Revenant

by Catrina Burgess

  Jacob led Wendy out of the room and I began to follow.

  Caleb raised a hand. “No. She goes with Jacob, you come with me.”

  “I want to go with Wendy,” I said, starting after them.

  Caleb stepped in my way, his arms crossed in front of him. “Not going to happen.”

  “Where’s he taking her?” I demanded.

  Caleb gave me a slow grin. “Don’t worry, you’ll be reunited soon enough.”

  Caleb reached out to grab me, and I quickly moved out of his reach. “Don’t touch me,” I growled.

  Caleb seemed amused by my outburst. He raised his hands as if in surrender and pointed toward the door leading outside.

  I froze. The last place I wanted to go was outside with Caleb.

  “We’re going to a building a few doors down.” He moved around me and opened the door. “If you come look, you’ll see we aren’t the only ones taking a stroll outside tonight.” He stood there with a cold smile on his face. He’s enjoying scaring me. We stood for a moment, staring each other down, but it was pretty clear he wasn’t going anywhere.

  I reluctantly went to the door. He was right. People were walking past the house. I looked into the woods and the darkness beyond it, searching for two pairs of red eyes.

  “The beasts have been given the night off,” Caleb said, walking away from the door. “We need to get a move on. You don’t want to miss tonight’s fun.” He stopped and looked expectantly at me.

  If I didn’t follow him, I would be physically dragged off like Dean, and I knew Caleb would take nothing but pleasure from my resistance. I headed out the door. I wanted to stay silent, but as more people appeared I couldn’t help but ask, “Another party?”

  “More of an…event,” Caleb answered.

  We walked past a few structures and then rounded the corner into a small, open square. I could tell that a small park with a few trees and benches had once decorated the center, but now it was all overgrown and wild. A thorny bramble filled the open spaces between the trees, with paths roughly hacked through. As we passed, the prickly branches seemed to reach out and slash at me. I noticed a zombie crew fighting with the thick, old bushes, hacking at them with axes and hedge trimmers to forge out new paths. Long slashes marked all of the exposed skin on their hands and faces. The cuts were mostly bloodless, but some oozed blackened puss. Snapped branches and limbless thorns hung from the zombies. I noticed the body of a small old woman laboring on despite a long bramble hanging out of one eye socket.

  After some time, we finally broke into a clearing. We stood in front of the largest wooden building I had seen yet in the old town. A row of torches lit it dramatically. It seemed to be built on a grander scale than the town called for, with tall Gothic columns and a steep row of stairs leading to a broad porch. I knew from history classes that during different mining booms, small towns sprouted up wherever precious metals or gems were found.

  This building was grand and had the look of a bigger city. The citizens of the little boomtown must have had hopes of making this place a real city one day. But it never happened. Now the only sign that they were ever here was this ghost town.

  “The old courthouse,” Caleb said, following my gaze. “I think you’ll enjoy this.”

  The way he said it sent shivers down my spine. What’s going on? And where’s Wendy?

  We made our way inside. Rows of wooden benches ran down both sides of the room. Candelabras filled the space with candlelight. Bodies filled every seat and more stood in the aisles. The odd thing was that no one was talking. Every person in the place was silent and staring toward the front.

  Caleb pushed through the crowd, and I followed him.

  At the front of the room was a wooden chair. Surrounding the chair were a dozen black unlit candles. To one side of the candles laid a pile of thick rope.

  My mind immediately flashed back to the second ritual—to Luke tying me to a chair and binding my hands and feet with rope.

  “Possession,” I said under my breath.

  “Possession, yes.” It was Sonja’s voice. She’d come to stand beside me. “This is not like the second death dealer ritual, however. It’s not possession from a spirit. This is something a bit different.” She was looking at the chair. “You released a demon into this world, but the others—his brethren—are still below in hell. There’s no gateway open yet for them to come over to this side.” She turned and looked at me. “Gage has been trying to bring them forth using the same magic and dagger you did, but so far he’s had no luck.” She smiled. “Hard to believe you’re more powerful than Gage.” She gave me a guarded look. “Don’t tell him I said that. He’s not the type of man that likes to admit defeat.”

