by David Gallie
‘So basically you were damned if you do and damned if you didn’t,’ I say, maybe a little too flippantly.
Ezikal nods his head but he keeps staring out the window. I can hear a crowd of voices descend from out of nowhere, followed by screaming and shouting. When I find the courage to look out again everything has changed.
A pyre has been hurriedly built outside and the remaining members of Ezikal’s group are being dragged, kicking and screaming towards it. I watch as each one of the hooded figures is tied to the pyre and then the crowd takes a step back as a stubby looking man with greasy hair and a large boil on his nose approaches with a lit torch.
‘You know how it ends for the rest of the group,’ says Ezikal and outside the torch is put to the pyre.
Within the blink of an eye, the air is polluted with screams as the wood ignites.
‘Why are you telling me all this?’ I ask, turning away from the window again. The shadows are still moving on the walls. Still pacing like they are getting ready to pounce.
‘Nothing I can do now will change the eternal punishment I deserve, but soon myself and the shadows will be set free from this prison,’ he looks around the farmhouse, gesturing to the depressing scenery, ‘when we have our power it will be far greater than it was when we had human form. When that comes I will not be able to control the darkness I have become and so it will be on you to put an end to it all. It will be up to you to put us back where we belong, Lynk.’
The way he says my name is like someone trying to pronounce a foreign word. There’s too much emphasis on it and I become more aware of the shadows. They have stopped moving now, their invisible eyes on me.
‘I already know I have to put you back but there is more to this than you’re telling me,’ I say, squinting at him.
Ezikal returns his gaze to the rest of the room. The shadows slip from the wall and merge into one big black blob in the center of the room floor.
‘All offerings must go the same way as those who spilled their blood,’ he says, and the blob on the floor starts moving towards him. I feel my heart begin to rise in speed.
‘You mean Miriam is in hell too?’
‘Yes. In another part of it, well away from me and the shadows. But she is there.’
‘I don’t understand. I don’t have the power to take souls out of hell, and even if I did I’m not sure it would be against the rules I have to play by,’ I say, feeling torn as I realize what he’s trying to ask me.
‘You are the guardian of the realms from what I hear. You have the power to annihilate a soul, you just need to unlock it. If you are able to banish me and my brethren back to hell, then I ask one favor of you; please free Miriam. She is truly innocent of any wrongdoing,’ as he speaks the blob rises up from the floor, engulfing his feet first and quickly moving upwards.
‘I can’t promise but I will try,’ I say, realizing that the very thing I’m supposed to fight against has asked for my help.
It was completely contradictory in every way, but the thought of an innocent soul being in hell felt so wrong for me that I know I would be willing to try and free her.
‘That is all I ask,’ the farmer says as the blob-like shadow finally engulfs him until he is also a part of it.
I take a few steps back, sensing that it will soon turn on me. When it does I feel ready for it, but it moves ridiculously fast. I let out a grunt as it charges at me and slams into my chest, sending me falling backward, arms flailing.
My eyes are wide with panic as I expect to hit the floor, but I don’t. Instead, I keep falling. The room and the farmhouse quickly disappear until once again I feel myself landing gently inside the circle where I had met Satan the previous day.
The torches on all sides are still lit and when I look up I see Satan step into the circle, a cigarette clamped between his lips. He looks neither happy nor angry. There is a strange kind of blankness to his expression.
‘So, that was an interesting little chat,’ he says, a very thin-lipped smile appearing on his face as he looks down at me.
‘Yes, it wasn’t what I expected,’ I say, feeling nervous. I feel like I’m in trouble and I don’t know why.
He takes a long drag of his cigarette, and exhales a vast cloud of smoke. The stench makes me want to vomit but I hold myself together.
‘I overheard the part about Miriam,’ he says, his eyebrows rising as he stares straight at me.
‘Yeah, he doesn’t feel she should be in hell.’
‘Keep in mind that Miriam was offered to me in exchange for their power. That means her soul belongs to me, and therefore she belongs in hell with me,’ he says, and there is a hint of anger in his voice.
‘But her soul has done nothing wrong. She didn’t willingly give herself to you,’ I say, feeling more nervous.
‘That doesn’t matter. The simple truth is she belongs to me and if you weren’t the guardian I would tear your soul to shreds just for thinking about taking her from me,’ he says and the anger in his voice is unmistakable.
I don’t know where I find the courage to stand up to him, but I do.
‘If everything you have told me about what I am is true, then I will free Miriam from hell. Because it is the guardians’ job to make sure that no soul is trapped in a realm it does not belong in,’ I growl and inside I’m unsure what to expect.
The devil flicks away his butt, exhaling one last cloud of smoke as he raises his eyebrows in surprise. Maybe he wasn’t expecting me to be so forthright. I don’t care. I’m not going to be bullied anymore.
‘Oh so pretty and so feisty. We really made you well,’ he says, taking a step towards me and I feel certain that I’m about to be on the receiving end of his anger. Instead, I flinch as he reaches out and grabs my jaw in his hand, he’s surprisingly cold to the touch, ‘tread very carefully guardian. Not everything is as clear cut as you think it is. But in time you will learn that. Now don’t you have some annoying shadows to deal with?’
