Revenant

by Catrina Burgess

  She walked over and put the roses on the bed. “I was hoping you were completely free, but I knew there was a chance it might not work.” She turned back toward me. “I’ve never dealt with this type of magic before. I’m sorry—I should have warned you, but I didn’t want you to worry.”

  “From now on, I want to know everything you know. I don’t want to be kept in the dark. Do you understand?”

  She nodded and gave me an odd look. After a long silence, she said quietly, “So I should tell you everything I know about demons?”

  What does Mildred know about demons? And why didn’t she tell me before now? The old feelings of mistrust began to fill me. I took a seat on the bed and looked up at her expectantly. “Tell me everything.”

  She waved her hands in the air, immediately launching into an elaborate explanation. “A demon isn’t just a beast with horns like you see in movies. They’re dark souls that have gathered other dark souls to them. With each soul they consume, they become more powerful.” She stopped and looked around the room suspiciously, then leaned in and whispered, “You know, it’s called Legion because there are a lot of them and because many evil spirits compose it. What’s not generally known is that the personality of the original dark soul is still intact inside each demon.” She frowned and clasped both hands in front of her. “Every demon started as a dark mage—a mage willing to do whatever evil was necessary to gain the darkest power. That original hunger for power still drives it.”

  “In hell, it’s a hive mind working in concert with the greater evil that rules there—together they are Legion. But when they cross over to our plane of existence, the chains are cut, and each demons is free to think and seek the power it craves for itself.”

  She stopped and looked at me, her eyes bright. “The demons exist solely to gather more power for themselves. To rule and spread evil and chaos across our world. The more evil they create, the more dark souls they have to feed their appetites. They feed solely so they can increase their power.”

  She was waving her hands in the air wildly again. “One demon may work with another. A group may work together. They do form alliances with each other, but they’re just as likely to betray each other as help each other. They tend to act alone. But one demon alone is vulnerable.” Her words petered off and she stood there, motionless, looking off into the distance.

  My mind was reeling with all the information she had just spouted. But one sentence rang loudly in my head—one demon alone is vulnerable. “Do you know how to kill them?” I held my breath, waiting for her answer.

  “Those that hunted the creatures kept to themselves. Demon hunters. They kept their magic secret.”

  I got off the bed and made my way across the room until I was standing in front of her. “And there are no demon hunters around anymore?”

  She gave me an odd grin. “So they say.”

  Why couldn’t she just answer a question without being cryptic? Could I believe anything she’d just said, or was it the ranting of an insane mind? I reached out and grabbed her hand. “Mildred, how do you know so much about the demons?”

  Her eyes met mine and she gave me a knowing look. “Back when the demons roamed the earth, quite a bit was known about them.”

  “You found this information in books?” If there were books with information about demons, there had to be something on how to kill them.

  “No, most of the books were destroyed years ago.” She gave my hand a squeeze. “Don’t blame them, child—they were scared. They feared someone would use any knowledge of the creatures to bring them back.” She leaned closer. “But I don’t need books. I know about the creatures because…I was there.”

  “You were where?” I asked. She’d looked sane for most of the conversation, but now her eyes were taking on that wild shine I had seen many times in the asylum.

  She looked around the room as if she thought we would be disturbed at any second.

  Would we be? How long did we have before Gage showed back up?

  “When they roamed this plane before, I was there. I saw them with my own eyes.” The crazy words were said with sincerity, but it was impossible.

  “How could you have been there? The demons were around a hundred years ago.” Mildred was an old woman, but she wasn’t that old. If I had to guess, I would say she was in her seventies.

  She let go of my hand and backed away with her hands in the air. A look of panic filled her eyes. “My kind doesn’t age like yours. There aren’t many of us left, and if Gage ever finds out what I am, he’ll make sure there is one less of us around.”

