by Brian Rella
Frank looked at Brennan. “So that’s it?”
Brennan sighed. “That’s it…for now. Get your things, and we will go.”
36
JESSIE
October 20, 2015
Illinois Beach State Park, Illinois
“Arraziel,” Jessie said. “Stop here.”
Arraziel dropped Tarek to the ground under the cover of a large tree. Jessie climbed off his back and kneeled by his side. Tarek was in bad shape. Jessie felt for his pulse and struggled to find it. When she did, it was faint.
Not yet. You don’t get to die until I say so. I still need you a while longer. She glanced at Arraziel.
“Can you heal him? Just enough so that he doesn’t die?” she asked.
Arraziel stood over Tarek. He placed his hand over his head and a green light bloomed from under his enormous palm. Tarek’s eyes fluttered open and grew brighter. Jessie could see some of the color returning to his skin.
A sinister grin spread across her face. She clasped her hands under her chin in triumph as Tarek continued to stir, a twisted grimace of shock and pain spreading across his face.
Jessie leaned over him and took his wrist to find his pulse again. It was stronger now, and he was awake.
“You’ll live for a while longer, Tarek,” she sneered. “I’m not finished with you yet.”
He said nothing in reply and lay there, mangled and wheezing into the dirt.
“Where is Pasmet?” she asked.
He did not respond. Jessie kicked him where his arm used to be. Tarek groaned with pain.
“Tell me, you lying bastard, before I really get angry,” she snarled.
“I have nothing…to say…”
She pulled the Arraziel book from her knapsack, turned to the back cover, and shook the map in front of his face. Her finger pointed to the spot marked for Pasmet. She noticed Arraziel’s sigil had moved close to Pasmet’s on the map. She was close, but the Watcher’s stubbornness was preventing her from completing her mission for her King. Her frustration boiled. “Where is this place? What does this mean?” she shouted at Tarek.
He refused to reply and she paced back and forth, her mind racing with ideas of how to get him to tell her what she needed to know. Her thoughts were clouded by her fury and a desire to physically hurt the man who had tried to capture her and was keeping her from her destiny.
She needed to calm down and think clearly. The Watchers were after her and they had been foolish to send just one…this time. They may not make the same mistake again and Jessie would have to be ready.
Arraziel stood to the side, patiently waiting, his hoof near Tarek’s head, ready to finish him.
“You don’t know what you’re doing, girl,” Tarek wheezed.
“I know exactly what I’m doing,” she said.
He coughed blood onto the ground.
“Do you want to die?” she continued, her voice rising. “Tell me how to find Pasmet and I will let you live.”
He stared off into the distance at something, his eyes drooping.
Frustrated, she grabbed a stick from the ground and shoved it into the hole in his shoulder where his arm used to be.
Tarek howled, writhing and squirming along the ground, trying to get away from her. Arraziel blocked him and held him while she dug the stick in deep and turned it, blood flowing from the wound again.
Tarek’s cries became whimpers and Jessie thought he was about to pass out. She had to stop. Not yet, sorcerer. Not when I need answers, and to feed Arraziel. Oh yes, he will feed on you. I have no desire to grow any older.
The light of dawn peeked through the trees. She didn’t know how much time she had before another Watcher would come after her. He had to speak to her now.
You can figure it out, princess, the shadowy voice in her head said.
Why can’t you tell me? Don’t you know? Jessie replied.
No, Jessie. The Watchers imprisoned me and my kind long ago. They hold the keys to our freedom and have hidden them from us and our followers. But you will help us, my princess. You will help set us free and together we will take revenge on our jailers.
Yes, my King. I will free you.
Jessie glanced into Arraziel’s fiery eyes. “Arraziel, do you know?”
“No,” he said, his voice a deep growl that rattled in his chest. “Book,” he said and pointed to her knapsack.
Tarek laughed.
