Legion

by Catrina Burgess

  I took a deep breath. Coffee. I was alive. The potion had worked.

  “Freddy asked me to bring you this.” Darla’s voice was behind me.

  I twisted around. She stood looking down at me, holding a cup in one hand and a plate in the other.

  “Why am I in here?”

  She knelt down and handed me the cup. The liquid was dark, and steam rose off its surface. She set the plate of biscuits on the floor.

  Still kneeling next to me, she said, “You’re here because you can’t be left on your own. I can’t believe you did something so foolish. You could have died drinking that stuff.”

  “Sorry to disappoint you,” I answered.

  Darla sat back on her knees. “I need you alive.”

  I sipped my coffee and watched her. “For your trial?”

  She looked behind her and then back at me. “There’s been a new development in our plan to get rid of the demon.”

  I looked around the room. I saw a small form crouching in the shadows. It was the demon. The child.

  Darla followed my glance. She moved closer and said in a soft voice, “Seems the first translation of the spell we did wasn’t right, but I think we’ve got it now. Your blood created that thing.” She motioned with her hand toward the child still crouching in the shadows. “So we need your blood to make sure it’s destroyed.”

  The words Freddy said rang in my head. “Full circle,” I said.

  A sly smile crossed her face. “You’re going to stay in here for now so we can keep an eye on you.”

  There was something in her expression that made me uneasy. “What will Luke say about you keeping me prisoner once he’s back?” If he ever comes back. I pushed the thought away.

  “I’ll deal with my brother.” She stood up, looked over at the child, and said in a loud voice. “You were so desperate to bring this thing into the world… Now you can spend some quality time with it.”

  “You know I didn’t bring the demon forth on purpose.”

  Her eyes glittered with anger. “I know you grabbed an enchanted weapon and did magic with it. What did you think would happen?”

  “I was trying to free the spirits of my father and brother.” Why did I keep trying to defend myself to these people? They would never forgive me for what I’d done.

  She spat out at me, “Instead you created an evil sister.” She stood slowly, studying the girl. “She does look like you. I hadn’t realized until after the ritual. It’s amazing how similar the two of you are.” She started to walk toward the door.

  I called out to her retreating back, “You think you can keep me in here? Does your Uncle Franklin know I’m in here?”

  She stopped, turned, and stared at me. I could tell by her expression that her uncle had no idea what she was up to. Darla had taken it upon herself to do a forbidden spell. And now she was holding me and the creature she brought into camp prisoners.

  “How long do you think you can keep me here?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You’ll stay here until the ritual is done.”

  It was my turn to laugh. “You think you can keep me here?”

  When Darla spoke again, she was no longer angry. Her voice was cold and devoid of emotion. “I think if you try to leave, we’ll do whatever we have to to defend ourselves.”

  “Defend yourself or attack me?” I demanded.

  “I know you think you’re all-powerful now, but I don’t think you’re strong enough to take on a whole camp of trained death dealers.” She pointed to the faint black lines on my wrist. “Not with that stuff coursing through your veins.”

  I gave her a hard stare. “Are you sure about that? Are you willing to risk your guild’s lives on the belief that I’m not strong enough to fight them if I have to?”

  That made her pause. “Don’t try it, Colina. I don’t want to hurt you, but if you force me to, I will.”

  I watched her walk away.

  I sat there on the floor staring at the closed door until my hunger finally got the best of me. I put down the cup of coffee and reached for a biscuit.

  A stomach grumbled. It wasn’t mine. The demon was in here with me—no, it wasn’t a demon anymore, just a child. We were stuck in here together until Darla decided released us.

  The dark form rose. I watched the child walk slowly across the room.

  Those blue eyes looked hungrily at the biscuit in my hands. My brother’s eyes. It was more instinct than rational thought that made me reach out with the biscuit. “Do you want some?”

  She moved slowly toward me until her small hand reached out and took the biscuit. She sat down on the floor next to me and crossed her legs. “You were talking in your sleep,” she said.

  “I was? What did I say?” The words popped out of my mouth before I could stop them.

  “You called out boys’ names.”

  Boys? As in plural? I couldn’t help myself from asking, “What names?”

  She gave a small smile. “Luke. Dean. Are they your boyfriends?”

  Dean’s image popped into my mind and I forced it away. “Luke is my boyfriend.”

  “I can’t wait until I’m old enough to have a boyfriend.” She took a bite of the biscuit. “How old are you?” she asked with her mouth still full.

  “Um…” How much time had passed? I’d lost track of time, lost track of the passing seasons. It felt like I had lived through a lifetime of chaos in the last year. If I wasn’t eighteen, I would be soon. “Eighteen,” I answered. I watched her take small careful bites of the biscuit. Between each bite, she watched me with those blue eyes.

  Darla was right; she did look like me. I should have been scared of the girl. In the past, I’d always looked at her with fear, but she was different now. There was no longer that looming presence of evil that used to radiate from her. Had we really made the girl human? Where had the demon gone?

  She finished the biscuit. “Do you know how old I am?”

  “I’m not sure.” She looked about eight or nine.