  I wondered if this time her mind had truly snapped for good. “What do you mean by ‘your kind’?” There was no wild look in her eyes. She looked calm, and for the moment at least, sane. “Who are you, really?” When she didn’t answer, I raised my voice. “How can you expect me to trust you, if you keep lying—”

  She lurched forward and grabbed both my hands. “I didn’t lie to you. I just…didn’t tell you everything. I did have a daughter who died. That part was true. And the asylum… Well, it’s hard being on this earth so long. You never get used to the ones you love dying while you still go on. I was left all alone to deal with whatever the universe threw my way, and sometimes it got to be too much.” A look of confusion filled her eyes. “I’ve had episodes when things get a bit difficult for me and sometimes I find myself in one of those places.” I knew she was referring to the asylum. She squeezed my hands so hard, my fingers turned white.

  She paused for a moment, staring into the distance. “My mother, Boudica, was the last druid witch queen. She went to war because of what the Romans did to us. That war took the lives of so many of my kind—only a few of us survived. It’s always been hard for our kind to reproduce. But I was lucky—I had a child. The Roman Legionnaire who raped me left me a gift, a recompense to pay for his sin. I had the last child of our kind… Bodmall. She was perfect, beautiful…but I couldn’t protect her.” Mildred fingers tightened and she squeezed my hands so hard my fingers turned white again. “She was taken away from me, and now she is gone.” The wild look was back. “I’m over two thousand years old, child.”

  I pulled my hands out of hers and turned away. “Mildred, you’re talking crazy. You want me to believe you’re the descendent of some druid witch? That you’re two thousand years old?” Was it truly possible? Had she really walked the earth that long? Or was this just the ravings of a disturbed mind?

  “My kind has always tried to keep themselves hidden. Songs have been sung about us and stories have been passed down through the ages, but who believes fairy tales and folklore? Colina, I swear to you, I’m telling you the truth. I swear on my daughter’s soul.”

  “If you knew I was coming and you could foresee what was going to happen, why did you let Andrew die?”

  “I never foresaw what the boy is. Who would have thought Dean would be a berserker? But I’m thankful he’s one now. He’ll be useful in the battle to come.”

  I raised my hands to my throbbing temples. Do I believe her? Is this one of her wild hallucinations? I’d heard her singing nursery rhymes and made-up songs so many times. I’d watched her dance to music no one else heard. She was a seriously troubled woman who befriended me in an insane asylum.

  But as I studied her, I realized she truly believed that she was telling me the truth. Could she really be two thousand years old? She knew stuff about demons that no one could possibly know. Why hadn’t she told us about them before? What did she gain by keeping the information to herself—if it was the truth? With each new question that whizzed through my head, the throbbing in my temples got worse.

  I looked at Mildred, just now hearing what she’d last said and asked, “Wait—what battle?”

  She started wringing her hands. “The demon wants to bring its brethren across the veil into our world. It wants war.” Her head turned toward the door. “I’ve spent too much time explaining. They’ll be coming for you soon. Gage wants you by his side. He need
s your power and strength, but there are three parts to the spell he’s trying to do. He did the first—the reawakening. Next he must do the ceremony and make you his wife. And then he must do the last part—he must bed you. If he completes the spell, you will become his in body, mind, and soul.”

  That last part got my attention. I grabbed her arm and gave it a hard shake. “You can’t be serious. How can he complete the spell? I’ll never marry him. I’ll never sleep with him. I’m not mind-controlled anymore.”

  Her eyes grew wide. “You said it yourself when he was here and you were looking in his eyes—you couldn’t control your actions.” Her voice trembled a bit as she said, “The potion I gave you has partially broken the hold. As long as you stay away from him, you won’t fall under his spell, but child, if he somehow goes through with the other two parts of the spell, there isn’t any magic I know capable of breaking the bond that would form between you two.”

  “So I have to stay away from him. And how do you suggest I do that when Sonja shows up with the dress and expects me to go with her?”

