by Kit Hallows
"I want his head," Sebastian said. "For the wall in my study."
"And you'll have it, my dear, but not just yet," Lily said. Excitement gleamed in their eyes as they continued to circle me. "Maim him. Watch him bleed," Lily continued. "But don't go too far. He still has fire inside him. I want to extract it and leave whatever remains for Sindaub. He likes to play with the offcuts."
"I've seen your offcuts," I said. "What was left of them."
"And?" Sebastian asked. They were edging closer now. Almost within reach. I still had Samuel's dagger tucked away near my ankle. If I could get to it.
"I was going to do the right thing. Spare you. Let justice take its course," I said. "But it's too late for that."
Lily gestured to Sebastian. They charged as one. I sidestepped her and the poker whistled past my head.
"Stop!" I cried. The sword of intention glowed with black light and Sebastian's hand faltered as he tried to bring it down upon me. He gazed in horror as his hand jerked and spasmed. He'd almost lost his grip upon the weapon.
Lily ran at me, the poker held high. I sidestepped but her momentum carried her forward...
She came to a halt.
The blade gleamed red and silver as it pierced through her back.
Sebastian stood facing her, his eyes filled with horror. The poker thumped upon the carpet and Lily slowly slipped away from the sword. She fell on her back, her beautiful crystalline eyes wide, her lips painted red with blood.
"What..." Sebastian's voice was low, little more than a whisper. "What... did you make me do?" He tried to raise the sword but it wouldn't move. He began to wail, his face reddening, the veins on his neck bulging. He hurled the sword. It sailed past me and clattered on the flagstone hearth.
"What did you make me do?" Sebastian cried again. He slung a chair toward me. I ducked, grabbed the sword of intention and whirled round...
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Sebastian's eyes grew wild as he glanced behind me. I turned, the chill running across the nape of my neck was familiar enough, and I knew who was behind me long before I looked.
The demon, Sindaub, stood by the door in his boyish guise, applauding. Slow and deliberate. A sardonic smile played upon his lips, and his round black glasses reflected the flames in the hearth as he glanced up at me.
"Kill him," Sebastian said. "Now."
Sindaub shook his head. "No. I like him. He's more fun alive. The witch too. That's why I let her go."
"Kill him now you little shit," Sebastian demanded.
Sindaub walked toward him, his pale little hands folded neatly behind his back. "Do you know how long I've waited for this day?" he asked. "To finally be free?"
"Skin him alive, then pull out his lungs!" Flecks of spittle exploded from Sebastian's mouth. "He killed Lily!"
"No." Sindaub said. "You're the one who killed Lily. I saw it. I watched through the window as the whole scene played out. And now that the bitch is dead, so is your hold on me. I'm no longer the Embersen family pet, Sebastian. But you might become mine."
Sebastian's lips curled. "I command you to kill that man!"
Sindaub's boyish laugh bore centuries of dark, cruel amusement. "No, you don't. Only one Embersen can command me and it seems Lily made no provisions to hand the reins of my enslavement over to you. Maybe she didn't trust you, Sebastian. Maybe she actually saw you for what you really are." Sindaub stepped closer to him. "I know I've certainly had enough if your tireless assumptions and entitlement." He reached up with a pointy little finger and drummed it upon Sebastian's chest, leaving black sooty marks on his crisp white shirt.
"Stop it!" Sebastian screamed and pleaded while Sindaub continued to prod.
"By the tapping of my thumb, something wicked this way comes!" Wisps of smoke rose from the dark fingerprints.
"Please don't," Sebastian begged like a child.
"You've no idea how long I've waited for this!" Sindaub reached up, pulled his glasses off and tucked them into his pocket. "All the better to see you with!" he whispered, then he leaned forward and plunged his finger deep inside Sebastian's chest.
Sebastian's face went ashen pale and his whole body shuddered. He glanced at me in disbelief then slumped dead to the ground.
I grabbed my holster and gun from the table, pulled my coat around me and seized the sword of intention.
