The Trilogy of the Void: The Complete Boxed Set

by Peter Meredith

  "I'm so sorry," she called out to him. It was practically yelled and he stopped for a moment wondering what could she be apologizing to him for. Behind him, he heard her walk across the sand and then a slight crunch told him she had again sunk down. The word 'sorry' was strange to hear. Perhaps it was the way she had said it, but it held more consequence than he had ever attributed to it before. Almost as if compelled by the word, he turned to look at the kneeling woman, she had finally faced him, however her hands were pressed to her face.

  She seemed so small while he felt gigantic, and powerful. Only a moment before he had been a pathetic cringing wretch, now he loomed above the girl with the authority to add to her misery or to reduce it. She had given him that power.

  "What are you sorry for? I don't understand." Her face was buried in her hands and tears slipped from between her fingers. The woman was truly sorry for something. It began to make Will uneasy.

  "In the water, I saw the true coward and it wasn't you. I was the coward and it was because of my fear that you had to...do that."

  "What? Who are you?"

  "I'm... I'm...I don't know."

  Will had to pry her hands from her face, which was young and completely unrecognizable to him. All except the eyes. She hadn't been lying about that. He was looking at Adrina Fortini. A young Adrina Fortini.

  Unable to draw breath in properly, Will could do little but whisper, "You're Adrina, I...I killed you."

  "I remember now. I'm Adrina."

  Silence.

  Neither looked at the other but only down at the sand. For his part, Will was waiting on the inevitable. Blame, condemnation, accusation, he would accept them all without denial. How could he not? The water had shown them both what he had done and there had been no lie to it. He waited for the charges that she would level against his soul, yet the wait drew out and as it did, he began to feel faint.

  "I was ready to forgive you, Will." This was how she started and it was like his heart shrunk with each word, collapsing in on itself. "I wasn't at first. At first, I raged against you and blamed you for everything. And...and I even thought I wouldn't have been in hell if it wasn't for you."

  Will nodded. This was what he had been expecting. It would get worse. You don't use a little old lady as a human shield and expect gratitude from her.

  "It took me a long time to forgive you in my heart, but now..." she let the words drift away.

  Here it comes. Damnation. She would rightly damn him for his crimes. He just wished that she would get it over with, but she began to cry again and he didn't blame her. The scene in the water had been horrible.

  "But now, after seeing that. I'm the one who has to beg forgiveness. What happened was my fault. I was supposed to confront the demon first, only I was so afraid, that I couldn't. I was..."

  Will had to interrupt. "Stop! That's complete nonsense. You did what anyone else would have done. It's no sin to be afraid."

  Adrina's eyes flashed. "You're right. I did what anyone would've done, I cowered like an idiot and nearly got us all killed. That's why I'm the one asking for forgiveness. You did what you had to do, and it was the right thing to do. And the only reason you had to do it was because I failed. After all my talk, I let you down. So I'm not going to forgive you for anything, Will. Instead, I'm going to thank you for your bravery and for making the hard choice. You made my pain and sacrifice worthwhile."

  "But..."

  Adrina was as feisty as she ever was. "No buts. I mean it, there's nothing for me to forgive."

  In silence, Will stood stunned as his emotions spun about inside him. The chief of which was a joyous euphoria and it was an effort not to break into a little dance. Forgiveness was the rarest thing in the Void, it was a gift of the greatest value and was never given lightly. Quite literally, he felt a burden lift from his soul; it was almost as if he could fly across the river had he wanted to.

  "Thank you, Adrina. This means a lot to me." A smile came to her lips but it wasn't matched in her brown eyes, these showed signs of strain. And now there came between them an uncomfortable silence. They stood facing each other, yet she wouldn't meet his gaze, Will couldn't understand what was bothering her. "Are you ok?"

  Her lips grew tighter against her teeth, she shrugged.

