Sudden Death

by Donald Hanley

  I do not! Her mind’s just wandering aimlessly. I need to let her know what’s happening.

  What’s going to happen when all this is over? He’ll go back to Melissa, I guess, and I’ll be alone again. I felt a pang of disappointment, as if I was the one getting depressed. I don’t mind, I’m used to it just being me and Mom, but it was nice when he held me like that. Told you! Shut up! We shouldn’t even be listening to this! I shouldn’t listen to Karyn and the others, they don’t really know me. I’d like to get to know her, if you know what I mean. Be quiet! I’ll just stay quiet and not say anything to him, it would just embarrass both of us, but maybe after this is all over, we could just meet up and talk and things. Things, definitely things. He’s not interested in me that way, he has Melissa. She’s so beautiful and she has real boobs. I wish he would look at me like that. Just flash him your panties, he likes that kind of thing. I do not! Don’t tell her stuff like that! Thank the Goddess I’m wearing my good panties. I should have worn jeans like everyone else. I didn’t think I’d be running around in a skirt all day. What color are they? The pink ones, with the lace trim. You should take them off, you’ll be more comfortable. No, I couldn’t do that! I tried that English Challenge back in school and I nearly died. It was exciting, though, wasn’t it? That was the most daring thing I’d ever done. Maybe I could do it again, when Peter and I go out. He’d never know but I’d know and afterwards I could –

  “Rebecca!” I had to put a stop to this before it got completely out of hand. I tried to open my eyes but they resisted, like I was fast asleep and wanted to stay that way, but I finally pried them open. Rebecca was still seated in front of me with her eyes closed, but her lips were parted and she was breathing heavily. “Rebecca! Wake up!” She didn’t respond and I reached out to touch her knee, trying to get her attention without startling her, but she didn’t react. “Hello? Rebecca?” I snapped my fingers. Nothing. “Uh-oh. Dara, something’s gone wrong.” Daraxandriel continued her orbit of the pentagram, with no sign that she’d heard me. “Dara!” I waved my arms futilely. “Oh, crap,” I muttered to myself. “This isn’t good.”

  I got to my feet, intending to grab Daraxandriel’s arm, but the lines of Rebecca’s pentagram flared brightly, driving me back to the center. “Stay within the circle,” someone warned.

  “Who’s there?” I demanded, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up. The gloom in the foyer had deepened and vague shadows flitted along the walls, but no one was there to cast them. “Allison? Dad? Is that you? Olivia? Can you hear me?”

  “Be at peace, Peter,” said a female voice. “You’re in no danger.”

  “Yet,” added another voice. This one was male and sardonic.

  I whirled around, searching for the speaker, but Daraxandriel, Rebecca, and I were the only people here. “Who are you? Where are you?”

  “Fern’s circle has provided us a channel into your thoughts, Peter,” said the woman, “but the link is fragile and our time is short. We must make haste.” A faint shadow coalesced on the nearest wall, a vaguely feminine shape with three heads. “Will you listen?”

  “Will you obey?” asked the man. Another shadow appeared, larger than the first, with branching horns atop a single head.

  “He is not beholden to us,” chided the woman. “All we can do is share what we know. It is for him to decide what to do with that knowledge.”

  “Who are you?” I asked again, trying to keep my voice steady.

  “We met once before, fleetingly, when Fawn joined the circle.”

  “You spoke the words I gave you to speak,” grumbled the man. “Have you forgotten us already?”

  “Fawn?” It took a moment before I dredged up the memory. Fawn was Melissa’s craft name, her identity within the coven. “Wait a minute. You’re the Goddess?” The three heads inclined. “And you’re the Horned God? Seriously?”

  The Goddess laughed gently. Her voice echoed slightly, as if multiple women spoke at once. “Seriously. Those outside the Great Circle cannot normally perceive us. Even now, even with Fern’s assistance, the bridge between us is tenuous. We come to give warning, Peter. Great peril lies ahead.”

  “Yes, we kind of figured that out already,” I said dubiously. “It would have helped to know about the incubus yesterday, before he captured all your witches.”