"You won't need it," Sindaub said. "I may have meant you plenty of harm before, but not now. No, tonight I'm going back to the old country. I'll leave you to your hollow victory, but someday when I'm good and ready, I'll come a tap-tap-tapping upon your window."
He walked to the fireplace, held his sooty black finger up and began to trace a shape in midair. Slowly a thin line, the color of coal, appeared forming a rectangle. Then he twirled his finger in a circle, producing a doorknob as he hummed the same childlike melody I'd heard on that night by the gorge. The memory evoked a strong, unbridled fear. There was no way in hell that I'd wait for him to come a tap-tap-tapping on my window. "Stop."
The door in the air shimmered and grew more solid. Sindaub turned my way, his ancient eyes amused. "No," he said and poked out his tongue. Then the door flew open and a cold gale caused the flames in the fire to roar. He stepped over the threshold. "I shan't."
I ran as the door began to swing shut, I couldn't let him go.
"Fuck it." I shouted as I flung it back open, and propelled myself through.
53
I stepped from the warmth of the drawing room into a cold, bleak place. The ground was spongy and wet, and a fen of dead brown reeds stretched out before me. Trees huddled in the forest behind me like crippled wooden beasts and a tumbledown house was nestled among them. It might have once been a cottage but now it was little more than a pile of rocks and stones.
Sindaub stood with his back to me, his hands thrust deep into his pockets. Slowly, he turned my way. "Time and tide wait for no man," he said. "Or demon." He pulled a hand from his pocket and gestured to the ruins. "My family home. Poor old cottage." He glanced around as a chilly wind blew the strands of hair that had strayed from his cap. "There was a town here once. Now it's all crumbled away." He gave a slow, young sigh, the sound belied by his ancient eyes. "They're gone. All of them. My parents too."
"Where?" I kept my fingers on the pommel of my sword, waiting for the inevitable attack, though he seemed preoccupied for now.
"Into the ground in boxes, I'd wager. We had a bitter enemy and it seems she got her way, in the end." He gave a wistful smile. "I've been away for so long, but I remember. I hated my parents. Almost as much as I loved them."
"Why?" I glanced beyond the ruins and the trees to the hills that dominated the horizon. Their fawn and green foliage was overshadowed by the great black thunderhead drifting above them. It was a troubling sight. I glanced back to the door Sindaub had drawn. It had almost faded to nothingness.
"They let her take me."
"Who?" I made a tentative step toward him. His eyes followed me.
"The woman that great grandfather Embersen traded with. He wanted a demon servant, like the other old, powerful families. They all have demons in their service, you know. It's how they elevate themselves from servants to masters. And so a ten penny sorceress plucked me from this world without so much as a please or thank you and handed me over to Embersen in return for his opium cartel." He gestured to the rubble. "My parents could have stopped her, but they chose not to." He smiled, revealing his jagged little teeth. "I was a bit of a handful, so I was. But demons will be demons and we've little in the way of loyalty, unless we're bound into servitude. But even then, loyalty's not a part of our true nature. All servants secretly despise their masters, don't you think?"
I considered the Organization. "I suppose."
"Why did you follow me, Mr. Rook?"
"To finish you."
"What for? A few unkind words? A nightmare or two? Is that really enough to have earned your ire?"
"You helped the Embersens steal my essence."
> "It'll return to you, little man. In time."
"You taunted me, you stalked me, you..."
"Terrified you?" Sindaub took a step toward me.
"Yeah. You did."
"It takes a brave man to admit fear."
"But the worst thing you did was feed off the Embersens' victims. Used them until there was nothing left but scraps for their wolves."
"I only did what comes naturally, Mr. Rook. Just as you did, the last time you became him. Nasty thing that he is. I saw your memories. I saw what you did in that asylum."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Your true face, the one you're still shackled to. The first." Sindaub snapped his fingers.
