2. Returned Memories

Josie

I chugged the rest of my drink before handing the glass to the attendant that came to collect it before the jet started its landing. I wasn't normally a nervous flyer, but this destination brought out my anxiety something fierce. I should be in London, enjoying the next two weeks with a very handsome vampire and an adorable witch couple, but just after I'd processed all the items we brought back from our dig, the Dean of Divinity had called to tell me that there was an occult museum in New Orleans that wanted an expert consultation from me on an artifact that had been unearthed in the renovation of one of the older buildings. Perhaps if I was a normal archeologist, and not an occult specialist, I wouldn't be so nervous. But, I am an archeological occult specialist who knows that New Orleans is the witch capital of the country. Granted, none of the witches I had ever met had been unkind to me, but after the incident I had with a werewolf a few months ago, I was extremely on edge when it came to all supernatural beings that I'd never met before.

What if the witches were only trying to get me to their capital so that they could threaten me as well? I hadn't written a book on them yet, but it was a planned part of my series. After the run-in I had with that werewolf, I was constantly on edge these days. It wouldn't be so bad if Christopher was here with me still. He was supposed to be here with me so that I didn't have to face this backlash alone. We both knew there would be plenty of it when I mapped out my series, but we had never planned for me having to deal with it alone. Yet, here I was, flying to New Orleans, alone.

I had been alone that night too. Leaving the bookstore through the back exit when he grabbed me by my throat and slammed me against the wall. I had to take deep breaths as I remembered the way his claws dug into my neck. Fucking werewolves. Maybe that encounter wouldn't have been so bad if I had not almost been killed by one almost 6 years ago. But still, that was the one that was fresh in my mind, or perhaps it was because the trauma of my near death experience had chosen to suppress itself. Regardless, I could still remember the way his breath smelled as he threatened me, demanding I pull my best selling book from the shelves because it was too exposing for his kind. He told me that I had no right to publish their secrets, and that my book would only make them a target for the new generation of hunters. He wasn't too happy when I told him that I had exposed them because they thought they could get away with treating us humans as if we were disposable. Then I threatened to neuter him with my sterling silver stilettos if he didn't let me go. He did, though, looking from my face to my heels before rubbing the palm of his hand where my silver chain had burned him when he grabbed me. I was surprised when he just turned around and took off without another word. But he had.

No matter how much I tried to brush that night off throughout this flight, it had just kept creeping into my mind, so I kept drinking just to keep it at bay. That was how I kept all of it at bay these days. But even still, I couldn't keep the anxiety away. Werewolves I could handle, but witches, well, all I really knew of them was that they were human at their core. I really hoped they didn't drag me down here to threaten me, or worse, to attempt to spell me to stop publishing. Luckily I had a few European witch friends who had made me a charm to keep me from being spelled, falling under a Vampire's compulsion, or falling for a fae's glamour.

When the jet finally landed I stepped out into the hot humidity and instantly felt nauseous. I'm sure the bottle of whiskey I'd downed on the flight didn't help either. Still, I had somewhere to be so I walked down the stairs and got into the car. It was early evening, so I would have time to swing by the museum before heading to my hotel. I didn't want to be in the city any longer than I needed to be, especially since I wasn't sure whether I could consider the witches of this city friends or foes. Though I had intended to spend the next two weeks in London, it wouldn't hurt for me to go home, get unpacked from my summer dig and maybe even get a few things done around the house before school started up again.

I hated being home these days though. The house felt so big and empty without Christopher in it. But, there were things around the house that needed done, so it wouldn't kill me to actually do them.

"Can we stop by the museum before we go to the hotel? I'd like to get this consultation over with as quickly as possible. I need to get home." I asked the driver who was continuously glancing at me through the rear view mirror.

"Museum is closed ma'am. Sorry, it's going to have to wait until morning. We have quite the night life here though. I highly recommend you check it out, especially since you're in to all that supernatural stuff." The gentleman smiled kindly at me.

I rolled my eyes before casting them back out the window as we drove through the city. It was quite a beautiful city. In all my travels I had never come here before, even as my divinity professors insisted that I needed to. There was always this voice in the back of my mind telling me to stay away from this particular city, perhaps it was because it was known to be the power epicenter of the United States Covens throughout the occult community. Even now the voice was telling me that I shouldn't be here, yet here I was.

