Invoke

Chapter 18

When Aiden exited the front door, Scarlett stopped what she was doing for a moment in attempts to gather herself. Her body felt worn and foreign to her. Whatever did happen, certainly had her spent. She searched her mind, but everything seemed blurred. Images she could almost touch, immediately clouded over with secrecy. A sting of pain punched at her temples, causing her to bring her palms up to abate it.

Words of Regina resonated in her ears. "Your gift will help you remember."

What kind of life was this, Scarlett thought. She was tiring of it. Then again, maybe the old woman knew exactly what was going on within this home after all, and she was the tie to put matters to an end. If only she could focus better. She breathed out a heavy sigh, trying to break through the thick layer of fog that was impairing her abilities. It was a road that she couldn't get to.

"Awe... So you still can't remember?"

Scarlett spun around, only to see the entity that had struck her, standing feet away. She stood in the ballroom, looming, awaiting Scarlett. The shadows played over her, only allowing Scarlett to see the outline of her face. But the eyes... They were so cold and immoral looking that Scarlett wanted to look away from their murky depths.

"I am actually feeling sorry for you, Veronica," she began. "Stripped of everything you have known. No magic — no spells to conjure. How truly pathetic you are."

Scarlett's eyes searched around the confinements of the kitchen, then they quickly went to the hallway, but there was no sign of Aiden. She was not afraid, but she very much knew this entity meant harm. There was a darkness festering inside it. She felt it before, and the strength of its evil only grew.

Scarlett raised her brow. With anger rising, she decided to play the part.

"Pathetic, you say?" Scarlett smiled, laughing softly, low in her throat. "Don't you have a grave to go jump in?"

She inched closer, taking a few small steps, rounding the table, daring herself, forgetting her morals as a Medium.

But she was angry. Oh yes... There it was. Buried deep — concealed from her, waiting to be born again. It had been there all along. Like a sickness, it just grew and grew, taking over every pore, every drop of her blood. Scarlett clenched her jaw, overflowing with venom and loathe for this entity, entirely oblivious to the transformation that was brewing inside her, taking its shape.

"Remember," a voice called from within her.

"Josephine..." Her name screamed upon the air. Like nails on a chalkboard, it screeched and stung.

Her enemy...

A realization was made then, and within a moment's breath, two lives became one. Scarlett blinked, and suddenly felt the urge to fight. The deep drive to bring harm rippled through her. She itched to strike, to lash out and tear at her. But she didn't.

No... She simply stood statuesque within her kitchen, the dense air filling her lungs.

She closed her eyes, and then it came. Surging into her, filling her mind...

Flickers of images came, and warmth just cascaded over her, causing Scarlett to smile in awe. It was she and William. They were together, walking in the sun, embracing their life. Their daughter laughed and danced upon the lawn, her dark curly hair bouncing upon her back. William smiled at Veronica, touching her belly, feeling the new babe quicken within her.

He kissed her then, slowly and sensually upon their front lawn, under the very tree that William would soon hang himself upon. But then it was gone. Instantly, the image disappeared. She was now enveloped in the dark, with no sign of light or laughter. She was being buried. No, her mind reeled — I'm alive! But the sounds of earth hit the wood of her coffin and the sun faded forever from her view.