Celestina immediately met Zephora’s eyes with a doubtful gaze.
In response, Zephora quirked an eyebrow, as though challenging Celestina to inquire about her past, so she could explain how they’d endured similar injustices.
“You?” asked Celestina, her uncertainty shifting to wonder. “But…how?”
Zephora’s smile broadened. She obviously considered capturing the teenager’s attention as a victory. “I was a rather wretched looking child. I had an exceedingly long nose and floppy ears. But no one should have to endure mocking because of their appearance, don’t you agree?”
My niece nodded.
Although I couldn’t find fault with any part of my niece’s appearance, she obviously felt otherwise. That didn’t surprise me, since society, by way of various corporations, excelled at assailing those physical aspects that triggered insecurity among females.
Zephora looked over her head as though recollecting an image from long ago. “The names they called me, the ways they hurt me…” She shut her eyes as though unwilling to allow such horrible memories to slither into her brain.
“What happened?” asked Celestina with bright eyes, eager for details.
Zephora’s eyes snapped open and she met my niece’s gaze again. “I suffered much torment. Many would have suspected that I would have retreated from the physical and verbal abuse, but no, it was the aftereffects of those actions that did me in.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.” Zephora flinched and her head drew back as though ashamed to have revealed that truth. She sighed and tried to regain her composure.
“No,” said Celestina, astonished. “Really?”
Zephora nodded. “I did absolutely nothing. Against a large group of girls, what could I do?”
“Get back at them,” said Alexis with gritted teeth. “You should have picked them off one by one, or better yet, turn them against each other.” She smirked with malevolent glee. “That’s what I would have done.”
Celestina looked at her mother with a sickened expression.
I did likewise. Where did my sister get such depraved ideas? On second thought, since Alexis had endured such a tragic experience, which resulted in Celestina’s birth, I understood why she wanted to punish those who preyed on unsuspecting victims. It made me think that, no matter how much time had passed since the incident, Alexis would never allow that injustice from retreating from the front of her mind, even if she tucked away the episode itself from replaying in her mind.
“Not everyone,” Zephora said to my niece, “is as cunning a strategist as your mother.”
I scoffed. Strategist? Zephora made Alexis sound like a heralded general who had just returned home from a decisive victory. Then again, by emphasizing that Celestina had every right to look up to her mother, Zephora had hoped to procure my niece’s respect. After all, they seemingly both admired Alexis. It gave them something in common. It also put them on the same side! As much as I hated the sorceress, she was a shrewd tactician.
“I was weak,” Zephora said, looking down, as though ashamed. “I failed to stand up for myself. And that made me feel even weaker.”
Celestina’s eyebrows knitted together. “It wasn’t your fault.” She dug her fingers into a fist and she straightened as though doing her best not to reveal the level of anger taking hold of her. “That shouldn’t happen to anyone. People can be so mean!”
“How would you know?” she asked, increasing Celestina’s indignation.
“People…” My niece stopped short of completing her thought and looked down.
“Please continue,” Zephora said. “I want to understand.”
Every child wanted their elders to listen to them, to understand them. Having lived so many lifetimes, Zephora knew this, and she called upon this knowledge to gain favor with the teenager standing before her.
“I’m not smart,” Celestina said.
Alexis put a hand on her daughter’s shoulder and faced her. “Don’t say that! You are smart. At your age, your Aunt Serena didn’t know the answer to a history question in school, and everyone in class made fun of her. But you know what? You knew the answer to that question.”
I felt weak at the thought because I’d never told my sister that story. It had passed through my mind while in her presence the moment we first met. At the time, I hadn’t known she had the ability to read my mind. It seemed she’d intercepted that thought.
Whenever my sister tried to intercept my thoughts, I’d felt a ping and pluck inside my mind, but she’d bypassed my mental block and accessed my thoughts without my knowledge. I stared at her, shell-shocked, waiting for an explanation.
“So don’t say you aren’t smart,” Alexis continued, her face deep set in frustration. “You’re a smart young woman.”
My sister had encouraged Celestina’s desire to grow up quicker than her years dictated.
Celestina let loose a vibrant smile, but with her head angled so far down to the floor, she didn’t allow either of the women beside her to view it.
But I saw it, not only because I was staring intently at her, but because I could feel it. The joy inside her swelled inside me, leaving me comforted, at ease. It filled my spirit with hope that she’d one day leave her mother behind and follow a righteous path.
Until that moment, I hadn’t felt strongly enough that she’d need to abandon her mother in order to find inner peace and happiness. Upon second thought, however, I realized I’d always known that Celestina would need to travel this road. No matter how much Alexis loved her daughter, she was not fit to lead her daughter into adulthood. A second later, I knew the responsibility belonged to me. I expected to be stressed-out or even burdened by it, but my soul beamed bright at the prospect of spending my time with Celestina, of showing her how to conduct herself by the same methods Grams had taught me. It would give my life meaning and importance.
“Your mother is correct,” Zephora admitted. “You are a very bright young woman.”
Those words made Celestina lift her head and regard Zephora with immediate respect.