  "No really, what's wrong?" he asked as he scanned her face for a clue. Only a second ago, she was what he had always thought of as her normal self, then she had forgiven him and now this. There was pain in her bearing. He wanted to press her for an answer, but by the way she was acting, he knew it would be useless. She shrugged again in answer to his question.

  More silence followed, which became unbearable to the young man. "Thanks again for forgiving me. I don't think I can ever...oh!" The answer came to him. She had asked...no, begged him for forgiveness too, and he had done nothing. "Are you worried about forgiveness? Adrina, look, you did everything you could, and more. You stood up to the demon and...I would have died if you hadn't, he was killing me, seriously. I can't even believe this is an issue. The fight wasn't even yours!"

  "It is an issue, Will. You suffered because of me. If..."

  "Ok, ok. Fine. Adrina, with all my heart I forgive you. Look me in the eyes if you doubt me." She was so small that she had to crane her head way back to see his face. A moment later she smiled a giddy little smile, he did the same. "Was that really necessary?"

  With a glance to the river, her smile faded and she became serious again, "Yes it was. Never assume forgiveness." Adrina turned from the river and wrapped her arm in Will's without asking. "So, big strong Will. Why do you need my help?"

  Despite her younger looks, he couldn't help feeling as if he were walking with his grandmother. "Would it surprise you that I have demon troubles again?"

  She answered this with a laugh. It was wonderfully cruel free and made him feel giddy again. "Don't we all."

  It was his turn to laugh and for the moment, it was though they were strolling down a Carolina beach, looking for the perfect seashell. Unfortunately, it didn't last. Will began to tell the story of the last few days, about Luke and poor Father Alba. About the sword and the dead children, about Talitha and Amy Harris; as he spoke, he grew cold as if the words were leading him closer to the Void. When he was done Adrina began to pepper him with questions, one after another, many of which dealt with how he came to be in the Void, without having died, something which fascinated her. The questions concerning Talitha's situation were saved for last, it was something she had trouble grasping.

  "You say she split her soul in two? One part all good, the other all evil, how?"

  A shrug was his response. "Even Talitha doesn't know. She just did it."

  "And now instead of an evil soul fighting for control of her body, she has a split personality, one of which is totally evil?" Adrina shook her head in disbelief. "Your Talitha either bears the greatest curse of all of us or she's part of one those television soap operas. She's doomed either way."

  The attempt at humor earned her a small crooked smile from Will, who only displayed it as a courtesy, his good mood had all but disappeared with the recounting of his story. "So any clue how we can find out where Amy is taking my sister, Katie?"

  "I wish that was your biggest problem. Don't be mad, but the sword is by far, more important than your sister right now. The danger to the world posed by a gate created through a spell of Amy's will take years to materialize, but the sword, that is something else all together. If a demon hasn't already, one will find that opening in the Void very soon and feed off of its light, its heat, its energy! It will fast become powerful enough to influence both this world and yours."

  Will stopped walking. "That may be, Adrina, but I can't let what happened to Talitha, happen to Katie also. I won't." Their eyes met in hard stare, Adrina dropped hers first.

  "Will, please..."

  "No. First off we don't know how to destroy the sword, so what you're asking is moot anyways."

  "I have an idea on how to do that."


  Will's anger began to bubble up. "Good and I'll listen to it, but first tell me how I can find where Amy has my sister. And don't even think about lying right here so close to that river."

  Her eyes, which had been a warm brown, flashed darkly. "How dare you! I don't have to give you any answers if I don't choose." Another silence came between them, a hard seething quiet. Will was first to break it.

  "I'm sorry about accusing you like that. It was stupid and wrong." Asking for forgiveness so near the river was a strain unto itself. Adrina was thankfully quick to reply.

  "You're forgiven, Will. We both know I have a history of withholding certain information," this she said with a sad little smile. "But not this time. I swear." Now her expression became one of pain. "I don't think I'll be any help in finding your sister. I'm sort of trapped here. If I go back to the Void... I go back to the pits at Rek. I can't do that. It's so horrible." The pain in her face increased.

