Magic Rising

by Jennifer Cloud

  When he risked a glimpse, he saw she was alone, only talking to herself. Her hair was messed, clothes bloodied, face pale. In her dome light he could see her clearly. Every few seconds she’d grip her hair, seemingly ready to pull it out by the roots while her eyes and forehead tightened. It reminded him of a migraine or some other severe headache.

  Ryan rose from the bushes and approached the car. Deirdre hardly noticed, battling something internal, something consuming all of her concentration. This might be easier than he thought. He took out the syringe, knocking off the protective plastic cap.

  “Deirdre.” He spoke and she managed to look up, pain showing hard in her eyes. “Oh my gosh, are you okay?”

  “No,” she whispered, sounding too fragile. “I’m not. I’ll never be okay again.”

  An instant of watching her caused sympathy to rush over him, blowing like a fresh breeze through his mind. This wasn’t his nemesis. This was a woman, no, a person who needed his help. Then Tamara reappeared in his mind, her gravel voice booming thunder in his ears. There was no second guessing himself. He had to finish this for Tamara. With a smile on his face, he brushed a few blood stained hairs from her face as he sunk the syringe into Deirdre’s thigh and hit the plunger.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Police take time, too much time for Sabrine’s taste. They asked the same questions over and over, going through stories hoping to find some thread to hook back to Gladys and make her guilty. It was a sad world when guardians were suspects in a child’s disappearance. Sabrine supposed there were reasons for the suspicion. Too many cases ended with family members holding responsibility for crimes too horrible to think about. This knowledge didn’t help her patience with the process.

  Sabrine stood on the porch, listening to a detective grill Gladys over the last few days in Lora’s life. It would be sunrise soon and this took too much time. Sabrine would’ve already gone, but Deirdre had wanted Gladys with her. Deirdre had sounded strange on the phone and the last time Sabrine tried to reach her, there hadn’t been an answer. The mix of it bothered her in a deep way, like seeing a car crash, then realizing you know one of the victims.

  Overhead, she watched a plane flying too high to be heard in the clear night. Its lights were showing bright pale yellow with green near it. The plane looked foreign against the black sky as it continued to parts unknown.

  She envied the people aboard the jet, racing to some new town, something different. Sabrine would travel from this place if it weren’t for Deirdre. The woman was the closest friend Sabrine had ever had. Somehow between Deirdre and Tech, she’d grown roots in this town instead of her family home in Georgia. She was needed here and no one in her true family needed Sabrine more than Security Specialists.

  Sabrine sat on the steps contemplating the little girl. She wasn’t sure how Deirdre had known where or how the girl was taken. Deirdre had alluded to odd things, supernatural things. The possibility of magic frightened Sabrine more than bullets or knives. Magic couldn’t be real. Such a thing couldn’t be physically countered and therefore Sabrine couldn’t believe in it. At least she didn’t want to.

  “Where are you Deirdre?”

  She held her cell phone and gave up waiting. First she called Deirdre’s home and then her cell. Only empty digital voices answered the rings, with promises of calls returned. Sabrine had a bad feeling about this. Deirdre had plenty of time to get home, so something bad must have happened.

  Her friend was in trouble. Sabrine sensed it although she never had Deirdre’s gifts when it came to picking up on the atmosphere or finding the target. Deirdre was in trouble though. It almost felt like whatever bond they’d created had been severed.

  “Come on. What’s happened?”

  The wind picked up, blowing leaves from the trees and scattering them across the yard, littering the perfect landscaping with their droppings. It grew colder, icy, feeling more like an arctic blast than a wind off the ocean. She shivered and suddenly wanted to go inside.

  With the wind came something more menacing. At first Sabrine couldn’t pinpoint it. A strange paranoia settled in the pit of her stomach and she realized she was no longer alone. Someone watched from the shadows. Sabrine fought the urge to run inside. Hassling the police would only delay her departure. She stood, turning in all directions, but couldn’t see anyone there.

  “Hello?” Her voice wasn’t more than a whisper and she hoped Deirdre would answer. No one did.

