The Raven Mocker: Evil Returns (Cades Cove Series #2)

by Aiden James

  It’s about to find me…I smell its seared breath!!

  “Edoa Asdudi, Adatlisvi Awi inage ehi!!”

  His grandfather’s voice, more urgent this time, it commanded him to stay close. The glowing eyes vanished. Rather than wait for them to show up in a new locale, John scurried over to where he last saw them. But the wolf had moved on, its eyes peering around another column, though just a dozen feet away. John removed his boots after the serpent’s wings brushed against the columns where he stood a moment ago.

  He hurried over to where the eyes waited. This time they didn’t disappear until he almost reached them, in time to see the faint outline of a gray furry tail move away. He glanced behind him. The dragon remained a good thirty feet away, its mist-filled snorts drifting through the air, hanging as a cloud until the moisture fell to the floor. To his left, the corridor’s path approached the base of the other tall marble staircase.

  The man’s screams were getting worse… begging for his life. Definitely louder now, the screams resounded from atop the tall staircase.

  The doorway where the blue glow came from…They’re all up there…I can feel their life force…not dead yet.

  “Galutsv!” Come!

  Despite the nearness of the menace, the wolf moved out into the corridor. It quietly trotted over to the staircase and began ascending the stairs. John didn’t need further encouragement to follow, stepping light on his feet to avoid detection. The wolf waited for him to catch up, and then they hurried together up the staircase.

  It surprised John that an attack didn’t happen sooner, casting frequent glances over his shoulder to where he last saw the colorful dragon, moving amid the tall columns where he left his boots. Suddenly, however, a loud screech filled the air above where he stood, a few steps below the staircase’s pinnacle.

  Run!!

  Flapping wings and an enormous shadow announced its descent. The wolf leapt over the last few stairs, snarling as it turned to face the aggressor fifty times its size. John scrambled up the stairs, wheezing as his heart thudded madly within his chest. Strong and virile at his late age, the stress and physical challenge of making it this far had caught up with him. Once past the wolf, he started to collapse, even as the hungry dragon bore down.

  Just another ten to fifteen feet and I’ll be there… I can see the walls inside. Hanna’s in there…Evelyn, too!

  It landed right behind him with a heavy thud, drawing one last weary glance from John over his shoulder. Resigned to the likelihood he wouldn’t succeed in saving anyone he collapsed to the ground, cowering from an immense mouthful of sharp pointed teeth.

  It could’ve been where his life ended—should’ve ended. But the wolf that he believed to be his grandfather, Two Eagles Cry, wouldn’t allow it.

  Before the dragon could take the bite to end John’s life, the wolf bit the thing on its right leg. It shrieked more in irritation than pain, swinging its wings around, and catching the wolf under its chin. It landed hard on the stairs, yelping as it tumbled back down to the corridor. John moved to rescue the wolf, but his grandfather’s voice inside his head urged him to move forward instead…to get through the doorway.

  Lacking strength to run, John leaned forward, stumbling the rest of the way. The smell of seared breath followed him, and the angry serpent almost won.

  But something else took him instead. Something with powerful, boney hands yanked him through the doorway. That was the last thing he remembered before passing out.

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Searing pain sliced through the sleeves of John’s coat…both arms were held fast.

  “Ulihelisdi Awiadisi!”

  The voice unnaturally deep, the resonance caused a slight tremor in the circular rooms’ walls. Not since he was a young boy had anyone used the shorter Cherokee version of his name—one that his grandfather shunned.

  Welcome Running Deer!

  The figure before him was much taller than any man he’d ever seen. It stood before an altar, white marble, garish in its finely carved images coated in blood. The room was immersed in a bluish glow, created by a roaring cobalt fire fed only by a pile of human bones.

  This is where they died…the ones he killed. Sacrificed for amusement. Eight heads in a neat row behind the altar—like the wolf’s head and paws left for me at the edge of my property.

  The figure smiled, and John knew immediately it read his thoughts. Human in some ways, with handsome features mixed with hideous attributes, the coldness of its cat-like eyes made him the most uneasy. They seemed to bore through him, singeing his sentient awareness as if carelessly sifting through his rampant thoughts.

  “Teutates?”

