by Catie Rhodes
Mysti gestured at him. “Mr. Gregg, you don’t have to raise your hand.”
“I’m going by Gregson today.” Cecil smiled. Mysti pealed out a coquettish giggle so unlike her that I had to stare hard to make sure she hadn’t been replaced by some carbon copy of herself. Cecil laughed with her for a few seconds, then spoke. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’m not a witch. Ever since my big heart attack, I’m not much of anything unless I’m borrowing power from Peri Jean. Are you sure I won’t do more harm than good?”
Mysti began nodding before he finished his question. “Everybody here has energy, and you, Dillon, and Peri Jean are able to combine power. This rider Hannah’s picked up is old and powerful. We’re going to need all the juice we can get just to detach it from her, let alone secure it somewhere it can’t harm anyone else.” She motioned to me to join her. She handed me a blue bottle. “Go on and start the consecration process.”
“What’s the bottle becoming?” I got into my own witch pack and removed a special blessed lemon and hyssop cleansing solution, some sunflower oil, and a black cloth.
“A witch bottle to house the entity.” Mysti took fingernail clippers out of her witch pack and passed them to Cecil. “Fingernail trimmings from everybody.”
Across the room Hannah’s head jerked up.
A low growl issued from her. “You can't keep me in that.”
Mysti ignored the guttural voice, and I did too.
I washed the bottle with soap and hot water, rinsing it well as I repeated three times, “I cleanse you.” Once it was finished, I dripped the cleaning solution over it and rinsed it again. A drop of the oil went on my finger. I used it to make an even-armed cross. Feeling the weight of someone’s stare, I raised my head to find Tubby watching. He winked at me.
I dropped my head and went back to my task with an extra tremor in my hands, entombing the bottle in black cloth. Tubby had agreed to my suggestion that we just be friends, but his actions said the opposite. Tubby went for what he wanted with a ruthless single-mindedness and wouldn’t be dismissed easily. I hoped we wouldn’t have to have a big, ugly moment of truth over it. Hurting his feelings didn’t appeal to me.
I lit the incense and a candle, hand shaking harder, and got out my holy water and pure earth. The dirt came from an old growth forest in Canada where Mysti said the bones of the gods lay. The idea of earth imbued with something older than time calmed me. I looked up again to find Tubby still watching. We exchanged a small smile. I could handle him.
I rebirthed the bottle to its new purpose by pulling it from the black cloth. The heft of the bottle had become more solid, and it radiated cold prickles up my arm. I sprinkled some dirt on the blue glass. “I bless you with the element of earth.” A few drops of holy water came next. “I bless you with the element of water.” I passed the bottle through the candle flame. “I bless you with the element of fire.” Then the incense smoke. “I bless you with the element of air.” The smoke whistled in the bottle like a hard wind.
Nobody was listening to Mysti talk about energy any more. They all watched me. Dillon's eyes were the widest. She’d never admit it, but my ways scared her. I didn’t mind. They scared me too.
“I name you witch bottle.” I tapped my finger against the bottle. Its cold nearly numbed my fingertip. “I charge you with the duty of imprisoning the spirit hurting Hannah Marnie Kessler.” A sheen of color, almost like the oil on top of coffee, washed over the bottle. Then it faded, and the cold left the bottle. I swept the fingernail clippings inside. They’d attract Hannah’s passenger. I hoped.
“We need a box large enough to fit this bottle.” Mysti spoke to Tubby. Without answering, he left the room. The sounds of him rustling around downstairs came back. Corman said something to him, his voice fuzzy and slurred.
“Shut up.” Tubby’s voice sharpened like the crack of a whip. He thumped back up the stairs, a wooden crate held in front of him and a cigarette clamped between his teeth. “This do?”
Mysti nodded and motioned for him to bring it to her. She began the process of consecration on the box. When she got to the rebirth and purposing, she dipped a craft paintbrush into a tiny bottle of paint and drew a straight line with several connected crosses on it. She caught me watching. “This is a protective sigil I developed for problems like the one Hannah has.”
