Episode 17:
Slideshow
Raxl is still using the tarot deck. Vangie and the Conjure
Man are also working with them. Both set of cards are identical. "Just as Raxl said from Maljardin."
Vangie tells her father. "Before I
die my daughter the truth about Jean Paul Desmond and those around him must be
told. As the truth about the devil. Read them to me." The Conjure Man tells
Vangie. "Father, the Knight of
Pentacles sits on the right hand by the Ace of Cups. The Queen of Cups is upon
her left. The King of Scepter lie upon the Queen and the Ace. The Ten of Swords
is shadowing the Ace and the Knight."
The Conjure Man picks up the fool. "And this, the foolish one?" "Your hand holds Lamaur, the symbol of
divine folly, the perfected spirit approaching the one. This is the minister,
Mathew Dawson. He's already on the Island to conduct a burial service for Jean
Paul Desmond's wife." Vangie tells her father. "The one that is frozen?" the Conjure
Man asks. "In the cryonics capsule.
But you told me death is decided by the one. Whenever man doesn't seem
spiritual, he brings upon himself the icy wings of retribution. And the evil
fires of hell." "Can you see what
the cards tell us?" the Conjure Man asks.
"I've been seeing it for the last week father." "You must see that the King of Scepters
is no longer Jean Paul Desmond. He's another,” says the Conjure Man. "The one that brings harm to the
innocent child. And also the sister of the wife of Jean Paul Desmond. Death.
Thank God for the fool. But he'll need help. We must bring the Madge of Coins to
the Island. How?" Vangie asks. "If
there is no other way we must use levitation. There is no other way." "Only a believer can be moved,” says
Vangie. The Conjure Man walks
across the room carrying a robe. "You must try." "But I am powerless." she tells her
father. "The one that wears this
will have powers." Vangie shakes
her head no. "I command you." The
Conjure Man hands the robes to Vangie. "I must contact Raxl,” he says turning
towards the altar. After lighting the candles he holds his arms out. "Raxl,
daughter of the Priestess, keeper of the faith it is I the Conjure Man
calling." Raxl hears him. "Oh yes
oh powerful one." "No more, the
Serpent is calling me home." "No,
not yet! Not yet! The devil is loose again!" "How was he freed?" "The Master, Jean Paul he innocently
pulled the silver pin from the temple of the conjure doll." "The Prince of Darkness must be stopped
before he can destroy. Where is the doll Raxl and the
pin?"
In the Great Hall Jacques portrait becomes blank. With a smile
Jean Paul walks from the Great Hall to the crypt. "Conjure Man." Raxl falls to her knees.
"I plead with you. Help me find the doll and silver pin." "I cannot, the Serpent is calling me
home. But I will send my daughter!"
"No wait Conjure Man, wait." Raxl gets up to her feet. "All alone Raxl?" Jacques asks her. "Yes Master." "Just you and the caged bird. That's
strange I could have sworn I heard voices. It wouldn't be you would it?" he asks
the bird. "Or have you developed possibly a resident baritone. I doubt it. Poor
little birdie in a cage, all you have is poor Quito who has no voice for you to
parrot." Jacques looks at Raxl. "Who was here?" "You can see that no one is here." Raxl
tells him. "I can see no one but
who can you see?" He walks to the table. "Ah, tarot cards. Are these cards
Quito’s?" Jacques asks while collecting them. "Mine Master." "Correction Raxl, mine." he then hands
them to Raxl. "Here you are, amuse yourself with them. But don't overplay your
hand." Jacques then walks away.
Raxl walks over to the birdcage. "He knows Chako, he knows. The devil
knows everything." "Poor Raxl, fear
has driven her to card tricks only I hold the joker." Jacques says as he stands
on the steps of the crypt.
Jean Paul is lying on the couch asleep. Raxl comes up from the
crypt carrying the tarot cards. Seeing Jean Paul she walks over to him. She
looks at him shaking her head then walks away. "No wonder you're weary. A body built
for one carrying two, how tiring it must be. Especially when the devil is
gallivanting about." Jacques wakes Jean Paul. "Now listen, never again are you
to go to the Main Island. You fool, to leave Dan Forrest there." "No, no." Jean Paul says to him. "You should have brought him back with
you, to join the others as your guest. Now when the day of truth arrives." Jean Paul sits up. "What day of
truth?" "When the dead shall rise,
on that day there will be many sacrifices. But the choice will be mine." Jean Paul comes to his feet. "Leave me
alone, leave them alone!" he shouts "Leave me!" "If I leave you where will that leave
me, and poor sweet Erica?" "No!"
Jean Paul cries out turning away.
