Lucinda stood, feeling as a puppet does when its strings are
pulled. She felt the burn of another soul, a stronger one that the thousand or
so fragments left in the room by the decades of torture and abuse. A familiar
soul, but one older than Natasha; her sister none the less.
Mother said a weak
hearted girl sharing my blood would be here eventually. Welcome sister. Now, to
get out of here and destroy the bastard’s lineage once and for all.
As she lifted her hand, Lucinda felt a vicious burning
sensation run up through her fingers, like liquid lead, before the barrier
shattered, throwing the Tyrant’s soul back against the far wall. Lucinda felt
her sister pause as Tristan touched her shoulder. As the tiger smiled at her
and focused on her face, Lucinda felt a sickening urge to carve his heart from
his body.
The Seals of Possession and Tongue were gone; her mother’s
protections stripped from her, with her final act of defiance.
She watched, audience to her own form watching Tristan and
the others hurry from the room, before following them. She paused to pick up a
book of curses and one of poisons before heading for the door way… and slamming
face first into an invisible wall.
***************
Tristan turned at Lucinda’s shout and ran back to the open
door to find the woman sitting on the floor, blood streaming from her nose. As
she glanced towards him, Tristan’s stomach dropped into his feet: her eyes were
pitch black. She shrieked, and Tristan covered his ears, pain like hundreds of
needles driving themselves into his ears.
Two arms wrapped themselves around his chest and started
squeezing. He glanced over his shoulder to see his grandfather sneering at him
as the half-wraith tried crushing him.
“Actabo forantoe,
enemis imprisona!” Kyle shouted.
Chains rose up from the floor and encircled the Tyrants
arms, tearing them behind his back and pulling him to the wall. Tristan dropped
to the floor, gasping as Devon and Matthew ran to him and helped him back to
where the others stood.
Kyle raised his hand when Tristan began to speak, “Later.
Right now, out.”
He glanced down the hall and snapped his fingers; the door
to his room slammed shut and locked, even as a loud thud echoed above
them. As they headed up the stairs and
into the main hallway, Abbadon and Sekmet met them, Alyssa cradled in the
Queen’s arms.
“Where’s Laura?” Matthew asked.
“Recovering. She was attacked by another wraith upstairs;
illusion spell of fire. She had to jump out the window.” The king said.
Matthew’s face fell, “She’s alive?”
Abaddon nodded, “Now see to Alyssa. Please.”
Sekmet placed the unconscious girl in her father’s arms, and
watched as he walked across the room and sat down on a bench, rocking his
daughter as he whispered quietly to her. She turned her gaze to her sons,
“What the hell happened down there?”
“Lucinda fainted upstairs so I brought her down to Kyle. Her
mother dragged her into a nightmare. She woke up from it when Matthew entered
the room, but fell into another one after Granddad manifested a barrier and
closed the door behind him—” Tristan said.
Abaddon raised his hand, “Hold it, hold it!”
He turned to Kyle, “Short version that won’t give me a
headache please.”
Kyle snorted, “That was the short version. Shorter version:
Her mother hid triggers inside her psyche that drag her into nightmares
whenever they’re set off. The last one Lucinda must have pissed her mother off
badly. She’s possessed by someone from the torture chamber days.”
Tristan turned to his brother, “What?”
“I set up shop in a haunted room where blood was spilled,
lives were lost and pain inflicted countless times. I have barriers set up
everywhere in there to keep those things out of my experiments and in that room.” Kyle said.
Tristan winced, “She can’t leave as long as she’s possessed.”
Kyle nodded, “We have to fix this and soon. She’s in danger.
Frankly, we all are.”
Abaddon glanced at his son, “Pretty sure we all figured that
out a while ago.”
“Not what I meant Dad. She set up her daughter to end up
possessed by an evil soul strong enough to overcome Lucinda’s soul. Who the
hell is that strong and how did her mother know they were down there?” Kyle
asked.
Abaddon blinked, “… My gut is telling me I’m not going to
like whatever it is you’re thinking.”
Kyle shrugged, “What? That her mother planned for her to be
possessed by someone she sent here to
die and remain for the past how ever long? Now why would that cause indigestion?”
Sekmet growled, “Kyle.”
“I deal with panic either with stubborn denial or cutting
sarcasm. Much like you, Ma.” He said.
