A Match Made in Hell - Calbrina

Chapter 4

After all the reunions are done, everyone decides to call it a night, so I teleport back to the mortuary.

Once Auntie Zee, Ambrose and I all arrive at the house, we sit down at the dinner table and Aunt Zelda reveals to us that she had to shoot Aunt Hilda because she turned into a spider and killed Doctor Cee.

"Poor Doctor Cerberus." I say. "I wish I'd known about Aunt Hilda. I could've brought her to Circe without you having to...kill her."

Auntie Zee looks at me then, and answers "Yes, well, perhaps we should start talking again, Sabrina, being a family again. I've missed you." This tugs at my heart. We've all been so caught up in magical disasters that we've all hardly seen each other. "And if my hunch is correct, and they usually are, when Hilda rises from the Cain Pit, she'll be her old self again, not the spider monstrosity I shot in the bookstore."

"How long do you reckon before she awakens," Ambrose asks, though I was having a similar thought.

"Shan't be too much longer now." She responds, in that assertive manner that tells us all will be exactly as she says. "In fact, I'm going to go wait in the parlor. And tonight, we shall dine as a family. Well done, both of you." Getting up she adds. "And as soon as your Aunt Hilda comes back to us, we'll return to the Academy and prepare for the upcoming battle." With that, she grabs a bottle of alcohol and is gone.

I'm smiling as she walks out of the room, happy because despite the ongoing war with the pagans and an out of the blue proposal, my family and I are semi back to normal.

I decide to head to my room and take a nap, because it has been an intense thirty-six hours and I have to be ready to go again in a few more. Once I get to my room, I instantly get into bed, not even bothering to change my clothes, and my mind quickly drifts to sleep.

—

I jolt awake at the sound of a gunshot, rushing towards the hall. "Aunt Zelda," I call out. "Ambrose?"

The man in question jumps out. "Cousin, what was that? It sounded like–"

"Aunt Zee." The two of us bolt down the stairs to find her bleeding out on the floor.

"Oh, sweet Satan," Ambrose exclaims.

I cry out, "Aunt Zelda! Aunt Zelda! Can you hear me?" She's fading in and out as I tell Ambrose about her almost lack of pulse. He heads back upstairs to get help.

Tears are flowing down my face and I hold her shoulder and start to plead. "Aunt Zelda? Can you hear me? Stay with me, okay? I'm not done driving you crazy yet. Just... just hold on, okay? Just hold on. Help is coming."

The doors slam open and Ambrose comes back, along with Prudence and Mambo Marie.

"The bleeding won't stop, and her heartbeat's so faint." It's all happening so fast. An hour ago we were sitting together, and now I might lose her forever.

I'm struggling to keep it together, but Prudence leans down and tells me "It'll be alright. Mambo Marie said she can help."

And soon the other witch is crouching down too and asking, "Where in this house can we operate?"

We decide to take her to the basement and the four of us carry her down the stairs. Mambo Marie is able to fish out the bullet but Aunt Zelda is still unconscious. The witch then begins to explain the next step.

"There is life here, but she is lost between the land of the dead and the living. Her esprit has wandered deep into the 'in-between,' the Nether Realm of the Gede Lwa." After she clarifies that it's the same as limbo, she continues. "Now we wait. And we burn the violet candles. For that is the best way to lead Zelda back to us, here, in this life."