Path of Descent: Ambrosine

by Noreen Harrison

  “This won’t work,” I interrupted, banging my hand on the table. “There has to be another way. What about the Pure Ones?”

  Phillip looked at me.

  “Alixia, Marcel hasn’t broken any beliefs, or crossed over into any of the sanctuaries The Pure Ones will not go after him unless he does. This is our fight.”

  “Don’t look so worried,” Marcus said, kissing my cheek for reassurance. “It’s the perfect plan. He wants both of us. We can lure him out using his fear of losing his realm to me.”

  “I don’t know about this, Marcus.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Do you all really think he wouldn’t be suspicious? Just like tonight, Mother. He changed you, so he senses where you are.” I looked toward the door. He’s probably outside right now, waiting.”

  She smiled as if she wasn’t concerned at all.

  “I know he is. I want him to see us.”

  “Mother!” I got into her head, scared for Marcus.

  “Alixia, I’m not trapping Marcus. You can get out of my head.” She looked around the table with consternation.

  “In fact, you all can.” She rolled her eyes. “We have to show him that I have befriended Marcus, for this to work. Especially now that he has heard I went to Marguerite, to ask to join Marcus’s Family. ”

  Marcus slapped the table in elation.

  “Damn, that is good! You went to Marguerite, to make sure it got back to Marcel. Cool.”

  “Yes,” she said, more relaxed. “I needed her to put this in motion. Marcel heard that you agreed to change me, and after losing both Charlotte and Correa because of you…”

  She paused, and her face registered desolation.

  “Well, that’s when his revenge started. He went after the ones whom I had changed.”

  She stopped and reached for my hand.

  “He is here.”

  Marcel and three other Dark Ones entered the room. We watched him make his way to our table, moving slowly through the couples on the dance floor. The other three fanned out across the room, watching us

  Marcel walked up with Gabriel behind him, who was keeping his distance.

  “Marcel.”

  “Phillip, don’t,” Marcus said, seeing him starting to get up. “Not here. The Outsiders.”

  Phillip looked at me.

  “Alixia?”

  “Marcus is right. We can’t.”

  Marcel’s presence was commanding.

  “Lucida, do you mind if I sit?”

  I could sense her anger.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She kept her eyes focused on me as he gazed around the table.

  “Oh, I don’t think anyone here will mind, since I’m probably the topic of conversation, right?”

  He pulled out a chair from the table, and took off his white linen suit coat before sitting down.

  “Alixia, nice to see you. Phillip. And of course, Marcus.” He hissed, slightly baring his teeth as wrath appeared in his eyes. “You’re the one I have been waiting to connect with for a long time.”

  Marcus bared his teeth too, and began rising from his chair. I touched his arm and shook my head. He looked back over at Marcel.

  “Well, we’re here now. Why don’t we just step outside? I’ve been waiting for that same opportunity.”

  “No, not tonight. It would be rude of me to take you away from your friends. Don’t you all agree?”

  “Enough,” Phillip leaned over the table, seething and ready to rip him apart. “Why are you here?”

  “Phillip,” he said, watching Mother. “Stop worrying. I just came in here for my beloved Lucida. She needs to return to the Family.” He reached out, aggressively taking her arm.

  “Stop, Marcel. I’m not returning to you.”

  She jerked her arm away and his jaw stiffened as he stood up. I could sense his anger.

  “My dear, let’s go. We don’t want to start a disturbance here.”

  “No!” she said, panicking. Some of the Outsiders were watching now. “You need to leave.”

  “Lucida, you will come with me, or…”

  “Marcel, you heard her,” I said, keeping my voice low but hard. The other Dark Ones began to move toward us. “And keep your Family at a distance. I mean it.”

  He grimaced, narrowing his eyes in annoyance at me, and waved them off.

  “Careful, Alixia,” he said. “I still can get to the ones you love.”

