Legions

by Karice Bolton

  Chapter 3

  Everyone had left from the meeting. I had made sure of it before I made my way down to greet Arie and Cyril. I slowly puttered down the stairs hoping there was something that had miraculously changed from the day before. I was sure they were feeling the same as I was - exhausted. It was a long night, and I never really felt like I got much sleep, if any. We had a few families who stayed the night working on the project we had given them. I think they hoped that every second they stayed to help would bring them that much closer to finding their loved one. I hoped that was the case for us all.

  The fire was reflecting off the glass coffee table in the family room as I made my way to the sectional in front of it. Grabbing the red chenille throw, I covered myself as Cyril brought me a cup of coffee. Arie jumped on the cushion next to me almost spilling the beautiful brown liquid all over the couch.

  “Well since none of us can sleep, I say we get started. Does that work?” She asked already handing us the iPads from the previous day’s activities.

  “Absolutely. Anything to get the show on the road.” Cyril muttered as he pulled up the ottoman.

  “Alright, so I say we scan over all of the notes manually. Each of us can take a few, and then once we do that, we can compile them onto one iPad. I want to make sure that we all read enough to have things fresh in our memory.” Arie instructed.

  “Yeah, sounds good.” Cyril and I spoke in unison.

  I began scanning the first document. I noticed some similarities right off the bat between their situation and ours. I realized I needed to start taking notes on my findings immediately, so I opened up a new task list and began typing my observations. It looked like we were off to a good start.

  The family who I was reviewing lived in Portland, Oregon. The Bullons started noticing suspicious activity among the locals who they knew. They had lived in Portland for about five years and had grown very fond of some of the humans in their little community, Arbor Lodge. There were quite a few independent boutiques, coffee shops, and bakeries where they got to know the locals very well. Because of this, they were able to quickly determine the changes that they were seeing as an unnatural progression.

  Couples who had shown no outward signs of distress were suddenly dealing with infidelity. Drugs and alcohol had started entering conversations, and small thefts had been reported. The community was a tight knit one, but everyone started to become suspicious of one another creating a tense environment that never existed before. Carson, their loved one, had been taken at the park when he was walking a dog for a neighbor who was on vacation. In hindsight, the family was able to pinpoint oddities that had occurred at their home that they dismissed as nothing.

  “Hey, guys,” Arie said looking up at us with a very concerned look, “This one is pretty horrible.”

  “Where’s the family from?” Cyril asked, moving over to look at Arie’s iPad.

  “The Romanos are from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho,” She took a deep breath in, “There were 4 suicides in 3 weeks.”

  I could feel the color drain from my face. I knew demons meddled in all aspects of life, but I didn’t fully grasp until this moment how they played with the lives of humans in such startling terms. It was as if humans were chess pieces being picked up and carelessly moved by either the good side or the bad side – just that easy. It was actually a lot simpler when I was a naïve girl who thought she was a mere mortal, dealing with average nineteen year old type problems.

  “That’s not all,” She continued, disrupting my thoughts,” There were two arsons, one murder, and a fight, which left the victim in a coma. This town hasn’t seen even one of these events in years, let alone all of them in that short of a time frame. They think that these were all planned for quite some time, but the creatures must have gotten the go ahead to condense all of the events to create the distraction needed.”

  “Wow, how horrifying. I had no idea the havoc that could be created in an instance like this. Have you ever seen this before? I know my memory isn’t up to par yet, but I don’t recall anything like this, especially pocketed in so many areas. We haven’t even gotten to all of the groups.” I was in complete shock.

  “Well, considering these are only the families who we have a relationship with makes me think that this is far bigger than we first realized. I only hope we can accomplish everything that we need to,” Arie spoke softly, laying the iPad on the coffee table and walked over to Cyril, “This is building pretty fast, whatever it is.”

  “I know, but we’ll figure it out.” Cyril moved Arie’s hair back from her face and a twinge of sadness entered me quickly as I yearned for such affection again.

