by John Corwin
"Tyler?" I said in a whisper. "Wake up!"
No response.
I glanced at his still form. He was drooling, and quite obviously nowhere near conscious. I took a step backward into the cage, shrouding myself in the shadows, and hoping no one turned to see the open cage door. Dropping to my knees behind Tyler, I slapped him on the face as hard as I could without making noise. He didn't so much as twitch. I wormed my arms under his armpits and pulled. It was like pulling a sack of lead bricks. I took a deep breath and tugged hard. The cot teetered on two legs. Cold sweat broke out on my forehead as I fought to keep it from falling over with what I imagined would be a spectacular crash. The metal legs settled back onto the floor, and I gulped in a breath.
Even if I removed him from the cot, dragging him out was not an option. If only I could wake him up! I drew in a sharp breath as I realized one possible way to accomplish such a thing. Sneaking back out to the cooler, I grabbed two cold bottles of water and went back to Tyler.
"The council will now decide on your fates," the Exorcist boomed, his voice echoing eerily throughout the cavernous sanctuary. "Will the members please step into the circle?"
I felt time slipping away far too quickly, and twisted off the lid of one bottle. Without hesitation, I dumped the freezing cold contents on Tyler's face. The water plastered his hair back, some of it filling his mouth. He choked, sputtered, and coughed. I pressed my hands over his mouth to keep the noise down. Water sprayed between my fingers. He drew in a breath. Groaned.
"Tyler?" I hissed. "Please wake up!"
He coughed water into my mask.
Stifling a curse, I dumped the other bottle on his face. This time, he jerked upright, his eyes flying open, fists clenching at thin air as though fighting off an invisible enemy.
"Tyler, it's me," I hissed, desperate to keep him from making noise.
He flicked his head my way, spraying water like a wet dog. When his eyes settled on me, they filled with such relief I nearly wept.
I put a finger to my lips as he opened his mouth to speak, and then pointed at the figures outside. His mouth snapped shut as his gaze took in the room. I pointed toward the exit that lay behind the partition past the cots. Tyler nodded. Slid his feet off the cot, and stood—or tried to. As he put weight on his legs, his knees buckled and he fell to the stone floor. Tyler gritted his teeth, wiped the wet hair from his face with a hand, and tried to stand again. His legs wobbled, but held. I braced a shoulder under his arm and moved toward the cage door.
I felt Tyler's warm breath on my neck as he leaned in and whispered, "Thank you, Emily."
Tears sprang into my eyes, blurring my vision. I fought them off before they compromised the rescue, tilting up the mask to wipe my face. I wanted to hug and kiss him, but now was most definitely not the time.
The Exorcists had formed a tight circle around the two people the man had been yelling at earlier, and were murmuring among themselves. I took a quick glance around, but the light from the candles in the center of the room made me night blind to whoever remained outside the glow. I would have to retrace my path all the way back around the cots to the opposite wall with Tyler limping at my side. I prayed we could make it without raising an alarm.
The exit was tantalizingly close—only ten feet away or so past the partition wall that hid the door leading outside. But with the pulpit and table stacked in the way, jutting out from the wall by several feet, the detour would take us perilously close to the candles and into easy view of everyone.
We had no choice but to go to the opposite side, and hope none of the council members decided to look behind them within the next several minutes.
Wishing to God I could use the bathroom before attempting our escape, I led Tyler toward the cage door. We left the cage, and I directed him to the right so we could circle behind it. As we passed a cot, the man on it groaned, and his eyelids fluttered open. My body screamed with tension as I waited for the man to sit up and go mental once he realized where he was. Instead, he mumbled something about fried eggs and fell back to sleep.
I felt Tyler release a breath of air. My own body sagged with relief. We continued onward, Tyler stumbling at my side in a painfully slow pace. But there was nothing more we could do to speed things up unless Tyler's legs decided to cooperate. We finally reached the opposite wall and made our way along it. The end of the partition would be the most dangerous, I realized, because it was close enough to the candles that anyone sitting on this side of the sanctuary would only have to glance our way to realize a prison break was in progress.
