by Aiden James
The depiction of an enormous, misshapen hornets’ nest enwrapped within the coiled body of a viper immediately chilled him. A vile mixture of milk-like venom and blood dripped from the image. Surrounding the angry snake and disrupted nest were rows of shrunken human heads, similar to what one might find among cannibalistic tribes of the nineteenth century. Behind the nest stood a very tall figure. Not exactly like the ghoul that Christopher told his parents about less than a week ago. But close enough.
Chiseled features and defined muscles, like a comic book hero, its curled saber-like fingernails dripped with blood. The eyes glared angrily as glowing narrow slits, and were the most definitive characteristic of the figure, aside from the fingernails. They bore feline characteristics with the coldness of the snake before it, and the flash program that fed the image changed the color of the eyes in a continuous motion from neon blue to deep green, and then a fiery yellow and finally to a drenched crimson that deepened further toward black before the cycle repeated. The surrounding goriness of the image increased as the eyes grew darker, and then tapered off when the eyes turned blue, like the mysterious figure’s bloodlust had been somehow satisfied.
Alongside the image sat a volume button, for the moment muted. Evelyn tentatively clicked it after getting encouragement from David to continue. A chilling buzz filled the air around them in stereo, along with a phrase whispered in Gaelic. The words also flashed in neon green script along the bottom of the page.
Evelyn told them that the rolled-tongue enunciation of the words reminded her of the strange phrases shrieked at her by the derisive spirit. Evelyn clicked on a small red button next to a Gaelic phrase chanted in gothic rhythm…. ‘ailgidim conne… ailgidim conne chugad!’ The German translation that first appeared along the page’s bottom was no more helpful than the original, so she clicked the button once more. The English translation now appeared.
She shuddered again while joining Miriam in slowly mouthing the words, with David looking on silently. Perhaps merely a weird coincidence, since what they viewed from the website had been nothing more than a tribute to the ancient Gallic deities and violence that pervaded throughout much of the metal band culture. Yet, the similarities between this and what they’d already experienced couldn’t be easily dismissed.
I am coming…
Evelyn set her laptop aside and got up from the recliner, motioning for Miriam and David to follow her throughout the cabin’s main floor. They moved quickly, making sure that towels and blankets covered all mirrors and any other reflective surfaces they came across. Evelyn also advised them to make sure the windows and doors were locked and secured. Whether just an empty rock n’ roll chant to Von Dansving’s loyal following or intended as a threat by the entity in a clever and unusual manner, they couldn’t afford to be lax.
…I am coming for you!
***
“I’ll just be a sec, babe,” said David, as Miriam stepped inside the doorway to the guestroom.
Other than the living room, it was the most rustic location in the cabin. Furnished in a pioneer motif, the room featured a feather bed piled high in handmade quilts and just enough reminders from John’s upbringing among the most powerful Cherokee shaman leaders. Dream catchers and spirit chasers covered all four walls inside the room, while a painting of a warrior sitting proudly on a black mustang amid falling snow in the dead of winter hung above the dresser mirror. The warrior’s sullen gaze looked out into the room, as if a silent sentinel charged with watching over John’s guests.
Already past midnight, and the cabin completely secure from any outside menace, he unpacked their overnight bag. Working quickly, he spread out the contents on the bed until he could figure out where to put everything. Miriam had always been better at this, which often came as a surprise to those who knew them best, since everyone always assumed the CPA would be more adept at organizing things than the pediatrician.
“No need to hurry just yet,” she told him, smiling slyly as she closed the door behind her.
She sauntered over to the bed and slipped her arms around his waist, nuzzling her face into his neck, just below his beard. At first, it took him aback. Not that he minded her seductive approach, as such a welcome change over what she’d been like during the past twenty-four hours. His only lingering concern was her trust—that she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he’d never cheat on her.
“I’m so sorry, hon’,” she told him, pausing to gaze up into his face. She pressed up against him, her eyes probing deeply into his.