So that’s what she called the hag? A problem? Looked more like a hell monster to me. I reminded myself again not to get mixed up in any of Griff and Mysti’s more intense cases.
Mysti named the box. “You are the witch bottle house. As you deteriorate, so will the bottle’s contents.”
Hannah let out a particularly fierce growl at that. Mysti rose from her task and stared at the thing riding Hannah’s hunched shoulders. “You know, you can go home when I banish you from Hannah.”
Hannah raised her head. Slobber slicked her lower chin. “You stupid little witch. I’ll bite open your bones, suck the marrow out.” Hannah’s mouth made a wet, slurping sound.
I turned away. “Do you really think we can defeat that thing?”
“Yes.” Mysti raised her chin. “Do not doubt yourself. That parasite feeds on self-doubt and hurt. He’ll use it against you. Know you are stronger. Know you can wield your power over him.”
I stood straighter, but the sounds Hannah was making had me scared. They were somewhere between a bad horror movie and a public restroom.
Mysti set the box and the bottle aside and addressed the group. “Let’s talk about what we’re going to do. When I first got here, I cast a circle around Hannah’s chair to keep her parasite from fleeing before we’re ready to banish it. Before we start the banishing, we’ll cast a circle around that circle.” She waited a few seconds for questions. Nobody asked any. “We’ll complete the banishing. Hannah’s passenger will likely reveal itself once separated from Hannah. So be prepared for that. ”
“I got a question.” Dillon, usually so tough and unafraid, barely spoke above a whisper.
Mysti smiled politely. “Now is the time.”
“W-what happens if this goes wrong?” Dillon looked like she knew.
Mysti’s nostrils flared as she took a deep breath. “If we can’t get it out of Hannah, it’ll likely kill her so it can absorb her energy and keep us from banishing it.”
“What then?” Some of the fear left Dillon’s posture, but her freckled face was still the color of grits.
Mysti, unable to maintain her professional demeanor, paled too. “It’ll force its way into one of us. Probably it’ll kill that person too, absorb their energy. It’ll waste the pleasure of killing them slow for the power. Then…” She glanced at me and shrugged. “It’ll take corporeal form and eat us.”
Silence filled the room, and we all exchanged uncomfortable glances. This was no game.
Mysti settled her gaze on me, eyebrows raised. I nodded. Consequences accepted. I was about to risk friends and family for Hannah. I wasn’t a good person, but I couldn’t help myself. Mysti jerked her chin in acknowledgment.
“Peri Jean, you will rush to get this protection amulet on Hannah’s wrist once the parasite is out of her.” She removed a metal object from her witch pack and held it out to me. I came close to see it was a tarnished, open cuff bracelet with a pair of raised hands cupping a blue topaz. I slipped it on my wrist. It vibrated with power. Mysti probably spent hours blessing and consecrating it. “While all this is happening, the rest of you keep speaking the banishing incantation I’m going to teach you. It’s simple and short.” She recited the chant and repeated it several times. We practiced until we all had it. Mysti dug out her chalk and the candles to represent the elements for the circle. “Let’s begin.”
Hannah lifted her head and smiled. The hair on the back of my neck stood up.
“What about your backup plan?” I bit my lip.
Mysti stopped walking and spoke with her back still to me. “If this goes wrong, call your contact from the dark outposts.” I opened my mouth, but Mysti shook he
r head. “No. Don’t say his name unless absolutely necessary. If that time comes, say his full name, not the one you call him.”
“I can’t pronounce it.” I heard the whine in my voice and hated it. But I didn’t want to call Sol. He scared me and always wanted favors in return. His claim that he’d worked with my family for centuries only made the whole thing freakier.
“Yeah, you can. Just focus your energy. Tell yourself that’s what you want, and it’ll come out.” Mysti walked to Hannah’s chair, chalk pinched between her thumb and forefinger. A low, bubbling growl came from Hannah. “You have a choice in this.” Mysti said the words in a firm, clear voice as she drew the outer circle.