  Sabrine realized that she’d left her weapons inside. The police tried to confiscate them. Assholes. They’d compromised with her leaving them on the table inside. It seemed like a good idea. The cops wouldn’t get hyper and shoot her. It also gave the police some confidence in their safety. Unfortunately that didn’t help her if something lurked on the surrounding property. She felt naked now. Before facing anything, she wanted protection.

  The night seemed darker suddenly and Sabrine stepped back into the foyer, where a barrage of blue uniformed officers stood whispering. No one looked for clues, no one made calls. They stood. From the table Sabrine grabbed her dagger. The police had removed her pistol. Odds were they’d changed their mind about letting her keep it. No doubt it was already bagged as evidence to test against any bodies that turned up.

  Sabrine felt a chill run down her spine and she knew that there was a chance Lora wouldn’t be found, in fact, Deirdre may not either. Already the cops weren’t concerned about any suspects except Gladys and none wanted to hear about Tamara Haas’ involvement. If Deirdre were here, she’d get something done but Sabrine didn’t get the same respect. She was lost without Deirdre. Lora and Tech may be lost without her too.

  That thought stung her, bringing pain, and causing tears to swell in her eyes. Deirdre was invincible. Nothing could happen to her, could it? No. Not to her friend. No man or woman on earth could take her. She’d bust through the door any minute with Tech on one shoulder and Lora on the other.

  Sabrine shut her eyes tight, trying to regain control of her emotions. She needed to get angry. That would keep her alert and by hell or high water, she would get them back. It was time for her to earn her pay.

  She went back outside, hoping to find the source of that feeling from the wooded edge of the yard. She didn’t have to go far. Standing in the driveway, leaning on a cruiser, was the raven-haired beauty, Tamara Haas. Not a single cop looked out to see her.

  “Ms. Haas, what are you doing here?” She asked loudly, hoping a cop might pay attention. Sabrine also kept the dagger at her side, hidden under her arm.

  “I thought you would want to visit Deirdre.”

  Sabrine took another step forward then noticed Tamara didn’t look like the beauty queen any longer. Stress, or whatever hell her daddy put her through, had ravaged her. She was nothing but a ghost of the lady from the party. This version hardly held any resemblance to Tamara Haas. This version looked disturbed, an evil counterpart.

  “Where is Deirdre?”

  “I have her. Would you like to visit her?”

  There was a menacing quality about her, wicked in subtle ways that only the primordial parts of the brain could readily pick up on and fear. Sabrine had to face her though, had to find out about Deirdre.

  In small, careful steps, Sabrine came closer. She considered going back for the police but Tamara might run in the minutes it took her to get a cop to leave Gladys alone long enough to come outside. Tamara was her only link to Deirdre and probably Tech and Lora.

  She stood less than five feet from Tamara and even that distance made Sabrine’s skin crawl. Tamara reminded her of a sickness, something foul and incurable that would eat her alive. It was too soon to show the dagger but Sabrine had no choice, her fear forced her hand.

  “Where is Deirdre?” She asked with dagger raised, a clear warning she hoped would gain a response. Tamara Haas began to sway from side to side, hearing some music in her mind. “Where’s Lora?” Still nothing. She didn’t want to ask about Tech, couldn’t stand hearing if he was d
ead. It was better to pretend he was fine and making bad jokes or grumping about not having decent internet access. “I’ll ask you once more.” Sabrine came closer, knowing that Tamara was trapping her but unable to do anything else. “Tell me where they are now.”

  The skeletal woman swaying before her, stopped, and showed an eerie grin on her very thin red lips. Then her eyes turned black and Sabrine lost track of her movements. Tamara Haas moved faster than anything she’d ever seen. A punch landed across Sabrine’s face, knocking her backwards in brilliant pain, bright white and overwhelming. Sabrine blocked the next one, functioning on instinct and managing to land a hard right into Tamara’s breastbone. A release of air or maybe a grunt was the last thing Sabrine heard as the woman launched herself, landing like a tigress taking down her prey. Sabrine fell on her back, Tamara straddling her while saying something. Sabrine never heard the words, only saw the woman’s mouth move. Dark cold crashed over her, filling her head with horror and images, bloody images. Sabrine fought, eyes closed. She thought she was screaming but couldn’t be sure.

