Raging Inferno (Delphine Rising Book 1), page 5
Go, Mom. At least Liz and Danny had the decency to look embarrassed. They shut their mouths immediately.
I sat the tea tray on the hutch and asked everyone if they wanted a cup. Only Danny spoke up, grinning widely as if he hadn’t just been reprimanded like a three-year-old child. I smiled through gritted teeth and made his tea with two sugars, just the way he liked it. I placed his tea in front of him, just as he tried to brush his hand against mine. Cringe-worthy. I wanted to hurl it at him. He was only trying to cop a feel of my hand. A connection he would say—so freakin’ creepy.
At one time, we had an amazing connection and yes, I loved him. He was the only man that I had ever truly loved, but when tragedy filled my every waking moment and darkness consumed me two-years ago, the very last thing I needed was a man attempting to care for me. I wanted to be left alone, yet he never relented, he never gave up, even though I was hateful and cruel at times.
Danny’s actions were never anything more than caring, but I couldn’t see past my pain and vowed to never allow him into my heart again, not until I was able to relinquish the darkness that had slithered its way into my soul.
He was like a bad rash that wouldn’t go away. However, as much as I hated to admit to myself, I was secretly happy that he never moved on. I was selfish like that, praying someday I would come around and stop pushing my loved ones away. I knew that he still cared for me, but I couldn’t bring myself to return his affections; it was just too painful. It was easier to blow him off. If I could only stop myself from being so damned insufferable.
I glared at him, while Liz held back a laugh—I’m so getting her back—then sat next to Mom on the other sofa on the opposite side of the coffee table, as far away from Danny’s paws as I could get. Lost puppy dog eyes wouldn’t work on me, not today.
“Okay, so… Genevieve. It seems you may have caught bits and pieces of what happened yesterday,” I said. “If it’s all right with Mom, I’ll go first, then we can venture into the past and come up with clues as to how they intersect and are relevant to what’s going on now. Mom, what do you think?”
“Yes, dear. You lead the way and we can finish by bouncing around ideas as to what might have unlocked the magic or tampered with it somehow. Genevieve and I will have a look at the talisman later this afternoon if she doesn’t have any prior engagements.” Mom said, looking at Genevieve.
“No, I’ve cleared my entire day, Jaqueline. I’m at your family’s disposal. I’ll do whatever’s within my power to aid you in your quest for balance and truth. We must eradicate this evil immediately,” Genevieve said vehemently.
“Thank you, Genevieve…for everything. Our family’s truly grateful,” Mom replied with a smile.
I repeated what happened yesterday, leaving no detail out. Danny sat slack-jawed, while Genevieve listened, taking in every word. When I came to the end, breaking the illusion, she gasped, having nearly the same reaction as Mom, minus the sobs. She looked at me pointedly and began to speak.
“Abigail. I have quite a few theories as to what might have happened, but only one I’m one hundred percent sure of: you shouldn’t have been able to break the illusion spell. As a matter of fact, you shouldn’t be sitting across from me this very minute.”
“The creature in tomb, the hollow-eyed, wraith-like creature, was no wraith at all. Abigail, he’s a soul-sucking demon. Whether he was part of Delphine’s illusion or not, seeing such a creature is never a good sign. I see how the two could be related, considering Delphine was attempting to trap your essence in the talisman, but it’s extremely disconcerting,” she said, audibly shaken by what happened to me.
I can’t say that I blamed her. A flippin’ soul-sucking demon?
Holy, flaming, crap balls on Hades chariot! What’s next? Never mind… I don’t want to know.
I opened my mouth to respond, but Mom and Liz beat me to the punch. “A soul-sucking demon?” they asked in unison, baffled, looking at one another.
“Yes, by her recollection of events and description, it’s the only thing that makes sense. A very bad omen, indeed,” Genevieve replied.
“My word… I’m not sure what to think,” Mom said. “I know Abigail’s father helped her call upon the ancients to break Delphine’s illusion, but the demon is beyond me at this point… unless she’s trying to conjure. But how? She has no ties to this plane. She’d have to have a host.”