  Will put his hand on her arm. "Could I find out the information about Katie myself? What would I have to do? Is there a spell or something?"

  "There is, but you told me Amy was countering your visions and you told me that she is short on time. This means she's gone all out protecting herself from any sort of clairvoyance, unless she's very, very stupid that is, which I doubt. The time issue is the other reason I won't be able to help you. Without spells, the only other way to find information about the living is through the dead. You would have to find someone who is recently deceased who knows where she's going. Would her thugs know?"

  "They might." His stomach suddenly flared in nauseas pain—the chances that Amy would tell her thugs where she was going next were close to zero. "Her mom would know, I bet."

  Adrina's head nodded in agreement, but her face registered more defeat. "Yes, likely. But would she tell you? Hardly, and then there's the issue of even finding Henny in the Void, which is nearly impossible. And even if you do, you'll have to get past her demon captor, Ba'al Zubel probably..."

  Will interrupted, "No, it's Ba'al Fie-ere...my sister, kind of. I think she has Henny."

  "This demon has Henny Harris?"

  "Yeah. Ba'al Fie-ere said she was going to get a gate using Katie and since Amy has Katie..."

  "Then Fie-ere probably has Henny," Adrina finished. "There must have been a trade, but a really bad one, I'm thinking. Or the demon lied to you. They do that, you know. But it doesn't matter, since getting around any demon in this situation will be practically impossible. The demon will keep Henny very close until the gate is open and once it is, that will mean your sister will probably be beyond your help or mine."

  "So there's no hope in finding Katie?"

  "I don't think so. Not before the gate opens. But maybe she can come here and cross over."

  A sharp pain lanced through Will's stomach. "I accidentally told Ba'al Fie-ere about the River. I'm sorry; I thought I was talking to Katie. Do you think a demon can come here?"

  Adrina shook her head. "No, but it might make it imposs...very difficult for Katie though. Ba'al Fie-ere will try to corrupt her as soon as she can." Will's head drooped and Adrina grabbed his arm. "There's still hope. If a soul dies in the dungeons and pits of hell, it will re-emerge in the Void. Maybe she can come here then. Does Katie, the real Katie know about the river?"

  When Will shook his head, Adrina's face fell and there was silence between them. Will's stomach began to hurt with ever-greater intensity and in seconds, he was sitting on the ground clutching himself. "I can't give up on her. There's no way."

  "You have to. Katie will have to save herself. She will have to find a way to come here on her own and you have to let her go. Destroying the sword is more important just now. Let Katie go, for the greater good."

  "What about Lisa and my baby? Do I sacrifice them also for the greater good? And my father's soul? Just leave it down here as a plaything of some demon? How many of my friends and loved ones have to die before I become part of the greater good?" Will's words were venom and a small part of him was ashamed, the rest, however, was simply furious that Adrina was correct.

  "Who else can destroy the sword? If you don't close that tiny gate now, over time it will become impossible. You have to see that."

  "I don't!" Will's fury mounted. "We can throw the blade into the deepest part of the ocean or...bury it down a bottomless..."

  "No!" With a quick step, she was right on top of Will and gripped his arm tight with nails that dug into his skin. "None of that will matter. You could send the blade into space if you wanted, but still the demon would feed on the light of a billion stars and over time it would grow and put forth its will and the blade would be found. The longer you wait, the harder it will be."

  "I can't."

  "Please?"

  "Look..." There was no use arguing with her. "How bout this, I make an attempt at finding Henny, if I can't get anything out of her, it'll be a lost cause either way and I'll do what I can to destroy the sword."

  Like magic, Adrina released her claws from Will's flesh. "Ok, but don't dawdle, Ba'al Zubel is strong enough without being fed pure energy."

  "How do you know Ba'al is in control of the gate?"

  A smile came to her. "My gut, mostly. The great demon keeps close watch upon its rivals, it will know if one becomes inordinately powerful and it'll move to confront it quickly." For some reason she turned from him and faced away downstream. "Now about destroying the sword...you'll need a virgin girl and a gypsy."

