“Teresa enough” Elliot barked by which Teresa huffed loudly. “Melissa, please we just want to help you.”
“I am not Melissa.” She grumbled before glancing down at her scarred wrists, the dashed scratches clear signs of a cutter. Is that how she had died?
“What do you call yourself?” I asked, glancing away from her wounds.
“Betrayal.”
“That sounds trust worthy” Teresa snorted sarcastically but both Elliot and I ignored her.
“Betrayal, can you stand?” I shifted towards her and offered my hand out. Elliot was immersed in studying her face, his lack jaw giving away his shock and bewilderment. He had found her, after so many attempts of wondering into the Sin world; finally his beloved was going to be free.
“I … want to leave here.” Betrayal whispered with a small nod of her head, “Take me with you.”
As we scooped her under our arms and hauled her to her feet, the familiar touch of weighted smoke shifted through us and stroked the bare skin along my back under my clothes. I shivered at the personal invasion; despite the ticklish jolt that moved through me I shifted uncomfortably.
Lust stepped out of the steam and opened her arms wide, most of her body hidden behind the mist except for the highlight pink beaming through. All her captive spirits shivered at her presence, some even groaned and tried to reach out to touch her. Betrayal buried her head deeper into my neck as I could feel her exhausted body cringe to move away.
“Leaving so soon?”
I shifted Betrayal onto my shoulder and secured my grip on her, “We are taking her with us.”
“So, you’re into the naughty school girl type. She is one of my finest possessions, a beautiful young girl who can lure other tempting boys with just a tilt of her smile. She is a strong spirit, been fighting my seduction on her ever since she was spread out on my bed for me. I cannot let you take her.”
“Then how about we trade?” Elliot offered.
“And what do you wish to trade her for?”
Elliot perused his lips in deliberation, “Trade her for a Reaper.”
“Do you wish to take your lovers spot? What a noble gesture, such a princely trait. Do you think you’re better than me, do not mistake love for lust you dim boy. I already own you!”
She scrunched her delicate face up and lurched forward, snaring Elliot around his cheeks and forcing his eyes upwards. She moved fast that he dropped his hold on Betrayal as Lust had him pinned underneath her, and I could see her eyes tearing through his resistance like a rat chewing through a wire.
“Stop it!” Teresa shouted and tried to forcibly shove Lust away from Elliot, whose facial expression was slack in his surrendering state.
“Poor little kitten. So complicated,” Lust redirected her gaze before Teresa had the chance to even lift her arms to touch her, now securing her eyes into Teresa’s face. Elliot started to blink back into consciousness, but I could see by how his eyes fluttered that he was still dazed. Lust’s face was morphing, her eyes tightening and her jaw becoming more defined as she reconstructed Elliot’s features like a perfect mirror. Teresa gulped with embarrassment, flicking her attention between the real Elliot and Lust’s copy of him hoping he wouldn’t notice.
“So close yet so far, how does it feel to be ignored and unloved? To have him chase after the pathetic tail of a common banished? I can give you everything you want, that you deserve. I can fulfil your every desire and have you scream out my name in ecstasy-”
“No!” Teresa threw her arms backwards in her shout, her fingers spread and her palms facing the open sky above that her cloak looked like wings. “Get away from me demon!”
The crack of lightning tore the sombre essence of Lust’s world apart, tearing through the bleak pink moonlight like ripping through a plastic bag. Through the splintered rip the large body of giant bird erupted from the skies. The demonic Vulture nosedived towards Lust; the internal green glow of its power illuminated the entire globe with its presence. As soon as the vulture took a swoop, a small army of men on leases bounded towards Teresa from within the dark perimeter. They took her by her arms and snared her cloak, despite the Vulture peaking and flocking them they kept attacking as if they were trying to tear Teresa limb from limb. She was screaming in her fight as Elliot leapt forwards, trying to stop the ghouls from beating Teresa into a pulp. I turned to Lust who was biting into her smile and stepping back, fingering her lower lip she like she tasted something sweet.