Danny finally spoke up. “Not if she was conjuring from a dream state. It’s rare, but it can be done, especially considering Abby was in a trance-like state after touching the talisman, essentially locking onto Delphine’s magic. She could’ve channeled Abby’s magic in a dream state and conjured the demon as she created the illusion.”
When did Danny start making sense? It sounded less scary coming from him, still scary, but not as “all hell’s about to break loose” scary. Hmm.
Mom and Genevieve looked to one another in affirmation. “I hadn’t thought of that, Danny. You’re exactly right,” Mom said, touching her chin, while Genevieve nodded in agreement.
“So is the stupid demon real, imaginary or an illusion?” Liz asked, seemingly irritated and confused.
“A little of all three, I suppose,” Danny replied, looking pensive.
“Seriously, Danny? You drop a bomb like that and you don’t know? Is he freakin’ real, like can we slay his ass, real, like a corporeal body or is he a freakin’ dream, illusion thingy?” Liz demanded, her fury rising by the minute.
I wanted to pop some popcorn. My money was on Liz.
“Liz, it depends on whether or not Delphine has a host. If she does, then she could transplant her conjured demon from a dream state using the talisman’s magic. It’s complicated and we don’t have all of the facts. Calm down. Geez.”
“What did you—”
“Enough!” Mom shouted, cutting Liz off, raising her hand between the two of them like a referee.
“What’s gotten into you, Elizabeth? Calm yourself or go for a walk. Danny’s only trying to help and you’re acting like a petulant child. This is a meeting of the minds for adults to gather and share information. Stop shouting and arguing. I won’t warn any of you again.” Mom looked around at the three of us.
Well hell. What did I do? I didn’t jump in. This was so embarrassing, being disciplined by our mother in front of people? If only the floor would open up and swallow me whole. Genevieve was seeing and hearing everything; meltdowns on full display. I would venture to say, they were somewhat warranted after everything that had happened since yesterday, but definitely not in the company of others.
No one said another word and Mom went on to explain to Genevieve about what happened the day Uncle Julian died and Daddy’s body disappeared—the day Marie Delphine sucked his body and soul into the talisman. She and Danny seemed shocked by the news, but both agreed with my mom’s theory about Daddy helping me break the illusion. The two of them sat in stunned silence for several moments before speaking.
“It’s the only logical conclusion, Jaqueline,” Genevieve agreed. “We have to find out who tampered with the stone, causing Delphine’s magic to rise again. The answer could be somewhere between now and when the talisman was awakened eighteen-years ago as you suggested. The question is, who?”
“I have a theory, but you all might not want to hear it,” Danny said. “The talisman could’ve remained active all these years, waiting for contact. Once Abby touched it, the magic came alive again. Mrs. Blanque, did you or your coven ever perform a spell to block the talisman’s magic once it was activated?”
“Well, no. It was unclear as to what happened, Danny. Francesca wanted to close the case as soon as possible, bringing me a pile of ashes, not even belonging to Paul. The only conclusion that truly came about was a bunch of rumors, but Francesca quickly tried to quell them. I was overcome with grief, and I let it all go until now.”
“What you’re saying makes sense,” Mom continued. “Obviously, Paul’s essence and magic lies within the talisman. Now that it’s active again, I’m not sure a spell will do anything. We have to figure out to what extent her dark magic has been released, how far she’s able to use her influence in this plane, and make sure Abby’s safe.”
“We need to locate Francesca and find out what she knows,” Genevieve said. “It’s highly possible, if she was indeed attempting to tap into the magic initially, she’d feel the talisman’s activity now. Everything about her behavior back then seems suspicious.”
“Mom, who can we trust in the coven at the moment?” Liz asked. “Is there anyone you know for certain who’ll be able to keep a secret, not revealing our plans or what’s going on with Abby or the talisman? We definitely don’t want the Braud sisters. They couldn’t keep a secret if their lives depended on it. They live for gossip.” Liz blew out a long breath at the mention of the Braud twins.
