The Vampire & Her Witch

Chapter 1052: Eleanor’s Gift

Jocelynn had to blink several times, using the rough woolen sleeve of her dress to scrub the tears from her eyes before she could make sense of the miraculous sight before her eyes.

Flickering golden light filled her cell, emanating from Eleanor’s radiant figure where her cousin stood just inside the door of her cell. But the Eleanor she saw before her wasn’t the Eleanor who had been thrown into the dungeon several days ago. Her face was fresh and youthful, lacking any of the wrinkles, dark circles under her eyes, or the sunken cheeks that had distorted her features ever since she used a miracle to save Jocelynn’s life.

The Eleanor in Jocelynn’s cell stood tall and confident, wearing her golden Confessor’s robes with the crimson hood of her order. But at her waist, where she would have normally worn a simple waist cincher or corset, she instead wore a crimson sash in the style of sailor, embroidered with the three sails and crossed harpoon and anchor of the Blackwell family crest.

Golden flames surrounded Eleanor’s entire body, like a holy aura of flame that banished the cold from the dungeon cell along with the darkness that had threatened to consume Jocelynn. That same flickering light, however, made it clear that the Eleanor who had entered Jocelynn’s cell wasn’t entirely present, either in this cell or in the world of the living as Jocelynn could see the stones of her cell through Eleanor’s translucent figure.

"E-elanor?" Jocelynn said in a soft voice that trembled with fear, as if any sound she made would banish the figure of the woman who had come to visit her. "Am, am I dreaming?" Jocelynn asked.

"No," Eleanor said gently as she crossed the room to kneel on the cold stone floor beside Jocelynn. "I wish you could wake from this nightmare, but this is no dream."

"Then, you, you’re..." Jocelynn stammered, unable to speak the words as tears flooded her eyes again.

"Soon," Eleanor said, reaching out to wipe away Jocelynn’s tears, her ephemeral hand bringing warmth and comfort that went beyond simple human touch. "I cannot last much longer, so I’ve made my choice. What little life I have left is my gift to you, to help you survive this horrible man."

"I’m sorry," Eleanor added, bowing her head low as she found it difficult to meet Jocelynn’s tear filled gaze. "I’ve already betrayed your trust once, and if I stayed, I’m sure I’d falter again. This way, even though it’s cowardly, at least I can do something to help you before my end. I can give you what strength I have left so you..."

"No!" Jocelynn protested. She tried to wrap her arms around Eleanor’s luminous, ephemeral figure but her arms passed though the apparition as though she was made of smoke, leaving behind only a faint feeling of warmth in her cold, cramped hands, as if she’d held them before the flames of the hearth.

"No, you can’t die!" Jocelynn wailed. "You have to stay with me! I don’t want your strength," she sobbed. "I want you. I need you. Without you, I’ll be all alone... I, I never would have made it this far without you and... and..."

Once again, words failed her as Jocelynn stared at the radiant figure of the woman who had come to mean almost as much to her as her own mother... and in some ways, more. Her heart felt like it had been torn from her chest, clutched by the cruelest hand imaginable and held out before her so she could watch its final, feeble beats.

"Please," Jocelynn pleaded as she struggled to stand. "I’ll call out for Percivus... He, he promised to summon a healer for you if I told him what he wanted... If I tell him, if the Church can send a healer, then you can..."

"It’s too late, Jocelynn," Eleanor said, holding up a hand before the grief stricken woman. "My life is the price for this miracle, and I’ve paid it gladly. Nothing can change that, so look at me," she said, placing a finger under the young woman’s chin and turning her head away from the door so she could look directly into Jocelynn’s limpid seafoam eyes one last time.

"I love you, cousin," Eleanor said as she gently stroked the other woman’s flat, limp hair that had lost much of its usual luster. "No matter what happens in the days to come, remember that I loved you enough to do this, and that you are worthy of being loved. I know that will be hard," she whispered. "But please try. Don’t let men like Percivus and Owain take away the love your heart is capable of."

"I, I’ll try," Jocelynn promised feebly, though it was hard to say that she meant the words. She’d already caused her sister’s death, and now her cousin’s. She was a curse who brought about nothing but disaster, so how could a woman like her ever be worthy of love?

But those weren’t words she could speak to Eleanor... not at a moment like this, and not ever again, so she promised that she would try. It was the most she could do.

"Good girl," Eleanor said, wrapping her ghostly arms around her young cousin and holding her close one last time. "Now, you’re free of the burden of protecting me, and having my weakness used against you. Use that, and all of the strength I have left to resist that man and escape this place."

"I know the path ahead is dark," she said softly. "But I’ll light the way for you, for as long as I can. I love you, cousin," she said as her voice grew faint, sounding like it was coming from somewhere impossibly far away. "So remember that, and don’t forget to love yourself...."

With her final words, Eleanor’s figure was finally consumed by the nimbus of golden flames, burning like a funeral pyre to light her way to the Heavenly Shores. But when Eleanor’s figure had faded away entirely, the flames didn’t recede. Instead, they burned brighter than ever before, flowing around Jocelynn to envelop her in an embrace as warm and tender as Eleanor’s.

Under the gentle warmth of the golden flames, the wounds on Jocelynn’s wrists, feet, and hands melted away as though they’d never been there. Her haggard and worn features softened again while the dark circles faded from her eyes. The sensation of hunger that constantly gnawed at her belly these past several days faded away like a message written on the sands, washed away by warm summer waves.

The cold of the room faded slowly, replaced by a warmth that flowed from within, suffusing her body with a quiet, gentle strength that it had never possessed even before this nightmare began. Moments later, the warmth had soothed the aches of her joints and the pains of her muscles, leaving her refreshed, renewed, and ready to face whatever struggles lay ahead.

Only then, when she had been not only healed from the ravages of the past several days, but fortified against the struggles to come, did the golden flames fade away, leaving Jocelynn all alone in the dark cell.

Tears still rolled down her youthful cheeks, and silent sobs shook her body. No miracle could soothe the ragged hurt where her heart had been savaged by the cruelest loss she’d faced yet... But come morning, when Percivus returned, Jocelynn would face him with a renewed strength and a conviction unlike any she’d possessed before.

She was a cursed woman, one who brought only tragedies to the people who loved her. But Eleanor had loved her despite that, and she’d given her life to give Jocelynn a chance to escape Percivus. She might not be strong enough to love herself the way her cousin wanted to her... but she’d be hanged as a heretic before she would throw away the chance that Eleanor had sacrificed her life for.

Somehow, she thought, clenching her fist in the darkness of her cell. Somehow, she’d find a way to escape all this... And then, if she was very, very lucky, she’d find a way to make Percivus pay for taking away one of the people she treasured most in this life.

Somehow, she’d make sure he suffered as much as she and Eleanor had... and then, she would claim his life, just like his cruelty had claimed Eleanor’s.