Sekmet sighed, “If you weren’t right I’d scold you. Alright,
alright… so… what do you suggest we do first?”
Kyle shrugged, “I’ve no buggering idea.”
“Kyle!” Four voices said at once, “Language in front of the
child.”
Kyle snorted, “At least that hasn’t changed.”
Tristan glanced down the stairs, “Will that possessor hurt
Lucinda?”
Kyle shrugged, “I’m a sorcerer not a necromancer. Her sister
might know more, but then again, she’s a witch, so. Who knows?”
As if summoned by the mention of her, Natasha appeared,
“What happened this time?” she asked.
Kyle blinked, “What, you have a sixth sense about when shit
hits the fan or something?”
Sekmet growled and Kyle raised his hands, “Sorry. When the
dung hits the fan. Better?”
Natasha shook her head, “No just… my son said something that
bothered me. He asked me where his two other aunts are.”
“Two? I thought you only had two sisters?” Tristan asked.
Natasha nodded, “As far as I know, I do. Where’s Lucinda?”
“Down in Kyle’s room. She’s… Possessed.” Tristan said.
Natasha’s color drained from her face, “How?”
Kyle cleared his throat, “She pissed off your mom when the
bitch was torturing her with nightmares is the closest thing I can I figure.”
Natasha blinked, “Let me see her. Please.”
***********
Lucinda glanced up as the door to the room opened and
Natasha stepped inside; the moment she did she focused on her eyes and gasped.
“Who the hell are you?” She yelled.
Her sister sneered, her teeth stained black as her eyes,
“Well… there’s two of you? How fun.”
Natasha watched her sister rise slowly, “Answer me.”
“Why? You’ll be under my boot just as easily as Lucinda here
is.” She grinned widely.
Natasha’s eyes narrowed and she felt her hair blow away from
her face; she closed her eyes and reached inside. The place their mother called
the Void, where a Necromancer would doom their victims to spending eternity, or
until their souls were used as the fuel for spells. Becoming a witch had
altered what that place in her soul was used for.
A stone flew from the hallway into the room, landing in the
northern direction. A candle appeared at the south. A hand fan to the east. And
a bottle of rose water to the west.
Natasha inhaled and felt the candle ignite.
“Mother Earth, Father Sky, Sister Ocean, Brother Flame.” She
whispered.
The possessing spirit shrieked again, her magic brought back
from the other side to harm the living. Natasha could see her now; their elder
sister, dressed in clothes from seventy plus years ago, her long black hair coiling
out from her head like snakes. Her eyes stared at her with seething hatred from
the lightless depths.
Lucinda stood behind her, a small flicker of love facing an
engulfing wave of rage. Natasha felt other emotions swirling around her younger
sister. Fear, hope, her own anger.
Their sister had possessed someone on the verge of finding
their true path. Natasha smiled, before calling out again,
“Guardians of the Four Corners, Gatekeepers, Elementals, I
ask for your aid to free my younger sister from the hatred of the Unliving Soul
that’s taken hold of her. I ask… you grant my sister the strength she needs to
break free herself. Like the moth from her cocoon.” Natasha said.
*************
Lucinda glanced up as her elder sister, the unliving soul,
stumbled forward. Blinking, she felt the warmth of a hearth fire, the cool
breeze of a winter morning, the solid support of hard packed soil, and the
fluid movement of the ocean. In her, around her, beneath her. Her sister’s
allies were here.
She saw her sister, not the angry visage she now wore, when
her mother told her the plan: she would go to the Tyrant, attempt to kill him,
and when it failed, would suffer and die here. She would stay here waiting,
until another daughter would come, and attempt to free herself from the destiny
this woman had resigned herself too.
Lucinda blinked, and felt the anger rise again, along with
the concern, and desire to protect those dearest to her. Her sister opened her
mouth, but no sound came out. Another blink, and Lucinda was standing in the
room, glancing around her.
“Lucinda!” Natasha yelled.
She spun around, seeing a huge black shadow reaching towards
her; Lucinda felt the desire to protect what she loved race ahead of her anger,
and a blinding barrier, like translucent silver, appeared in front of her. Her
sister’s form recoiled, even as Natasha reached forward and took Lucinda’s hand
and pulled her back into the hallway.
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