  “Mind your tongue, mortal,” snapped the Horned God, but the Goddess’s shadow raised three placating hands. I finally realized she didn’t actually have three heads, she was three women standing together. The Maiden, The Mother, and The Crone, I recalled.

  “The danger doesn’t come from the incubus,” she said, “at least not directly. It comes from you, Peter.”

  “Me?”

  “Soon you will make a choice. The wrong choice will lead to unimaginable suffering for you and everyone you know.”

  “What? What are you talking about? What choice? What do I do?” My heart pounded loudly in my chest as I waited for an answer but the Goddess hesitated, which set my stomach to churning as well.

  “The future is ripples upon the water,” she said finally, sounding regretful, “ever changing and intermingled. All we know is that before this day is done, your actions will begin the Armageddon of ancient prophecy, if you choose unwisely.”

  “Are you kidding me?” I protested, aghast. “What’s the point of telling me that if you can’t tell me what I’m supposed to do?”

  “There are limits to what even a Goddess can do, in the face of human will. You are at the center of this conflict and the world turns with you. I wish we could do more to guide you, but we are fortunate to be able to give you even this inadequate warning.”

  “Forewarned is forearmed,” intoned the Horned God.

  “It doesn’t really help,” I argued. “I’ve already made a million decisions today. What if one of them was the wrong one?”

  The three heads shook. “The moment is not yet at hand. I can tell you this: it concerns Dr. Bellowes’ ring and the power it holds over the women it has ensnared.”

  “The ring?” I felt a small surge of hope. “Are we going to get it back?”

  “I cannot say, Peter,” said the Goddess. “I just know that its fate dictates yours.”

  “Isn’t there anything you can do to help?” I pleaded. “Can’t you give me a hint, at least?”

  The Goddess laughed again. “If I could, I would, believe me, Peter. All I can say is to trust your heart.”

  “What does that mean, exactly?”

  “Do what is right and honorable,” insisted the Horned God. “Do not be swayed by fear or anger.”

  The shadows on the wall fluttered as the air around us brightened and dimmed. “Fern is stirring,” said the Goddess. “Our time together is ending.”

  “Wait! Are you going to be able to help us against the incubus?”

  The three heads shook again. “He has turned my daughters away from me,” she said sadly. “Their lust for him overwhelms their bond with me.”

  “Destroy him,” the Horned God ordered, “and return them to us.”

  “I’m working on it,” I sighed. “Some divine help would have been useful, though.”

  Another triple laugh. “You have my blessing, Peter,” said the Goddess, “for whatever good it may do you.”

  “And mine,” said her companion. “Be strong.”

  “And be mindful,” she reminded me needlessly. “Soon the moment will be upon you.”

  “Thanks,” I said despondently, but the shadows had already faded away and the gloom eased in the foyer. Rebecca sighed contentedly and slowly opened her eyes, blinking up at me with a smile until a look of horror came over her and she ducked her head, tucking her hair behind her ear.

  “Is aught amiss?” Daraxandriel asked me doubtfully. “Wert thou not seated a moment ago?”

  “I just had a –” I caught myself and reconsidered what I was about to say. Claiming I had a visitation from the Goddess and the Horned God without any proof w
ould only cause them to question my sanity and I was already doing that on my own. “A cramp. In my leg.” I rubbed my right hamstring to illustrate. “Are you okay?” I asked Rebecca. “Did anything, um, happen?”

  “Happen? No,” she insisted, but the pink in her ears suggested she remembered more of our accidental exchange than she was willing to admit. She got to her feet as well, gripping the sides of her skirt like Olivia used to do. “Did anything happen while I was, ah, meditating?”

  “Nothing important,” I assured her. “Everything’s quiet.”

  “Too quiet, mayhap,” Daraxandriel noted. “More than sufficient time has passed for the incubus to seek us out, since Allison revealed our plan to him. Whyfor has he not come?”

  Trust her to voice my biggest worry out loud. “Allison called him after he left the station with Tara, Cruz, and Mrs. Burns. He probably needed to drop them off at Mrs. Kendricks’ place and make sure everyone stayed put while he was gone.”