  There with her eyes closed, she saw Tech, but it couldn’t be Tech. Sabrine knew she was on the ground with this banshee on top of her but she saw Tech above her, bleeding from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Tech lay above her, dying.

  “What are you?” she cried as the beast on top of her drained her energy and the blackness filled her mind.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Curtains danced back and forth in a warm current of air. A vent above her in the wall seemed to be the source of the warmth and movement of the fabrics. Deirdre blinked hard watching them, trying to figure out where she was. Her wrists and ankles were bound to the posts of a tall bed. The ropes burned, cut into her skin from being too tight. Worse, she still smelled of blood and that damn Stone House.

  “Where am I?”

  Tamara Haas’ home. The reply wasn’t from her own mind by whatever power Niam had left inside her or maybe it was Niam. At least they’d found a balance. She’d threatened to wreck the car if he hadn’t calmed down. That was enough to convince him to leave her in control.

  “How do I get rid of you?”

  The door to the side opened and Tamara Haas entered. She radiated vitality, a youthful glow from her white skin beneath her black suit. Her hair was a long ribbon cascading over her bare white shoulder next to where her top tied at her neck.

  “I thought I sensed you wake.” Tamara strolled around the room then opened the drapes causing sunlight to spill onto the bed. “That’s better. How are you feeling, Deirdre?”

  “Better if you’d untie me.” Deirdre wiggled her hands and felt the rope cut deeper. “I didn’t think my bill was so high that you’d kidnap me.”

  Tamara laughed, melodious and soft. Looking at her, she seemed to have stepped directly from the stage or cast party. Her appearance was immaculate and her voice sounded confident. Deirdre sensed more though. Like a woman with cancer, something insidious ate at Tamara.

  “What’s going on Tamara?”

  With a graceful turn, Tamara faced her and then strode over to sit on the foot of the bed. Her eyes were wide, her smile sweet and somehow a casual air hung over her as if this were nothing more than a lunch date.

  “You’ve been an interesting study. When the scandal calmed down from Shope dying, I was going to offer you a position. It seems Niam beat me to it.” She touched Deirdre’s ankle, playing with the clasp on her boot. “Now I have a better use for you. Something more fitting.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  She licked her lips and gazed over Deirdre’s body with a lust so obvious it frightened Deirdre. Women had looked at her before, not as often as men, but this was different. Tamara’s desire was for more than Deirdre’s body.

  “I might spare you. Is it hard having him in your head? Do you hear his voice or feel his thoughts? What’s it like?”

  Deirdre didn’t know how Tamara had found out, but she wasn’t going to offer any more information than was absolutely necessary. It didn’t take that second set of thoughts to tell her that this situation had turned very bad and thankfully, Niam had chosen to keep quiet.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Deirdre held a serious face, all while hoping her eyes weren’t puffy from crying. “Are you feeling okay? Something seems to be bothering you.” The little girl, Deirdre had forgotten about her. “Is Lora okay?”

  Tamara eyed her again, hungry, needy. It was frightening and curious at the same time. Deirdre obviously had something she wanted but it seemed that something was Niam.

  “Sweetie. I can remove that annoyance from your head. It will cost you though. It will cost you dearly.” She flipped the clasp on her boot again. “I think it would be worth it though. Wouldn’t it be nice to be alone in your head?”

  Tamara rose and went to the wall, pressing a button to an intercom system. She spoke softly and Deirdre was certain the words she heard weren’t in English. The actress had something up her sleeve.

  “I’ll make you a deal, Deirdre.” She looked away from the intercom. “Kill Lora for me, offer me your strength, and pledge your loyalty to my order. In return I will remove that burden from you.”

  Killing Lora was unthinkable. “I’m not a baby killer.”

  Deirdre was thankful that the voice in her remained silent, at least for now. Whatever Niam had done, he hadn’t wanted to break her mind, only torment her. Right now he knew to keep quiet.

