บท 23: Give In
Cordelia flicked her wrist, and an old chipped kettle and two dusty cups flew towards the table. She prepared tea for the two of them while Lady Jezabelle Ambrose muttered under her breath, touching and tossing various trinkets she had scattered across the table. The old woman lifted her wrinkled shakey hand towards Cordelia and motioned to her to place the cup in her palm.
As Cordelia reached to hand Lady Ambrose the cup, the old woman grabbed her by the wrist and pricked her thumb with a large needle, drawing blood. Cordelia didn't move. Instead, she grabbed the mug out of her own hand, placing it near Lady Ambrose on the table, letting the old woman fumble with her now bleeding hand. Cordelia watched as the old woman smeared the blood that was dripping from her thumb onto the leather mat in odd shapes. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the movements.
"You could've just asked if you needed to draw blood, Lady Ambrose..." Cordelia said after a while.
"Doesn't work if you give it willingly..." The old woman snorted.
"I never asked for my fortune, Lady Ambrose." Cordelia retorted back at her. The old woman did this every year.
"No? HA!" The old woman's face contorted into an evil smile, "You come in here, disturbing me. Your head filled with so many annoying questions. The universe is screaming at you, witch. Can you not hear it? Do you want answers or not?" Cordelia sighed and nodded, knowing the stubborn woman would give her answers even if she didn't want them. Lady Ambrose grunted in response and continued to mutter and squeeze blood from Cordelia's finger onto the mat. Neither of them said anything for a few long moments. The sound of the fire crackling and the noises from the wetlands outside were the only other sounds heard.
"Ah... Good for you." Lady Ambrose said after a while, letting go of Cordelia's hand. "That man is a good match for you. About time. Stick close to him. There is more to him than meets the eye."
"Lyonis?" Cordelia asked, her interest suddenly piqued. "What do you mean there's more to him?"
"I cannot tell you that. But I'm sure you've already noticed he possesses a strange type of energy..." Lady Ambrose huffed and changed the subject as she rolled her fingers over the creases in Cordelia's palms, painting them with her own blood. "You met Erzulie, I see..."
Cordelia's mind instantly recalled the ghostly goddess she had met in the wetlands. "The ghost in the wetlands?"
Lady Ambrose nodded once. "She touched you?"
Cordelia remembered the chilling cold that ran the length of her body when Erzulie touched her skin. "Yes." A scowl drew across the old woman's wrinkled face.
"Erzulie is an ancient being. Long ago, she was a powerful princess of the native people who lived here. When the invaders came and ravaged the land, she sacrificed herself and gave her soul over to the wetlands. She fused her being the oldest tree in the swamp, and she was able to save her people from the invaders... While she protects the wetlands with fierceness, she is also known to be quite a trickster and enjoys testing people in ways that make thier life difficult. It seems like she took a liking to you... Not that that's a very good thing..." The old woman seemed to get lost in thought. Her hazy blue eyes starred off into the distance, seeing without needing her eyes. "She's an annoying old bat... But it doesn't matter. Erzulie seems to have left you alone. You haven't been having any nightmares lately have you?"
"No. No dreams at all recently." Cordelia responded, listening to the old woman. She had never heard of Erzulie before and wondered why such an important and powerful diety had been left off her radar for so long.
Lady Ambrose nodded, seemingly content with Cordelia's response. She continued, "You have an interesting reading this year... There are many paths for you. It is hard to see further since a single choice would cause everything to change. You're future has always been challenging to read, Cordelia. Your very being makes it difficult to pinpoint your direction. But this is undoubtedly a pivotal time for you... Your choices will affect many things coming up. Ahh.... I see, though...."
The air around the old woman suddenly changed. The atmosphere grew dense and thick with mana. Cordelia stiffened and watched the old woman freeze as she tossed a handful of bones onto the mat - they stuck to the the sticky dark blood she had smeared across the surface and as if drawn to a supernatural force, the contents on the mat shifted and vibrated all on thier own. They flopped around and rearranged themselves into ornate patterns. Cordelia's blood pooled and crept along in thin lines across the mat as if drawing an ornate pattern.
