My Demonic Ghost: Banished Spirits

by Maree, Jacinta

  “F-Fine. Deal. If I win you must let us go, but if I lose I’ll stay here.” Lust kissed Evan’s neck in satisfaction.

  “I accept your challenge, my sweet. Welcome to the family.”

  First to move were the three men, charging at me on all fours. I stumbled backward and lashed the leather whip at them, which only delayed them slightly. Again and again, I struck into their path, but their speed didn’t alter until they were nearly on top of me.

  I jumped on the bed, kicking one of the men in the nose, and though I could see that I had broken it by the blood pouring and the twisted bone, he drooled and continued attacking. I squirmed across the soft mattress, keeping my legs as close to my body as possible, barely avoiding each snatch. A pair of arms grabbed me from behind and spun me around, tilting me down onto my back and into the cushions.

  Lust straddled my waist, using her weight to pin me down underneath her. Her hands ringed around my neck and her grip tightened. I thrashed as I felt the blood rush up from my throat. My cheeks were burning and my chest was aching with every failed attempt at taking a breath. I struggled, knowing that Evan was going to save me at any point now.

  Any minute....

  Soon...

  What is he doing? Why isn’t he saving me? I tried to roll my eyes over to the throne where Evan was waiting, but Lust’s hold was too strong.

  The throbbing in my neck started to worsen. Everything was dropping in and out of focus. Is he going to let her kill me? My heart accelerated into full blown alarm. Help me- I’m going to lose.

  I thrashed and kicked with all the strength I had in me. I felt so weak and frightened. My vision darkened and my screaming voice broke with strain.

  “Time to put you to sleep...” Lust tickled my ear with her exhaling breath, “We love you, Rachael.”

  In one swift swing, Lust let go of my neck and was ripped off me. I clung to my throat and took in long, gasping breaths, trying to fill every inch of my lungs with sweet oxygen. Coughing pushed my lungs against my ribs and stretched my tightening muscles against my stomach. I shivered at the increasing ache of cold swimming over me. My fingers stiffened and my bones locked themselves into place. The uncontrollable shaking of my rigid body frightened me, and despite my best efforts, I just couldn’t rub the warmth back into my arms and chest.

  I felt paralysed, all of my body heat poured out of me in a matter of seconds. My toes felt like they had fallen off as the frost moved through my skin like ice. I rolled my body to the side and landed on the hard marble floor.

  Evan and Lust were entangled in a frenetic riot of smoke and colour. He spun his leg up in a roundhouse kick into the space between them; spewing forth a black force of magic into Lust’s advancing men. The women in the cages screamed and shook the bars.

  Lust was fast, dodging and waltzing around his attacks, as if her body was nothing more than a feather weaving in the breeze. Evan’s aiming was poor as he fired and kicked his limbs in any direction, hoping to hit anything that may have crossed his path. I could see the panic abating in his every twist and turn. The muscles under his clothes were tense with adrenaline as he flipped himself with the ease of a professional gymnast. I couldn’t follow the chaotic battle between the two sides; Lust was forced back as her every attempt at escape was foiled by Evan’s fast teleportation. He jumped out of the walls and punched into her stomach, sending her back to the ground.

  It was absolutely amazing to watch him fighting with such passion.

  Every move sent out more missiles of black magic as every leap and swing filled the air with an ashy black fog. He was there one second and across the room in the next, moving through the space as if he was nothing more than a collection of tiny air pockets shifting around the room. I could’ve watched him forever, but a dark mist started to cloud my vision.

  I wiped my hand across my face; the dust wasn’t coming from Evan’s magic, but from the pores of my skin. A thickening stream of smoke was pouring out of me as if I were a burning chimney. I patted my arms down to stop the smoke from escaping, but it was shooting out of me faster than I could blink.

  I glanced up, but Evan hadn’t noticed that I was boiling steam and continued chasing Lust across the hall. Following closely behind him were the metallic chains that connected us. I scrubbed at my arms, trying to shake the smoke free, but the air just got thicker and began jamming my throat and burning my eyes. I clutched at my neck and tried to spit the ash out of my mouth.