He shoves me, forcing my head to snap back. I let out a yelp of surprise as I stumble and fall and I think I’m going to hit the floor again. But I don’t. Instead, I keep falling into the infinite darkness until I let it overcome me.
CHAPTER 21
I’m lying face down in the hallway of the farmhouse when I wake up. It was the same spot I had landed on before the tranquilizer took hold and sent me down the rabbit hole.
My eyes shoot open with alarm when I remember that Roland was still up there. I can hear him groan and question where he is. It seems to take him a few seconds before he realizes that I’m not where he thought I should be.
Panic stricken I get to my feet. My legs feel like jelly and my head is still swimming from the after-effects of the drug, but the front door is right there and I can reach it. The cool morning air feels great against my skin as I stagger out onto the porch. Behind me, I can hear the big nurse getting to his feet.
My mind is racing, trying to figure out the best way to run. When my eyes fall on his car I have an idea. It’s a wild shot but I rush over to the driver’s side and try the door. It won’t budge. I had hoped he would have left it unlocked while he searched for me.
‘There’s my little psycho!’ I look up in time to see Roland wrench the front door open, almost taking it off its hinges. He looks a little dazed, but not enough so that he can’t recognize me.
‘Leave me alone!’ I cry, knowing that won’t deter him.
‘I can’t leave you alone princess. You were the only thing worth looking at in the dungeon and your little friends are long gone now, so you won’t have to worry about them anymore,’ he roars and there is a look on his face that tells me he has very specific means of hurting me planned for the future.
‘Why won’t you listen to me? I didn’t kill those people,’ my voice grows hoarse from the shouting and the frustration I feel inside. All I want is for someone to listen to me.
‘Oh I know you didn’t, you silly little girl,’ he shouts, and I feel confused. Did he ju
st say he knows I didn’t kill them?
‘Then why are you chasing me?’ I ask, dropping my voice as I try to figure out what is going on. Is this just some kind of reverse psychology trick? Make the insane girl think she’s sane that way she will let herself be caught.
‘You just don’t get it do you?’ His question is more of a statement than anything else, and he’s right, I don’t get it all.
Then my hand drifts to the small lump in the pocket of my jeans. A tooth, a molar by the looks of it, from the mouth of Ezikal’s last victim; his wife. Roland could be working for the hooded figure, trying to find the key. I was just an annoyance he had to deal with but not the ultimate goal.
‘If you know I’m innocent why are you putting me back in that horrible asylum?’
The big nurse takes a few steps forward but he doesn’t leave the porch. Something is stopping him.
‘Because you were supposed to be kept there until the final ceremony Lynk. I’m not interested in that fake tooth you have in your pocket. It’s you. You’re the key,’ his smile broadens.
I wonder where Slendy is. He would help me makes sense of this at least, but as if on cue, there is a puff of smoke and Jerub and Artemis appear on either side of me.
‘Hey hot stuff, glad to see your still alive,’ says Artemis, cheerily as always.
I ignore him.
‘How can I possibly be the key?’
Roland looks at me exasperated as if he is teaching a five-year-old how to do math.
‘You are her last living descendant. Your mother was sacrificed before you, and so you will follow her fate,’ he says, viciousness written all over his face.
My mind reels from this startling information. I try to process what he’s just said but none of it is sticking.
‘Wow, what a head shot huh? How do you want to play this one hot stuff? I reckon we knock him out and tie him up…well umm, you’ll need to do that since our bodies aren’t physical but you’re a strong girl right?’ I wonder if Artemis will ever learn to shut up.
Jerub seems to be scanning the area, checking out everything in his line of sight.
‘Duck,’ he says.
I look at him confused and see the look of shock on his face.
‘Duck?’
‘Yes, now!’ he shouts and without thinking it through I drop to my knees just as something swishes past the top of my head.
The sudden movement makes me lose my balance and land on my backside, my eyes wide with shock at the hooded figure holding a piece of two by four. My eyes catch the glint of the ring on its finger and I realize it’s my aunt.
‘Aunty June?’
The hooded figure throws back her hood to reveal the woman who has cared for me since I was five years old. She looks old and really tired now, but her eyes are very much alive. Alive with anger.
‘You miserable little witch. I gave you the best years of my life and all I ask in return is yours to sacrifice,’ she sneers at me, slapping the wood into the open palm of her hand.
‘Why are you doing this to me, I’m your niece?’
The old woman shakes her head.
‘No honey, I was your mother’s friend until she was put on the altar. This ring was hers. She was a very gifted physic and so we felt she would make an ultimate offering to the dark lord. We just didn’t realize at the time she was Miriam’s descendant. This had the great side effect of unlocking two more layers of the portal. And now that we have you, as insane as you are, we can unlock the final layer and let the shadows be free once again,’ she seems exceedingly pleased with herself and all I want to do is take that piece of wood off her hands and smack her with it.
Layers? I ask myself hoping that Jerub and Artemis would pick up on it. Sure enough, it was Jerub who gave me the answer.
