Nightwish (An Echoes of Eternity Novel Book 1) (25 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

After Mephisto stated that his underworld colleagues would soon descend upon me, and because Mephisto looked like he’d enjoy sending them to
The Antique Boutique
, I didn’t waste another second in the shop. I needed answers, so I stored the Soul Sword in the secret chamber and went to the only place I might get them.

Now standing on a creaky, warped wooden front porch in Logan Square, I knocked on a black oak door that had been battered by the elements. Luckily, the exterior needed no further upkeep, as the single-story flat was wrapped entirely in brick.

  The door opened and Delphine stood before me. “Serena,” she said softly, not the least bit surprised by my presence. A smile surfaced as she met my gaze. “You didn’t trespass by astral projecting. How very thoughtful of you!”

I trusted the residual affects of that journey inside my subconscious to guide me through the city streets until I arrived at their doorstep. “I aim to please. Especially when it comes to visiting my evil mother and wretched sister.” I enjoyed watching Delphine’s pompous smile falter. I also responded that way to throw off any sense that she intimidated me. I only hoped she didn’t sense the undercurrents of fear pecking at my skin.

A second later, my mother stepped aside with an overly cheery smile. She opened the door and gave me a view of the living room. “Please join us.”

Alexis sat on the beige sofa, chomping into a red apple before chasing it with a healthy gulp from the half-empty bottle of blueberry-flavored vodka she clenched in her other hand. She glanced my way and…immediately did a double take. Shocked, she almost dropped the bottle from her hand. When she recovered, she let out a heap of air in relief, mesmerized by the bottle in the same way that Mephisto had been captivated by the Soul Sword.

“What is Poland?” Celestina shouted at the television, kneeling down in front of a glass coffee table littered with coffee rings, pretzel salt, and other remnants. She waited for the Wii U Jeopardy game to reveal whether she’d given the right question to the answer Alex Trebek’s voice provided.

I smiled at the sight of my niece, so bright and well-mannered. When I was thirteen, I’d accidentally confused Poland with Pluto, only to have every student in my social studies class turn and laugh at me. And here sat Celestina, stating that Germany had triggered World War II by invading the country I thought was a huge rock past Neptune. Perhaps she’d sidestep the self-serving nature of her mother and grandmother. That thought made my heart soar.

I looked right and left, anticipating some sort of sabotage, but no attack was forthcoming, so I entered the room.

Celestina spotted me and glee eclipsed her serious expression. “Aunt Serena!” She tossed the controller aside, pushed off the carpet, and rushed toward me with unadulterated excitement.

She bumped into my legs, knocking me back a foot or so, but when she hugged me tight, I felt such an outpouring of emotion that my throat constricted, making it impossible to tell her how much I appreciated such an affectionate welcome. After all, my mother and sister didn’t seem like huggers. This response provided further evidence, however, that Celestina hadn’t formed many of the same social cues as others her age. After all, at her age, many kids preferred to act cool by not needing anyone in order to prove their independence. Nonetheless, I held Celestina tightly, glad that she wrapped her arms around my back.

“Well, well,” said Alexis rising from the couch with an irritated expression. “Look who decided to show up without going all Sue Storm on us.” Seeing my confusion, she scoffed. “The Invisible Woman…from the Fantastic Four.”

“But I’m not invisible. I can only project my spirit in a place other than my body.”

She grimaced. “Same difference.”

“What brings you around so late?” asked Delphine, closing the door behind me.

Locking eyes with my sister, I felt guilty that Celestina had rushed away from Alexis and had such a strong connection with me. “Hi, Celie,” I said, the nickname coming to me without thought. It just felt right.

Far from annoyed, Celestina looked up at me with a smile, obviously content to have a new nickname. “Guess what, Aunt Serena? Mom and I were just talking about you. Isn’t it crazy that you came by, like, ten seconds later?”

“Yeah,” said Alexis in monotone. “Crazy.”

Delphine chuckled at her granddaughter’s comment. “It’s intuition. Even the lowliest humans are in tune with that sensation.”

Admonished, Celestina removed her arms from around me and cringed as if a whip had lashed her.

“It’s a good thing,” I told her. “It shows that your mind, body, and spirit are in tune with each other. It’s rare.”

“Rare!” Alexis spat. “Rare? Who do you think you are? Barging in here like you’re one of us.”

“Actually, I knocked, and your mom opened the door. If you lay off the booze,” I said, gesturing to the bottle in her hand, “you might be able to sit at the big-kid table one day and have adult conversations.”

“You mean
our
mom opened the door.” She seemed satisfied by that logic.

I left Celestina behind as I strode toward Alexis, unwilling to let her get the best of me. I expected her to reek of booze, but she looked coherent and acted alert. Perhaps she’d just begun drinking. “You can’t get in my mind, and you can’t freeze me into the ice age, so let’s skip the name-calling.”

Alexis’s wicked grin looked like a demonic jack-o-lantern. “Whatever, half witch.”

“Now you’re just making a fool of yourself. I can either be a full-witch or a third-of-a-witch.”

“I may have only gotten my GED,” she said, her voice slurring and even trembling on the acronym, revealing that she felt inferior to have only earned the equivalent of a high school diploma. “But I’ve got my own line of lingerie. It’s called
Design Your Universe
.”

That statement made me snap my mouth shut.

Alexis’s smarmy smile brightened at my loss for words. “It’s an online business, and my partner and I have made over $600,000 in sales over the past eight months.”

“And how did you come by that stroke of luck? Magic?”

“It helped,” she said, looking over at her daughter, obviously proud to have used the gifts that were bestowed upon her to do whatever it took to succeed. “But we wouldn’t have made a penny without my designs. And here you are, Little Miss University, trying to prove that spending $60,000 on four wasted years in college was worth a diploma.” A grin lit her face. “How will a degree help you become a rock star?” Her laughter echoed throughout the house.