Harriette and Louise Braud: both good witches, but boy could they talk. The twins were about my age, twenty-five, with long, curly red hair and brown eyes. The girls were really attractive, thin figures, almost modelesque, but their personalities? Snooty to the core and downright nasty when they wanted to be. They talked about everyone, including me at one point over my breakup with Danny. Their poisonous attitudes were only tolerated because they came from an old, prominent family of witches. Big, red stop sign.
“At this point, Elizabeth, I’d much rather keep it between the three of us until we have more information, with the exception of a few trusted members of Genevieve’s coven,” Mom replied.
Just as Genevieve was about to respond, her cell phone rang. It was James, her second in command, so to speak. From what I gathered, he was frantic and by the look on Genevieve’s face it wasn’t good. Once she hung up the phone, her face had paled even more than its usual pallor.
“We have a problem—a huge problem. One of my own, a hybrid, has been infected with this dark magic. James tried to stop him, but he went on a rampage, nearly taking out two in our coven in the process. It’s Tristan,” she said in a panic with eyes aglow.
“Tristan was heading toward Dauphine Street when James was badly injured. I need to go to him and try to stop him before there’s unnecessary carnage. If he kills in broad daylight, I’m not sure what we’re going to do or how we’re going to handle it. Tourists are everywhere this time of day.” Genevieve was near tears at that point. I’d never seen her in such a state; she was always so composed.
“We’ll help you,” Liz chimed in, and looked to me for confirmation.
I knew what she meant, and I also knew today would be the day she revealed her secret, the Sword of Light, to our mother. Mom had remained silent up until that point. She looked at the two of us and said,
“Girls, get dressed quickly and grab your things. We don’t have much time; it seems Delphine might have a new hunting ground.”
Liz and I looked to one another, stunned. Mom knew where we were last night and most likely what we’d done, what we’d been doing for quite some time… That explained her chipper comment and sneaky smile in the kitchen. Nothing got past her, apparently.
We ran up the stairs and changed into our typical fighting gear in record time: leather pants, with knives tucked away in our boots and tank tops. Liz grabbed her sword before heading downstairs. I pulled her aside and asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to hide that?”
“There’s no point and no time for it now, Sis. We have to go and, unfortunately, I’ll need it to dispatch their souls. If Tristan’s being controlled with dark magic, I’m sure there might be others affected as well,” Liz replied with determination in her eyes.
“All right then, let’s get going,” I agreed as we walked down the stairs. “I think you’re right. We have to figure out how the infection or magic’s spreading and where it’s coming from.”
I only hoped we’d find answers somewhere on Dauphine Street, but the likelihood seemed dim. We had nothing but speculation to go on at that point.
We found Mom, Genevieve and Danny in the parlor ready to go. It was a shock to say the least. We weren’t used to Mom fighting by our side, let alone anyone else, other than a few of our hybrid friends on occasion. I looked at the three of them and asked which vehicle we were taking, while Danny stared at Liz’s sword. Yep, I knew it would be a good conversation piece on the way over.
“I’ve called Christopher and Sheri to join us on Delphine Street to help calm the situation,” Genevieve said in a shaky voice. “We’re taking my van. I have the needed supplies and room to fit the five of us comfortably, but we must hurry. Time is not on our side at the moment.”
We piled into her grey van, with black tinted windows. Of course Danny tried to sit next to me, but I made him sit in the third row seat. It was necessary because Liz and I were about to have a talk with Mom that had been a long time coming.
As soon as we were about to open our mouths, Mom looked back at the two of us and said, “Girls, don’t think you can hide anything from me. Elizabeth, I know about the Sword of Light; it was once your father’s. Abby, I know you see lost souls; however you’ve yet to accept this gift; it’s not much different than Elizabeth’s. Your job is to help them crossover, yet you ignore them. Why do you think they flock to you, especially when you’re in danger? Not only are you to help them crossover, but also they sense when you’re in danger. They’re not evil spirits; they’re souls who need help and you, Abby, have the power to send them on,” Mom revealed, dropping a huge bomb in our lap.