Lady Ambrose's blurry silver eyes rolled into the back of her head. Her voice distorted, and she grabbed ahold of Cordelia's wrists and squeezed them with unnatural strength, "A door is about to be unlocked. Step through it. Let her come. She is you. You are her. See the world through eyes that look beyond reason. Do not run. There is no hiding. Give in... Give in... GIVE IN"
The heat that radiated from Lady Ambrose's hand felt like it would burn her skin. Evil darkness washed over her. Lady Ambrose's mana had changed in a single breath as if she were overcome by an entirely different force. It was all-consuming, and Cordelia felt it reach out to grab ahold of her with white-hot dark intentions. Cordelia ripped her hands from the old woman, who snapped back to her senses as soon as the connection was lost. Cordelia looked down at the leather mat and gasped. Her blood had collected and arranged itself into an intricate circular pattern, just like the one on her shoulder. It sent a cold shiver down her spine.
"Oh...." A cackle left Lady Ambrose's lips, and she smiled at her as if she were having the time of her life. "It is pivotal indeed, Cordelia..." The contents on the mat melted and shriveled up into dust - the blood, bones, rocks and crystals seemed to dematerialize in front of them. The old woman brushed the dust off the mat onto the floor.
"What the hell was that, Jezabelle?!" Cordelia clutched her wrists and rubbed them, trying the push away the lingering feeling inside her. It felt like worms had crawled their way under her skin and were burrowing towards her heart. Eventually, the feeling dissipated into nothing, but the moment was so intense that Cordelia's heart felt like it was about to leap from her chest.
"You have something locked inside you, Cordelia. But I wouldn't worry too much about it." Jezabelle shrugged as if what had just happened wasn't of any consequence.
"Excuse me?" Cordelia felt anger bubble in her chest. This woman was always toying with her, feeding her information that never gave way to any real answers, only more questions.
"You have other things to worry about right now...." The old woman looked at her as if her sight had never left her. "They are coming, Cordelia."
Cordelia felt her blood grow cold and panic welled in her chest. They were coming? They knew she was alive? Her mind raced, and she stood up impulsively, "I'll just leave. I'll leave today. They won't ever know I was here."
"You can't do that.... If they knew you were here and they just missed you. I can't imagine they would be very nice about getting answers." Jezabelle finally reached for her tea and took a sip. A small smile formed over her thin lips, "Oh... I will miss your tea, Cordelia..." She spoke as if the matter wasn't anything serious.
But Cordelia's mind was spinning. Jezabelle was right, of course. If she ran now and they found out she was here - even an inkling of information that would give her away - they would turn the entire city of Ville Marais upside down to find her.
"You'll have to be smart about this, Cordelia." The old woman smiled at her, "But you're clever, and you'll figure it out. Just.... keep that man close to you. He can help."
"I will not put anyone in harm's way for my sake, Jezabelle!" Cordelia started pacing the room.
"Sit down. Stop being so dramatic." The old woman reached into the box Cordelia had brought and pulled out the small bottle of whiskey, pouring a splash in both their cups before motioning to her to sit down again. Cordelia stopped and placed her hands on the back of the chair, steadying herself before sitting back down at the table. She took the cup in her hands and sipped the tea, the whiskey cutting the floral taste like a bitter knife.
"You cannot run from this, Cordelia. You brought this upon yourself. You ran when you should've stayed and fought. That place is a festering wound, and you should have cut it out while you had the chance! But you didn't. You ran because you are scared and weak. Weak not due to physical ability but spiritually... You're like a scared child. And now it's spreading its infectious disease everywhere. You can only blame yourself for this. Take ownership of your situation, for God's sake, Cordelia." Cordelia flinched under the harsh words of the old woman. But she spoke the truth. Cordelia couldn't disagree with her. Picking at the dirt from under her nails, she looked down at her lap, her mind suddenly filled with worry.
