Wrath of the land poured out upon the plantation. Torrents of rain blinded any caught in the storm, and all were forced to wipe it from their face. Breath drawn in was wet, smothering. Pooled water glittered with the storm mirror held to the heavens. Droplets caught each flash to halt, if only for a moment of time. Through cracks in the earth a stench crawled up. If the soul of Hemlock Hurst had a smell, it would be this sulfuric rot, hell's own perfume. Upon the tongue it soured, settled in the guts and bowels. Warmth of the rain did little to dispel the chill of so many Shades. Marie saw waves come for their revenge, justice.

Confederates, who were alive, had fallen back to the house. Shades' presence bred a low terror. Solid doors were locked, which turned it into a fortress. They rallied forces with the Van Lear ghosts beside them.

From every entrance Marie found herself barred. Through the Hallowed Dream she navigated the property. McWhorter and Gregory men consolidated their forces, death of their family steeled resolve. All of them wanted blood for Blood. None noticed her or Tim as they circled the house.

Many Shades had crawled up the mountain, for they could sense the time had come. From Ashless Hollow the roar of the Uroboros trumpeted savage doom. Darkness, which bled down from on high, swelled up to sweep away the malignancy of the Van Lear deeds. Like a whirlwind, they swept up. Pieces of the land's memory were locked in hateful misery. To Marie's ears the mutters were the roar of forlorn misery given hope.

Away she pulled him from every door; all were locked. Tim felt the urge to grab her hand and run, let them all have this accursed place. Marie knew those ways were barred, because the Shades were unable to enter. The house was covered in them, and was a writhing mass of shadows. Endless rage fueled them, yet the way was shut. Words weaved by Eleanor were just too powerful. Bewildered, she wiped away rain from her eyes.

The backpack unzipped. To the wet earth Dim Cassilda tumbled, and dingy water retreated from the book. Tim looked at it, swallowed. Exhale from Marie's lips was a hoary fog. Dark leather repelled the storm, every page drawn from the La Voison women. Pleasant warmth radiated from it, like a mother's embrace. Marie touched it, though her heart galloped. As he hand drew closer, she felt her Blood draw to her. Patient, prideful sighs came to her, ancestral knowledge that was only for her waited.

A terror seized Marie's heart. This book had lived in her darkest dreams, for it held truth. Forbidden to mortal man, it was her birthright, curse. Forever she had sought secrets, yet this was different. Knowledge changed, for better or ill. Would the contents of Dim Cassilda make her Bethany? No, she realized, it was to balance, not good or bad, but a way to bring the Veil and world back to equilibrium. Her mother had chosen to take the burden, end the line of inheritance, which drove her mad. For her daughter, she'd destroyed herself, but in the end, the cycle was to continue. All of the past was a part of her, but not all of her.

Her hand gripped the book, which was a beacon in her mind of the last day. What secrets were inside, she was unsure, but there were many. Dim Cassilda felt like an extension of her mind, heart, and spirit, Marie felt; though, before now, she had denied it with all of her being. Pieces of one were immutable, to be nurtured, cultivated, or assimilated in the whole. It was hers, and one day she would add to its pages.

The Hallowed Dream sharpened, book in hand. Its guidance had saved her, though she rejected it. Awakened world waited to be seen, felt, tasted, heard, and aroma accounted. Muted and stunted, mankind was a slave to finite perceptions. Marie felt senses, mind and heart, pierce the Veil of life and death. Deep stains were left from the malignancy of the Van Lear Blood. Velvet shadows were felt by her, though they were meters away.

Manic Shades, memories of the land, moved before Marie. Born of misery and pain, they suffered the cycle. The past was alive in Hemlock Hurst, never allowed to die. Days gone were elevated to a mythic idea, just true enough. Founded upon such dreamy falsehoods, the present gained a foundation full of disquiet dead. They had quaked in Hemlock Hurst to their very core. What future could rise from such disharmony? The Cycle turned relentless on its path forward.

Among many things, Dim Cassilda held the past. Marie was swept away by images from her youth. The memories were much clearer through the Hallowed Dream. Many times Bethany tried to protect her. No matter what the death certificate stated, it was the attempt to break the La Voison cycle. Despite the toll it took, her mother tried to severe it. The Cycle turned.

Marie nodded, as the days of journalism returned. Truth she had long searched, and brought many misdeeds to the light. The Blood that she shunned had helped her. Sleeping in cars, tracking silhouettes through alleys, or talking to witnesses, she had used natural gifts sharpened by her curse. La Voison women brought balance, justice to the dead.

Hard to work with, he'd said behind her back, but had she'd been surprised. Marie had kicked him hard enough in the groin that he had vomited all over his nice suit. With that choice, she knew that life was over. It had ended years of award winning work, yet she'd picked up many skills, some dubious or criminal. Always one story away, she'd sworn back then, but it was off, fake. To be rich like the Van Lear, command respect, was the lie she told herself. With Dim Cassilda in hand, the truth was unveiled to her. That old life was done, but a new one was hers to seize.

Bethany was never crazy, she realized. This gift, curse, let the true heart of the world open up. Beautiful horror was Marie's to understand, make right. A new life, where deeper truths waited, could be one of endless revelation. After all she'd seen, there was no way back, only forward. Every piece of knowledge changed a person, and each moment one became anew. To be better than whom she was yesterday, it was a simple goal Marie lived.