  The dark breeze started to spiral and move faster around me. An enormous pull was vacuuming the smoke out of my body, plucking every little ash particle out like it was stripping me of my nerves. Within the spinning black wall, I noticed the very colour of my skin bleach itself crystal white. My blonde hair died in my fingertips to a flat black as I felt a deep, long ache of hunger twisting knots in my stomach. A layer of soft white tissue started to coat the room and I couldn’t stop myself from falling through the breakable material.

  I felt hollowed out, as if I were just a shell, broken into dust. I lifted up away from my body.

  I was dead...

  I knew it at once, as I watched through the spiritual barrier that separated the living from everything else. My eyes were boiling, I longed for sleep to stop the irritation from driving me insane. Through the transparent tissue I could see my reflection peering up from the marble. The ghostly silhouette had toothpaste skin and black wild hair. Painted on my face was a deep ash mask that ran across from cheek bone to cheek bone and right through my nose. The eyes that watched me, once human blue, started to fade into darkness...

  “Rachael?” I was hauled backwards by a pair of boiling hot arms with such force that I passed out.

  Everything was cold.

  I struggled to open my eyes, as if I’d woken too early from a long, long sleep. There was a weakness inside me that kept me anchored to the ground. Through the cracks in my eyes, I faintly distinguished a piece of distorted grey sky in between the gap of two dark forest trees. It was raining very lightly, that’s all I was certain of. Each rain drop hit my frozen body and disappeared. Where am I? I blinked against the hazy screen that blinded me. The wind was moving the branches above my head, but the air next to me was vacant on my skin. In the distance, I could hear a boy sobbing. He kept apologising to me over and over again. I couldn’t find the strength to turn my neck.

  Gradually, I started to feel something warm in the centre of my chest. Underneath my skin, I could feel the very distinct touch of a beating heart. Each throb glided through me so gently that I barely felt its presence, and I cried in relief. I closed my eyes again immediately and kept sleeping.

  Chapter Thirty-Two:

  When I opened my eyes again I was welcomed by a pounding headache. As my eyes adjusted, I could faintly depict a dull blue haze pulled around my bed like a curtain. Wait a minute, bed? I bolted upright and winced as my head throbbed in protest. I was tucked into a white bed, the sheets pulled up to my torso, with a hand rail on my left and a soft monitoring machine humming on my right. The stench of medicine tickled my nose.

  I quickly glanced down my arm and ran my fingers along my skin. My normal human-pink skin. I snatched at a hand mirror by my bedside table and checked my face. There was no Banished ash mask either. My eyes were still a soft blue, with my hair a golden blonde.

  I laughed out loud, clutching the mirror to my chest. Every accelerated heartbeat felt heavy like I had replaced it with a hot air balloon. Mum pulled the curtain back at the sound of my voice and a smile broke over her worried pale face.

  “Rachael, thank god you’re alright.” She moved to my side and planted a kiss on my forehead, “Sweetie you’re as white as a ghost.”

  Smiling I nodded my head, “I’m so happy to see you Mum.”

  I hugged her with all my strength and she hugged me back just as soundly. I was so close to nearly losing everything. I will never take anything for granted ever again. As she pulled away, Dean stepped around the curtain and let out a sigh of rel
ief.

  “Thank God,” he exhaled.

  “No, thank Evan. He saved me.” Dean smiled, but Mum seemed lost, asking who Evan was but I told her not to worry.

  “Now Rachael, the doctors suggest that you rest in here for a little while longer, okay? I had no idea how sick you were. We’re thinking that someone may have spiked your drink -” Mum paused for a moment as to shake the idea out of her head, “The police are investigating.”

  As if on cue, a tall man with a dark thin beard framing his jaw line knocked on the door before allowing himself in. He wore the typical doctor uniform of a long white trench coat but underneath the jacket he wore brown cargo pants and a tucked in checker t-shirt. It looked like he was on his way out to play some golf.

