“Pieces.” She answered, “Like images, names, faces but with no connections… but they are disjointed like someone had shuffled all the pieces from a jigsaw puzzle. Whatever family I had; gone. Whatever happiness I felt; vanished. The only memories that I have left… are things I wish I could forget. It’s not important anyway.”
“Do you remember a boy named Elliot?”
“Elliot? No.”
“Do you remember your human name?”
“No.”
“What if I told you it was Melissa, does that jog any memories?”
“I could say you’re name is Pinocchio, still doesn’t mean anything.”
“Then who named you Betrayal?” I leaned forward and turned the noise down on the radio.
“No one did, it was the first thing that came to mind like it had been imprinted on me. Now my turn, who were those others with you, you called them Reapers?”
“They are friends of mine, actually the male Reaper used to know you when you were alive. He is the one who has been trying to save you.”
“Hmm…” She pursed her lips unimpressed. “So why now? I was in there for god knows how long, what took him so long?”
“Well, he had tried a couple of times before hand on his own but it’s really dangerous. I guess he just needed some back up, plus I need your help with my brother.”
“So really, if it wasn’t for you wanting to save your brother I would still be stuck in there?” She held a tone with me that felt bitter and full of resentment.
“It’s hard to say” I muttered. She quickly turned the music back up, indicating our conversation was over. At some point during our silent filled ride I must’ve fallen asleep. The seat belt had become a perfect head rest and the jostling of the car was surprisingly calming, as if I were some child being rocked to sleep. Suppose then it was the absence of the rocking vehicle that stirred my eyes awake, and had me squinting up over at Betrayal. Except her seat was empty and the car had been park on the side of a dim road. It was still really dark, dark enough that I couldn’t see far down the street and beyond the bush beside us. A little panicked I had just been ditched, I kicked open the car door and desperately scrambled out.
I felt the air fill my lungs in a deep inhale and it was cold and crisp. I was about to start shouting when the sound of someone panting caught my attention. The noise was coming from within the woods alongside the sharp crack of lightning tearing through the trees. I searched into the dense bush to find Betrayal standing outside the comfort of her Host, who was now cradled in a corner with her arms covering over her head. As I stepped into the open space I caught sight of a hot blue missile being fired into the trees, cutting through the wood and stripping it of its branches.
“Betrayal? What the hell is going on?”
Betrayal was a vibrant light amongst the dense shrubs; her powerful eye illuminated the dirt and grass surrounding her even under the dark shadow mask.
“Just practising.”
“Practising for what?”
“Don’t get snappy with me; you’re the one who promised to teach me how to be strong.” She lifted her hand, drew it back behind her head before lurching it forward firing a basketball sized comet into the opposing trees. The magic had made the branches explode and fly off in different directions. A tick in my right eye pinched me and I raised my hand to soothe over my skin. Every time Betrayal summoned power, the scent of death became denser from her human host.
“I don’t think you should do that.” I warned her as Betrayal scoffed at me from behind her shoulder.
“And why not?”
“You’re killing your host.” The woman remained cradled in the back corner, obviously distraught about having adopted Betrayal into her life.
“I know.” Betrayal spoke without a hint of concern, before returning back to her practising stance.
“I don’t understand, before you appeared dead set on keeping her alive for as long as possible. Why now the sudden change in attitude?”
“It’s not that I don’t care, I don’t want her to die believe me. But I need to practise my magic which right now is more important to me than her life.” The woman cowered again at Betrayal’s voice.
“You can’t be serious?” I felt myself cringe at this new sinister side of Betrayal. It had the knot in my stomach tightening.
“I hope you’re not having second thoughts about having freed me.” Betrayal lowered her hands and turned her body to face me. The amount of power that was radiating off her skin had her hair bouncing behind her shoulders and her skin glowing like a stone from the moon. “Don’t worry, I will not kill her. In the morning I’ll get a new Host. A younger one and someone who won’t talk all the time. I’ll call it a night for now, let’s get going.”
Betrayal erupted into a cloud of moving ash that swiftly looped around the air before diving into the eyes and mouth of Claire Drummond. Claire cringed away at first but once Betrayal nestled in she dropped her arms and rose to a stand. She started to dig into her pockets for her car keys as I stepped up with my palm out. “I’ll drive this time.”
***
Without further distraction we were back on the road again heading towards Whitehaven. I had felt well rested as Claire’s host now took her shift to sleep, her eyes red and blood shot from her crying and stress. At least she looked peaceful as she slept, almost like Betrayal was no longer there invading her thoughts. As I entered a round-a-bout the day was easing into dawn; we were passing through a small town of Cheshire that was only a couple of towns away from Whitehaven. I felt my chest tightened in my anxiety of reaching home. In my daze the wheel was snatched out of my grip as I felt my body being shoved to the side, hastily hitting my face against the window. The car jolted off course before quickly straightened up again, taking the third exit instead of the first as I was intending. Claire was reaching over the steering wheel, wide eyed as if she had seen a UFO orbiting the town.
“What the hell Betrayal, that’s really dangerous!”
“Not like you can die or anything.” She bickered.
