Page 24 of Cursed Lifeline (Eternal Love)

Twenty Three

Esme

SONG: Puttin’ On The Ritz | Leo Reisman they’ll be staying with us for a fortnight.”

I shake the gentlemen's and ladies' hands and try to conceal my gaze as it lingers over their shoulders in search of anyone around my age at Aunt Camille’s party. Like my cousins, I’ve been so desperate to meet. Though I’m honored Aunt Camille threw this extravagant affair welcoming me to New Orleans, I had rather hoped the people she invited would be relatively closer to my age. Not older stuck-up socialites and their conceited diplomats who are content to parade their women around like strutting competitive peacocks just waiting to be unleashed in the next catty feminine duel for superiority.

I survey the room quickly, but come up empty. With a frown, a slightly irked sigh slips past my lips. My Aunt eyes me disapprovingly. Standing up straight, I mentally try to ready myself to meet the next person in this never-ending line of New Orleans patrons who have gathered for one of Madam Camille’s roaring parties.

Though I know if I have to stand here much longer, I will collapse from sheer boredom.

With my gaze cast down to my hands, I pick at a hangnail, buying a brief moment to myself as the next person steps up in line, eager to greet us.

“What a pleasant surprise,” my Aunt says. I roll my eyes and hope she doesn’t see. “How were your travels?”

“Long and uneventful,” an oddly familiar voice says. I can’t place where I know it from, but I’m sure I’ve heard it before. While I study my hands, the party-goer continues, “I’ll tell you one thing, though, it feels good to have our feet on dry land finally.”

“Esmerelda,” my aunt urges me to pay attention. I release a heavy sigh and stubbornly continue to pick at my fingers. “This is Alfred Crawley.”

The name nudges at a memory, and I look up promptly. My brow furrows as I try to hold tight to the haunting recollection. But it fades away before I can firmly grasp it.

“Your cousin,” my Aunt continues as the young man confidently steps forward.

Oddly, his hopeful gaze gives me the strangest sensation of coming home.

I’m not sure if I should hug the man or not, especially since this is our first meeting, but I feel like we’ve met before. Embracing him seems like the right thing to do, but instead, I offer him my hand. His smile is heartwarming, thankful, and joyful as he bows and places a soft kiss against my knuckles.

“Esme,” he breathes out in relief. “At last we meet.”

“And this is Caelum Huntington,” my Aunt continues.

I glance at the gentleman to my cousin’s left and his eyes fill with an odd emotion. It’s a deathly combination of relief and revenge, and it sends a prophetic chill over my skin as my cousin steps aside so Caelum can take my hand next. He holds my palm protectively as his eyes widen in disbelief.

“A blessing and a curse,” he mumbles, almost as if he once didn’t believe the words. His eyes hold a story that would take a lifetime to unravel, including the meaning behind such an odd greeting. When I don’t respond, he clears his throat and says, “I’m pleased more than you know to make your acquaintance, miss.”

Nearby, a faint warning growl causes my breath to catch. Caelum releases my hand after another awkward moment, and Alfred draws my attention back his way, “Please forgive my friend. It has been weeks since he’s had the pleasure of a woman’s company. I’m afraid he’s forgotten how to act.”

Caelum shoots my cousin an angry, lethal glare. Alfred chuckles and turns to my Aunt.

“Do you mind if we steal Miss Esmeralda away?” he asks. “Though I know your guest list is lavish as always, Aunt Camille, and there are many here tonight I’m sure you’re desperate for her to meet, but I sense Esme would rather spend the evening in a more cliché fashion for a woman of her age. Isn’t that right, petit?”

Words elude me as the nickname he just used falls from his lips and I’m suddenly sure I’m not wrong. We have met before. My mind wanders to another sparkling party long ago. Ballgowns and nobility spring to the forefront of my mind. And just like then, I get the odd sense I’m being watched from the shadows and turn my head, searching out the pull of a stranger as the memory of purple and white wisteria, roses, music, and breathtaking waltzes make my heart beat faster.

A headache threatens between my eyes, and I can’t think of a response. Lucky for me, I don’t have to because, to our surprise, my aunt starts to shoo us away.

“Enjoy yourself,” she smiles as Alfred and Caelum quickly usher me out of line and into the crowd. Just before I’m led out of earshot, I hear her whisper, “Bon courage pour votre trajet, mon cheri.”

Rendered speechless by the exact phrase my maid uttered when I last saw her, my intuition screams to pay better attention to the mysterious signs that are effortlessly being laid out before me.

