A Glimmer of Hope

by Steve McHugh

  “What you were expecting?” Something moved inside the cage and wings protruded through the bars on either side. They were black and torn in places, and looked like they belonged to a bat.

  “I can’t fly in here,” Terhal told Layla. “I can’t fly in your realm. I’m not whole in your realm. I remember flying, I remember soaring high above the mountains and forests while I hunted.”

  Layla did a quick measurement and realized the wings must have been a dozen feet in length, and the demon himself nearly six feet tall. A tail swished out of the cage on one side; spikes protruded from the tip, each one several inches in length, giving it the appearance of a morning star.

  Layla wasn’t going to allow Terhal to know that she was frightened. “How did you end up in there?” She kept her tone casual, as if it was the most normal question in the world.

  “The dwarves dragged me from my realm and imprisoned me in a scroll. They called me a demon; and then they made this cage my new home. Demon. It’s a strange word, but I like it.”

  “You’re going to try to make me release you, so you can take control of my body and cause havoc.”

  “I wasn’t planning on it right at this moment. Although I guess that is my end goal. I want to feast on those little humans that are so abundant here. Gyda let me out to feed, and I killed so many people. Servius too. Rosa never did. She was always too detached, too controlled. Shame.”

  Layla’s confidence grew, her fear fading away into the background. “Do we need to do this with the darkness rolling around?”

  The demon sighed and clicked his fingers, bathing the area in light, and showing Layla exactly who she was talking to.

  Even though Layla had managed to figure out what Terhal looked like in the darkness, she wasn’t quite prepared for the hulking beast that stood before her. Terhal had the body shape of someone who bench-pressed buses, and hands that were tipped with jet-black claws that retracted and extended as she watched.

  “I haven’t been in the light for a while now. No one else ever asked to see me this way. You know being in the light won’t save you. Won’t help you. I will be free, and you will scream while I devour your friends.”

  Anger replaced the fear. Who did this demon think he was to threaten her friends? To threaten her? She’d seen monsters before. Monsters in the flesh. She’d escaped Elias, and the ogre, and she’d dealt with her father’s crimes. She could deal with this too. “So, I keep you in there and you drive me insane, allowing you to break free? Okay, so I’ll let you out.”

  “But then the second you tap into the power I possess, that makes it easier for me to take control too. You can’t win.”

  “You make it sound like I shouldn’t try.”

  “Oh, no, please try. I do so love it when they try.”

  “I don’t get it. Are you meant to scare me? I understand that if you’re released, you’ll cause devastation, and I understand that you’re a monster, but you’re also in a cage. Whether I accept you or not, you’re still in a cage, a cage I need to keep control of.”

  Terhal snarled. “Don’t play with me, girl.”

  Layla stared at the cage for several seconds before laughing. “Girl? You think that’s an insult? This girl isn’t someone who will let you walk over them.”

  Terhal screamed in rage, changing the world around them, showing dead bodies piled high. Dozens and dozens of dead.

  “Is this what I’m meant to do? You think nightmares are the best way to get to me?” Layla took a step forward, using the anger to force her forward. “I dreamed of nothing but death and murder and pain for years after my father was arrested. I dreamed of hurting people I love, of enjoying their suffering. I’ve seen the crime-scene photos of my father’s murders; I’ve seen the journals he kept. I know what he did, and how he did it. There is nothing you can show me that will do more harm to me than he already did.”

  Layla turned and walked away.

  “You’ll be back tomorrow,” Terhal snarled.

  “Maybe. I’ll see how I feel.”

  The bodies vanished, replaced with a scene of a car crashed head first into a tree. Layla’s mother had been thrown from the car and lay dying on the ground.

  “How about this?”

  Layla took a sharp breath. Her legs felt weak and she thought they would give way at any moment, but she still turned back toward the demon. “Is this really how you want to play this game?” Anger leaked from every word. If they’d both been in the real world, she’d have beaten Terhal within an inch of his life and regretted nothing.