Alison is walking in the door carrying flowers. She rushes over to him.
"Jean Paul, are you all right?"
"I'm sorry. I must have been asleep. A bad dream. Did you here me
speaking aloud?" he asks putting his hand to his forehead. "I heard something, but I couldn't
understand it." Alison tells him.
With his hand on the back of his head, Jean Paul walks across the Great
Hall. Taking a seat he says. "My dreams are becoming as impossible as my life
these days and nights." Alison
walks over to Jean Paul. "Jean Paul, have you been taking your
tranquilizers?" "When I
remember." "When was the last
time?" "I don't remember,
Alison please." "If you don't take
them you'll have a breakdown. You have to take them regularly." "Look don't talk to me as a child, I
won't be treated like one." Jean Paul says. With a shake of her head Alison says. "I
haven't the slightest idea how to treat you. Now where are your pills?" she asks
pouring a glass of water. "I'm all
right." Jean Paul tells her. "Please I don't need them." He sees the flower and
picks them up. "Your flowers could use a little revitalization. They are so sad
and wilted." "Like everything on
this Island. Dead or slowly dying."
"Then why did you pick them?"
"Because Erica loved flowers and I thought they belonged at her service."
Alison tells him. "Reverend Dawson
is still undecided, although I'm certain we can bring him over to our way of
thinking. The flowers will be freshly cut and brought over. I will see to that.
Uprooted flowers on Maljardin are assured for death." Jean Paul picks up the
flowers from the table. "For them I mean."
"Death is in all our destinies." Alison tells him. "Are you on that again?" "Yes, for your good and Erica’s. And
I'll keep coming back to it, to convince you that death is the only positive
finality." "But not for Erica and
I'll try to convince you." Alison
puts her hands on the back of Jean Paul's chair. "There aren't that many women
in the world so blessed to have a man to love them so devotedly, that he would
deny..." "The will of God. Jean
Paul adds. "He forced me to, by denying me the right to Erica." "I fear for you Jean Paul." "I fear for each and everyone of us."
Jean Paul tells her. Alison shakes
her head and walks up the stairs to her room. On the top landing she glances
back at Jean Paul. He is still sitting in a chair. Alison then walks away. Jean Paul reaches out and picks up the
flowers. He stands and sticks them into a glass of water. Then walking to the
stairs he looks up. "Oh she's
lovely, delightful and unattached." Jacques tells Jean Paul. "Pity you are so
attached to Erica. Pity for you that is, not me." "Be quiet!" Jean Paul shouts as he spins
around spilling his glass of water.
"You can't destroy me that way, we have been through that before. And if
you could, just think. You might be destroying all about you, perhaps even
yourself." With a laugh Jacques tells him. " Aren't I the devil?" Jean Paul turns and heads up the
staircase tiredly. Thunder starts rumbling outside. Jean Paul is warming his hands at the
fireplace in the Great Hall when Raxl comes down the stairs carrying lit
candelabra. It's still thundering and lightening. "Looks like something or someone brought
down quite a storm Raxl." Jean Paul stands. On his hand is Jacques ring. "Well I
think you should get yourself back up to bed. Or should I..." he reaches out to
Raxl. "No, no leave me alone." Raxl
pulls back from him. "Or perhaps
you would like a pill so you can sleep better?" Jacques asks, taking the bottle
of tranquilizers out of his pocket.
"With the devil roaming, how can I?" Raxl says as she quickly walks
away. Jacques is standing watching
Raxl with a grin upon his face.
Back on the Mainland the Conjure Man prepares Vangie. "Oh Spirit,
hear me, immortal fire you are truth. Speak." The Conjure Man is standing over
Vangie who is kneeling. "I am she,
hater of evil." "I am he, whose
force be cleansed!"
"I am she giver of light."
The Conjure Man takes a necklace shaped with two serpents entwined and
places it around Vangie's neck. He then clutches his chest and falls. "No, no!" Vangie cries moving quickly to
her father.
On Maljardin Alison runs up from the crypt. "No, no!" "Alison, Alison you're all right." Jean
Paul says as he puts his arm around her shoulder and leads her to the couch in
the dark. "Now, what happened?"
"The lights went out in the crypt."
"Why were you in the crypt?" he asks as he squats behind the couch. "I wanted to take some flowers to
Erica." she says. "Dead flowers?
Were you trying to put a hex on our beloved Erica?" he says with a laugh. "I'm
sorry Alison, that was a very bad joke wasn't it?" Jacques stands. "Well maybe
we can solve it with a bit of good brandy. Would you like a little?" He pours
Alison a drink and brings it to her. "It will help warn you and ward off the
ghosts on Maljardin and all their offspring." Jacques tells her as he kneels on
the couch to hand the glass to Alison.
