The Dance

by James Goodman

  My appearance is not your concern. Your destiny lies at the other end of this hole, Eramael’s voice echoed in Tom’s mind.

  Tom picked his way carefully through the ruins. As he drew closer to the hidden room, he could make out the sound of Kyle’s voice.

  What the hell is that? Is he chanting or singing?

  He took a tentative step into the tiny hallway, watching the candlelight cast shadows on the wall. The room suddenly began to dim.

  “Make me whole, lover.”

  Nina gasped and fell to all fours in the middle of the floor. Her body heaved and sagged as she tried to catch her breath. The air around her shimmered and danced in rhythm with Kyle’s chants.

  “I’d rather put you in one,” Tom snarled as he stepped into the room.

  “Oh man, you just don’t give up, do you?” Kyle laughed. “What do you think your kids are going to say when they feel my breath on their cheeks?”

  “You will have to get through me first,” he said without flinching.

  “Kyle, the spell—Keep… singing… keep… reading,” Nina urged from where she lay in a twitching heap on the floor. “We’re so close.”

  “Relax, baby. It won’t take long for me to beat this twit into a bloody pulp.”

  “Kyle, don’t! Something is… different about… him. Something’s wrong.” Nina’s speech was labored.

  He ignored her as he bared his teeth at Tom. “You have no idea who you’re fucking with, do you? I am all but a God.”

  “Oh, really? Then I guess you saw this coming,” Tom sneered and he leveled the gun at Kyle.

  Kyle lowered his shoulder and charged, closing the gap between them before Tom could fire off a single round. Tom let the momentum carry them both backwards and the gun dropped from his hand. He pulled his feet up, planting them in Kyle’s chest just as his back hit the floor. He pushed with all his might. It was a toss up as to which one was more surprised as Kyle flew through the air and crashed into the wall behind them.

  “How the—” Kyle began before he scrambled to his feet.

  Tom cut him short as he pounced on Kyle, raining down a shower of fists.

  “Fuck you!” he screamed and tossed Tom across the room. Tom’s body caught the altar as it flew by, sending him to the floor in a flurry of wood and candle wax.

  Kyle eyed him warily. “How are you doing this? You should have gone down as soon as I hit you.”

  “Come a little closer and you will find out what else I can do,” Tom growled.

  Kyle rushed again, but stumbled back when Tom’s fist connected soundly with his jaw. Kyle grabbed his arm as he fell, pulling Tom with him. They traded punches, rolling across the floor.

  Nina struggled to regain control of her environment as the two men circled each other. At last, she was able to focus her thoughts enough to picture Tom’s throat. She held out her hand, slowly closing her fingers into a fist and pictured the breath being squeezed out of him. Tom began to cough and gag as he fought for air.

  “Not so fast, old friend,” Eramael said, bending over her crumpled form.

  “You can’t do this to me,” she screamed up at him.

  “It’s over, Nina. I will not let you start another war over these wretched creatures,” Eramael snarled.

  “I don’t care about the others. You can have them. I just want the one. I love him, Eramael.”

  “You should save your lies for someone who is more susceptible to them.”

  “I want him,” she sobbed.

  “You know you can’t take him with you. He wouldn’t survive the journey.”

  She smiled when she saw Kyle’s hand clamp over Tom’s throat. “Ha! What will you do now?”

  Tom kicked and thrashed beneath him, but couldn’t pry himself out of the viselike grip. Kyle continued to punch Tom in the face with his free hand as he choked the life out of him. Tom caught Kyle’s fist and yanked hard, trying to pull him off balance. He stared up in horror when Kyle lurched, but fell right back into place. Kyle smiled down at him and he tightened his grip.

  “Come on,” Kyle urged. “Why don’t you give us a little scream?”

  Tom’s vision began to narrow. God, please don’t let this maniac hurt my children, he prayed when he felt himself slipping away.

  The last image that entered his mind was the hole that materialized in the center of Kyle’s forehead with a spray of blood. His face was frozen in a look of surprise as he released his grip on Tom’s throat.

  “No!” Nina screamed, reaching for her lover.

  “Come, my sweet. It’s time to take you home,” Eramael said gently as he scooped her off the floor.

  Anna stood in the doorway, a wisp of smoke still curled up from the barrel of her pistol. She couldn’t see what caused the shadow that spread over Tom’s body.

  She then caught sight of a woman… floating? “Oh, my God!”

  A stiff breeze blew by her hair, extinguishing the remaining candles in the room. She was plunged into darkness. By the time she was able to pull out her flashlight, they were gone.

  She rushed to Tom’s side and kicked Kyle’s limp body off him. His bloodied face drew a gasp from her. Both of his eyes were all but swelled shut, his lips were split wide and his nose lay just above a gash over his cheek. She quickly checked his pulse and radioed for help.

  “The God damned thing won’t work in here.” She cursed her luck. “Don’t you die on me, Tom. I have to leave you for a minute, but I’m just going for help. I’ll be right back, I promise.”

