A Patchwork Curse: Say Hello, Wave Goodbye 

Part 6

I watched the ocean, knowing that this would end in a bloodbath.  

“This is for the greater good,” my uncle said to me.

“I know; I am not worried about myself,” I said, looking at the shaky man standing before me.  

He smiled, patting me on the shoulder. I was worried now, but not for myself. I was worried for Adelaide. She was a baby, completely innocent and utterly undeserving of what Josephine’s plans were for her.  

Henry was on the phone.

“Yes, dear, we can still try. It is in the fate of the gods, I suppose now. There is always adoption,” Henry looked mildly upset and then hung up the phone.

I suspected what he was discussing but had no time for frivolity. I looked at my counterpart Deb. “What do you have in mind for this?”

“I say we ambush her, so she doesn’t have time to form an army.”

Jack sat next to me, listening as he often does. “Rereading my thoughts?”

“You make them so obvious by your facial expressions,” he laughed.

“I have to figure out how we will do this and do it so none of my friends die,” I said, looking at him.

He put one of his eight arms around me. “I think that you and Deb should try a truce first,”

“That isn’t in the cards; it is too late,” I said, managing to hold my tongue and not tell him to fuck off. 

Jack was a peacekeeper naturally, so he still believed in the good of people like Josephine. She would never be good, so you had to treat her as such.

I looked at Henry and Darius, who were in deep discussion.

Darius was looking serious now, and that part of his brow that scrunched up whenever he looked concerned was doing its thing. I tried not to love him, but it was impossible. I still had an ache that yearned for him to be a part of my life. Right now, my life could be cut short. Still, I had to leave him alone. If I messed around and let him know I still loved him, it would cause great stress when shit went down.  

I walked over to where Darius and Henry were. “Do you two have any ideas?”

“Yes, if we let the creatures know our target, Josephine will not stand a chance,” Henry said.

“How do we put a target on Josephine?” I asked.

“You say she loves her dark magic and has threatened to bring up the Dark Anima. What if we let them smell her magic. The darker the magic, the more they will yearn to end it. As I said, they hate all magic and are immune to it. Do you have anything with her scent or style on it?”

I remembered the quilt. The quilt also had my magic and every other witch in our family. I feared them hurting all of us just for her. 

“It won’t work. The only thing I have with Josephine’s magic is our family Patchwork Quilt. There is a bit of every witch inside of it. It isn’t just Josephine.”

“I have a better idea,” Deb interrupted.

I looked at Deb as she approached me, putting her hands on my shoulders. “You were able to jump inside of me. Can you jump inside of her too? Maybe you can bring her to us, and then the rest is history.”

I thought about it long and hard. It was a good idea. I had this gift, and no one else in my family had it. Jumping inside of bodies was always my thing. I recall doing it so I could pass myself in history class. 

I told Uncle Arnold, and he seemed to agree that it was a good idea. He set up a circle of protection so that if I jumped inside her, I would remain protected if things went awry. The rest helped me keep calm as a mirror was set up before me so I could begin. 

Jack assisted me by holding the mirror upright. 

I closed my eyes and searched. I tried to pinpoint Josephine using remote viewing, and there were traces of her everywhere. Finally, my body began to jolt out of its skin. I felt her aura as her very essence of macabre black magic entered my nose with the smell of death, my bones with a quick chill, and finally, her flesh. Then as I tried to open my eyes to reveal myself as her, something happened.

I felt my body close in, and my breathing was short, cascading from my mouth in lifeless breaths. Then it hit me. Josephine was dying. No. I can’t let this happen.  

I continued to move my eyes, but there was only darkness. Her eyes would not open. Then I heard a deep voice.

“Once this is done, you will never need to worry again,”

I couldn’t speak but felt strange hands on my body. At least it felt like hands, but there were hundreds of them. Wait- was this Josephine’s newly founded coven? What had I gotten myself into?

“I see you, Josephine. Can you feel my power entering your body?”