We pulled through a gate into the driveway of what looked to be a grand estate home. The sign in the driveway showed that we were at the Laurent Chateau, which was not at all what I was expecting. I had made it very clear to the Dean that the museum would need to put me up in a five star hotel, hell, I would have paid for it if I needed to. I certainly didn't want to stay at some bed and breakfast, no matter how grand or charming it may be.

"I'm sorry sir, I believe there's been a mistake. The museum was given instructions to book me at the Ritz-Carlton for my stay. I hate to admit it, but I'm slightly high-maintenance, so this little bed and breakfast isn't going to cut it." I told my driver as I stared out the window at the large plantation style home.

The thought of slaves once being the caretakers of the home sent a blistering rage coursing through me, only fueled further by the bottle of whiskey I had consumed on the jet. No, I couldn't stay here, I would only infuriate the owners by asking too many questions about the home's history I'm sure.

"I was told to drop you here at the Laurent Chateau ma'am. No worries though, I'm sure they'll treat you like a Queen. This is the nicest and most reputable inn in the city. Rumor has it that sometimes celebrities stay here instead of at those fancy hotels to hide away from the paparazzi. You'll be well taken of." He chuckled as he put the SUV in park and unbuckled his seat belt.

God, I wish Chris was here. My mind flashed back to that night when he unbuckled his seatbelt as he leaned over to kiss me. I could still feel his goatee tickling my chin. The rain was beating off of the windshield as the wipers furiously tried to keep up with it. He told me to stay in the car, that he would be right back before climbing out of the car and disappearing into the blurred lines of rain and flashing lights infront me.

"Ma'am?" The driver spoke, pulling me from my memories as he held the door open for me to climb out of the vehicle.

He grabbed my luggage and I followed him onto the large porch and into the foyer of the extravagant home. It was decently sized, though my own home was slightly larger. The inside was modern with white walls, and a small booth stood at the foot of a large curved wooden staircase with a white railing. He rang the bell and a dark skinned woman who was only slightly taller than me in my stilettos came walking down the hallway with a smile.

She was a timeless beauty, with her long dark straightened locks flowing behind her. She wore a simple white blouse with black dress pants and closed toed black heels that boasted a silver buckle.

"Josette Vonore, we've been expecting you." She told me with a smile as she pulled a key from a drawer and handed it to me.

"Is there a bar? The Ritz-Carlton has a bar." I asked her impatiently.

I knew it wasn't her fault that I'd ended up in this little bed and breakfast, but still, I wasn't going to pretend to be happy or ok with it either. I saw her glance over to the man who had driven me here before turning her perfectly plastered smile back to me.

"Ofcourse, right this way. We'll get your luggage taken up to your room and it will be waiting for you there." She told me as she ushered me down the hallway towards the back of the house.

We stepped into a room with grey walls that had a small bar sitting on the far side of the room. There were 4 large black lounge chairs in the middle of the room, and 2 dark grey ones that sat infront of the fire place. On the windowed wall there was a glass chess board that sat on an iron table with two iron chairs to match. There was a woman, not much older than myself with pale skin and short dark red hair standing behind the bar in a red tank top and short black shorts.

"This is Wren, the bartender. She'll be able to make you whatever you'd like to drink. Dinner will be served in an hour and half, and you are more than welcome to help yourself to anything you'd like in the kitchen in the meantime. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go get you checked inproperly, but I will see you at dinner." The woman whose name I wasn't even sure sure had been told to me said before walking out of the room and down the hallway.

I had started to feel light-headed so I took a seat in one of the large black chairs. I knew I needed to start drinking again or I was going to start feeling hungover, which I always tried to avoid these days.

"Are you alright?" The girl asked me with a face laced with concern.

"I'm fine, I just really need a drink. A long Island please." I told her as I leaned my head back and closed my eyes to keep the room from starting it's dance of twirls.

"Miss, your drink." The red head spoke softly as she tapped my shoulder.

I opened my eyes to see her kind, hazel eyes smiling down at me. She looked over towards my drink so I immediately reached for it and pulled it to my lips. I took several large gulps, barely even tasting it until the fire in my belly demanded that I slow down. Only then did I savor the taste of the perfectly made Long Island Ice Tea that she had made for me. I was surprised at it's sweetness, but enjoyed it all the same. It didn't take me long to down the drink, as I had become accustomed to drinking quite a bit each day to keep all of my most painful and intrusive thoughts at bay. I usually drank wine, mostly, but because today had been extra stressful, I was drinking hard liquor.