As Alfred pulls me through the crowd, and Caelum stays close behind on my heels, the warning in my brain leaves momentarily as we pass a tower of overflowing champagne glasses. Three servers stand atop ladders pouring more bubbles into the already overflowing flutes. The room roars with a ragtime favorite by Scott Joplin. Its jaunty rhythm makes my heart take flight. The elegant, flapper dresses of the women and the well-tailored pinstripes of the men’s suits add an air of refinement to the speakeasy atmosphere. It’s thrilling and exhilarating. Being ushered quickly away makes the night hold an air of mystique and adds to the addictive madness and secrets held around every depraved corner.

Alfred swipes a bottle of champagne from behind the bar as we pass, and Caelum quickly grabs three glasses before we step out onto the back patio.

“Thank you,” I laugh as Alfred sets the bottle down on a nearby table, and Caelum immediately settles the three flutes alongside it. “I thought I’d never get away, and I’d be stuck standing in that line all night.”

Before I can take my next breath, Alfred pulls me into a desperate hug. I fall into his embrace timidly at first. But as he wraps his arms around me and holds me close as if he’s scared to let go, my body eventually falls lax. I smile as I’m engulfed in his comfort and pull him in tighter.

After a moment, he releases me. As I step back, I am quickly pulled into Caelum’s arms. He squeezes me in a brotherly fashion, but is quicker to let go than Alfred. When he does, I catch Caelum’s sheepish grin before he hangs his head and steps back towards the table. Making quick work at opening the bottle of champagne, I focus back on Alfred and nervously chuckle, “What was that for?”

“We’re just happy to see you,” Alfred says as Caelum crisply pops the cork, and it shoots into the air. He anticipates its overflow and fills a flute with ease before handing it to me with a grin. “If you can’t embrace family, then who can you?”

I contemplate his question with a raised brow and bring my drink to my lips just as a dark figure catches my attention across the patio. A man steps out of the shadows and into the dim moonlight. Another dull pain in between my eyes begins to grow, but I push the feeling away and take another sip of champagne.

“You’ve got a point,” I say as the bubbles tickle my nose. I keep a watchful eye on the man lingering a few steps away and ask, “How long will you be staying in New Orleans?”

“Not long,” Alfred insists, refusing the glass Caelum offers him, “and neither are you.”

Choking over my last sip, I say, “Excuse me?”

“We leave on the six o’clock train tomorrow morning,” Caelum smiles. “Alfred will fill you in on where we’re headed and why on the first leg of the trip.”

“Trip?” I exclaim, taking a step back.

“Don’t tell me Aunt Camille didn’t say anything to you?” Caelum asks in shock.

There’s a mischievous edge to his tone. So much so that it has me turning around and glancing back at my aunt through the throng of party-goers. She finishes saying something to a diplomat I shook the hand of earlier, but eventually, she senses my gaze and reassuringly smiles at me across the way.

“No,” I mumble, “She never mentioned it.”

“Figures,” Caelum huffs. I glance back as he plops down in a patio chair and throws his feet up on the iron table. “This party isn’t the only present planned for you.”

Alfred offers to refill my glass. I extend it to him as I contemplate what Caelum has said. The sparkly, golden liquid rises quickly to the crystal rim as Alfred scoffs, “He’s lying.” Caelum’s gaze snaps to his friends in annoyance. “You’ll soon learn never to trust a word that comes out of his mouth, petit.”

Earlier, when he called me by that nickname, it felt endearing. Now, it’s condescending, which seems to pull more at the memories I can’t for the life of me place.

“Well,” Caelum sneers, “it was half true. There will be a train waiting for us early tomorrow morning at the station. Only Aunt Camille knows nothing about it.”

“And you expect me to come along,” I stare at both of them dumbfounded and grow amazed when they continue to gaze back at me expectantly.

“No,” I stammer angrily. “I hardly know either of you.”

“We’re family,” Alfred says, “If you can’t...”

“An embrace is one thing,” I state firmly. “Running off to God knows where is another.” I turn and take in the ritzy celebration happening in my honor. “Especially when my aunt has gone to so much trouble and...”

“She throws these parties for herself, petit,” Alfred sighs, coming a step closer. “Trust me, she won’t even know you’re gone.”

“But.. why would I...”

“Have you been having dreams, Esme,” Alfred asks. I turn quickly in shock. He studies me, brow furrowed, and says, “Nightmares, maybe?”

