“I know you said Bryan’s more than capable of performing this exorcism and I believe you. I trust you ...” She momentarily licked her lips.
“I sense there is a but.” Ava crossed her arms.
“Bryan might be able to direct Deidrick to the crystal but,” Ember started, “Deidrick is not going to go quietly, and I think we’d be naïve to think so.” She waited for Ava’s cue to continue.
“So what do you suggest?” Ava’s interest seemed somewhat piqued.
“The other night, at the bachelorette party, the night I realized we were both possessed, I was able to use the black tourmaline to banish Deidrick from Derek’s body. I knew exactly what to do.” She paused and took in Ava’s expression before continuing, “Because I’d watched my father do it countless times.” She let the words hang in the air.
“Your father was an exorcist?” Ava whispered in surprise.
“Yes.” Ember nervously pushed a strand of hair back behind her ear; she was on the edge of her seat both figuratively and literally.
Ava leaned in closer. “Em, you’re not seriously suggesting that you attempt to exorcise a powerful spirit on your own, are you? You are supposed to be the rational one.” Ava’s voice was calm but the hint of concern was more than prevalent. And why shouldn’t she be concerned?
Said out loud, Ember could certainly hear how insane it all sounded. “I wouldn’t be doing it alone though. Bryan would be routing the spirit into the crystal, I would just be …” She broke off as she searched for the word before adding, “Helping. Deidrick trusts me because he thinks I’m weak. He thinks I won’t fight the possession.”
Ember stilled as a group of teenagers came barraging through the fitting room, giggling excitably. So young, vibrant, and full of life.
“I’m afraid to ask how you know this.” Ava raised her eyebrows.
“Because the other night I saw him. Rose, well, she was in control but we are both under total agreement about this. I was in such close proximity that night, at the bachelorette party, and Deidrick … he longs to be near her. He won’t see me coming for him, not really. He’ll be too busy looking for Rose.” Ember let the words tumble out, the air thick with tension.
And I intend to deliver just that.
“So you think, just because you were capable of doing it once, you’ll be able to do it again -- under much heavier circumstances? Not to mention, you don't have any actual experience like Bryan does.” Ava cast an amber glare at Ember.
“I have Rose. I have the cards. I have my father’s journals. I’ve been reading and --”
“I don’t like it Em,” Ava cut her off, her tone worried. “It doesn’t feel right, safe.”
“I’m not asking for your permission Ava. I’m asking you to trust me,” Ember said with as much confidence as she could muster.
Ava sighed and glanced down at the dresses resting in Ember’s lap. “How can I trust you when your fashion choices alone are questionable?” The look in her eyes was cautious despite her humorous tone.
“Says the woman who wears the same leather jacket 365 days a year, rain or snow,” Ember retorted.
Ava pointed to the white and silver beaded frock that lay atop Ember’s legs. “Well if you’re planning on distracting a lonely ghost, I think the white one is your best option. It has ghost bride written all over it.” Ava shrugged and Ember smiled.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ember eyed the towering mansion in both awe and despair. The website’s description was quite an understatement. The golden light of evening lit up the home like a halo illuminated an angel’s face. It was spectacular in its own right.
Bryan wheezed next to her and Ava sighed.
If only Ember had been there on her own circumstances, of her own accord.
If was such a strong word.
Yet as her eyes took in the beauty of Rhyan Family Vineyards, her heart ached. Beyond those walls lies another life, one that haunted Rose with sorrow and regret. Ember could sense her regret like a pulse. If Rose had only left with Deidrick like he had asked.
Ember took a deep breath as she walked toward the wondrous front porch, adorned with intricately carved rocking chairs and flora. The last rays of sunlight broke through in amber beams, dancing across the vast hills of the vineyard as it raced toward the night.
Ember stilled her nerves as she knocked on the large door. Her breath eased as a familiar face opened it.
“Come on in.” His voice was soft, its cadence soothing like a steady brook.
