The Bringer

by Jennifer Park

  A chill ran through Brynn, "I can't believe that people would be willing to host a demon."

  "I know. Creepy."

  "So this Jessica, the one who brought the demons into my room."

  "Yeah?" Jerom tilted his head.

  "Who is she?"

  "She's one of the cultists. I don't know, maybe the head of the cult even. Why?"

  “Well, when the angel came and killed her demons, it hurt her. She hurt bad. It didn't look pleasant. I just don't get what would make it worth it for her to go through that.”

  “I don't get it either. I mean the cultists have to do some pretty nasty stuff to prove themselves. They are always competing with the other cult members for position. From what we can tell, the Master, the head of the whole group, is incredibly difficult to please.

  “What happens if you piss off the Master?”

  Jerom’s eyes went a little unfocused as he imagined what the Master might do and then Brynn’s imagination took over too. A shiver ran through both of them.

  She took a sip of her Coke as she thought about what Jerom had just said. This was what they were running from. These were the kind of people that killed her parents. Her life had been altered beyond recognition because of them. She wasn’t sure she was up to the task. She could certainly call down angels when she needed to and there seemed to be help when she needed it from the spirits hanging around her, but she was just a kid. Seventeen was too young to be saving the planet. She just wanted to go home and have a chance to grow up a little more.

  Brynn’s forehead had crinkled up and Jerom asked, “Hey, you okay?” She looked up and gave him a sad smile. He continued, “I know it may seem like a lot, but my family, we’ve been training for this for like ever. Miranda and I are still young and we aren’t too powerful yet, but my parents are really strong. We’ll protect you. We’ll help you do what you have to do.”

  “I know and I appreciate it. I’ll be okay. I’m sure this will all be okay,” she said as she tried not to think about what was ahead. Because, really she didn’t know what was ahead, but what she could picture was pretty bad.

  Chapter 25

  Jessica the handler, smiled down at her beloved pets. She hated hiding in the bushes which she found extremely degrading, but this close to humanity she had no other choice. The sniffer demons sat at attention on either side of her as she waited for Raymond. She lovingly petted their grizzled fur as they grumbled their enjoyment from deep inside their bodies.

  “My sweet, sweet darlings, you found them for me. I adore you, you know. You never let me down. Your job is finished for now though, you may return to the kennels and rest.”

  The demon constructs whined with displeasure and rubbed against her.

  “I know, I know, I hate to be parted too, but I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you and these humans are proving more difficult to deal with than I’d anticipated. Go now and wait in the car. Raymond will transport you back home.”

  The grotesquely shaped dog demons trotted away.

  Raymond took a knee beside her. “You’re so sweet to them and so foul with all the rest of us.”

  “Did you find what train they're on?" she asked with a scowl.

  “Oh yes. They used a credit card to buy the tickets. I have the train’s information right here,” he said handing her a small piece of paper. “I found out their names too, if you’re interested.”

  “Hmmm, oh yes, their names,” she said distractedly. “What are they?”

  Raymond shifted to the other knee, “The two kids actually belong to that group we’ve been watching in Salem. Jerom and Miranda Chatham, they’re the kids of,”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know who you mean,” Jessica interrupted. “What about the Bringer? What did you find out about her?”

  “She’s quite interesting actually. She’s the daughter of Jonas and Sarah Steward. The ones who dropped out of sight several years ago, just about the time their daughter Brynn was born.”

  “So, Brynn Steward is the Bringer. That is interesting. I didn’t realize I was fighting the Stewards back there. It wasn’t much of a fight. Well, well, good to know.”

  She took the paper with their information on it, looked it over and put it in the front pocket of her purse. “You know, I’m actually glad you’re here.”

  “Really, I’m shocked.” His eyes narrowed and his lips pursed. “What do you want?”

  She looked over at his car and saw two constructs standing idle. “You brought me more stalkers, good. I've been thinking about going a little spidey on these kids.”

  “You want to give the stalkers web capabilities. They weren't designed for that. We could destroy them overlaying that kind of change on them now.” He pushed up onto his feet like he was getting ready to walk away.

  “I need this and I can’t do it myself. You will help me.”

  He stopped walking and turned to look at her.

  “If you get them killed, the Master is going to…you remember what happened to Nathan. Even I couldn’t watch that."

  Jessica looked around her making sure they were alone. “If we fail to capture the Bringer, we’ll be praying for Nathan’s punishment.”

  Raymond looked away, took a deep breath, opened his eyes and said, "Okay, I'll help this time. I will remember this though and you will pay. Do you want my blood or do you want me to do the rite?"

  "You perform the ceremony. Let's gather what we need."

  It took them a few minutes to prep the area. They built a small altar by stacking stones and placing a large flat rock on top to hold the offerings. Jessica collected wild herbs while Raymond cast a spell to draw a small bird to him.

  The demon constructs lay at the foot of the altar. Jessica knelt before the stacked stones and placed the herbs in a bed on the rock. Raymond took out his knife and quickly cut into the bird's breast killing it instantly. He laid the small offering on the bed of herbs and then handed the knife to Jessica.

