The Legacy (Ambrosine Book 2)

by Noreen Harrison

  He pointed back to the ritual ground.

  “Phillip,” he said. Could you come along to help me protect Millie, until we are safe in New Orleans?”

  Phillip looked over at me. He knew I wasn’t going to object.

  “Go,” I said.

  “No!” Millie cried out, worried. “He needs to stay here with Alixia.”

  “Millie, it’s okay,” I said, not wanting to frighten her with what we were all thinking. “Let Phillip go with you. You need to get back safely, for your baby.”

  She kissed my cheek.

  “Thank you.”

  “Just stay safe,” I said.

  She nodded, and left with Henry and Phillip.

  Burning of the Ash

  I accelerated through the jungle back to the ritual ground. I needed to know if he was alive or dead.

  The Priestess wasn’t there, but Marguerite was. She was standing at the altar. I called out to her and she turned to me, grief-stricken.

  “Alixia.”

  I hugged her. “I am so sorry Marguerite. I wish I could have made it to her faster.”

  “I know. Don’t blame yourself. She wanted to be the one who protected Marcus, and she did so by sacrificing her life. Ma petite fille chérie, vous me manquerez.”

  She wiped her eyes.

  “My daughter is free now.”

  There was a silence between us for a moment. Then, I had to ask.

  “Marguerite, do you know where Marcus is?”

  “Yes.”

  Please be alive.

  “He is with the Ancients.”

  “Is he… alive?”

  “Yes.”

  An ocean of relief washed over me.

  “Where can I find him?”

  ”You can’t.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “Because we’re still waiting to see if the ritual worked. So far, he is still alive, so your blood didn’t kill him. It will take a few days, though, before we know for sure if it worked. So, you will not see him until then.”

  “Where is he? I want to know!”

  She looked at me, troubled.

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “Why, is he dying?”

  She lowered her eyes.

  “We will have to wait and see.” I dug deep into her mind.

  “Alixia, you might as well get out of my head,” she said with empathy. “The Ancients are the ones that have him. So, I can’t give you the answers you need.”

  I stared at her, shaking my head.

  They can’t keep him from me.

  “I will find Marcus!” I started walking away. She placed her hand on my shoulder.

  “Alixia, it won’t do you any good. They’re gone. Didn’t you notice that the village is empty?”

  I turned around angrily.

  “Where are they?”

  “I don’t know. They will return after the Gathering. They are vulnerable during this time. Remember that both Marcel’s realm and the Ambrosines are free to enter our realm, now that it’s after midnight. It’s the start of the Blood Moon Gathering.“

  I stood there, feeling defeated. I felt tears running down my face as I pleaded with her.

  “Marguerite, there has to be a way I can find him.”

  “No, there isn’t, “she said compassionately. “This is the one time you will have to be patient.”

  “Why are you doing this to me?”

  “Alixia,” she put her hand on the altar, grimacing. “I’m not trying to hurt you. There is a reason.”

  “What?”

  “If it doesn’t work, we will have to destroy him, and we don’t want to have to fight you for his life.” My heart dropped in horror.

  “No! Why would you kill him? You’ve been protecting him.”

  “That’s what he wants, Alixia. If doesn’t work, he wants to be destroyed quickly, and without any interference from you. It was his request that you stay away.”

  “No, you’re lying!” I said, fearful of never seeing him again . “He would never keep me away from him!”

  “Alixia, I’m not lying. This is what Marcus wants, not me. You know how much I care for him.”

  Olitha came up behind me, holding a basket.

  ”Marguerite?”

  “Alixia, we will have to end this conversation now. There’s nothing else to say or do until after the Gathering.”

  “ So, I have no choice.”

  “Yes, you do. You can choose to wait patiently. The Priestess will be here for the Gathering, and maybe she can tell you more. Now, Olitha,” Marguerite said, turning to her. “Did you get all of their ashes?”