His transformation was instant. He stood over me, his ragged black wings blotting out the landscape behind him as his antlers gleamed against the darkening sky. He held out a finger, its grey gnarled tip thudding into my forehead, forcing me to step back. "I'll give you a choice, Morgan Rook."
"Which is?" I held my ground. As he tapped his finger against my head again a hot, burning sensation shot through me.
"Go back to your adopted land with a flea in your ear or die here with a claw in your heart. What's done is done. I've places to go and demons to see, old alliances to reforge and enemies to finish."
I raised the sword of intent. "I already told you I came here to finish you."
"You can't beat me, little man. Not unless you let the other out to play, and we both know that scares you to death. For where does he end, and where do you begin?" He leaned down, his eyes less than an inch from mine. "But there's another option, if you so desire."
"What?"
"Come with me. Help me mete out my bloodpact."
"Bloodpact?"
"A pact forged by spilled blood. Revenge; the very best sport ever devised. I've retribution to dole out." He gestured to the piles of stones. "The demon that slaughtered my family is powerful. You can help me slay her."
"And what do I get in return?"
"You get to live and breathe another day. And maybe, if you're really really good, an answer to the secret that taunts you."
"What secret?"
"The one your kin have spent their lives pursuing. The secret name of the being they sought to control. Imagine. If you had that, you'd be king in your adopted world, for it is weak and vulnerable. He knows that."
"Who?"
"Stroud."
"What do you know of Stroud?"
"My former very dead mistress, Lily, conspired with his rudimentary organization. Crystals in exchange for expansion into the city and protection. It served her well, until you overturned a certain rock and decimated his allies as they scuttled out. No matter though, they're regrouping, and he'll soon return. But you could rule in his stead. If you ally yourself with me."
"Where's Stroud?"
"He went the way of Elsbeth Wyght." The demon grinned. "Slipped back into the shadows. For now at least. We could annihilate the pair of them if you join me."
"I'm not going to join you. Tell me-"
"Then I've nothing more to discuss with you. Not unless you let the other out to play. He'll take my offer in a heartbeat." Thunder rolled across the fens and lightning split the sky. In that moment Sindaub's towering presence made me feel like a child.
I shook my head, defying the insidious whisper from my other.
"There! I saw him," Sindaub clicked his fingers. "He peered through your eyes, just for a moment. He's the clever one, out of the two of you. He understands the potential in my offer."
Another low boom of thunder rolled across the hills and giant, ragged creatures took wing from the stand of trees behind the ruins.
Let me deal with this, the voice buried within me whispered. It cajoled for now, but soon it would demand. I was weak, drained. On my last legs, and I had no idea how much longer I'd be able to resist his call.
I glanced down at the sword of intention and, as I did, I caught a glimpse of Hellwyn's necklace. Its light was dim, but still present. It made me think of her, then Astrid and Samuel. The demon wanted me to make a pact with him, but I'd already made one. "No."
"No?" Sindaub raised a single, warty eyebrow.
"I can't help you. But you're going to tell me exactly what I need to know." I raised the sword.
"Do you seriously think I'll ever bend the knee to a human again? No, from this day forward I serve no one but myself. And if anyone ever attempts to summon me again, I'll be ready with an army of demons at my side. We'll raze your world and spill the blood of the blinkereds one by one. And we won't stop until the whole filthy place runs red."
"I'm not going to let that happen."
Sindaub laughed. "Then you've been ensnared by the illusion of choice." His finger thumped hard into the center of my head, pushing me back. I swung the sword of intent, its blade shining with the force of all that remained within me. "Kill."
Sindaub jumped back as the sword sliced through the air between us. He vanished, reappeared and swept the sword from my hand. It flew across the grass and fell among the ruins.
"Weak. Little. Man." Sindaub grinned before vanishing and reappearing behind me. I turned, pulled my gun, and fired.
The bullet tore through his chest. Dirty red blood seeped from the wound in a slow steady trickle. "That's not where I stow my heart, little man. You've much so much to learn, and such little time." He backhanded me, his fist as heavy as a bag of cement.
