more haunting. I followed her quietly along the path of wet dirt, listening to the chatter of night creatures.

  I stared at Mother’s shadowy figure as she walked ahead of me.

  It’s weird. A few days ago, I was ready to end her. Now I feel as if I need to protect her...

  “Alixia.”

  “Yes?” I said, sensing concern as we walked into a clearing in the swamp.

  “You must keep watch, now. Angel will come, and maybe others. ”

  “I know. I sense they’re close.”

  She laid Madame Cecilia down, and then kissed her cheek. Her dark green eyes were cold as she spoke with anger in her voice.

  “I forgive you for what I have become. You will not suffer the same fate. The ritual will be carried out as it has been written. Your soul will be set free.”

  She leaned closer, whispering something in French. Then she got up and looked at me with sadness.

  “Help me gather stones to place around her.”

  I looked around hurriedly for stones, digging them out of the wet dirt and placing them next to Mother as we formed a circle around her. Placing the last stone, I spoke with sorrow for both of them.