  “Good evening, Ms. Rachael, I’m Dr. Patrick. I’m glad to see you’ve gained some energy back. Are you hungry?” He had warm grey eyes and a face full of wrinkles. The doctor pulled curtain the back, which opened up the room.

  “What time is it?”

  “8:30 pm, we were just about to leave. You’re been asleep for about a day,” Mum rub my arms comfortingly. Dr Patrick scanned over the paperwork he had attached to his clip board. His thick brows were knotted and his lips curled in manner that seemed distressing.

  “Well, this is strange. Your blood results show that there weren’t any toxic or foreign substances in your system. Perhaps you just suffered from severe fatigue. Have you been keeping up with your fluids?”

  “This is probably my fault, it’s been a really tough month for us and Rachael has been staying at the city apartment alone, while I’ve been organising things here in Whitehaven. My ex-husband has recently passed away...”

  “Ah,” Dr Patrick nodded his head as if everything fell into place, “It must be stress levels and lack of proper care. Now young lady, you must make sure you eat properly and get lots of sleep. I don’t want you passing out again.”

  I nodded my head, embarrassed. He was talking to me as if I were some child running out in front of cars.

  “I know. But I feel fine now. Actually, I feel better than fine. I haven’t felt this good since dad’s passing.”

  Dr Patrick ran his eyes across the clip board once more, and then put it down, smiling as if convinced.

  “Well, usually we would insist patients stay the night, but you’re blood results show you’re not physically unwell, so I don’t see why you can’t go home tonight. If you feel up to it, of course.”

  I nodded my head eagerly.

  “Alright then, I’ll just go collect some discharge papers and you’ll be on your way.”

  During the drive home Mum was buzzing into her mobile phone, calling all our relatives and letting them know that I was okay. Every now and then she would toss me a concerned frown in the rear view mirror.

  Dean touched my hand, he too, checking for signs of sickness.

  “I’m fine, really,” I reassured him, “I haven’t felt this good in ages.”

  “What on earth happened?”

  “I can’t remember really. There was a Sin- Lust- and umm…” I paused as an awful flavour flooded my mouth, why can’t I remember?

  “Rach...” Dean paused as to re-think his words, “You were missing for quite some time, and everyone was really worried. It was pure luck that I found you; you were more dead than alive. I thought you were a corpse. I don’t know how to say this but… but Evan; he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Did he-”

  “Wait a minute. Evan saved me, Dean. I’m one hundred percent positive on that.”

  Dean’s head fell as if the words in his mouth weighed him down, “Something is wrong, Rach. Where is he, then?”

  “Dean, he’s probably in his spirit form. That’s why you can’t see him.”

  He lowered his head even further, “I hope you’re right.”

  The smile on my face lingered weakly as I started to mentally search for Evan, for the coolness of his presence and the tight weight on my wrists and neck.

  I turned away from Dean and watched outside the window. I couldn’t feel anything.

  The taxi pulled into the driveway, bumping its way down the path and into the darkness of the forest. The house looked strange; I could barely recognise it under the blue moonlight. Mum paid the driver and ushered both Dean and I inside.

  “Okay, this will definitely be our last night here, I swear it. I don’t think I can miss any more days from work.” Mum placed her handbag on top of the kitchen counter before rampaging through its contents. She had taken her interior design folders with her into Whitehaven, probably working on scrapbooks for her clients back in the City. “Dean, are you sure your parents are okay with you staying the night here?”

  “I called them just before we left, they don’t mind.”

  “Well, okay then. There’s a spare bed you can take, I’ll be checking in on you two so don’t try any funny business.” She waved her index finger between the both of us. “Rachael, here, have something to drink.”

  Mum filled a cup of water to the top, and though I really didn’t want it, I scarfed the drink down anyway to avoid an argument. She offered a glass to Dean who politely declined.

  “What time are we leaving in the morning, mum?”