  Anna clawed her way out of the charred, blackened pit. “This is Detective Perez,” she shouted into her radio. “I have an officer down. I repeat officer down! God damn it, somebody acknowledge!”

  He didn’t get away from you this time, Tom, she thought to herself. Not, this time.

  Chapter Fifty

  Tom woke up in the hospital with a screaming headache and a body that begged to be left alone.

  “Ugh,” he grumbled as he tried to bring his eyes into focus. I feel like I was hit by a Mack truck.”

  “You should see how you look,” Anna teased.

  “Anna? What are you doing here?”

  “I’ve been here ever since they took you out of ICU.”

  “ICU? How long was I out of it?”

  “Three days.”

  “Oh, my God! Where are my kids?” Tom tried to sit up, but quickly discovered he couldn’t.

  “Relax, they’re fine. When they kick me out of here, I go there.”

  “Really?” Tom’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Why are you doing all this?”

  “Can’t I be nice to you without having an ulterior motive?” She laughed playfully.

  Tom smiled as wide as his pain would let him.

  “Hey, what happened out there?”

  Anna frowned. “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

  “I’m not sure. It was all like a dream,” Tom answered evasively, not sure how much he should reveal.

  “Well, then I guess we’ll never know for sure. When I arrived on the seen, I heard shouting. I worked my way into the pit and saw Kyle choking the shit out of you.”

  Tom moved his hand over his throat at the mention of the strangulation.

  Anna had already convinced herself that the image of Nina floating in the air was a trick of her mind and didn’t need to be shared. He wasn’t sure how he knew that, but he knew it just the same.

  “I was having trouble getting a clear shot on him when suddenly he leaned his head back and I put a bullet in it.” She described the event as if it were no big deal.

  “You saved my life.” Tom stared at her with admiration.

  “You would have done the same for me.”

  “Did we ever find out who this guy really is?”

  “Not yet. We haven’t found a match for prints or blood samples in any database, but they are still working on it.” Anna shook her head. “Oh, and I almost forgot; I brought you a little souvenir.”

  “Oh, yeah?”
Tom watched while she rummaged through her purse.

  “He had this shoved into his back pocket. It was the only thing he had on him.” She handed him a folded piece of paper.

  Tom unfolded it and tried to laugh, but his ribs wouldn’t cooperate. He was holding the final poem of The Puppeteer.

  The Quest

  I have traveled far and scoured the world

  On a quest for the heart of a dark haired girl

  With skin so soft that my temperature rises

  Her body, so beautiful, holds many surprises

  One look from her eyes starts my blood to boil

  Makes a carefree man like a dog so loyal

  She chained my heart on the night we first met

  With fire and passion, so wild so wet

  My soul burns for the smile in my dreams

  To hold her in my arms near that rushing stream

  To give her my love while the angels sing

  My love was pure, strong, and bold

  Whilst I watched her strip from head to toe

  My mind reeled, my heart beat wild

  My hands shook like a frightened child

  Never such beauty have mine eyes beheld

  My mind succumbed to her charms as my blood slowly swelled

  We shared our bodies like fiends possessed

  We gave each other everything, nothing more, nothing less

  She caught my eye and gave me a smile

  A smile that stopped the hands of time

  Before she whispered in my ear, your soul is mine!

  “Did you see her?” Tom hoped to have someone with which to share the haunting image of Nina.

  “I saw something, but— I don’t know,” she said with a shake of her head.

  They fell into silence, each of them struggling to understand everything that had happened to them during the pursuit.

  “How long are they going to keep me in here?”

  “It shouldn’t be more than another day or two now that you are awake.”

  “I have an idea,” Tom said, managing to sit up. “There may still be another clue to his identity down in that room. Maybe when they release me—”

  “Uh-huh, that’s fascinating.” Anna moved to sit on the edge of his bed.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “You know, I bet this conversation would sound a lot better over a bite to eat.” She gave him her best smile as she repeated the line he had used on her when they first became partners.

  “Are you serious?” Tom stared at her with wide eyes. “I would love nothing better.”

  “Oh, I’m sure we can think of something you would rather do.” She batted her eyes at him. “But for now, you had better get your rest.”

  “Yeah, it sounds like I’m going to need it.”

  She smiled her response and held his hand in hers.

  Tom stared at her, waiting for the punch line. It never came. He looked into her eyes and knew she was sincere. The reign of terror was over. His sleepy little town could finally get back to normal.

  Whatever that is.

  The thought made him smile.

  Epilogue

  Jerry Monroe couldn’t believe his luck. It had been over a year since he first read a mention of Nina. The quintessential lover, the scriptures had called her. After spending every free moment he could, scouring for information, he had finally hit pay dirt: an obscure article about her on the Internet. It said she was a Goddess of ancient Sumer, but her specialty is what drew him to her. Rumor had it she possessed the face of an angel and the lust of a demon. She could do things to a man that would boggle the imagination.

  “Yeah, I like the sound of that.” He snatched the handful of pages from the printer beside his computer.

