Of Sisterhood and Brotherhood
Blood pooled about the flagstones, flowing over the stair steps in gushing rivulets. Bella had shut the door, carefully and quietly behind her, pulling at the wooden bolt and locking the entrance shut. Gorman's body limped before his knees gave way to the immense weight that now encumbered them. The groundskeeper's back curved in a graceful arc before he ultimately tumbled backwards down the staircase.
The body hit the last step with a sickening snap, and Bella noticed his head titled lopsidedly upon his shoulder, a fearsome expression frozen on the man's wizened face.
Cautiously, as if the body could ressurect at any second, Bella stepped down the staircase, taking great care not to step in the blood."My my..." she inhaled a deep breath, her tone somber, " This is quite sad..."
Carmen was already at the bottom of the staircase, kneeling over the old man's fallen corpse. She examined him closely, careful as to not touch him. It was clear to her his fatal injuries by the way the blood rushed from beneath his figure as it lay haphazardly upon the stair.
"Bella..." she mused, exchaning a glance with her sister. In on swift motion of Bella's hand, the body flipped over." Just as I thought."
The worn, black tapered hilt of a athame was lodged into the man's spine. Obviously, it was sharp enough to cut through viscera and straight into his cold heart. Bella lifted her hand, and the knife jiggled, then loosed itself from it's prison. Carmen flattened her palms and Bella lowered the knife into her sister's hands.
"Well well...this is unfortunate. I know how fond the Danvers were of their..." she mulled over the right word for their beloved family friend, Gorman."...caretaker."
Reaching in her pocket, Carmen withdrew a small hankerchief. The blade wiped clean and glistened as if brand new. Carmen held it up the the hankerchief. The blade was carved of pure obsidian, " Ooooh..." she stared in awe, " I think I like this."
Bella rolled her eyes, her scarlet gaze suddenly rebellious, " What the hell are you doing?"
" What's it look like?" Carmen slid the knife into her belt," I'm going to have to take it for--"
"Blah blah blah..." Bella opened and closed her hand to mock Carmen's voice, " You just want to keep it for yourself!"
"And?" she raised an arched brow, " Is that a problem? I wasn't aware you were at some kind of authority here."
"Whatever. Let's just get what we came for."
Bella came at a halt at the bottom of the basement stairway. It was eerie, a scene straight from a thriller movie. Lit by candlescent light, dust covered the cobblestones in thick layers, intricate patterns of webs clung desperately to the wall but there were no spiders in sight. The candlelabras hinted an air of mystery in the dimly lit room.
Yet it was the pedestal that caught their attention. Ancient runes engraved into the stone, patterns and insignias etched into the surface and placed admist a ring of fiery mortar and ash; it was rather large and rather empty. Any novice dabbling too far into the occult after one too many games of Dungeons and Dragons might confuse this as a dark tribunal, where evil rituals take place. The sisters knew better.
"It's not here." Bella said impatiently.
Carmen's eyes lingered at the surrounding bookcases, tilting and broken, yet sturdy nonetheless." Call it."
Bella perked up, gnawing at her lips and rubbing the tips of her fingers together, igniting sparks like a match." I said call it, not burn the damn house down." Carmen chided.
Bella ignored this, feeling the heat of the friction between her fingertips til finally, it lit fire. Carmen sighed, defeated. There was no use in wasting words when they went in one ear and out the other. She casually swayed her hand, a stack of chairs which, until now, were lined against the one, flew true through the air, hovering opposite each other in a circle. As they lowered, she took seat in the once that held the most familiar scent.
"Mmm..." she inhaled, a state of rapture settling over her as she traced her fingers along the base of the chair, " This must be HIS chair."she licked her lips as if tasting something lush and delicious, " mmmm..." she giggled, recalling the night before.
"You are so twisted." Bella snickered, the play of candlelight in her eyes were both beautiful and frightening.
A pale hand lashed out, sparks falling about the remnants of ash and flaring up in orange flames. There was a swift movement on a near bookshelf. The shelf trembled as a thick, leather-bound dislodged itself from between a copy of Chronicles of Paganism and Ancestral Families of Ipswhich Colony.
The book drifted throught the air, it's pages fluttering open as it lowered itself onto the pedestal. It opened to the most recent chapter, titled, The Sons of Ipswhich. Bella blew out the flame she conjured up on her finger, then took a seat opposite her Sister. Reid's seat.
"The Book of Damnation." Carmen said in reverence.