  I just stared at Marguerite.

  I’ll wait for the Priestess, but after the Gathering…

  Olitha brushed against me as she walked toward the altar.

  “Yes,” she answered Marguerite, with a quiver in her voice. She placed the basket on the altar. I walked up behind her, putting my arm around her.

  I sensed her overwhelming grief for her brothers. I told her how sorry I was, and she stared at me with tears welling in her eyes.

  “It was their destiny. There was nothing anyone could do. At least they will have peace now.” I hugged her.

  “Marguerite,” she said after a few seconds. “Are you ready?”

  “Yes, let’s begin.”

  I stood there looking at both of them, wondering if I would be that accepting, that courageous, if Marcus died.

  Marguerite picked up the chalice that Marcus had drunk from, and put it in the basket with the ashes.

  “What are you going to do?” I asked, watching her move the basket to the center of the altar.

  “We are burning the ashes, as we do with all Dark Ones, to make sure their souls can’t be brought back by Marcel.”

  I was stunned.

  “He can bring them back? Are you serious?” She nodded with a somber look.

  “Yes, he can. Their ashes have to be purified by fire to let their souls rest. Every realm sets fire to their dead, to make sure their souls stay with them.”

  Now the dead can come back to life! This is insane.

  “You’re telling me that, after we destroy them, they have to go through some kind of ritual to make sure they stay dead?”

  “Yes, everything ends with fire.”

  “So how does Marcel bring them back to life, if they are not purified by fire? ”

  “Hold on!” she said anxiously, staring out into the darkness. “I will answer your question, but I must finish this before Marcel tries to reach them.”

  Gazing around, I didn’t notice anything.

  ”Do you sense him, Marguerite?”

  “He’s calling them, and I’m not taking any chances after tonight’s disruption.”

  She took off the small leather pouch hanging around her neck. Opening it, she pulled out three black feathers, dropping them into the basket along with something wrapped in a small brown cloth. She lit a match, tossing that into the basket, too. Then she spoke in French, with a strange eeriness in her voice.

  “Les âmes retournent à la lumière!”

  I stepped back from the heat, watching the flames go higher and higher as they turned into an amber-red light that surrounded us. She closed her eyes and kept chanting the words until the flames smoldered into a white smoke. It spiraled around and around, drifting up into the night sky. Then she opened her eyes.

  “It is done.”

  Olitha kissed her cheek.

  “Merci, Marguerite.” They both reached out, touching the empty space where the basket had been, and Olitha wiped her tears. Marguerite said something to her in French, to which she smiled and nodded. Marguerite then turned to me.

  “It’s blood that he uses to bring them back. “

  “Blood? But they’re just ashes. That’s crazy.”

  ”Alixia,” Marguerite said angrily. “This doubting of yours is getting annoying. How does he do it, you ask? Their souls appear to him when they been destroyed. Then he quickly
seeks out their ashes before they are purified, and brings them back to life with his own blood.”

  This was way too ridiculous.

  I was trying to keep an open mind.

  “How is it done?”

  ”I have never witnessed it myself. But the elders of the Ancients tell a story of a High Priest who, after the Change, brought a Dark One’s ashes back to life using blood from a soldier who had occupied the island centuries ago. The solider was in love with a native girl, and they were caught in bed together, which was forbidden. The girl’s father was angry when he found out, so he went to the High Priest for help to punish the soldier.

  “That night, three villagers entered the soldier’s tent under cover of darkness, shooting a small arrow into his leg. He seized up quickly, falling to the ground from the paralyzing poison. They dragged his body through the jungle to the ritual ground. They bound him to a stake, leaving him to anticipate when his death would come. He didn’t have to wait long. The Priest walked out of the shadows, followed by other Priests and Priestesses carrying torches. They encircled him, sticking the torches in the ground to make a ring of fire. The young soldier’s body was still weakened by the paralyzing drug, but his mind was alert. He watched two of the villagers that had captured him bring his beloved out and throw her to the ground in front of him.