Rage flew through her like wildfire at the sound of his mocking laughter and she unleashed her fury on him. Grabbing the stick again, she stuck it back in his arm socket, twisting and digging it in. Tarek howled in agony, spittle flying from his lips.
“Maybe this is what it takes?” she said through clenched teeth. “You must enjoy this, Watcher. Maybe more of this is what it will take to get it out of you?” She thrust the stick in deeper, feeling the edge stop against something hard. Bone.
Her face was a contorted sneer. She enjoyed inflicting pain on this man who had sought to capture her. Who lied to her about redemption and salvation. It made her feel righteous and powerful.
“Who the fuck are you laughing at!” she shouted in his face.
“At…you…petulant child…” he gasped. “I am a Watcher, protector of this world and its people, and it will be my pleasure to watch you die when the Order finds you. And they will find you, little girl.”
Jessie’s eyes narrowed and a sudden calmness came over her. She bent down, picked up a handful of rocks and sticks and dirt, and rubbed them into Tarek’s wound. As his screams rose to an inhuman level, she grabbed his hair and forced him to look at her.
“Little girl? Is that what you think I am?” she gritted her teeth. “I can make this go on for a long time, Tarek. I can make it last for hours, days, weeks. I can have Arraziel drain you and give you life over and over. It will be your living hell. That’s what this little girl can do.”
Tarek’s eyes began to droop and Jessie yanked his head back forcing him to look at her.
“Oh, not yet, Tarek,” she snarled. “You don’t get to die until I say so. Arraziel, Tarek seems a little week and his wound has opened again. He’s losing too much blood. Can you close it for me, please? And give him a little boost.”
She stepped back and Arraziel put his hand on Tarek’s shoulder. She could smell the cooking flesh under his hand as he seared Tarek’s shoulder closed. Tarek howled.
“There, that’s better now, isn’t it, Tarek?” she joked darkly. “You don’t want to talk to me yet? Fine. But you will. I’ve got other things to do in the meantime. I’m going to get Pasmet and add him to my little group here. You see, Tarek, this world needs to change. There are too many people like you in it, and I’m going to clean it up a little bit. In fact, I’m going to make it unrecognizable to you and your fucking Watchers, whatever they are.”
Jessie opened the Arraziel book again and went to the back cover, pointing to the sigil on the map that was near Chicago. “What does this mean? How do I find Pasmet?” she asked.
Tarek grunted, but still refused.
“There are signs all over this map. Does every demon have a sign? Does the sign tell me how to find the demon?”
Still, the lying bastard would not speak.
Jessie’s temper boiled over. She dropped the book and in a rage, she blasted Tarek with a ball of fire.
His chest sizzled and he roared. He furiously slapped at the flames with his hand, trying to put them out. Flames touched the Arraziel book that she dropped on the ground.
“No!” Jessie cried, thinking the book would be destroyed. Then she remembered.
That’s how she had found the words in the book to begin with.
The fire danced on the back cover of the book, and grew wider and higher. Jessie stood back as the flames swirled into the air, and took the shape of a giant black globe that hovered above the ground. Red lines grew like vines around the sphere, outlining shapes.
The Earth. The lines are outlining continents.
Th
e seven continents of the Earth were outlined in red and Sigils began to glow on the map of the world as the globe slowly spun. She recognized Arraziel’s sigil, now very close to Pasmet’s.
I’m so close…
Enthralled, she moved closer to the map and reached out to touch Pasmet’s sigil. “This is all very beautiful,” she said, “but how the fuck do I get there!” she screamed.
She jabbed the map where the Pasmet symbol was with her finger. The Sigil glowed brightly and as her finger pulled away, the symbol rose from the planet and glowed.
She turned to Arraziel. “Now what?”
“Speak,” he said, motioning to the book of dark arts she had in her bag.
Jessie stared at the book of black magic she had taken from Olga’s bookstore. Maybe he’s right. Maybe she had to speak the right spell from the book to find Pasmet. She had some more reading to do.