Lady Ambrose sighed and rubbed her head, "Things are not hopeless, Cordelia. You need to learn to trust others. You cannot save anyone by doing it alone. Listen to me, Cordelia... Light shines brightest in the dark. But if you close your eyes, you will not be able to find it. Open them and stare it in the face. There are those who can lead you there. Take their hands.... Do not push them away..." The old woman paused, gauging her reaction, which was not good. Cordelia felt like she was about to throw up. "I almost didn't want to tell you this, but I could see you were floundering in your decisions. You need to trust that gut of yours. React on every impulse... Do you hear me?" Jezabelle stood up and reached across the small table to place her thumb on Cordelia's forehead. To her surprise, Cordelia relaxed, and the nervous storm that was brewing in her head stopped. "Relax, child. You have everything you need to succeed. Enjoy the festival, enjoy the wedding, forget about this for now."
Cordelia's mind went blank.
A second later she came to her senses, and Lady Ambrose was sitting in the chair across from her. Her shaky hands brought the cup to her tired face, and she sipped it loudly. Cordelia couldn't help but feel like she was suddenly forgetting something very important. The last thing she remembered was telling the old woman she hadn't had any dreams recently.
"Hey! Quit your thinking. You're giving me a headache." The old woman smacked the table with one hand, making the cups on the table jump.
"Lady Ambrose... What were we just talking about?" Cordelia rubbed her temples and tried to recall what just happened. "What did you do to me? Did you mess with my memory?" It was like waking from a dream and almost remembering what it was about, but the more she tried to recall it, the further it seemed to slip from her.
"Quiet. It is nothing of importance. You'll forget all about it by the time you step out my door." The old woman glared at her. Even blind, her gaze was relentless and intimidating. "Make sure you enjoy that new man of yours. If I was even 30 years younger... I don't need eyes to see he's a fine catch." Jezabelle clicked her tongue approvingly and raised her long wiry eyebrows. Before Cordelia even realized it, she had forgotten completely about what had just transpired between them.
Though deep within her, she couldn't help but feel like she was forgetting something. She simply chalked it up to blaming her busy schedule and told herself she would go over her daily ledger later to figure out what she was missing.
Cordelia laughed, "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Lady Ambrose. I hope you enjoy your gift and the festival. I'll see you next year." She stood up and turned to leave.
"Take care of yourself, Cordelia..." There was a softness to the usual harshness that left Lady Ambrose's lips, and it took Cordelia off guard. She turned to look at her, and she couldn't help but feel like this was more than a normal goodbye.
...
Night had fallen over the city as Cordelia returned to the apothecary. People ran around and danced in the streets, yelling and laughing without a care in the world. Cordelia waved to the familiar neighbors and patrons of the street. They called out to her, sending their well-wishes.
Lyonis leaned against the front door of the apothecary as she walked up. A small smile was plastered to his face as she watched his amber eyes follow the happy couples and friends celebrating in the street. She didn't think he noticed her, but as soon as she approached, he glanced over to meet hers, and he smiled. A mischievousness flashed in his amber eyes.
"Where have you been? I thought we agreed to meet up this evening?" He leaned in and brushed the loose strands of hair behind her ears. "I've been waiting for you for quite a while. " He whispered in her ears, sending goosebumps all over her skin. "I should be rewarded for being so patient...." Her eyes met his, and he was dangerously close to her. His lips almost brushed her cheek. A playfulness grew over his expression, and she couldn't help but scoff at him, gently pushing him away, ignoring his actions and comments.
Cordelia opened the door to the apothecary and ushered him inside, "I'm glad you're here, Lyonis. I was just about to run some errands." She made her way around the counter and leaned down to grab the other boxes wrapped with a single ribbon. "If you'd be so kind, would you help me deliver these?"
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