  She gave me a small smile. “You could tell them you’re sick?”

  Would Gage let me off the hook if I feigned an illness? He seemed so excited for me to spend time with his new best friend.

  Mildred must have seen a discouraging look on my face, because she reached out and patted my cheek. “I’ll be there. I promise I’ll help keep him distracted. We’ll be long gone before any wedding ceremony takes place.”

  I looked at her as if for the first time. Mildred is my only ally. I had to trust her. I’d never felt so powerless, so helpless. If Mildred’s plan didn’t work, I could try and escape before the wedding on my own.

  But if I left, any hope I had of Gage bringing Luke back was gone.

  Mildred nodded as if she’d decided something and continued. “There’s something else. You aren’t going to like it.” She looked away and said in a soft voice, “When the demon chooses an earthly form, they take on some of the traits of the host. In this case, it used the blood on the sacrificial blade, but it had not gathered enough power to morph itself straight into adulthood.”

  “The blood on the blade? You mean Macaven’s blood?”

  “No, my dear.” Her expression filled with pity and she put a hand on my shoulder before saying, “It was your blood. Don’t you see the resemblance?”

  Her words shocked me to the core. I thought about the little girl’s face, with shade of my chin, my brother’s eyes. I desperately thought back, trying to recall how my blood ended up on the knife. The knife flew out of Macaven’s hands… I grabbed it… It cut my fingers… “You mean that creature used my blood to…what? Clone me?”

  Mildred’s hand reached out and steadied my trembling hand. “Something like that. And it used your brother and father in its creation, too, didn’t it? It used your family to build its human form.”

  For a moment, I thought I might be sick. Was it possible to feel anger, vengeance, and sadness all at the same time? I forced in a deep breath, willing myself to stay calm. That creature still contained my father’s and brother’s souls. And, if I could believe Mildred, it had my blood pumping through its veins.

  That thing had a part of me in it. It had to be destroyed.

  Chapter 16

  Sonja showed up with the dress and a bag full of makeup and accessories. She braided some of my hair and curled the rest, using an iron rod just like she had done for the fancy ball days—or had it been weeks?—ago. Then she picked three roses from the bouquet Mildred left and carefully weaved them amongst the crown of braids and curls.

  Sonja wore a tight black dress that flared out at the bottom. Not surprisingly, it was very low cut, almost plunging to her belly button, and had a slit up one side. She teetered around again on impossibly high black heels.

  “There, what do you think?” she asked, holding up a hand mirror.

  I studied my reflection in silence. I looked so different. She’d made up my eyes with grays and blacks. The dark colors made my usually boring hazel eyes sparkle and look a lively green. She’d painted my lips with a bold red color. I don’t look anything like myself. A cool, stylish young woman stared back at me, much older and more attractive than I remembered.

  I wondered for a moment how much of it was makeup, and how much I’d really changed over the last year. Had I turned eighteen yet? It felt like late summer, but I didn’t remember experiencing spring. A wave of nausea and disorientation washed over me. I was drifting, lost, and normal concerns like missing my birthday seemed unreal. I was almost an adult. My mother and father had not been around to see me reach this crucial point in my life. They wouldn’t be around for the years to come, either. I wanted to cry, but held back the tears.

  “Do you like it?” Sonya looked anxious.

  “It looks great.” I restrained a scream of frustration.

  “I know what Gage likes.” She looked away. “Tonight is a special occasion and you should look your best for him.”

  I tried to play the part of the lovestruck girl. “I…like your dress.”

  She spun around instantly to show it off, a pleased look on her face. “It’s custom-made.” Her hands slid down the sides of the dress, accentuating generous curves way more on display than I would be comfortable with. The overall effect was impressive…and a little desperate. She was too beautiful to need so much staging. But I was becoming more and more sure that I knew why she was so desperate. I felt sorry for Sonja. If Gage corrupted this poor girl like he had me and then tossed her aside for a newer and more powerful model… It made me hate him even more.

