CHAPTER 23 - The Divinities.
Broadway woke up a little sore the next morning, but enormously content and still positioned on Royce. She watched him sleep for a few moments, his chest warm from where she had been. She felt odd somehow, and couldn't put her finger on it. It felt as though something was missing, or she was forgetting something. She sat up a little and scanned the room quickly. Her eyes fell on something in the middle of her floor and she felt her blood run cold. She looked quickly between Royce and floor and then brought her hand up to her face.
"GAH!"
At the sound of her cry, Royce's eyes flew open and he sat up abruptly, nearly knocking Broadway over the side of the bed. "What? What is it, what's wrong!?"
"Royce, I can..I can SEE you!!" She exclaimed, pointing at him.
"Huh? Of course you can see me--holy cow, where are your glasses?!"
Broadway pointed to the middle of her floor. "There, they're there! How can I see you without the glasses?"
"Last night must have given you more than I thought." Royce smirked. Broadway gave him a playful slap on the arm.
"This isn't that funny!" She tried to hold in a giggle. "I don't understand what's going on."
"Me neither Dolly. All I can think of is..is.." he paused and looked at her closely. "Gee, you sure are pretty in the morning."
Broadway blushed and tucked her hair behind he ear. "Royce, you're too sweet." The rest of her sentence was cut short by a bang on the attic door and the muffled voice of her sister.
"Broadway? Wake up, breakfast..and have you see Royce? He's not in the garage." Came Bianca's muffled voice from downstairs.
Broadway cast Royce an amused look. "Oh yeah, I've seen him.." She trailed off and giggled. She heard her sister mutter something before trudging away. "Come on, we better go downstairs."
"Do you want me to go first?" Royce asked, pulling his shirt on.
"Nah, we'll go together. I'm sick of hiding us away."
"Alright. Lets go."
~*~
"What do you mean you can see us without the glasses?!" Susan asked standing from the table, letting the chair she was sitting on fall to the floor.
"I mean, I woke up this morning and I could see Royce without the glasses." Broadway replied slowly. "I can see you right now and I can see Dana and Jean over there, and Dennis over there," she pointed to each of the ghosts as she spoke. "I can't figure it out!"
"How many fingers am I holding up?" Dana asked.
"Nine."
"Holy shit - she CAN!" Dana flickered across the room and waved her hand before Broadway's face. "Can you see this?"
"Knock it off" Broadway grabbed her wrist and tossed it away.
"She's one of the Divinities." Jean said delicately, folding the cover of the magazine she was reading. "She has awakened the power to see the dead." The room fell silent in puzzled amazement.
"I see dead people?!"
"You see dead people." Jean replied. "It's written in the Arcanum that certain individuals are granted specific divine power under particular circumstances. There is the Seer, the Protector, the Spellstress, and the Prophet. I suppose you could be any one of those, save for the Spellstress of course which is Kalina. The individuals granted with this power are called the Divinities and they all hold the power to see the dead. You are one of them."
"But how do we figure out which one she is?" Seth asked. Jean cast a look at Arthur who diasappeared to the basement. "Could any more of us be one?" He continued.
"It's possible. There are circumstances that arise to awaken a Divinity. I don't know them by heart, but I'll be able to tell you once I get the book." Arthur returned and placed the Arcanum on the table before his wife. She flipped through the pages while the others grouped around her in a tight circle. "Ah, here we go, Um Divinus, the divinities." Jean read quietly to herself as the group looked at each other worriedly. Broadway watched her expression carefully and chewed on her bottom lip. "Broadway, you are um divinus vindux."
"What? How do you know? And what the hell does that mean?"
Jean looked up. "It's really quite simple, and we should have known from the start by the way you always charged into the face of danger. The way you went to Royce's aid. You are the Protector."
"Makes sense." Seth muttered. "But what does it mean?"
"The Protector is the foundation of the Divinities, without it, they wouldn't have the strength to fight or be. They simply wouldn't exist. You are the epitome of support and leadership and are trusted by all. They have the ability to love more deeply than any of the other divinities, and have an iron devotion to the ones they love. The Protector is the symbol of Sacrifice, as they will do so for the ones they love." Jean trailed off and looked thoughtful.
Seth slapped his forehead with his hand. "But HOW did this happen to Broadway!?" Jean opened her mouth to speak and a faint blush spread to her cheeks.
"The Protector must have..bonded with a ghost." She said gently.
"Bonded..?"
"Yes, bonded.. intimately with the a ghost that she wishes to protect." There was a moment of stunned silence as all eyes fell on Broadway and Royce. Dana broke the silence with an almost shrill giggle.
"Ah-HA! I knew it! I knew you loved each other!!"
"You slept with..you did WHAT!?" Mallory's voice was almost as shrill as Dana's and she was blushing furiously. Bianca slapped her hand over her mouth and squealed.
"You're such a dog, Royce!"
The ghost threw his hands up in defense and smirked lightly. Broadway crossed her arms before her chest and rolled her eyes faintly.
