Of course, people didn’t have to go to East Gorswood to provide an ultimate solution for their problems. There was rarely a week gone by of the news that yet another body had been found in Gorswood Forest. The ranger found three bodies in one week, and when suspicion turned to him but was ultimately unproven, he left the town and was never seen again. I for one didn’t blame him.
For Beth, there was no other way. She had coped for as long as she could, and I could imagine Dana being a far more malignant demon than Belial. But as she wandered towards the forest, I would have given anything to know Beth’s thoughts. Why couldn’t she trust me or Toril? Or was Dana pushing her to do this?
It was not beyond the realms of possibility, but what kept Beth going was her belief in something better, something greater than herself. It was well known in Catholic circles that to take one’s life meant that your soul would be forever damned. Perhaps Beth thought that was the ultimate sacrifice. She would die, but Dana would be vanquished. In her eyes, that was worth an eternity of damnation.
Oh Beth, if only I could tell you how wrong you are. How this is the biggest mistake ever. Don’t do this, my friend.
Beth had not told us because we would have tried to talk her out of it, She drove me crazy at times, but there were more good times than bad, and I loved that crazy Irish girl.
As she stumbled through the Forest, things that she had not seen before revealed themselves. People hanging on trees. People impaled upside down on trees, blood still flowing freely from their bodies.
Zeryths encircled her, willing her to go on, to jump to her death. Soon enough, she arrived at the point where West Gorswood Forest ended and the East began. It was a dark, foreboding place. Snow laced the ground and lined the tree branches in an attempt to look pretty, Christmas-card like, and inviting.
“To Hell with you all and the bitch inside me,” said Beth. “I am doing this.”
Beth felt she had nothing to lose. She believed I would be just fine without her, but the truth was, I needed her more than ever. The ties that bound our fates were fracturing. If I lost her, destroying the Mirror, assuming I could actually do that, would be meaningless.
Beth was as resolute and determined as I was when she wanted to be. Things in the forest that should have scared her, no longer did.
“I’ve decided to end this bitch,” said Beth. “If my life is ended as a result, so be it. You can’t stop me.”
Nor did they try. These Zeryths were not like the ones that attacked Tori-Suzanne and Lunabelle. They were drones. Their only function was to look mean and scary, but Dana had shown Beth so many horrors, it no longer mattered. Beth was immune to it.
Finally, one of the Zeryths blocked Beth’s path.
“Away with you,” she said. “You lot can’t hurt me anymore.”
“Killing yourself will not rid you of the demon,” it said. “We know what evil is within you.”
“Then step aside,” Beth told them. “I am taking my chances.”
“A fool’s chance,” said the Zeryth. “You cannot kill her that way. She is already dead.”
“Well, I’m about to test that theory,” said Beth. “Fine. I have actually gone crazy, for real this time. Talking to a ghost! My mum would think we are back in culchie territory!”
Undeterred by the ghosts and the demons, Beth purposely made her way to the suicide swing. She jumped onto it, swaying back and forth for a while. Even with the red sky in front of her, and the darkness behind, she felt more at peace than she had done so for a long time.
Beth knew that Jesus had foreseen his death. It did not stop him from making the choices that he did. It was a prophecy, one that he was destined to fulfill.
Beth did not expect any kind of resurrection, just a sense of peace. That was all she wished for. So she swung on the swing, back and forth, gently rocking, clasping her hands together, praying for a way to remove Dana from herself and the world.
No answer was forthcoming. But she believed Jesus had experienced the same feelings in his lowest moments. He believed by dying on the cross, that he was doing what was expected of him. History would judge Beth more kindly. She stood up on the swing, placed a foot either side of it to steady herself, and prepared to jump.
***
Whoever it was, they saved my life. The door had opened, and hands from God himself appeared to drag me out away from the air that had become contaminated with smoke. I coughed violently on the ground, and through bleary eyes I could make out one Zeryth after another falling under the power of the wand.
Yes, my benefactor had one.
When the dust had cleared, several Zeryths lay dead on the ground. A few moments later, there was a popping sound as they turned to ash, completing their disintegration.
As I was helped to my feet, my benefactor was revealed to be the witch, Tori-Suzanne Withers.
“Romilly!” she said, shaking my shoulders. “The time is now. You have the Mirror, yes?”
I did, it was still in my clutches.
“You have the gift of foresight, don’t you? Tell me, where is Beth?”
I looked deep within myself, and somehow, the answer came.
“She is deep in the Forest.”
“Then she intends to harm herself. Child, you have to stop her.”
I knew that, but Tori-Suzanne knew it meant awakening something inside that with all my heart, I did not want.