  John felt ashamed by his nervousness, since he hoped to exhibit strength in front of Evelyn, who looked terrified. An auburn-haired girl lying next to her trembled in filth…. Hanna! Alarmed at her condition and near-nakedness, he lurched forward, instinctive in his urge to rescue them both at all costs.

  But then twin hisses filled his ears…. Until now, his captors stayed hidden behind thick veils of darkness, holding him fast with invisible iron-clad grips upon each arm. Their faces materialized, one on either side. The faint odor of ginger overwhelmed that of death. Grimaced malice, vacant eyes and paper-like flesh that peeled away from their foreheads. What surprised him most were black crow feathers in their hair. Though similar feathers adorned Teutates’ hair, hanging from ornamental beads in his long raven mane, the simpler manner in which these two wore theirs angered him.

  Danuwa analihi! Warriors, both of them…disgraced!!

  “No more than you, Running Dear,” said Teutates, his voice now far more mellow while moving over to Evelyn.

  Yanked up by her hair with his right hand, in a swift move that escaped John’s eyes, the rolled fingernails in his left hand fully unfurled to slice through her bonds. He brought her close to his chest, pulling her hair back to expose her throat.

  “You’ve deserted the calling of your people, leaving it to a woman. Neither you nor her are worthy!”

  Evelyn gasped in pain as he wrapped his long fingers through her hair, like rollers, and pulled tighter.

  “Don’t hurt her, please, I beg you!” John pleaded, falling to his knees on the dirt floor.

  A better view than he would’ve liked of the row of severed heads, the last one belonged to Deputy Charley Peacock. An expression of terrible pain and horror when he died, it looked like he’d been scalped first, savage force tearing past skin through the outer rim of his skullcap. Charley must’ve been the man he heard crying and screaming, offering a plea eerily similar to his own just now.

  Another woman lay trembling next to Deputy Peacock’s severed head, which John guessed to be Miriam. That’s when he noticed David hanging from a pole.

  He’s still alive!

  Blood poured down his wrists as he desperately fought to free himself. John looked away, trying not to think about it…how close David was to freeing himself.

  He might be our last hope!

  “Why should I listen to you, cowardly man?”

  Teutates voice gleeful as he addressed John again, he brought his index razor just below Evelyn’s chin. John didn’t know what to say. If possible to save her—or any of them for that matter—he had just one shot. One shot to get it right.

  Agatoli Uktena!

  His grandfather’s voice pierced his mind.

  Ududu? Are you in here with us under the guise of a new spirit form? Along with his grandfather’s voice came an image of the ruby. Where is it? John remembered last seeing it back at the cabin. It’s in the box on the mantle… what good would it do anyway? Why are you showing me this, Grandfather??

  Teutates paused, acute interest replacing the smug look.

  He still might kill her, but maybe….

  The monster withdrew his saber-tipped fingers from her throat, reaching within his cloak and producing his gilded scepter. John recognized it, having seen it up close when it was removed from the ravine in Novemb
er. He hadn’t seen it since, except in visions.

  Something about the way it glistens…spectacular but incomplete.

  Teutates smiled, revealing Piscean rows of sharp teeth. He seemed to take more pleasure from John’s latest grimace. Even the ghouls on either side of John chuckled, though as ancient beings, drawing raspy hollow breaths.

  “So, the holiest stone is somewhere near?” asked Teutates, turning the scepter to where John could see the lone empty groove within the ornate handle. Home to the ruby that David brought with him, long ago removed from the ravine by his infamous ancestor, Billy Ray Hobson. “The ‘Eye of Uktena’ rests in your living room?”

  Tla!

  The voice of Two Eagles Cry, his grandfather, even louder this time. No, the ruby wasn’t there.

  Did someone already take it? Maybe Teutates or the dishonored ones took it, and he’s just toying with us…intent on delivering prolonged agony through our emotions.

  “We no longer need you,” said Teutates. A very bad development.

  No, Running Deer. No one else took it. You have it…you brought it with you when you picked up the flashlight from the mantle. Don’t you remember? It’s in your coat.

  “I was wrong—it’s somewhere else!” blurted John. Coyness could either save him or hasten his death. “You’ll be wasting your time if you go back there….and if you hurt any of us, you may never find it.”

