The Trilogy of the Void: The Complete Boxed Set

by Peter Meredith

  Talitha cocked an ear at the sound and her smile became almost impish as if she could tell what Jim was feeling. Talitha turned, tossing her hair at him and said to Will, "Did I ever tell you what happened when the sword came? I was deep, locked away inside Talitha. She was already stronger than I was and when I wasn't useful to her, she would keep me in the cellar of her soul. But the light from the blade, shone right through her and it was as if she became glass and I could see out. Somehow I just stepped out of her, like I was wearing her and she seemed to evaporate.

  "The void was in complete chaos around me. It was crazy. I remember, everyone was running about, screaming, yelling, and jostling me as I stood there. The creatures were all making a run for the sword, thinking that they could escape and for a second, I was caught up too and I ran along with the rest of them. But then I smelled...Dad. I could smell him on the sword high above us and I stopped in the midst of the rushing souls, confused.

  "I was trampled and crushed beneath them, until they had all passed me by and at first my heart broke, because I knew I would never leave the void and I would never see him again.

  "I sat down and cried for ages alone, but then I felt Ba'al coming. He was a storm that raged toward the sword. He was in a great eagerness, wanting to come into the world and he was so fierce! Nothing could stop him, not even dad, and all of his courage.

  "I knew dad would try to stand against Ba'al, but he could never win, opposed by such a monster, so I screamed for him to run. The void has known screams for eternity, but mine was not a scream of pain or fear, it was filled with my feelings for him. It amazed me. I was stunned by the life I still had in me. The scream was tremendously loud and seemed to shake the foundations of the void and I watched as the sword took the sound within it, vibrating slowly at first, but then rapidly and then bang! It exploded.

  "I fell back as the shock wave hit me and that was when she returned, Talitha that is. She shut me up tight and I had no way of knowing what had happened to dad." Talitha paused, her face troubled and clouding over, so Jim put his hand out and patted her leg. However, he withdrew it embarrassed as she looked toward him.

  "Sorry, I uh didn't mean to, uh," he stammered feeling his face flush.

  "It's ok...it's nice of you," Talitha said and Jim was shocked to see her face go pink as well. "Uh...where was I? Oh yes, dad's soul. I was trapped within her until she found dad's soul and she..."

  "What? Dad's soul?" Will was flabbergasted. "The other Talitha told us that she'd found a part of the sword, not his soul."

  "She is a practiced and accomplished liar, Will. A prevaricator without any scruples. Never believe her about anything that you can't prove yourself."

  Jim remembered the conversation clearly. "Maybe she didn't know it was a soul. She seemed to really believe it was only part of the sword."

  Talitha shook her head. "That's even worse, Jim. She has lied so much, she has convinced herself! Trust me when I say there was no mistaking it for a sword."

  "So, dad's soul was in the void. You know, he has never mentioned it." Will said.

  "That's because there's an awaking period for souls newly dead. Moreover, dad wasn't there very long as far as I could tell. He likely didn't even know."

  Will wore a rueful smile on his face. "All these years, I thought I had saved him, when it was really you. How did you get him out of the void?"

  "Talitha had enmeshed him in a web of blackness. I pulled him free and he just floated away," she said dreamily, her head rising as if she were seeing the soul drift away even then.

  Lisa looked at the two men, confusion making her forehead come together in three little lines between her eyes. "He just floated away? Didn't anyone try to stop him?"

  "No, the void is infinite and only a demon very close to us would have even noticed him, and what's more, the void is voluntary in a manner of speaking."

  "Wait...wait...wait! The void is voluntary?" Will asked, wearing a hybrid look of disbelief and anger. "You could have left at any time?"

  Talitha shrugged. "Not at first, but later, yes...but where was I supposed to go?"

  "To heaven... or anywhere but the void!" Will cried in exasperation.

  "Heaven!" The word was acid on her tongue. Her blind eyes flared with anger, but then she drooped suddenly, hanging her head again, so she faced out through the wild thicket of her bloodied hair. "You're right, Will. I should've gone to heaven; that would have been smart of me."

