Toska

by A. R. Kingston

  When she is almost on top of me, I lunge forward, aiming the stake straight for her heart. The sharpened stick had found its mark with a small pop as I pushed it deep into her chest cavity. Nadia stands fixed in place; her arms stretched over her head, a horrified look in her eyes. I can feel her cold, stale blood seeping on to my hands.

  “No, actually…” I glare at Nadia with a slight smirk “…he’s mine, bitch.”

  “How…did…you…” Nadia struggled to finish her sentence as she gawks at me, our faces almost touching.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, that wasn’t very mousy or pathetic of me, now was it?” Giving the stake one last good twist, I thrust it up until the tip pushes out the other side. “It’s amazing what one hundred fifty-three years of suffering will do to a human soul.”

  Releasing my grip on the sharpened post, I take a step back. Nadia is clutching it with both hands, desperately trying to pull it out, her mouth is open in a silent scream. The shadow figure moves in close behind her, waiting for her demise. Stumbling back, Nadia falls over on the floor, and the dark mist rushes to engulf her in its black mass. I look over at Victor, he is laying on his side, exhausted, but the mark on his chest is gone, he’s finally free.

  15

  Dark Exodus

  I

  glance back over at what I have done. Where Nadia once stood lays the petrified remains of the frightening gargoyle creature I saw outside Victor’s apartment building earlier today. It had been her stalking us out this whole time in her beast form. Looking over her mangled form, I feel pity for her; it’s unfortunate things had to end this way. A breeze from outside blows between the shattered windows, turning her body to dust, carrying what was left of her out to the darkness with it. The threat of Nadia may have been gone, but the blue-eyed monster in the room with us remained.

  Lingering by the smudge on the floor across from me, the dark cloud begins to take shape. It must have sucked enough of the life force left in Nadia to thin the veil and anchor it’s physical being in this world. Swirling, black mist starts flowing together, becoming solid, filling the room with a massive form that nightmares are made from. When the fog starts to seep out the window, a gray, muscular body with minimal amounts of flesh appears to be towering over me, extending to the ceiling.

  Long arms stretch their way to me, flanking me on both sides, its forearms are bare of flesh, exposing the dark muscular tendons beneath. I can see the muscles flexing, and the veins pumping black blood as the hands form a barricade around me. Sharp talons close in on me, but they don’t dare touch me. The flesh on the beast’s hands is blistered and torn; an inky blood oozes from the boils that have turned into holes.

  Here I am, face to face with the creature I have spent my mortal life fearing. I should be terrified, I should turn and run, but I don’t. I’m not scared of it anymore, and defiantly, I look up to see exactly what this Biblical foe looks like. The emaciated torso has large pectoral muscles; the right side is exposed as the skin has been torn away from it, the remainder of it flaps around with the wind. A gaping hole sits where its heart ought to be, the pruned opening sucks air in and pumps black smog out.

  Continuing my gaze all the way to the ceiling, past the beast’s face, I fixate on the two twisted horns on top of the massive head. They remind me of antelope horns that I saw once in a hunter’s private collection, except these are larger and further spread apart on the apex of its dome. Small, pointed, leathery ears sit just under the twisted bony antlers on the round skull. They twitch as the beast continued to look down at me from its vantage point.

  I look directly into the pale flames which are situated inside slate gray, empty eye sockets. The flames flicker and grow as we continue to stare at each other, predator and prey locked in an eternal battle of wits. The flesh on the worm’s face if horribly scared, deep gashes run in every direction, as roads across the city map. There is no nose, just two holes where it uses to be. That’s not the only thing missing; its lips are gone too, cut away to reveal two rows of needle-like fangs that glisten with delight.