  A gamble and a stupid move if his thoughts gave him away. Teutates gave no indication one way or another, though his expression seemed to soften.

  “Uwoyeni nasgi gawohilvdodi.naquu.” Hand it over now.

  Back to my native tongue? He’s desperate to make sure he gets it back. Why??

  “Nasgi nigesvna nihi tsateli!” It’s not yours!

  “Tla! Nasgi Aquateseli!!” No! It IS mine!!

  Teutates’ voice grew deep again, threatening. He pulled Evelyn closer, bringing the scepter’s ivory tip beneath her chin. She screamed and a small river of blood appeared. John cried out for him to stop, his remorse immediate and profound.

  “Don’t do it, Grandpa!” Evelyn pleaded bravely. “He’ll kill us all if you tell him!”

  Too late. Distressed for her welfare, his thoughts now betrayed him. Only for an instant, but he pictured where it lay hidden, tucked inside a small zippered compartment in his snowsuit. Teutates snickered, the scepter’s ivory tip bearing Evelyn’s blood poised to sever her neck while she sobbed, ostensibly resigned to her death.

  “Adanedi nasgi ayv!”

  The shadowed wraiths tore open John’s snowsuit, eager to comply with their master’s command to bring the ruby to him.

  “No—get your hands off me!” John shouted at them.

  Undeterred, they rifled through his pockets until one of them located the jewel. But as one fiend held it up for his partner to admire, John managed a solid nudge. The ruby slipped from his boney fingers, landing on the floor. For a moment, it looked like it might roll in a tight circle and fall over. While the pair sought to recover the jewel, it rolled toward Teutates, who reached down with one hand while he tightened his grip on Evelyn’s hair with the other.

  Disquelvdi uyotsuhi!

  This time John gave no indication he heard anything. Two Eagles Cry’s latest admonition shouted with confidence, John watched as the ruby suddenly veered toward the blue fire burning nearby. Before Teutates could grab it, the gemstone rolled into the fire, where it settled in front of the burning skull.

  The spell’s been broken!

  Undeterred, Teutates stuck his long fingers into the flame, intent on retrieving the prized ruby. He drew back his hand quickly, a look of surprise on his face. He tried it again, fingernails unfurled. The flame morphing from cobalt to emerald, the very instant his nails touched the fire, they ignited. The green flames raced up his hand, where the flesh on his long fingers split open.

  Howling in pain, he tried to douse the blaze in the pooled blood on the altar’s table. When the blaze traveled up his arm, he released Evelyn, tearing out a few clumps of her hair. A slight tremor began to move through the walls and across the ceiling, steadily building as if rising to seize this vile place, this temple of death.

  The ghostly warriors let go of John, backing away from him while casting their hollowed eyes in every direction, worriedly…wary of something unseen and unheard by John and everyone else. A distressed roar from a very unhappy dragon resounded beyond the sacrificial room’s doorway.

  “Evelyn!... Hanna!!” he cried out as he ran over to his granddaughters.

  Hanna looked up with frightened eyes after Evelyn removed her bonds, peering through matted locks. He tearfully embraced them both, keeping a watchful eye on the monster whose left arm had become a sizzling torch.

  Teutates’ muscles began to whither and disintegrate, amid flames that now burned orange and yellow. Even the fire supported by the pile of bones changed, burning in natural form and color as well. The bones themselves turned black before collapsing into a pile of ashes. The ruby, however, remained pristine. It glowed radiant within the fire’s midst.

  David finally freed himself. With the demon preoccupied with its survival, he ran over to Miriam and gathered her into his arms. Barely conscious, she clung tightly to his chest.

  “We’ve got to get out of here!” urged John, glancing toward David and Miriam before turning his attention to the doorway.

  Teutates’ servants remained distracted, their gazes fixed upon the glistening spheres that covered the walls and ceiling. Each one glowed brightly with intense energy.