  "Again you act like you don't deserve heaven," Will said.

  Talitha kept her head down. "You don't understand. You can't understand." She stopped talking and it seemed to Jim she wasn't going to elaborate.

  "Perhaps she should take a look at the sword," Jim suggested in order to change the subject.

  "It's in the attic, I'll go get it," Lisa half ran from the room. Will, Jim, and Talitha sat on the bed in a brooding silence that seemed very long, until Lisa came back.

  "Here it is." She gingerly held a green bath towel out away from her body, her eyes a little too wide and a little too wild, seemingly on the verge of chucking the towel and running. "I always get the heebee-jeebeeies when I'm to this thing," she added, feeling the need to explain herself.

  "You have it? I can't smell it at all!" Talitha drew in air deeply through her nose.

  "It's wrapped in a towel...try now." Lisa carefully unfolded the towel as if she were unwrapping a cobra. In the thick green material lay a broken sword, barely over a foot and a half long. It looked as if it had been struck by lightning or pulled from a fire; the blade was blackened and jagged. The lower part of the sword was in slightly better shape and Jim could see a light stylized etching along the outer guard and it still had little gold braid around the handle.

  "I still can't smell it. Can you bring it a little closer," Talitha asked, her face deep in concentration. Lisa brought it just under her nose.

  Talitha's blind eyes went wide and she spoke in sudden alarm, "Don't touch me with it! Get it away from me!"

  Lisa pulled it back quickly and rewrapped it. "What's wrong with it? Why's it always so cold?" she asked as she placed the towel on a dresser in the room.

  Talitha took a moment to calm her breath, which had accelerated into a pant in the short time the sword had been near her. "Make sure nobody touches that sword with their bare hands! This is worse than I thought. From your descriptions of it, I had considered it likely that the sword represented a weakened area in the boundary that separates this world from the void. However, now I think the reason for the swords intense cold, as well as its lack of smell is that there may actually be an opening to the void somewhere along it or in it. If there is an opening, my guess would be that it's microscopic in size. Have either of you inspected the sword?"

  Lisa and Will paused a moment to shake their heads at each other. "No not really...I mean we've looked at it but I wouldn't say we have inspected it," Lisa said.

  "Please don't. Keep it wrapped up and put in a box, lead lined if you can find one."

  "Sure," Will eyed the sword, his pupils large with fear.

  "Father Alba touched the sword, when he took it out of the frozen witch," Jim said, eyeing the green towel with apprehension. "He said that it hurt, like his life was being pulled from his body through his hands."

  "Frozen witch?" Lisa asked giving her husband a sharp look.

  "Yeah, I didn't tell you that part of the story, it was too gross. After we stabbed," he paused and sighed. "I mean, after I stabbed Mrs. Harris, and sent the demon back into the void, you were awake, Talitha but nearly catatonic and dad was looking so grey that we decided to get you two back to the hospital. By the time, Father Alba, Brian and I returned to the house, Mrs. Harris' body had frozen solid."

  Again, he paused and just shook his head as his eyes looked back to that time. Finally, he spoke again, "We put her in the back seat of our station wagon, along with poor Adrina and that was the last I saw of them. Father Alba went somewhere up state and burned the bodies. It was a
great shock when he turned up a few years ago with that broken sword."

  Frozen corpses gave Jim the creeps and he decided to change the subject. "What did you think the sword would smell like? Do they smell a certain way?" Jim asked, again hoping he didn't sound like a moron.

  "The average person would likely only smell the agents used to clean the sword, but even metals have distinct ligands, which are basically the odor molecule of a substance. Everything radiates ligands, and with my hyperosmia...I mean my increased sense of smell, I should have been able to smell the sword easily. Since I can't, it is my conjecture that there is an actual physical opening into the void, which is acting as a vacuum of sorts, drawing in the smell."

  "Oh," Jim said feeling like a moron. "The demon called it a path; do you think this opening can get bigger?"

  Talitha shook her head and attempted a shoulder shrug. "I don't know, but since it's been used as a path of sorts twice already, the answer goes from possibly to probably."