  Someone in a black robe came out from the shadows and started drawing on the floor around the chair and the candles.

  “A protection pentagram.” Sonja’s eyes followed the cloaked figure’s every move. “This is the only way Gage can communicate with the other demons.”

  “You can’t be serious,” I said. “Someone is going to be possessed by a demon?”

  “Not any someone. Your dark-haired friend,” she answered.

  “No!” The word came out loud and rang through the room. I looked around for an opportunity to escape, for any sign of Wendy, but Caleb grabbed my arm. “Let go of me,” I hissed at him.

  Caleb didn’t say a word, but his fingers dug into my arm.

  Wendy walked out from a side door. She was wearing a red shift dress. It was similar to the dress I wore during the ritual, but mine had been longer and made of a thicker material. Wendy’s dress was cut short, and I could see her every curve through the skimpy material.

  My dress had been white. Luke said the tradition went back a hundred years—that the dress signified a virginal journey into the underworld. If the white dress meant a virginal journey, what did a red dress signify?

  When I’d gone into the underworld, a passing spirit possessed me. The spirit was strong, and she’d threatened to stay inside me forever. But in the end I’d overpowered her and pushed her out.

  Now Wendy was going to be possessed by a demon. Once it was inside her, would she be able to force it back out?

  Wendy didn’t look at the crowd—her gaze stayed firmly on the floor. She sat down in the chair before finally looking up. Her face was pale, her eyes wide. I’d never seen her look more afraid.

  The black-robed man finished his drawing. He bent over and grabbed some rope. I watched as he secured Wendy’s hands and feet to the chair. He also wrapped a length of rope around Wendy’s waist.

  “They can’t do this,” I said, trying to break free of Caleb’s grip.

  “They can and they will,” Sonja replied. “Don’t worry. It’s not the first time she’s done this. Your friend will be fine.”

  I stared at Sonja in horror. How many times had they forced Wendy to be possessed by a demon?

  Two men dressed in the same black clothing as everyone else pulled back the drapes from a large window. Moonlight spilled into the room. They snuffed all of the torches and candelabras, leaving the window as the only source of light. While they did that, the robed figure lit the black candles.

  Wendy sat motionless in the chair, glowing in an island of moonlight. The dim illumination from the foul-smelling black candles threw shadows against the walls.

  The man in the robe said familiar words in Latin, but they weren’t the same words that Luke had used. These were different. I strained to make them out.

  Without warning, Wendy’s head whipped back and she let out an ungodly scream. There was a whooshing noise and all the flames on the candles rose four inches, turning from red to green.

  Wendy started to speak. The harsh words spewing from her mouth made no sense. She did this before, back at the asylum. She’s speaking in tongues. I remembered that a janitor at the asylum had the gift of interpretation—he’d been able to understand what she was saying. He told me her gift came directly from angels.

  If
that was true and angels had bestowed her gift, there was no way they’d intended it to be used for this dark purpose.

  Her body started to contort. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and her limbs jerked hard against the rope. Her head swung violently back and forth. Then, abruptly, it stopped. Silence filled the room.

  This time when she looked up at the crowd, I knew I wasn’t looking into Wendy’s eyes. Something else was looking back at us. Goose bumps rose on my arms.

  A growl left Wendy’s mouth.

  Gage stalked out from amidst the crowd and walked slowly toward her. When he got in front of Wendy, he knelt down.

  “Welcome,” Gage said.

  A deep voice boomed out from between Wendy’s lips. “WHY DID YOU BRING US HERE?”

  “I request an audience.” Gage’s head was bowed as though in prayer.

  No one spoke. No one moved. Wendy and Gage held the focus of everyone in the room.

  “STATE YOUR PURPOSE,” boomed the voice. Wendy’s eyes were staring straight ahead. They were no longer brown, but red and glowing.

