Mouth open, eyes wide, Belinda’s lips were moving a hundred miles a minute, but blessedly, there was no sound.Even better, the harder she fought, the tighter the Magical web wrapped around her.It was the funniest thing I’d ever seen, and something I wanted to learn ASAP.
No sooner was the interruption contained than did my aunt’s arm return to its place around Edda Mae’s waist, and she gave control of her body back to Mr.Brumfield just in time for the widow to beam, “Edgar, my love, I miss you so much.I wish…”
Lying the index finger of his left hand on her lips, the millionaire shushed, “No, no, no, it is not your time.I miss you, too, with every bone in my body, but you must live.You need to stay here, take care of the kids, and watch our grandkids and great-grandkids grow up.You have so many happy years left, and I want to see you smile for all of them.”
Tears streamed down the widow’s face.I could tell she didn’t want to ask what needed to be asked.In that moment, she realized that being reunited with her husband was really all she ever wanted.Hell, I’m pretty sure Edda Mae was ready to chuck it all, jump across the Veil, and skip into the Land of the Dead without so much as a backward glance.It didn’t matter that she had years left to live, and her hubby wanted her to have all of them and then some.That lady knew what she wanted– and it was her Edgar.
Thankfully, Aunt Ginnie was still overseeing the whole operation.Once again in control, she purposely and with great authority directed, “Mr.Brumfield, Edda Mae has a question to ask you.”
Gasping and clasping her pearls, something I had never seen in person but was glad for the experience, the widow swallowed so hard that the muscles in her throat went up and down several times before she finally squeaked, “Oh, Edgar, you know I just hate talkin’ about this stuff.”
The millionaire’s hands gently touched either side of Edda Mae’s face as his loving smile grew brighter and he cooed, “Dear heart, I know.I know.”Lying a chaste kiss on her lips, he raised his head, looked her right in the eye, and said, “My will is in the safe behind the painting of momma and daddy’s old, three-room cabin– the one where I was raised.It’s hanging on the west wall in the room with the pool table.”
“I didn’t even know…”
“I know, my love,” Edgar reassured.“No one did.I had planned to tell you, and only you, about it on Saturday during brunch…”
“But Saturday never came for us,” Edda Mae quietly cried.
“I know, my love,” Edgar cooed, which didn’t really fit what I had been told about the tall, still muscular, despite his age, millionaire– then again, nothing I’d seen of him did.I guessed it was true that death changed a person.“But we will be together again one day,” he reassured.Another sweet kiss, and he added, “Now, my time is almost up.This nice lady is getting mighty tired.”
“Oh, Edgar, I don’t think I can…”
“Yes, you can.”His voice was soft but stern.“You are the strongest woman I have ever known.Hell, you were strong enough to stay married to me for fifty-three years.No other could’ve done it.You deserve so much for puttin’ up with me, but no matter what, it has always been you– and only you.I wouldn’t have had it any other way.You had my heart from the first moment I saw you.”
One last kiss, and he took a small step backward.Sliding his hand from her waist and down her arms to her hands, he held onto her fingers, then went on, “The combination to the safe is our special date.You will find the Will and all the important papers in there.Everything is just like we talked about.”With a wink, he added, “Now, you go and take care of yourself, my sweet Edda Mae.You know that’s all I ever wanted for you.”
Holding tight to her husband’s hands, Edda Mae’s silent sobs grew as she nodded.“I know.I know.Oh, Edgar, I love and miss you so much.”
“And I love and miss you.”Letting his fingers slide from his wife’s, the millionaire kept his hands outstretched as he took two steps backward.“I love you more than all the bluebells in all the fields in Texas.”
And with that, the Magical, holographic image of Edgar Brumfield disappeared, and once again, my beautiful, glowing aunt was the only one there.Hand back on the millionaire’s cement sarcophagus and with the Rainbow Moonstone clutched in her right hand over her heart, Aunt Ginnie reverently whispered, “Oh, mighty Queen, the Morrigan.Thank you for your continual Blessings.Thank you for the Wisdom, Strength, Will, and Faith you freely lend me and mine to navigate our everyday and to speak to those who’ve crossed the Veil.Thank you for the Gift of Sight and of Prophecy, and for the Courage to use these Gifts for the betterment of those who seek Peace.Please close the Veil and restore the barrier between Life and Death.Again, I thank you for the many Blessings you have bestowed on me and mine.Without you, I would never know what it is to be one with the Magic.I am now and forever your faithful servant.”
Looking up, Aunt Ginnie’s eyes met mine.With a wink, her honeyed Texas drawl—warm, smoky, and calm– got as far as “How you…?”when the scent of sulfur rushed into the Crypt and had us both gagging and choking.
Then it got hot.Not just warm like an August afternoon in my beloved desert, but hot as Hades with the flames of Hell licking at our heels.
Before I knew what was happening, my feet were carrying me forward at a high rate of speed.Less than five feet from completely steamrolling my aunt, Ginnie’s hands flew out between us.The Rainbow Moonstone, still clutched in her right hand, glowed so brightly there wasn’t a shadow to be seen, and her tone went from the kind that calmly bargained with more Recently Deceased than I could imagine to commanding, unyielding, and strong as steel.
“STOP!”She demanded, and all motion ceased.The flames weren’t gone, and the scent of sulfur was still trying to asphyxiate us, but nothing moved– not even the air around us.
The Rainbow Moonstone turned a bright, primary-color hue of red, and Aunt Ginnie commanded, “Ride the wave of red back to the Valley of the Underworld.”No sooner had the words filled the crypt than did the light from the Rainbow Moonstone turn a vivid, fresh green, and she invoked, “With the green, you will be unseen.”
Standing taller, her Magic haloing her entire being, Ginnie definitively demanded, “With the Power of the Morrigan’s Grace, I banish all evil from this space!”
Before I could keep going, Iona pulled out of the memory and stopped my storytelling as she yelped, “What the hell was that?Why didn’t you ever tell me that part before?”
Sitting down next to her, I turned to face her and grabbed her hands.Looking her right in the eye, I spoke the honest, unfiltered truth: “That is the part I needed you see, to understand.”
“Then let me see more.Now!”Iona was pissed and getting madder by the second
Hurrying on before she reached full explosion, I just kept talking, “No.I.Won’t.What is important is that what you just saw– that brief glimpse of the Highest Pit of Hell, aka the Valley of the Underworld– that’s where momma is, and I’m going to Arrhythmia to open the Hellmouth and get her outta there.”
2
“Hey, there!Nice of you tofinallyshow up.”
“Finally?”I grumbled, sliding my eyes toward the only other Warden in all of Arrhythmia– whose dirty boots were propped onmydesk.
