The Celestial Curse

by Marie Cameron

  “I guess if you are going to agree to help Amber then you need to know why we are here asking for your help and what you will be up against.” He starts explaining. He walks over to the chair I am sat on and perches on the arm. Lilith raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say a word, instead decided to keep her thoughts to herself and listen as Caleb carries on with his explanation.

  “Before I can tell you anything though I need to ask you something, what do you know about Clarabelle River?” He directs his question to Lilith who frowns a little but answers his question.

  “Every coven in Europe knows Clarabelle Rivers as the witch who created a deck of powerful cards called the Celestial Cards. Only they were not just cards, they were a deck of tarot cards and the first ones to be created by a witch.” She says

  “Wait a minute, there were more decks of tarot cards made?” I ask, a little concerned, thinking about how I had been told repeatedly how powerful and dangerous my set of cards were and to think there were more out there was a little much to take at the moment. Aunt Betsy was always saying tarot cards were just a tool for the person doing the reading to contact their guides who shares their knowledge and wisdom and provides guidance on the path their client is on.

  “Yes there were more made after Clarabelle’s death but none were as powerful as hers, or so the rumours say.” She says with a shrug.

  “No one knows where Clarabelle’s tarot cards are anyway. No one has seen them since like the 1700’s.” She says off handily while taking a drink from the glass tumbler that magically appeared in her hand. Caleb and I glance at each other and silently agree to tell Lilith about the cards. We then look back at Lilith who is regarding us with suspicion which quickly transforms into a polite smile.

  Caleb exhales before looking at me and I know he has decided to tell Lilith now rather than later about me and the cards, probably hoping to sway her into whatever plan he has devised.

  “I know where the cards are. In fact I have known for a while where the cards are.” He says much to Lilith’s surprise. I watch as she sits up straight and puts down the tumbler, her expression serious for a change.

  “You know where the cards are, the Celestial Tarot Cards?” She asks Caleb never taking her eyes from his profile. He nods his head confirming that he does know where the cards are but offers no more information. Instead waiting for Lilith’s next question since there is bound to be lots of questions running through her mind. She spares me no glance as she launches into a multitude of questions all aimed at Caleb. He shakes his head and holds up a hand to stop Lilith’s ramble.

  “I will tell you everything you need to know about the cards, while respecting the owner’s privacy.” Again he holds up a hand to politely quieten Lilith before she can make any remarks and continues giving his conditions to the knowledge that she so obviously wants.

  “I will tell you what I can without violating the trust I have with the owner of the cards and in exchange you will teach Amber how to control her magic.” Caleb casually sits back while Lilith and I both look at him as if he has lost his mind. I clear my throat and direct my question to Caleb while ignoring Lilith’s stare.

  “Why would you think I need to learn magic? I do not have any magic that needs to be learned. And thanks for asking my opinion by the way, rather than just making decisions for me.” I blurt out.

  “It’s not impossible I guess.” Lilith remarks. She stares at me with such focus that I start to feel a little unnerved again. I shuffle backwards a little on the chair until I see it. At first I think I am seeing things but as I look closer, Lilith’s eyes begin to take on an unearthly glow. It starts with the pupils and moves out into the irises. The way it moves though is what fascinates me the most. Ever heard of the phrase liquid gold? Well that’s what this is like; except the colour is not gold it’s a shade lighter than her natural blue which makes it look like liquid pools with secrets swimming in the depths of her eyes. Unconsciously I lean forward to get a better look.

  Suddenly, I am jerked back by a hand on my arm and look up to see Caleb frowning at Lilith again. That breaks me out of whatever sway Lilith’s eyes held over me and I pay attention to Caleb as Lilith stops whatever she was doing and focuses again on what Caleb is saying.

  “That’s all the information you are getting unless you agree in a verbal binding contract to help Amber and keep any information you learn to yourself.” He says. Something in his tone tells me Lilith knows what he is talking about without having to give much information away, which is annoying since I am the only one who is left guessing at their silent conversation. I clear my throat and interrupt their silent communication.

  “Would anyone like to tell me what is going on, or should I come back later when you both stop giving each other the lovey dovey eye contact thingy?” I ask as my temper starts to flare at them deciding my future without actually asking me if I want to do what they want me to too.

  Let’s face it who wouldn’t want to learn magic if they had someone willing to teach them but the thing that is annoying me the most at the moment is that everyone is discussing and making decisions about my future without even giving a glance in my direction.

  I sit up straighter in my chair as they both look at me, Caleb with raised eyebrows and his twisted smirk and Lilith with, well one very similar I muse. Now that I have both their attention I let them both have a peace of my mind.

  “I am not agreeing to anything until someone starts explaining to me what the hell is going on. Now Caleb, I think I have been an understanding person in regards to your current position but I have had enough of people making decisions for me without even asking if I want to go through with any of it.” I say while crossing my arms to show that I mean business. I raise my eyebrows and look back at Caleb who is clearly thinking through my argument. Lilith continues to watch us, I am guessing she is still amused by our behaviour towards each other, until he finally looks at me and exhales.