“Um, Abby. You see ghosts…of the dead?” Liz asked, somewhat in awe. “Is that why you get so freaked out about places said to be haunted, because you can feel them, their energy? Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Well, it wasn’t something I cared to share with anyone, to be honest. I thought only necromancers could commune with the dead. Apparently, I was wrong. Obviously, there’s a lot more about Daddy’s powers we’ve yet to learn…and I’m sure Mom will be telling us all about them later,” I said pointedly, as I looked from Liz to Mom.
I wasn’t at all surprised, to be honest. I’d known in my heart there had to be some kind of significance as to why I could see lost spirits and why they were always lingering around when I was near. Now it all made perfect sense; I just had to figure out what Mom meant when she said I had to help them move on. It wasn’t like I had a sword, directly connected to God to open a gateway. It would’ve helped to have known this information two years ago, but it was my own fault for keeping my gift to myself.
The van jolted as we hit a freakin’ pothole big enough to bury a large animal in, waking Danny from zombie-mode. “So, you’re witches with powers from both the ancestors and God as well? Wow,” he said, shaking his head, looking as if he’d been struck by an enlightening spell.
We were only minutes from Dauphine Street when we saw people running down the sidewalk, screaming. Genevieve slammed on the brakes and pulled off to the side of the road, not caring about parking. It seemed trouble had already started and we were late, very late if death and slaughter awaited us.
We jumped from the van. Genevieve and Danny started grabbing wooden stakes from the back just in case, and shouted for Mom to run ahead with us. We passed the screaming mob, coming up on the corner of Dauphine and Conti Street when we saw Tristan dragging an older-looking man by his salt and pepper hair down the center of the road. I yelled out for him to stop. He turned around slowly. His normal hazel gaze was black as coal and thick black mane was plastered to his head. A black aura surrounded him, just like the others. He sneered, releasing his fangs as I called out his name once more. The older man lay bleeding and unconscious on the ground as Tristan dropped him like a rag doll.
I slowly began to approach him as Liz went to my left. “Tristan, it’s me, Abigail. You don’t want to hurt these people. Remember who you are and who you once were. This isn’t you,” I said, as I continued my approach at a slower pace, palms up.
Tristan still wasn’t speaking, only looking at me as if he didn’t know me from Eve. He was a shell of himself. I kept trying to talk to him, but I might as well have been talking to a brick wall. He walked forward, ever so slowly then lunged at me, fangs bared, before I had chance to gather my magic to hold him back.
My entire life flashed before my eyes—Delphine had won and she would take my soul with her black magic using vampires as her minions. I felt completely powerless until I heard my mother screaming an ancient spell that sent Tristan flying toward the trees in the nearest yard. He smacked down hard and got right back up, coming for me again with an evil gleam in his eyes. This time I was ready as I brought forth a yellow stream of magic hitting him square in the chest, knocking him to his knees. How could this happen? I thought hybrids were resistant to black magic; they were still connected to the ancestors. Is that why Delphine sought them out, for the magic within their souls?
Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do to save him. I didn’t know Tristan all that well, but from what I’d heard from Christopher and Sheri, he was a good man. He didn’t deserve to die in such a manner. Thankfully, he was a good soul, just tainted with dark magic. When Liz came running toward me, sword raised and glowing, she hesitated, with tears in her radiant, yellow-green eyes. Mom stood by, looking on, then nodded that it was time. Liz closed her eyes with tears streaming down her beautiful face as she dispatched his soul to the Heavens above. Mom stood by her side, watching as the bright light sent Tristan’s soul to be judged and redeemed.
We heard more screams further down Dauphine Street, closer to the corner of Bourbon where most of the city’s tourists were. I cringed at the thought of another rogue vampire on the loose. I saw Genevieve and Danny up ahead fighting off Christopher and I stopped dead in my tracks. She’d called him earlier to help minimize the damage and somehow he’d been affected by the black magic surrounding this place. Not Christopher. He was a dear friend who’d been on several missions with Liz and me over the past two years. My heart stopped when I saw his face; he looked feral.