" The Sons of Ipswhich, huh?" Bella said, leaning slightly towards the fire, to get a better look at the pages. Her eyes scanned quickly through the pages before she settled on a familiar name. " The demise of Chase Collins-Pope was seemingly met at the hands of the only son of William Danvers the Third, Caleb Danvers..." she trailed a delicate finger along the words, " the Danvers Family heir."
"Well, It seems the Danvers bore this generation's first born." Carmen seemed bemused,if not, amazed at this, " I was sure it would be the Garwins this time around."
Bella was concerned with diffrent matters. Chase was dead. Which meant he failed in his mission to obtain the Key. They were warned about serious setbacks by their family's Elder, yet it was clear that Chase didn't listen. Staring up at her sister, Bella wondered how Carmen could seem so non-chalant about this.
"Sister...Chase is dead!" she put great emphasis on that one word, " Which meant he failed in his mission to retrieve the book."
Carmen's eyes rivited to Bella's." Isabella..." her tone was polite enough, yet her eyes flickered with a glint of malice," It is not in me to weep over a failure. Let alone, one of our cousin's casualties. You know as well as I do that Chase detered from his mission in a effort to seek power for himself. Arrogance," she hissed the word, " It was led him to his death. Not Caleb."
Bella flinched at the mention of her true first name. She heard well enough what her sister said, yet she knew better what she meant. Despite their indiffrence toward their departed cousin, Revenge for the sake of the family name was pointless. That in allowing personal agendas and emotions threaten their mission, Chase, in turn, lost his life for it. A life cursed with immense power which could not even be used was a life not worth living, nor avenging.
"And anyway..." Carmen continued,in a morbid tone that reminded Bella of Marlon Brando in The Godfather, " Chase acted outside the family's wishes. If he had succeeded in obtaining power, he would have had to face the Elder. I dout great-grandfather would have allowed him to live. Not with such indignance and lethal ability."
Bella stared at her sister, apathetically." We both know he would've come after the family next. Then what?" the answer to Carmen's question was obvious enough. Yet, despite all their indifference, Chase was still their cousin. Feeling torn between Family and what she felt, Bella sat back and sighed, " It should'nt have to be this messy." she murmured, flipping the page of the book.
The next page was empty." The books writes a chapter for each generation." Carmen explained, " The sons were the 17th generation of Ipswhich families."
Suddenly, Bella gasped, pulling back from the book. Carmen, in one graceful movment, stood up, " What's the matter?" she said, hurrying over to her sister.
Bella shook her head, watching mesmerized as the book leaked black ink over the yellowed pages, " Look!" she pointed.
The sisters gazed as the flames died down, the black ink spilling over the pages, but not staining. Streamlets of black flowed from the divide between the empty pages, twisting and distorting to form intricate calligraphy at the top of the page.
Chapter 18
The Scions of Ipswhich
As the ink ebbed back into the crease. Painted in dark ink, Bella's hair fell like a dark curtain of scarlet hues over her blushed cheek, veiling all save for her fine nose and baleful eyes. The iris rimed in bright crimson, framing a sangiore shade. Even portrayed in ink, her eyes still emblazoned the flames of hellfire.
Etched in twilight shadow, Carmen's naked back was arched beneath waves of jet hair. The midnight glow of her gaze, as chilling as terror. Limned in the same bloodied shade of her sister's eyes was the symbol of Goody Pope, their ancestral mother. The briar rose. Jagged, red petals and stem that twined about her spine, it gave inkling to what destiny meant to steal from her.
Carmen winced, quivering as the room suddenly chilled, clipping at her uncovered face. Bella felt a sense of remorse for Carmen and herself. While Carmen had been ill-fated to be first born, It was Bella who would surely suffer at the loss.
"Carmen..." Bella placed a hand on her sister's shoulder, her voice sincere, " We'll stop it." was comfort enough.
Distant now, Carmen mulled over her mission, her reason for being. In turn, Bella closed the book,tucking it under her arm, but not before it self-wrote and introduction for the two, as the Daughters of Salem.
XXXXXX
Pogue watched as the town sped by, through the tinted window of Tyler's pearlescent, black hummer. With Reid at the wheel, they defied all speed limits, though with Tyler and the Blonde's combined power, they raced undetected by police and authority figure Reid more than disrepected.
Tyler watched through the front mirror as Sarah cuddled up on Caleb's lap, snuggling against his chest while an agitated Kate sat crosslegged in the middle seat. A look of scorned disaproval on her face. More than likely she was still pissed off at her reckless boyfriend for his green fairy adventure the night before. More than often she would cast a hateful glance in his direction before scoffing at his indiffrence.