  “I am sorry I have made you feel that way Amber since that was not my intention. I have just been trying to help Betsy get you the training you need to learn how to use your magic and it’s not as if you don’t know why.” He says in all seriousness.

  “Well at least include me in next time.” I say.

  “Amber if you do not have a problem with Caleb’s agreement then neither do I.” Lilith says off handily. I think it over as they both wait for my answer. Since I am actually interested in learning magic, even though I am a little unsure of Lilith, I decide to give it a trial period to see if it would be worth the effort since I have other responsibilities. Realising I haven’t voiced any of this yet since there are currently two sets of eyes staring holes into my head, I repeat out loud what I said to myself internally. Come to think of it don’t doctors start getting worried when you’re talking to yourself internally? Oh well…

  “I would like to learn magic but I think a trial period would be a good idea to start with. I don’t want to commit myself to something long term if I do not feel there is any use for it or progression.” I say to Caleb and Lilith who think it over for a moment. Lilith is quick to agree to my terms but Caleb takes a lot longer to answer.

  “You do know Amber that magic is a major part in undoing this curse?” Caleb asks.

  “What curse? No one said anything about a curse being involved” States Lilith who immediately stands to her feet with hands on her hips and head bobbing between us.

  I am guessing since he mentioned about the curse that he is ok with talking details now in front of Lilith, although I am not so sure how she will be feeling about said details with her reaction just a moment ago.

  “I will give you all the details you want Lilith after you make the verbal agreement.” Says Caleb leaving no room for argument so Lilith walks over to me and tell me to stand. After standing up she takes my hand in between hers, looks me in the eyes and mumbles the following words.

  “I Lilith Meadows vow to keep all knowledge revealed to me by Caleb and Amber a secret b
etween the three of us for as long as it is necessary.” And with the last spoken word, a zing shoots from Lilith’s hand into my own and back again. It only takes a second so when I pull my hand back in surprise the verbal promise Lilith just made is completed. She smiles satisfied with the completed contract and turns to Caleb.

  “Now it is your turn to keep with the bargain so tell me about the curse and why it is so important that Amber learns how to use magic.” She says. Caleb glances at me and gestures to he both of us to sit down before he begins.

  He tells her about the Celestial tarots and what has become of them, although editing out all of my involvement with them from her for the time being. Then he goes on to the night of their creation and the events that followed up to capturing Clarabelle and tying her up to the stake. At this point Lilith is becoming agitated with realising that Caleb had some involvement with the murder of a fellow witch but remains in her chair while she lets her expression tell of her displeasure. Caleb seeing her reaction and expecting it on some level explains that he and the rest were fools who were following orders that had supposedly come from a reliable source.

  He takes a moment to take a breath. I startle at the tumbler suddenly floating in front of me and look to Lilith. She smiles back encouragingly so I take the tumbler and sip the contents. Apple and pear juice wash down my throat and I sigh ant the exquisite taste. From the corner of my eye I see Caleb do the same.

  After drinking the rest of his drink and placing the tumbler on the floor at his feet, Caleb gets to the point of why we are here asking for the witches help.

  “Clarabelle said that a female born of her line would inherit her magical powers and that only this one female would be able to decide whether we have earned our right to be freed of the curse and see our salvations or suffer eternal damnation. That’s why I need you to teach Amber how to tap into her magic and learn to use it, it’s because she is Clarabelle’s heir to her powers. And I know she has the power locked away because I have felt the effects when she uses Celestial tarot cards. And I am sorry again Amber that I did not speak to you about this magic stuff before but I knew you had a lot on your plate at the moment. But I couldn’t let any more time pass by without at least getting you started on learning to tap into your magic.” He finally finishes while giving me a sympathetic smile before returning his attention back to Lilith. Lilith takes a moment to absorb all the information he has just imposed upon her about the cards, his curse and me.

  “Ok, let me make sure I understand all this correctly.” She says. Caleb and I focus directly on her and nod at the appropriate times during her speech.

  “Caleb there is twelve people including you in total that have been cursed and need to earn redemption so that you can have the curse lifted or be eternally damned. The Celestial tarots are real not just a bed time story my mother used to tell me as a child and Amber you are the descendant of Clarabelle Rivers and have inherited all her magic and you are the only one who can pass judgement on these cursed people and set them free. Am I right so far?” She asks.

  We nod our heads and murmur our agreement, to which she continues with her summarization.

  “Ok so Amber I am guessing you have no idea about magic let alone how to summon it to use?

  “No I just thought the times did feel the vibrations and energy and countless other weird stuff that was happening was because I was using the cards and synchronizing my energy with theirs. You know aligning my energy and stuff.” I say with a shrug. Lilith looks at me while contemplating what I said. I can tell she is taking this seriously now, all the joking and teasing behaviour from earlier is gone and in its place a serious manner.

  “If you do decide to start teaching me how to control my magic, how long would it take of practicing before I would be able to do something about the curse?” I ask, I can see it is playing heavily on Caleb’s mind. He is probably realising how close he is to success but also so much work to be done before he can finally be at peace. And I realise to myself that I really want him to be at peace with himself internally as well as from the curse. I catch myself staring and hurriedly look away. No need to start all that again!