  That was the trigger! I could feel the heat of my rage running through my veins. I stood up and Marcus tried to stop me. I looked down at him, and pulled my arm from his grip.

  “Don’t worry, I still have control.”

  I walked around the table right up to Marcel, looking into his dark and eyes feeling the coldness within as he stood his ground with me. He had a pompous smirk on his face, feeling safe because he knew that none of us would reveal our true selves to the Outsiders.

  I smiled back at him.

  “I know what you’re thinking, Marcel. But believe me when I tell you this. Outsiders or not, I will take you down right here, just as I did your precious Charlotte. So, leave my mother alone. She will not be going back with you.”

  Phillip and Marcus waited for his reaction with clenched fists. Thankfully, he backed down.

  “You have pushed too far, Alixia,” he said.

  Then he turned and motioned to the others, and left.

  My bluff had worked.

  But what will the consequences be?

  Trust

  Leaving the restaurant, we were on the defensive. However, there was nothing waiting for us outside. It was quiet and eerie, but there was no scent of them anywhere. We moved through the streets of New Orleans, and back to Marguerite’s mansion. Stopping just outside her sanctuary in the swamp, Mother began arguing with me about protecting her.

  “Mother, you should stay here,” I said, not ready for her death yet. Phillip surprisingly jumped in, agreeing, but for his own vendetta.

  “Listen to her, Lucida. We need you to draw him out again.”

  “We will,” she said,” but I can’t I stay here. I still have thirst, as I’m sure Marcus has found out through William and Sarah.”

  I looked past her to Marcus, and he nodded.

  “I need to feed, Alixia, but not on animals, or bagged blood from some clinic. That’s what Marguerite wanted me to do if I joined Marcus’s Family. My desire is fresh human blood. Marguerite won’t accept that, so it’s best that I leave. ”

  I stared at her. It was unsettling to think that she was hunting innocent people just to satisfy her cravings, when she could use so many other ways.

  “Mother,” I said, pushing that image out of my head. “That’s not the concern now. I know Marcel is out there somewhere, just waiting for you.

  “I told you, I won’t stay here.”

  “Then, don’t stay at Marguerite’s mansion. But you can still be protected. We will take you to a safe place, a cave…”

  “No, Alixia,” Marcus said, stepping forward.

  “Marcus, why can’t she go there?”

  “What cave?” Phillip asked.

  “There’s one close by here,” I said, turning back to Marcus. “Why can’t we use it? She will be safe there. It’s in the Pure Ones’ sanctuary.”

  “Marguerite will not allow it, unless your mother is controlled.”

  “Let me handle Marguerite.”

  “I don’t know...”

  “Marcus, it will work. Marcel will never find her.”

  “Marcus?” Marguerite called out. We looked toward the water, seeing her shadowy figure coming through trees.

  “I will leave now,” Phillip said walking away.

  “Wait, Phillip, we still haven’t made a plan.”

  “I will meet you at the mansion tomorrow night. Now, let me go. I can’t deal with Marguerite right now.”

  I felt uneasy, knowing the guilt he felt for betraying Angel wasn’t over yet.

  “Yes, I understand
. Tomorrow night, then.”

  “Thank you,” he said, kissing my cheek.

  I walked back to Marcus and Mother. They were already conversing loudly with Marguerite.

  “I will leave!” Mother said, stepping away from them and moving into the darkness of the swamp.

  I went after her.

  “Stay here! Marguerite, why are you doing this? She can’t go out there. Marcel is waiting for her.”

  “She will not control her thirst, so she cannot stay here.” She turned away, heading back to the mansion.

  “I will watch over her myself. You are being unfair. She needs sanctuary!”

  “You think I’m unfair?”

  “What else would you call it?”

  “I call it protecting us from her!”

  “Let her stay in the cave until Marcel is destroyed.” She scowled, looking toward mother.

  “Alixia, we can only help if she changes.”

  “She is not going to do that, and you know it.”

  “So, why don’t you take her out now? She wants to return…”

  “No!”