Ava gently pushed past Ember, her eyes speaking unspoken warnings, and Ember followed with a strong push of her own. Bryan skittered behind them, his wheezing much more prevalent in the open than behind his safe, metal walls.
The interior of the mansion was absolutely timeless, and Ember couldn’t help but let out a sigh. Both overwhelming and all-encompassing, she wondered why she had expected less.
Ebony wood beams hand-carved with mythical beings stretched endlessly toward the vaulted ceiling, where a rather large crystal chandelier hung, the lights now boasting an electrical glow instead of amber candlelight, which Ember knew once burned in its place.
Rose danced behind every moment, just out of reach yet always there, the sight of the house pushing forth images of firelight dancing on the walls as shadows intertwined, blurring together into one silhouetted being. Ember shook the thought from her mind.
“Quite the pad you got here Derek.” Ava was the first to break the silence.
“I can’t take the credit for it obviously,” Derek answered as he led them through the grand foyer, past an opulent wrought iron staircase.
Ember thought it looked like something out of a fairytale with its small, black detached steps and intricately sprawling banister. It was so …
Dark. Beautiful. Romantic.
“Do you actually live here?” Ember asked, the awe in her voice so apparent.
“My family has lived here ever since.” He turned toward Ember, his eyes a calm blue, calling to her like the sea.
“Since Deidrick had no children or spouse, he left the entire estate and the grounds to his living relative Agnes, her husband Frank, and their two young children with only one stipulation. No renovations to the house. It’s been the family residence ever since.” He walked past a large mirror, an ebony sofa table bearing white art deco glass sculptures and a black lacquered vase with gilded edges boasting crimson long-stemmed roses. A soft longing stirred deep within her, and Ember could feel the pain Rose felt as if it were her own.
“I thought you said you found the Book of Shadows during a renovation.” Ember shook her head to disperse the feeling.
“I found the secret room when my parents renovated the distillery. The house itself has never been touched. After a certain point in time, it was considered a historical landmark, so it's been preserved ever since.” Derek stopped in his tracks and Ember’s eyes followed his gaze up to the large portrait that hung above them.
In so many ways, the man in the portrait was familiar to her, but she could see, despite his miraculous appearance, he was also a complete stranger.
Deidrick wore a charcoal gray suit, his features angled and chiseled like a stone sculpture, pale and dark as his black hair, which shone with highlights of sapphire and ice in harmony with his electric, arctic gaze. He had haunted her dreams for so many years, but as Ember looked at Derek, standing against the portrait, she saw the shadow of the man Deidrick once was. or could have been.
“What happened to Deidrick? I mean, we all know he’s been body-hopping for quite some time, but officially, as far as the records go, what happened to him?” Ava asked candidly as she stood next to Ember, taking in the sight.
Derek looked at Ember and her heart sank. Instead of brooding over how Ava knew this information though, he seemed to roll right over it and answered with compassion.
“The records say Deidrick Rhyan died of poisoning. The medical examiners at the time were a bit puzzled, seeing as he ha
d no enemies and he was no longer a suspect in the New York murder, but decades later evidence suggested he’d been poisoned by longtime exposure to dirty gin. His physical body was buried on the property out back.”
“How ironic.” Ava’s sarcasm was rather thick.
“He was suspected in a murder?” Ember felt her body tremble at the cavalier way Derek said the word.
“He was suspected of killing his lover, Rose Hartford. Rose’s husband was pretty top-level and a partner in some big bootleg business up in New York. There was no evidence to prove he had anything to do with it, and I think we both know he never would have hurt her.”
Derek’s insistence was both alarming but also convincing. Ember believed him and suddenly she was thrust into another of Rose’s memories.
The streets of New York were heavy with smog and the gray haze was thick in her lungs as she gasped for air. The sight of her husband, Giovani, with the revolver in his hand, would be a sight she’d never forget, even if she lived again. How many times had she saved Deidrick from death? She couldn’t remember.