"What an eerie remark." Alison says. Jacques stands and walks to the
fireplace. Facing Alison he crosses his arms "It's a statement my dear." Jacques looks over at his portrait.
"He's memorizing isn't he,” Alison stands and walks toward Jacques portrait.
"He's so real. So serious. Born three hundred years ago, yet so lively as
if..." "It's the light or the lack
of it. I do wish someone would repair the generator so we could see our way
around... Ah." (The lights are back on.) "Speak of the devil." Jacques
says. "You know I've decided after
the service I am going to leave Maljardin." Alison tells Jean Paul. "But why? You promised to stay." "Well I've changed my mind." Alison
says. "But I haven't changed mine.
As a matter of fact I have made up my mind, I wouldn't like to loose you
too." "What?" Alison asks
shocked. "Only until Erica returns
of course."
Back on the Mainland the Conjure Man is laying on his bed. He
tells Vangie "You are a Conjure Woman now my daughter. Cherish the name." "Why me? Why only me? Vangie asks
sitting on the side of his bed.
"Because only you have the gift."
"But I don't want it." Vangie tells him. "You can't rid yourself of it." "Rest father please." Vangie tells
him. "I have an eternity to rest.
It's you who will get no rest until you send Jacques Eloi Des Mondes back to
hell, the eternal hell he brought upon himself." The Conjure Man closes his
eyes. "Papa? Papa!" Vangie
cries. "I go to eternal peace,
don't weep." "I'll try." Vangie
tells him. "I go to the shadow of
the Great Serpent." Again Vangie
calls her father. "When ever you
need me, call me. I will answer. I will never be to far away. Love you my
daughter." "I love you." Vangie
answers him back. The Conjure Man passes
away.
On Maljardin Jean Paul says. "I love Erica so much. I know it's
frightening for you enough to make you want to leave the Island." Jean Paul
(himself again) and Alison are standing in front of Jacques portrait. "It's not your love that frightens me,
it's the strange things it forces you to do." Alison says. Jean Paul turns away from Alison. "Jean Paul you're tired, you need a
rest, a change, something complete and absolute, after the service tomorrow why
don't you leave too. Leave this place with its morbid atmosphere and sad
memories." "My whole life is here."
Jean Paul says with his back to Alison.
"Well take Erica with you."
Jean Paul turns and looks at Alison. "And disturb the entire cryonics
process? And assure her eternal death, I can't do it and I will not." "She'd want you to. I know." Alison
tells him. "No I know what I must
do." Jean Paul says as he walks away from Alison. He sits on the couch. "And
leaving here is no answer." Alison
walks up to him. "Well I'm leaving Jean Paul." "You can't!" "Are you physically going to restrain
me?" Alison asks. Jean Paul looks
up at her. "You wouldn't go
that far,” she says. Jean Paul
comes to his feet and stands in front of her. "Please Alison, please stay." "You don't understand. It's very
difficult for me to stay."
"Look after tomorrow things will be different." Jean Paul tells her. Alison turns away. "It will never be any
different no matter how many tomorrows come and pass." Alison says as she turns
and looks at him. Jean Paul walks
up to her. "Don't you understand why you must remain?" he reaches out to hold
her by the arms. "Why I can't go, why no one else can go until Erica is returned
to me. Then I will see her and you will see her. But until then her secret, the
secret of her temporary death must never leak out. Can you imagine the fuss over
the cryonics process, the headlines, the feature stories, the ugly rumors, the
disrespect to your sister. And to my darling wife." "I can't stay here forever." Alison
tells him. Looking down at her.
"Why not?" Alison looks up at him,
then brushes past him. "Goodnight Jean Paul." She walks up the staircase to her
room. Watching her go Jean Paul
walks away from Jacques portrait. Stopping in front of a chair he covers his
face with his hands, sitting down he lowers his hands. "Msieu Desmond?" Raxl walks up to
him. "Yes, what is it Raxl." "The storm is over. Is it to late for
Quito to leave for the Mainland?"
"That's not what you came to say Raxl. Speak what's on your mind." Jean
Paul says to her. "I'm afraid
Msieu, I'm afraid the Conjure Man is dead." Jean Paul looks up at her. "Vangie's
father? I am sorry." "So may we all
be. Please Msieu take Doctor Carr and all the others and do as she asks. Run
from this accursed place before it is too late!" Thunder rattles the house. Jean Paul
looks up. "Looks like the storm is starting all over again!" Raxl walks quickly
away.
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Summaries written by Debby
Graham . The slide
presentation is the work of Ron Janick.
~Ron/Bella~
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