Before Miira could piece the puzzle together, Gargoyle quickened his speed and had my cloak in his white ringed grip. Down the carpet we marched as if followed by danger, till we finally stopped once the Throne doors clicked to a close behind us.
“Please forgive me Miira…”Gargoyle whispered before directing me, “I have saved your life, now we are even. Do not approach me again.” Gargoyle was still pale and his usual steady hands were trembling with shock.
“Are you going to take me there? To Greed?”
“Yes…”
The last glimpse of colour I saw were his eyes turning towards me before a wave of white took out my knees and pinned me to the ground. For a long time, I could feel my body sprawled out across the floor, paralysed into submission. In a cold shiver I could almost feel them take Raix away from me, hollowing out his wolf body so he couldn’t chase me into the Realms. Without any possibility to contact the other Reapers, there was nothing I could do but try to keep my sanity. Any luck, Gargoyle would place me away from the Sin but I doubt that he would extend me any more favours.
And thus my torment began…
Chapter Twenty-Three:
In the beginning there was no light, no sound, and no touch just a strange darkness concealing me away from the world. Sitting with nothing but my own thoughts the minutes that passed felt like hours and the hours felt like days.
Time moved slowly. I waited and waited and waited for something, anything to show its self in this endless abyss. The madness that was uncurling underneath my skin and itching at the back of my eyes was worrying me; the depressing loneliness had my heart in a panic. I did everything that I could to prevent myself from curdling under the endless boredom; I would think back over all my memories and replay them in my head like a movie. I would create complicated mathematic equations and try to solve them, I planned and replanned everything I would do the moment I was free from this place. If I was to be freed. Most of my strength went into my body, trying to wiggle my fingers and toes but they were clamped into place by some skin tight prison. With each exhaling breath I felt the warmth hit the barrier and rebound back onto my face. It was almost like I was in a body suit from head to toe. Most of my time, I just listened to my own heart beat as it slowed more and more. My voice was coarse with my shouting that my lips cracked and bled, till finally something pinched at the side of my vision and sprung upwards a flicker of light.
A creature peered from above, allowing a crack of light to break my cage and blind me. In my haze I couldn’t see beyond an aching white, till after a few minutes of adjusting, I could see beyond the shell that secured me. I was underground in a type of cave or pit, there were giant web sacs plotted all over the ceilings and walls. They were motionless.
The thing that pried open the sac scurried away on all eight legs and immediately I jolted in fright. The creature had the figure of a spider, dirty brown coat over its body and eight enormous legs moved like a distorted wave as it walked. Don’t look at it. Don’t look at it. It glanced at me from across the hall, four eyes of golden magma burrowed into my head. The hypnotising eyes had my skin crawling with shivers. It looked at me with its bewitching stare as I could feel myself swell underneath its corruption.
No! No! I tore my eyes downwards hastily, breaking the connection. The spider shifted again around the room till it came right up to my face. I presumed that I was also in web sac, dangling by a thick branch from the ceiling rocks just like the others surrounding me. My voice was shaking in my terror; I kept my eyes firmly close, begging for it to go away. A touch of exhaling breath brushed my nose, the smell of the creature leaning in was foul as it nudged its coarse skin against my forehead. I tried to tilt away but I barely moved. It was so close that I could feel the glisten curve of its fangs press against me. Don’t look at it. Don’t look at it. Till abruptly the light snapped to a close and the cocoon was sealed back into darkness. My breath rushed out of me in shaky pants.
Sleep didn’t come easy and it didn’t come often. On numerous occasions the Spider Greed returned to me, tearing down the flap to the cacoon in hopes to perhaps drain me. Every time I fought its insistence, burrowing my head into my chest and clenching my eyes shut. It got harder and harder to fight it though, and without even realising it, the corruption of Greed was already sinking into my mind through my pores like sweat. Every time it visited me my lower lip would tremble.
How many centuries had passed since my imprisonment? I had even started to forget my own name. What was my purpose? Every breath was painful, every tear that I cried felt numb against my deadening body. The light tore above my head again but I had no energy to hide my face. The chance to feel something beyond the darkness had my eyes fluttering open and my neck craning upwards like a flower to the sun. With my will power defeated I was dragged from the sac and dumped onto the ground below. Spasms of nerves felt like ants under my skin, my numb body finally waking up. Across rocks I was dragged as blurred noises barked above my head. I didn’t care, couldn’t care. I let it have its meal.
***
A chill of wind touched my neck and turned me onto my side. I was being carried through different rooms before gently placed on top of pillows. The suffocating pressure that had haunted me had been lifted that I rested untormented.
I couldn’t see beyond my own confusion so I just rolled my head to the side and slept. A few times I woke, again without any recognition to the things around me. A damp cloth touched my cheek before shifting onto my forehead. Through the haze all I could see was one bright pink eye watching over me.
“We… got… you… we…got… you…” The words were muffled, broken and joyously human. Taking baby steps, bit by bit I stayed consciousness a little bit longer between each sleep. Bit by bit the people and detail around me started to make sense. At last, I found the strength to sit myself up. A strange man was sitting with me, tending to the sheets when he perked up at my awakening.
