Revenant

by Catrina Burgess

  In the back of my mind, I felt something else answer my call—not the pack, but something not alive, something mystical and strangely familiar. I could feel it closing in from several directions. After a moment, it clicked—I was sensing the zombies. Those that were still able and intact were coming to my aid.

  Dark, misty shapes whipped through the air. As they neared, I felt their excitement building, pounding in my head. They will protect me. They will keep me safe. I focused everything in me on one figure: Gage. He was wielding the blazing red sword in the middle of the square, hacking away at the growing bramble.

  In a rush, my pack surrounded him, their howls and deep growls ringing out into the night.

  “Colina!” I heard my name called out and searched for the source. It was Dean. A group of men surrounded him. He was on the ground, and a dark-haired man sporting a goatee loomed over him with a dagger held high, ready to strike.

  I raced for him, but two steps in realized there was no way I could get there in time. My heart slammed into my throat, and I watched in horror as the blade flashed down, heading straight for Dean’s heart.

  A stream of fire flew through the air. It hit Dean’s attackers and they burst into flames. Dean rolled away as the man standing over him shrieked and fell to the ground, his whole body on fire.

  I frantically scanned the chaotic crowd to find the source of the fire. Caleb stood on the other side of the square—his hands ablaze with orange and red flames. Caleb? Caleb did that? He used his hellfire to save Dean. Caleb, my sworn enemy, killed his own men. It didn’t make any sense. Why would he help us? Caleb’s eyes locked with mine and his flames went out. Confusion filled his face and he cried out my name, but just then a small voice caught my attention.

  “You’re ruining all my plans.”

  Even without looking, I knew it was the demon child. I turned to face her. The creature walked with a determined little-girl gait, swinging its disturbing doll. It abruptly flung the toy straight at me and it hit me in the chest with unnatural force, throwing me off my feet.

  I fell with a jarring thud into the mud, raising a spray of brown water into the air. Blinking through my spotty vision, I slowly lifted my head off the ground, pressed my hand to my aching chest, and saw the demon child heading my way. Its eyes were deep red, blazing with power and anger.

  Move, a voice in my head screamed. My battered body throbbing in agony, I pushed to my feet. The demon girl stalked closer, her face contorted in rage. Surely it wouldn’t kill me. It wanted me to release the legion. It needed my magic. It wouldn’t hurt me…unless I had angered it beyond reason.

  I braced myself, sure it would get close enough to strike a killing blow, when zombies suddenly flooded into the square from out of the darkness.

  Most were in bad shape—bloated bodies with missing limbs—but they were still capable of doing damage. The zombies began to attack Gage’s men. I had somehow called them and forced them to fight. The demon and I both paused, distracted by their appearance.

  A group of the zombies closed in on the demon, circling slowly around it and moving to block its path toward me. The child would have looked harmless, if not for its unearthly eyes, which were now glowing with otherworldly power. The menace they exuded gave even the fearless zombies pause, but it didn’t stop them from attacking. As they clashed, broken and twisted bodies began to fly like cannonballs through the air.

  Around me, chaos reigned. I couldn’t see if the zombies were having any effect on the demon—but their fearless aggression and numbers changed the tide of battle. The huge amount of damage they could take while continuing to fight was daunting. I saw a zombie missing an arm and with a hole blasted through his abdomen tackle a huge man swinging an axe. Immediately three more undead jumped on the struggling pair. When they rose, the man on the ground was torn to pieces.

  Screams of rage and anger filled the air and mixed with the clash of thunder and the roar of the pelting rain. As I gazed around, I saw groups of zombies battling Gage’s supporters, fading in and out of the darkness. The decorative red spotlights were gone. The square was thrown into darkness, lit only by the moon’s faint glow through the clouds, flashes of lightning, and whatever candles were still lit. Through it all, a glowing red trail flowed through the darkness. Gage’s sword of blood created a pool of sickly red light, illuminating him as if in a splash of bloody color and casting long shadows behind him. Zombies rushed at him in steady tide, appearing in flashes of crimson—only to fall in sprays of blood, made black by the red light. He was on the far side of the clearing from me, but his presence still called to me with a siren call.

