by HMC
‘Connie? Why are you speaking like that?’ Anna said.
‘Speaking like what, darling? I’m afraid I’m not entirely sure what you’re talking about.’ Mum turned and stared at us. She chuckled. Her false, cheery disposition and blank eyes…
Anna and I recoiled.
‘I’ll fix you some sandwiches to take with you to school tomorrow. I’ll make some cucumber sandwiches for the funeral.’
‘What funeral, Connie?’ We were at the door now, and Trent had realised something was going on. The wind howled and shook the windows.
Trent jogged in and stood behind me. ‘Take Sonny to the main bathroom,’ I said. ‘Lock the door. Give him a shower or something so he doesn’t get scared.’ Trent nodded. He trusted me wholeheartedly and I could’ve kissed him for it.
‘Sonny Albright, what a good little boy. He’ll come to me no matter you do. He’ll come to me because he is miiiiine. Megan, too. They’ll always be mine, and they’ll always come.’ Mum turned around, her mouth grew wider by the second. It was bleeding in the corners. The cracks got larger. Her eyes were red, and her skin grey.
‘No.’ I ran and held onto her. ‘Mum!’ I screamed. Anna pulled me back. ‘No, Anna. Please hold her!’
Anna stared at me for a moment or two, then realised what I was doing. She threw her arms around both of us. ‘Connie Castro, you fight this!’ We held on tight.
‘Mum. Come back.’
‘Get off me.’ Arms thrashed and Anna and I went flying across the room. I crashed into a cupboard and hit my head hard. Aidah’s voice came through like a roaring dragon – deep, dark, and low. ‘You die now, Mousey Mouse.’ The thing that was Mum, that was Aidah, came at me. It picked me up off the lino and flung me across the room like dirty clothes on a bedroom floor. I landed with a thud. My ribs ached. My right arm felt dead. I looked up to see small feet by my face.
‘Sonny. Get out of here. Go back to Trent!’
He stood so still. He was in his red undies. Every fibre of my being screamed as I pulled myself up. ‘Anna? Take Sonny away.’ She was out cold.
Trent came in to stand beside him. He looked at Sonny terrified, and tried to pull him away. His brother was stuck to the spot. ‘Sonny. Run!’
Aidah came toward him and stopped. She sniffed the air. Sonny cocked his head. His little eyes scanned Aidah up and down, then they moved. They moved in a way I’ve never seen eyes move before. Up, down, side, to side: so fast I could barely identify the directions.
‘Argh!’ Aidah rushed toward him again and then it seemed she was thrown backwards and hit the floor. The body of my mother lie still.
‘Mum!’ I ran to her. She gasped for air. Her eyes widened and a knowing look spread over her face. Her hand flew to her chest. ‘I sorry. I so sorry!’ She sucked air into her lungs. ‘What happened? What am I doing?’
I searched her eyes. They were Connie Castro’s now. Just like that, Aidah was gone.
I threw my arms around my mother. ‘It’s okay. It’s over, Mum.’ She sat up and rubbed her head where she’d hit it on the lino. I put a hand up to my ribs to make sure they weren’t broken. They were sore, but nothing too serious.
Anna moved over and put her hand on my shoulder. ‘What just happened?’
‘Sonny.’ I turned around and Trent was hugging his little brother. ‘Sonny stopped her.’ We all stood up and waited for Trent and Sonny to finish their embrace.
‘I’ll have my shower now.’ Sonny said.
Trent shook his head. ‘Yeah, in a minute, matie. First you need to tell us what you just did to the bad lady.’
‘I don’t know. She wasn’t Connie, that lady.’
I nodded and moved over to kneel by him. ‘That’s right. You knew she wasn’t my mum.’
‘I told her to leave,’ he whispered.
‘How did you do that, Sonny?’
‘With my head. She was angry. She wanted to hurt everybody.’
The realisation hit me. Sonny Albright. He wasn’t just someone I had to protect for the greater good. He was a brilliant, powerful-beyond-words, someone I had to protect. No wonder Aidah wanted him. His essence would probably keep her alive indefinitely.
Anna came to the same conclusion. ‘We have something on our hands bigger than all of us.’ She pulled me to my feet. ‘Aidah’s probably a little shocked after what just happened. We strike now.’
I nodded.