“Put aside the little girl, and become who you were meant to be. A great witch. You have the wand, Romilly! The wand. The Mirror, the pentacle, it’s all within your power to bring us a final victory.”
“Come with me,” I asked. “You are better at this than I am.”
“Not better, just more accustomed. I must stay here, Romilly. There are many demons to fight. I can clear the path for you.”
“What about Lunabelle?” I just had to ask.
“We will talk about that when this is over. You must ride like the Devil is after you.”
Oh, Tori. That will not be a problem.
***
By whatever means that were now at my disposal, I was able to arrive at Beth’s location at breakneck speed.
I screamed at her, but she appeared to be ignoring me. I knew nothing positive would come of her death. Then I hit something, and it nearly knocked me out. I picked myself off the floor and realised what it was. A forcefield, a surround spell of some kind.
“Don’t come any nearer, Romilly.”
I shouted through, hoping she could hear me.
“Who taught you that, Beth?”
“I picked up a few tricks from Toril. I know a spell or two.” She leaned forward, preparing to throw herself to her death.
“Stop it,” I said, tears falling freely from my eyes. “You are hurting me.”
“I’ll hurt all of you if this thing is allowed to stay. I’m sorry Romilly.”
She lurched forward. I recalled what she said a few moments earlier about knowing a few tricks. My next decision had to be the right one.
“So do I, it seems,” I said under my breath. Predictably, Beth turned away and looked outwards at her oblivion. I raised Nan’s wand, now my wand, in what I hoped would not a futile attempt to stop her.
What victory could we have if we lost Beth? What would we risk losing, in order to win?
I was not prepared to accept defeat. Whatever powers I had, they had to be useful, to help us win.
As the bolt illuminated from the wand, we were about to find out.
Last Rites:
Chapter 27
If Toril was good at anything, it was burning things down; I had first hand experience of her talent. She had located the Circle with ease, and even though demons and witches alike were inside, including Winnie, the midwife who had originally given her mother the oil of the dillfern, Winnie had not been a force for good. She could have stopped Denzel at any time, helped him to understand the error of his ways, but she chose not to. She had chosen which side she was on.
Toril wa
s ruthless in her dispatch of the enemy, cursing every part of the building. Each part of it was ablaze. Toril had no wish to see bodies burning, she just wanted an end to the cursed place. At first, it seemed like the building was impervious to attack, but Toril’s aim and spells were true and irresistible.
Windows exploded, wails were heard, the scent of burning flesh rose high into the air. Just to make certain, Toril let rip a succession of lightning bolts. Her mother’s wand was indeed more powerful than her own. Still, she would have given anything to see her mother again. Her anger was fully and completely directed at the Circle.
Then, the building exploded, almost taking Toril with it, but she covered herself with a spell that protected her from the blast.
When everything had cleared, she heard a familiar voice.
“No. It can’t be. I know what I saw.”
She did not turn around, even when the figure approached her.
“A good witch, one of our own, sacrificed herself so that I could be with you. Turn around Toril. Please.”
Toril’s tears flowed without restrain, though if that was really who she thought it was, she would not want to let her see her that way.
“Mum? Mum?”
The woman grabbed hold of her daughter. “Yes, Toril, it’s me, love.”
“But I saw-”
“I know what you saw. But you should know that the good witches still have power in this world. Not every evil must triumph, not every ill can hurt us. I am with you, now and always.”
“Mum…” was all Toril could say. She hugged her mother tightly, which took Toril-Suzanne by surprise.
“Well, as I’m supposed to be dead, I’m going home for a rest. But you have a mission of the utmost urgency. Romilly is one of us, you understand that now. She needs your help. Go to her, find her deep in the woods, and rid this world of that demon once and for all.”
“Dana?” Toril asked.
“Dana,” came the confirmation. “Do not fail me, Toril. When you return, I will be the head of a new order, and I will usher in a time of peace. Do you understand me?”
“I do Mum. I do.”
“I believe that together, you and Romilly possess a greater power than Dana. I am counting on you to see this done.”
“A seventy-year-old demon? Able to kill at will, and near impossible to kill herself? High chance of me not coming back? What am I waiting for?”
“Bless you, my daughter,” said Tori-Suzanne, as she watched Toril head deep into the forest.
***
When the barrier came down, Beth was not pleased, to put it mildly. Still, she jumped down from the swing, and stood at the edge of the forest. There was water as far as the eye could see. Rocks laced the edge of the drop at its base. It was a long way down. Beth almost thought she could see the bodies of those who had drowned before her being swept away in the undercurrent.
The blast had taken it out of me. Even with these new powers, undoing Toril’s old one, one learned by Beth, was still draining to me. How could witches function like this? It was exhausting.
