Abominations (American Horror AU 3)

Chapter 22

Marie was getting impatient—the full moon was only a few days away by the time she found out about Fiona's death. She had already dismembered and disposed of Delphine's body from the cage, and she had dismissed Hank from her service. A truce, she thought, I ain't got nothing from it. She was happy to see her sworn enemy dead, even though the woman called a truce—what difference did it make now? Apparently their deal was not met. Papa Legba appeared suddenly in front of her, and she gasped.

"Tonight's the night you pay me my due," he said non-threateningly.

"But it ain't the full moon yet!" Marie answered frantically.

"Our deal was whenever I said, Miss Laveau," the spirit replied.

"Oh, please! Not now! It's been a hard day," the voodoo priestess pleaded. He shook his head, snorting what looked like cocaine from the tip of his finger.

"A hard day deserves a harder night," he replied.

"You drink my torment like wine," she said sadly.

Marie Laveau was never heard from or seen again.

Helen seemed to haunt the atrium of the academy for several minutes in deep thought as she watched an unwitting Julie create small, diamond-like ice crystals from her hands through the doorway of the parlor. Her soulful gray eyes seemed so fixed on creating them that it looked more like mass production of ice diamonds; memories seemed to come back to her relating to ice. She tried to kill her baby by immolating her in a large two-handle cooking pan only for the fire to go out and freeze like winter at its worst. Her freshly-showered scent mingled in with her strong perfume seemed to follow her as she took a few steps into the room, taking a seat.

"Diamonds?" she asked. Julie, distracted, looked over at her and nodded slowly.

"Yes."

"Let me see."

Julie noticed something about Helen's aura as she tried to approach her—she had last seen it to be only partially black with some other colors mingled in it, but now, she was covered head to toe in a gruesome black aura, yet something about it didn't make it that gruesome—after being raised from the dead, it was only natural that Helen would be feeling negative and out of sorts. She wasn't feeling weakened or sick from being around the spiteful, cruel woman; she was feeling sympathetic. Helen took some of the icy, cold diamonds in her hand and they melted straight away, much to her disappointment.

"Why are they staying solid in your hands?" Helen asked.

"Because I never make things melt. I was born like this," Julie said softly, almost a whisper as she took a seat on the same sofa but only a foot down from the pyrokinetic woman. "I…also have second sight."

"Here you go again. I remember that reading you gave me. Where the hell is my rude awakening? Was it when I died?" Helen asked.

"Part of it. The other half is yet to come, and is of great significance," Julie replied. "Speaking of which, when we resurrected you, you kept saying…names. Who were they?" Helen sighed, trying to remember the Other Side exactly as it was while there.

"Ancestors," she replied.

"So is that what's it like when you die?" Julie asked.

"From what I've seen, yes," Helen said, a civil tone in her voice. "You know, I was raised in South Carolina. My mamma made us go to church every Sunday. She also had a Swedish Bible. She was Lutheran." She sighed roughly. "I guess she woke the fuck up and realized there was no God. Just…whoever came before you. Geirdís threatened me when I was on the Other Side."