“At least I earned what came my way.”

“What do you plan on doing with that sacred piece of paper? Roll it up to slap a demon upside the head?”

I wanted to knock that proud smile off her face, but I sensed Celestina staring at me, waiting for me to respond. “No matter what I do, succeed or fail, I’ll have been honest with myself and everyone else. That’s more than you can say.”

Alexis continued to smile at me, as though she’d won a standoff.

Meanwhile, Celestina didn’t know what to make of our bickering.

Rather than continue trading insults, or even worse declare my true intentions for stopping over, I threw my arm around Celestina’s shoulder and said, “Your mom and dear old granny said something about hosting a weekly dinner and game night. I forced a melodramatic smile. “Who’s up for Parcheesi?”

Celestina plugged her hands against her hips and presented me with a look of disbelief. “Yeah, right!” Despite that, she seemed comforted that I’d ended the spat between her mother and me. She snatched the remote from the coffee table and switched the channel. “Hey, look, it’s
The Wizard of Oz
. I’ve seen it like six or seven times. The Tin Man is my favorite. He’s not afraid of feeling things.” She rattled her head, aggravated to have revealed that information. “Do you hate the Wicked Bitch? That’s what Mom calls her. “She’s
soooo
evil.”

“The Wicked Witch…or your mom?” I asked, grinning.

“Ha!” Celestina twisted around to address her mother. “She totally got you. But, no, seriously, I’m glad Mom and Granny aren’t like the Wicked Witch.”

At that last statement, I glanced at Alexis who hit me with a disturbing grin. Moving onwards, I saw my mother try to hide a similar smile. They seemed to rejoice in their villainous behavior. I concentrated on my niece, silently promising her that I wouldn’t let her follow their path.

“See?” Delphine said. “We’ve got nothing to hide. But you do, isn’t that right, Serena?”

“Yes.” Instead of holding back, I decided to be straightforward. “I’ve got something you want.”

“
The Book of Souls
?”

“Yes.”

Delphine’s smile brightened. “So why don’t you give it to us? Surely, it’s of no use to you.”

“True. I have no interest in it. Since no one has helped me develop my powers, I wouldn’t know what to do with it if I did. But here’s the thing… you and Alexis want it
very
badly. For that reason, I’m not willing to part with it.”

“I told you,” said Alexis, scowling. “She’s just—”

Delphine shushed her. “There must be a better reason than that.” She remained quiet for a few moments. “Is it because you’re jealous? You didn’t have a rightful home? You didn’t have the mother-figure you so desired?”

“No. I had to kill her.” I shrugged, doing my best to act as if I didn’t care, even if the words cut into my heart. “You know how it is.”

“I do.” She nodded slowly. “I certainly do. So what will you do with the grimoire? Burn it?”

“I might. It depends.”

“Depends on what?”

“Why you want it so badly.”

“How very sad,” Delphine said. “You don’t know about your heritage or even about your own powers. My mother did a terrible job raising you, didn’t she?”

“She was strict but affectionate; obstinate, but understanding. I was proud that she raised me.”

“That’s not the experience
I
had with her.”

“I guess that happens…when you have an egotistical and immoral daughter.” I looked from Delphine to Alexis and back to my mother again. “I’m sure you can relate.”

Alexis scoffed and chugged some more liquor.

“That’s how you speak to your mother?” Delphine asked.

“Correction: you are my birth mother. My
true
mother died, remember?” I put a hand to my mouth, feigning fright. “I hope you’re not getting the Alzheimer’s that
truly
killed Grams.”

“Without that blood, you wouldn’t have any abilities. Admit it, you
like
the rush your abilities give you.”

“You’re right, I do.” Seeing her victorious grin, I continued, “But I didn’t know I had these powers until yesterday. And I had the best mother ever.” I looked at Alexis. “You may have had a great time stealing people’s thoughts and their money, but you never had a
real
mother. Someone who took you trick or treating. Someone who was in the audience at your spelling bee.” Of course, I couldn’t substantiate those claims, but the sentiment behind them told me that I’d spoken the truth. I only spoke to prove that Delphine was not fit for motherhood.

I expected my sister to narrow her eyes and stew with anger. Or disregard my words with a casual flick of the wrist as though saying, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Or maybe even hurl ice pellets (or a sheet of ice) at me.

But for the briefest moment, Alexis curled her shoulders inward as though my beliefs slipped past the nearly impenetrable shield that protected her heart. And in that half-second, her face cleared of all condescension and cynicism, allowing the essence of her to pour forth: eyes that looked haunted; quivering lips that conveyed fright; and a furrowed brow that expressed doubts about her ability to withstand the pressure of using her powers appropriately and, even more importantly, whether or not she could raise Celestina properly.

And during that sliver of time, I didn’t feel so alone because I understood Alexis, perhaps even better than she understood herself. Seeing such a strong and willful, albeit misguided, young woman, allow vulnerability to shine through the dark cloak she presented to the world convinced me that she might disregard our mother’s unethical practices.

In that instant, I vowed never to give up trying to help transform Alexis’s life from one of dishonesty and cruelty toward one of sincerity and compassion. I don’t know why such an arrogant notion convinced me to follow that internal voice – I’d once heard that many twins had an unshakeable bond that superseded time and space – but now that the idea clutched my mind, I couldn’t shake it. I had to help her. By doing so, I might be able to free Celestina from the confusion that tormented her.  

“You’re so full of shit!” Delphine said, scowling at me. “
My
mother wasn’t all rose petals and cotton candy.” She drew closer, wincing as though her anger closed the pores on her face, puckering her expression. “But you didn’t know that. How could you? It happened decades before you were even born.”