  “Great ones, I beseech you. I need your guidance.” Gage raised himself slowly until he was standing, though his head was still bowed.

  Those red eyes stared at him. Another growl ripped from Wendy’s lips.

  “I bring you an offering,” Gage said, raising his head and motioning with his left hand.

  Two men entered the room, each carrying a chicken. The chickens squawked and flapped their wings, struggling in the men’s hands.

  The men stopped just short of the pentagram. They each raised their free hands, and I saw the glint of steel in the candlelight. The knives plunged into and slashed across the chickens. Blood oozed out and dripped onto the floor. As the blood hit the floor and spread, the symbols written in the pentagram began to glow.

  “I hope you are pleased with the offering,” Gage said loudly.

  “WE ARE NOT.” Hissing and growling noises followed the words. I knew without a doubt that I’d heard those sounds before—within the dark abyss.

  I have to stop this madness. A demon held Wendy captive, possessing her body and speaking from her mouth. Caleb’s fingers were still on my arm, but he suddenly jerked me back tight against his body, as if he knew what I was thinking. I used every ounce of strength I had to pull away from him and finally escaped his grasp. I stumbled away, expecting Caleb to stop me again. When he didn’t, I looked back at him.

  His eyes were dark, shining with an unnatural glow. What’s going on? I glanced around the room. Everyone near me had the same cold glow to their eyes. Their expressions were all identical—transfixed and blank. Everyone’s attention was on Wendy and Gage.

  Everyone except for Caleb.

  All at once, his unfamiliar blank eyes changed to an expression of glee. His fingers reached out and grabbed me again. They began to slide up my arm.

  “COLINA…” The voice that came out of his lips was not his. The sound of my name, cold and somehow alien, made me freeze in my tracks. “COLINA CAMPBELL, WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU.”

  “Wha— Who are you?” I whispered.

  “WE ARE LEGION,” the voice whispered back.

  My skim pimpled up in goose bumps where Caleb’s fingers touched me. I tried to back up, tried to move away, but the fingers tightened and pulled me closer.

  “YOU ARE THE ONE WHO WILL SET US FREE.” The voice decreased in pitch, a conspiratorial whisper, all of the more disturbing coming out of Caleb’s mouth.

  I jerked my arm away and looked around for somewhere to run, some path to get away. This is not right, this can’t be real.

  A scream ripped through the air, and I quickly turned back to Wendy. Her eyes, red and calculating, focused on a mess laying on the floor before her. What is that? I wondered. It wasn’t there before… The look in Wendy’s eyes sent a chill down my back.

  I pushed my way to the front of the room and watched in horror as the young freckly girl who had brought us our tray of food earlier lay crying and writhing in pain on the floor. Blood ran down from gashes on her wrists and along her throat.

  Gage stood to one side of the pentagram, a dagger in his hand. The glint of the dagger flashed in the candlelight, stained in red. Blood covered his arms.

  No, what are you doing? my thoughts screamed. She’s innocent!

  He looked at Wendy and shouted, “In your name!” He turned and raised the dagger up, took a breath, then brought it down. The girl gurgled out a scream again as the dagger slid deeply through her throat. Blood spurted from her wound and covered the front of Gage’s shirt.

  A pool of blood spread across the floor, oozing over the symbols. Where the blood touched them, red sparks shot up into the air like roman candles.

  It took less than thirty seconds for all the blood in the girl’s body to drain out onto the floor. She lay motionless, her eyes dim and lifeless.

  Gage had killed again, but this time with his own two hands.

  I looked up at him. He looked back at me and gave me a slow, cold smile.

  “YOUR OFFERING IS ACCEPTABLE…” The words floated out of Wendy’s mouth as her eyes glowed even more vividly red than before.

  Gage stepped into the pentagram. He leaned down toward Wendy. A whooshing sound whipped through the air again, and the candles rose until the flames were almost six feet tall. Their glow changed from red to orange. An inhuman scream ripped from Wendy’s mouth.

  And then candles went out, throwing the room into darkness.