  "What? No, no, no!" Will spun her around, something that was very easy since she was so tiny. "You're not going to ask me to sacrifice some poor girl!"

  She wouldn't look up into his face. "Maybe you won't have to. She might live, you never know." This was said without enthusiasm and Adrina pressed on quick, "Listen, find a gypsy, you know what they look like. There are more around you than you realize and don't be fooled if they have a last name like Jones or Smith. We've been hiding our identities since the days of Moses. Second, find a virgin and remember the spirit has to be pure...even a nun will do, the younger the better, or at the least find someone who attends church weekly. Third...you have the incantations of Henny's, use them to open the gate and once it's open simply stab the blade into it."

  He had listened to her go on, stunned into silence at the idea of perpetrating such evil against an innocent girl, but the last part about sending the sword through the gate struck him as insane. "That's your plan? Hand over the blade to the very demon that wants it most?"

  Adrina nodded. "It's a gate into the Void itself. Once it's in the Void, it'll be useless. Picture the front door of a house. Go through it and you move from outside to inside the home. You go from rain or snow, to warmth and light, you see? Take the same door and put it here on this beach, you go from sand to sand, it serves no purpose whatsoever."

  The two were silent for long spell, neither looking at the other. Nor did they look into the water. Will grew more depressed the longer he stood there. How could he open a gate? How could he ruin some poor girl? "I have to go," he said eventually.

  "You do, time is tricky in the Void, and it almost always runs against you. I'm sorry I wasn't more help and I swear, if I could tell you how to find Katie, I would."

  "I believe you. Good bye Adrina."

  For her, it wasn't quite time. She leapt toward him and hugged him tight and he returned the embrace, again marveling how small and insubstantial she was. When she looked up at him, her eyes were red and wet. "Come visit me again, please. It's lonely here...I mean it's better than the Void yeah, but it still is lonely."

  "No. I won't. You're going to cross this river again. Put your trust in God and you'll be fine." Will detangled himself from her. "Now, I really have to go. Thanks for your insight and uh, the suggestion." He didn't see himself damning a young girl to hell no matter what.

  Adrina saw it in his eyes. "You trust in God. You've made hard choices before, you're going to have to do so again."

  Will nodded and gave her a last smile before h
e turned away. The hills were in front of him, but they were illusionary. "Goodbye and good luck... I'll try to come here, if..." If he was killed, that is.

  "Ok good, that sounds real good." She was crying, perhaps in relief, perhaps in sadness of his leaving. "Be strong, Will."

  "I'll do my best," he replied, and gave only a quick look back, worried that he had wasted far too much time already. With a single step, the warm sand turned to deadly cold shadow.

  Chapter 27

  Will

  The cold that struck him like an icy gale was depressingly familiar, as were the shifting shadows that danced in rhythm to his fear. Those shadows hid things. But just barely. They gave him glimpses of tortures and pain, like an evil strip show. They showed only enough to bring his fright to a crescendo and for a moment, his heart quailed in fear, and he froze in place with his eyes darting about. However, this was familiar too.

  Fear was nothing new to Will Jern.

  The emotion had been an acute intense companion of Will's for days, and chronically, for years. Off and on, for eight long dreary years, it skulked in the depths of his mind to come rearing up at his weekly visits with his sister. This had inured him to a degree and after a few minutes of his heart pounding in his chest, he forced his fear into the background of his subconscious and started walking into the dark Void, ignoring the sights, the screams, the feel of blood suddenly splattering him or squishing beneath his bare feet. Even if he had the time, there was nothing he could do for any of the poor wretches around him.

  Time was his biggest issue. There was no way to judge it in any way other than to realize that Adrina was correct. In the Void time worked against a person. If there was pain, it would draw out. If there was a deadline, it would speed up. Will forced himself to relax. He would find Henny, or he wouldn't and worrying would only hurry time along.