  “You’ll change your mind.” Tamara clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “Soon you’ll beg me.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Show you how bad it can be. Right now you are in control. Impressive but temporary. Let me show you how life will be in a few weeks. Even a mind as strong as yours won’t be able to keep him under wraps for long.”

  Again, Deirdre heard the bedroom door open. This time a man and woman entered. Their clothes matched, like some sort of strange uniform only slightly better than McDonalds. They wore khaki pants, white shirts, and silver pendants around their necks.

  Tamara nodded to them and the pair came to Deirdre. She didn’t want to know what they were going to do. When the thoughts started to rise, she squelched them, not able to take the internal conflict and thankfully, Niam acquiesced.

  The man grabbed her head, one hand in her hair while the other went to her chin, pressing against it until she opened her mouth. While muttering more infernal Latin, the woman poured some grotesque liquid down Deirdre’s throat. She tried to vomit, spit out the mix, but she was forced to swallow or drown. The mixture was ice cold and tasted the way a match smelled. Some mix of sulfur or maybe it was liquid hell.

  “When you’re tired of wrestling your demons, let me know. I will end your pain, Deirdre. I’m the only one who knows how to.”

  Tamara exited the room, leaving the man holding her head and the other woman still muttering. At least a minute passed before the man released her face. He stood at the side of the bed holding her head still so she couldn’t puke out the foul poison. Once the woman had stopped rubbing her throat, she nodded to the man. They both left the room, turning off the light.

  A stream of sunlight covered the bed, shining uncomfortably in her eyes. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed or even what had happened to bring her to this place. All she knew was that Lora had to be alive and a new day had dawned.

  One problem at a time, first she had to get free. Deirdre wiggled her ankles, then her wrists, both were tied too tight for her to slip from. She tried scooting, bringing her head to the top of the bed and the head board, but it felt solid.

  Tamara raising…dead rising…power in the house…power in the line.

  The thoughts grew louder, starting at a whisper then growing in dominance in her mind. The voice overran her thoughts, her attempts at escape. She tried ignoring it but it grew louder, so she tried listening, pretending it were some radio show, but it disturbed her.

  She’s poisoned
you…given you the elixir…forces you to pay attention…forces my power.

  “Shut up.” Deirdre didn’t mean to speak out loud but couldn’t help it. Her thoughts were shrouded, wrapped, and dying under Niam.

  When she thought it could get no worse, the power in her grew again. This time it was more than thoughts and voices. Niam’s world was all she could see, smell, or breathe. He surrounded her, absorbed her mind into his and she wondered if there would be anything left of her once he’d finished. Then his memories assaulted her and she wished she could scream.

  Back in the basement, everything went back to the basement. She heard herself chanting but it wasn’t her voice, it was Niam’s. Deirdre began to cry and again it wasn’t her but Niam. She hadn’t won the battle after all. Niam had and perhaps he had absorbed her because everything that had been Dragonfly, Deirdre Flye, was dying.

  “Why are you doing this?”

  Face me…face her…face us.

  It was time to calm down. She tried to think of calming things, images to break through the mad mix of Niam and herself. There were many things that comforted her. She thought of Sabrine.

  She’s been captured and will die if you don’t figure a way out of this. If you knew anything, you’d sense your warrior and her nerdy friend in this house. Come on, Dragonfly. You’re better than this.

  Deirdre turned to another thought and almost by accident it went to Niam’s dead body lying on the basement floor. She’d won. She’d been the victor. This couldn’t happen to the winner. It wasn’t fair. She’d been better, faster, she’d beaten her teacher and watched him die.

  Maybe you won more than you bargained for.

  At last she came to the one thought that had always brought her comfort. No matter how terrible things grew, she had Scorpion. Even in Stone House they’d shared rare moments of mother and daughter. That thought was the key to the power inside crippling her.

  Her mind filled with Stone House and there she stood, except it was really Niam’s eyes she saw the world from, talking with Scorpion. Niam’s hand reached to Scorpion, touching hair lighter than Deirdre’s had been.