  “The Priest wanted her to witness the punishment that was being meted out for her going against their beliefs. He opened a small woven basket, turning it upside down, and dropped impure ashes at the soldier’s feet. Then, taking a knife, he cut into the ropes holding the soldier’s right hand. He brought the knife down into the hand, cutting a deep slash across the palm. The Priest stepped back behind the ring of fire as drums started beating. He knelt down, as did the others, and began chanting. They watched as blood dripped from the wounded hand into the ashes. A cloud of red smoke started to rise from the blood-soaked ashes, forming the shape of a woman’s body. It moved slowly around the soldier, encircling him like a snake. Then, suddenly, he felt the presence of absolute evil as she appeared in front of him.”

  “ Okay, wait a minute,” I said, interrupting her. “She ascended from her own ashes, and the only catalyst was a few drops of his blood?”

  “Yes, Alixia,” Marguerite said, irritated. “They thrive on blood during life so, even after death, if their ashes aren’t purified they can return. That’s how Marcel reawakens them.”

  Olitha touched my arm.

  “Like your mother, Alixia. You know she…”

  “Olitha!” Marguerite said quickly, stopping her and looking at me apologetically.

  “What did she mean about my mother?”

  “I’m sorry, Olitha said. “I thought she knew. ”

  “ Knew what? Tell me!”

  “Alixia,” Marguerite said. “You saw your mothers apparition, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, at Madame Cecilia’s.” I jumped into her thoughts.

  “My mother’s with him now!”

  “I’m sorry, Alixia.” Marguerite said in a remorseful voice. “Her ashes were never purified. Your grandmother Cecilia did not fulfill the ritual.”

  “No, this isn’t right! Why would she let my mother become a Dark One again?”

  My mind was spinning.

  “When you told Angel about seeing her, she knew right away that your grandmother Cecilia hadn’t followed the laws of our beliefs. When Angel confronted her, she confessed that she had just wanted to see your mother one more time. But it was too late for either of them to perform the ritual by then. She and Angel went to the gravesite, but your mother’s ashes were already gone. They were both very unsettled, wondering when she would return for her revenge.”

  I couldn’t move.

  The image of the woman that I’d been trying to see in my visions was clear now.

  I put my hands over my mouth, trying not to scream her name.

  Blood Moon

  It was time for the Blood Moon Gathering.

  I walked down the path toward the ritual grounds beside Madam Cecelia. We talked about the danger to the Family that now existed, as a result of her not burning my mother’s ashes.

  “Alixia, I have been punishing myself every day. Please forgive me. Try to understand that I just wanted to see her again.”

  “Then what?” I asked sarcastically, glaring at her. “You would have hugged her and then turned around and killed her again, in the same painful manner as the first time?”

  She stopped and took her hood down, staring at me. Her voice was full of remorse.

  “Alixia, I know I shouldn’t have gone against our beliefs, and I have been punished for it. But I need your forgiveness now.”

  “Why?” I scoffed, harshly. “You know what I have to do now. You let my mother back into our lives so that I have to kill her, and you want me to be understanding?”

  “Alixia,” Phillip came up behind us.

  “What!”

  “Hey, take it easy. What’s the matter? I just got back, so I can’t have done anything wrong yet.”

  “Phillip, I need to get away from here right now!”

  ”But the Gathering…”

  He stopped talking and looked at me, knowing I was ready to explode. He took my hand.

  “Come on. The Gathering hasn’t started yet.”

  We accelerated through the jungle to the west side of the island, landing on the beach. I took off my robe and kicked off my shoes.

  “Okay, what’s going on?” he asked, dropping his robe, too. I started venting to him about Madame Cecilia and Mother. He was surprised that Angel had kept that from him.

  “Angel saw her?”

  “Yes, through me, and I know now that the woman in my visions is my mother.”

