by Nas Magkasi
“I need their souls, and you want their delicious flesh,” he bellowed. “So stop with the questions and let’s come to a deal.”
The girls nodded obediently once again. One could never get so chummy with a demon, not even a little bit.
“I have rounded up two dead bodies, one from Tetro and the other from a nearby town. I’ll give you instructions on where the bodies can be found, and when you do find them, drink a bottle of this potion and you’ll be able to slip on their skin like a mink coat.”
He produced two small corked bottles of purple potion from the flames and laid them before the sirens.
“The younger of the two is called Adriana. She was murdered and everyone in town had been looking for her for months. Being a demon, I found her right away. She’s Domenico’s girlfriend and he would be absolutely thrilled to have her back. Whoever plays her can have fun with that one. The other woman died giving birth. I doubt that anyone in Tetro would recognize her. I need one of you to make a cover story about moving in town to escape from an abusive husband. Be a damsel in distress in order to seduce Gio. Poor, lonely Gio. He’d love the flesh of a real woman to hold for a change.”
“Would we have to sleep with them?” Maj made a face.
“No. But you do have to get them to marry you. That shouldn’t be hard, seeing the lengths men would go to for a seductive woman, and you’ve had centuries of practice in the art of seduction. It’s embedded in you. Frankly, I’d do something with you myself if I didn’t know what vile creatures you can turn into.”
The demon winked at them. Then he produced two gold rings from the flames and laid them beside the potion bottles.
“The men have to be wed to you for real in order for this to work. You can’t just shove the ring on them when they’re sleeping. Understand?”
“Yes,” Maj and Mer said.
The rings glowed. An inscription in Latin was engraved inside each ring that the sisters couldn’t understand, but they were too afraid to ask any more questions.
“As soon as the ring is on the groom during the wedding ceremony, their soul is mine immediately. So do what you want with your groom and the other people after that as you please. But be sure to marry both men. I want two souls, understand? Don’t commit a massacre until the second man is wed.”
“Yes.”
“Now, any questions?”
Maj hesitated, but she was too curious not to ask.
“Wouldn’t the bodies be decomposing?”
“Not when you drink the potion. For the first few days, you might be inside a rotting corpse, but not before long you’ll be breathing life to them that they’ll look just as healthy as any other human.”
“Will we be legally wed to humans?” asked Mer. “Bound by the heavens?”
The demon laughed, utterly amused by the question.
“How could you be bound in our realm? It’s not as if you ever want to go to heaven, that boring place.”
Maj and Mer forced laughter as well. They signed the contracts, but they were concerned in human dealings. What if somehow, the humans were to own them, as slaves? But those were nonsensical fears because the sisters would just kill them and eat them if that were to happen. Unlike humans, they weren’t bound by ethics. They didn’t fear hell. At least, not as much as the humans did.
Chapter Four
There was something hypnotic and soothing about the lapping waters of the shore. Despite what Domenico had said about the waters tainted with the darkness of war, death, and evil, he was drawn to it. He watched it as if it had something important to tell him. He watched from the windows until his mind drained most of its frenetic worrying and fears.
If only Adriana was still here. The only thing he looked at more than the sea was a sketch of Adriana that he had drawn shortly before she left. If he hadn’t taken up illustration, he wouldn’t have anything to look at.
He knew he loved her when they were thirteen. He wrote her poetry, cooked for her, and treated her like a queen. They filled each other’s emptiness left by their missing loved ones. Adriana’s mother had taken to drinking after her husband’s death. She was an alcoholic who often beat Adriana. Domenico hadn’t known about this until two weeks before Adriana disappeared. Adriana had been too ashamed to let anyone know.
He blamed himself for not catching the signs sooner. They planned to get married as soon as possible so they could live together so she didn’t have to deal with her mother anymore.
And of course he wanted to marry her because he was madly in love with her, as he had always been. Then one day she was just gone. It didn’t make sense.
He’d tried talking to her mother, but she had little to say. She looked on the verge of tears whenever he broached the subject and he didn’t want to make her any more upset. She probably felt as if it had been her fault, always beating Adriana, which she probably thought drove Adriana to run away. He would’ve thought so too if it weren’t for the fact that he knew how much she loved him and that she would never be able to stay away from him for more than a day.
If only Adriana was back, he’d protect her forever and never let her suffer again. If only there were some clue. He was missing something, he just knew it.
Someone knocked on the door.
It was Mistico, holding a bouquet of violets. She worked as a florist.
“I thought these would cheer you up,” she said, and smiled.
Domenico thought about what Uncle Gio had said about Mistico. He was right. Mistico was beautiful. She had wavy brown hair and wise hazel eyes. Freckles spattered her white cheeks and she had a warm, slightly lopsided smile. There was an enigmatic quality about her that might’ve come from the powers within from being a wizard’s daughter, a certain light. It was in her smile, her movements, everything.
But of course, he admired her as a person and friend, not as a potential lover. Mistico was only 17 after all. Adriana had treated her like a sister. They were best friends.