  Those blue eyes were looking at me with so much intensity. “I’ve been trying to remember things from when I was little.” She shook her head, and dark hair spilled across her face. She pushed it back. “But the only thing that I keep seeing is your face.” She looked toward the door. “That lady said we look alike.”

  It was true. She didn’t look exactly like me, but her dark hair, her pale complexion, her broad forehead, her Scottish chin… I looked into her face, and I saw parts of my family there. Anyone who saw us together would have assumed we were related. “We do look alike.”

  “She said I was your sister.” Her eyes looked so much like my brother’s. “Is it true? Am I your sister?” Her voice sounded so hopeful.

  “No, you’re not my sister.” I forced the words, and as I said them I felt a chill run through me. She’s not truly human, I reminded myself. She was created by a demon. She’s the shell it left behind.

  “Oh” was her only answer. That one word held so much disappointment. When she spoke again, her voice was so small and so lonely. “Where’s my family?” she asked.

  I wasn’t sure how to answer her.

  “My mom and dad, I don’t remember them.” Her eyes were sad. “Do you know where they are?”

  How could I explain to her what she was? I shook my head and looked away.

  When I looked back, she was glancing wistfully at the plate. I passed her another biscuit, and she gave me a smile.

  “You’re nice.” She said between mouthfuls of biscuit. “Not like that other one.” Her face scrunched up, and for a moment I thought she might cry. “She’s so mean.” Her voice trembled as she said, “I’m scared of her. That’s why I hid when she came in.”

  “Darla won’t hurt you.” Even as I said the words, I knew they weren’t true. Darla was planning on killing the child in just a few days. Until this very moment that thought hadn’t bothered me, but as I looked into that small innocent face, I suddenly wondered if the child really did have to die in order to ba
nish the demon from our world. Surely there had to be another way?

  “Do you know my name?” the child asked. When I didn’t answer, she rushed on. “Her name is Darla, and yours is Colina, but I can’t remember my name. I asked the men who brought me food, but they just laughed at me.”

  I was looking into those blue eyes. The eyes of my brother, Jamie. I didn’t realize I’d actually said the name out loud until I heard her repeat it back to me.

  “My name is Jamie?” Her eyes were twinkling, and her voice was full of excitement.

  I looked at her and wondered, what did it matter what her name was? She wasn’t real. She was just a creation of the demon, a vessel the evil thing made using my blood. But yet here she sat, breathing, talking. She looked like an innocent child.

  “Jamie is a pretty name,” she said, clapping her hands together. “I’m glad you’re staying here.” The joy that had been in her face moments before was replaced with a more watchful look. She looked over her shoulder and then back at me. “It’s scary here. At night there are things…” She stopped and looked around the room. “I’m glad you’re here.” She moved forward, reached out, and slid her hand into mine.

  * * *

  Freddy didn’t come to visit, but I knew it wasn’t for lack of trying. He would’ve come if he could. Every morning since I’d been at camp, he’d brought me a mug of coffee. Darla must’ve been keeping him away.

  I ate, I slept, and when I woke many hours later, it was to the sound of singing. The child was sitting in the corner singing quietly to herself. She had a surprisingly pleasant voice. I looked over at her. She was humming to herself and gently rocking back and forth.

  She’ll be dead soon, I thought morbidly. With her death, the demon would be banished from our world forever.

  “Girl?” I called out to her, but she didn’t turn until I called the name I’d given her. “Jamie?”

  She stopped singing, slowly got up, and came to my side.

  “Are you feeling better?” she asked.

  “I am. Do you know when they will bring more food?” We had only been given biscuits for breakfast, and I was starving. It was a good sign that I had my appetite back. I was still a bit weak, but every hour I felt stronger. I’d no idea how long the potion would keep the venom at bay. I was living now on borrowed time. My only hope was that Luke had found Mildred, and that she would know a way to counter the poison.

  Jamie shook her head and looked at the door. “They don’t talk to me when they come in. And sometimes they only bring food once a day.”

  I glanced toward the closed door. She was talking about the guards in front of the cabin. I couldn’t believe I was being held prisoner again. This was a far nicer cell than the one Gage had thrown me into. How long did Darla think she could keep me here?

  Half an hour later the door opened, and one of the guards walked in with a tray of food. He put the tray on a table and left without looking our way or saying a word. The men holding me were supposed to be on my side. I was, in theory, one of them. I was a death dealer. But ever since I’d stepped into the camp I’d been treated like some kind of criminal. I knew no one in the camp except Freddy would shed a tear if I died.

  “Are you hungry?” I asked.

  She gave me a small smile.

  I brought the tray over to her. She was sitting on the floor, and I put the tray down between us and sat on the floor.

  There was a plate of eggs and another of ham. We both ate until the plates were empty.

  Afterward I got up and walked around the room. I tried opening the window, but it was jammed shut. The only way out was going through the men who now guarded the front door. I flexed my hands. Did I have enough power in me, enough magic to fight my way to freedom? I could still feel weakness lingering in my arms and legs. I was strong enough now to walk on my own, but I didn’t know how long that strength would last. Darla was not going to let me free until the ritual. She’d made it clear that she was keeping me in here only to make sure I was around so she could take some of my blood for the spell.