My stomach tensed to the point of pain, and my breaths came in flutters. This was it. Make it or break it. We reached the end of the partition. Steered around it. My back tingled as though dozens of eyes were suddenly watching it. And then we stepped into the shelter of the partition, hidden from any eyes in the sanctuary. Nobody yelled. No footfalls ran our way. We'd made it!
A breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding shuddered out of me. Tyler kissed my hooded head.
"Almost there, baby," he said, the grogginess in his voice unable to hide the hope.
We made our way down the corridor, took a left, and reached the hallway through which I'd entered. My heart lifted the moment I saw the door at the end. We were going to make it. We had to.
Tyler's limping gait picked up speed as we headed toward the exit. I wanted to run screaming from this place and never look back. My heart seemed to pound faster with every step we took. And finally, we were there. I resisted the urge to throw it open, instead easing the door open to take a peek.
The handle abruptly flew from my grasp, causing me to stumble forward and into the night. The mask pressed hard against my face, the edges digging into the skin painfully as I collided with something.
I barely kept my feet when I rebounded with Tyler pulling me off balance. I looked up and stifled a scream. A robed figure towered over me. The black eyes of a porcelain mask stared back.
Chapter 42
"What the hell?" a male voice said a split second before hands clamped around my arms.
I reflexively thrust my knee toward what I hoped was the groin. The man twisted, and my knee missed his vitals. Two more Exorcists appeared. Tyler struggled upright, but in his drugged state, the men overpowered him with ease, twisting his arms behind him and cuffing them with plastic bands.
I shouted curses at my captor, twisted and kicked. He held me at arms' length, his thick meaty hands squeezing painfully around mine. We were caught. There was no escape. Without warning, the energy seemed to drain from my body and I fell to my knees, sobbing, the hope I'd felt only seconds before evaporating like a dream.
The Exorcists dragged us back down the hall and into the sanctuary where a group of their frantic comrades met us, apparently having just realized Tyler was gone.
"We found them escaping out the back," said the man holding me. He jerked down my hood and pulled off the mask.
"You've gotta be kidding me," another male voice said. "How'd she get out of the car?"
"Doesn't matter," a woman said. "We will finish this now."
"He's awake!" someone else said.
"We subdued him," my captor said. "He's still too sedated to overpower anyone."
"Then get him into the circle," the woman said. "Now!"
"What about her?" the man asked.
"Let her watch. Maybe when she sees what this thing really looks like she won't be so eager to protect it."
"Are you out of your mind?" The man's grip tightened on my arm. "We can't just let her watch. What if—"
"Do you really think I'd let her go without a memory block?" the woman said. "I'm not an idiot."
"No, but why let her watch? You know that the more she sees, the harder it is to block."
"Stop the bickering and get the subject into the circle," said a deep male voice. "Fasten the woman to a bench."
That seemed to settle things. The man directed me to a pew, pushed me down on it roughly, and bound my
hands with a plastic band before taking another one and looping it through the metal armrest. I didn't bother testing my restraints. Tears welled in my eyes, blinding me, and rolling down my cheeks. Sobs tore from my throat.
I wanted to beg and plead with these people, but I already knew it was as useless to do so now as when they first caught us.
Through blurry eyes, I watched as they dragged Tyler into the silver circle. They cut his bonds and dropped him in a heap. He struggled to push himself up, but only managed to rise to his knees. He swayed, eyelids fluttering, his face as forlorn and hopeless as mine probably looked. Our eyes met, and in a moment of perfect clarity, I saw a tear glisten in the candlelight before running down his cheek.
Tyler sagged to the side, barely catching himself before falling over. When he righted himself, I noticed a reddish sparkle on the floor next to him, but whatever reflected the light was too small for me to make out.
The Exorcists formed the circle and began to chant. The words sounded like no language I'd ever heard. One of them held a scroll in their hands with strange symbols written on it. As they chanted, the symbols began to glow one at a time with an unearthly bluish light.