  A flash of lightning showed Dean fighting hand to hand with two men dressed in black. As I watched, he broke the wrist of one of his attackers. He was incredibly strong and fast, but it didn’t seem like he had turned berserker yet. His eyes weren’t glowing, and he moved with mere human strength and speed. I watched him get hit by the magic whizzing through the air. Why wasn’t he turning berserker? I expected the magic bouncing through the battle would turn him, and he’d go on a mindless killing spree. How was Dean controlling his powers? I didn’t know, but I thanked the Goddess for it.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw bright colors flare through the night around Caleb. He was fighting for his life as Gage’s pet death dealers hurled spell after spell at him. In the seconds I watched, Caleb’s blazing fire engulfed a very small, very pale death dealer. The man went down, screaming as he burned, but Caleb paid him no mind. He’d already moved on to another death dealer whose wispy banshees were no match for Caleb’s powerful fire.

  The nearly healed burns on my leg throbbed as I watched him fight, remembering the pain he’d inflicted on me. Confusion filled me as I watched one of my worst enemies use evil magic to fight on my side. Why was he doing it? Why was he helping us? I shook my head to clear it—no matter whose side he was really on, now was not the time to contemplate it.

  I’d been dazed and confused, standing by while the others fought, not sure where to go. But now a clear thought pounded through my head, driving away any thoughts of finding Gage—the demon child was here. There was nothing stopping me from using my magic on the creature. I could finally try to destroy it.

  I began to search for the demon in the madness, but was distracted as the smaller number of newly made zombies entered the battle. It had taken longer for them to reach the battle from the lab deep in the mine. They moved more quickly and with more menace than the earlier models. They were in all different stages of the mummification process, some with burial wrappings flapping around them, and some with none at all. One with complete wrappings paused by me, and a voice I recognized called out to me.

  “That’s right, girly, you get out of this madhouse! We’ve got this. We’ll show these boys not to mess with our girl.”

  It was Wanda. The absurdity of the whole thing actually made me laugh out loud. Wanda—a spirit that had tried to take me over during the second death dealer ritual—had somehow stalked me here to this remote place. And now she was trying to protect me.

  Wanda rushed straight into the fray, killing a black-garbed man with a powerful swing that almost took his head off. I heard the sound of her laughter as she waded deeper into the chaos, and then she disappeared, entirely surrounded by a group of fighting bodies.

  A flash of lightning illuminated the night for a long moment, crawling along the underside of the clouds from one end of the horizon to the other. Everything seemed frozen in that instant of stark light, a painting of unbelievable violence with a little girl demon at its center. It stood in the middle of the carnage, staring at me fixedly. Even from my periphery, I could feel the awful force of its gaze.

  As for Gage, I could only see the trails of reddish light his sword made as he swung it at my spirit pack. I turned to face the demon.

  It stood there like an unruly child having a temper tantrum. The torn and shredded bodies of zombies and mummies lay in piles around it, still writhing like a
bundle of broken snakes, but the demon looked untouched.

  I’d brought the creature into this world, and I needed to send it straight back to hell. But I had no idea what to do—all the magic I’d performed so far had come from following my instincts. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the darkness inside me and all around me, pulling it close. I let it slide across my skin, let it fill me up. I felt the energy tingling through me. And then I opened my eyes—looking at the demon child’s amused expression—and raised my hands.

  I didn’t know if I could kill this evil thing, but like Mildred, I was ready to die trying. There would be no need to bring Luke up from hell—there was a very real chance that in seconds I would be joining him. At least we’ll finally be together. I raised my hands higher and began to call on the power building inside of me.

  A lightning bolt struck the ground between us. The look of surprise on the child’s face mirrored mine. We both turned in unison to see Mildred approaching quickly from a few feet away. Her face showed overwhelming fear as she said, “No, child, you won’t survive this fight. You aren’t strong enough…yet.” Her hair and clothes crackled with electricity. I could see the energy glimmering off her skin and sparkling at her fingertips. When she was close enough, she reached out and touched me, and I felt electricity race through me.