“I have no idea why I behaved the way I did,” she confessed. “I guess it was something about the voice that just set off feelings I haven’t felt in years.”
His initial response a forgiving nod, the mystery as to why the entity wanted him and Miriam to travel here still puzzled him greatly. What did it really want? Other than torturing and then killing anyone associated with the desecration of its grave, what more could it desire?
She looked away sadly, perhaps picturing what it was like for her so many years ago, and yet how easily she reverted to that behavior following the call from last night.
“It’s okay. Honest, Miriam, that’s all in the past, now,” he assured her, pushing aside his worries.
He brought his hands up along the shapely contours of her body, until they reached her face. He gently caressed her cheeks and brushed aside her hair that had fallen into her face. Her eyes filled with tears.
“I-I… I love you so much, David,” she whispered, and then buried her face in his chest.
He allowed her to weep for a moment, but not near as long as she allowed Evelyn to pour out her emotions earlier that night. Not from insensitivity, as so grateful for her change of heart that he would’ve waited hours for her emotional release to run its natural course. Rather, another feeling overrode his appreciation. Something left unfinished, despite the fact Evelyn assured them both that nothing else could be done until the entity made its next move.
“I love you very much, too, babe,” he told her, gently lifting her face to where he held her gaze with his own again. “Maybe after we get everything unpacked, you and I can snuggle together for awhile before we go to sleep.”
He motioned to the bed still covered with their clothes and toiletries.
“Maybe,” she agreed, eyeing him coyly. “Snuggle, huh? Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer to just have your way with me instead?”
She chuckled, and he realized her amusement came from his use of a word she preferred, one that rarely came to mind for him.
“If we had a place like this to ourselves, like the chalet we had back in October, that’s exactly what I’d do!” he teased, pulling her closer.
“Maybe we can work something out to where that can happen,” she teased back, her look seductive. “But definitely not tonight. Evelyn wants us to come with her when she goes to see John tomorrow. I’m sure you already planned to do that anyway.”
“Yeah, I’d like to be there first thing in the morning,” he said, turning his attention back to the items scattered atop the bedspread. “I suppose we should get ready for bed before temptation gets the better of me…. I could use your help in finding a suitable home for this stuff.”
“Sure.” She moved over to the pile of clothes and grabbed a handful of underwear and socks.
“Evelyn told me about some Cherokee legends that sort of match up with this thing,” she said, while placing the items inside one of the dresser’s top drawers. “Based on her own experiences and after hearing everything you and I told her, she feels the entity may be much, much more than just an angry spirit. I think that last website kind of helped her see things differently…. She’s beginning to believe this thing might actually be one of the more ominous and chief demons among the Cherokee. She called it a ‘raven mocker’.”
“A ‘raven mocker’?”
“Yes,” Miriam confirmed. “She said it’s been a big part of her people’s folklore and occult for hundreds of years. In fact, the Cherokee li
ving on the reservations in both North Carolina and Oklahoma still fear raven mockers.”
“So, these things are fairly common, I take it,” said David, and then a playful smile spread across his face. “Do they run in groups, like gnomes and fairies?”
She giggled for a moment, but then grew serious, as if she feared they had uttered some kind of sacrilege.
“Okay, seriously, tell me what she said about them.” He made sure his serious tone matched her countenance, though the image of little raven-like sprites bringing invisible attacks to their unsuspecting victims left an amused expression on his face. Miriam refused to reveal anything else until he looked as serious as she did.
“According to Evelyn, a raven mocker is a witch of sorts,” she began, once satisfied he was ready to hear the rest of what she had to say. “It’s more evil than most, taking on the form of a spectral bird that easily shifts into something human or a shadowy phantom. A raven mocker steals the life of the weak, seriously ill, or dying. They’re said to bear the ‘agedness’ of those they kill, and are covered with wrinkles as a result—like the old tree man that the kids saw walking about our house in Littleton.”