  Lisa asked, "What do we do with it?"

  Talitha shook her head. "Don't try to destroy it, melt it, or break it in any way. If you do, you will likely draw attention to the weakened area, and that's the best case scenario, in the worst, you may make the opening larger."

  "Then what are our choices?" Lisa voice was becoming shrill and she started to pace the room.

  Will stood and went to his wife, hugging her. "It'll be alright. We've had that thing with us for five years and nothing has happened...it's not going to suddenly start shooting out demons." He looked at Talitha, who nodded her head in agreement. "See? For now, the only rational plan is to hide the sword."

  "I suggest that you put me in an institution, Will. That way you can know that you're reasonably safe..."

  He interrupted, "No. First off, you escaped once before and you will again. I won't feel safe at all unless I can keep an eye on you myself. Second, there's no way we're giving over the sword now that we know there's a hole into the void on it. I think we should take you to Boston and see if there's some way you can help us to get those kids back."

  Lisa was practically in tears. "Will! It won't be safe. I need you. The baby needs you."

  "I'm sorry, but the fact is, that unless we kill Talitha right now, we'll never be safe." Will eyed his wife solemnly and there was a long silence before he continued, "I can't do it. I can't kill her in cold blood. But if you can...I won't stop you."

  Lisa shook her head. "I can't either."

  "Then I take her to Boston. I feel it's the only way I can protect you from her and this other demon."

  "I don't want to go," Talitha said unexpectedly. "Unless you and Jim promise to kill me if I...the other me gets out of hand."

  "I promise," Will stated flatly.

  Jim figured lying was not as bad a sin as killing, "I promise," he said, knowing he could never hurt her.

  Chapter 12

  Beneath the Church

  They were cruising at 26,000 feet when the other, not so nice, Talitha returned. The sudden chimes, ringing with musical insistence drifted through Will's dreams and he came instantly awake.

  "What? What the hell? Hey...uh, hey, Will!" Talitha began thrashing. In response the chimes tied to her ropes began a merry frenzied jingling. Jim was closest and took two large steps, bent over in the tiny cabin of the plane.

  Placing a hand on her shoulder, he spoke in an urgent hushed voice, "Quiet down!"

  "Who is that? Jim...White Jim?" she asked as she sniffed at the air.

  "Yeah it's me. Now stop yanking on those ropes or I'll be forced to cinch them tight enough to keep you from moving at all." He growled this low in her ear, despite the loudness of the interior of the plane's cabin.

  "Why can't I see anything? What's going on? Where are we going?" she asked in rapid succession, her head straining around and her eyes wide.

  Will checked his watch, 10:38 am. He rubbed some sleep from his eyes and slipped up the tiny isle, climbing into the leather chair just behind hers. "Talitha, it's Will..."

  "No shit! I can hear just fine, moron. I just can't see! What the hell happened?" She was loud—Will took a quick peek up toward the cockpit. A single heavy curtain shrouded it and he could only hope the pilot had his head gear on.

  "You need to quiet down," he ordered sharply. "You're blind because...you shot yourself in the head."

  "I what?" Talitha asked incredulously, her head wagging back and forth, making her freshly cleaned brown hair sigh gently as if in the wind. "How'd she do it? I mean, I should have seen it coming." She was speaking to herself and thankfully in a quieter tone.

  The plane took a sudden lurch, the lightness of it putting them at the mercy of any turbulence. Will was used to it, having flown on this very plane a dozen times in the last year alone, but it was clear that Jim wasn't. His eyes went wide with the buffeting and his face paled noticeably.

  "You ok?" he asked the big man.

  "Yeah," Jim said breathily almost breathing the word out. "I'm just a little air sick."

  "Damn it! She shot me." Talitha cried out. Her indignation was a little amusing to Will. "You know what I'm going to do once..."

  "Yeah, yeah, yeah," Will spoke over her. "We've heard it all before Tal. So do everyone a favor and shut up." His tic bounced again on his face and he worried at it, hoping it would go away soon. Seeing it jiggle in the mirror before they left for the airport was a nasty shock and he kept his hand to his cheek whenever he could.