With Adriana gone, it was true that he had been spending more time with Mistico, but men were able to be friends with women. He and Mistico were only supporting each other in their time of distress after losing Adriana. She was the only person who understood.
“Any word from your father?” Domenico asked hopefully.
Mistico bit her lower lip. Finally she gave a small nod.
“I came from his house just now,” she admitted.
“Well?” Domenico stepped forward, eager for the news he’d been waiting months to hear.
“He finally agreed to meditate,” she said. “He searched for her energy in the world.
“Did he feel her?”
Mistico looked down. When she met his eyes again, sadness filled her eyes.
“He couldn’t find her. I’m sorry, Domenico. He believes that she’s really gone.”
“Gone,” Domenico repeated. He had to sit down. “How does he meditate exactly?”
“It’s a simple process. He’s quite clairvoyant, and he just closes his eyes and receives information.”
Domenico swallowed the lump in his throat.
“No offence to your father, but if he can’t sense her, it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t exist. It might just mean that she’s hard to find.”
“Please, Domenico. My father is a very gifted wizard. He might be a little rusty, but when he does practice magic, he’s rarely wrong.”
“As you said, he doesn’t even practice magic that much. He might need more practice. Can you ask him to try again?”
“I can try,” Mistico said, but she looked reluctant.
“I mean, I need to know what happened,” Domenico looked so worried that Mistico put her arm around his shoulder.
“I know this is hard for you,” she said. “I’ll ask my father again. Maybe he’ll have more clues as to what really happened to cause her…disappearance.”
“Thank you,” he whispered and he closed his eyes.
She sat beside him, both facing the shore. They watched the sun set for a bit, an
d then Mistico rose to go.
“Please stay,” Domenico said. He felt so small, so fragile and Mistico was the only person who could soothe him.
She nodded and sat back down.
The sun was a glowing orange ball that was eager to dip into the sea. The shore had been empty all afternoon.
Now a figure was walking their way. Maybe they had missed her somehow, but she seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. In a long dress, with long hair, it was definitely the shadow of a woman. She was walking a little funny – stiffly and a bit slow.
When she came closer, Domenico noticed that she had blonde hair. She wore a pale blue dress, similar to Adriana’s favorite dress. Perhaps it was…
“Adriana!” Domenico jumped up and ran to her.
With the sun in his face, he blinked, not believing what he was seeing. Mistico ran after him.
“Do you see who I see?” Domenico asked her. “Am I crazy, or do you see her too?”
Mistico nodded, too shocked to speak.
It was Adriana, radiating good health. Alive and well.
“Adriana?” He ran to her.
She looked him up and down. “Domenico?”
Domenico broke into a smile.
“It’s you. You’re back! You came back.”
He took her into his arms and squeezed.
“I missed you so much,” he continued. “Where have you been?”
Adriana stumbled when Domenico pulled back.
“These legs are so – I mean, whew, I lost my balance there!”
Mistico was all smiles.
“Adriana!” Mistico exclaimed.
Adriana gave her a once-over. She mustered a smile in return.
“Hello,” she said, with an unusual stiffness. Mistico didn’t notice the cold greeting and hugged her.
“Where did you come from?” she asked. “Do tell us what happened.”
“Let’s go inside and talk,” Adriana said, beaming at her two long-lost friends.
Back inside the house, Domenico made her tea. He couldn’t stop beaming, utterly overjoyed at her presence. Zannan was wrong. Gio was wrong. Everyone was wrong. He knew he only had to have faith and Adriana would come back!
“Is it really you?” he muttered from the stove.
Adriana was more comfortable in a chair. She sat with both legs to the side and propped up one side of her body up with an arm.
“It’s quite a tale,” she said. “A few months ago, I decided I would go swimming one evening.”
“You did?” Mistico said. “I thought it was your biggest fear.”
“Oh,” Adriana said, “Um, of course, it was. I was terrified, but I just had an urge, you know. I wanted to conquer my fears and just do it. And night was the perfect time, because there was no one to see me struggle.”
“That’s very dangerous,” Domenico said.
“I know, my love. I was foolish. I didn’t think I’d swim far. But I did. Before long I was tired and I was about to swim back to shore, but the tide pulled me back farther and farther. A storm brewed, and I was being washed away. Luckily I caught hold of a log and I tried to hold on for as long as I could. I was floating in the sea all evening, so far from shore, until I couldn’t even see it anymore. All the candles were off in the houses on the hill, and I was just in black water. Can you imagine how terrifying that was for me? Well I kept floating until dawn. I couldn’t even feel my arms after a while.
“Then I saw a boat and an elderly couple took me in. They took me to their town. I might’ve hit my head because I couldn’t remember the name of the town where I came from, or who I was even. The old couple just nursed me back to health for months until I started gaining my memories back. Just today, they took me back to Tetro.”
Domenico hugged and kissed her once more.
“That’s amazing. It’s a miracle that you survived. Everybody expected the worst, but I knew you’d come back.”
“I came back for you,” she said, gazing into his eyes.
“Was the couple kind to you?” Mistico asked.