I felt my mouth drop open. Was this some sort of magic?
Impossible!
Then again, how could I doubt another strange thing on this earth, knowing what I knew about Tyler, and having seen a demon exorcised right before my very eyes? My mind still didn't seem willing to accept any of it, and I felt a wave of dizziness pass over me.
"Emily," Tyler said, his voice calm, but filled with sadness.
"Tyler!" I shouted back, my throat raw. "Oh, God, Tyler!" More tears came, running hot down my face. "Please, no," I sobbed. "Please. He's not evil."
None of the Exorcists took notice of me as they raised their hands into Vs above their heads. Tyler rose from the floor, looking at first as though he was standing on his own power. But then his feet lifted from the floor, dangling. He gritted his teeth, eyes clenched shut as though in incredible pain and the muscles in his neck went taut. Some invisible force seemed to fling his arms wide, and a long, agonized cry tore from his throat.
"No!" I screamed, trying to leap to my feet only to have my bonds jerk me back down into the seat.
Green vapor formed on Tyler's skin, lifting slowly like morning mist. He arched, as though a spear had struck him between the shoulder blades. His mouth went wide and another cry of pain tore from his hoarse throat. The vapor lifted slowly, inexorably free of his body over the course of countless minutes until his cries of agony abruptly cut off. Tyler went limp, arms and legs dangling.
His true form hung in the air, smoky at first, but gathering solidity until, aside from the color, it looked nearly human. He bore no semblance to the horrific phallic demon I'd seen earlier, but beautiful. Like an emerald statue carved in the likeness of a god—long lean legs, a muscular torso joined to arms rippling with muscle, and a strong-jawed face with full lips and big soulful eyes. He looked a great deal like his earthly body, but ethereal, green, and glowing.
I heard gasps behind me and felt my own breath catch in my throat.
A crystalline tear dropped from Tyler's eye, rolled down his cheek, and dropped from his chin, vaporizing into mist before it hit the ground. He held out his hand as though reaching for me.
The chanting Exorcists pressed their hands to one another's, and the leader on the raised platform shouted the same words I'd heard earlier before slashing the air with his hand. The portal in the arch opened, washing the sanctuary in unearthly blue light, like the sun dancing on azure water just on the other side. The leader cried out another word, and Tyler's ethereal form drifted toward it.
"Emily!" Tyler cried out, his voice filled with so much sorrow and longing I felt my body go weak.
"Tyler!" I strained at my bonds, thinking I would cast myself into the portal if it meant I could stay with him. "I love you!"
His mouth opened, but no words came out.
The moment seemed to stretch into eternity as he hung suspended between this world and his. Something growled, and the very air seemed to reverberate with the noise. Tyler looked toward the portal as another roar echoed from the other side. Was something waiting for him there? The Exorcists seemed unconcerned, but fear etched Tyler's face. He looked back at me, and the fear seemed to melt from his features, replaced by what seemed acceptance.
"For what it's worth, Em, I do love you." He blew me a kiss. Smiled. "I'll miss you."
The air suddenly exploded into white brilliance, blinding me. Shouts and cries echoed through the chamber. I blinked white spots danced in my eyes until they adjusted to the dim candlelight once again. The Exorcists still stood, palms joined. Inside the circle, only Tyler's body remained. The portal was gone.
All remaining strength fled from me and I sagged, wishing to God I could just faint and get it over with. But that mercy was denied to me. I was beyond sadness. Beyond the utter tearing grief I should have felt at that moment. I was...empty.
I hardly noticed time passing, or the robed figures clearing out the sanctuary. One of them put Tyler's body on a gurney and slipped a body bag around it. I heard someone crying. Someone in unbearable pain. Someone who had lost everything. I didn't know who that person was. I didn't want to know them. I wanted to be someone else, anyone else, if only that person in such agony wasn't me.
Tears filled the world, and then merciful darkness followed.
"Wake up, child."
I opened my eyes to a figure with a blurry halo above its head. I blinked. The moisture in my eyes cleared, and the halo of light vanished with it.