‘I’ll have my shower now,’ repeated Sonny. Trent laughed nervously. ‘Come on, buddy.’ He ushered his brother to the bathroom.
The home phone rang. Mum went to answer it, but Anna stopped her, told her to sit on the couch for a minute, and answered it herself.
I couldn’t hear every word Anna said, but I saw her face drop. She hung up the phone, and approached me. She spoke in a whisper. ‘The police just called. Rick and Carey Albright were in an accident.’
‘Are they okay?’ I whispered.
Anna shook her head.
I had held Trent tight for so long my arms ached. His body had heaved with each sob. His eyes had remained hidden on his saturated sleeve. I didn’t see it coming.
After Trent had calmed down, I’d told him everything. There was no way I’d ever be able to take back what had happened tonight. There was no way I could have saved Rick and Carey Albright, because they hadn’t come to me in a visita. They hadn’t come to me with blue, rotting flesh from the water, or shown me a car crash in the rain. I’d seen nothing. I tried to push them from my mind – the pain was too unbearable right now, and we had things to do. Now I knew what Cat had felt like when the thought of Nan and Pop dying upset her. Or why the thought of losing my dad, on her watch, as she called it, made her crazy.
Trent was with us now, while Mum stayed home with a sleeping Sonny. We hadn’t told Sonny about his mum and dad yet. It could wait. Let him have one more night of peaceful sleep, dreaming of Superman.
Anna pulled over. We got out of her car three doors up from the Armstrong house. We were ready. Well, as ready as we could be. I recalled everything Hamish had said to me about Anubis – how I was able to resurrect the dead. I wanted to tell Anna, but it wasn’t the time or place. Not just yet.
The clouds hung thick and blackened the night sky. The rain halted, with only its remnants glistening off the road like diamonds. Wind whipped the streets, and the smell of rain was subsumed by the stench of Aidah’s house.
‘That smell.’ Anna screwed up her nose.
‘She’s not even trying to hide from us now. She’s gone full-stink ninja.’ I pulled my shirt up over my nose.
‘You suppose anyone else can smell it?’ Anna said, as she joined me on the pavement.
‘I think it’s all just for us.’
‘Would be silly for me to think this was an ambush, and we had the upper hand, wouldn’t it,’ Anna said, more like a statement than anything else.
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘Sorry, but she definitely knows we’re on our way.’ I turned back to the car. ‘You coming, or what?’
Trent opened the back door of the Fiesta. He threw his bag over his shoulder. ‘Yeah, I’m coming.’ He wiped his nose on his sleeve.
I was hesitant about bringing him, but if we were right about Aidah causing the car crash, then no one deserved to take her out more. I don’t think I could have kept him from coming, even if I’d wanted to. And if he’d gone on his own, Sonny really would be alone in the world.
My joints suddenly felt weak.
My vision blurred and I wobbled. Megan’s inside, Mouse. Someone spoke to me. I didn’t know if it was Catalina. There was no music or lilac, but it felt light – like a voice I could trust.
‘Are you all right?’ Trent and Anna held me up.
I exhaled. ‘No. I’m crappy. Like really crappy. But I’m pretty sure you’re worse, Trent. And this is no time to go soft.’
He nodded. ‘What did you see just now?’
‘More like what I heard. Megan’s inside.’
‘Damn it.’ Anna stared a
t the house. ‘Damn it!’
‘Shhh, it’s okay. I know what to do for Megan. I swear, I take back everything bad I said about my visitas, even though they’ve been coming at some extremely inopportune times. They’ve given me everything I need to know.’
Anna smiled and nodded. ‘Of course, kiddo. We’ll do whatever you say. I guess it’s time I stopped calling you that, huh?’ Anna was looking at me strangely.
‘What’s that?’ I said.
‘Never mind. Following you, Modesta.’
‘Thanks, Anna.’
‘Whoa, do you see this?’ Anna whispered, as we neared the house.
Trent stared, mouth agape. ‘The house being eaten up by the ground? Yeah, I see it. The weeds look like they’re pulling the house to Hell where it belongs.’
‘Everything’s falling apart,’ I whispered.
‘Not fast enough,’ said Anna.
I ran around the side of the neighbour’s property. Anna and Trent followed me over the fence into the Armstrong’s yard. We tiptoed around the side.