Deidrick fell to his knees as the blood pooled around them.
The look of anguish on his face broke her into a thousand pieces.
“What the hell were you thinking Rose?”
His voice shook, the sound vibrating through his body, and Rose closed her eyes momentarily. She could feel her center turning cold like the first sign of winter. She was so tired of running.
“He was going to kill you Deidrick. I couldn’t stand by and watch you die!”
Her breath came in short gasps and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. She’d known her end was coming, and yet there was no use in fighting it. He didn’t understand the fleeting glimmer of life. He’d lived far too long.
This body didn’t belong to her, yet she would miss it. She opened her eyes and, with as much strength as she could muster, she pressed her shaking hand against his chest, just above his heart.
“It’s no use fighting Deidrick. It has to be this way. It’s in the cards. Let me go.”
His heartbeat skipped erratically, pounding against her body as he pulled her close, blood seeping from her core and into his black silk shirt.
The sobs wracked his body as she felt the remnants of her own body breaking down.
“I’ll never let you go Rose.” His bright blue eyes shone like diamonds, like lightning in the distance.
Ember grabbed Ava’s hand and squeezed it tightly as tears fell from her eyes. The memories continued to overwhelm her.
Rose turned the page of the book, her fingers only slightly numb from the lack of heat in the tiny shelter they called home. Winter was on the edge of arrival. One day, perhaps, they would have a wonderful house, one in which they could truly live and experience the better things in life. One that didn’t have a dirt floor.
“If I had my way, I’d have a marvelous staircase that glistens in the amber light of a thousand candles hanging from the ceiling.” Rose’s voice was light and teasing. She looked over her shoulder as Deidrick waved his fingers above the candelabra, his shirt sleeves rolled up to expose his toned and muscular arms. Against the pale, wooden walls, he looked absolutely stunning.
Rose fanned herself with a tarot card, suddenly enveloped in heat.
“I would build you a thousand staircases and sparkling chandeliers if it meant you would never leave me.” His voice caressed her and she smiled warmly.
She laid the card down in its place as she centered the stones around it, her fingers only grazing the dirt before breathing an incantation. If she was ever going to be as powerful as Deidrick, she needed to master more than just scrying. She needed to understand the magical properties that existed within her cards. She’d started with simple spells but she was quite determined to master the more difficult ones. As she spoke the first few syllables she was met with hungry lips, silencing her.
The flames ignited, spreading like an invisible disease from one wick to the next, and the cards scattered like scurrying mice.
There they lay in the midst of magic and dirt, the cards sticking to her flesh as if they were trying to embed themselves within.
Ember turned away in earnest. He isn’t the same person anymore, she reminded herself. When she turned to face Derek again, she stood tall. “How soon until the party starts?” she asked.
Derek licked his lips. There was something about the act, the memory behind it, that unnerved her. At the same time, she felt her body flush with a heat that didn’t come from her own volition.“About an hour,” he answered as he fixed his gaze on her. His expression was familiar, yet a ghost of someone else.
“That’s just enough time to get ready.” She nodded and looked at Ava confidently.
Bryan adjusted his spectacles.
“Get ready?” Derek looked inquisitive, his expression suddenly changing to something sharper, suspicious perhaps...
Ember stared back with apprehension. Deidrick was much stronger than she thought as she realized he had once again taken dominance over Derek.“For the party of course.” Ava rolled her eyes and looked at Ember with annoyance.
Deidrick smiled. “Of course. I suppose a little fun is in order before things get --”
“Before things get interesting,” Ember finished for him. Smiling, she hoped Deidrick would take the bait.
***
The masquerade was always the same, every year, and the reviews were always the same as well. There just weren’t enough masquerades anymore, and clearly people still loved the class, the style, and the booze centered fixations of the 1920s.
Yet there was something most familiar to Ember about the whole thing, that made her smile. Fond memories of living it, I suppose, she thought. Ava spritzed Ember’s tresses with hairspray, her brow furrowed as she concentrated. Ember had to admit -- she had never felt as alive as she did at that very moment.