  The car vanished, replaced with a demonic-looking Layla standing over a prone and bleeding Chloe, who was pleading with her friend to let her live. The demon-Layla, her claw-like hands drenched with blood, looked over at her and began to laugh, the sound making Layla nauseous. She took a step toward the scene and it vanished, replaced once again with the glade.

  “This is what happens when I take control. Either you accept me or you don’t, but you can’t stop this from being your future. And this will happen if you accept me. I guarantee it.” The demon didn’t sound smug about it, just matter of fact.

  Tears fell down Layla’s cheeks as everything she’d seen suddenly felt as real as if it was happening to her right then. The sounds, the smells, the horrific brutality on display. Everything. She knew somewhere inside her that what Rosa had told her was true, that none of this was real, but it felt so real that she could think of nothing else but the horror before her. Her confidence had been misplaced. She thought she could be stronger than whatever the demon showed her. She had been terribly wrong. Layla wiped the tears away with the back of her hand.

  “See you tomorrow,” Terhal said.

  Layla woke with a start, the image of her pleading friend still fresh in her mind. She lay there for a long time, not wanting to get out of bed for fear that she was still dreaming, still in a world created by the demon. Eventually the sun broke through the curtains, and only then did she feel at ease. How could she let out a demon that would kill her friends? But then how could she keep him caged, if he would eventually take control anyway? She’d been right: she really was screwed.

  17

  Layla eventually risked leaving the bed, and took a long, hot shower, getting dressed in the clean clothes that Chloe had brought her on her last visit. It had been two days since she’d seen her friend, and she wanted to be able to talk to her. It took her several seconds to remember that she’d never retrieved her phone from whoever had taken it off her, which angered her more than she’d expected. Her phone had contained photos that she had probably lost forever. She hoped they’d uploaded to the cloud since her last check a week ago.

  The clean clothes were only a small piece of kindness from Chloe, but they made Layla feel a billion times happier about having to be in hospital.

  She was sitting in a chair by the window reading, when the door opened and Chloe walked in, carrying another bag. She placed the carrier bag on the table.

  “Some more clothes, a mobile, a charger, some chocolate, and your purse. I went to your place and grabbed a few things. Tommy was over there keeping an eye on it. I wouldn’t want to be Elias if he tries that avenue.”

  “You know Tommy?” Layla asked as she dove into the bag for her phone, as if she’d been starving at sea for a month and it was her first meal.

  Chloe paused. “Not well. Hey, we need to get you out of here.”

  Layla sensed that there was more to it than Chloe was willing to divulge. “Doc Grayson gets to decide when that happens.”

  “I’m sure it’ll be soon. It’s not like Elias can hide forever. Sooner or later, Tommy and his people will find him, and then you can go home. Back to normality.”

  Layla opened her mouth to say something, but instead moved her hand toward the nearby table. The metal legs turned to liquid and the table crashed to the floor. “Not sure normality is ever coming back to my life.”

  Chloe stared at Layla, before looking over at the fallen table
. She looked back at Layla and opened her mouth to say something, when the door opened and Harry walked in. He carried a card, some balloons, and a big box of chocolates. He stood in front of where the table used to be, a confused expression on his face, before tentatively placing his gifts at the foot of the bed.

  “What happened?” he asked, sounding both confused and concerned.

  “No idea,” Chloe said before Layla could speak. “Bit weird, though.”

  “That looks like liquid metal. I’m not really sure that’s meant to happen. In fact, I’m positive that metal turning to liquid isn’t considered a manufacturer’s fault.” He looked between Chloe and Layla. “Either of you plan on explaining what this is?”

  “You never seen a puddle of metal before?” Chloe asked.

  “I’m pretty certain not like this, no.”

  Layla wondered why it was that Chloe didn’t find the fact that she’d essentially melted a table to be all that odd. She wondered if she were just putting on a front to look less concerned than she was inside, but Layla wasn’t certain that was true. She got the impression that Chloe knew more than she was willing to say.