Hamish was there waiting for us. ‘Hurry up and get inside,’ he whispered. ‘Trent, boost Anna and Mouse, and I’ll lift you through.’ Trent seemed shocked that Hamish spoke directly to him. He boosted Anna and me through the window all the same, then got a hand-up from Hamish.
Trent brushed off his clothes while Hamish closed the window and curtains.
‘Sit,’ I gestured for everyone to take a seat on Hamish’s bed. The place I’d spent the afternoon. There was an ache in my heart as I looked at him. All three of them complied and took a seat. ‘The entity which resides in Aidah’s body is called ‘Sacmis.’ We shall call her this now, out of respect for Hamish’s mother, who died a long time ago.
‘Sacmis is a water witch. When a witch like Sacmis uses a body, she can drain the agua from others to make that body last. Children are best. They have more energy. Sacmis is very clever, in that she drains a little, and if the child should die, she resurrects it and drains it again.’
Hamish lowered his eyes, ashamed and unable to look at us. I continued. ‘When that body is finally exhausted, which can take thousands of years, the water witch moves closer and closer to a large body of water, like the ocean, to ensure her survival. There have been other signs indicating Sacmis’ desire to swap bodies. However, for a witch as old as Sacmis, she’s not nearly as powerful as she should be. She couldn’t even register me as an enemy until late in the game. And when she shows her true self, she’s translucent. I saw her in my vision, the day she took your mother’s body, Hamish. I could almost see straight through her. Sacmis is becoming like that again now. I thought I could take a pretty good guess who’s body she wanted next. However, little Sonny Albright has proven himself to be someone far more important than all of us put together. He cast out a powerful bruja del agua in a matter of seconds. I believe Sacmis is here for him. And we are simply in the way.
Our plan is to lure Sacmis. Trent and I will hold the circle so she doesn’t get past to escape.’ Hamish nodded. His breath was quickening. ‘Our job now,’ I said, ‘is to get Sacmis at her weakest, and to make sure she doesn’t transfer to another body other than mine. You can help us, Hamish, or let us do what needs to be done. But either way, when it is done, you will be free. Make your choice.’
Hamish looked at me. ‘You already know my choice.’
‘Say it now.’
‘I’ll help you.’
‘Your job is Megan.’
‘Whatever you say.’
A while later, Trent, Anna, Hamish, and I said our goodbyes to each other. It was better to say goodbye now, than to never get the chance. Hamish grabbed my arms and pulled me in. He whispered in my ear. ‘Thank you.’
‘Goodbye, Hamish.’
‘Are you ever going to say something else to me?’
‘If I said anymore, I’d change my mind about this.’
He nodded. ‘Take care, Modesta.’ He squeezed my hand and turned away. Trent moved over to me to stop me from looking back.
He held me up. ‘You’re okay. Think of Sonny now.’
I inhaled deeply. ‘Okay. This ends.’
Megan sat on the floor in the centre of the lounge room. She was slouched, legs crossed, her hair falling over her face, eyes closed and skin oh-so-pale. She looked so very small.
I had to watch my step. The house was caving in.
The plasterboard on the walls in the living room was full of holes and mould. The dank odour of water-rotted wood nearly made me gag. The house swelled. Drips flowed from the ceiling, and the grass from outside grew up through the cracks, creeping in like thieves in the night. I felt the horrid sick humidity in every cell. Not the good kind, where you dipped your hot body in the ocean, or the rain after a muggy day, but the kind that seeped into your lungs and made you ill. I was afraid to breathe the air.
Megan looked up. Her eyes were vacant. Her little face was covered in a mass of sick sweat and she rocked gently, back and forth. A soft moan escaped her lips.
The floor beneath me creaked. The house shifted. The tiles cracked open.
Sacmis moved in through the living room door and stared at us. Her body was sagging. I wasn’t sure why she wasn’t lasting if she’d taken the Albrights recently. Maybe it was too little, too late.
‘Mum. What’s happening to you?’ Hamish whispered.