  Chapter 6

  There was movement all around me. Voices yelled out in fear and excitement. A torch flame suddenly pierced the darkness. Gage. He was standing in front of Wendy with the lit torch in his hand. More torches flared to life throughout the room, and it became bright enough that I could see people huddled together, whispering among themselves. Caleb stood beside me, a confused look on his face.

  When he finally looked my way, I watched him warily, waiting to see if the eyes looking back at me were his. When I recognized his angry glare, I let out a sigh of relief. I never thought I would be happy to see Caleb, but I was. Whatever had possessed him was gone.

  Gage raised his blood-soaked arms. “The gods gave us their blessing and accepted the sacrifice.”

  The gods? Is he mad? He was communing with demons, with creatures trapped in the depths of hell. For the first time I wondered if that meant their power was limited to that realm—that they couldn’t affect the world of the living. I sure hoped so. They might possess Wendy and somehow affect the people in the crowd, but besides freaking me out, whatever had taken over Caleb did not harm me. The girl Gage killed was the only one hurt.

  If he was trying to raise a demon, it definitely didn’t work. Gage killed the girl, but even with that evil sacrifice, no magic shot around the room. True, the symbols lit up like fireworks, but that was it—no demons had physically appeared.

  However, I knew Gage was not the type of guy to give up. He was determined. If given enough time, could he do it? Could he raise more demons? Could he open a portal straight into hell?

  I knew so little about demons. My people forbade talk of anything so dark. Gage said he had books full of ancient magic. Dark, forbidden magic. Was information about raising demons in there, too? At the moment these creatures seemed like they couldn’t hurt us—like something still bound them to the other side. But not all of them were trapped. One was loose. One roamed the earth. One promised me we would meet again. It once sent Macaven after me, and now it was working with Gage. How long until it showed up? And when it did, what would it want from me?

  As my thoughts spiraled, a memory came to mind—my mother telling me, A demon is created when the darkest souls come together. We’d been sitting by the fire on a cold night, waiting for my brother and father to return home.

  I remembered watching the flames of the fire flickering from orange, to red, to yellow.

  “But how can the souls come together?” I’d asked. I was young and curious. As I got olde
r, I learned never to speak of such things. My parents always met any questions of this nature with disapproving looks and silence. But on this night, my mother had spoken of the creatures from below. It was the only time I could recall her ever talking about them.

  “No one knows much about them. But it’s said that when men with evil in their hearts pass from this earth, they go somewhere else.”

  “The in between?” I had asked.

  She’d shook her head. “No, child. Somewhere dark, where pure evil lurks. There the souls come together and create these dark creatures.”

  I remembered scooting closer to my mother and looking out the window into the night. My younger self had wondered what things lurked out there, waiting to attack.

  My mother’s hand had reached out, and she had stroked my hair. “Not to worry. You’re safe. Those creatures no longer have access to our world. They’re in a place far, far away.”

  The black abyss. A place I’d visited many times now. Never would my mother have dreamed I’d take the path of a death dealer. My actions would horrify her. If she’d known that I communicated with spirits, dealt with dark souls, pushed souls through the veil to the other side… She would’ve disowned me. What would she have thought if she knew I released a demon into this world? A demon that consumed my father’s and brother’s souls?

  The darkest, most evil souls make up a demon, she’d told me. But not this time. My father’s shining goodness, my brother’s kindness—the souls of my family were lost within the creature I’d raised, lost in a place where the worst evil resided.

  A sob left my mouth. Could I undo what I had done? Was there a way to vanquish the creature back to hell? A way to free my father’s and brother’s souls from the monster’s grip?

  I looked back up at Gage and noticed Wendy slouched down in the chair, her head hanging against her chest. She was so still that, for a moment, I thought she might be dead, but then they began to untie her and a moan escaped her lips. She was alive. Thank the Goddess. But the relief I felt was short lived. Was the demon still inside her? When her eyes open, would it be Wendy? Or would that thing be staring back at me?