  “That balloon for me?” Layla asked Harry, hoping to get his attention away from the table.

  He looked over at her, as if remembering she was in the room, and smiled. “Yes. Balloons and chocolates are well known for their healing properties.”

  “Really?”

  Harry shrugged. “I have no idea. The last person I saw in hospital was my aunt, and we just brought her about fifty kilos of grapes. I didn’t think you’d like that. You do like chocolate though, hence”—he brandished the box of chocolates—“the largest box I could find.” He placed the chocolates back on the bed. “More importantly, how are you?”

  “I’ve been better.”

  “Nice cage on the window.”

  Layla followed Harry’s gaze. “Yeah, they’re worried about people getting into the room.”

  “They think these people are going to climb up several dozen feet to get to you?”

  “They killed a lot of people to get to me last time, who knows what they’ll do next.”

  “It took me two days to get through security to see you. They wanted to run background checks on me. The news is plastered with information about what happened at the train depot. Have the police spoken to you about it?”

  “Some special-investigator people have been here, yeah,” Layla told him. “I just want to go home and shower in my own bathroom and eat my own food, but then I remember all of those people and . . .” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Harry told her. “I’m just worried about you.”

  Layla smiled. “Thanks, Harry. I’m fine. Tired, but fine.”

  “Tired?” Chloe asked. “Not sleeping well?”

  Layla shook her head. “Bad dreams.”

  “That’s to be expected,” Harry said, and paused for a second. “Sorry, you probably already know that. I’m not really much help here, am I? I don’t really know what to say. I want to make it better but can’t.”

  Layla placed her hand on top of Harry’s. “It’s fine, just you being here is enough.” She looked at Chloe. “Both of you.”

  “Have you eaten?” Harry asked. “There’s a fish-and-chip shop just around the corner. I can see if I can smuggle some up here.”

  Layla’s stomach grumbled. “Apparently the answer is yes. I’d love a pie and chips. Steak and kidney, please.”

  “Cod and chips,” Chloe said.

  Harry promised he’d be back soon and left Chloe and Layla alone.

  “I can manipulate metal,” Layla said.

  “I saw.”

  “I bonded with some spirits in a scroll. They call me an umbra. I’m essentially a superhero now. I’m going to get a cape and start fighting crime.”

  “You appear to be taking it in good humor.”

  Layla stared at her friend. “You’re not surprised. You’re not concerned or freaking out that I just melted a damn table.”

  “Technically, you didn’t melt it.”

  “Don’t start using semantics on me. Why aren’t you more . . . you know . . . weirded out?”

  “Weirded? I don’t think that’s a word.”

  Layla’s eyes narrowed in irritation. “Chloe Range, don’t change the subject.”

  “I’ve had some experience with weird shit. My mum was a witch. Not a wiccan, a full-on witch with powers and everything. She knew how to curse people and do all kinds of crazy stuff. So I’m okay with what you’re doing, because you’re my friend and I want to be there for you. But also because I’ve seen the weirdness already.”

  Layla wasn’t certain what to say to that. She still thought that Chloe was hiding something, but she couldn’t figure out what it might be. “Thanks for being honest.”

  Layla noticed the slightest wince, as if those words had hurt Chloe, but the smile never left Chloe’s face. “My mum was insane, and probably evil. So, yeah, that was my childhood. So, back to you. You’re taking all of this okay?”

  “I’m not sure how I’m taking it. I’ve spent the last few nights talking to spirits who live in my head. And last night I had a lovely chat with a demon. A demon who showed me a vision of your death at my hands.”

  Chloe sighed. “I’m not going to die, and you’re certainly not going to kill me.”

  “Everyone says I have to accept the demon. Or I’ll go insane. But how can I accept it if it’s just going to do evil things anyway? Whether I accept it or not, it’s never going to go away. I get to spend the rest of my extended life with a demon in my head. That was never part of my life plan, Chloe. Demonic entities were not meant to be living in my goddamn subconscious.” She shouted the last few words, allowing the frustration to get the better of her for the first time since she’d been taken to the hospital.