The woman that stared back at her was a breathtaking sight to behold.
Her fair complexion against the white and silver embroidery and fringe of the vintage reproduction flapper dress she had bought, along with Ava’s makeup and hair skills, made Ember look like something straight out of the pages of the Great Gatsby.
Her red hair was pulled to the side, boasting thick, luscious waves and a jeweled hair pick, with gray and white feathers. Shimmering wisps of silver ribbons embedded in her bountiful curls only accentuated the pink flush in her cheeks and her bright green eyes, which looked like dusky emeralds.
Ava refused to wear a dress in case there would be running and opted for straight black slacks and a white shirt complimented with a pinstripe vest. She had also insisted on wearing her studded leather jacket, and the combination made her look like a Hollywood gangster crossed with a silent film star. Her vibrant red lipstick and winged eyeliner screamed defiance in the face of Ava’s truly subtle beauty.
Ember turned to her right side of the chair she sat in, procuring a small, chipped bracelet from her tote bag. The bracelet was decked in matching Herkimer diamond chips, obsidian, and tourmaline.
“What’s this?” Ava asked as Ember held it out to her.
“Bryan may know what he’s doing but I just can’t let you go into the circle tonight without some protection of your own. You’ve always looked out for me, consider it a return favor.” Ember regarded Ava with as much warmth and affection as she could as anxiety over what would soon occur boiled beneath the surface.
It will work because it has to.
“Em … I assure you, I’m fine.” Ava’s voice fell an octave.
“Take it. Please. Ease my mind?” Ember looked at Ava as the light lit up the shadows on her face. Her eyes, once a bright golden amber, were rimmed with pain and sadness.
Ava gingerly took the bracelet from Ember’s hand and slid it over her boney wrist to cover a small scar, Ember couldn’t help but notice. It looked like a large, faded bite mark.
“Fine. If it makes you feel better.” Her jacket sleeve quickly draped against th
e black shimmering chips and Ember had to admit it looked like it belonged on her.
“You’ll wait for my signal?” Ember’s eyes focused on her friend.
Ava’s shoulders sunk and her usual renegade smirk was hollow. She nodded seriously. “You have my word Em.”
Ember believed her word was true.
The sounds and vibrations of the party were felt through the soles of her white, rhinestone shoes. Around her neck hung jagged, shiny obsidian and black tourmaline beads, the keystones for the absorption of negative energy, and the dispelling of spirits. Layered three times to resemble shimmering black pearls, the necklace was accompanied by raw Herkimer diamonds and quartz strands that fell in long loops down the center of her cleavage before dropping toward her navel.
Ember brought her hand up to adjust the large, oval, black tourmaline ring on her finger.
“It’s showtime Em.” Ava’s voice was solid. She rested her fingers around Ember’s arm in a tender manner.
Ember nodded in response.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ember let her fingers trail the banister leading down to the large ballroom set up in the winery, where the masquerade took place. Her eyes peered through a simple, understated, white satin mask beset with silver jewels; she couldn’t shake the marvelous sight before her.
Like the main house, the winery was breathtaking, and just like the main house, it too was a love letter to Rose. The elegant, intricate design of vintage white glass, bouquets of fresh-cut roses, touches of gold filigree and white lace, and even framed tarot art, all gave it a romantic, gothic feel.
The dark ballroom was lit up by LED lights, a modern embellishment amid the array of candles and gas lamps. Ember couldn’t deny it still felt familiar, and wonderful.
The partygoers milled about in their costumes, from flappers delicately holding long-stemmed cigarette holders to gangsters wearing fedoras, and Hollywood film stars with their long satin gloves. Most of the guests had donned elaborate masks, and as Ember followed the beat of the music toward the expansive, black marble cave that was the ballroom, the bright white lights shone on her, casting a white-blue aura, blinding her momentarily.
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