  I put the mirror down on the dresser. “What now?”

  “We go up. It’s almost time. They’ll be waiting for us.”

  “Do we have to walk all the way out into the woods dressed like this? These heels don’t seem designed for forest trails.”

  She smiled. “The party is being held in the center of town. Too many people wanted to come, so we’re having it in the town square. You’ll be so surprised how much effort Gage put into transforming the place into something quite enchanting.”

  I wondered what a crazy like Gage considered enchanting. A path of dead bodies circling the square? “Lead the way,” I said, waving my hand toward the door.

  I followed Sonja out of the room and down the tunnels. The way outside was almost familiar to me now. It took forever, but we both made it to the top in one piece.

  I looked up into a cloudless sky. The night was calm—not even a slight breeze marred its perfection. The moon was bright and full overhead as I lifted the skirt of my dress and followed Sonja past the abandoned buildings.

  I could see the twinkling of lights through the trees. It wasn’t candlelight this time—I could hear the generator that powered it all quietly running in the distance. The old courthouse was lit with bright spotlights, showing in vivid relief the damage of neglect and age. But it was a grand dilapidation, like a fallen Greek temple. The columns on the front stoop seemed very tall and dramatic, and the long run of stairs up to the broad porch glowed with the gleam of old marble. Whatever was about to happen, the porch was the obvious stage.

  Where is everyone? The place was still empty—there wasn’t anyone in sight.

  Then the smell of flowers hit me. As I got closer, I saw dozens of bouquets placed all around the steps in five-foot, free-standing centerpieces.

  An altar had been set up on the porch. A black silk shroud was draped over it, with a large pentagram stitched into the fabric in red thread. A dozen black candles sat in a row on the altar, and nestled in the middle of them was one red candle. I saw a glass bowl, a golden cup, and a small dagger. A more acrid smell replaced the scent of flowers as we approached. Incense. I could see the smoke from an incense stick curling up in the air above the altar. A few rows of ornate chairs sat near the stairs, obviously placed for the dark community’s VIPs.

  On the opposite side of the square, the huge bramble looked impressive. Someone had po
inted red-tinted spotlights up through the branches, making the whole mass glow as if on fire. Long, vicious thorns stood out in stark relief, and the massive bushes hung over the back of the square, creating an oppressive backdrop. Deep red splashes of light accentuated the black shadows they cast, giving the entire clearing the impression of clotting blood.

  As I took in the eerie scene, a couple dozen people dressed in black gowns and suits flowed out from the surrounding buildings and made their way into the square. Someone grabbed my hand, and I looked up to see Gage, who’d appeared out of nowhere. His suit was all black, even his tie. There was not a bit of color on him anywhere except for the streak of white in his hair.

  His eyes lit up when he looked at me, and he squeezed my hand. “You look breathtaking.”

  My heart thumped hard, but not in fear. He still had that crazy hold on me. A tiny part of me was thrilled he held my hand, but somewhere deep inside I could feel myself panic when his body slid up against me.

  That voice screamed at me to stop the madness. This is the man I hate!

  No, another voice cried out, this is the man I love.

  My thoughts were befuddled and my knees quavered. Nothing made sense anymore.

  I whipped my head around, desperate to find Mildred. She’d save me from this situation. She promised to keep Gage distracted.

  “Where is Mildred?” I whispered, trying to keep the desperation I felt from my voice.

  “She sends her regrets. She wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t make it tonight.”

  Mildred wasn’t here. What happened? She promised to keep me safe. Her plan was to escape during the ritual. Why wasn’t she here? “She didn’t look ill when I saw her earlier,” I said.

  A brief look of annoyance crossed Gage’s face, but it was so fleeting I wondered if I’d imagined it. “My dear, I don’t want to stand here and talk about Mildred. I want to talk about us.” He raised my hand, opened my palm, and kissed its center.