“What? Galen? What is it?” Rob gave him a shocked look.
“Dad?” he whispered again.
“Yes, we’re here. You called. We’re here, Galen. All of us,” his father answered him.
Chapter Twenty
Galen shifted so he was leaning against the wall. Rob had torn another piece of the t-shirt off and was pressing it into the bloody wound in Galen’s chest. The thing was hissing, twisting in ecstatic joy against his heart. Galen was drowning in Its voice as It sang, pulling the dark into Itself, pulling it into Galen. He closed his eyes, trying to listen to the other voices—his brother, his father—that the thing was trying to silence.
“Dad?” he asked. “You’re here?”
“Yes, I am. Bobby, others. You called,” Parry said.
“Galen?” Rob asked, looking at him.
“I…I’m hearing voices, Rob. It sounds like Dad.”
“It is me, Galen,” his father’s voice had the hint of laughter in it Galen remembered.
“He says he is Dad. You don’t hear him?” Galen asked. Rob shook his head. “How do I know, Rob?”
“You performed the Ritual of Calling, Galen. It must have worked.”
“No.” Galen was shaking his head, hoping to hear the gentle voice again, trying to focus on his brother’s voice.
“Soon, soon it won’t matter, none of their voices will matter, it will be only you and I,” It hissed joyfully.
Galen heard Rob gasp. “Rob?” He opened his eyes and looked at this brother. Rob had his eyes closed, his face reflecting horror and agony. His eyes were moving rapidly behind his lids. “Rob?” Galen grabbed his brother’s arm in a tight grip. “Rob!”
His brother drew a ragged breath, he opened his eyes. “Sorry,” Rob said softly, rubbing his chest. “It’s talking to me again.”
“It was a vision,” Galen said with certainty.
“Yes.” He met Galen’s eyes, his face bleak. “I…I’m sorry, Galen.”
“Sorry?” Flash snapped. “Sorry about what?”
“It showed me…” Rob looked away. “Galen…”
Galen smiled. “Yeah, I know. I think I’ve known for awhile.”
“I thought it would work, I thought we were the ones…” Rob said, a note of apology in his voice.
“We are, the ones who start it.”
“Galen…”
“Hello?” Flash grabbed Galen’s arm. “What the hell are you two talking about?”
“It’s going to…” Rob swallowed, his eyes filled with tears. “It’s going to…”
“It needs both of us, Flash, but once the part of It in Rob is transferred, It doesn’t need my body anymore.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Flash growled.
“Galen…” Rob said quietly.
“I’m losing myself already, Rob. It’s taking everything.” Galen felt It twist, the pain shooting through his body. “It wants to…”
“Galen,” his father whispered. “You have to hold on, you have to fight it.”
“How? How can I fight It?” Galen asked desperately. Rob looked at him with a frown.
“You can, we’re here, let us help,” his father said.
“How can you help?’ Galen asked.
“Galen?” Rob put his hand on Galen’s arm. “What’s going on?”
“Dad’s talking to me.”
“Your dead father? He’s talking to you?” Flash asked. “Okay, I give up, this is now officially fucking insane.”
“Like it wasn’t before?” Rob’s voice was sardonic.
“No. Not like this. Galen zapping people is one thing, the occasional spell, mostly small—only that one big one, some odd people frequenting the shop, the herbs and whatever he does after dark with all those weapons. That’s one thing. Or several. But talking to dead people?”
“I’ve talked to the dead before, Flash,” Rob said. “They can be pretty helpful sometimes.” He chuckled. “Once I remember…”
“You talk to the dead? This just keeps getting better.”
“They can be helpful,” Rob said defensively.
Galen heard Flash respond, but the words flowed around him. He closed his eyes. It was talking, singing, shouting in joy as It pulled more and more of him into Itself. The combination of incense, the ritual food and whatever had been in the cup was beginning to affect him. It sensed that and began talking, visions swam through his mind, horror upon horror filling his body with agonizing pain, filling his mind with a growing pleasure.