“You’re awake…” he rushed to my side and gently touched my forehead with the cloth again. Beyond his brown eyes, I could see Betrayal. Raix was lying on the ground next to me, and as I stirred the giant wolf howled in celebration and wagged his tail.
“Betrayal? B-But how?” Without dropping his smile, Betrayal moved out of the body of her host and vaporized next to my bed side. Her host stumbled backwards before slumping onto the floor in an exhausted squat.
She didn’t say anything as her ghostly fingers moved under my chin and across my cheeks. Her deep blush eye filled my chest with warmth, finally stomping on the darkness that infested inside my soul. It was bliss to just sit here, looking up at her, watching as she stared down back at me smiling. With my heart fluttering, I could really understand how Elliot would fall in love with such a girl.
“You look like hell.” She laughed, “Don’t worry, you’re save now.”
“He’s awake?” Teresa was next to bolt into the room as she took to the other side of the bed. She also touched my cheek before feeling my temperature. Not long after her Elliot came bursting through the doors and stopped once catching eye contact with me. He exhaled heavily and shook his head.
“Didn’t think you would come back to us.”
“How did you…?” I could barely speak and promptly Teresa helped bring some water to my lips.
“We couldn’t get to you for a long time; they had extra guards patrolling the Vials. We had to wait for the switch of patrols before we could sneak in, though unfortunately…” Elliot held his hand to his mouth, “The only way to find you was to use your soul; Teresa had done the calculations and figured that you are now out of chances. Next time they catch you, they will use the last drop from the lanterns to destroy you and Raix.”
“They won’t get that chance. How long was I in there for?”
“Almost two years…” I shook my head, no, that couldn’t be right.
“I was only sentenced for 9 months…”
“It’s not uncommon for a Reaper to be sentenced for a couple of
months but kept in the realms for decades. You’ve been recovering for the past 6 months though.”
“What about Evan? Is he still safe?”
“Yes, I’ve been looking after him.” Betrayal reassured, “He has stayed in Whitehaven. He appears to have formed an attachment to your house.” I dropped my head back onto the pillow.
“He does remember…” I whispered. “I want to go back there….”
“Are you sure that’s wise? I mean, you just woke up-” Teresa argued but I shook my head. After sitting through that hell hole, right now, seeing a familiar haven like my home and being within Evan’s presence was as perfect as I could hope for.
“I need this…” My voice was still sore that I could barely speak above a whisper.
Elliot nodded before helping me to my feet. “First you shower, and I mean you need to spend at least a couple of hours soaking and a bar of soap, none of us could get close to clean you up without you lashing out. What I’m trying to say is you smell disgusting. Like a rodent had crawled into the wall space and died. It’s that bad.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, “Fine.”
“Brush your teeth too.” Teresa added.
“Okay, okay, I get it I stink. I’ll wash up.”
I struggled to walk as Raix tucked his head underneath my torso and helped ease me into a shuffle. Once I got to the bathroom, Elliot walked in to help with the taps but I shooed him away.
Submerging under the steaming water had my skin shivering in pleasure, I hadn’t had a bath in many, many years that I had forgotten what it had felt like. Sure, my limbs were far too long for the bathtub that my knees poked along the surface like human icebergs, but the rest of me felt like paradise. For Raix, I had turned the shower on and left the door screen pulled back. The giant wolf had almost knocked me over in his eagerness, tipping his head up and letting the warm water run the line of his throat. I must’ve dozed off at some point as I accidently slipped underneath the surface and choked myself awake with a mouthful of water.
My fingers and toes had prawn and my head was light with dehydration. Being within the Realm of Greed must’ve aged me, my bones ached and I felt stiffed as a plank of wood. Getting out of the bath I was not graceful. Not surprising Raix had curled under the jet of the shower and was taking a blissful snooze. Changing my clothes and stepping back under the hood I felt slightly less brittle. I guess it had become a type of habit to gingerly dab the tattoo on my face, always expecting it to pinch me with pain. Raix grumbled as I reached over and turned the shower off.
I clasped Raix to my side and dragged him into a long hug. The gentle warmth that radiate off his body completely calmed me and restored strength back into my weakened body. I gave Raix a reassuring pat, “Come on buddy, it’s time we go home,” before teleporting back into the trees outside our house.
Chapter Twenty-Four:
I slumped against the tree trunk, sheltered by the shadows of the over lapping branches. The house had turned into a mess, the grass had grown untamed and full, the tiles were painted in moss and the sense of neglect was strong. I turned around inspecting the old neighbourhood and how the tranquil stillness felt foreign to me. I took a deep breath in, closed my eyes and let my ears stretch out as far as they could hear. I could hear the wheels of a tyre scrape across the road, the wind move the leaves above my head and the softest ruff of a faraway neighbour’s dog barking. The headache that had been sitting on my temples since I woke was very slowly fading.
Then something much closer banged against the house followed by the creak of a doorway hinge. There were footsteps that were almost soundless, barefooted no doubt walking across the yard. Under the cover I peeked around the corner to see who it was.