She paused to make sure he stayed with her, and when he nodded, she continued.
“The legends also state that a raven mocker can remove a person’s heart without breaking the skin. Evelyn said that as a young girl, her grandfather once told the story of how John faced such a creature not far from here, after it murdered one of his childhood friends who had battled polio, long before there was a vaccine available on his reservation. She’d always assumed the boy died naturally, due to lack of adequate medical attention. She no longer is so sure….”
Her voice trailed off again and she looked toward the door. They both thought they heard Evelyn call for them from the living room. But when they paused to listen, the only sounds they heard were her laughter and Shawn’s playful bark.
“I’ll go check on her,” said Miriam. “Besides, I can take our shampoo and the other bath supplies you packed into the main bathroom, so we won’t have to do it in the morning.”
“‘Sounds like a good idea, babe,” he agreed, and then watched her leave the room.
He removed his keys and wallet from his jeans’ front pocket and prepared to set them on the dresser when something slipped out of his hand and landed on the floor. The glistening ruby. Luckily it landed flat and didn’t roll away. He picked it up, ready to place it back inside his wallet. But on a whim he decided to hold it up to the wagon-wheel light fixture in the middle of the room. Under its brightness, the jewel’s smooth contours sparkled in a rich crimson hue, and he had a clear view of the mistiness inside.
The dense mist definitely moved this time, swiftly as it moved along the perimeter of the ruby. It traveled across the face of the stone until it faced David. To his amazement, an image inside the mist began to solidify, and an eye appeared. It reminded him of the ‘cats eye’ marbles he played with as a kid, but blinking coldly, like it belonged to some tiny, mutated reptile. A terrible chill seized his heart when he realized the eye studied him.
What the ...??
He nearly dropped the gemstone, passing it from hand to hand as if it might suddenly catch fire and burn him. He looked around the room, desperately seeking someplace safe enough to hide the thing.
The eye squinted, giving the impression it sought to discern his location. Putting the thing back inside his wallet definitely didn’t seem like a good enough place—nor did throwing it inside one of the dresser’s empty drawers. Strangely, the only appealing idea that popped into his head was how his aunt recently discovered the jewel back in Littleton. He shoved the ruby into the crevice between the bedspread and the pillow closest to him.
“David…David, what are you doing?”
Miriam paused inside the doorway before heading off to the living room. She eyed him suspicious; her eyes squinted like the monstrous little eye a moment ago. But in her case, as if she’d caught him doing something sneaky…something dirty.
“Nothing,” he replied, nonchalant while moving away from where he just stashed the jewel. His footsteps silent, like a cat-burglar creeping along the wooden floorboards as he rounded the edge of the bed and walked over to where she waited. “I was just straightening the bedspread since it was messed up from where I laid the overnight bag.”
Why he lied to her, he had no idea. It was stupid, even pointless…and definitely dangerous if he got caught. Especially after what they’d just gone through together. His immediate reason? The rationale of protecting her and Evelyn from whatever lurked inside the ruby—perhaps the implausible home of the ‘old tree man’ or ‘raven mocker’, if that’s what this thing actually was. The truth, however, he needed time… time to come up with a good explanation as to why he brought the damned thing with him here instead of leaving it someplace safe in Colorado.
“Evelyn has done some more research on raven mockers and is waiting to share it with us,” Miriam advised, her suspicion subsiding once David gently wrapped his arms around her. He led her out of the guestroom and into the hallway.
The pungent scent of hickory emanated down the hallway from the living room, as Evelyn had added three fresh logs to the hearth. The room seemed much cozier now, and the fire’s bright glow provided the only illumination other than the lamp next to the recliner, where she waited for them to come see what she had discovered on the web. Shawn lay curled near her feet.
“I shared some of this information with Miriam already.”
She paused to take a sip from one of three cups of fresh cocoa she’d prepared for them.