  Now I see why Shawn said the term I would be more familiar with was the devil; this being was just as it was described in the Bible. I wonder though, did it take this form because it haunted my mortal dreams, or because this is what the creature happens to look like. I’m going to guess this is not his real form. Every religion has a different version of the devil, and if all faiths have a grain of truth in them, it would be safe to surmise that the worm is able to take on multiple forms. If its goal is to instill fear into the hearts of all the people on Earth, it would have to adapt to what each culture finds most frightening.

  When I was a little girl, I was terrified by the thought that the devil was out there, trying to get its claws around me and drag me to hell. And here I am, in hell, with the lord of darkness in front of me. But I am no longer the frightened little girl, for I have lived through things far more frightening than him. I watch as the blue eyes look beyond me, staring at Victor who was laying on the floor behind me, it still needs him as a vessel to stay.

  Letting out a low rumble which sounds like a cross between a growl and a groan, the beast leans forward aiming for Victor. Intuitively, I place my body between them, blocking the worm off from getting his body. The devil’s face is so close to my own that I can feel the cold heat coming from the flames in his eye sockets. With a ferocious growl, the monster leans closer and sniffs me with the holes in his face.

  It opens his enormous jaws, wide enough to swallow me up if it wanted to. Thick saliva drips from the tips of the fangs, turning to steam and leaving burn marks on the wood where it lands. A large forked tongue stretches from the void of the worm’s mouth and wraps itself securely around my legs; I can feel the heat under my skirt. The beast lets loose a rolling roar, dousing me in the hot breath that stinks of sulfur. I cover my face and the flesh on my hand's sears and blisters where the saliva hits, but I don’t budge.

  Releasing me from its hold, the worm closes its mouth and continues to stare at me, sharp fangs shining in the dark. A soft hiss escapes from its nostrils as it puffs clouds of black smoke around me. I know it’s trying to intimidate me, but I refuse to back down. There is no way in hell I am about to give it what it wants, and considering we are already in hell, I’d say my odds of winning are pretty good. The devil seems to have the same idea, as it presses its forehead against mine, rumbling at me as it gets closer.

  “You can’t scare me anymore. I’m done being scared. I have been through true hell and back to find Victor, your little playground is nothing to me.”

  He must have found what I said to him to be amusing because he let out a loud thundering laugh, before flicking me with his fingers. Stumbling back from the force of the impact, I trip over Victor’s body and fall flat on my butt. Glaring daggers at the beast snickering across from me, I force myself back up. It seems like he was up for a bit of a fight, guess it’s a good thing I was not going to surrender. Dusting off the skirt of my dress, I compose myself and stroll back over to face the devil once again.

  From the tunnel, the blue and red light beings float up, each of them coming to my side, joining me for the final showdown. Feeling secure in the presence of these things, I allow the fire to take over me as flames begin licking my body. I let my demons loose, making them a part of me, embracing the darkness within. A warm wind picks up around me, swaying my hair and dress on the gentle breeze.

  The light people reach out for me, and I grasp their hands in mine, letting them become a part of me as well. They start talking to me, whispering directly into my brain, and I realize why I have felt like I knew them. These are not just any light beings, these are my guardian angels, my parents, and they have come to save me in my darkest hour. It only takes them moments to start relaying to me all the ancient wisdom they had gathered in the veil, history I have never before heard of, tales from other lands in our vast universe.

  Finally, I understand what Shawn had been trying to tell me back at th
e hotel. This beast, he is not of our world, it’s far more ancient than the universe itself, and it’s pure evil. There is only one thing it can understand, and survive on, negative human emotions: greed, lust, wrath, and jealousy. But living things are complicated, we have a lot of positive aspects to us too, aspects it cannot comprehend, yet ones which it desires. Where this beast comes from, there is no love, no joy, and no compassion; it cannot live on things that are good.

  Yes, there is darkness in all of us, it lives within the darkest corners of our hearts, feeding off our negativity, but not for long. That’s because it can’t contend with the goodness and light we all possess too; once our capacity to care exceeds that of our hate, the beast can no longer live inside us. This had been Nadia’s downfall; it was the one thing she did not understand and therefore could not account for. Had she realized what Victor and I shared was beyond the realms of lust and flesh, she would have known that she was never going to be able to control him.