Sacmis’ mouth opened into a gaping blackness, her neck stretched, and a guttural laugh escaped. ‘You useless kid.’ Her voice sounded like there were nine of her. ‘You useless little boy!’ she shrieked. She cracked her neck, and it looked as if her head would snap right off. ‘Helping these wankers! Look at them.’ She glared at Anna. ‘A stuck-up, abused teacher who thinks she’s a witch. Talentless. Hopeless. Alone. Your mother cut you off from your family because you’re pathetic. She was a real witch. You deserve everything she gave you. Every beating. Every cut and bruise. I’m surprised she didn’t drown you at birth like a sack of useless puppies. You should be dead already.’
Anna stood firm. ‘Don’t let her in,’ she said.
Sacmis turned to Trent. ‘And this pathetic excuse for a son. Mummy and Daddy are with me, now, Sunshine. I’ll look after them for you.’ Sacmis licked her black lips. Trent surged forward and I grabbed his arm.
‘No,’ I whispered. ‘Don’t let her get in your head.’
‘Modesta.’ She glared at me. ‘You. YOU! You die today.’
‘You seem annoyed with me, Sacmis. Why?’ I saw her fists clench.
‘You figured out my name. Fiddlydeedee. I’m not Rumplestilskin. Piss off, you little fag hag! That’s right. And Trentie pie, does your best friend know you’re gay? That you like the little boys?’
Trent raised his eyebrows. ‘I like the big boys, Sunshine. You’re the one who likes them little. You sick, sick woman. Who could love you? Not even your own son.’
I stared at my best friend. He was holding fast.
Sacmis screeched. ‘Piss off, dick smoker! I can go back home and eat Sonny Albright for dinner, and Connie Castro for dessert.’ She smiled and her teeth were brown and broken, but she wasn’t done.
Just like we needed.
Anger fogged the mind. It made you miss important things.
Anna spoke next. ‘You have some real Mummy and Daddy issues, don’t you? I know what happened to you with your father, Ptah.’
‘DON’T YOU SAY HIS NAME!’ she came toward us. We held hands.
I pulled the black tourmaline and bloodstones from my pocket and dropped them on the floor before us. ‘White light protect us. You shall not cross.’ Anna, Hamish and Trent stepped forward, still clutching each other’s hands. ‘You shall not cross!’
Sacmis stopped in her tracks.
Energy surged through all of us.
Sacmis did what we expected, and turned to Megan, instead. She ran to the girl and pulled her up by the hair. ‘You’re mine.’ She glared at us. ‘You’ve killed her. You’ve killed her!’
But Megan didn
’t budge. Sacmis couldn’t get her off the ground. She pulled at Megan’s hair and it fell out in clumps. She tore at her skin, and the girl came apart like bubble gum stuck to concrete, just like I’d planned. Flaps of slimy skin and protruding bones littered the floor.
‘What have you done!?’ Sacmis screeched. What was left of Megan melted down into a puddle on the floor.
‘Where is she?’
‘She’s somewhere safe,’ I said. ‘You’re tired, Sacmis. You’re losing your edge. We came right in here without your even noticing. You saw exactly what we wanted you to see.’
She laughed. ‘Good for you, Little Mouse.’ Her demeanour shifted. ‘Good for you.’ Sacmis walked over to us, calmly now. She looked weak, in fact. If she’d been able to have a taste of Megan, there would’ve been no stopping her. But this Sacmis we might handle.
‘Hamish. Darling. Come to Mummy.’ Hamish didn’t budge. ‘You do as I say.’ Sacmis lifted her hand and waved it. Hamish’s image flickered like a broken hologram.
‘Hamish!’ Sacmis screamed. He disappeared completely.
‘Betrayed by your only son,’ said Anna. ‘Your only son. He has Megan safe in his room right now. Neither of them were truly here. A teenage witch just made you see something that wasn’t there. She’s been practising witchcraft for a mere eight years, Sacmis. Tssk Tssk. You should be ashamed of yourself.’
Sacmis poked out that horrible, pointed tongue of hers and came toward me. I could hear the wet, familiar, sucking sound.
‘Now, Mouse,’ said Trent.
‘I invoke the light in my heart,’ I said.
Sacmis stopped.
‘In the dark, where the evil is, I invoke the light in my heart.’
Sacmis hissed.
‘En la oscuridad, donde reside el mal, invoco la luz en mi corazón!’
We raised our hands up high.
Sacmis moved towards us.
‘I invoke the spirit of Catalina Castro!’ My body rose into the air and I shook. Gold light surrounded me, and the air smelled of fire and burnt wood.