Desperately, I leapt into the chaotic pit that was surrounding Teresa but it was almost like trying to tear a pack of starving wolves away from a piece of meat. I had let Betrayal drop from my hands that she crumbled to her knees before struggling back to a stand. I had caught sight of her out of the corner of my eye, and how she panted with a heavy breath that curled her lips and tightened her one good eye into a ferocious glare. In an amazing moment that none of us was expecting, Betrayal lunged forward and tore through the smoke of Lust’s body. At her unexpected attack the brawling men withdrew from Teresa long enough for Elliot to grab her and haul her to her feet, shielding the distraught Reaper behind his back protectively.
“I thought you don’t keep spirits who are unwilling.” I called up to Lust as she reformed among the mist on the other side of Betrayal. The young banished ghost collapsed soon after, fatigue still taking its toll on her. Lust moved as if stunned into silence, the defiant attack of one of her ‘toys’ shook her world to the core. Without wanting to respond to me, Lust spun on the ball of her heel so her back was addressing us.
“That’s fine my pet, you may borrow her for now but you’ll be back; you always come back for more.”
I rushed to Betrayal and scooped her back into my arms, by which she clung to me like a cat trying to get out of a tub of water.
“Get…me…away…from….here.” She kept whispering into my ear lobe and I nodded my head in reply to her, indicating at Elliot to follow. He hauled Teresa up as her vulture remained protectively by her side, limping from its battle wounds and snapping viciously at them to stay back. We rushed as fast as we could and summoned Mother, where she waited for us at the edge of the dome. We fell into Mother’s grey silhouette before tumbling out onto our backs drunk with exhaustion.
Chapter Seventeen:
I groaned and sat myself back up, rubbing at the aching pain that drummed along my spine and neck joints. Betrayal dropped her arms from around my neck before shuffling off of me.
“I’m … free?” She was trembling badly, I wasn’t sure if it was due to massive shock or perhaps her sudden freedom from Lust’s clutch after being imprisoned for so long that had her a unsteady mess. I rubbed at her shoulders comfortingly, before inspecting her scarred eye.
“Does it hurt?”
“Not anymore.” Betrayal coughed into a smile. She had a beautiful smile that I couldn’t help myself but grin back.
“Teresa can you hear me? Teresa?” Elliot crawled over towards Teresa before lifting her head. She was badly injured, much worse than both Elliot and my own injuries put together. She was unconscious that her head rolled limp in his cradled grip.
“Crap – Jordon, I need to get Teresa back. Please help Melissa find a host then meet me back at my place.” He instructed with a longing look at Betrayal before vaporising beneath the shadow’s skin. I took Betrayal by the elbow but she lifted her hand to stop me. For a moment she just sat there, staring down at her feet where her high heels were tied around her ankles, a strange combination with her silk nightie dress.
“Why me?” She finally asked after a two minute pause.
“Because you are loved by a loyal, brave Reaper.” I replied with a smile, “And I need your help to save someone that is dear to me.”
“Another Banished?” Betrayal asked.
“Yes, a young boy. My brother in fact, his name is Evan and I must protect him.”
In gentle curiousity Raix uncurled from the shadows and sniffed the air around her, loosening an unsettled growl from his throat as B
etrayal shuffled backwards.
“No, no it’s okay. He won’t hurt you,” I reassured while glancing my hand on Raix’s snout, redirecting his gaze down.
“A monster?” She whispered and I shrugged unknowingly.
“A goon they are called. His name is Raix, I guess you can he is me.” I stroked Raix’s neck as he let out an annoyed snort before stepping back into the shadows.
“What is your name?” She pinned a black strand of wispy hair behind her ear lobe, revealing the prominent pink blush that coloured her iris.
“I’m Jordon.” She gently leant towards me and pressed her ear into my chest, before taking in a deep breath.
“I can hear your heart beating.” I didn’t know what to say to that as Betrayal lifted her face so her eye moved onto my silver hues. “I had thought Reapers were heartless creatures.”
