The Trilogy of the Void: The Complete Boxed Set

by Peter Meredith

  "Is there ever a reason?" Will didn't see how there could be.

  "Yes, and I have to say that even though I called dissociative identity disorder a fad, it is a real condition. The people afflicted with it develop their extra personalities for actual reasons. Perhaps not entirely sane reasons but they are legitimate to the individual. I knew of an unfortunate young lady whose mother never allowed her to have an opinion of her own. She grew up to be the meekest person and married a man who took over where the mother left off, silencing her whenever the subject wasn't what she was making for dinner. Eventually, she developed a separate personality—that of an actress. She would sign autographs, audition for plays, show up at cast parties, all without being aware of it. I mention her to illustrate the point that there is sometimes an actual need, a reason for the extra personality."

  Will shook his head in bewilderment at the weirdness of people. "Talitha doesn't fall into that category, I'm sure she wants to be rid of it even more than we do."

  "I agree and it's one of the reasons that I believe she will be a good candidate for hypnotherapy." The priest seemed serious.

  "Really? That's an actual thing?"

  Father Vogel smiled at this. "Yes. It's been used since before the Civil War, and there have been some notable successes using it to treat mild forms of dissociative identity disorder. The idea is to induce a hypnotic suggestion when the patient is in that in-between state of personalities. That way both personalities accept the suggestion as their own thought, each reinforcing it through the subconscious mind."

  Despite an inherent belief that hypnosis was bogus, Will grew excited. "What sort of suggestion would you put into her?"

  "In Talitha's case we have to deal with two distinct issues. The first and the one that I feel we should begin working on right away is the rage and anger that's left over from the demon. She can't seem to control it and in fact, she doesn't seem to want to. That's because those neural paths are conditioned to loop, to stay angry. In order to break that loop we must be able to feed the demon's rage into the good Talitha..."

  Will held out his hand for the man to stop. "Wait. Hold on, that sounds like it'd hurt more than it would help her. Why on earth would we want to do that?"

  "It won't hurt her, trust me," Vogel replied. "Picture, if right now, without warning you became angry. I mean furious. The first thing you would do would be to question its causes. Why am I so angry? What's doing this to me? Just asking those questions would go a long way to calming you and soon you'd understand where the feeling came from. By channeling the emotion into the good Talitha, we bring her personality to the forefront. She will then be aware and in charge of herself and able to deal intellectually with her emotions."

  It seemed like a good idea to Will, if it could be done. "I would love for this to work, but Talitha is pretty smart. She's not going to go to sleep with you waving a watch in front of her face."

  The priest smiled at this. "In one sense, you don't know how right you are. Talitha appears to be a very concrete thinker, and hypnotherapy works best with fantasizers. Yet she's also dissociative, which is the second best group to work with. And I'll have you know, I won't be waving a watch and I won't try to trick her; any attempt at subterfuge will focus her mind away from our objective. It's important that she will know beforehand everything that I wish to accomplish, and how I wish to accomplish it. This knowledge plants the seed in her mind and as we progress, and I do exactly what I said I would, her expectations are fulfilled, one after another, making each step that much easier."

  "I'm probably the most skeptical person, yet you almost have me halfway convinced this'll work," Will said.

  "I'm fairly certain that the first part will work, it's the second that has me worried," Father Vogel replied. "The second issue Talitha has to deal with is guilt. The memories are going to feel completely real to her. She'll be able to picture her hands doing all those terrible deeds. She'll second guess every one of her thoughts and actions, and likely yours as well."

  "She won't be the only one. I am complicit in every death she's been a part of." Will's mind began to drift toward all of the deaths he had been associated with, but Father Vogel began speaking again and he focused his attention on the priest.

  "Because you didn't die eight years ago?" Vogel asked.

  Though he wasn't feeling the least bit amused, Will gave a weak rueful chuckle at this. "The flight is only a little over an hour long, Father. You don't have time to shrink me."