“Really, the only difference between what your kids have seen and the legend itself is the curved fingernails and the eyes, since raven mockers are supposed to be human…at least at some point in their existence,” she said. “I had long considered it just a myth among my people that anyone could live off the life energy of someone else—like some sort of vampire. But my sister’s murder points to such behavior, and I’d be willing to bet that the murders linked to Grandpa might be similar in some way.”
She gazed at the fire, where the burgeoning flames created enough warmth for them all to be slightly uncomfortable this close to the blaze. She protectively pulled the laptop toward her and scooted her body to one side of the recliner to gain some relief from the fire’s heat, while David and Miriam stepped over to the side of the recliner furthest from the fireplace and then looked over her shoulder at the image currently on the screen. An etching from a long-forgotten book on Cherokee myths gathered by a pioneer missionary in the region named James Seaton, who lived among the more peaceful tribes in the early eighteenth century. The depiction was of an old squaw being chased by a crowd of people throwing rocks and large sticks as the throng pursued her.
“I know what you’re thinking—the same as my initial reaction,” she said to David, drawing a glance from Miriam that came soon enough to witness his latest smirk. “How on earth could such a frail and unassuming figure wreak enough havoc to where an entire township or tribe would be in an uproar—right?”
He nodded to confirm her accuracy, feeling vulnerable in the presence of the two females on the planet that enjoyed the clearest insight to his thoughts and musings.
Suddenly, loud creaks erupted from the roof, followed by heavy footsteps descending along either side of the A-frame structure. Soon after, more subtle, shuffling noises resounded from the back porch. All three glanced around, nervous. Since it fit the description of the last assault Evelyn suffered, earlier tonight, David guessed they had three visitors again. Evelyn agreed, and then set the laptop next to the recliner as she stood up.
“What in the hell is out there??” Miriam whispered worriedly to him, before turning to Evelyn for answers. Neither could provide an explanation.
“I don’t know,” Evelyn finally responded, her voice a hoarse whisper. All at once her eyes grew wide, and she grabbed them both by their arms. “Move with me over by the fire—NOW
!!”
No sooner than they reached the hearth’s ledge, the cabin’s walls shook hard, as if embraced by a violent explosion outside that she sensed coming. Miriam began to whimper, which aroused David’s protective instincts. He pulled her close with one arm while using the other to help Evelyn steady a large log to where she could get a secure grip on it and throw it on top of the fire. Flames sprouted up on all sides of the log, as if affected by their urgency.
Shawn growled at the back door, taking a few tentative steps with his tale turned downward.
“No, Shawn—stay with me, boy!”
Evelyn grabbed his collar and dragged him back to the hearth’s ledge. He resisted her efforts to turn his head toward her, instead barking angrily toward the hallway just beyond the fireplace. At the same time an unsettling noise arose from the guestroom. To David, it reminded him of what cellophane sounded like when stretched over a large dish or bowl, to the point of breaking. Rather than wait for what would happen next, he bravely bolted around the corner and down the hallway before either female could try to stop him.
The hallway had become incredibly cold, where only minutes earlier the beneficiary of the warm blaze that had enveloped the entire main floor. He heard Miriam start to follow him, but then Evelyn stopped her, keeping her by the fireside. Initially relieved by Evelyn’s efforts, when he made it down the chilly hall and flipped up the wall switch to the guestroom’s light he wasn’t so sure that any of them would remain safe.
A garish, human face with green feline eyes greeted him at the doorway from inside the dresser mirror. The mirror’s surface had already been stretched beyond anything he would’ve previously believed possible, hovering several feet beyond the dresser’s edge. It reminded him in a way of the big soap bubbles his kids once played with. Only he never imagined those bubbles containing a profile as hideous as the one that now turned toward him, as if trying to get a better look at him…a closer vantage point as the sickening cellophane sound announced the mirror’s surface stretched even further. The top portion of the mirror’s surface shimmered brightly under the overhead wagon-light’s glow. All the while, the sound of it stretching grew painfully shrill to his ears.