“Not us, you could’ve hit someone, your host could’ve died.”
“Just shss for a moment.” I snatched at the steering wheel to wrestle her grip off, but she was quick hit with her purse.
“Are you insane? Cut it out!” I made another attempt at grabbing for control just as the car threw us roughly along uneven ground.
We drove off the road and into a fence outlining some tennis courts, the front of the car hitting the ditch with a loud crunch. At our speed we tore through the metal wiring before spinning out across the ontecar to an abrupt stop. Betrayal already had her seatbelt thrown off her as she kicked open the car door and made a dashing escape. Crap! She is really is trying to ditch me. I grabbed for her clothes as Claire abruptly spun on her heel, bent her arm back and threw her purse at me. At the short range she caught me right in the nose.
The pain was sharp and pulsating, blinding me underneath tears as I stumbled to a stop to cup my face. Trying to blink my vision clear, I pulled the hood over my head and pursued her silently and quickly. As soon as I got in front I pulled the hood off, trying to startle Claire into halting yet Betrayal’s spiritual presence flared through Claire’s eyes before an explosive heat threw me from my feet and into the air. Just as I landed another series of hot blasts hit into the centre of my back, the force pushing my body into a tumble. I remained on the ground for a few moments, collecting my breath and squeezing my eyes shut to stop the ache in my back from pounding.
With one eye open, I caught the fleeing glimpse of Claire’s back as she continued racing across the road. When I finally tracked her down again, Claire had been standing in front of a white panel house with a line of garden roses bedded along the foot path leading to the front door. Her shoulders were slack and her face softened, her eyes glistening as if she was stepping into an old dream.
“This is my house.” She whispered as I got to her side. I was still annoyed at her but
the rage subsided down at her mourning smile. “I had thought I would never see it again, or my parents.”
“Do you want to see them? Is that why you acted like that?”
Claire inhaled deeply before dropping her head, “They wouldn’t recognise me like this.”
“How much do you remember of your parents?” I gingerly touched my nose; the ache now dwindled down to gentle tingling.
“Nothing, just a feeling that I was loved once. Sorry for crashing the car, I kind of just acted on impulse there. I wasn’t sure if this was Claire’s memory or my own; I just had to take a chance.”
“Next time a simple request could make things like this run a lot smoother.”
“I had just presumed you wanted to get back to your brother without any of these delays.”
“I still would like to get moving if we can, every minute the sun is up only leaves him in danger of being caught by Hunters.”
“Hunters? What are Hunters?”
I dropped my hand, remembering Betrayal had been caught up in the Realm of Lust ever since death; she would never have had to interact with Hunters before. “Angelic spirits designed specifically to hunt banished, they hunt using the sun light so stay hidden during the day and they shouldn’t be able to see you. Hunters are your greatest threat, even more so than Reapers.”
“I see, so Reapers collect the dead, Hunters hunt the banished…How would I know if I saw one?”
“They all have distinct features; the biggest give away is their fiery red hair. I can guarantee you, if they spot you you’re toast.”
“Humph! They sound pleasant; fine but before we leave I just want to do one last thing.”
She turned and made her way briskly down the urban streets once again. A few blocks away from her house she turned down another footpath leading towards a dark coloured brick house at least three stories high. I stayed back at the entrance next to a tree, watching as Claire got to the front door before pressing the doorbell. A small spark inside my chest had me worried that she was about to blurt everything to whoever was inside. But who in their right mind would ever believe her? Even I sometimes doubt that this is true and it was just some an elaborate dream. The door opened to an older woman and Betrayal calmly requested to see a girl inside by the name of Lucy. A little suspicious, the woman called out into the hallway and waited for her daughter to get the door before stepping away. Lucy was a pretty girl with long blonde hair, straight and tied up in a messy bun. She tensed her face when seeing Claire waiting for her at the door, obviously confused by the stranger.
With brief words exchanged Claire went rigid before expelling Betrayal’s smoky body from out of her chest. Lucy flinched at the sight of the smoke gushing out of Claire’s lungs but before she had the chance to flee Betrayal drove herself into Lucy’s body. I bolted upright at the unexpected exchange of Hosts and had to shake my head twice, making sure I wasn’t seeing things. As before with Claire, Lucy shivered visibly before rubbing down her arms. Claire stood unresponsive at the front door for a while before blinking slowly out of her trance, glancing around herself like she had just been woken from a dream.
“Can I help you?” Lucy asked again, where Claire numbly shook her head and turned to leave. She passed me without glancing up once, scratching at her forehead as she tried to unravel how she even got to Cheshire in the first place. Once out of sight I quickly jogged up to Lucy’s door.
“Can you please just let me what you are planning on doing?”
“Excuse me, do I know you?” Lucy tilted her head in questions to me; she was probably reaching my age if not younger.
“I thought I saw…never mind my mistake.” The girl shivered again and clutched at her chest. Betrayal’s presence started to show its way through Lucy by the way she held her posture; it was too straight and rigid to be considered normal.
“Okay, we can leave now.” She weaved past me and down the footpath into the main street still dressed in her pyjamas.
“What about Claire?”