“Oh yes, very. They treated me like a daughter. They fed me, gave me my own room, and helped me regain my memory by asking questions every single day. They were very patient with me.”
“Why didn’t they stop by to say hello?”
Adrian shrugged. “Oh, I wanted them to get on with their day. It’ll take them hours to go back home.”
“They deserve our thanks for taking care of you all this time,” Mistico said. “We would’ve made them welcome here and let them stay the night so they could regain their energy.”
“Yes, well, we’ll thank them soon enough. I’m just happy to be back for now.”
Domenico gave her the cup of tea.
“We’re all happy. Overjoyed.”
***
When Domenico took Adriana to see her mother, Mistico stayed behind, not wanting to intrude on another private moment. Of course she was overjoyed to see her bestest, sweetest friend in the world. To know that she was alive and well and to see Domenico happy was nice.
The story Adriana had told made sense. She looked well and there was no reason for Mistico to doubt her. Yet, throughout the conversation, there was a burning feeling in Mistico’s stomach, which told her something was wrong.
Ever since she turned 16, Mistico had grown more and more in tune to the magical power that she inherited from her father. The hunches manifested as physical symptoms in her body. Unfortunately her father was too against magic to teach her how to harness her skills. Ever since mother died, he’d turned his back on it, and rarely used magic anymore unless it was an emergency. He shut himself away from the rest of the town, isolating himself and hating himself all these years. He puttered away in a house in the forest, where Mistico couldn’t stand being away from society for most of her life and moved out of as soon as she was allowed to.
She had moved into her own small hut on the hill and visited her father regularly, but each time, he refused to teach her anything of value. All of his spell books were locked up.
She thought that if he really wanted to give up magic, he would burn the books, which he hadn’t. One day, she was sure she could convince him to teach her. He did help Domenico with Adriana. That was progress, even if that took six months of begging.
It didn’t make sense that he couldn’t find Adriana during his meditation. She trusted her father. He was rarely wrong. Something as easy as picking up the energy of another person didn’t take him much effort. She had mediated with him and she couldn’t feel Adriana’s energy either. Like her father, she was sure that Adriana had moved on to another plane.
Unless her father really was starting to lose his powers by denying it for so long. Plus, who was she to claim to be a witch when she was never properly taught. They both could’ve been wrong.
And they were wrong, because Adriana was back.
Maybe she isn’t Adriana.
The thought popped into her head.
But why wouldn’t she be Adriana?
She just isn’t.
This time, she couldn’t trust her inner voice, the same one that told her that she was meant to be with Domenico. How crazy was that? Domenico was like a brother to her. They cared about each other, but that was the extent of their relationship. Plus, Adriana was her best friend. She must be crazy to be thinking these things.
Maybe she just couldn’t handle the fact that Adriana was back and how much Domenico still loved her. Was she jealous?
Domenico would never get Adriana out of his heart. Maybe she did develop a tiny crush on him, but it was more like admiration. Domenico was strong, but vulnerable with his emotions. He was capable of devotion. His heart was bigger than anyone she’d ever felt. Once he found the right girl, he would stick to her, and that girl was Adriana. She should just accept it.
Could she really be bitter that she would never have a chance with him now? Yes, she did feel cast aside. He would not need to ask her to stay and watch the sunset with him anymore
. Domenico would never leave Adriana’s side now that she was back. They had grown close, but who was she next to Adriana? Just a gawky teenager with an unreciprocated crush.
She hated these thoughts. It was incredibly selfish of her. She should be rejoicing in Adriana’s return, filled with joy like Domenico.
Mistico would just have to brush herself of her own selfish feelings and her crazy theories.
…Or could Adriana really have been back from the dead? She knew that necromancy existed, but neither she, nor her father, knew how it worked. Maybe his father did know. She would have to ask him.
Chapter Five
The sky got bluer, the trees greener, the sea lifted of its darkness. Domenico had never been this overjoyed. For a while, he’d doubted the existence of God, but now the faith had been restored as quickly as it had gone. Faith could get you everywhere, and he had prayed every night for the love of his life to return. He couldn’t imagine handling the death of another one of his loved ones. It would’ve turned his world into pure darkness.
Now that Adriana was back, he would keep his promise of protecting her, cherishing her and loving her forever. He couldn’t wait to start a family with her, since their own family members had left before their time.
Today was the day that he would properly propose. He’d prepared a picnic, and he had baked the ring into the bread. His mother’s ring. She’d given it to him before she died, asking him to promise to give it to the girl he loved.
It was difficult for him to separate himself from Adriana in the evening, but after they become husband and wife, she would be able to live with him. She’d be the first thing he’d see in the morning and the last thing he’d see at night.
He’d taken Adriana back to her house the night before. The shock on her mother’s face Domenico would never forget. She looked as if she saw a ghost and she screamed and backed away, terrified. He’d looked over at Adriana, but she wasn’t concerned. She kept smiling and walking over to the woman, trying to embrace her. Her mother kept running away.
He had an idea of what she was feeling. For a mother to lose a child must’ve been just as hard as losing a lover.
