by Dave Ferraro
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Krystal knew that it was up to her to stop Wilhelm. She was the only one powerful enough to take on such an opponent, and only because her powers allowed her to. As she watched it come for her, its black eyes focused solely on her, like she was the only thing in the room, she wondered if she had it in her to beat him.
“The crows are not what they appear.”
Krystal frowned as Felicia’s words came back to her. The crows certainly had to mean Wilhelm, and the tattoos on both of his bodies, one dead and one undead. But what had she meant when she’d said that they were not what they appeared? She considered him in the seconds she had before he reached her, but couldn’t fathom the meaning of the cryptic clue.
She lifted her arms and felt the tendrils of her power come to life, squirming with anticipation at the moment they would sink into his dead flesh and control those mish-mash of parts. And then she frowned. That was it. Roma controlled him. It wasn’t him at all. The hate that she saw in his eyes was for Roma, and Roma alone, as she used this monstrous cage she’d created for his soul, to carry out atrocities against his will. He was not the one she should be fighting at all.
Wilhelm was living as a slave to Roma, in chains, a pale reflection of what he used to be, held in check by his disturbed wife. Every move his muscles made, every turn of his head, every flinch of his cheeks, was her doing, warping his dead flesh to give him the semblance of life. It was twisted, but she was a puppeteer, using her own husband as her puppet. But he probably wouldn’t follow her commands, given the choice. He just needed to have that choice. Wilhelm was innocent in all of this. And Krystal couldn’t kill an innocent. And she couldn’t force her will onto one either, or she would be as bad as Roma.
Dropping her arms, Krystal watched the creature as it neared. “I won’t hurt you,” she said. And she reached out with her powers, the tendrils of necromancy that she commanded quickly cutting through the weak strands of Roma’s power.
Roma moaned and reached out with renewed strength, but her powers fell limp as they faced Krystal’s power.
Krystal’s eyes briefly flickered to Roma, before returning to Wilhelm. And then she let her power fill him. But she didn’t wrest his dead flesh this way or that. She exuded no control over him whatsoever. She merely filled him, and gave his dead limbs life. She offered him freedom through her, as brief as it would be. He must have taken control from Roma during weak moments, like when he’d slammed into the door in her mansion, and given that they’d had him in chains, but those small snatches of life were during those few moments his wife would let her concentration slip, and probably only lasted a few seconds at a time. Even if Krystal couldn’t offer him much more than that, she would allow him the time to do as he saw fit. And she refused to take utter control of his body, whatever he decided to do with it.
Wilhelm tilted his head. He lifted a hand and stared at it as he clenched and unclenched it. Krystal watched the awe transform his face from that of a ferocious monster to that of a free man, amazed at what he was seeing and experiencing. He closed his eyes and lifted his face, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. When he looked down again, he met Krystal’s gaze and seemed to consider her.
“I am a necromancer like Roma, but I won’t hurt you,” Krystal said. “I know she’s forced you to do horrible things. But you don’t have to do them anymore.”
He looked to Roma questioningly, then turned to Krystal again.
“Husband? What are you doing?” Roma asked, her voice rising. “Finish her off! Now, while you still can! What are you waiting for?”
Wilhelm swung his head her way and bared his teeth.
Roma frowned. “I gave you a new life, you ungrateful man. One full of power and promise. Your soul will burn forever in a strong body! Now, obey your wife and tear the girl’s throat out this instant.”
“No,” Wilhelm said, his voice gravelly as he stood tall.
Roma flinched, the blood draining from her face. “What did you say?”
“No,” he repeated, staring her down. “I am not your plaything.”
She watched him for another moment in disbelief before shaking her head. Then Roma lifted a hand. “Very well.”
Wilhelm screeched in pain as the fur on his arms stood on end, as if trying to wretch free from his skin. The horns on his head strained against the skin, blood seeping from their roots.
Krystal put up a hand and clenched her teeth as she fought back the magick that Roma was radiating, the tendrils of her power quickly slithering in beneath hers, fighting to relieve the dead cells of Wilhelm’s body from her commands. Roma was putting her everything into this attack. She must have realized that this was her last chance to put an end to this.
And then Wilhelm stood tall again, looking from one necromancer to the other.
“Freedom,” he said in a deep voice. Then he took two steps in Roma’s direction and punched her in the face with so much force that her head was knocked from her shoulders, hitting the wall behind her with a wet smack, before falling to the ground in synch with her body.
Krystal’s eyes widened as she felt Roma’s powers suddenly fall away.
Everyone in the room grew still, staring in shock at the scene. Wilhelm’s chest rose and fell heavily, but no regret lined his face as he gazed down at the body of his wife.
“The queen is dead!” one of the loup-garous screamed.
“Yes,” Lupe said, at the head of the room. “The queen is dead. We are all free now.”
The entire room seemed to hold its breath as vampire, loup-garous and human all regarded one other.
“What are you doing?” Damien asked, glaring at the vampires in the room. “You are free from her now. She can not control your bodies with her unholy powers. Every creature in this room can do as they please now. Go and rebuild your lives how you wish to, not as a servant of a mad woman, but as your own masters.”
Lupe nodded behind him.
Then one vampire near the door slipped from the room quickly. Everyone watched him dart out the door, then the other monsters followed suit, not even sparing a glance for the hunters.
Krystal looked up at Wilhelm, who was watching her. “Your powers can not sustain me forever, little necromancer.”
“No, they can’t,” she admitted, meeting his eyes.
“You have ended a personal hell that I never imagined I would escape,” he said. “I am grateful. Thank you for your kindness.”
She nodded. “I wish I could-“
“I am ready to die,” Wilhelm interrupted her. “My body died long ago, and I am ready for my soul to be released from this prison.”
Biting her lip, Krystal nodded again. “I know.”
He smiled at her, and his ghoulish face looked somehow human.
She retracted her power from him and he slid to the ground with a contented sigh. Holding her breath, she approached him and gazed down at his body, finding some comfort in the peaceful expression on his face.
“You did good, kid,” Ash said, patting her on the shoulder.
She smiled tightly and watched the others gather around, noting Steven looking frightened and pale, clutching Amelia like a lost child. She forced her eyes from him. As happy as she was to see him safe and sound, she suddenly felt too drained to deal with him.
The ogres were the only monsters left in the room, and they seemed at a loss for what to do in wake of the battle. The hunters walked from the room unmolested in their confusion.
Ash led them up the street outside of the room, where monsters and goblins were pressed up against the walls, curious but also confused and frightened of the disturbance. No one stopped them as they filed out of Blackwood. And they quickly disappeared up side streets, and didn’t stop until they’d left the underground alien city far behind them.
Krystal didn’t allow herself to let her guard down until they had stepped through the portal and had exited the cave. But th
e moment they stepped outside, into the dark night air, she let out a deep breath. The stars gazed down at them from the heavens, unaware of their journey, but Krystal would never forget the trial. It had defined her, helped solidify who she was. And she would stand in the face of darkness alongside the other hunters. Despite the fact that it was the harder road to take, she would use her powers for good. Giving into the darkness was easy, but she proved to herself that she was strong, strong enough to conquer her fears.