  We had spent a few hours compiling all of the data and were able to come up with some pretty significant findings. My nerves were about fried, and I really wanted to get to Athen even if that meant just living in the same city with him. I was told I couldn’t contact him until the time was right. I was okay with that, but I needed to be near him. That I was certain of.

  It turned out that Athen was the first one to be attacked. His attack seemed to set off a chain reaction. The demons had been stalking our family first, probably because I had barely been reintroduced. We were an easy target - plain and simple. After turning the snowboarder into a demon and introducing the hikers into the underworld, the demons left our area humans alone. It was pure luck that they found such eager participants with the hikers up in Whistler. There was the chance of infidelity with Karen, which was interrupted by me. Then there was an attempted kidnapping that was preempted by Cyril, unknowingly. Lastly, an arson was started at a boutique hotel. It was thwarted before it caused any real damage. It seemed that the demons got tired of failing and decided to take out Athen first to begin the process. The other families then began being picked off one at a time.

  The timing of everything seemed to indicate that there were many factions being constructed. The Legions were dispersing and had no intent of stopping until they achieved their goal. We had to figure out what that was. That and, of course, get Athen back. From what we could gather, the demons had been traveling somewhat together as a group. The Masters had been teaching their followers and spinning off minions when needed to stir up a little trouble in between the events. We needed to figure out who was orchestrating it and why. Azazel was definitely involved, but to what degree, we didn’t know. The events and human tampering seemed too large scale to only be him unless there was something I didn’t know. I had to get out of myself. I could sit and stew all day.

  “What do you say we finish this on the road?” I asked in as innocent of a tone as I could pull off.

  “Are you all packed?” Arie raised her eyebrows at me suspiciously.

  My cheeks flushed instantly.

  “I’ve been packed since the eve of that first night we had our ritual. I had no idea what to expect so I thought I’d better be prepared rather than be the one to hold everyone up. I thought that first night when we would summon him that he would…”

  “Appear?” Cyril chimed in.

  “Yep, foolish on my part.” I whispered, shaking my head.

  “No, we should have explained more. That step was crucial in locating him and creating a shield around him. Hopefully, we even placed some of our memories in there too. That’s the key. Time will tell,” Arie said, hugging me, “I’ll go grab our bags as well.” She gently squeezed my shoulder.

  “Ha! So you’ve been ready too! That makes me feel better, not so desperate maybe.” I said, trying my best to force a laugh.

  “We are all desperate, Ana.” Cyril said, beginning to lock things up.

  Off to Victoria - I only hoped I wouldn’t come back home empty-handed. I had to follow the rules. I would not mess up over some silly emotions and repeat the mistakes of the past. It was as if the more I chanted it to myself, the better my odds of sticking to it.

  Chapter 4

  We drove in silence to Anacortes, where we would catch the ferry to Victoria. A slight detection of Between Two
Lungs hummed in the background, calming me to a certain degree. I loved Florence and the Machine, I only hoped I’d be able to share it again with Athen in this era and not another. The deep sadness began to crawl into everything. As I tried to take in the beauty of the car ride, it only made me wish Athen was with me to experience the beautiful Douglas firs towering over the road, or to witness the jagged boulders that were whipping alongside the freeway as we drove. I thought of his green eyes glowing with anticipation, searching for my reactions. My soul ached. My life had been filled with so much happiness, and it had now been reduced to a loneliness that was indescribable.

  A constant pursuit of someone who I was deeply in love with, who may not even remember me for centuries, created a gloom I couldn’t shake. If my heart could shatter into a million little pieces, I knew this would be the moment. The dark green ferry signs, that fought with the moss that was attempting to hijack the wording, pointed to the lane we needed to be in, and our car began to downshift. Soon I’d be near Athen; even if I wasn’t allowed to see him.