  “It really depends on how serious you are in learning to control the magic.” She replies.

  “I am serious in learning if you can teach me. I would like to be able to help Caleb and the rest if I can.” I look to Caleb as he squeezes my arm in gratitude. Although I can see in his eyes how much this means to him, it makes me more determined to do everything I can to help him. I smile at him before returning my attention back to Lilith.

  “I will help you learn your magic and how to use it but we will need to come up with a schedule.” She says to me. I think about my working hours and how I can fit magic lessons around my already busy life. I work Monday to Friday nine till five so I guess any time after work would be ok since I do not really want to give up my Saturdays which are my only free days of the week. I have been so busy lately that I haven’t really seen my roommate April and Sundays I try to spend with Aunt Betsy. This week we are planning to go to Tropical World.

  “I can come by any time after five on a week day if that is ok? I have family commitments on a weekend and work during the week so I only have evenings free.” I say to Lilith. Caleb sits quietly while we sort out the best schedule for us both. We decide on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings to meet Lilith’s cottage at six till nine.

  “That way we will have plenty of time to practice and we will not be interrupted by anyone, Caleb you are welcome to attend with Amber if she wants you to otherwise it will be private lessons. The last thing she needs is to be distracted and lose focus that can result in accidents.” She tells Caleb who nods his head to show he understands and turns her attention to include us both this time.

  “And please keep in mind that it takes time to learn the art of magic so do not expect results to manifest within the first couple of weeks, maybe months at least.” I look to Caleb to see his reaction but he assures me its fine and that a few more months, even a year is a small wait compared to how long he has already waited.

  Now that the next part of my journey has been set I thank Lilith for her time and tell Caleb to take me home. It has been a long day and all I would like to do is eat, have a bath and go to bed. Lilith sees us out to Caleb’s car and wave us off. I must admit I had doubts about Lilith when I first met her but now I think I am warming up to her a little and working with her does not seem as scary as it did an hour ago.

  Caleb drives in silence but I sense he is in a better mood than when we first set off this afternoon. I guess he has a new purpose now and has a new goal in mind, with me being in the middle of the goal obviously…

  I chew the inside of my cheek while I contemplate starting a conversation with him. You know just to see what mood he is in and also maybe if he has forgotten about the whole Duncan thing, doesn’t matter anyway because as usual he catches me staring at his profile and takes the initiative.

  “What’s up Amber?” He asks and my immediate response is…

  “Not you.” Caleb looks at me astonished a couple of times before bursting out with laughter while I realize what I just said and the implication behind it. As I hide behind my hair my face flames almost as bright as my fiery red waves. I bite my lip while his laughter tapers down into a chuckle. I dare a peak through the strands of my hair to see him wiping away a stray tear from his eye. That just makes me redden even more but I also chuckle to myself that I made him laugh so much that he cried.

  “Amber that was epic. I wasn’t expecting that.” He says with a smile warming his voice.

  “I am sorry Caleb; I didn’t mean what I said.” I choke out hoping he believes me but my hopes are dashed when he looks at me with his wicked grin and says.

  “Sure you did Amber.” Then turns back to the road, leaving me scalding myself for speaking without first thinking what was escaping my lips.

  We arrive outside my apartment building thirty minutes later. Thi
rty minutes of amused silence in an enclosed car with Caleb. I thank him for driving me home and make a hasty retreat, but as I reach for the handle, Caleb grabs my other arm preventing me from my quick escape. I look back at him and shiver at the devilish smile he directed at me. He doesn’t keep me waiting though and points out a problem I had forgotten about.

  “We left your car outside your work place so I will drop you off at work tomorrow morning. Be ready for eight, I will be waiting out here.” And with that he lets go of my arm and I stumble out of the vehicle. I hurry up to the main door and look back as I open it. Caleb is still sat there waiting for me to go inside where it’s safe before he drives away. I wave so he waves back and I shut the door. I listen to the sound of the car’s engine drifting away before going up to my apartment for some food and sleep. The bath can wait until tomorrow…

  Chapter Thirteen

  The next morning Caleb was waiting outside like he said he would be and dropped me off at work. I was still a little embarrassed about my comment the previous night but Caleb seemed to have let it go and did not mention anything about it, much to my relief.

  Caleb drives off as I enter the shop. It’s quite this morning; usually there are a few clients around at this time with appointments but it’s empty. I go to the back and take off my coat and search for the others.

  As I walk through the corridors and into the back I think about Caleb and the fact that I know nothing about him. He just always seems to be around and I find myself wondering where he lives and what he does as a career. I find Gail and Kate in the small office and decide to ask Caleb about himself at a later date. Or I could just as Aunt Betsy and not have Caleb know I was asking about him, I’m sure he would come up with some irritating remark about my interest in his past.

  “Good morning ladies. So what’s the plan for today?” I ask walking towards them smiling. I perch on the side of the desk which gives me an overview of the computer screen and the order contents.