"Right, so now that you all know - and you'll have time to gawk later - I think there are some more important matters at hand. Jean, how do you know all about the Arcanum? There's always this feeling that you're no telling us everything."
"It's very true, I do hide a lot from you children. But there are reasons for my actions. When I was alive, I was a teacher like my husband. I taught Latin at the university. The Arcanum is written in an ancient version of Latin, one of the earlier texts. It's very hard to decipher, and coupled with the fact that I've lost a good deal of my memories and knowledge, it's taken me longer to translate and understand the writing. I've been waiting until I know all I need to about the book and the Ocularis before bringing any of it up; to avoid confusion in case I have to go back and reference. Although, with this startling new development, I guess I'll have to work faster and get on with it." Jean rose and took the book in her arms.
"I'll start from the beginning. This book was written by an astrologer in the 16th century, his name was Basillious. He wrote this book while under demonic possession. The Arcanum is, in lamest terms, the instruction manual to building a machine that can see everything; Heaven and Hell, earth and the spiritual realms, the cursed and the hallowed. This machine is called the Ocularis Infurnam, or, The Eye of Hell. In order for it to work, it requires the energies of thirteen specific spirits. Cyrus built the machine to look like a house and attempted to lure my husband into becoming the thirteenth ghost, as it must be a wiling human sacrifice. However, before he could, Cyrus was killed and we were apparently set free. What we didn't know, was that Cyrus had actually become one with the house, and as long as he was in the denial stage, we were prisoners to the grounds."
"What's the denial period?" Bianca asked.
"When you die, you go through a stage where you refuse to accept the fact that you're dead. Before you can cross over or gain access into the spiritual realm, you have to come to terms with your death. This is called the denial period." Susan answered. Jean nodded.
"As I said, Cyrus is one with that house and will not stop until the Ocularis Infurnam is opened for him to see all. However, there is something here that I don't think he knows of. Basillious was lapsing in and out of consciousness when he was under possession, and he remained himself long enough to record this passage about the Divinities. They are the only things that can truly stop the Ocularis and destroy the Arcanum. Conversely, since Kalina is essentially on Cyrus' side and IS one of the Divinities, I honestly don' t know if we're going to be able to stop it. That's why I've been holding my tongue - even if we stop him from killing the twelve new victims and find the thirteenth, without all the Divinities, we only have a certain percentage of success."
"What's our percentage?" Seth asked monotonously.
"Approximately forty-two percent." The room fell silent once more and a black cloud hung heavy in the air. If that was their window of opportunity, no one seemed all that optimistic anymore.
Broadway woke up a little sore the next morning, but enormously content and still positioned on Royce. She watched him sleep for a few moments, his chest warm from where she had been. She felt odd somehow, and couldn't put her finger on it. It felt as though something was missing, or she was forgetting something. She sat up a little and scanned the room quickly. Her eyes fell on something in the middle of her floor and she felt her blood run cold. She looked quickly between Royce and floor and then brought her hand up to her face.
"GAH!"
At the sound of her cry, Royce's eyes flew open and he sat up abruptly, nearly knocking Broadway over the side of the bed. "What? What is it, what's wrong!?"
"Royce, I can..I can SEE you!!" She exclaimed, pointing at him.
"Huh? Of course you can see me--holy cow, where are your glasses?!"
Broadway pointed to the middle of her floor. "There, they're there! How can I see you without the glasses?"
"Last night must have given you more than I thought." Royce smirked. Broadway gave him a playful slap on the arm.
"This isn't that funny!" She tried to hold in a giggle. "I don't understand what's going on."
"Me neither Dolly. All I can think of is..is.." he paused and looked at her closely. "Gee, you sure are pretty in the morning."
Broadway blushed and tucked her hair behind he ear. "Royce, you're too sweet." The rest of her sentence was cut short by a bang on the attic door and the muffled voice of her sister.
"Broadway? Wake up, breakfast..and have you see Royce? He's not in the garage." Came Bianca's muffled voice from downstairs.
Broadway cast Royce an amused look. "Oh yeah, I've seen him.." She trailed off and giggled. She heard her sister mutter something before trudging away. "Come on, we better go downstairs."
"Do you want me to go first?" Royce asked, pulling his shirt on.
"Nah, we'll go together. I'm sick of hiding us away."
"Alright. Lets go."
~*~
"What do you mean you can see us without the glasses?!" Susan asked standing from the table, letting the chair she was sitting on fall to the floor.
"I mean, I woke up this morning and I could see Royce without the glasses." Broadway replied slowly. "I can see you right now and I can see Dana and Jean over there, and Dennis over there," she pointed to each of the ghosts as she spoke. "I can't figure it out!"
"How many fingers am I holding up?" Dana asked.
"Nine."
"Holy shit - she CAN!" Dana flickered across the room and waved her hand before Broadway's face. "Can you see this?"
"Knock it off" Broadway grabbed her wrist and tossed it away.
"She's one of the Divinities." Jean said delicately, folding the cover of the magazine she was reading. "She has awakened the power to see the dead." The room fell silent in puzzled amazement.
