Chronicles of Espiria Season 3
Episode 10 – Faded Hope
Written by the Dude
Lucius entered Belinda's chamber in the Healing Sanctuary bearing good news. Belinda could sorely use it, Lucius thought to himself; resisting the curse she suffered under had taken a heavy toll on her. She had lost a disturbing amount of weight from choosing her meditation even over food. Her skin had grown pale and course from lack of sunlight, not daring to allow herself even a window by which she might try to escape through in a moment of weakness. She was constantly drenched in sweat as her will warred with Mehira's curse. Lucius feared that she was nearing death, and groaned with the agony of his inability to aid her.
"Lucius!" Belinda said weakly but happily when she noticed him. She tried to raise one arm to hug him, but she had not the physical strength left.
"Belinda, you look...better than yesterday."
"I do not feel so." Belinda's voice wavered near the end before she fell into a coughing fit. Lucius helped her drink some water before she continued. "But what brings you here? It cannot yet be the visiting hour."
"I have news." Lucius said as he took a seat next to Belinda. "Oscar has returned with Rosaline. She is back with Lady Oakenfell now."
"Celestials be praised!" Belinda exclaimed as she visibly relaxed. "At least her ordeal is past."
"Now we just need to restore you." Lucius said with hope.
"I pray it is possible." Belinda said with less hope. "The Celestials have been gracious enough to lend me their power to resist this curse, but I fear that my frail human will is slipping. Every day, the pull of Mehira grows stronger, and I fear the day is coming soon when even this chamber will no longer help me to resist."
"Do not speak so!" Lucius urged. "The researchers have not given up yet! We will find a way to restore you! I just wish there were more I could do!"
"Perhaps there is."
"Name it."
"Hold me." Belinda tried to lift her arm again, to no avail. "I feel stronger with you nearby. Hold me and pray with me as long as you can."
Lucius took hold of Belinda's hand and squeezed it gently. As they prayed together, Athalia and the Twins looked on, unseen by the two priests.
"She has nearly succumbed." Athalia observed. "We can delay no longer. If you do not have an alternative yet, I must take her now to preserve her soul."
Lailah's mind raced, searching for any idea that had not yet been discounted. Elijah observed the curse on Belinda's heart, manifested in the spiritual plane as a meat hook piercing her heart. The attached length of chain was pulled taught. Being incorporeal, the chain passed through Lucius' heart undetected.
Lucius' heart!
"Lailah, I have it!" Elijah exclaimed.
Lailah read her brother and learned his idea. "I think it can work, but it will be difficult for us and dangerous for her."
"But worth a try." Elijah concluded.
"What are you talking about?" Athalia demanded.
"The curse attempts to turn Belinda into a slave of Mehira by dragging her into the arms of the demon. Elijah suspects that we can use the nature of this curse to save Belinda."
"We cannot remove the curse; she will bear it the rest of her life. But we may be able to redirect the object of the curse from Mehira to Lucius, if we fuse this chain to his heart with your purifying fire. Unlike Mehira, Lucius will help her remain in the Light, thus rendering the curse harmless to her soul."
"The process will not be easy, and could kill her. But if she dies, it would be no different than if you took her now."
Athalia considered their proposal. "You may attempt it."
Elijah set to work immediately preparing the chain for his purposes. Neither he nor his sister had ever handled a fetter as saturated in dark power as this, but they had centuries of experience taking what was meant for evil and using it for good. Lailah, meanwhile, prepared Belinda for what was to come.
"You have done well, child. We have found a way to save you, but it will be dangerous and agonizing, and will expose Lucius to the same suffering. Do you wish this?"
"Your will be done."
Lailah turned to Lucius and gave the same message.
"What must I do?"
"Hold Belinda's hand, and do not move more than you must."
Lailah took Belinda's free hand while Elijah pressed the chain against Lucius' heart. On Elijah's signal, Athalia touched her blades to the chain, sending her purifying flames through the chain and into the two priests. Their screams could be heard all the way to the temple, prompting concerned murmurs from the initiates outside. Finally, Athalia relented when she could sense no further evil in the curse. Lucius and Belinda lay passed out in the chamber, Lucius on the floor, Belinda in her bed. The three Celestials were relieved to see that Elijah's idea worked; the curse had been purged of its evil, Belinda free of Mehira's influence.
"Her soul is safe now." Lailah said with a sigh of relief.
"I wonder if there will be side effects." Elijah mused.
"Mehira's evil is purged from their souls." Athalia concluded. "That is enough for me. I leave their recuperation in your hands."
Athalia, still incorporeal, left through the ceiling as a healer entered the room to check on Belinda.