I couldn’t speak, but I felt compelled to moan so I wouldn’t be found out.

“All at once, when you open your eyes, your flesh will fall from your body, and we will become one.” there was that deep masculine voice again.

I moaned once more, but this time more of a distress call. “Help me!”

 Then I felt my facelift from my body and my eyes, as Josephine, now forced open.

“We have a hitchhiker!”

There was an audible gasp as I could see what was before me. All around the room were what I could only describe as demons. The thing talking to me was in the form of a shadow man. He could move in and out like controlled smoke. The rest stood around me, peering into my face. There was one in particular that made my body tremble. It had no eyes, pale skin, gills coming out of its neck, and its mouth was open wide, displaying giant sharp-pointed teeth. There were two behind it, one with one eye on its forehead and the other with no eyes or mouth but a mouth in its left hand and a set of eyes from its right hand. I knew them all as a series of demons my aunt had worshiped for years. These were death demons, and painful death did each one cause. One would steal a soul for a price, another would rip out your heart, devouring it so that all of your enemies would die, another would rip your body in half so that you could become two of yourself to get things done, in essence creating doubles of you so that two of you could do their bidding. Each demon had a death suited for your soul and a reward. I knew Josephine was doing the first thing- giving up her soul. 

Why had she chosen this? What would it get her, and where in the hell was Adelaide? I hoped she was alive and had not become one of these creatures’ rewards.

“Who are you, soul? Reveal yourself!”

I felt my body now separating from Josephine’s. I could hear the masculine voice penetrate my ears with a booming solid sound that made my skin crawl. I wished now I had not decided to find Josephine using this method.

I felt this shadow-like being surrounding me with its voice. 

I could no longer blink my eyes. It was now solidifying into a human-like form as its gaze looked into my soul. It was cutting it apart like a meat cleaver. I tried to scream, but my voice was gone. 

Instantly, I was back inside the circle looking into the mirror, but now this thing was coming through the mirror. It was slowly moving into the circle of protection. I was utterly terrified, unsure of what this entity planned on doing to me and anyone else in this room. I slowly stood up. The being was now in a solid form with a black cloak. He had a symbol on the entity’s chest that I only recognized as one belonging to a coven of demons. I had seen it in a necromancer book as a child. I don’t know how to explain how I suddenly recalled what I had read about them. They were servants of the Dark Anima. That is why Josephine gave up her soul. I had interrupted her transformation. Part of me was glad, but the other was sure they would kill us all first before they continued.

I looked at this being as he stood entirely inside the circle. He moved out of the way so that the others could come through the mirror. As they moved through the mirror, they began to shift into a human-like form. All had gray skin and bald heads and wore cloaks with the red symbol on them. Their proper form was much more terrifying. 

I stood watching them, and when I looked around the room, I realized I was the only one there. Where were Jack, Deb, Arnold, and the rest?  

“So this is how you did your clever trick; how fetching,” he said, and the others nodded, smiling.

“What do you want?” I finally uttered.

“You interrupted an essential ceremony, so I think we reserve the right,” he said.

“I have no issue with you. I only want her.”

“What do you want with her?” he asked.

I thought he would know since he was raising her up to the Dark Anima.  

“She is my aunt and has taken my niece. I only want her back safe and sound.”

“For what price will you pay?”

I looked him in the eyes and found my courage suddenly.

“Anything,” I quickly wondered if that was the correct decision. 

The creature held up his hands, and then Adelaide suddenly appeared. I was shocked and relieved at the same time. 

“Is this the child you seek?”

I nodded, unable to take my eyes off Adelaide.

“She is useless to us. Someone has drained her of all her power.”

I knew then it was Josephine. The one thing I had hoped hadn’t happened had. 

“Can I have her?”

She was thrown into my arms with a powerful force. 

“Take her, but do not ask us of anything else. Your time will come to repay us. For now, live your life.”

“What are you going to do with Josephine?”

The creature looked at me strangely. 