  Instantly I know what to do. I let my love for Victor and the faith in the love we share flow over me. The fire around me begins to burn more intensely; I can feel the heat of the flames extending out beyond my body, covering Victor in their safe, warm hug. The worm picks me up with one hand, skewering me with the nail on his thumb. I feel the spike go in and come out the other side, but it does not hurt, I seem to be protected by some divine force.

  Bringing me closer to his face, the beast roars at me, the warm breath rips past my hair with the intensity of a squall. Reaching up for the worm’s forehead, I touch it gently and let my emotions flow into it. For a short period of time we are connected, I can see deep inside the mind of this ancient being.

  At first, there is nothing but pitch-black darkness. Suddenly a bright light flashes before my eyes, and from it, the cosmos begin to flow. I find myself standing on the edge of the universe as nebulas and galaxies rush past me. As the stars and colors of cosmic clouds speed by, one galaxy stops before my eyes; instantly I know this one is ours. I’m floating above a planet much like my own, but this one is mostly blue with a few small green splotches in between.

  An unseen rope drags me down to the planets surface, and I find myself standing on a battlefield. Across from me is a tall blond man, kneeling to the ground, he is cradling the body of a young woman. He howls in agony as he tilts his head back to the sky. I notice a bright red flower blooming on the surface of her white gown. At first, I suspect she is dead, but her emerald eyes flutter open, and she smiles up at him. Held tight in his large arms she whispers something in his ear, I want to know what it is, but I am being yanked back up into the atmosphere.

  Being dragged along the empty vacuum of space, I watch as the moons, suns and planets streak past me until I am standing above one I know all too well. Floating above Earth, I only have a few minutes to admire its magnificence before I get rushed down to the surface, to another blood soaked battlefield. A small three tailed fox stand next to a samurai, he is mortally wounded, but he continues to clutch his blade. There is a giant snake-like body wrapped around the man’s legs, but upon closer inspection, I can see that it’s a black dragon. Long whiskers hang down from the muzzle of the beast as it closes in for the kill.

  I don’t get to see what happens next, I am being dragged again, this time through time, not space. Now I’m looking at myself in the present moment, from some outside perspective. I’m touching the beast as my body hangs off the nail that is piercing my torso. I think I’m going to float back into my body now, but the visions are not done with me.

  Time starts up once more, this time it’s going by faster as clocks flow around me with their hands spinning wildly on the dial. This time the visions are sparse, less defined. There is a wilting tree, a gray wolf rushing by, a man on a motorcycle, briar vine, a pink crystal. Glimpses of things yet to come continue to play out before my eyes, the clocks tick away faster. The images I’m receiving now are almost illegible; locket, key, blood flowing down a street, black feathers flying around, and then the world goes dark.

  Lost in the abyss, I have no idea what I have just witnessed. Was that the end of the world that I was made privy to now? Hopelessness and fear begins to take over my body as I realize that the images were of a not so distant future. And if that was not fighting enough, the people in them were familiar to me. I have never met them before, but I knew them, we shared a connection together which also linked us to the beast. Wondering what we share I glance around the darkness and spot a dark red door.

  Inching closer to the strange door, I reach for the handle when I stop myself short. Something tells me that I should not open it, but my curiosity takes over. Staying my breath, I push the door open and stare at the wooded scene in front of me. There, in a snow glazed clearing, stands Nadia, taking to a black mist, her long hair swaying with the night's wind.

  “My soul seems like a small price to pay for Victor.” Nadia paces nervously in front of the devil. “What else is it that you want from me?”

  “The girl.”

  “You want me to bring you, Katya?”

  “No.” The beast rumbles and lays something on the ground at Nadia’s feet. “Her blood.”