I motioned everyone into the circle before Mysti closed it, and then I went behind her sprinkling sea salt over her chalk mark. She was waiting with the candles when I finished. I set down the green candle for north, lit it, and whispered my blessing. “I call upon the Guardian of the North. I call upon the element of earth. Bless us with your presence.”
The lights flickered. The wood floor hummed to life. Hard energy rose up my legs and over my body, and the smell of freshly turned dirt filled my head.
I went to the next compass point, east, and set the yellow candle. The guardian of the east let its presence be known with a blast of air that swirled around the room and dried the sweat on my face. I set the other two candles, calling to the elements of fire and water. The circle rose around us. My skin shrank into goosebumps. Static electricity crackled through my hair.
Mysti pointed her athame at the edge of the circle and spun deosil three times. I knew she was picturing the light of the divine filling her, traveling through her body, and coming out of her arm to form the edge of the circle. She chanted in a voice deeper than her normal. “Lord and Lady, Guardians…” She paused for me to say my part.
“And the spirit of the raven.” I concentrated on my raven familiar, heard the flapping of his wings, his guttural cries.
“Bless this circle and protect us,” Mysti and I said together. “Keep us safe from unclean beings. Hold this circle in divine light.” The edges of the circle lit like the brightest sunlight for a second and then dimmed.
“Let’s start the incantation.” Mysti pointed her athame at Hannah. The growls rumbled in my poor friend’s chest. Sometimes she followed them with yips, reminding me of dark nights and coyotes. “On three.” She counted off. All our voices rose together.
“Power of Earth
Power of Air
Power of Fire
Power of Water
Life in the Blood
Expel this evil from Hannah Marnie Kessler
Let it plague her no more.”
Hannah opened her mouth so wide the lips split in the corners. Blood trickled from the torn skin. She began to scream. I had expected this. But I hadn’t expected the way it sounded, raw and wild.
“Again.” Mysti motioned with her free arm.
We said the incantation three more times. Hannah convulsed in her chair. Foam dripped from her mouth. Teeth bared in a snarl, she glared at us. Mysti motioned us to do it again.
The flapping of raven wings filled my head. I left off my chant and moved toward Hannah. Just beneath her skin, I saw the monster, its cancer-colored skin writhing as the incantation pulled at it. My hand came up, and before I knew what I planned to do, it turned translucent and dipped below Hannah’s skin. The thing writhed and slipped from my grasp. Hannah howled louder.
Mysti changed the chant. “Power of the four corners, alight this daughter of spirit.” The others followed. They said the words over and over, as I tried to get my hand around the entity and ignore Hannah’s screams. The flapping of wings came again. My mind slowed, and some forgotten animal part of me anticipated the parasite’s next move. I grabbed for it. My fingers locked around its rubbery skin. I dug my fingernails in, pulled as hard as I could, and threw it to the ground where it fell with a wet splat.
“Oh dear God,” Cecil muttered.
The slimy creature, resembling a hairless winged monkey, scrambled for Hannah.
“The bracelet,” Mysti yelled. “The bracelet.”
I took it off my wrist and clapped it to Hannah’s. She raised her head, eyes finding mine. The gratitude I saw there scraped over my heart, leaving it raw. I gripped her shoulder in response. She turned away from me and leaned her head against the chair, taking big, exhausted breaths.
We surrounded the hag. I held the bottle. Mysti pointed her athame at the monster. “Second part of the incantation.”
We spoke as one again. “We send your evil to dwell in this vessel where you’ll be unable to harm any other soul. We banish you. So mote it be.”
The winged creature trembled on the ground. It raised its head to stare at me, thick lips split in a smile showing its fishy spiked teeth. I turned away, heart pounding.
We repeated our incantation three more times. I searched for the beat of the raven wings but heard nothing. The creature crawled to his feet and stood before us. Dillon broke off mid-chant and took a step backward. Cecil caught her arm and kept her inside the circle.
“I’m not going in the bottle.” The rider’s cunning whisper came from every corner of the room. It stared at the bottle, its chest rising and falling. The glass heated to burning in an instant and jerked in my hand. It burst into a gazillion pieces, shards flying like shrapnel. Cecil yelped as one found his skin. I wanted to scream, to run, to do anything but stand here and see what this monster had in store for me.