“We only do what we are told, unfortunately.” I moved her head away from my chest, “There’s a world out there ruled by spirits and creatures that I am still trying to understand.”
“I want to know what to expect as well, will you teach me?”
“In due time.” I moved to hoist her up as Betrayal quickly cupped her hand against my cheek, and in the moment she laid her hand down my heart fluttered with hesitation.
“I will not be taken back to that world. Promise me you’ll teach me.” With her eye large and glistening with shredded hope, how could I not promise her security even though I couldn’t even protect myself?
“I will teach you to be strong, so that you can protect all of us.”
I tore a strand of cloth from the sleeves of my cloak before gently securing it around Betrayal’s injured eye. As the magic moved over her, the black material shifted to the colour of dull beige. Her parted lips stretched into a smile as she nodded. I took her by the elbow again before teleporting us back towards the streets outside Elliot’s apartment. I took her to the main street where the fluster of the crowds was like an open banquet for Banished. As soon as she was pulled back onto the earth plane, something within the calm spirit switched and a feral instinct took over her. It felt wrong to set her loose like some rabid dog, watching as her twisted smoke form dove into the mouth and eyes of a passing woman. The woman shivered before running her arms up her sides, trying to rub warmth back into her body.
Her friend walking beside her made a light comment, “You know what they say about the shivers; someone must be walking over your grave.” The woman who was in her thirties smiled wearily at her friend, before touching her forehead to check her temperature.
“I’m not feeling all that great, think I’ll just head home.”
“What? Are you sure? This is kind of sudden. We’re nearly there, maybe you’re just dehydrated.”
“Sorry, tell the others I’ll catch up with them next week. I really think I just need to sleep.”
“Do you need me to walk you home? Or call you a cab?”
“No, no, I’ll just get Robbie to pick me up around the corner. Don’t worry, I just need rest.” They then exchanged kisses on the sides of the cheeks before waving on their departure. The friend hurried onwards only looking back twice. The woman that carried Betrayal winked at me before indicating with her head for me to follow. As I approached the human host, her eyes glistened with unfocused screens and her back seemed too straight, like some alien was invading her body. Alien wasn’t too far from banished I suppose. Once we were clear from the crowd the woman shot her hand out and stopped me.
“Show me where to go.” She said.
“Betrayal?”
The woman nodded gently, trying to hide her smirk, “Banished necessity. I can control her thoughts as long as I am attached to her. When I am done, I can wipe her memory so she’ll have no idea that I was even here.”
“I see…” I tried to catch if there was any strange scents that may have lifted off her, due to the fact she carried a ghost, but the woman didn’t seem be any different from the other wondering people. “Okay, let’s get back to Elliot’s quickly. This way.”
I lead Betrayal and her human host into Elliot’s apartment. Elliot was tending to Teresa, who was swollen all over her face with deepening bruises pressing against her skin.
“Is she okay?” I questioned.
“I’m not sure,” Elliot said as he stood up.
I moved to Teresa’s side before kneeling down to get a better look at her, her lower lip was busted and both eyes swollen under a dark taint. Apart from the numerous gashes and her broken nose still out of place, it didn’t seem fatal. It just looked really bad.
“You never, ever bring your Goon into the realms with you. Never. Teresa knew that,” He was pacing and biting into his finger nails.
“Is that why they attacked her?”
“Yes. You are only half a spirit, if you bring your other half you’re basically setting yourself out on a silver platter for them to take. Even with the Lanterns holding a piece, it’s enough for the Sin to capture us. I don’t understand what she was thinking.”
“I do.” I sighed as Elliot scrunched his face at me confused, sometimes it was hard to believe that he was so dim witted to not see the signs, “She was trying to protect you.”
“But she hates me.” Elliot rebutted as I raised my brows at him.
“Does she?” I scoffed, “A woman who hated a man would go into the Sin world twice to make sure that he is okay?”
“Twice?”
“Meet my accomplice” I offered my arm out to Teresa with a sarcastic gesture. “Are you telling me all this time you had no idea?”