An old man was tending to the garden as he dropped down onto his hands and knees. The smell of incoming death was strong, his life probably only lasting a few months at best. It wasn’t till I noticed his familiar eyes that the realization hit me. This man was my Uncle George. He had withered away down to a skeleton wrapped in a robe. My back straightened in surprise.
The smell was so familiar, dragging me back to the moment where I towered over Mark’s bed as he died. A fatal bug was put into him as well. Evan had caused this; his presence was a type of poison. The taste of guilt was unbearable. I had allowed this to happen to him, to my own family member, but stronger than guilt I felt protection towards Evan. It was necessary.
For a few days I watched them, only leaving to get myself some food and water. On my return from another food run I had sensed a new presence in the house. A stronger life force, someone probably of youth and good health. It was after eight pm but I couldn’t see inside the house beyond the curtains. Suddenly, everything started to unravel and change in a speed that was far too fast to be natural. Death was within the house, vacuuming Uncle George’s soul with greedy gulps. Evan’s presence became clear, his grip on George’s life slipping faster than I could think. Something terrible was happening.
Without hesitation I moved under my hood and ran into the house. George was on the recliner chair, two breaths away from death. Evan was on the ground, groaning and twisting around in agony. The sight of the darkness clawing into him had my heart in my throat; the shadow fingers dragging him down towards the drop off where Reapers waited unknowing he was my brother.
Raix nudged my hip hastily and indicated with his head to upstairs. The youth! I was running out of time, running out of options. Without thinking I sprinted up to the room and opened the room leading to where the teenager slept. Like dramatic drums my heart pounded against my ears in a war like beat. But once I saw her I couldn’t do it. I stumbled to a stop, looking down upon the sleeping form of Rachael. She had grown a lot since I had seen her last, but she was still far too young to carry a banished. I couldn’t do that to her. I turned to leave but felt myself twist in my conscious. The darkness had nearly taken Evan. My time was running out. There was no one else. No one else.
It broke my heart but I had to choose. I walked into her room, still covered by my hood before stopping by her bed. She looked beautiful and peaceful as she slept with her face against a book. I bent downwards and blew my breath gently into her ear. As her eyes fluttered open a crash sounded off from downstairs. I moved backwards and clasped my hand to my mouth, unable to breath. She bolted upwards, concern washed all over her young face. Without much hesitation she ran towards the door and down the hall yelling for her father. I couldn’t follow her and turned my head away disgusted with myself. She was on the stairs, her feet clumsy in her panic.
Evan was barely on the surface anymore. From upstairs I could sense everything as if I was in the same room watching. She was in the lounge room now but her father was dead. In just a few seconds it’ll happen. I nodded at Raix who moved in, taking George’s soul into his wolf jaws before disappearing into the spirit realm. I did not follow him to the Drop off. I couldn’t even turn my head. I was waiting for that moment. In just a few seconds, her life will change forever.
There!
Evan’s banished stench that had filled the room vanished. The connection between Host and Spirit had formed. I slowly walked down the stairs and stopped once reaching the bottom. She was sitting there, hand over her mouth, crying and hugging into her father’s knees.
“I’m so sorry…” I whispered.
I was going to find an alternative Host for Evan as soon as I could. I’ll fix this, I’ll break the curse and Evan would never have to depend on another soul. No one else will have to suffer like George did. Determined I vanished back to where the others were waiting. Raix appeared moments later.
On my return, I informed Betrayal about Evan’s new Host and instructed she go back to him immediately for supervision. As Betrayal and her new male host took off, I turned back to Elliot and Teresa.
“I’ve done the unthinkable… we can’t waste any more time.”
“What did you do?” Teresa asked.
“I made a choice and now I am going to have to f
ix it. Let’s go.”
Within the hour I made an appearance back at the Drop Off. In my loudest voice, I called out to all the Reapers that I had returned. They all slowed almost like they didn’t recognise me, before a loud eruption of applause boomed all across the dome. Of course, with any politic movement there were always protestors. A certain number of Reapers, most of them belonging to the Mask gang that had challenged me before didn’t like the idea of rebellion. I couldn’t prevent them from snitching on us to the Hunters, so I always made sure to keep my locations and movements as quiet as I possibly could. Lucky Reapers are so hard to catch, harder than Banished. With word of my return spreading like wild fire, we had to get things moving and fast. Yet things were starting to get out of control faster than I was expecting.
During my wonderings I was scouting out new possible hosts for Evan. Who could possibly fit the criteria? The men had families, the women were mothers, the children were all pinked face and happy. I couldn’t pick one.
Not three days after Evan’s attachment to Rachael, I had Betrayal banging down the doors in the early morning. I was already awake, unable to sleep due to my constant mind working through possible complications. I had the newspaper opened in front of me, having just spotted Luke’s ugly face printed on page five. Apparently his football team had made it to the finals with recruiting university scouts gossiped to be sitting in on the game for tomorrow’s match. I had blackened his face out with my pen.
“Something terrible has happened.” Her host kicked down the door to our low key club with the force of a police squad. Betrayal spiralled out of him quickly as he slumped against the wall.
My Demonic Ghost Book two (The Reapers 2) Page 22