It didn't take long before all of the liquor I'd consumed caught up to me though, and before I knew it I falling into a deep sleep. I could feel my glass slipping from my hand as I did my best to fight off the rapid sleepiness that had taken hold of my body, but someone took it out of my hands before it could hit the floor. I lingered on the edge of sleep for a moment, unwilling to let go of the little control I had, but sleep ultimately won out as I tumbled into a dream so incredibly vivid that I knew it had to real.

I was thrust through memory after memory, causing my heart and mind to become a rollercoaster of emotions. I remembered all of the good, all of the bad, all of the terrible and awful. I remembered the people, the landscape, the smells and tastes of this beautiful city. I remembered the way the power felt surging through my veins, the intensity of my connection to the elements, the surreal connection I had to the spirits of this city, my city. I remembered exactly who I was, and I remembered her, my favorite cousin, Ellie. She had suffered the same fate as I had.

I remembered the pain of having my power stripped from me, I remembered the anger of having my my family and my people turn on me for trying to protect my mother. I remembered the betrayal I felt as she channeled the grand council along with the ancestral council to bind my connection to the elements so that I would not be able to use magic of any kind. I remembered how my heart ached as I watched on, completely helpless to stop them, as my aunt, my sister-in-law, their mother that I had considered a grandmother, and two of my cousins cast a spell that slowly stripped away every memory that I had of them, of this city I called home, of the witches I called my people, of the magic that ran through my veins, and the spells that were ingrained into my memory.

As if the pain, betrayal and heartache wasn't enough of a rollercoaster, I was then thrust backwards in time into a past life that I had lived. It was the the 1950's, and I was dancing with Frankie, the American Vampire Prince. I watched on as snippets my life played out infront of me. I was at war with the same Vampires that I had once considered friends, because their subordinates had broken my laws and created newborn Vampires that were draining humans and leaving them dead in the streets. Those same subordinates had bought witch slaves from the European Witch Council, and were using their power for their own personal gain. That was how I had met Clara, the Scottish witch that I had considered a grandmother in the present lifetime. I rescued her from her Vampire slave master when I had began slaughtering them by the den. She was an incredibly powerful witch, who was being held as a slave by a set of magical bracelets that she and her vampire master wore. My magic broke the connection between them, rendering them useless and breaking his power over her. We became best friends, and she and I waged war on the Vampires, slaughtering them by the dozens in their dens and feeder bars while simultaneously rescuing the other European witches that were being held as slaves. The war finally ended when the Vampire Princess, Magdalena, came to me to surrender. Her father, King Gerald, and her brother Prince Frankie agreed to sign a surrender pact that would not only reinstall our alliance, but also create a blood pact to abide by the laws I set forth for them to follow.

I assumed that Clara and I lived the rest of our days in peace, though I died rebirthing my mother's soul into this world, leaving Clara to raise the three children I had left behind, since I never bothered dealing with men for too long. Little did I know that our families would forever be intertwined when her oldest daughter married my oldest child and only son. Her younger daughter that she conceived a decade after my death would go on to marry my present lifetime older brother, that my mother had given birth to at the age of 16. I remembered the cycles of life now, the ways in which the magic of my bloodline worked to continuously rebirth me into the world. I remembered the power of my magic, and how differently and more potent it was than any other witch I had ever met.

When that lifetime ended, I was thrust even further back into time, this time to the mid 1860s. My sisters had gone missing and I tracked their bodies far out of the city to a rather large grated sewer opening in an incredibly rural area. It wasn't just their bodies I found though, there were 2 others, Vampires. They had all been sacrificed, because though the opening I was standing infront of would have appeared to be a sewer to human eyes, I knew better. This was one of the gates to hell, and my siblings had been sacrificed to open it. The Vampire royal family showed up shortly after that, it was the first time I met them, and this was the beginning of our alliance that had spanned throughout the centuries. I promised to get revenge on those that had taken our loved ones from us, and when they questioned my power, I enchanted a piece of each of their jewelry so that they could walk in the sunlight.

I watched snippets that showed me this lifetime fighting against the demons, creating magical blades that would kill a normal demon soldier. I didn't need a blade though. My magic was so incredibly powerful that I was able to perform soul magic, and since demons were nothing but damned and tormented souls, I used my soul magic to exorcise them by the dozens from the humans they possessed, before vanquishing them. I was impressed by my magic as I watched my past self rip demons out of their human vessels and contain them in a cloud like formation in the sky. I was completely in awe as I watched myself call out a chant that made lightening roll through that black cloud, before black ashes began floating to the ground like black snow.