  I screamed out as all the dark power I’d built up shimmered away and I fell to my knees. What is Mildred thinking? She’s supposed to help me!

  “Boy, get her out of here!” Mildred shouted.

  Hands grabbed me from behind and lifted me up, settling me over a man’s shoulders. I protested, struggling against my captor’s grasp.

  “Colina. No, let her go!” I looked up to see Dean running toward me. He’d almost reached me when Mildred raised her hands and sent a bolt of electricity right into the middle of him.

  “No!” I screamed.

  I was being carried away, hanging upside down. I slammed my fist into the wide back I was being jostled against. Who had me? How could I make them let me go?

  From my helpless, awkward vantage point I watched as Mildred struck him again and the boy I knew disappeared. Whatever control Dean had been able to wield up until now was gone. In his place stood something monstrous. A berserker. His yellow eyes shone brightly in the dark.

  I watched, terrified, as Dean grabbed the arm of a huge man running past him carrying an axe. The man spun and tried to swing the axe at Dean, but before it was even halfway through its arc, Dean ripped his arm off. Using it as a club, he beat the man to death with his own limb. The arm disintegrated under the force of Dean’s swings—blood and bone became shrapnel and shredded its victim.

  Dean dropped the still-twitching limb and was gone so fast that my eyes couldn’t follow him. He reappeared alarmingly close, but his attention was immediately captured as every enemy in the square focused their magic on him. They clearly had no idea it would only make him stronger. At the asylum, I’d watched him grow more powerful every time Mildred and Weatherton hit him with their magic. Under the onslaught, the yellow glow of Dean’s eyes spread to his entire body. When he moved again, he was, if possible, even faster—like lightning flashing across the ground.

  As I was carried past Gage, I saw that he was still standing, sword swinging through the air, black blood running out from gashes across his body. My spirit pack was pressed against him, flashing in and out of existence. Many of the pack bled their shadowy essence from dark wounds, and I understood too late that Gage’s blood sword seemed able to reach into the spirit world. I cried out in horror and shame at the cost they were paying to heed my call.

  When Gage saw me, he reached out. “Colina!” Our eyes met and his spell wrapped its tentacles around me once more.

  I’m being taken away from my love, my heart.

  “Gage!” I screamed out as I was carried across the square and into the trees. Gage tried to turn and follow, but my pack redoubled their attacks, and he was forced to stand and fight. I tried to gather my will and stop them—but the thought wouldn’t form. My feelings tumbled, warring with my conscious mind for control. I didn’t have a chance to decide before Gage disappeared from sight as I was carried away.

  I screamed, pounding my fists against a wall of muscle, all to no avail. I looked down at the ground rushing below me. When I was finally let down, who would I be facing—an enemy or an ally? I mentally steeled myself for whatever I was to face as we moved quickly into the forest.

  The trees rushed by. As we moved deeper into the wilderness, the sounds of death from the battlefield faded. I was helpless, tears streaming down my face, crying out the name of the man I loved while I was carried into the night like a rag doll.

  Chapter 17

  The farther away I got from Gage, the clearer my mind became. All the warm and fuzzy thoughts finally slid away. In their place, I felt a deep hatred and a burning frustration.

  “Put me down!” I shouted. I slammed my fist into the kidney of the person carrying me and heard a male grunt of pain, but we kept moving.

  I started to thrash around, desperate to get free. After a few more minutes of clawing at my kidnapper, I found myself unceremoniously lowered to the ground. I was still in my fancy dress, so when I rolled onto my back, the skirt billowed up and obscured everything in front of me. I desperately pushed down the skirt and found myself looking up at my captor.

  Caleb.

  A cold sweat broke out over my skin. Now he has me all to himself in these deserted woods. I tried to scramble away, but the dress caught on brush and weighed me down.

  Caleb was standing only a few feet away. I had seen murder in his eyes so often when he looked at me. And now…here was his chance. Gathering the dress, I scooted away.