  “Early- and I mean around 8 o’clock early.”

  After we bid each other our goodnights, I climbed the stairs and barricaded myself in my room, flicking off the lights as I know Evan doesn’t like them. I sat on the end of the bed, waiting for my eyes to adjust, and as I waited I whispered, “Evan? Evan can you hear me?”

  The walls watched me back. I couldn’t stop myself from rubbing at my wrists, trying to find the invisible cuffs still attached.

  “Evan, are you angry? Is that why you’re not talking to me?” There was only silence. I waited for what felt like hours. The panic inside me started to boil over, but I restrained myself from throwing doors open in search for him.

  “I know you’re here somewhere Evan...” As calmly as I could, I opened my bedroom door and tiptoed towards the attic entrance. It creaked loudly as I pried it open. It was really dark up here, I had to hold my arms out in front and walk with a sliding foot to ensure I didn’t trip over.

  “Evan?” I asked again into the emptiness. I leaned over and ran my hands across the timber floor boards, reaching for him. My heart bounded inside my chest, it felt like it belonged to a giant. It was just too big and heavy to belong to me.

  I sat down and cupped my cheeks. They were warm, whereas my fingers felt cold.

  I moved my legs out from underneath me when I felt my foot accidently boot something round and solid just to my left. I tucked my leg back immediately, as if the thing was going to bite me.

  The CD player hummed into life, playing the soft, melodious sounds of the piano. I imagined I could almost touch Evan’s hands as he glided his agile fingers across the keys, his face turned down softly in concentration, his back tenderly hunched.

  The music only lasted a few seconds, as fast as it turned on, did it silence itself back into the house. I tried to turn the CD player back on but the music had vanished.

  “Evan... did you leave me?”

  The longer I waited, the heavier the thought continued to drive down on me. He wasn’t with me anymore. I could feel it in the very air that surrounded me, it wasn’t cold or damp like a lingering cloud, it was just... air. There were no spirits in this room. There were no metal bracelets around my wrists or neck. He was gone.

  Chapter Thirty-Three:

  I found my way back down the stairs and into my bedroom last night, even though I have no recollection of moving. I was determined to stay awake and wait in the attic until he returned, but sleep must’ve over powered me and unconsciously took me back to bed.

  I sat at the breakfast table in silence, picking at the leftover food from yesterday, when Mum walked in carrying her luggage.

  “Rachael, where’s Dean?” I looked up from the bread I was nibbling on, “He isn’t in his room. Did he say he was going som
ewhere?”

  I shook my head, “No, the last time I spoke to him was just before bed. Are you sure he isn’t in the bathroom or something?”

  “I checked everywhere. He isn’t here.”

  Without another word I pushed back the chair and quickly ran up the stairs. True enough, his room was completely deserted as if no one had even touched the sheets.

  On the bedside table there was a note.

  Dear Rachael,

  I’m sorry for doing this to you, but Nicole Sabotage has decided we’re better off elsewhere. I went into your room to say good bye last night, but you weren’t there so I’m leaving you this note. I really hope that you get it.

  Again I’m so sorry. If you want to talk my number is 0418 384 7015, but I don’t think we can meet up again.

  Sabotage told me you can no longer be trusted. That you’re no longer a Host like me.

  I don’t know what she means by that, but I’m sure everything will be fine.

  Thank you for all your help,

  Dean.

  My knees became weak as I slumped into the wall, crumbling to the floor.

  You’re no longer a Host...

  I touched my wrists again in vain hope to feel the distinct shackles. Despite not being able to see the chains, I could sense that Evan’s presence wasn’t with me. In either form, be it ghost or human, there was always something there reminding me of him. But now I truly felt alone in this world.

  I could barely contain my heavy breaths as they charged out of me. I don’t even know what I did wrong. All I could remember was a vague recollection of Lust, a screaming statue and a migraine so severe that it hurt my head to even remember it. In the distance I could hear Mum’s very loud footsteps making their way up the stairs.