  “Mayhap,” she said, sounding unconvinced. “And yet we needs must –” Suddenly, she spun around, her tail arching up warily as she pointed the tip of her sword towards the inner sanctum of the library. She moved it back and forth warily, peering into the shadows.

  “What’s wrong?” I whispered. I couldn’t see anything untoward.

  “We are not alone,” she murmured. “Someone comes.”

  “Aw, I was going to sneak up behind you and yell Boo.” Amy’s voice came out of thin air just a few feet away.

  “That’s enough, Amy.” Dad sounded irritable, which wasn’t surprising considering he’d had to put up with Amy this whole time.

  “Dad?” I peered at the spot where his voice came from but there was absolutely no sign of him. “Can you see him?” I asked Rebecca.

  Her eyes did that thing again and she nodded after a few seconds. “Barely,” she reported. “They’re like ghosts. Well, ghostier than ghosts, really.”

  “I guess the glamours work then.” That was a welcome bit of news. At least something was going right today. “Are the girls there too?”

  “We’re here, Peter,” Melissa informed me.

  “Where’s the incubus?” Karyn sounded annoyed and impatient.

  “He’s not here yet. You need to hide in one of the offices until he gets here.” I pointed to the hallway behind them. At least I presumed it was behind them. I wasn’t sure which way they were facing. “Did you have any trouble getting here?”

  “None to speak of,” Dad said, “although I hadn’t realized how hard it was to cross the street when the drivers can’t see you.”

  “Been there, done that,” I told him.

  “I’m seriously considering recruiting witches for the police force. This sort of thing would be incredibly useful.” A sudden, insistent buzzing startled me. “Sorry, I kept my phone on in case one of the patrols spotted your car.” I heard a brief rustling. “Hang on. June? I’m in the middle of something, can I call you back? What?” His voice had a definite note of alarm in it. “What happened?”

  “What’s wrong, Dad?” I asked anxiously. Not being able to see his face made it worse, leaving my imagination to run free.

  “How long ago? Damn it. Okay. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it. Call me right away if you hear anything. Yes,” he sighed. “Just keep the doors locked. I know, I’m worried too. I love you.”

  I heard the beep when he hung up. “Dad?” I asked. “What happened?”

  He let out a long, tired breath. “Allison, drop my glamour, please.” An oddly-cadenced whisper came from somewhere to my right and Dad faded into view, along with tweener Amy and the three witches. Dad looked right at me with a grim set to his mouth. “Susie’s missing,” he said.

  “What?” I couldn’t believe it. She was the one person in all this I thought was safe. “What happened?”

  “Apparently, you called Mom a little while ago and asked to speak with Susie. You talked for a couple of minutes and then Susie went back to bed. When Mom went to check on her just now, she was gone.”

  All six females turned to look at me. “It wasn’t me!” I protested. “I don’t even have a phone anymore!”

  “It was obviously the incubus,” Dad said heavily.

  “That’s one more,” Amy told us gleefully. “You might as well give up now. The end is near.”

  “That’s enough!” Dad told her sharply. “I’m going to keep my family safe no matter what it takes.” Amy didn’t seem cowed in the least.

  “But doesn’t that change everything?” Rebecca asked uneasily. “I mean, Susie’s really strong and she can do that portal thing.” She glanced down at her feet as if she expected a fiery white pentagram to appear there. Her own pentagram dimmed but remained intact.

  “We don’t know that she’s with the incubus,” I argued. “He doesn’t know the right phrase to take control of her.”

  “What if he figured it out?” Karyn countered. “I mean, it’s not all that complicated.” She eyed Melissa and Allison suspiciously and eased away from them.

  “If Susie’s still free, she’ll find a way to contact us,” Dad said. “If not –” He took another deep breath and let it out as he unclenched his fists. “The sooner we destroy this thing, the better.”

  “Let’s stick with the plan,” I told everyone. “He still wants the journal and he’s going to have to come here to get it. Glamour up, everyone, and find a hiding place.”

  “My way’s better,” Amy grumbled, walking over to rejoin the others.

  “My way’s better,” Karyn muttered, but she raised her hands, waiting for Allison to do her thing.