  Turning about as far the ropes would allow in her chair, Talitha gave him an angry look. "Aren't you the cranky one? You're not the one who was shot, Will!" She pouted for a few moments and then her pert little nose started taking in air purposely. "You haven't fed me, have you? How long have I been...away?"

  "I don't know, fifteen hours there abouts." Will suddenly felt guilty about not having given his sister anything to eat. "I'm sure we could come up with a snack or something. Are you thirsty?"

  "Some big brother you are...ok, let me see if I got the situation down right? Talitha shoots me in the head and you're too much of a pussy to finish the job?" She paused waiting to see if he would answer, but there was nothing to say and she continued, "We're at about 27,000 feet, on a south by south west course, in a plane built for...what twelve people?"

  "Ten passengers, one pilot."

  "Sure, ten then...but there are only the three of us and a single pilot. So having had me shot, you now are flying me to Boston, for me to help you deal with some putz who's pretending to be possessed. And I'm going to do this, why?"

  Again, he didn't have an answer. He gave Jim a look that said, what do I say to that? However, Jim was greening like springtime and Will turned back to his sister not wanting to embarrass him. "Out of the goodness of your heart?" Will suggested.

  "Yeah that's a good one. So where was I...oh yeah...I don't smell the sword or Lisa, so I can assume that she's at home packing like mad. And the only real surprise in all of this, and it's a shocker, is that big White Jim is carrying the same gun that shot me in the head. How'd I do?"

  Jim's eyes went wide at this and Will put his finger to his lips. "You did pretty well." She was actually spot on.

  The blind girl turned back toward him. "Pretty good? Is that all I rate? I can tell you more if you want. You had another night of fun and games, didn't you? I can tell by your voice, that you've been screaming like a girl. Little miss goody two shoes had you tortured good and proper."

  Will was glad that she couldn't see the muscles twitching in his face. "That was my fault, not hers. I probably should've gone to a motel."

  "And let your little sister get tortured? That's pretty selfish, and hardly very Christian of you."

  Jim spoke up suddenly and surprisingly on his behalf, "I think he goes above and beyond what any other Christian would do."

  She rolled her unseeing eyes. "Yes, Will is quite the saint. But what about you Jimmy? You're packing a heater. What's that about?"

  He looked gravely serious and gravely
nauseous. "Uh, that's for you...uh, just in case you get out of hand."

  With what seemed like genuine surprise she exclaimed, "Wow! What did I miss? I thought we had a little something going on between us... a little spark. Are you mad about me playing around with Lisa? That was all in fun."

  "You were going to kill her! And don't bother lying, the other Talitha told us," Will said.

  "Ok, I was upset...jealous really, but I'm over it. I promise I won't hurt her."

  "After she saved your life, you better not," Jim drawled slowly, almost as if warning her. His face went white as the plane dropped precipitously and even Will felt his stomach in his throat.

  Talitha didn't seem to notice. "Lisa saved my life?" She sat in silence for a while and her look was unreadable. She turned to Will conversationally, "Tell me, did Talitha explain how she was able to surface like she did?"

  Will's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "No and I wouldn't tell you if she had."

  "That's ok. It would be cheating if you had told me. We like to play this game, a mind game, you might say." The plane gave another lurch and a glance out the window showed Will that they were flying through restless dark clouds. She went on seemingly in a chatty mood, "I think it might've been a mistake not to bring the sword. I mean it's obviously important to the demon and we could've used it as a bargaining chip."

  "You care now about the missing children?" Will didn't think that was possible and he wore an openly skeptical look that was lost on the blind girl.

  "I won't lie to you, Will," she lied blatantly. "I'm more interested in the demon and what he wants the sword for, but if I happen to rescue some children, well good for me."

  "So you don't know what the sword does?" Jim asked dubiously from his seat across from her.

  "Oh, I have lots of guesses, but I don't know anything for sure."

  Will climbed from his seat behind her and moved to the one just in front and knelt upon it, looking over the headrest at her, "Your other self thought it might be used as some sort of gateway."