The air flew from my lungs and I collapsed to my knees.
I raised the gun and fired again and again.
Sindaub threw his arms wide, welcoming the shots that exploded across his chest. The wounds blossomed like tiny, morbid flowers upon his flesh. He licked his lips and asked for more.
And then with a hollow click I realized there were no bullets left.
54
The black clouds that had engulfed the hills now hung overhead, their shadows darkening the land.
"Boys and girls come out to play, the moon doth shine as bright as day!" Sindaub sang, his voice high and childlike. He towered over me, the stench of the blood that leaked from his wounds rancid and greasy. "Come, little man. Fight harder."
He opened his hands and the grass and reeds quivered. Then I saw the swarm of fat brown spiders rising up from the earth, each the size of a fist. They scampered out of the ground, dragging their furry bulbous abdomens.
I staggered away as they scurried toward me. There were hundreds. I tried to turn and run but my feet were stuck firm, engulfed by thick white webs. Amid the horror of the spiders and my exhaustion my guard slipped.
Words escaped my lips. Words I hadn't uttered in recent memory. Words both powerful and forbidden.
A wave of power thundered inside my chest and surged through me as my other took control. The ground shook and the spiders wheeled into the wind. They crackled and popped. Globs of burning flesh spattered the air as bright blue fire charred their repulsive wriggling forms. The pungent stench of burning hair assaulted my senses as they fell dead to the earth, their legs as black and twisted as spent matches.
"There!" Sindaub said, his voice cheery. "Oh goodie! There he is!"
I barely managed to wrest control back from the icy grip of my other. His fury and hatred was cold and infectious, and it filled my heart with an appetite for devastation.
The Wendigo's words returned to me. Words uttered in a world far from here, in a time that felt so distant. I see your hunger, half man. Your fire's just as wild as mine. One spark, and it'll blaze like an inferno.
That inferno had nearly started, the smoking remains of the spiders a testament to its passing. "No," I said, taking control of myself once more.
"Boo!" Sindaub cried. "Hiss!" He reached down, seized me by the neck, and tossed me aside. I sailed through the air and crashed into a tree trunk. White light flashed before my eyes and pain exploded across my back.
Let me in, my other demanded. I can finish him.
I knelt in the grass. Sindaub
leaned over so that his eyes were level with mine, his grin wide and mocking. "Are you ready for the end?" he asked.
If you don't let me take control, he'll kill us both.
I glanced from the demon's smile to the fat vein on the side of his neck. And then down to the pulsing knot of muscle below his right arm.
His heart.
"No?" Sindaub said. "Perhaps you want to play some more? I'm certainly game if you are. But first a little more pain to soften you up." Dust and leaves rose as he flapped his wings, grabbed my throat and yanked me into the air.
He smashed his forehead into mine.
I fell to the ground and the world turned black.
"There, little man. See how spineless you are? How worthless. A nothing. A pawn. A slave."
"Fuck you." Anger seethed through me. If I was going to die in this desolate land I'd do my damnedest to take him down with me.
"You see your end coming." Sindaub's taut wings arched over me, blotting the world out. "Do you also see how inconsequential you are? I could slay you now, but I want you to know the truth before you go."
"What truth?"
"That you'd be utterly alone if it weren't for the one you hold imprisoned inside you. That you stole his life. That you're nothing more than a parasite. That your self righteousness is a hollow shell."
Astrid's words returned to me.
... You're not alone. There are others. People, trying to keep the light from going out ...
Her voice faded in my mind as the weight, breadth and darkness of my situation swept over me once more. I wanted to close my eyes. Hide from the horror. Lie back and accept the inevitable darkness. Let it swallow me whole.
There are others. People, trying to keep the light from going out ...
I glanced down to find a lone shimmer in the gloom. The necklace. I thought of Hellwyn, Astrid, and Samuel. And the gifts they'd given me.
I reached for my ankle.