“Beth! I’m asking you not to do this. We will find another way!”
Beth shook her head. “Don’t you understand Romilly? We can’t stop people killing us if they want to. The town is overrun. And she lives, no matter what we try. I have get rid of her.”
I took tentative steps forward. My head hurt from the information coming to me. What I was looking for; was a spell that would help me drag her from the abyss. But my head felt like locusts were swarming in it. I could not think clearly.
It was at that moment that I actually saw Dana appear beside Beth. “No!” she screamed. “She belongs to me. She dies with me!”
Making herself solid for just a few moments was enough. She struck Beth in the face. The last sight I had of her was Beth toppling over the edge, down to the rocks below.
***
“Well,” said Dana, licking her wand. “That was easy.”
I stood up and a rage I had never felt welled up within me. The wand illuminated, not just in part, but all the way, to the point that my hand hurt from holding it.
“You could have changed,” I said. “You could have stopped. But you chose to be like this.”
Dana raised her wand. “I have no problem with you, Romilly. But merely holding a wand doesn’t make you a witch.”
That didn’t matter. A bolt flew from my wand and struck her forehead. She was bleeding, actually bleeding.
“Oh. Oh! So you do mean to hurt me,” she said. “My turn.” She fired back but somehow I was able to block it, the shot ricocheting off my wand and hitting a tree, which split at the top and came crashing down on top of her. She moved just in time.
“How long shall we continue this for, huh?” she jeered. “What will you have won, when Beth is already gone? You’ve lost, Romilly. All this has been for nothing.”
I held the wand to my side. “Do you know who originally owned this wand? It belonged to my Nan. You knew her as Maria. She would not have wanted you to be like this.”
“Maria. Oh yes, I remember now. She told me not to enter the woods. Now I can never leave. Neither will you, Romilly. Without that wand, you’re just a novice. You can’t defeat me on your own.”
A blaze of light struck Dana from behind with Toril swooping down from the air.
“Now, Romilly. Hit her with everything you’ve got!”
I summoned the power of the wand once more. It was little more than a weapon of destruction. I had no love nor want for it. But it followed my commands effortlessly as the strange words filled my head so I could utter them under my breath. Dana could not move, and when Toril ceased her attack, Dana looked pale, weak, and defeated.
I stood over her, placing the back of my hand to her face. She was solid, but it was weakening. She possessed neither the body nor host to keep her to this world.
She began to laugh. “You played well, but all is lost. The Mirror has been taken. You should have kept your eyes on it instead of attacking me.”
“I don’t know about any last rite,” I said. “But if you tell me where it is, I’ll pray for your soul to be at peace.”
“Keep your pious words, non-believer. You’ve doubted yourself and those around you for your entire life. What kindness would your prayers offer me? I curse you, Romilly Winter. Your soul will never be at peace.”
Dana faded from view. I had to believe, finally, that we had done it. But once again, it was a partial victory, and Dana was right, I should have kept my eyes on the Mirror the whole time.
There could have been only one person who could have done this. Someone I had not encountered for a while. The Mirror was in a bag, so it was possible he could have taken it. I had to stop him returning it to his master.
Still, without Beth, I felt lost and defeated. What was the point of me going on when everyone I loved was dead?
I allowed myself a moment of pity, but it was quickly shattered. Toril raised her wand and pointed it at me.
“Look at me,” she said. “Look at me.”
It turns out that you could trust a witch, but seemingly not Toril. I spun around and scrambled for my wand. She had already let a lethal blast fire from her wand in my direction.
The next second, my world spins with the sickening realisation that Toril has fatally wounded me.
Destiny:
Chapter 28
I lay choking on the ground, a burning sensation in my chest. My clothes felt soaked with my blood. I was shaking in the cold, my body reacting, forcing shivers out of me, trying to keep me warm.
“Die, Romilly. You have to die, understand?” said Toril. “You have to die.”
My teeth chattered but I managed to answer her. “You traitor, Toril. You let the evil become you.”
“Shut up,” she said. “Shut up. I’m not talking to you.”
She crouched over me, and jammed her wand into my throat. “Don’t you get it? It’s over. Beth is dead. The Mirror is gone. It’s over.”
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Oh Toril, you deceitful bitch, I thought. Some bloody cheerleader you are. If I could raise my hand I’d stick three fingers up at you.
“Understand this,” she commanded. “Her body is dying. She’s suffered a fatal blow. Her best friend is dead. The Mirror of Souls is on its way to your master. You’ve won.”
I felt something leave me. I was sure it was my soul prising itself from my body for the last time. But Toril stood up and pointed her wand at something else.
Dark Winter: Last Rites Page 35