  When Luke came back, he’d get me out. I might’ve had doubts about him, but I knew he still cared about me even though he was different now.

  What would happen when Uncle Franklin came looking for me? He wanted a hearing. He made it sound like it was going to happen soon. We had done the spell. We had used old, forbidden dark magic. I still wasn’t sure if anyone beside the small band who had helped with the spell knew we had made the demon human. How long did Darla think she could hide the girl and I away?

  The child sat quietly in the corner watching me, her eyes wide and her face sullen.

  When we were finished, the child looked over at the window. “They said they could help us get out.”

  “Who?”

  “The ones that talk to me.” She glanced around the room, an expression of fear on her face. “Didn’t you hear them when you slept?”

  I’d slept long and hard with no dreams. I cocked my head and listened. Silence. The room felt empty. There was no whispering in the air, which often came with the presence of spirits. “What do the voices say to you?”

  “They tell me I’m not alone. They say they’ll be with me soon.”

  At her words, a chill ran down my spine. Maybe the voices she heard weren’t spirits. Maybe they were something far darker. I watched the child closely. Could it be the demons, those that still resided on the other side? Could they be contacting her somehow?

  I remembered back when I was being held at the mining town. During the possession ceremony, Wendy had been possessed by something dark, something old, something evil. I’d watched in horror as an alien voice spoke from her lips. Could those creatures be talking to the child? If they had somehow been in contact with the demon, then surely when the child became human that contact would have stopped. She’d shed the demon’s shadow. I no longer felt the evil that had radiated from her. She was human. I gave her a long hard look. Was she really?

  An evil creature had possessed her. Even if we’d somehow forced that evil out with the spell, was it truly gone? We kept saying she was human, but was it true?

  “Do you hear the voices often?” I asked, trying to keep the panic I felt from my voice.

  She nodded her head, “They sing me songs. They keep me company sometimes when I get scared.”

  Spirits. It had to be spirits. But if there were spirits here they weren’t making their presence known to me. I’d stay up tonight with her and see exactly what it was that was talking to her. The witching hour was the time between midnight and 3:00 a.m. when the veil between this world and the next was most evident. If there were spirits, I would be able to feel them for sure after midnight.

  * * *

  The day crawled by slowly. Even if I’d wanted to keep my distance from the child, it was impossible with the two of us trapped in the small cabin. She stayed by my side most the time, peppering me with questions. I finally started telling her stories to keep her entertained. I recited the stories my parents had told to me when I was a young child.

  The girl sat on the floor, cross-legged, her eyes wide with wonder and excitement as I regaled her with stories of dragons and fairies.

  The stories were only interrupted by dinner, which was brought by a guard. There was no sign of Freddy or Darla. We ate everything they brought us, and when the meal was done the child begged me to tell her another tale. Every time I’d finish one story she’d clap her small hands together and beg me for another. As I told her stories, I watched the expressions of my father and brother flash across her face. Each time I saw a glimpse of them, I felt a pang in my heart. I missed my family so desperately.

  The room eventually began to get dark; night was upon us. I got up and lit a lantern on the table.

  The child had moved to the center of the room with her head turned toward the back of the cabin. There was such intensity to the way she was standing, with her head cocked to one side. It was as though she was concentrating on something. T
he creepy doll dangled from her hand.

  “Jamie,” I watched her turn and look at me. “Are those voices talking to you now?”

  She nodded.

  I listened and waited for the feel of ghostly fingers on my skin and for words to whisper in my ears, but the room was silent. I made my way to her side. “What are they saying?” I whispered, looking around the empty cabin.

  “They say your boyfriend is coming.”

  I held my breath.

  She turned and looked at the door. “He’s coming right now.”

  I physically jumped when someone pounded on the door not thirty seconds later.

  There was the sound of voices and commotion outside. At the noise, the child scuttled back into the shadows.

  My heart pounded in my chest. Luke was back. Had he found the cure? I took a deep breath, straightened my shoulders, and walked to the door. Before I got there, it swung open. I looked up in shock. I’d been expecting to see Caleb’s face.

  I was staring into the face of Dean.

  “Colina.” He said my name and, before I could react, rushed in and scooped me up into his arms. He swung me around. When he put me down, there was a wide smile on his face. “Goddess, it’s good to see you.”

  “You’re alive,” I whispered.

  He laughed. “I barely made it out of there in one piece. But I did, and here I am. I’ve been looking for you. It’s taken me this long to track you down.”

  “We went back, and everyone was gone. I thought you were dead.” I realized my hand, on its own, had reached up and touched his cheek. As soon as I did, I pulled my hand away and felt heat on my own cheeks.

  Those blue eyes looked at me with such intensity. His fingers came up and touched my lips. “I thought I’d lost you.”

  Before I could say anything, he pulled me into his arms and kissed me.

  I should have shoved him back. I should have stopped the kiss. But I didn’t. I kissed him back. When he finally pulled away, we were both a bit breathless.

  My heart raced. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. “When you were pounding on the door, I thought you were Luke.”