“Who?”

“My aunt, I just told you she was the one that took this child. You were doing something to her when I found myself inside her body.”

“She is no longer Josephine.”

“Who is she?”

He grinned at me.  

“She is you; you are her,”

“What?”

“This is the price you paid for getting the child back. All is not lost. You still have your youth and beautiful face, but she is inside you now. Take heed; she is quite the dark one.”

“What the hell?”

“You said anything; well, we gave you that in which you sought after. When we need Josephine, we will come calling. The Dark Anima does not wish to be awoken yet. When he does, we will seek you out. So be prepared and adieu,”

All of the creatures walked back through the mirror. The room was back to normal now. Jack peeked around the mirror that he was still holding up.

“What happened?”

I had Adelaide in my arms. I looked down at her tiny head and dark, auburn hair. I knew then, and there I could not keep her. Not with Josephine living inside of me. I was afraid of what I might do to her. Fearful of what Josephine might make me do. 

“You got her back?” Deb was squealing.

“How?” Darius was asking.

When I handed Darius Adelaide, they all began to fret around me with their concerns. 

“Take her; there is something I need to tell you.”

“Anything,”  

I explained what had happened to the others. They were all disappointed but knew I had gone through a great deal to get Adelaide back. 

“She has no powers,” I said.

“She has some; they are undetected,” Arnold spoke up. His body was still moving, but it would not be long before he was gone.

“Josephine has ruined everything. She doesn’t deserve to live inside of me or at all!” I spoke angrily now. 

“You have more good inside you than all the darkness in the universe. She can’t be able to stand living inside of you before she ends her own life. She will eventually tire of it.” Darius said, looking at me with his heart instead of his eyes.

“I think I have an idea,” Henry said.

I looked at him as he adjusted his glasses. “I will adopt Adelaide. My wife and I have struggled to have our own children for years. We just got news recently that my wife cannot have children. We have spent years on invitro and looked at expensive adoptions. If you and Adelaide had us, we would be honored to raise her as our own.”

I looked at Henry and knew he and his wife would be good people. 

I smiled at him. “There is just something I must do first,” I said.

I took Adelaide outside and opened my car door. Inside, I found the Patchwork Quilt and wrapped her tiny body inside it. 

“Well, little girl, it looks like we found a place to keep you safe and sound. I am giving this to you as protection from anything that may come at you. You will forever be protected. Your incognito ways will be your power now. No one will ever be able to harm you.” I pricked my finger and drew a symbol on her tiny forehead.  

I also waved my hand over her, allowing her to forget about us. There would be no such things as witches. If she knew even half the truth, Josephine might find her again. Mainly if she develops her powers late, which I felt would happen. 

Henry, Darius, Deb, and Jack all came outside to see me. I would have to leave Eldritch Harbor for good. I saw Henry walk out holding up Arnold. I handed Henry Adelaide, exchanging my niece for Uncle Arnold, kissing her tiny head goodbye. I looked at them and got into my car, driving off.

“Well, shall we find a warlock to give you your body back?”

“No,”

“But the spell will only last for another few hours, and then you are gone forever,”

“Celeste, I am tired. One thing this has taught me is that when your time is up, go. Why hang around where you are not wanted.”

I wanted to slap him.

“Why would you not be wanted? I hate admitting it, but I actually enjoy your company. You are cunning and mischievous, but you have my back, and that is very few people in this world. I can’t let you die forever.”

“I think you may have a point. I am much too fabulous to die looking like this.”

“That was my point,”

“Have you ever been to Cleveland?”

“What’s in Cleveland?” I asked.

“Well, besides a football team I like, a very good warlock named Carlos. That man has gifts that go beyond the great creator. I’m sure he can patch me up,”

I smiled, glad to see he didn’t want to die. 

We did get uncle Arnold patched back up, but I knew the day would come my presence would be needed in Eldritch Harbor. Until that day, I wanted to live my life to the fullest and think of better times ahead.