A match sparks to life behind me. I turn quickly. My eyes lift and catch the stranger across the patio as he lights the end of a cigarette. When he does, his head cocks to the side, and for a brief moment, I catch a glimpse of a pair of violet eyes. My breath catches as I quickly turn back to Alfred and Caelum.

“What do you want?” I nervously blurt out, taking a step back in alarm.

“We’re not here to hurt you,” Alfred states calmly, catching onto my fear.

“Quite the opposite actually,” Caelum laughs. His chuckle is full of irony as my gaze turns and focuses on the stranger once again. “We’re here to help you.”

The stranger throws his match to the ground and takes a quick, large inhale of his smoke. I’m held in place by dread and panic, but focusing on his violet eyes in the shadows gives me the sense that my cousins are being honest. I can trust them. As the stranger earnestly holds my stare, grief, heartache, and pain flood me.

Alfred and Caelum take a step forward as I refuse to look away from the man with the violet eyes.

“You’ve been chosen, Esme,” Alfred says, “To bring down the evil that lurks in the shadows. The immoral beings that hunt in the darkness. The vile, corrupt visions you fight in your dreams. But ultimately, the choice is yours. Meet us tomorrow morning, six o’clock sharp, on the platform for the transatlantic, and we’ll explain everything.”

“And if I refuse,” I ask nervously, still holding the stranger's stare.

His violet eyes grow sad as he steps back into the shadows. Another figure appears at his side. The pain in my head grows stronger, and I pinch the bridge of my nose as I say, “Why should I trust either of you?”

“Because,” Alfred whispers harshly, “your life was decided for you long before you were born.”

The sharp, piercing ache in my head begins to lessen. I look back up just in time to see the stranger hastily stride off with his companion. His shoulders slump; defeat, anger, and agony fill his countenance as he briefly glances back my way.

“A blessing and a curse,” Alfred states bitterly, repeating Caelum’s words from earlier. This time, when they’re said, rage simmers deep in my veins.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” I bite back. “Doesn’t one cancel out the other?”

“Depends,” Alfred cheekily replies.

“On what?” I hiss.

“On you, Esme,” he warns. “On what choice you make in this life.”

“As opposed to...”

“Your last,” Caelum says confidently.

Alfred gives him a threatening glare, but Caelum shrugs and explains, “We were getting to that point eventually. It’s like ripping off a band-aid. Best to just get it over with quickly.”

Alfred releases an angry sigh and shakes his head.

“Past life?” I chuckle. “And you expect me to believe that and follow you to...”

“Long Island,” Caelum grins, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Long Island,” I echo, shaking my bewildered head. “What’s in Long Island?”

“The answers you seek,” Caelum says confidently. “Your wildest dreams. Your worst nightmare.”

Rolling his eyes, Alfred adds, “We also got a tip Long Island is close to someone who can give us an answer we’ve all been searching for. Who that someone is is yet to be discovered. That’s what we need to go there to find out.”

Glancing back at the party taking place behind us, I debate running back inside and forgetting that I ever met Alfred and Caelum.

“Are you sure you’re my cousins?” I whisper as I catch sight of my aunt laughing with her guests.

“In this life,” Caelum chuckles, stepping to my side. “Come with us tomorrow, and we’ll tell you stories that will make your head spin.”

“It’s already spinning,” I mock.

Rolling my eyes, my mind wars with conflicting thoughts. Mostly due to the tug-a-war of emotions the man with the violet eyes inflicted on my soul just before he angrily strode off.

“Evil always wins,” I bristle as the words fall from Alfred’s lips. He takes a step closer, glances down at me, and frowns. “That is if you don’t learn how to protect yourself against it. Let us teach you, Esme. Let us train you. And this time, I solemnly promise we won’t fail you.”

This time?

My mind struggles with the words, but somehow, my heart knows, understands, and wholeheartedly believes everything they’re saying.

Play with me...

The voice from my dream urges me to choose a decision I never thought I’d make.

One. More. Time.

As I stare into the hopeful eyes of my cousins, it becomes apparent that if I want to win over the nightmares that plague me daily and nightly, I won’t stand a chance if I stay here and continue to play it safe. Perhaps the only way I’ll be victorious is if I go with them. If I don’t, my soul warns I’ll inevitably lose due to choosing to stay behind because I’m too scared to take the risk.

Ultimately, I know, the biggest risk is not taking any risks at all.