"I see dead people?!"
"You see dead people." Jean replied. "It's written in the Arcanum that certain individuals are granted specific divine power under particular circumstances. There is the Seer, the Protector, the Spellstress, and the Prophet. I suppose you could be any one of those, save for the Spellstress of course which is Kalina. The individuals granted with this power are called the Divinities and they all hold the power to see the dead. You are one of them."
"But how do we figure out which one she is?" Seth asked. Jean cast a look at Arthur who diasappeared to the basement. "Could any more of us be one?" He continued.
"It's possible. There are circumstances that arise to awaken a Divinity. I don't know them by heart, but I'll be able to tell you once I get the book." Arthur returned and placed the Arcanum on the table before his wife. She flipped through the pages while the others grouped around her in a tight circle. "Ah, here we go, Um Divinus, the divinities." Jean read quietly to herself as the group looked at each other worriedly. Broadway watched her expression carefully and chewed on her bottom lip. "Broadway, you are um divinus vindux."
"What? How do you know? And what the hell does that mean?"
Jean looked up. "It's really quite simple, and we should have known from the start by the way you always charged into the face of danger. The way you went to Royce's aid. You are the Protector."
"Makes sense." Seth muttered. "But what does it mean?"
"The Protector is the foundation of the Divinities, without it, they wouldn't have the strength to fight or be. They simply wouldn't exist. You are the epitome of support and leadership and are trusted by all. They have the ability to love more deeply than any of the other divinities, and have an iron devotion to the ones they love. The Protector is the symbol of Sacrifice, as they will do so for the ones they love." Jean trailed off and looked thoughtful.
Seth slapped his forehead with his hand. "But HOW did this happen to Broadway!?" Jean opened her mouth to speak and a faint blush spread to her cheeks.
"The Protector must have..bonded with a ghost." She said gently.
"Bonded..?"
"Yes, bonded.. intimately with the a ghost that she wishes to protect." There was a moment of stunned silence as all eyes fell on Broadway and Royce. Dana broke the silence with an almost shrill giggle.
"Ah-HA! I knew it! I knew you loved each other!!"
"You slept with..you did WHAT!?" Mallory's voice was almost as shrill as Dana's and she was blushing furiously. Bianca slapped her hand over her mouth and squealed.
"You're such a dog, Royce!"
The ghost threw his hands up in defense and smirked lightly. Broadway crossed her arms before her chest and rolled her eyes faintly.
"Right, so now that you all know - and you'll have time to gawk later - I think there are some more important matters at hand. Jean, how do you know all about the Arcanum? There's always this feeling that you're no telling us everything."
"It's very true, I do hide a lot from you children. But there are reasons for my actions. When I was alive, I was a teacher like my husband. I taught Latin at the university. The Arcanum is written in an ancient version of Latin, one of the earlier texts. It's very hard to decipher, and coupled with the fact that I've lost a good deal of my memories and knowledge, it's taken me longer to translate and understand the writing. I've been waiting until I know all I need to about the book and the Ocularis before bringing any of it up; to avoid confusion in case I have to go back and reference. Although, with this startling new development, I guess I'll have to work faster and get on with it." Jean rose and took the book in her arms.
"I'll start from the beginning. This book was written by an astrologer in the 16th century, his name was Basillious. He wrote this book while under demonic possession. The Arcanum is, in lamest terms, the instruction manual to building a machine that can see everything; Heaven and Hell, earth and the spiritual realms, the cursed and the hallowed. This machine is called the Ocularis Infurnam, or, The Eye of Hell. In order for it to work, it requires the energies of thirteen specific spirits. Cyrus built the machine to look like a house and attempted to lure my husband into becoming the thirteenth ghost, as it must be a wiling human sacrifice. However, before he could, Cyrus was killed and we were apparently set free. What we didn't know, was that Cyrus had actually become one with the house, and as long as he was in the denial stage, we were prisoners to the grounds."
"What's the denial period?" Bianca asked.
"When you die, you go through a stage where you refuse to accept the fact that you're dead. Before you can cross over or gain access into the spiritual realm, you have to come to terms with your death. This is called the denial period." Susan answered. Jean nodded.
"As I said, Cyrus is one with that house and will not stop until the Ocularis Infurnam is opened for him to see all. However, there is something here that I don't think he knows of. Basillious was lapsing in and out of consciousness when he was under possession, and he remained himself long enough to record this passage about the Divinities. They are the only things that can truly stop the Ocularis and destroy the Arcanum. Conversely, since Kalina is essentially on Cyrus' side and IS one of the Divinities, I honestly don' t know if we're going to be able to stop it. That's why I've been holding my tongue - even if we stop him from killing the twelve new victims and find the thirteenth, without all the Divinities, we only have a certain percentage of success."
"What's our percentage?" Seth asked monotonously.
"Approximately forty-two percent." The room fell silent once more and a black cloud hung heavy in the air. If that was their window of opportunity, no one seemed all that optimistic anymore.