***
I left the office later that night smiling at Kieran who cast me a suspicious glance. The night air was only just starting to set in so it wasn’t too cold yet. Still, I pulled my jacket tighter around me as I began to walk. I let my hand brush over the roses which lined the path in the park
Within a short distance I noticed the silence interrupted by a very soft sound. As I walked, the noise became louder and I could make out the strumming of guitar strings. Each note rang through the empty park. When I turned a corner, I was looking at Egan. He was sitting on a park bench, picking the strings with his fingers and staring off into the distance. He didn’t even glance at the guitar.
“Hey,” Egan said, looking up at me. “Samuel said you’d be here.”
I raised an eyebrow. “How did Samuel know that?”
“It’s complicated,” Egan frowned.
He seemed to suddenly notice he was still playing the guitar and looked down at it as if surprised. He stopped picking as he stood up, joining me as I continued walking down the path.
“Mikayla spoke to you about your aura yesterday, didn’t she?”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “Can Samuel actually see auras?”
“Yep. Apparently most people can if they try hard enough.”
“You’ve never tried?”
“It’s not really my area,” Egan said softly. “But there’s something you should probably know about yours. Well, Mikayla and Samuel think you should.”
“You think I shouldn’t.”
“If I had my way, I wouldn’t even be talking to you right now.”
“Right, because it’s not safe for me to be around you.”
“Too late,” he muttered.
“What?”
“Ailia, the black in your aura,” Egan began slowly.
“What about it?”
“It’s a demon.”
I stared at him. “There’s a demon in my aura?”
“Not exactly. The demon we were fighting the other night when you showed up attached itself to you.”
“What does that mean?” I asked slowly.
“When a demon attaches itself to someone, it becomes obsessed. They have different motives, but they all stay in the same area. It could just want to feed off your fear or cause you grief. Some of them are worse. The demon you have...”
“What does it want?” I asked.
Egan cast a sideways glance. “It’s possible that it wants your power.”
“What are the other possibilities?”
Egan stayed silent.
“Egan?”
“It’s also possible that it wants you dead.”
It was crazy. Egan was crazy. It ran through my mind to tell him so and get out of there. Maybe I wouldn’t see him again; wouldn’t have to deal with his insane talk again.
Demons couldn’t be real; he was just making this up to scare me. He just didn’t want me around, that’s all. I should leave. The words echoed through my mind, yet one glance into Egan’s eyes and I had to stay. I didn’t want to leave him. I was still drawn to him. I didn’t understand what it meant. My eyes moved to his lips. I wondered what it would be like if he kissed me.
Stupid, I scolded myself for the thought, he doesn’t want you. He doesn’t want to see you. Doesn’t want to talk to you. Why would he want you?
Egan ran a hand through his hair. “This is one reason why I didn’t want you involved.”
“What were the others?”
Egan looked at me, but kept his mouth closed. I got the feeling he wasn’t going to reply.
“So what happens now?” I asked.
Egan decided this was a question he would answer, “Now, we try and work out who summoned the demon so that we can get rid of it. And you need to stay strong. It’ll try to break you apart.”
I nodded.
“And,” Egan began fishing around in his pocket. “This is for you.” He handed me a silver necklace. Hanging on it was a five pointed star encased in a circle.
“This is a pentagram,” I commented.
“Yes, it is.” He smiled. “Silver pentagrams or pentacles will help ward off demons.”
“Right,” I murmured.
Egan wanted to be as far away from me as possible, but was giving me gifts. No matter how I tried, I could not understand his motives.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“This stuff. It’s just so unreal. It’s madness.”
“Except that you have no choice but to believe it.”
I did have a choice. I could go home now. Give Egan the necklace and walk away. It wasn’t as though he cared. He wanted me far away. But I couldn’t go. Crazy or not, I couldn’t walk away from Egan.
It didn’t make any sense. I’d only just met him. If I turned now, my life would be exactly the same as it was before. Yet there was something in Egan’s eyes that kept me there.
I looked at the symbol in my hand. There was a strange sense of familiarity to it, as though I had seen it many times before. I couldn’t pick out where.
“I thought people generally used crosses to ward off demons?”
“They do. It’s just that pentacles tend to sit better with witches.”
Witches. That’s right. He also thought I could use magic. I shook my head.
“What?” Egan asked.
“This whole thing is just nuts.”
“No kidding,” called a voice from behind us. We turned to see Kieran.
“Have you been following us?”
“He has,” Egan confirmed. “But don’t worry. He was too far away to hear anything.”