Pogue, Tyler knew, could'nt care less what Kate thought. Lately, his brothers had sensed the deterioration og Pogue and Kate's so-called relationship. Since the 'Chase-incident' Kate had not been as accepting of their secret as Sarah had. Despite her extreme interest in the occult, she seemed more freaked out than anything else and began to distance herself. Although she swore on the Book of Damnation not to reveal their secret, Kate never looked at her boyfriend, nor his friends, in the same light again. They were strange...foreign. Not the boys she once hung out with.
Pogue treated her like a chore. Something he felt he was forced to do, or rather,to be with. Not neccessarily cared about. The biker still loved her, only that love had slowly changed. It borderlined platonic now. In her reluctance to accept the darker side to Pogue's identity, they had all but secretly rejected one another.
The memory of Pogue's supposed dream was proof that he was, sadly, drifting away from her.
Tension settled over the group and Tyler tensed. All but Sarah and Caleb seemed affected by it. The two were "lovied up in their own little world" as Reid put it.
The city disapeared before Pogue's eyes as Reid pressed down on the gas petal. Tree after Tree passed and Pogue knew they were in the forest bordering the Dells.
The Hummer came to an abrupt halt, almost knocking Sarah from Caleb's lap and into the back of Tyler's seat. Kate slammed into Pogue and he collided with the side door, almost forcing it open. If it wasn't for his seatbelt, Tyler would've had a faceplant through the windsheild.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have arrived at the designated area, " The rebel said in a voice that mimicked an airline stewardess, " Please look to either side of you for the nearest exit. Thank you for traveling Reid express and have a nice day."
Pogue reached over the seat and punched Reid in his shoulder. Laughing, he threw up his hands to sheild his handsome face, " Watch the face dude, watch the face!"
"Like we don't get enough of staring at your ugly mug on a daily basis." Tyler muttered under his breath.
Reid's ears perked up, " Your mom seems to like my face just fine. Even though her face is always between my legs."
Tyler's fist slammed into Reid's arm, " That's shit is not fuckin' funny asshole!" he yelled, suddenly serious.
Reid's eyes glowed black, " Bring it babyboy." he threw up his arms in a challenge." We can finish this shit right now."
Tyler bucked up and a hand flew between Reid and himself. The youth looked up, it was Caleb." Cool it." he warned.
"But Caleb--"
"Hey!" his voice rang throughout the car. Stern and authoritative, " I said cool it. If you two wanna fight, then fine, but not tonight. Do you understand?" he looked at both Reid and Tyler, " Do you understand?" he repeated, louder this time.
The boys nodded, pissed and reluctant."Good." Caleb said, " Now get out."
Tyler pushed open the door and stepped out, Reid's eyes on him like a predator watching a helpless prey. Slamming the door behind him, Tyler turned to see Caleb helping Sarah out the backseat. Pogue did the same, his hand entwined with Kate's as she slid into his arms.
Tyler felt a lick of jealousy. Often looked down upon as Reid's sidekick, the girls thought him too shy and hardly spoke a word to him. When they did, it was usually about school assignments and the lunch menu for the day. Would he ever find a girl-friend?
Melancholic now, Tyler circled around to the front of the Hummer where Reid stood, elbow akimbo on the hood of his car, glaring at Tyler as if daring him to protest.
Tyler shrugged it off as a group of freshmen girls walked by, giggling at the seductive glances cast by Reid. Even his partner in crime got more action than most guys. Feeling left out, Tyler did not wait for his brothers. As soon as the doors were closed, he used the car remote to lock the Hummer and stalked off in the direction of the girls.
Pogue glared at Reid that said, 'You know this is your fault.' Reid rolled his eyes and snorted, " Whatever." and stalked off after Tyler.
Caleb and Pogue met each other's gaze, " They'll never learn." Caleb said, and smiled. Pogue grinned before his eyes lowered to meet his dejected girlfriend, " You ok?" he asked. Kate nodded, staring at her blonde friend as she clung to her boyfriend's arm. Caleb and Sarah seemed so much in love. A love that Kate and Pogue had lost between them. Kate felt a little envious. Despite being cursed by spiders, Chase seemed to have given her more attention than her boyfriend had lately.
Lately, she wondered why they were together at all.
"Let's go." Kate muttered, taking her boyfriend by the hand and leading him out to the beach. Even though her feelings were shot, she was determined to make the best of this night. At least, until the cops showed up.