The Vampires would then help me get the unconscious humans to a hospital where my mother and the other witches would care for them and heal their bodies. Only, not every human survived the possessions. If a demon took control for too long, or depending on the demon's power level, the human vessel wouldn't always pull through. The human doctors at the hospital called the illness "yellow fever" but us supernaturals knew the truth and did everything in our power to help the humans recover and survive after their possessions.

I saw that it took me a few years, but I finally found the coven responsible for opening that gate, and found they were controlling the demons as well. They were a European Coven and had been sent over by the European Witch Council to wipe finish what the TransAtlantic Slave trade and the colonizing of Africa had started, the complete annihilation of the 7 African Powers Tribes. Apparently I had managed to thwart their plans by turning New Orleans into a sanctuary city. This past life version of me seemed to know exactly what the witches were talking about, but the present version of me was completely baffled.

As I watched the snippet of this scene unfold infront of me, I learned that the European Witch Council had wanted the vampires wiped from the earth because they had fulfilled their purpose of creation. I learned that the Vampire Royal family were once witches themselves, but had been weaponized into Vampires by the European Witch Council so that they would have the ability to over power the leaders of the 7 African Powers Tribes. I watched myself become angry at the revelation and storm off.

Another snippet showed me sacrificing the coven to the gates to close it, then a reel of scenes showed me exorcising and vanquishing the rest of the demons that were left. It showed me coming across a few incredibly powerful demons I hadn't seen before, two with red eyes, one with orange, and one with bright blue fire dancing eyes. I didn't even attempt to fight them off, I just dropped to my knees, cut my hand open, drew 5 symbols on the ground in my own blood and began chanting. "Terre, Air, Eau, Esprit, Feu. Je t'invoque, mon sang, enfants de la lune, les cavaliers" I watched myself chant before the ground started shaking. The wind started blowing and rain started to fall from a cloudless sky. A ring of fire surrounded my past self, then howling could be heard in the distance as my past life self smiled at the powerful demons. And just quickly as it began, it ended, though just as suddenly there were 5 incredibly large men wearing indigenous apparel surrounding my past life self. I spoke to them in French and they vanished, only to appear again next to the demons before shifting into extremely large wolves and ripping into the demons. They tore their human vessels to shreds, but with each bite they made into them, a sizzling and popping sound erupted, as lightening seemingly struck through the demon's veins.

I memorized the symbols and repeated the chant to myself over and over again until both were ingrained into my brain. I had done plenty of research on demons, as I intended to release my next book on them, but I had never seen that spell in any of my research. I knew it was because that spell belonged to me, and me alone. Now that my memories had been returned to me, I knew exactly who I was, and what my purpose in life was supposed to be. I was the Queen of the United States Witch Covens and possibly the most powerful witch in the world, well, I used to be anyway.

I watched a snippet where the Arch-Bishop of New Orleans crowned me the Queen of the United States Witches and gave me a gorgeous diamond crown that had belonged to a European monarch as he commended me for leading the witches into the fight against the demons. He spoke about New Orleans being a witch sanctuary, and called it the witch capital of the country, and home of the witch queen. I was surprised to see the most of the city in attendance. There were humans and even the Vampires that I had cut ties with after learning the truth of their creation. But, they were there, smiling and clapping at my coronation from the catholic church.

The scene flashed forward to my mother on her death bed, and showed me pulling her soul from her body and placing it into my womb that was clearly ready to give birth at any time. This was the cycle of our bloodline. My mother's soul had never seen the ancestral realm, as I always pulled it from her body right before her death, and placed it into the child in my womb that I had specifically created to house her soul. I would raise her into a preteen usually before I died, then 20-30 years later I would push my soul back into her womb and she would birth me back into the earth realm.

When I finally woke from the spell that filtered all my memories back to me, it was the following morning. I sat up in the bed and looked around to realize that I was in my childhood bedroom, in the Laurent Chateau, the estate that I bought in the 1900s during my time as Veronica Laurent. As I remembered all of the memories that had come back to me during my sleep, a wild inferno of rage began burning through my body, so I got up to head downstairs and face my family that had betrayed me and taken away the most vital parts of my essence 13 years ago.