‘Think of a portal as something like a long tunnel with a ladder starting at the bottom and working all the way up to the top. But every so many feet in that tunnel there is a door which has to be unlocked or layer, as your aunt calls them, before you can keep moving along it. The realms try to take extra precautions to keep their inhabitants inside but as you know no prison is escape-proof, that’s why we need you,’ Jerub’s voice is soft and surprisingly not as condescending as it normally is.
‘You should listen to your little spirit friend, he knows better than anyone how this all works,’ says Roland. I had almost forgotten about him and I watch as he moves to stand next to June.
‘Let’s just get this over with. Tonight you will take your last breath Lynk and it will be used to bring the shadows back to this world where they can run free,’ says June as she hands the lump of wood to Roland.
I take a step back as she moves forward, her hands outstretched as if she’s beckoning me into her arms.
‘Lynk, please, there is no point in trying to run from your destiny, come with us and help us bring the power back to this world,’ she bemoans and I want to smack her even more.
Jerub and Artemis have no suggestions for me and Slendy seems to be missing in action. I have no idea where he goes when he takes his little vacations.
It takes only a few seconds for me to realize that I have no life with those in front of me, but I’m not sure what kind of life I have on the road before me either. But I’m willing to find out.
So, Without saying another word, I turn and start running. It doesn’t take me long until I’m out on the dirt track and racing for the main road.
I’m almost on the road when I hear the screech of tires before a white minivan turns the corner. My momentum is such that even as I try to stop myself I know that it’s going to hit me.
My body is wracked with pain and I let out a loud umph as the wind is knocked out of my lungs. When I hit the dirt I can hear doors being opened and slammed shut and my aunts’ voice telling whoever owns the vehicle to tie me up.
Even as the world swims before me for the second time that morning I try to find a familiar face such as the two spirits sent to help me or the big man known the world over as Death. I see no one as the darkness encroaches my vision.
I can hear myself trying to draw a breath as the world fades away.
CHAPTER 22
I’m back in the darkness once again. I can’t tell if it’s the darkness of my mind or that ethereal one that Satan seems to have a thing for. Either way, when I open my eyes I’m back in the sacred circle, surrounded by the burning torches.
I prop myself up into a sitting position, waiting for the wicked one in his fancy white suit to appear, most likely puffing on a cigarette. A few moments pass and he doesn’t appear. I wonder what’s going on. Have the spirits abandoned me so soon?
Then there is a blinding flash of light. I shield my eyes as it rings a circle around me like a massive wall of energy. Through its bluish-white hue, I can see the silhouettes of angels flapping their wings.
Once my eyes adjust to this new brightness I’m able to see the figure of a woman approach from behind the wall. A second or two later and she steps out into the circle. She is a stunning looking woman with flowing blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes and a sweet smile. The white gown she wears is dull in comparison to the whiteness of her wings.
There is something very familiar about this woman but I can’t figure out why. She takes a few more steps towards me and puts out her hand for me to take. I wonder if I’m already dead as she helps me to my feet.
‘Lynk, I can’t express how wonderful it is to finally have you in front of me,’ she says, her voice as soft and sweet as she looks.
‘Am I dead already?’ I ask.
The woman laughs and I like the way her wings flap gently each time her shoulders shrug.
‘No sweetheart, very far from it. I’m Deliria, or in the human world I would have been called Angela,’ she says and then it hits me why she sounds so familiar.
‘Mom?’
She nods and her smile brightens even more, but I can see sadness in her eyes too.
‘Yes, I am your mother Lynk, and my how y
ou have grown into a fine young woman,’ her voice sounds ethereal like it’s somehow disconnected from the rest of her body.
‘When June is finished with me will I go to hell?’ I ask.
Deliria shakes her head and the sadness in her eyes deepens.
‘Sweetheart, you are the guardian of the realms. Your spirit can’t belong to either heaven or hell.’
‘Then what will happen to me when June sacrifices me on the altar?’
‘You’ll return to the eternal darkness, where you will feel nothing, see nothing and hear nothing. You will cease to exist.’
Tears prick my eyes and trickle down my cheeks. I feel like my world is falling apart around me. It’s bad enough knowing that my life is about to be taken from me to free evil spirits but to know that as a guardian I have nowhere to go in death makes me feel horrible inside.
‘Great, what fun this life has been,’ I cry to myself and before I know it Deliria is putting her arms around me, drawing me close to her. I can feel the gentle, loving warmth, that emanates from her body and engulfs mine and I don’t want it to end.
‘I know you haven’t had a good life sweetheart. Trust me it wasn’t how your upbringing was supposed to be, but I never had any idea just how deep into the dark arts June was. She hid it incredibly well and I had no idea what was happening until my life was already gone. It didn’t help matters that your father was on her side too,’ those last words stun me but she keeps going, ‘listen, all hope is not lost yet. You are the guardian and you must know that comes with special responsibilities right?’
I shake my head. I feel utterly lost and confused. All this business about being the guardian was starting to feel like someone was trying to blindside me to the truth. The truth that I was just a seventeen-year-old girl with a broken mind.