  As soon as our car was situated on the car deck, I hopped out of the car, running up the stark metal stairs, leaving an echo of footsteps in my wake. I wanted to enjoy the ride from the passenger deck, possibly pretend that Athen was here with me. I was determined to take in the view as much as I could. I was thankful for the latte that I’d gotten on the way to the ferry. I needed some comfort in my life, and for now, Starbucks would have to do. Hopefully, Athen would see the humor in him being replaced by coffee. I wondered if Matilda was enjoying her life with Athen because I sure missed her. The ferry window was beginning to steam up, and I did my best to secure a spot to look out by wiping the window with my tissue that I always now carried in my pocket for one of those moments when I was about to spontaneously burst into tears. My mood certainly matched the dullness in the air.

  Arie and Cyril made their way through the line of people who were waiting to get coffee and landed in our booth with a thud.

  “You know some things just work out. This is the last ferry ride to Victoria until Spring.” Cyril announced grinning, eyes sparkling, reminding me just enough of Athen and the smirk I missed so much.

  “Is it a sign? Actually, I kind of hope not... I’d like to think that getting Athen back won’t take until Spring.” I noticed Cyril and Arie exchange glances.

  “What faith you have.” I said, trying to tease them a bit.

  Arie reached across the table and grabbed my hand. The red vinyl seats squeaked as she moved forward. I began to chuckle. Athen wouldn’t have missed the noise either, if only he were here. Our humor was so in tune.

  “I know it’s tough, but you should maybe try to prepare yourself for a little longer than a week up here, sweetie.”

  “I got it, really. I want to think positive as much as possible. You know take things in little steps, otherwise, I don’t think I can handle it.” My throat started to constrict. Realizing how many emotions I’d been holding in, I paced myself with every breath so I wouldn’t start crying again. I looked down at my lap, trying to get myself together before anyone of the other ferry passengers noticed.

  Most of the ferry ride encompassed us staring gloomily out the glass window that now had glistening rain droplets rolling down in a steady stream, and Cyril walking to the cafeteria hoping that their food offerings had changed from the last time he was there, searching the sandwich cooler and coming back to our table empty-handed time and time again.

  The ferry ride was non-eventful, thankfully. The water was pretty calm. That was about the only thing in my life at the moment that appeared to be that way. The clouds loomed so low that it was almost difficult to see where the dark grey clouds stopped, and the dark ocean began. If it wasn’t for our chugging through the water leaving plenty of suds, the water would be almost as smooth as glass, which was extremely unusual for this time of year and in the rain no less.

  My daydreaming was interrupted by the Captain’s booming voice coming over the loud speaker announcing our arrival time. The crackle of the intercom kept echoing through the cabin as if to chase us all out, so we all scurried down to our car as fast as we could. I could tell that Cyril and Arie were equally as amped as I was. If nothing else, we could at least feel like we were close to Athen. The energy was running through every part of my body. I was ready for whatever battles might be ahead to get my love back. I wasn’t going to stop until he was back in my arms.

  “This is the beginning, guys. I know it. We will not leave here empty-handed.” I announced emphatically as we all piled into the Jeep.

  “That’s the spirit!” Arie exclaimed.

  “Let’s find a Starbucks first before we head to our abode.” I pleaded.

  “That’s a deal. That tea I had didn’t quite quench my caffeine need,” Cyril said shaking his head, “I don’t know why I do that.”

  The traffic directors dressed in their orange vests and yellow flashlights signaled for us to start our engine and off we went into the unknown. Arie was looking at her iPhone getting more updates about the disturbances that were not letting up as Cyril drove us to a rental home that he was able to secure on a week-to-week basis, which told me he was holding onto enough hope that we would get Athen sooner rather than later as well.

  We pulled off the ferry dock and headed into town. I noticed the Starbucks right away. I was a girl who knew how to get her caffeine fix, no matter how dire the situation.