  Mother came up behind me, placing her hand on my shoulder. Her grip tightened as she spoke harshly.

  “I will choose when I die, Marguerite. Not you.”

  “That was rude of me. I apologize,” she said, lowering her eyes. Mother didn’t respond, because she knew the apology was from fear.

  “If you are coming, Alixia, we need to leave now.”

  “We’re not leaving yet,” I said, knowing if we left the sanctuary there was no way I would be able to protect her from Marcel – especially when she had to feed.

  “Marcus, take my side in this please.”

  “You’re right. She needs our protection. She shouldn’t die at the hand of Marcel. Marguerite, I agree with Alixia. She needs to stay.”

  “She won’t be controlled, Marcus. We can’t trust her.”

  “That is right,” Mother said with a low hiss, turning to walk away.

  “Mother, do you want to live?” I yelled out, getting ticked off at both of them. She whipped her head around, her eyes cold and dark.

  “For now, yes.”

  “Well then, stop. You know you won’t be safe out there, especially after tonight.”

  “Something happened tonight?” Marguerite asked.

  “Yes,” I said.

  She walked over to an old cypress tree and took a knife from her pocket.

  “Marcel came to the restaurant.”

  She cut into the bark, pulling it from the tree. Then she held it between her hands as if it was going to ward off evil spirits.

  “Why was he there?”

  She crumbled the bark, letting it fall from her hands, and then stepped on it and spat on the ground.

  “For me,” Mother answered, walking over to her. Then she spat where Marguerite had spat. “I will have my revenge.”

  “Me, too,” Marguerite said, stepping back from her.

  Smiles lit up both of their faces, and then it hit me.

  There is a compromise here.

  I turned my attention to Marguerite first.

  “Marguerite, you agree that, change or not, we need my mother to finish what we have started? You have told us that, beside Correa’s head, you want Marcel’s too, for your daughter’s soul being taken.”

  ”Yes, I do want that,” she said. “Go on.”

  “Well, since he hasn’t broken any beliefs, we need mother to help lure him out. He wants her as badly as he wants Marcus. Like it or not, this is the only way. She needs to stay here, and we need to protect her until we are ready to trap him. Then you can use your magic, just as you did on Angel.”

  “No,” she shook her finger at me. “We needed Angel alive to end the curse. Marcel has to die quickly, and you will have to do it. You are the last of the Ambrosines. You must end him. I need him turned to ash, to send him back to hell where he belongs.”

  There it was. She had said it.

  “So, you need me. Can we negotiate again about mother staying?” I smiled at her. “We all want the same thing, right?”

  “Lucida,” she reached out for her, knowing she would have to trust our plan if she wanted revenge. “I will agree. Marcus, take her to the cave.”

  “Thank you, Marguerite.”

  “Lucida, you must control yourself. Promise me that you will not harm a Pure One. ”

  “I promise,” she bared her teeth. “I will only sate my thirst on Outsiders.”

  We accelerated through the trees to the cave, but I felt a bit disturbed. How could they not feel any empathy for the Outsiders? It was as if they were only good for recruiting, or as a food source.

  I’m glad my school friends are all gone from here.

  “Alixia,” Marcus took my hand, interrupting my thoughts as we landed and walked to the cave.

  “Mother, you first,” I said, following behind her. Marcus wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing my neck.

  “Okay, you two.”

  He let go of me quickly.

  “This way, Lucida. I mean, Madame Cavelier.”

  He took her arm a bit nervously, hoping he had closed his thoughts to her before she heard his erotic fantasy of my seduction.

  “Okay, Madame Cavelier. You have to jump.”

  “Down there?”

  “Yes, it’s safe.”

  “Fine. But before I do, be aware that I heard you, and I don’t think it’s appropriate that…”

  “Mother, jump!” I said, taking hold of her.

  We hit bottom.

  “Alixia, that wasn’t necessary. If you think…”

  Her eyes widened.