I felt part of my niece’s soul leaving my being and heading back toward Zephora. It left me feeling cold, empty. My niece had such a powerful impact on me, but with the exception of Grams, no one had ever made me feel so in tune with myself, and to discover she looked upon her mother and Zephora with pride filled me with disgust.
“What did you do?” Celestina asked Zephora. “To the girls who hurt you? You said you didn’t do anything. But I don’t believe you. You did something. What was it?”
Zephora raised an eyebrow, obviously taking exception to Celestina’s assertion that the most powerful witch in our line betrayed others, not by using her abilities, but by stating untruths. After a second, her lips peeled back into a creepy smile. “Indeed!”
Her grin revealed dark intentions, although my niece hadn’t recognized it.
“What was it?” asked Celestina, as though sitting around a campfire, listening to tales of retribution. “Was it quick and painful? Or did you do it slow and really painful?”
My head veered toward Celestina. Judging by her tone and vengeful expression, she wanted Zephora to torture her victimizers. That didn’t seem like the Celestina I knew. No, this young woman seemed eager to have Zephora regale her with tales of vengeance. I hadn’t seen my niece for only one day, so…how and why had she changed so much in a mere twenty-four hours?
A smile flirted along the edges of Zephora’s lips, but it never surfaced because a few moments later, her mouth flattened into a cruel expression. She had sucked Celestina into believing that every victim deserved retribution. “Not immediately. The torment continued. Day after day. Month after month. Year after year. I suffered. No one helped me, and I came to believe everything they said about me, that I was ugly and weak and stupid.”
“No!” My niece hung on every word, desperate to hear more. “What happened?”
“When I reached my sixteenth year,” Zephora said,
“I fell in love with a beautiful young man. He was tall and strong and beautiful. Just one smile from him made every girl’s knees weak.” She smiled upon her recollection. This time, unlike every other occurrence, her grin didn’t reveal ulterior motives. She appeared to relive the memory, lost in the past.
I marveled at finally seeing some humanity inside the woman who had every intention to kill me. It surprised me because I’d always viewed her as someone without morals, and therefore, without a heart. Even her relationship with Darius, which I knew practically nothing about, seemed based on a position of power, whereby she commanded and he followed. I wondered how she felt now, knowing I’d killed her soul mate.
“All the girls in town wanted him as their own,” Zephora recalled as her smile brightened. “He made me feel small…like a baby bird with a broken wing, something he could fix with a generous smile and a tender touch. We spent every day outside of our schoolhouse. As time went by, the girls in our village…” She shook her head as a perplexed expression took hold of her. “They did not understand Darius, and I had something that went beyond appearance.”
Upon hearing Darius’s name, my spirit vibrated with fear. It might have been my imagination, but it felt like someone had visited this plane to trickle a few fingers across my soul. I looked left and right. Not seeing anyone, I felt a jolt of relief at what must have been an overactive imagination.
Darius’s laugh came from behind me. “Always the Ignorant One!”
CHAPTER TWO
I whirled around and, sure enough, Darius’s ghost stood behind me with a vibrant grin dripping with satisfaction. I tried to form words, but they didn’t pass through my lips.
“You are quite the ignoramus. First, you have difficulty understanding how otherworldly beings can inhabit this Earthly plane. Then you are unable to grasp how you might have supernatural powers. And now, even knowing everything you do, you are surprised by my presence.”
“No,” I said, shocked my voice sprang forth. “I smelled a noxious odor, so I turned around, and well, you died, so it makes sense you’d smell like roadkill.” Despite my sarcasm, I glanced at the trio of women around me and wondered if they too could see me or Darius. But since none of them acknowledged our existence, I presumed we were invisible to them.
His grin faltered. “I’m not amused.”
“But I am. At least someone can see me while astral projecting.” In contrast to that statement, I didn’t like anyone seeing me while I astral projected. It gave me license to creep around without anyone the wiser. To discover that Darius could visit me in this state made me wonder if others could do likewise. Would I have to look over my shoulder from now on when astral projecting? If so, it ruined the fun of knowing I could eavesdrop on others without their knowledge.
Darius’s gaze passed across Celestina and Zephora before returning to me. Oddly enough, the human participants in the room had frozen as though paused on a television screen. “Congratulations, by the way, on ‘defeating’ me.”
“You mean…killing you?” If I hadn’t stated the obvious, he would have attempted to gain the upper hand in our conversation. I set my attention on the witches in the room, stymied by their inability to move. What had happened? Why had time stopped while Darius and I were able to chat?
“I adore the confusion in your eyes,” he said, rocking on his heels in delight. “You are priceless.”
“That’s a first. Most of the guys in college never noticed, so thanks for the compliment.”
His smile faded. “But it wasn’t a complement. You see, I meant—”
“You said I was ‘priceless.’” I smiled at him. “You may have wanted to kill me, but deep down, you’re a real softy, aren’t you? I bet you’re even friends with the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man.”
He blanched. “Stay Puff…what?”
“And you call me ignorant? You need to get in touch with classic films, buddy. Has Satan been vacationing in Hell? Why hasn’t he taught you how to properly haunt someone?”
Darius unveiled a wide grin. “You think I’m haunting you?”
