The Thirteenth Benediction

CHAPTER 1

“ Don't move” came a voice,sharp and masculine followed closely by the click of a pistol and a beam of light

The light sliced through the darkness as she remained rooted, half-crouched against the wall of the old benediction room.

Her black cloak soaked with a mixture of ritual oil and sweat, her heart knocked against her ribs.

The taste of Ash and blood lingered in her mouth from the ceremony. She didn't move.

This was not how it was supposed to end, not like this, not after everything .

You were supposed to walk in, do the benediction and walk out before the funeral crowd gathered. You were supposed to tame the curse, bind it not get caught red-handed in the benediction like some thief.

She closed her eyes for a moment, she tensed as she felt the cold gun on her head in front of her the benediction circle glowed faintly. It was too late to hide or run.

Too late for anything.

It all started with that letter, unmarked, mysteriously slipped beneath her room door in the Vatican almost like a dark whisper.

The edges that held the address information was burnt off, the letter was written in clean and clear cursive

It read

“ if the curse still lives, only the thirteenth can bind it, the benediction is your inheritance. Return home before Salvanora’s burial. Midnight”

That was it, no name, no seal, just blood smeared at the bottom of the letter, highlighting the home address that she had admired from a distance while at the vatican.

The Rossetti estate

She should have burnt the letter but she didn't. She was far too curious

Who sent this letter? Was she really going to go there? Was she the salvation of her lineage?, this might be a setup from a rival gang?

All this questions ran through her mind

But Curiosity got the best of her and by sunset, she was standing outside her home, her hood up, gloves tight around her wrist and a bottle of her blood tucked in her pockets.

She stood there looking intently at the mansion, the wind blew hard against her cloak, she thought it would come right.

This was her home at least for 19 years, she relieved every memory that she could recall, the last thing she remembered before being sent to the Vatican, she was being pulled out of her brother Matteo's room covered in blood, her brother’s face twisted in horror.

She shuttered

She had to put that out of her mind, the curse had taken its price and she had to stop this bloodshed at once.

The story of how the curse came is still a mystery some say the first Rossetti chistanini Rossetti put a curse on his son for making out with his mistress

Some say it was a blood oath that he made that allowed the Rossetti name to become so feared and respected, the blood oath sacrificed a member in exchange for dominance and power.

Whatever it was, I had to end it before the burial tomorrow.

The rossetti estate once buzzing with activities now fell into a deep sleep like everything around it.

The estate loomed against the Sicilian night, like a forgotten cathedral. The gates ran shut as the night bells rang.

Maria didn't belong here, not after being sent and forgotten in the Vatican 19 years ago.

She was back tonight in the cover of darkness,she watched as the gates shut but she wasn't here for a welcome.

She was going through an untouched path, an olive Grove leading to the benediction room, a path she knew only, the grove path went up past the old wine cellar.

Roots as thick as a human hand curled tightly against the fallen building, this was exactly how her family was, crushed and held tightly by a curse.

No one knew where it came from but it certainly haunted every member.

She crouched by the tunnel leading up to the benediction room.

The smell of damp earth and cracked stones filled her nostrils.

It used to be heavily guarded but now not a single guard is seen.

The smell of mold and stale food as she slipped past the kitchen and into the west wing of the mansion. Voices echoed from downstairs, preparations were ongoing to bury another Rossetti.

Maria moved like a ghost, fast and stealthy

The hallway made her pace drop as each portrait, each door brought back memories.

Her brother’s bedroom doors still bore scratch marks from the day he died, as if he tried to fight the curse but failed.

The benediction room was beneath the old chapel, a sealed crypt said to be sacred, only used for the benediction ceremony.

She was greeted with a stale smell like a mixture of earth and blood, the room dark, the only source of light The narrow door that served as the entrance.

A circle was in the center of the room, divided into five parts each bearing the symbol of a demon,each associated with death and holds a significant bond

Morbus the demon of decay and corruption showing the nature of the Rossetti family.

Dolor the demon of grief and despair.

Calamus the demon of sudden and violent ending.

Quies the demon of silence.

Thanatos the demon of absolute finality

This ceremony was to appease each of these demons.

She walked over to a cupboard at a corner in the room, she knew this room quite well though her memories were blurred she could still make out the rooms landscape.

She opened it revealing five red candles and a match box taking the content in her hand she moved to the circle placing each candles on each circle.

Then I a low voice she began to chant

“ forgive us and be appeased o ancient spirits”

She chanted till the candles lit up, they where here the spirit have come.

It was time

She took the knife and slit her palm allowing the blood to mix with the one in the vail.

Taking the knife she pulled out a bit of her skin then took turns burning them in each of the candles collecting the ashes she mixed them with the blood and drank it.

The circle turned as the candles flickered then went off.

The ceremony was done.

The flashlight waved as the guard stepped forward eyes wide, he cocked his gun pressing it hard against her head

“ Don't move” he said

“ You are not supposed to be here,” he growled. “ who the hell are you”

Before she could answer a second voice cut through the silence, low but commanding

“ let her go”

The guard spun around searching the darkness for the second intruder

I could see him in one corner of the room, that shadow was so familiar.

But she could pinpoint where she knew it from, she didn’t know who that was but one thing she knew was she had to get out of here

She ran straight for the door and was out of the door.

Leaving a bemused guard who had seen and heard two people with no one at all.