Mysti pointed the athame. “I banish you to the realm of darkness forever. You are never to return here.”
The thing ran at her, sharp teeth bared. Mysti stabbed at it with her athame. As soon as the knife made contact with the parasite, Mysti’s body arched and began to jitter as though she was being electrocuted. I took a running step and pushed her off the thing. The athame clattered to the floor.
“It doesn’t matter how long you delay.” The rider’s flat eyes found mine. “I will have a host, or I’ll kill all of you.”
Time for my trump card. I pictured Sol, my contact in the dark outposts, and tried to remember how he said his real name. Then I screamed, “I banish you in the name of Sol.” Weird squeals came out of me when I got to his name.
The rider began to laugh. “I know—” It spoke the name. “He is no authority to me.” It took one step toward me.
Before I had time to defend myself, the thing leapt at me. It hit me hard. I fell backward out of the circle and landed on my ass.
The rider’s claws sank into me, and a black funk like no other I’d ever felt spread through my emotions. A depression so deep that it hurt settled over me. Behind it, the hag spindled my life force and began gulping it down. It was preparing to kill me, just as Mysti had predicted.
“No!” I shoved the bad feelings aside and called on the mantle.
It rose, monstrous and raging, and pushed at the parasite. Shit. The mantle was trying to get inside this thing. What would it do then?
The question became less important because the beast screamed inside my head. My ears began to ring. Still the scream went on. My back teeth throbbed, and pressure built behind my eyes. The scream continued. I couldn't stand much more. It was about to scramble my brain. I’d either have a stroke or bleed out from an aneurism. I’d done this to people but never realized how it felt on their end.
“Stop," I croaked out, unable to control the mantle in this state.
The mantle ignored me and pushed again at the beast, looking for a point of entry. But the monster dug in, its talons stabbing in deep. It felt like my insides were being chewed up. My body went limp, and the floor rose up to meet me. Someone grabbed me under the arms and broke the fall.
“You can’t kill me. Stop trying,” the hag whispered.
“You’re wrong. I’ll kill us both if I have to,” I growled back.
The mantle gave up trying to get inside the monster, wrapped itself around it, and began to squeeze. The hag panic
ked, its grunts echoing in my subconscious. I gave all my energy to the mantle. The rider unhooked its claws from my psyche and prepared to disengage.
In a flash, I realized that couldn’t happen. The thing was bad inside me, but at least it couldn’t hurt anybody else. I had to keep it where it was until I could find a way to banish it. Head throbbing with the effort and wetness I suspected was blood leaking from my nose, I held the monster in place.
“Shit, look at her eyes. All that’s showing is the whites.” This came from Tubby.
Someone began to pat my face. The scent of Cecil’s aftershave flooded my senses. “Peri Jean?” Cecil’s voice quavered.
“She’s fighting,” Mysti said. “Go on, Peri Jean. Get it out of you. We’ll deal with it.”
But they couldn’t deal with the monster. We’d already seen what happened when we tried. This little horror would end up getting into someone else, and we’d start all over. The thing had to stay in me. There was no other way to keep it contained. I felt my body seize.
“Cecil, Dillon,” Mysti said. “Let’s combine our power and see if we can’t push it out of her.”
Her words hit me like a jolt of electricity. No. I couldn’t let them put themselves at risk. I used the last of my waning strength to crawl to my feet. Fast as I could, I stumbled into the bathroom. I slammed the door, locked it, and leaned against it, fear pounding in my chest.
9
I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. The thing perched on my shoulders staring at its reflection over my head. Now that we were no longer fighting, I could feel the thing probing inside me, searching for my darkest heart. Little did it know, I didn’t mind letting the murderous side of me out of the bag.
As though it could read my thoughts, the ugly little hag began to smile. “You don’t know everything about yourself.”
I ignored it and said, “You’re leaving this plane. Now.”
The bathroom’s doorknob rattled. Both the rider and I jumped. Mysti’s voice came through the old wood. “Come back out. There has to be a way to get it off you.”