Tarek groaned. The fire from her spell was out, and he was still alive. She didn’t need the distraction. She also knew Arraziel needed to feed. Is there enough life left in Tarek to satisfy the demon?
She needed Tarek alive a while longer, but decided she would have to take a chance.
“Arraziel, feed from Tarek, but do not to kill him.”
Arraziel’s muscles swelled as he stomped over to Tarek. He picked Tarek up and held him in the air, face to face. Arraziel opened his mouth and white light flowed from Tarek’s mouth and nose and into Arraziel’s maw.
Tarek’s face began to change. His eyes sank into their sockets. His cheeks became hollow and sunken. His skin wrinkled and became leathery and his body slumped in the demon’s grasp.
Jessie watched the handsome Tarek grow old and ugly in front of her eyes. She beamed.
Arraziel took a long draw of Tarek’s life-force and when he was done, he dropped Tarek to the ground.
Tarek lay on the ground, a crumpled sack of bones. His head had shrunk. His hair had turned white and his skin looked ghostly. His eyelids fluttered.
“Don’t you die on me yet, old man,” Jessie sneered.
Tarek inhaled weakly and passed out again. Jessie went to him and felt for a pulse. It was very weak. She knew she didn’t have much time, but he was still alive.
“Lufthwaa,” she said, forming another small flame in her hand. She set the flame on the ground next to her for light to read by. She began leafing through the pages of magic, looking for a spell that would reveal the way to Pasmet.
She found a spell that might work. When uttered, this spell would reveal that which is hidden.
Jessie reached up to the globe and touched the Pasmet symbol again. The sigil radiated beneath her finger.
She spoke the spell: “A’nacre!”
From beneath her feet, mist formed, and circled her as if being pulled on a string. The mist touched the map floating in front of her, glowed lime-green, and crept along the ground soundlessly, heading deeper into the woods.
She giggled. Not exactly the yellow brick road, but it’ll do.
She looked down at Tarek, wheezing on the ground. He may be useful yet.
“Time to go, Arraziel. Take him with us,” she said.
Arraziel picked up Tarek and slung him over his enormous shoulder. Tarek turned his head weakly to Jessie. “The Watchers will destroy you and your evil, just as we have done since the beginning of time.”
Jessie cackled. “Shut up, old man.” She slapped him across the face and Tarek was unconscious again.
Arraziel and Jessie set off, following the mist on the path to Pasmet.
37
JESSIE
October 21, 2015
Illinois Beach State Park, Illinois
Dawn broke over the cool forest, revealing Autumn in full peak color. The mist hung low to the ground, radiating, making the trail easy to follow. Browned pine needles and fallen leaves crunched underfoot. Jessie strode along, her demon companion at her side, unsure of her destination, but determined and lured by what lay ahead.
The trees bloomed with red, orange, and yellow leaves that danced down around her. Her anger faded, and the beauty of her surroundings captivated her.
The hike chilled her to the bone. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered, her mind drifting back to a younger time with her mother and father. She remembered an unusually cold day at the playground in town with her mom and dad. It was one of the last days she remembered them all being together. Her father had been bright and happy that day. He had been extremely excited about something. Jessie was not sure what it was then or now, but it did not matter.
She had only been four or five years old and despite the frigid day, she had refused to leave the house with a jacket, as young children often do. Her dad had noticed her shaking and without a word removed his jacket and placed it on her. It was so big the sleeves touched the ground. She had waved her arms, flapping them in the air, pretending she was a bird. Her parents laughed at her silliness, which only encouraged her to act sillier. It was a warm memory.
Jessie’s childhood had been different then. It was picturesque. Those days were long gone, and the days after were full of terrible things no child should have had to deal with. Her father’s death had robbed her of a childhood. Life was unfair, and she was bitter for it.
Marie, Steve, and others before them had sullied her home with something awful and her mother had allowed it. Her vault of memories contained images of them and the horror they brought into her life. They tainted everything.