  The surge rumbling through the earth continued to grow louder, and the dirt floor began to shake. The warriors no longer looked to their master for guidance and protection, whose shrieks of agony announced how the fire consumed him wholly, offering no mercy. Meanwhile, the spheres began to vibrate. One by one they detached, floating along the perimeter of the room. Like a small army of crystal bubbles, the croquet-sized orbs drifted in an array of brilliant colors toward the room’s only exit, where the warriors cowered. The spheres attacked them, tearing away the very fabric of their dark essences. With each hit, a human soul briefly materialized. Colonial pioneers to Native Americans and even Appalachian coal miners appeared, and more, male and female.

  Joined by similar balls of light crowding outside the doorway, enough of these souls finally overwhelmed the pair. They disintegrated, spiraling to the ground as twin piles of black dust, similar to what was left of the pile of human bones, their choked rasps muffled.

  John urged Evelyn to help him carry Hanna who briefly resisted their efforts. But like with Miriam moments earlier, the spell she was under began to lift. Less disoriented, she seemed to fully recognize her grandfather for the first time. She reached for him to take her, squalling like an infant. But then she looked beyond Evelyn and screamed in terror.

  Teutates loomed above them, standing on the blood-soaked altar. Poised to pounce, his arms spread wide, and his entire torso now engulfed by fire. His image similar to the massive statue John saw earlier, there would be no escape. He let out a derisive cackle, followed by a string of threats mostly unintelligible, perhaps from dialects long dead.

  Prepared for his impending attack, it surprised them all when he suddenly fell backward. From the other altar’s other side, the fire’s sickening pop and sizzle continued to consume him. John heard muffled cries and spasm leg kicks—the death throes of most living creatures. A low sigh followed, dispersed into the air around them, and then silence, including the rumble that threatened to engulf the room. Even the sorrowful moans from the dragon that protected his temple outside subsided. For a demon such as this, John doubted the end would be so clean, where the spirit left a body once it failed to support life. In his mind’s eye, he saw the agony continue…the shrieks of a condemned spirit thrown into impenetrable darkness, forced to feel pain and wretchedness long after the physical form became mere ashes and dust.

  “Sorry, my friend, that our reunion is under such dire circumsta
nces,” he told David, quietly, pausing to shake his hand and careful to not aggravate his wrist wounds. He then peered around the altar.

  “Well, it certainly wasn’t the original plan,” David agreed, chuckling sadly as he joined him, walking gingerly as he peered over the altar’s other edge. “But at least we now have lots to catch up on.”

  Teutates, or what was left of his charred and molten body, lay still. Like bacon on a skillet, the skin, eyes, and fatty tissue bubbled and popped, a nauseating sulfuric stench wafting toward them. Small rivers from the melting mass of Teutates’ corpse joined to form a large puddle next to a bludgeoned, headless torso of a black man lying behind the altar. A light gray mist arose from the demon’s disintegrating corpse, drifting down to a small crack in the wall, where it then disappeared.

  What?? Is that the anisgina’s sacred essence?... His immortal soul…Or, did he even die?? Look—no bones!!

  John grimaced as he watched the remaining discernible features dissolve into the puddle, steadily shrinking as it fed the growing mist that appeared to be sucked into the crack, pulled along by a powerful draft or vacuum.

  John looked over at David, whose facial expression told him they shared a similar conclusion.

  This shit’s far from over!

  “Hurry—follow me!!” John moved toward the doorway as Evelyn and Hanna rejoined him.

  David returned to Miriam’s side, guiding her toward the room’s exit. He paused to grab the gilded scepter lying on the floor. It ignited before he touched it, and he quickly withdrew his hand in response.

  “Don’t stop for anything! We’ve got to get out of here before he comes back!!” urged John, just before stepping out of the room.

  “Who, Teutates?” asked Evelyn, worried, her voice hoarse from her personal ordeal with the demon. “I thought he just died….”

  She didn’t finish her words, but the expression on her face confirmed her understanding of a different fate.

  John watched the images in her mind, including what she picked up from his recent witness of the burning remains of the demon. But unlike his awareness, her spirit followed the anisgina’s flight from the room, disappearing down…down into the darkened depths of a hellish world that flourished far below where they presently stood. Gathering strength and malice, Teutates would return…soon. Very soon. And when he did, there would be no moment of carelessness. No toying with his prey. And suffering…. Such terrible suffering he planned to give them all.