  “Lucida. So, it’s her who is coming after us?”

  “Yes, and if I see her, I’m not sure I can kill her, Phillip.”

  “Alixia, don’t say that. Remember, it won’t be her.”

  I walked away from him up the beach, irritated.

  “I’m not stupid. I know that. But she is still my mother.”

  “No, that’s the whole point. She isn’t. She’s just one more part of Marcel now.”

  I knew he was right.

  “Alixia, you were just criticizing Madame Cecilia for exactly this. Your mother is more evil now, having been brought back again. You can’t protect her, as you can Marcus.”

  “I won’t”

  “Good. Now, speaking of Marcus. Did you find him?”

  I kicked at the water.

  “Yes,” I said with a sigh.

  “So, the ritual worked. He’s alive.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean? You’re not making sense.”

  An overwhelming feeling of dread at the prospect of never seeing Marcus again went through my mind.

  “I’m sorry. He’s still alive, for now.”

  He looked at me, puzzled.”

  “Where is he?”

  “The Ancients took him away.”

  “ Where?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Haven’t you seen him yet?” He sensed my torment.

  ”No, he doesn’t want me to see him,” I said, shaking my head. “At least, that’s what Marguerite tells me.”

  He put his arm around me.

  “Why would he say that?”

  “Because,” I said, moving into his embrace for solace, “if it doesn’t work, he wants the Ancients to destroy him. And he doesn’t want me to interfere, if it comes to that. So, they’re not telling me where he is.”

  He looked up at the night sky.

  “So, you can’t reach out to him either?”

  “No,” I said. “I’ve been trying, but all I see is darkness. Just like it is in my vision.”

  We both turned, sensing Angel. She walked out of the jungle onto the beach, calling our names. Phillip kissed my forehead.

  “Let’s go.”

  He picked up our robes and helped me
put mine on. Slipping my arms through the sleeves, I looked up at the moon. It was changing. The harvest gold color was turning into a fiery sunset red… the Blood Moon.

  “It’s time,” Angel said, excitedly.

  We took off quickly, weaving through the trees back to the ritual grounds. We stopped on a ridge before going in and I looked down to see Family members forming a five-point star pattern around the altar. Each realm was holding a point – North, South, East and West – with Marcel’s realm at the tip of the star.

  “Alixia.” Angel said intensely. “I know that you know about Lucida. Marguerite told me. So, just in case your Mother is part of the Gathering tonight, I’ll ask you to stay close to Phillip.”

  I looked down into the Gathering.

  ”You mean, she could be down there?”

  “Yes.”

  Phillip squeezed my hand.

  “She’ll be okay, Angel. I will watch over her.”

  Angel stepped to the edge of the ridge.

  “Fine.”

  She jumped and we followed her, landing on the path to the ritual grounds. Going into the arena, the sweet, heavy, flowery scent engulfed us again. The Families were all in different colored robes of red, black, blue and gold. The Dark Ones wore white. I tried to see if I could sense Mother, but nothing revealed itself yet.

  “Phillip,” I said, tensely. “Marcel isn’t here.”

  “He will be,” he said, looking around. “Come on.”

  We walked over and stood by Charles.

  “Alixia,” Charles said, kissing my cheek. And then he whispered in my ear.

  “Thank you for your help.”

  I smiled at him, sensing his sincerity.

  “Hey, we look after each other, right?”

  ”Yes, we do,” he said, squeezing my hand.

  We turned our attention to the altar, and watched as the Dominions walked into the center. Suddenly, there was a hissing sound from the Dark Ones. I looked over and there was Marcel. He looked straight at me, his eyes cold and dark. I watched as his lips curled into an evil smile, and he reached behind him. Someone stepped forward, taking his hand. She removed her hood.

  “Mother!” I cried, taking a step toward her. Phillip took hold of me quickly.

  “No, Alixia!”

  “Phillip, it’s her!” Charles held onto me, too.