  He nearly tripped over his feet in his excitement, barely touching the stairs as he sped to the basement. This was his special place. No one had the faintest idea he had the room beneath his home. The builder had called him insane, but agreed to keep his mouth shut when presented with a healthy bonus.

  To the naked eye, it was just your run of the mill basement. Perhaps it was a bit less cluttered than some, but still average at best. He trotted to the southwest corner of the room and began counting bricks. First, he counted from the floor; then he moved to his right. Lucky number 13, he thought, pressing it with his free hand. A section of the wall moved with a heavy groan. The faux bricks that made up the door weren’t necessarily heavy, but the mechanism that moved them still protested under its burden every time he used it.

  Jerry stepped through the opening, briskly walking past the rows of floor to ceiling shelves that were filled with books, some of which looked as thought they might disintegrate if touched. Thirteen feet later, he stepped into the circular room. He admired the four support beams that dominated the room, each with images of angels carved into them. The two to the east and west depicted the winged warriors soaring towards heaven. The north and south supports showed them falling.

  The pentagram on the floor stretched to cover the entire room. At each point stood a six-foot tall candle holder, made of sterling silver. Each of them sported a candle of a different color: blue, red, white, green and black.

  A wooden altar stood in the center of the room. An incense holder and an athame rested between two red altar candles. There were twin doors on the front. The handles of each resembled faces, forged in painstaking detail. The one on the left was that of an angel, the other was a horned demon.

  Jerry stepped back into the entryway, scanning the shelves. His fingers traced along the barely legible titles with an ease that suggested years of practice. He plucked out a thick, leather-bound tome and rushed to set it on the altar. He killed the lights after the flame on his altar candle sprang to life.

  That’s more like it. Lighting is everything.

  He flipped through the pages of the dusty book until he found the passage he wanted. He opened the bottom of the altar and pulled out a thick black robe. Once he donned the garment, he quickly set about casting his circle, struggling to stay focused as he called to the each of the four Guardians to watch over his ceremony. When he was satisfied he invoked the spell properly, he returned to the pages he had printed out earlier.

  “Now, I will summon a lover who has no equal.” His chest swelled with pride as he thought of how far he had come. “More than that, she will be bound to me by magic. There will never be a possibility that she will leave me. Not like…”

  He felt his resolve weaken as he thought about how that tramp of an ex had ripped out his heart and crushed it beneath her stiletto.

  Forget about her. You need to concentrate if you want this to go smoothly. You pull this off and then we’ll see who has the last laugh.

  Jerry read over the incantation, and jotted down notes on his printouts. He knew how to sound out the words but had never been completely successful with their translations, only able to decipher enough to get a rough idea of what they meant.

  Certain everything was in place and ready to proceed, he sank to his knees, closing his eyes. He held his printouts in his left hand and the athame in his right, pushing everything from his mind but the task at hand. At last, when his mind was clear and focused, he opened his eyes. His body tingled with anticipation.

  Holding the athame high, he began to read aloud in a singsong voice, his words rising and falling in a rhythm that came easy to him.

  He nearly stuttered as the flames of each candle began to flicker. He pressed on, eyeing them intently. The orange-red fingers seemed to grow, stretching towards the ceiling. They danced in unison with the rhythm of the spell. He hesitated as the smell of sulfur reached his nostrils.

  Where is that stench coming from?

  He let his gaze search the room for the source. It only took a moment for him to realize the danger of leaving a spell half cast and picked up where he left off.

  The air around him seemed to constrict and expand. Suddenly, the sound of rushing water filled the room.

  I’m go
ing to drown in here, he thought, fear sweeping over him in waves. He nearly panicked as he braced himself for the impact that never came.

  He twisted and turned in all directions, trying to pinpoint the origin of the sound.

  Just two lines to go; you can do this.

  He gritted his teeth, took several deep breaths and prepared to finish the spell. After he read the last line, in English he shouted, “So mote it be!” and stuck the athame point down in the floor.

  Instantly the flame from the candles returned to normal and silence fell over the room.

  “Where are you? Where is my new bride?” He spun in circles, expecting her to materialize at any moment.

  “Nina, come to me. I command thee!” he ordered with as much bravado as he could muster. “Hear my voice, I have summoned you. Come and meet your new master.”

  A rush of air spread through the room, extinguishing all the candles. Jerry was plunged into darkness.

  “Are you there?” his voice cracked with fear.

  He stood and, with his hands stretched before him, stepped forward until he found the wall. He inched his way along until his hand met only air.

  Okay, here’s the doorway, the light switch should be… here. He flicked it several times, but the light refused to come on. What the hell? This is exactly why I had the damned electric installed down here. He tried the switch a few more times, hoping the power would return.

  I have to close out the circle.

  He left the room as quickly as the darkness would allow. By the time he reached the drawer where he kept the flashlight, the power had returned to the house.

  “What went wrong?” he muttered as he returned to the empty ceremonial chamber. “I know it was working. I’ve never seen a response like that before.”