  Jessica pulled the razor sharp blade across her palm in a practiced gesture and let the blood drip over the bird and herbs. She then handed the knife back to Raymond and wrapped her hand in a clean cloth. She nodded to him and they clasped hands over the altar.

  Raymond started chanting in the same gutteral language he’d used at the construct creation ceremony. Jessica added her voice at the beginning of the second round. An invocation to the darkest of forces they hoped would conjure forth a demon specific to their purpose. He started to sweat from the effort but also from nerves. This spell was only used in the direst of circumstances because the possibility of destroying the construct was very high. Their Master was unforgiving about the loss of a construct without great cause.

  The air started to thicken and feel heavy. Realizing the foul prayer was working, they put more and more energy into the spell, begging with their very souls for the demon to come forth. The air split with an almost painful tearing sound and out of the portal crawled a spider shaped demon. It dripped with something viscous. It's shiny, black spider body the size of a small car.

  Jessica and Raymond stopped chanting and turned to bow to the demon. The demon acknowledged them with a nod and moved forward on legs thick as tree stumps and ending in sharp pointed spikes. It chittered over the bodies of the constructs and almost daintily poked at the constructs. It moved around the entire altar including Jessica and Raymond to reach the other construct. The hair on Raymond's neck stood up and a chill ran down his spine. He didn't turn and watch the spider demon move behind him that would have showed a lack of trust for the demon. He didn't trust the demon, not one bit, but best not show it deliberately. He noticed Jessica breathed out when the demon moved into view again. He wasn't the only one creeped out here.

  The demon swiveled it's huge, bloated spider body around on its legs until the pincers at its mouth were in line with the heart of the first construct. It seemed to chitter excitedly then it swooped down and bit deep into the construct injecting its essence directly into the construct.
/>   The construct jerked up from the chest as if it had been hit with a lightning bolt. The convulsions started at his feet. They pounded into the ground and then the convulsions worked their way up its body until it's whole being was jerking and slamming back into the ground.

  "It's killing him!" hissed Raymond.

  "It better not, just wait, I've seen this kind of reaction before. Our baby will settle down in a minute," she tried to sound calm and assured.

  The demon danced away from the spasming construct then leaned back over its victim clicking its pincers together rapidly. The convulsions slowed slightly and then stopped altogether with a final jerk. Raymond and Jessica rose up on their knees slightly for a better look. The spider demon snapped its head at them and hissed. They sat back down immediately with heads lowered.

  The spider turned back to the construct and lifted one pointy leg out over the quieted body of the construct as if judging the reaction. The construct's eyes opened wide and it took in a huge gulp of air. It raised one of its hands and looked at it. The hand bulged out as if growing and the index finger blackened, lengthened and started to thicken. It hardened and curved into what looked like the stinger on the end of a scorpion's tail.

  It then raised its other hand up and saw that it too had become larger and the index finger had morphed into a stinger like protrusion. Course, straight hair then started growing out from around the wrists down covering the hands about halfway. Then the hair seemed to grow upward about halfway up the forearm. It then started to sprout from around the neck and grew up to chin level and down under its shirt.

  The spider demon stroked the hair at the arm and then with the back of the same leg stroked the hair at the neck. It chittered quietly at the construct. The construct looked up at the spider with a look of adoration in its eyes which made Raymond shiver.

  The huge demon then delicately swiveled around to the other construct and the process started again.

  Chapter 26

  Jerom focused on something over Brynn’s shoulder. Brynn turned to see Miranda coming toward them looking pretty upset. Brynn glanced down at her watch and saw that they had been talking for the past two hours. She was shocked by how long they’d been sitting there. She scooted over to make room for her on the bench, but Miranda just leaned over the table. “We have to go. Right now. They are coming.”

  “Did you have a vision?” Jerom asked.

  Miranda nodded. “Yes. We have to get off this train or a lot of people are going to get hurt. What I don’t understand is how they found us so quickly.”

  Jerom looked sheepish.

  “What did you do?” Miranda whispered harshly.

  “I ran out of cash. I had to use the credit card Dad gave us for emergencies.”

  “You should have told me.”

  Brynn added before the argument went any further, “It doesn’t really matter at the moment. But, how do we get off the train? It’s going pretty fast. We can’t just jump off like in the movies.”

  “I talked with the conductor and there is a quick stop at the next town, we can get off there,” she turned to walk away, but Brynn caught her arm.

  “Where are we?”

  “We’re across the border and into Connecticut. Now, come on!”

  They followed her back to their other seats and grabbed their stuff and then walked downstairs to get off the train when it stopped. They barely had time to step down onto the platform when the train started moving again. Brynn had felt safe on the train for a little while and she regretted leaving her false sense of security. They had a plan, a very nice plan to get them all the way to Salem. Just ride the trains and they’d be there by late morning tomorrow. Nope, not going to happen, she thought and followed Jerom and Miranda over to a bench in the station.

  “What did you see in your vision, Miranda?” Jerom asked.

  “We were on the train and the conductor announced that we were coming into Hartford. That’s when they attacked. It’s that same woman as before and she wrapped me in air. I couldn't move. They got you, Jerom, first. I never want to see you die again! And Brynn, you launched yourself at the first construct and then a couple of other guys in the car did the same, and then all I saw was blood. There was blood from the guys that tried to help, blood everywhere. Jerom was practically torn in two.