  When Chloe didn’t say anything, Layla continued, “I heal bullet wounds in days now. Days. I can manipulate metal, and apparently, when this is all done, I’ll be stronger, faster, have better senses. I’ll be on the big screen soon alongside Spider-Man. The Incredible Terrified Woman.”

  Chloe hugged her friend. “I’m sorry.”

  “You didn’t do this to me, I did. And one of the spirits killed something while she was in control of me. Two somethings, in fact. Blood elves, she called them.”

  Chloe’s expression changed to one of shock and fear. “Blood elf? Are you sure?”

  Layla nodded tentatively. “Yes. Blood elf. Creepy, purple humanoids. They seemed to enjoy the idea of hurting me. I had to seriously hurt one to get out of my cell. When I bonded with the spirits, one of them had to take control of me, and she killed two of them.”

  “Did you tell Diana or Tommy this?”

  Layla shook her head. “I didn’t think they’d believe me at first, and I figured they had everything they needed. Blood elves. I’ve never seen anything like them. Gyda—the spirit in my head—she hates them, though, says they destroyed her home. She’s from a place called . . .”

  “Nidavellir,” Chloe finished.

  “That’s right. Is that something your mom told you about?”

  Pure fear had taken over Chloe, and she looked back at the door. “Stay here. You need to tell Diana everything about the blood elves. I need to go make a call. I’ll be back later—just please tell her everything.”

  Layla nodded, confused about why her friend was now terrified, but she wasn’t given a chance to ask as Chloe fled the room, just as Harry was entering with the chips.

  The smell of pie and chips was usually enough to get Layla’s mouth watering, but she ignored it, more concerned about her friend.

  Harry placed the chips on the remains of the table and glanced over at the door. “She was in a hurry.”

  “Yes, and I don’t know why, but something strange is happening.”

  Diana entered the room a moment later, a similar expression of concern on her face. “Harry, can you gi
ve Layla and me a few minutes? You can take your chips to the room down the corridor.”

  Harry looked to Layla for confirmation.

  “It’s okay. You can come back in a minute,” Layla assured him.

  Diana waited to be alone with Layla before speaking. “Blood elves too?”

  Layla nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I didn’t know how to. It felt weird just telling Chloe about the ogre. There was so much happening—I wasn’t sure who’d believe me. Chloe trusts you and Tommy, so I guess that’s enough for me.” She didn’t want to ask what Chloe was hiding from her; she didn’t want to force Diana to lie and thus end up resenting her for it.

  “It’s okay. After what you went through, I wouldn’t trust anyone either. I just need to make sure that Tommy gets the information. How many elves and ogres?”

  “One ogre. His name was Brako. I only saw a few elves, so I have no idea how many remain.”

  “Brako?” Diana’s question was filled with the hope that she’d heard wrong.

  “Who is he?”

  Diana sighed. “He’s an exceptionally dangerous individual, and someone we really don’t want to meet again.”

  “Again? You’ve met him before?”

  Diana’s nod was small. “We crossed paths a few years ago. Both of us escaped that meeting with our lives, but both of us were hurt. Ogres are incredibly strong and fast. And on top of that, they like causing mayhem.”

  “He’s the one who killed my friends at the depot. He reveled in it.”

  “He’s vicious, even for an ogre. There aren’t many of his kind left, so it’s probably for the best that it stays that way.”

  “And the blood elves?”

  “They’re a long story, for another time. I need to go speak to Tommy, and if I start telling you about the elves, I’ll be here all day. Just know that they’re incredibly dangerous. Even more so than the ogre, I think. They’re not as strong, or fast, but they fight in groups, like rats. Where there’s one, there’s usually a dozen more waiting to stab you in the back.”

  “One of the spirits inside of me killed two of them.”

  “They are monsters, and with or without the spirits, you had no choice. Doesn’t mean you’re becoming a killer, but it might not be the last time you’re put in a situation where you have to fight for your life.”