Jessie sniffed and wiped a tear away. By the time her hand came down from her cheek, the bitterness and anger at the world was back. She glanced over at Tarek and a burn cut across her belly. There is no good in this world. Men are shit. If she had her way, they would all be on their knees serving her.
And they will, princess. I will never lie to you. I will never leave you like your father did. I have always been, and will always be. Only I can protect you, my princess.
I believe you my King. You are the only one I trust.
She kept moving, following the mist, rubbing her shoulders and trying to ignore her aching feet. She began to fret that the trail would never end. Fatigue was setting in, her feet falling heavily with every step. She shuffled up a small ridge and came upon a gravel road.
The mist led to the right. She followed, her feet sloshing in muddy tire tracks carved deep into the dirt and rocks. The mist covered road led up an incline to the crest of a hill. The sun was rising and she guessed it was seven or eight in the morning.
At the end of the road was a small building. The mist led right to the entrance of the building and snaked inside. The wind blew strong at the top of the hill. The trees were leafless, and through them she saw an enormous lake with an opaque layer of fog hovering over the rough waters. On her left, the road fell off a few hundred feet at a steep angle. A short rock wall, waist high, covered in green moss, separated the building from the drop off. She opened the door in front of her and went inside.
It was dark and smelled of rust. The only light came from the partially opened door and the dim radiance of the green mist. The mist clung to the floor and led down a circular staircase into the heart of the facility.
“Lufthwaa,” she said and a small ball of light filled her hand. She grinned at her newfound powers and held the fireball above her. It was still too dark to see clearly. She brought the ball of light back down to her face and blew on it. It grew larger with her breath and illuminated the area better. The staircase was old, metal, and covered in rust. The place looked like it had been abandoned and unused for a long time.
She leaned over the metal railing. The stairs went down farther than her light reached, but she could see the trail of green all the way to the bottom.
She cupped the fireball in front of her, and followed the mist down the stairs.
They descended slowly. The staircase seemed fragile and shook with the weight of Arraziel, Tarek, and her. The metal squeaked and groaned with every step down.
A powerful musty odor fille
d the air the further down she went. It smelled like a flooded basement. Animals scurried along the steps, their feet scraping along the metal and their small shadows darting along the concrete walls.
Finally, at the bottom of the stairs, she stood in a twelve-foot square landing with four concrete walls that ran up the side to the top of the facility. The walls were corroded and decaying. Drips from somewhere plip-plopped into small puddles on the floor. The puddles were not quite big enough to reach the small drain in the center of the floor. She smelled mold and rank. It brought back memories of the aftermath of hurricanes in Louisiana.
A computer and some other electronic equipment lined the wall. They looked new and out of place. A small cot lay under the stairs. She noted the anomaly as her eyes continued following the mist. The trail ended at the wall across from the stairs. The mist seemed to go through the wall.
Jessie glanced around the room. Now what? Am I supposed to go beyond the wall somehow or is this where the trail ends? Maybe the book is in here…
She searched the area, but couldn’t find any trace of a lever, a hidden button, or anything that might reveal another room or a hole or something to hide a book in.
She went back to the floating green mist, stopping at the wall where it seemed to end. She glanced behind her and then back at the wall. Of course. There was a hidden door and the path continued. It must be.
If the trail continued beyond the wall she needed to get through the wall to continue. The question was, how? She thought back to the book of magic she was studying and remembered a spell that opened doors. She tried it.
“Endrat’e,” she said. She waited. Nothing happened. She tried again, with the same result. She found a dry spot on the bottom step of the staircase, took off her knapsack, pulled out the book of spells, and began leafing through the pages, trying different spells with no luck. After half an hour of failed attempts, she became frustrated and kicked at the wall. Why couldn’t this be easy like it had been with Olga and Arraziel? She didn’t feel like dealing with a puzzle now, and that is what this felt like: a big fucking puzzle.