  “The demons took out everyone in the car. I’ve never seen anything like it. They didn’t kill you though, Brynn, you were still breathing, but bleeding pretty badly. They must want you alive because I saw them drag you downstairs. That’s where the vision ended, and I can tell you, that’s the worst thing I have ever seen. We have to get back home.”

  Jerom wrapped Miranda in his arms and she sobbed into his chest. Brynn sat there not knowing what to do. Poor Miranda, she thought, she shouldn’t have to see this kind of stuff. These gifts they’d been given were a double-edged sword.

  Miranda’s sobs shuddered to an end. She pulled away from Jerom and wiped her eyes. “We have to do something to draw their attention. We have to get the demons off that train. We can’t let them kill all those people.”

  She was right, and Brynn hadn’t even thought of that. She was feeling pretty selfish because the only thing going through her mind was how lucky they were to escape.

  “Yeah, okay, what should we do? What makes the most noise?” Jerom wondered to himself out loud.

  “What kind of noise? You mean like magic noise?” Brynn asked.

  “Yeah, we need something really loud to get their attention. We need to get them off the train and chasing us.”

  “Pushing and lifting require a lot of energy. They are probably the loudest, but we’d need something pretty big,” Miranda said.

  Brynn looked around her trying to see something to push or lift, but they needed to do this where there wasn’t anybody around to see. “Let’s go outside, maybe we can find something big.”

  They walked about a mile down a side road outside the train station. It was getting late and it seemed no one else was out on the streets.. Brynn realized they were walking right next to a junkyard.

  “What about the junkyard?"

  "What about it?" snapped Miranda.

  "Well, cars are pretty heavy, right?"

  Jerom stopped walking and turned toward the corrugated metal fence of the junkyard. He jogged up to it and stepped up on a rock to look over.

  "Not a bad idea really," he said looking around. He pointed to something the girls couldn't see. "They've got the crushed cars stacked up in places. We could pull some of those over. That should make some good noise."

  Brynn and Miranda each stuck a toe on Jerom's rock and pulled themselves up to look over the fence. Miranda could barely see over the fence. Jerom laughed when he saw her and gave her a quick squeeze around her shoulders.

  "Okay, well up and over I guess. The inside of the fence is chain link," said Brynn as she jumped and swung her leg up over the top of the fence catching her toe on the chain link inside and slowly lowered herself done inside the junkyard.

  "Brynn what are you doing?" asked Miranda.

  "How do you make your voice do that?" Brynn looked up at Miranda.

  "What?"

  "That yelling at me but whispering at the same time thing?" Brynn glared at Miranda.

  "Okay guys, back down. Let's just do this," said Jerom. "Here Miranda, let me help you over." He got under his sister and hiked her up to the top of the fence. She swung her leg over and climbed down using the chain link.

  Just as Jerom hopped down beside them they heard barking.

  "Umm, what was that," Miranda asked slowly.

  "It’s a dog. You know, four-legged furry thing. Man's best friend," said Brynn.

  The barking which had now turned to growling was getting closer.

  "Yeah, that doesn't sound very friendly," said Jerom looking around. "Climb! Now! Get up on something."

  They all ran in different directions scrambling up on top of some of the smashed cars.

  "Get up on
the roof," shouted Jerom.

  There was no hood on the car Brynn ran to so she had to tip-toe across the engine and then up onto the roof. She stood up and turned around trying to find Jerom and Miranda.

  Miranda was trying to work her way around the open hood of her car when the dog spotted her. It seemed to leap forward moving even faster, growling even louder as it lunged toward her.

  "Hurry, Miranda. The dog's almost to you," shouted Brynn bobbing up and down on her toes with anxiety and looking between her and Jerom. Miranda had tears streaming down her face in terror. Brynn could almost see all the way down the dog's throat its jaws were so huge.

  Jerom closed his eyes and stretched out his hands. He made a lifting motion and Miranda screamed as she was picked up and dropped onto the roof of her car just as the dog jumped, snapping at Miranda's feet.

  Brynn sat down hard on the roof of her car letting her breath out in a rush.

  "You okay sis?" shouted Jerom over the growling dog.

  Miranda was curled up on top of her car with her knees pulled to her chest trying to be as small as possible. She wiped the tears from her face and gave her brother a shaky thumbs-up.

  Jerom turned toward Brynn, "What do we do now?"

  Brynn looked at the dog and then back at Jerom. "Let's wait until it calms down a bit and then I think I know what to do."

  "What would that be?"

  "Hey, what's with the attitude?"

  "I'm sorry. But, if we don't do something quick, someone may come to check out why this thing won't stop barking."

  "Thing? Thing! It's a dog, a wonderful, faithful, loyal companion,” Brynn turned toward the dig. “Aren’t you sweetie," she said in baby talk. The dog stopped barking, whined a little and then cocked its head to the side as if listening to her.

  "There, there, don't you listen to that mean Jerom. He just doesn't understand you like I do."