“I cleared her memory; she has no memory of me or anything.”
“Did you choose this host for any special reason? Friend of yours?” I asked while keeping in step with her.
“She isn’t exactly what you call friend material.”
“Then why her?”
Betrayal searched the skies as a cruel smile crept along her face. Despite Lucy’s soft baby blue eyes and golden hair, her perfect features warped to mimic the twisted corruption that was the essence of a banished spirit. Between clenched teeth Betrayal answered, “Revenge.”
Chapter Nineteen:
Betrayal now set with her new host Lucy was a bit less resistant to me. Losing the car and a driver old enough to have a drivers licence, we were forced to return back to train transportation. Whitehaven being within the next few suburbs over, we should get there at least by lunch time.
“How does it work?” I had asked Betrayal as we sat on the wooden bench. It was near empty on our side of the platform, everyone else piling up trying to get closer towards the city for work.
“The connection? Simple, we grab on and don’t let go. Some refer to us as parasites.”
“How do you control people then? Like strings on a puppet? Or is it like a keyboard?”
Betrayal smiled slyly, “Now that’s a banished secret.”
I raised my brows at her, “Okay… then how do you explain to them about what you are? I mean, you must speak with them.”
“I don’t.” Betrayal glanced over at me, “Why should I? They do as I tell them, nothing more.”
“Well, I mean you ARE practically living with them…. doesn’t matter.” We continued to sit in silence for a while longer. The train wasn’t scheduled for another 15 minutes, and that was at least 15 minutes ago. The tracks on the opposite side were a constant distraction with the trains passing through ever 2 – 5 minutes, which was a nice change from the silence that washed over us. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Betrayal pursing her lips and her subtle glances as she leaned forward itching to speak.
“How do you intend on saving us?” She finally asked and I felt my eyes shift back onto my shoes. I have no idea. It was a question I had been mauling over for a while now, but I couldn’t see past my own limitations. What could I do? How could I save someone from chains when I was locked in chains as well?
“I’ll think of a plan.” I replied shortly.
I felt hot underneath my clothes, escorting a fugitive who I personally helped escape from her cell was making my skin break out in sweats; especially seeing Lucy sitting so comfortably underneath the building sun rays like she hadn’t a care in the world. She got a few weird glances, but I just noted it down to her strange attire.
“You’re a good guy, aren’t you?”
I wasn’t sure how to answer, and seriously, I don’t think she was expecting one. She looked over me thoughtfully once, smiled a weak smile before cupping her chin into her palm and staring off into the distance.
***
Getting off the train and finally stepping foot in the small town of Whitehaven we moved quickly towards my old house. Once I reached outside I encouraged Betrayal to roam around and try to see if she could sense Evan among the rafters. She took a few laps around the house, admiring photo frames and touching the fabric of the curtains by the windows.
“He was here…” She suddenly announced, “But not anymore.”
“What? Where is he now?” I had been following her footsteps like an obedient dog as she wondered into every room. Now she had stopped by the kitchen, pulling aside the curtain to let the sunlight spill inside.
“I’m not sure but look,” I followed her gaze onto a small rock lying in the middle of the lawn, its brown matted fur coat a dead giveaway.
“He had been attached to the cat?”
“That would not have lasted him long, especially such an old animal. A few days tops.”
“Can you see where he went?” Betrayal shook her head no. Frustrated I
shoved off the counter and started to pace the kitchen.
“What do we do now?”
“We look for him till we find him.” I could hear my voice bite into my words viciously, a part of me blaming all this on Betrayal’s constant delays. If she hadn’t stopped driving to practise her magic I could have been here last night, if she didn’t force the car off the road and cost us more wasted hours I could’ve seen where Evan attached to next. Suppose she could feel the tension in my back as she lingered by the sink, eyes strong against my face and her lips tightly closed.
“Are you coming or what?” I asked loudly. Her silence only fuelled the fire within me. “I said let’s go!” Her body tightened. I was mad. Really mad. Feeling my hands clench to fists I forcibly turned my body and stormed out of the kitchen, driving myself away before I did something I would surely regret.
“Wait-” Lucy’s voice leapt up, and I knew it was Lucy and not Betrayal by her softened tone. “Please wait, I need your help.”
I turned around slowly, my suspicion still high, “Lucy?”
“Can you get rid of her? Can you release me?” Lucy reached out desperately pleading. “I don’t want this, I just want to go home but she won’t let me; she can hear everything and see everything I do and say. Please, please you don’t know what it’s like; you have to get her off me.” It wasn’t long till tears broke from her blue eyes and her face bloomed red.
“Whoa calm down Lucy.” I shuffled out of her reach, knowing I couldn’t allow anyone to touch me. If someone touched me, the Reaper’s mask would fall and they would be hunted to be destroyed. She was crying hysterically and as I watched I noticed that Betrayal didn’t surface and restore Lucy back into composure. “Is she with you now?”
“I don’t know… I don’t think so.”
“Is she hurting you?” My voice was barely a whisper.
Lucy sobbed loudly through her cupped hands, “She said she’s going to kill me.”
My Demonic Ghost Book two (The Reapers 2) Page 17