“How do you know that, Egan?” Kieran asked.
“I know everything.”
“No, you don’t.”
“How many times do I have to prove it to you?”
“There are a lot of areas we haven’t covered yet, Egan.”
“Like what.”
“Cooking.”
Egan raised his eyebrows. “Cooking?”
“Cooking.”
“How do you propose we test this one?”
“Cake off.”
“We’re baking in order to prove that I know everything.”
“Yes we are. This weekend, you’d better have cake.”
“Alright then. Anything else?”
“Well, I was hoping that you’d tell me this big secret that Ailia’s in on.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Well, what were you talking about just then?”
“Not important.”
“Why do you have your guitar?”
“I was playing it.”
“Where?”
“In the park.”
Kieran shook his head. “Only you would even think to do that.” Kieran started to walk off.
“What? No interrogation about why Ailia’s allowed to know things and you aren’t?”
“No time for that,” Kieran called. “I have to go and see a friend.”
“You mean the blonde girl?”
“How do you know she’s blonde? You haven’t met her!”
“I know everything, Kieran,” Egan called after him.
“You knew he was following us?” I asked.
Egan nodded. “He really needs to improve his stalking skills. I mean, at least try and make it worthwhile. He didn’t learn anything.”
“How could you tell?”
“Believe me, when you’ve spent your whole life fighting demons, a human stepping on a twig is hard to miss.”
“Okay then. But how did you know that his friend was blonde? Have you seen her somewhere?”
“Samuel mentioned her,” Egan explained.
“He’s met her then?”
“Let’s save that one for another time,” Egan said. “You’ve got enough to take in right now.”
I frowned in confusion; more things I wouldn’t understand. “Egan, how long have you been fighting these things?”
“As long as I can rem
ember.”
“So, how are you still sane?” I wasn’t so sure whether or not he was sane, but I couldn’t think of a better word to use.
Egan laughed. “Not easily. Mikayla’s pretty good at pulling people out of crazy land. And there’s always…” Egan stopped speaking and reached into his shirt. He pulled out a chain from around his neck to reveal a silver cross.
It shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did. “You’re Christian?”
“Everyone needs something to believe in,” he said softly. “And you really need it when you spend your time fighting evil.”
“Don’t Christians hate these?” I asked, holding up the necklace he just gave me.
“Some do. Actually, the early Christians used the pentagram as a symbol for the five wounds of Christ. We haven’t really used it since the Satanists turned it upside down to make the Sigil of Baphomet.”
“Why would Christians hate it if it was once a Christian symbol?”
Egan smiled. “Well, not all Christians hate it. I don’t. Some Christians believe witches work with Satan.”
I tensed slightly at Egan’s words. “They don’t, do they?”
“Of course not,” Egan replied. “I would not encourage you to be a witch if that meant you summoned demons and made my work harder.”
We reached the end of the park and walked over the road to the house which I rented.
“Mikayla should be in touch. She’ll keep an eye on you.”
“You won’t?”
“I still shouldn’t be around you.”
Of course he shouldn’t. I tried to ignore the slight sense of disappointment.
“Look, Ailia, we don’t want you to get hurt, and we don’t know what it wants yet. It was summoned, so it’s a little more unpredictable than most.”
“So we find out who summoned it? That’s the first step?”
“No, we find out who summoned it. We meaning Samuel, Mikayla and I. You don’t do a thing. I’m still not letting you get involved in this.”
“Sounds to me like I am involved.”
“No,” Egan whispered. “We’ll get rid of it. Okay? Then we’ll leave you to live the life you choose. None of this hunting stuff.”
I stared at Egan.
“Will you be okay?” Egan asked, a sudden touch of concern in his voice.
“I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
Egan turned to leave and then looked back saying, “Ailia?”
I looked up.
“I’m sorry, but it really is better this way.”
I nodded, not really understanding why I believed him, and unlocked my door. Going inside, I placed my bag on a chair. The necklace landed on the kitchen bench with my keys. I scrambled through my bag to retrieve my notepad and flipped through it, heading to the kitchen to pour a glass of water.
As I drank, I noticed on the corner of my page I absentmindedly drew on the paper earlier in the day. Specifically, drawing little stars with circles around them. My eyes widened as I looked at the symbols. I looked down at the bench where the necklace sat. The coincidence was too astonishing. I hesitated before grabbing the necklace and clasped it around my neck.
Everything Egan said came rushing back and I wondered what I believed in.
What Lay in the Dark Page 5