  “Right there, you guys!” I pointed, but Cyril kept driving, and then I felt it. Athen was in there. I wasn’t expecting anything like this to happen. I immediately started hyperventilating, and the waves of nausea hit next, creating a clammy shell over my entire body. If out of any of the rituals that I was supposed to adhere to that was the first one. Not to run into him or try to see him unless he was ready, and he wasn’t ready.

  “He’s there isn’t he? He’s there?” The butterflies in my stomach began fluttering double time. My arms became weak with hope and anticipation. Being this near to him was almost incapacitating.

  “You guessed it,” Cyril stared at me in the rearview mirror, “You can do this, Ana. Stay strong. Now isn’t the time.”

  “Was he alone?” I muttered.

  Arie flipped around in her seat. I could tell by her eyes.

  “No.”

  I felt my entire body stiffen. I had no idea that this could even be a possibility. I wasn’t even sure why I had asked it, but I certainly didn’t expect that response, especially so soon. I tried blocking out the images that began flooding my mind of the woman who I had seen in my nightmares so often – the one with the serpent-shaped eyes. The wretched raven-haired demon, her hand grasping Athen’s, her eyes meeting mine, her evil smile dripping with a depravity that I couldn’t stomach. I prayed with all of my heart that it wasn’t true.

  “I guess that’s going to complicate things?” I asked, trying to sound as strong and unworried as I could.

  “Possibly.” Was all I heard before I slumped back into my seat and went into a deep stirring of oblivion. I never should’ve asked the question. I already knew the answer. My dreams had told me.

  Chapter 5

  The rental home was a beautiful Tudor house. It was situated close to town, which was nice, but it wasn’t nearly close enough to that particular Starbucks I had encountered earlier. I never expected to feel Athen on the first day of coming to Victoria though. Now I was feeling as if I couldn’t even concentrate on a simple task like emptying out my suitcases.

  I looked around the room and began feeling the emptiness creep into my mind. The four walls staring back at me were beautifully wallpapered in a tiny floral print, but it wasn’t the same as Kingston or Whistler where I last was with Athen, together. I yearned for Whistler or our home on Kingston – anything to be near Athen’s last presence. The home did remind me of something I couldn’t put my finger on though; maybe, a home I’d see in Europe. Memories quickly began flooding in of Athen and I wandering the streets of London, a
nd I realized it was one of the last trips we had been on before I was taken away. I was filled with despair as I realized my thinly stretched images did nothing to satiate my need to be with him. If only I could remember us in more detail together.

  I was doing so much better before we got off the ferry. Feeling him in such close proximity made me feel as if everything I was instructed to do completely vanished from my mind. I knew I needed to stay away from him until it was time, yet the pull I was feeling was overpowering common sense. Now, I could see how Athen may have disrupted the process so early on with me. It was going to take every ounce of strength I had to stay away from him. I wondered if I made a mistake coming here so soon. Only the tick of time would answer my question.

  I opened the top drawer of the dark pine dresser to an eruption of squeaks from the slats of wood rubbing against each other and began slowly piling all of my sweaters inside with not a happy thought to be had. I took a deep breath in, thankful that Arie and Cyril decided to go grocery shopping to get our kitchen stocked. I somehow doubted that was the only reason they left. At this point, I didn’t really feel like hearing what they might be up to. I thought about Matilda again, which only made me feel more depressed. I missed her light snores and snorts. I understood the importance of her being with Athen, but she really was my partner in crime over the years. I wondered if she’d remember me.

  I popped my iPhone onto the player and hoped that my usual playlist would brighten my spirits. I tried my hardest to let Rill Rill permeate my senses and bring a smile to my face, but no such luck. Even Sleigh Bells, one of my favorite bands, couldn’t help my mood. I opened the curtains to let a little light in even though the city was covered in a thick layer of clouds. The naked maples lining the streets were a pretty sight. Surely, in the fall they would be gloriously blazed in reds, oranges, and yellows. I only hoped that I wasn’t here long enough to see that.