  “You’d better go with them,” I told Rebecca. “Stay out of sight until it’s over.”

  “But don’t you need my shield?” she asked hesitantly.

  “Not unless they’re planning to run me over in the middle of a library.” She frowned at that and I rolled my eyes. “That’s a joke,” I sighed. “Go. Keep this going if you can.” I pointed to the softly-glowing pentagram still surrounding me.

  Rebecca nodded and concentrated for a moment before carefully stepping over the lines to stand near Dad. A murmured incantation later, everyone disappeared except for Daraxandriel and me. I heard a few whispered instructions and the scuff of shoes on the floor and then the library fell silent. I let my shoulders slump and rubbed my eyes.

  “The waif is strong-willed,” Daraxandriel said quietly. “She will –”

  “Don’t say anything, please.” I was trying very hard not to think of what the incubus might be doing to her. If he hurts her, I told myself, if he even touches her –

  “Peter!” Olivia pushed her way through one of the front doors. “Someone’s coming!”

  I almost ran to the door to check myself, but I forced myself to remain in the middle of the star. We needed the incubus to think he was catching us by surprise. “Is he driving my car?”

  “No, it’s a black truck, like the one Agent Prescott had.”

  For a fleeting moment, I wondered if Prescott had somehow found out about what was happening and came to help, but that wasn’t likely. “It must be Agent Morgan’s SUV. The incubus knows we were looking for my car. Keep watching him, see which way he goes.”

  Olivia nodded and stepped back through the door. She was back only a few seconds later. “It’s not him, Peter,” she said worriedly. “It’s Agent Morgan and that old lady from the jail.”

  “Mrs. Phipps? Oh, shit.” They weren’t here to stop a summoning ritual, they were here to stop me. I abandoned the pentagram, looking around the foyer for a new plan. “Olivia! Go check the back door and see if there’s anyone there. Lock it if you can.” Olivia nodded fearfully and raced away to the stairs. “Dad! Everyone!” I shouted down the hall. “It’s a trap! Stay glamoured and get out of here! Meet up –” I stopped in dismay. We never chose a new meeting site to replace the police station. I picked the first place that popped into my head. “Meet up at the cemetery!”

  One of the front doors rattled and I
spun around. We had to keep Agent Morgan distracted long enough for the others to escape. “Kill me!” I ordered Daraxandriel.

  Her glowing eyes flew open wide. “Peter Simon Collins!”

  “Turn me back into a ghost! Mrs. Phipps can still see me but it’ll make it hard for Agent Morgan to do anything to me.”

  She blinked at me and then nodded her understanding. I winced in anticipation as she drew her blade back, its tip aimed right at my heart, but she didn’t have a chance to strike before the front of the library blew inward with a blast that shook the building to its foundations.

  20

  In every strategic conflict, be it on a chess board or a battlefield, there comes a time where one of the opponents realizes that their odds of victory are rapidly approaching zero. Now they’re faced with a difficult decision: do they fight on regardless in the hopes that maybe the tide will turn, or do they accept the inevitable loss and instead direct their efforts to the next skirmish?

  There are arguments to be made for both options. Giving up preserves what few resources you have remaining, so that you have something to fight with next time, but it hands your opponent the win without making them earn it. If you stay in the game, on the other hand, there’s always the chance, however slim, that you could still emerge victorious. A lucky roll of the dice, a careless mistake, divine intervention, anything could happen. Of course, there’s a downside to this approach: you could end up losing everything.

  I tend to be in the Fight On camp. I don’t like losing but I really hate surrendering. If I’m going to lose, I’m going to take as many of the enemy with me as I can before my HP hits zero. Sticking it out to the bitter end may just be foolish optimism but running away is just giving up. My team deserves better than that.

  I stood there blinking with my ears ringing, trying to get my bearings. Sunlight poured in through the ragged opening where the doors used to be and dust filled the air in a swirling fog. Bits of glass from the windows overhead sprinkled down like deadly snowflakes and parts of the outer wall broke loose and clattered to the floor. Two shadows stood just outside, waiting for the debris to settle.