Elliot looked away awkwardly. “How could I? She was always so bitter. It wasn’t till you showed up that she even tried talking to me again.”
“I’m a people’s person.” Behind us there was an abrupt loud bang as Betrayal’s host slammed both her palms against the kitchen bench, causing all of us to jolt in our surprise.
“Is that Melissa’s host?” Elliot rushed to her side. Her host cringed away from Elliot before clenching her teeth and scrunching her face up as if she was swallowing lemons.
“Get out of my head!” Her high voice screamed and bounced across the walls. Almost as if becoming a completely different person she then straightened her posture and calmly brushed down her pale blue petticoat like she hadn’t spoken a word.
“Is everything alright?” Elliot asked.
“She knows I’m here.” The woman answered; her hues shiny again with the watery look of beetle eyes.
“Does she know what’s going on?” I asked just as weary. Betrayal nodded her head grinning.
“Yes, she can see everything.” The woman tightened her shoulders to her neck, clenched her hands into white fists before attempting to strike the table bench again. As if being pulled back by reins her body only convulsed on the spot before untightening her muscles once more. “I am not use to controlling her yet, sometimes I lose my grip.”
I turned to Elliot, “I have to take her to Whitehaven; I need to find my brother.”
Elliot drummed his fingers against his chin, torn between taking care of Teresa or following the girl of his dreams. I could see it in his hesitation, his heart ached at being so close but unable to take Betrayal into his arms once more. She was a stranger to him, and he felt sick as the realization of it filled his mind.
“Alright, I’ll look after Teresa, you and Melissa can look for your brother. I’ll join you as soon as I can.” He gave Betrayal’s host a longing look as we turned to leave. I covered my head with my hood and took Betrayal by her elbow, but as soon as I touched her my hand fell through her body.
“Looks like we’re walking.” Her host shrugged, “You can’t take me into the spirit world in this form.”
“Can you let her go so I can transport us? I really don’t want to waste time…”
“Can you chop off your arms and legs so I can stuff you in a suitcase? No? Well I’m not letting my Host go. You may have saved me from that place but I’m not going to let my guard down ar
ound you.” She insisted with her arms crossed defiantly.
“It’ll take us days to get back to Whitehaven by train.”
“Then we drive.” Betrayal picked into her Host’s purse before dangling a set of car keys in my face. Next thing I knew Betrayal was leading us down side streets and towards a small townhouse near the edge of town. It was a common townhouse standing in a line of two other identical houses on either wing.
“Here.” She pointed the remote at a silver Holden parked up the driveway, “I can see into her thoughts, it’s like I’m pulling at strings and her memories are popping up in front of my eyes.”
“That’s very handy.” I admitted.
“Also can be very dangerous. Imagine if a corrupted banished jumped into the mind of a person and used their knowledge and connections to cause great harm?”
“Are you a corrupted spirit?” I asked with my eyebrow raised.
“Would you trust a demon even if it told you it was trust worthy?”
“You’re not a demon.”
“Sometimes I have my doubts.” She stepped into the driver’s seat before leaning over to open the passenger door for me. “Jump in; we have a long drive ahead of us.”
Chapter Eighteen:
The summer night was blissfully quiet, the roads were empty and the stars broke the dark sheet above our heads in dotted lights. The radio helped ease the silence but I couldn’t help but feel my muscles tighten in her presence. I had glanced at the Host’s drivers licence to find out her name was Claire Drummond. My thoughts instantly moved back onto Mark and how the Banished planted a fatal bug in his body, wondering if by Betrayal’s presence had I just condemned another soul to their deathbed?
“Did you want to ask me something?” Betrayal’s voice shattered my daydreaming.
“Sorry?”
“You’ve been staring at me for the past hour, what is it?”
I moved my hand to my mouth, considering my words. I cannot start believing that Banished are terrible spirits set out on poisoning others, not if Evan had been condemned to become one. There must be some strand left of their humanity within them. “How much do you remember of your human life?”
My Demonic Ghost Book two (The Reapers 2) Page 16