  Bending over Nadia picks up the pistol which she used to kill me with and smirks. “Kill mousey and get Victor. You sure drive a hard bargain.” She lets loose a spooky chuckle. “Alright, master, you have yourself a deal.”

  The black mist in front of her laughs in delight as the blue flames flicker brightly in his eyes. With her dagger, Nadia slits her wrist and offers up her soul to the devil. In moments, briar vines spring up from the ground and tear at her flesh as she howls in pain. Serpents, slither out from the dark shape and latch on to her neck. Slowly, her blood begins to turn black, and her skin grows white. Not wishing to look at the scene further, I slam the door shut. Pressing my back against the wood, I slide down to the floor, bewildered by what I witnessed.

  “You,” I mumble angrily under my breath. “You were behind this the whole time.” My stomach churns as an unnerving thought hits me. “But why? What did you have to gain from all this?”

  “Annabelle.” A low, deep voice whispers in the dark.

  “Who’s Annabelle?”

  I sit and wait for an answer, but one never comes. Whoever this Annabelle was, she was clearly important to the worm, and he would stop at nothing to have her. But what did Victor and I have to do with any of this? What purpose would possessing my blood serve this beast in his quest for this Annabelle? As I ponder the questions filling my mind, I am blinded by a bright light cutting its way through the darkness. Straining my eyes, I witness a beautiful pale woman appear before my eyes. She glides on through the dark, her silver gown and long golden hair flowing behind her, her emerald eyes are kind and gentle.

  Coming closer to me, she wraps me up in a warm hug. Deep in her embrace, I feel unconditional love as if a mother has come to comfort her child. Whispering a phrase in my ear, she pulls away and smiles at me. There is so much I wish to ask her, but I don’t get the chance as I find myself back in the room, staring up at the devil. Looking directly into his eyes I lean forward, closer to his ear.

  “Love never fails,” I whisper softly.

  Shrieking, it recoils away from me, dropping my body back to the floor. The swirling cloud which was above the building funnels its way inside, creating a cyclone that surrounds the beast. Slowly, it begins to shrink back into the shadows from which it came from. Ghouls start streaming from the windows as if being sucked in by a vacuum of the cloud. The funnel starts to shrink as the hole begins to close. The light beings leave my body, leaving no trace of my wound behind.

  They float to the vortex, stopping briefly to turn and wave to me, I wave back with tears running down my face. They know I’m safe now, they know Victor is with me, and that this is most likely the last time we will see each other again. They float into the hole of the dark cloud, and it vanishes in a flash of bright light. The heavy feeling in my soul has lifted, the darkness no longer
has a hold on me.

  The screams and pleas of the damned flooding in through the broken windows have vanished, sucked into the dark cloud along with their master. I glance outside, instead of visions of hell, I am met with the pale light of the full moon casting a shadow of jagged glass on the floor. In the distance, over the Moskva River, I can hear the Kremlin tower begin to chime midnight. The New Years has come to pass, and the people of the city are blissfully unaware of how close they have come to damnation.

  Having exhausted all the strength I had left, I fall to the floor. Victor crawls over to me, taking me in his arms. Pressing closer against his body, I wrap my arms and legs around him, keeping him warm from the cold air outside. Staring up at the cracked ceiling above us, we watch the dust fall on us as we struggle to catch our breath.

  “What was that Kotek? How did you send the devil back to hell?”

  “Simple, my dear Victor,” I tilt my head up to him and smile “I will be glad to rejoice in your love.”

  “For you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.” He finishes my sentence before kissing me on the forehead. “But what do scriptures have to do with fighting the devil.”

  “Can’t you see, the passage has nothing to do with God, for God is within us all. We all have a piece of the divine in us. I was able to use the connection we share against him, for to the beast experiencing real love is the equivalent of drinking holy water.”

  “You come up with that on your own?”

  “No, I had help. But that’s not really what’s important here, now is it?”