  “Colina… It’s me,” Caleb said.

  As I locked eyes with him, something made me pause in my escape efforts. There was something familiar about the way he stood, the look in his eyes, his voice…

  I felt myself go numb all over. For one moment my heart leapt with the idea that he could still be alive.

  But then my heart sank again. It couldn’t be Luke. I shook my head. It couldn’t be. Luke’s spirit was gobbled up by the hellhound. This is a trick, cooked up by Caleb to torture me.

  “This is a trick. You’re Caleb. Luke is…dead,” I whispered. I knew he could see my fear—I didn’t try to hide it.

  “Colina, I’m alive,” he said quietly. He reached for me. “Come to me. Let me hold you.” His hand stopped in midair as I scurried backward. “How can I prove it to you?” There was a desperate look in his eyes. “Remember when you told me your family was killed? We were alone. You had a glass of water in your hand, and it was raining outside.” He moved slowly toward me. “The old gypsy woman gave me some vile-smelling ointment, remember? I was supposed to put it on the stab wound I got protecting that lady from the Triads.” His hand went to his side. “I never did use it.”

  Everything he said was true. They were all things only Luke would know.

  Did he come back from hell? And now he’s inside Caleb? I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes, trying to clear my thoughts. When I looked back at him there was a familiar expression on his face—one that I had seen Luke make many times. Luke was staring at me from inside another body. It was true. He’d somehow transferred into Caleb’s body. All my prayers had been answered. I felt like shouting out with joy, like dancing around the room. I was so filled with happiness. I was bursting with excitment. Luke had come back from hell. We would be together again. I wanted to throw myself into his arms, but when I looked at him, I saw Caleb, and fear and uncertainity flooded through me.

  “It’s me—it’s Luke,” he said, taking a hesitant step forward.

  He held out his hand, but I didn’t move. I felt frozen in place with a mixture of happiness and horror. I closed my eyes and buried my face in my hands, fighting back confused tears.

  I felt his body settle next to mine. “Colina.” A hand gently touched my hair. “Please.�
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  I should have been filed with joy…and in a way I was, but even as I tried to force myself to turn into his arms, I knew that I could not. A rush of fear ran through me at the thought of Caleb touching me.

  Luke’s voice surrounded me, and for a moment the desire to be near him again rushed over me with such force that it took my breath away.

  His fingers brushed across my cheek. “I’ve missed you,” he whispered in my ear.

  I opened my eyes and found myself inches from Caleb’s face. Caleb—my sworn enemy. A man who had hurt me every chance he had.

  Panic filled me and I shoved him back. I clambered away, only stopping when my back hit the base of a tree. I couldn’t move any farther and froze, my body shaking, my knees pulled up to my chest. I wanted to jump into his arms—the arms of the man I loved, who would have done anything to protect me. And at the same time I wanted to keep running—to flee from the hand that had burned and tortured me, the man who had taken joy in my pain.

  I watched as frustration filled Caleb’s eyes and settled over his body.

  It’s not Caleb, I reminded myself. It’s Luke.

  But even as my mind tried to reel with the possibility that Luke had somehow come back, my body was still reacting in fear. I’d been scared for so long that Caleb would hurt me. He already had once. I had the scars of his hatred forever burned into my leg.

  “You don’t want me to touch you… It’s because of him, isn’t it?” Caleb muttered through clenched teeth.

  Him? Who was he talking about? Caleb? Did he understand my fear?

  “You have feelings for him.” He towered over me, an intimidating intensity in his eyes. “I saw the way you let him put his hands all over you.”

  Is he talking about Dean? I recalled Caleb’s look of jealousy as I’d sought comfort in Dean’s arms. How long had Luke been possessing Caleb? Had it actually been Luke watching me when I went with Dean? It wasn’t fair for him to hold that against me. I’d been inconsolable—I’d thought I’d lost him forever. For a brief, insane moment, I’d just wanted to escape the sadness, the darkness, the emptiness that filled my heart when I thought he was gone.