It was slowly Becoming. Galen could feel It breathing in the wound, twisting as It waited to work Itself free and walk on the earth once more. His brother’s voice had faded into a low rumble, the thing singing in his chest now had the upper hand. He struggled against It. Pain shot out from the wound, running though his body like a river in flood. “Enjoying this?” It said, Its voice slowly gaining power. “Yes, power. Your power, My Emrys.”
A rough hand slapped his face, the stinging blow a mere pinprick in the writhing mass of pain filling his body as It twisted, growing slowly, filling him with more and more of Its darkness, the black tendrils were creeping slowly towards his brain. Another slap. “Galen!” Hands grabbed his shoulders. “Galen!” Rob was shaking him, Galen opened his eyes, the room was brighter, light streaming down from the open door. “They’re coming. Galen, can you hear me?”
“Rob?” he asked, the name was nearly meaningless.
“They’re coming. The final ritual. Just hold on, okay?” Rob squeezed his shoulders.
“Nearly gone.”
“No, Galen. You’re not.” Rob gave him a gentle shake. “No.” Tears were running down Rob’s face. “I’m sorry I got you into this. I thought it would be easier, when I summoned you…”
“Because I was dead,” Galen said, knowing the truth of it.
“If you were dead, it would be hard to…”
“Die? Yeah, that’s what It plans. Can you help me up? I’d like to face this on my feet.” Rob nodded and pulled him onto his feet. Flash put a steadying hand behind his back. “Rob?”
His brother smiled. “We got to be Keepers together, after all,” Rob said, his voice soft, somehow sounding like his thirteen-year-old self.
“Yeah, Brat.” Galen pulled his brother against him in a brief, tight hug. He gave Rob a gentle slap on the back and turned to Flash. “Told you—you should’ve run.”
Flash smiled. “Nah. They would have run me down anyway.”
“If you get a chance, go, okay? Don’t look back, just go,” Galen said urgently.
“Too late for him, My Emrys Keeper. Far, far too late.” Its voice was strong, nearly a shout.
“Here they come,” Rob whispered from beside him.
“We’re waiting, Galen. We’re here,” his father whispered. Galen felt a feather-light touch brush his shoulder.
“Take him,” the woman said, pointing at Rob.
“I’ll go,” Rob said, pulling away from the men who’d grabbed his arms. “Galen?”
“Time!” It screamed. Galen walked blindly towards the stairs, past the woman and up the ladder. He heard Flash protesting behind him, heard Rob’s urgent voice talking to Flash, calling Galen’s name. They meant nothing. The time had come. The Becoming had begun.
Galen walked out of the small structure into a glade of giant trees, their huge trunks dwarfing the people gathered beneath them. Torches lit the scene, casting strange shadows through the clearing. The wind was whispering through the trees, a soft voice singing ancient praises of the dark, of the Old One. Night had fallen, a few stars glittered in the sky and the moon hung, blood-red, over the clearing where the people had gathered. Galen moved forward. A circle of stones was placed around the clearing, he could hear the power humming through the menhirs. A flat stone stood in the center of the circle, a large upright towered over the stone. Two huge braziers stood at each end of it, wafting the incense over the entire clearing. Galen walked towards the stone.
“My altar,” It sa
id, Galen heard his voice say the words.
He ran a hand over the smooth black stone. “Yes,” he said to the night. “Perfect.” The woman stepped beside him and handed him a cup, gold and copper glittered in the light of the torches. He took the cup. Rob’s blood. How he knew, he wasn’t sure. Pain shot through him with the thought. “No, the time has come, we begin,” he said, Its voice ripping at his vocal chords.
He raised the cup over his head, tipping it and letting the blood flow out in a thin stream. The people around him began chanting he could hear their voices raised in the old song of praise, the words altered from those that called the wood hag, but still it was the same language, unchanged for five millennia. Galen walked around the stone as the chant washed over him, the darkness rising above him, moving with him.
He could sense other creatures lurking just out of sight. “They wait for me, My Emrys,” he said. His voice joined the others as he sang the prayer of the final joining. The incense wafting from the huge braziers skewed reality even further. A small part of him identified the smells, chided him to move away from it. He took a deep breath, the heady scent filling him with pain, with pleasure, as It danced on his heart.