  "I do have time to start on your sister," Vogel answered back. "You'd be surprised, but a half empty plane is a wonderful place for hypnotherapy. It's that constant thrumming noise from the engines. Take a look, most of the passengers are already asleep, or halfway there."

  "Father, no. Really, we don't have time," Will replied as his anxiety came back to him. "When we're finished dealing with Amy, by all means, let's try this hypno-stuff. I'll fly you to Denmark and back if that what it takes to help Talitha, but not right now."

  Father Vogel stepped back from Will with a queer look in his eyes that made Will very uncomfortable. "Mr. Jern, we have nearly forty-five minutes, which is very good for a start. The loop within her that I'm suggesting to break will make her much less dangerous."

  The priest was of course correct. Will looked down at the worn black linoleum floor and said nothing.

  The priest persisted, "We could be done with the first session in half an hour. What I want to do is bring Talitha's...the good Talitha's anger to the..."

  "I said no," Will answered, allowing his own anger to show, hiding the self-disgust.

  "For the life of me, I don't understand." The priest's grey eyes locked on Will's ice-cold blue ones. "You want your sister to stay like this? She could snap at any second killing who knows how many people. And you're ok with this?"

  "Excuse me?" the blonde stewardess broke in. "The girl you're with? She's getting kinda mad. She wants a drink but we can't serve anyone under twenty-one."

  "A drink?" A sudden worry came over Will and he dashed down the aisle.

  Talitha sat in her seat looking confused and before Will was even halfway to her, she called out in a loud voice, "Will, I'm over twenty-one, right? I swear I am." Feeling embarrassed with all eyes on the plane on him, Will put his fingers to his lips, but this only angered his sister. "Don't shush me! All I did was ask you a question."

  "You're right, I'm sorry." Will went and sat on the arm of the chair catty-corner to hers. "You say you want a drink?"

  "Yes but these whore-bitches won't serve me one. They say I'm too young, but I'm sure I'm older than twenty-one...only I don't remember any birthdays, or parties."

  On her twenty-first birthday, she had alternated between trying to rape him and kill him. "I didn't throw you a party on your twenty-first."

  "Why the hell not?"

  At the end of word not, she hurled the pen at his throat. He saw it coming and he knocked the pen aside with a backhand move. His hand stung fiercely, he didn't let it show on his face. Talitha liked seeing pain and it usually made her hungry for more.

  "We were still in mourning over Brian's death. I didn't think it would have been appropriate."

  "Brian? He screwed me out of a party? Even in death he tried to fuck me over!"

  Father Vogel spoke up from behind Will. "Did you kill Brian?"

  "Of course I did." Her face was shocked at the question.

  "You seem very angry just now...no make that furious. Were you ever this furious before your initial encounter with Ba'al Zubel?" The priest's tone was astonishingly calm. It seemed to jar Talitha.

  "Before? Hell no. I was a complete wimp. A fucking pushover."

  "Did you ever feel like cursing like this before, back when you were a wimp, but didn't?"

  Now it was Will's turn to grow angry. "Don't answer that Talitha. I told you, Father we aren't going to do this right now."

  "She needs me, Will," the priest returned.

  "Actually what I need is a d
rink," Talitha said sullenly, sounding more like a barfly than either the innocent girl or the insane killer that she really was.

  "What do you want to drink?" Will asked. "I'll get whatever you want."

  This question stopped Talitha. Save for a single beer, she had never drunk before as far as Will knew and the question stumped her. With her confusion, her anger seemed to depart.

  "I don't know. Remember that Jackson guy from this morning? He mentioned having forties. Do you know what those are?"

  In spite of everything, Will had to smile. "Trust me, you don't want that. It's malt liquor and it's nasty. But you had wanted champagne before. I bet I can get you a mimosa. That's a mix of champagne and orange juice," he added at her look of puzzlement.

  "Oh that sounds nice." Her aspect seemed to calm considerably at the prospect and Will thought that he had headed off a potentially dangerous moment.