“Aren’t you? You’re a ghost, right?”
“It’s your fault I’m here.” Seeing my clueless expression, he shook his head in shame. “It’s appalling that I know more about magic than you.”
“And yet, I still killed you. So how is it my fault you’re here?”
“Each time you astral project, you’re only half-in this dimension. You haven’t allowed yourself to see the other realm you’ve been visiting.”
His words filled me with dread. Part of me knew he spoke the truth, but I didn’t want to believe him. “What’s the other realm?”
A cheery smile doused his irritation, revealing he enjoyed keeping me off balance. “You have so much to learn.”
If I restated my question, Darius would take it as validation that I was a moron, and I didn’t intend to allow him to feel superior. Despite that, I had plenty to learn about astral projecting, much of which might shock me, considering Darius’s smarmy attitude.
He smirked with nasty jubilation and motioned toward Zephora. “Do you really think you can defeat her?”
I glanced at her, but seeing her motionless figure, I returned my attention to Darius. However, my peripheral vision picked up movement in Zephora’s direction, almost as if she had moved. I swung my head back toward her and studied her expression, waiting for her to budge a muscle.
“See?” Darius said. “You have no clue how to perceive this plane. You’re stuck in between both worlds, unable to process one, much less both at the same time.”
While keeping my gaze on Zephora and waiting for her to move once again, I concentrated on Darius’s statement, which told me that I should be able to perceive both worlds at the same time.
He chuckled. “Surely, you must have known how dearly I wished to be set free?”
My eyes drifted back toward his, seeking an explanation.
Humor made his eyebrows lift. “You truly had no idea how much I sought the afterlife?” He threw his head back and laughter erupted in his throat. He looked at me and couldn’t contain his amusement. “Why am I surprised? As I told you, I was over three-hundred years old and knew an inordinate amount about magic, even if I couldn’t use it. And you think you were able to defeat me because…you learned a little bit about your gifts and tapped into black magic?” He laughed even louder. “Believe me, you were no match for me, Ignorant One. I gave up! I wanted out. I—”
“Committed suicide?”
“You could say that.”
“I just did. Why did you want me to repeat it? Come on, keep up!” Regardless, I considered his comments about wanting to end his life, and I didn’t believe it for a second. Darius had always shown deep pride in his abilities. Would he purposely give up in order allow me kill him? How would he benefit from dying? I examined the result from every angle, and I couldn’t see why he would give up. I couldn’t imagine any circumstance under which Darius would willingly give up. He had too much ego, too much pride. After all, if he wanted to die, he could have found other, more convenient ways to make it happen sometime in the last decade, if not the last half-century. Besides, Zephora had recently returned to this dimension. Would he purposely give up under those conditions? Unlikely!
Darius had existed for centuries. He had turned evil three times and turned countless humans into vampires, only to have his morals return once Zephora had been defeated, and slay those he’d turned. My ancestors had errored by not ending his life, which allowed him to torment humans time-and-again throughout history. And I ended that circle of terror – a newfound witch with only one-third the power of the strongest witches who came before me, a witch who had no formal training, a witch who couldn’t rely upon her ancestors to defeat Zephora.
Given those circumstances, for the first time since realizing I lived in a world where the supernatural existed, I finally felt confident enough to deal with everything I now faced. Until now, I was overwhelmed by the demons,
vampires, and my family of witches, but knowing I could defeat a master vampire filled me with a sense of accomplishment.
“So why did you want out?” I asked. “Sick of murdering people? Did you grow a conscience?”
He shook his head. “Obviously, if you’re seeing my image, death is not an end. It’s only a transition.” He chuckled. “It’s such a delight to keep you in the dark. But I appreciate the invitation to visit.”
“I don’t want you here, and I didn’t invite you.”
“Call it what you want, but you opened the door, and I stepped through.”
Just as I planned to ask him to elaborate, he vanished. At that same moment, Celestina, Alexis, and Zephora began moving again. I shook off my disorientation. Had Darius been an illusion from my subconscious? What else could explain his appearance and abrupt disappearance?
“Were you and Darius like Wesley and Buttercup?” Celestina asked Zephora. “I mean, I know you want to kill all humans so you can rule the world…” She rolled her eyes with mock sincerity. “Because who doesn’t want to do that?” She permitted a shadow of a smile before continuing, “But is Darius the other reason you keep coming back to this dimension? Is it a romance for all eternity?”
Alexis snorted at her daughter’s naiveté, but my niece paid her no mind, instead preferring to stare at Zephora with rapt attention.
“Yes,” Zephora said, but her smile vanished. Fury forced color into her cheeks. “But now that option is no longer available to me. Your dear Aunt Serena killed him.”
“But he wanted to kill her.”
“No. He wanted me to return to life. Nothing more.”
Perplexed, Celestina swiveled back to Alexis. “You said Darius tried to kill her. He even helped blow up Kendall’s apartment.” She turned to Zephora. “He’s not boyfriend material!”
“I may have stretched the truth,” Alexis said.
You bitch! I shouted at her, not that she could hear me. How could you say that?
Alexis lowered her head. “Your aunt is not what she appears to be.”
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