Galen held out his hand, his sword was placed on his palm, the power of the blade ran through his body, brushing the thing as It leapt and danced in his chest. He held the sword aloft. “Bring the other,” Its voice tore out of his throat. He tasted the coppery taste of blood as the words flowed out of him. He heard someone shouting behind him, he recognized Flash’s voice. The shout turned to screams. Galen wanted to turn, to see what had happened, but It refused to let his body move.
Rob was beside him. “Hold on, Galen,” he said quietly. With a defiant look at the men standing on either side of him, he reached over and took his sword from the woman, then lay down on the stone and placed his sword on his chest. “The sword is still singing,” he whispered. The men came forwards and bound Rob to the altar, wrapping his body in the black and red cord.
“Now, now we will be Joined. We are become, we will be free,” Galen said. Rob looked at him, a frown on his face.
Galen stepped forward, the thing moving his body towards the stone. He laid his sword on the stone, on Rob’s left. He lifted the sword from his brother’s chest and laid it on Rob’s right. The dark was hovering over him, swirling around him, the chanting was reaching a fevered pitch.
Galen raised his hands, the chanting increased, the woman beside him nearly shrieking in joy. The wind suddenly changed, whipping the smoke away from Galen. He blinked. “Too late, we are Become,” the thing said in his voice. He looked down at Rob, his brother met his eyes with a gentle smile. As far gone as he was, Galen could see the pain on his brother’s face. “I’ll try to heal you,” Galen whispered to him.
Rob shook his head. “Let the ritual play out.”
“What was taken is now returned, what was broken is now joined,” he chanted, the thing’s voice tearing at his throat. “I’m sorry,” Galen whispered. “Now!” the thing shouted. Galen raised his hands.
And plunged them into Rob’s chest.
Rob screamed, Galen felt the blood flowing hot over his hands, felt the movement of his hands as they passed through Rob’s flesh until they came to rest deep in his chest. He could feel Rob’s heart beating frantically against his hand. Rob was screaming in pain. The thing began to climb out of Rob, up Galen’s arms. It was pulling parts of Rob with It, his Sight, his healing, his power.
His life.
“No,” Galen said and tried to focus the light into his brother. The dark was filling him like a black cloud obscuring the sun. He took a deep breath and forced the light down one hand and into Rob. The thing was filling Galen, the black tendrils had reached his brain and were forcing their way into his consciousness. Galen focused every bit of healing left to him down his arms and into his brother. He slowly withdrew his hands, Rob’s heart was barely beating, his brother had stopped breathing. “No,” he said. Rob was nearly gone.
“Let me help,” his father said softly. A warm hand was suddenly on his back. Galen knew it was Parry.
Galen pulled the light out of his father, as he had ten years before, he could see the light in his hands as it flowed into Rob. It was like he was watching through two sets of eyes, his own and the thing’s, and each got something different out of the sight before them. Rob was dying. One part of him was filled with joy with that knowledge, the other with an almost paralyzing grief. “Rob?” Another hand touched him and he reached out and drew the light out from that touch as well. Power rippled through him, brushing him like the wind on a lake. The thing recognized the touch and tried to pull Galen’s hands from Rob. In a last desperate moment, Galen focused part of himself through the light, hoping against hope that this plan would work.
The thing tore his hands away from Rob. “We are Become!” Galen screamed, blood running from his mouth from torn vocal chords. The chanting reached an orgasmic level as the thing twisted Itself through the last bit of Galen. He screamed, his voice blended with the thing’s as a black cloud gathered over his head. He was chanting, the power he’d pulled from his brother, his own power, blending together to wrap around him. The power whipped around him, buffeting him with its fury. The swirling power focused to a single shaft and impaled him, running through his body in a huge surge.
Its moment had come. It ripped out of Galen, exploded out of his chest and into the air above him, Its huge form hovering over the clearing, Its breath stirring the trees, Its great wings beating with the sound of a thousand drums. “Finish it!” It screamed.
Galen forced himself up onto his feet and reached for his sword.
“Finish it! my Emrys, you are ended, end the other and we are Become!”