  The stewardess had been further back behind Father Vogel watching the spectacle play out. She looked as though she had been slapped by what she had heard. "Sir, like I said, I can't serve..."

  "Four mimosas please. They're all for me." His stare was like granite and the stewardess decided against pressing the point and hurried off. Father Vogel sighed loudly and meaningfully, but Will ignored him. "You didn't get too far on your calculations." The paper was scribbled on from top to bottom, but it didn't look like there was enough math for what she was trying to accomplish.

  Talitha looked sheepish. "I don't know why, but I couldn't concentrate. I also... I couldn't concentrate." She finished lamely, hiding something inexpertly.

  "Will, can I talk with you," Vogel asked, sounding very much like a parent wishing to chastise a child.

  "Perhaps after I've had my drink. You don't know how my head is just pounding."

  A silence, save for the steady drone of the engines befell them as they waited for their drinks to arrive. Will's head did indeed hurt, but no more than it had all day, he had just mentioned it because he didn't want to have to talk to the priest. He didn't want to have to tell him why he was against Talitha being even a little bit cured just at the moment.

  "Here ya go, that'll be eighteen dollars. Cash only." The blonde stewardess would have made a horrible actress. Her smile looked sick on her face. Clearly serving them drinks, perhaps getting them drunk, was the last thing in the world she wanted to do. But still it was her job to smile and so she did.

  Will gave her a twenty and took two of the drinks handed them to Talitha. "Hold these for me will you." He then grabbed the next two. "Keep the change."

  The mimosa was good, as was the second one. Father Vogel refused the drink he was offered and waited patiently until Will had finished both. "Will, if you don't mind." The priest went to the front of the plane.

  Reluctant to follow, Will looked to Talitha. "Do you like your drink?"

  "Oh, it's so much better than that beer I drank that one time," she said with a smile. She appeared to be relaxing, allowing the alcohol to do its thing rather than biochemically neutering it as she could have.

  Will attempted a smile. "I'll be right back. If you have any weird feelings or get angry at nothing, just wave your hand." He left her nodding up at him, very much looking like she was his baby sister from so many years ago.

  At the front of the plane, Father Vogel barely waited for him to clear the first two rows of passengers before starting in on Will. "What's wrong with you? She has a real chance here."

  Will only stared at the priest, not knowing what to say.

  "Will, the longer she stays like this, the greater the chance she'll kill someone! And if she does, she'll no longer be able to blame it on some demon or some evil twin living in her mind. It will be all her. Do you know what that will do to her? She will become the killer."

  "That's not what you said a little while ago," Will countered. "You said her good side was too ingrained in her psyche and would dominate her evil side."

  "I did, however if she happens to kill someone, then truly which side of her is good and which is evil? From her point of view, they will both be bad and as more and more memories of torture and death come to her, she will find it impossible to categorize them. They will all be her. Is that what you want?"

  "No."

  "Then why won't you let me help her?"

  "I need the evil Talitha and I need her whole," Will whispered this. The two of them had been getting loud and Will was afraid at least some of what they were saying was filtering back.

  "You can't be serious," Vogel was back to being loud. The second stewardess, a girl with short brown hair came up the aisle.

  "Can you two please take your seats? You're starting to make the other passengers nervous." Clearly, she was nervous as well and glanced at Will frequently even though she spoke to Father Vogel.

  "Certainly," the priest responded cordially, but Will could tell he was more than peeved. In seconds, they were back to their seats and Will thought he was done having to explain himself when Talitha hopped up.

  "I haven't been on a plane since I was six years old and I can't remember, is one of the bathrooms designated as a ladies room?" she asked. Will shook his head and Talitha gave him a slightly disgusted look. "Well they really should have one." She nudged her way out to the aisle and as soon as she was halfway down Father Vogel turned to Will.

  "Why on earth do you want her evil? I demand that you tell me why."