"I see now why you loved him," said the voice again. It was a calm voice. A voice that gave me great peace. It was a voice that had calmed me countless times. From the time I'd skinned my knee while learning to ride a bike, to the time Peter had broken my heart, my body, and left me feeling worthless, battered, and hopeless.
The robed figure slid back the hood, and pulled off the mask. My father looked down at me, pain filling his eyes.
"Daddy?" Agony and betrayal gave a ragged edge to my words. I sounded like the little girl from long ago.
"Yes, sweetie. It's me."
I tried to speak, but dry sobs wracked my body. My hands, free somehow, formed fists and I beat him on the chest, pounding him as I screamed with rage. "How could you do this to me? Who the fuck are you?"
Someone grabbed my arms and jerked them down. Dad looked behind me. I turned and looked into the face of my mother. Her eyes were tight, but betrayed little in the way of emotion.
"You too!" I squirmed, desperately trying to break her hold, but I was spent emotionally and physically. I didn't want to live anymore. My parents had betrayed me, and this earth had nothing more of value to make life worthwhile.
"We don't have time for this, Emily," Mum said, authority ringing in her voice. "Now listen to me."
"Fuck you!"
She released my arms and stars blinded me as she delivered a ringing slap to my face. "Listen to me, young lady."
"What do you want?" My voice came out raw and hoarse.
"Your father and I have done something horrible to you, we know that, darling." She pressed a hand to my cheek, taking some of the sting away. "But we had no choice. We are bound by duty deeper than you know."
"Just go away." I staggered to my feet, and pushed away my father's hand as he reached for me. Aware as I was of the auras around some of the Exorcists, I noted with some odd relief I felt no such paranormal signs from my parents. "Go away and never come back." I saw the gurney and the body bag with Tyler inside it still sitting in the ring of candles. Other than the three of us, the church seemed empty. A raw sob tore from my body at the sight of the body bag. I ran toward it. Ripped down the zipper.
Tyler was still warm. Breath still came from his body, weak and shallow. The body was still alive. But I knew without asking that the man I loved was no longer inside. He was gone, banished back to the hell he'd grown up in. I
t might take him months to return. Years, if his enemies on the other side captured him. Even worse, he might never escape and return.
All the love I'd known in this world was gone.
Tyler was here no more. My parents had betrayed me, forsaken my love and trust. It was over. My life, my love. I wanted nothing more to do with it. With a cry of despair, I lay atop Tyler's body and tried to forget all that had been, all that was, and what could have been, my future, now a bleak wasteland of pain.
A hand touched my shoulder. I spun, throwing it off, and looked into my father's eyes. "What part of go away didn't you understand?" I spat.
"Honey, we love you. Just hear us out, please."
"I don't want to hear your lies, you crazy religious nuts!"
His jaw tightened. "I think maybe you do, and that you'd better or by God I'll throw you over my knee and spank you like you were a little girl again."
I felt my eyes go wide. How dare he expect me to listen to them after what they'd done!
Dad opened his hand, and the candlelight danced off a red gem in his palm. "This is a soulstone, Emily. When your mother and I met Tyler, we knew what he truly was. At first, we thought he was just like every other demon we've seen—ruthless, uncaring, and selfish. But the way Tyler carried himself gave us doubts. The organization already knew about him from another source, and we'd only just received word they intended to capture him. Our agents, posing as police officers, put a tracker on his vehicle when you tried to escape."
"We tried to get you to come with us before they went after him," my mother said. "We were frightened you might be killed."
"And you nearly were." Dad's voice broke. "If not for him." He motioned toward Tyler's still form.
"He saved you from the train, daughter." Mum came to stand next to Dad. "He could have saved himself, but he chose to come back for you."
"I couldn't reach you in time to save you," Dad said, his face tightening in pain.
"It was you I saw falling down the hill," I said.
He nodded. "I fell. I was beside myself with agony because I knew I couldn't save you. But Tyler came out of nowhere and did it even though it meant we would catch him."
