Whispers at Witching Hour

Chapter 103

Musical inspiration: Let It All Go – Birdy & Rhodes

Zelda was standing outside the Academy, smoking and staring into the night as she was going through the past months, every moment she had spent with Marie, thinking she would be the only one to never betray her.

Finding out Lazarus had been defeated – a little bit of pride blooming in her hearing Lilith had helped – had lifted her spirits up momentarily, only to be crushed by Marie's revelation. A voodoo god. The almighty father of the Gede loa, the spirits of death and rebirth. You've outdone yourself, Zelda.

What was it about her that seemed to attract powerful dark entities to her like moths were lured in by light? First the Mother of Demons, now that. Ridiculous. Trusting people had always been hard for her, but with Marie it had been so easy. Too easy, if she thought about it, now that it all had blown up in her face.

She was so lost in her thoughts, she did not notice how fast her cigarette had burned up, so she quickly took some more drags and stomped it out on the ground. The cold air of this clear night had helped her clear her head and come back to the things that were important, or rather the people, Lilith. Marie was a deity of death and rebirth, so if she did not have any answers for them then who would?

Zelda combed her fingers through her hair, fixing it after a long day and got ready to teleport to the mortuary, assuming Marie would be there, collecting her things as she had spent quite a few evenings with them there and, of course, to say goodbye to the rest of the family.

Back at the mortuary, she followed the voices coming from the kitchen, finding Hilda, Sabrina and Ambrose there with Marie, but they all went silent when Zelda entered. Marie turned to see what everyone was looking at over her shoulder and found Zelda. She lowered her head respectfully, still feeling bad about hurting her this much, but she had known this time would come for a long time.

Zelda stared at her, her face hard, revealing nothing much but the cue for the rest of the family to leave them alone. Hilda gently pushed her family out of the room, passing Zelda who did not move an inch to make room for her family, her eyes fixed on Marie.

The voodoo priestess opened her arms in an apologetic way, hoping Zelda would remember all the good things she had done, how she had helped her through the most agonising experience of her life. And she was right, Zelda had remembered after a while, but was still very much caught up in her emotions.

"Zelda, chérie, if there is anything I can do to make you forgive me, anything..."

Her voice faded, eyes glazed with the need for the woman she had fallen for to not remember her in vain, and she closed the space between them without invading Zelda's personal space. Zelda's mouth opened and closed a few times, her eyes broke contact for the first time as they closed briefly.

"Marie, there is something only you can help me with..."

Zelda swallowed her hard feelings, Marie's familiar warmth enveloping her once again, making her weak. Marie sensed her heavy heart, making the urge to comfort the proud woman after another terrible tragedy had chosen to break her down return. But she knew very well this was a challenge for Lilith and her to take on, not herself.

"Bien sûr, ma petite, tell me how I can be of assistance."

Zelda gestured for them to sit down at the table, one chair between them as she was still too hurt to have Marie close, despite her comforting presence. She put her hands on the table, her gaze tied to them, cleaning her nails from non-existent dirt as she started talking.