  "I told you when we were at the hospital what I was up against," Will answered. "My wife and unborn daughter are being held by a vengeful gypsy witch who has at least three men with her. She knows about my ability to see the future and she doesn't care! And that means she has some way to counter act it. I haven't had a vision concerning my wife all day. Just that alone is enough to tell me that I'm right. And that means I'm all but useless."

  "But you aren't even giving Talitha a chance to fight as herself," Vogel replied heatedly. "Logically she can fight to protect loved ones. It would be considered noble and set her good side apart."

  "Wrong. It'll get us all killed... including you. Talitha can't fight, let alone kill. I know her better than anyone, and I know she'll hesitate to hurt people or to strike to kill—Amy Harris won't. But the other Talitha...she's a living weapon and is all but unstoppable."

  "You know you may be dooming her and I just don't mean here on earth."

  Talitha had exited the bathroom and came down the aisle smiling at people as she passed. She looked terribly innocent to Will.

  "Talitha?" Will began as she sat down. "Father Vogel and I have been discussing what's going to happen when we get to Bangor. It's going to be dangerous, and uh, I don't know how to say this..."

  "I'm aware of what you want, Will," she said with a smile so tight that it stretched her lips into little pink lines. "You want to turn the evil side of me lose on Amy Harris. Don't give me that look of surprise. You know that I am blessed with somewhat above average reasoning capabilities."

  Father Vogel jumped in, "Talitha, I need to warn you that if you end up killing anyone, you may be setting yourself up where we may not be able to fix your duo personality problem. Do you understand? Your subconscious will have it further ingrained that all you are, is a murderer, both sides of you."

  "That is the least of my concerns, Father."

  "What about your soul, Talitha? Don't you think you ought to be concerned for that?"

  She smiled prettily at the priest, her teeth, straight and very white next to her natural tan looked like something out of a television commercial and to see her like that one would never think she'd gone through so much. With a shrug, she turned to look out of the window.

  Vogel was mystified over her reactions and glanced at Will. "What about you? As her brother shouldn't you be concerned with her soul?"

  "I am, but I have to be concerned for Lisa's as well. She is innocent in any of this..."

  Vogel interrupted slamming his fist down on his armrest, "And your sister isn't! She's as much a victim as any one
and right now I would have to say she is being victimized yet again, by you. What do you have to say about that? You're using her and won't even give her a chance at any sort of future."

  Will suddenly needed another drink. He stretched his long muscular arm up, hitting the call button and decided, after seeing the stewardess's face contort into a grimace at who it was that rang for her, that he would have two drinks. He turned to look out the window just as his sister was. "You're asking me to blunt my sword right before going into battle."

  "No, I'm..."

  Will wasn't done speaking and rudely talked over the priest, loudly, angrily, "If I take your advice and we lose this fight, what do you think will happen to our souls then? Amy Harris is a witch! She buys her power with souls. They are the currency of the Void, and mine and Talitha's are almost priceless. Ba'al Zubel would pay dearly for us...as would Ba'al Fie-ere for that matter." He had been loud and he didn't care. The stewardess had an odd look on her face as she tried to figure out what it was she had just heard. Will, still staring out the window asked her, "Do you have Wild Turkey?"

  Her mouth came open at the question, "Uh, Wild Turkey? Oh, you mean the whiskey. No, we have Jack Daniels."

  Will shook his head in disappointment yet still dug out a couple of twenties. "Let me have six please and keep the change."

  With eyes that were wide in surprise, the stewardess left, her blonde hair swinging back and forth. Will didn't notice. His own eyes were on the great gold and red expanse below him. The clouds over Boston hadn't extended into Maine and he was looking down on her wonderful forests. It gave him a thrill for home, which mingled with his nervousness, making his stomach seem particularly light and empty.

  After a few minutes of silence, Will felt he had to finish explaining himself. "There was never going to be any trading of incantations. I didn't need second sight to know that. We're going to Maine simply to save my wife and daughter. And there will be a fight, there's no question about that. If we lose, then all our souls may be forfeit, if we win... then maybe just Talitha's. I wish there was another way."