  “What is going on here? There’s nothing. It’s quiet. I can’t hear them.”

  I took her hand.

  ”Cool, huh?”

  She looked at me with a smile.

  “Well, I wouldn’t have used that word, but it is exhilarating to have peace in my head again.”

  “I know. I love coming here.”

  She looked over at Marcus.

  “Yes, I heard how much you love coming here.”

  “Mother, nothing has happened yet.”

  “Alixia, I don’t want to hear…”

  “That we are getting married?”

  Her eyes widened as I pulled out the gold chain that hung around my neck, with Marcus’s ring on it.

  “An infinity symbol. Oh, it’s beautiful, Dear.” She hugged me as she watched Marcus move around lightning candles.

  “So, when will this take place?”

  I kissed his cheek.

  “We are planning on getting married in Paris in a month.”

  “In a month?” She sat at the table. “Come, let’s talk.” I looked at her suspiciously, walking over to the table with Marcus.

  “Sit down.”

  “Mother, what is this?”

  “Nothing, so take the scowls off your faces.” She frowned. “It’s just that, well, I would like to be there.”

  “Why wouldn’t you?”

  “Marcel.”

  “What does he have to with you attending our wedding?”

  She looked into a candle flickering on the table.

  “He will follow me there, and that will not be a good thing for your guests.”

  Marcus moved closer to me.

  “We can remedy that,” he said. “We can make sure he is dead before our wedding..”

  Mother smiled.

  “Welcome to the family, Marcus. So, let’s end him. I have a wedding to plan! Alixia, put that ring on your finger, where it belongs.”

  This is weird. My mother and Marcus are allies now.

  I slipped the ring on my finger.

  James

  “Look at you rolling over on your tummy!” I said, taking James’s photograph. “And a smile, too. You are so sweet.”

  I kneeled to pick him up and his little eyes focused on me. They were like Millie’s, before she had changed to the dark side. He cooed at me and I gave him a k
iss on his forehead.

  “You will get to see your mother soon.” I sat in the rocking chair and he cuddled right into me as I softly sang a lullaby.

  “That’s a different tune,” Madame Aimeri said, coming into the nursery. I looked up with a smile.

  “Mother used to sing it to me when I was a little.”

  “It’s haunting.”

  “Yes, it is. Mother told me a story of an enchantress who sang it to lure innocents into the swamp, to claim their souls. I didn’t care too much for the story when I was little, but I have always loved the lullaby.”

  James’s little eyes were close. I gave him a soft kiss.

  “I was just thinking, Madame Aimeri, that something I thought was a fable was actually true.”

  She sat down in the other rocker by the window, pulling the curtain back, not phased at all.

  “Yes, some tales are true. Hmm. It looks like rain is coming. I don’t care too much for storms.”

  I just shook my head at how quickly she wanted to change the subject.

  “I don’t mind rain. It cools things down, and it’s been an awful hot summer this year.”

  I put James in his crib.

  “Madame Aimeri, I will be leaving early tonight. I promised Millie these Polaroid™ pictures of her baby. I got some cute ones tonight.”

  “Millie? Are you still thinking of letting James, go to her?”

  I looked down at James.

  “She is his mother.”

  “Alixia, I don’t think Marguerite or the High Council will ever let her get close to this child.”

  I looked at her incredulously.

  “Madame Aimeri, let’s go out on the veranda. We need to talk, and I don’t want to wake the baby. “

  “Yes of course.”

  Outside, I could smell the rain coming. She held her dark chocolate brown hair up with one hand, and fanned herself with the other.

  “It is stifling hot out here.”

  “I know. Now, tell me why you think that.”

  “Because of what she is now, and the child being a Pure One. She still wants to come after Family members for the death of her husband, and for the cursing of her child. The High Council was part of that.”

  I knew that Millie still held hatred for them, but this would make her even more venomous toward them.

  “You can’t keep her child from her. I can’t let that happen.”