Galen lifted his sword and turned to the altar. Rob was covered in blood. Galen looked down at his hands, they were dripping his brother’s blood, splashing drops on the altar as the thing screamed to finish it. The sword glittered in the light, the hilt was cool against his skin. He raised it, and looked at the thing perched on the huge stone at the end of the altar. “Finish and it is done. Finish, my Emrys.” Galen swung the sword towards his brother. Rob’s eyes were open, he smiled at Galen as the sword sliced down.
“Yes!” It screamed, then roared in fury as Galen slid the sword through the bonds holding his brother to the stone. He grabbed Rob’s sword and pushed it into his brother’s hands as the thing reached down and grabbed Galen in a huge clawed hand. It lifted him and slammed him into the ground.
“Galen!” Rob shouted. Galen looked towards his brother, Rob had rolled off the stone and was pushing himself up. A scream pulled Galen’s attention from his brother, he twisted and saw something dark tearing at Flash.
“Help Flash,” Galen called.
“Galen…”
“Flash, Rob!” Galen got a hand under his body and started to push himself up, his arm gave way and he collapsed back onto the ground. The thing laughed, the sound rattling the stones around the clearing. The power humming through the circle resonated through his body.
“My children are here,” the thing said. Galen looked around, small spots of flickering darkness were popping into the clearing, tattered black rags fluttering in the breeze. Another one of the creatures dropped towards where Flash lay on the ground. Rob ducked as it swooped on him, striking out with his sword. Galen watched as his brother impaled the creature tearing at Flash, its dying shriek was answered by the other creatures filling the air, the clearing reverberating with their keening voices.
Galen tried to get up again, his arm wouldn’t bear his weight. He glanced down at himself, the robe was torn, a giant slash ran down the length of his chest. Taking a deep breath, he managed to push himself onto all fours and crawled towards his sword. He could see it, a few feet away, where he’d dropped it. The metal was gleaming softly in the light of the torches, the smoke from the incense drifting down like fog, partially obscuring his vision. As he crawled towards the sword, he muttere
d an old spell he’d picked up from a passing Rom witch. A small breeze puffed against him and blew the incense away. He reached for the sword, his hand only inches from the hilt.
His hand was stopped. Four of the creatures landed on him, slamming him to the ground. Claws dug into his arms, he was pulled up and into the air. They carried him back to the altar, dropped him onto the stone and then settled on him, pinning him to the black surface. Another landed on his body, running a sharp talon along the wound in his chest. It chattered something to the Old One perched on the huge stone at the end of the altar, It laughed, gesturing for the creatures to continue.
The creature sitting on his chest put a hand against Galen’s face. He felt it seeking, digging through his brain, looking for something. It chattered happily, having found what it was looking for. It turned to the Old One and said something, waving a bloody claw. The thing waved a huge hand and the small piece of darkness perched on Galen’s chest flitted away, the creatures holding him down began humming, their voice blending with the chant still ringing through the clearing.
The Old One drifted down from Its perch and walked on huge taloned feet towards Galen, the impact of each step sending jarring pain through his body. It stopped beside the altar and turned towards the people gathered at the edges of the clearing. “The time has come, my people, I walk. With this last moment I am free, with this last moment I am Become, I am yours again and you are mine!” The chant rose, becoming a scream of delight that bounced around the clearing. Galen thought he saw movement to his left, but he couldn’t be sure.
The thing turned back to him. It looked down at him with eyes shifting like smoke. Red to black and back again, like molten rock bubbling under blackened lava. “My Emrys,” It whispered to him, Its voice grating like gravel dragged across a rock. It ran a gentle, almost loving hand down his face, gently cupping his chin before resting Its hand on wound It made when it tore Itself free. “Power, my Emrys, so much, more than any before, and I have had Keepers, my people have fed me Keepers over the years, but never the right ones, never my Emrys,” It sighed, a blast of fetid breath washing over Galen, making him gag. “My Emrys.” It laid a hand on his head and a hand on his chest imitating the stance used by Custodes Noctis healers.
The Legacy: A Custodes Noctis Book Page 27
