He reached out to me and vanished.
I mean he was just…gone.
My knees gave on me as I lost control of myself and swirled down into what felt like a psychic drain pipe. Light and dark swirled into a miasma of storm clouds. Lightening lit up the sky and I landed painfully on the ground, on my shoulder. I gasped for air, fought to pull it into my lungs as I rolled onto my front. My arms shook as I tried to push myself up and then failed. I landed on my stomach, my head turned to my right.
Darkness lightened and blurred as something came into sharp focus on the floor in front of me. A few seconds passed as my breathing slowed. My lungs still burned. I gasped when I recognized the body laying beside me.
Manuel.
The carvings all bled in small rivers down to the blood soaked carpet. I was inches from him.
Help me!
I realized in that second I was back in control of my body, and my energy was gone.
"There…all better."
That was Vanessa's voice. And it was Inanna's.
Gray pumps appeared on the floor between Manuel and I just before one of them pushed me over onto my back with a quick shove to my shoulder. I looked up to see Vanessa Stephens looking down at me. Her eyes were black, her face haunted, and her teeth…
"I am sorry, Zoë. But I couldn't stay with you. I know how painful it was for you to hear what Dags said. And I tried to ease your comfort. But it's become too dangerous for me to stay with you. If I linger as part of you, I can't do great works."
I cleared my throat. All of my energy was gone. I felt like I'd run a marathon on two cups of coffee and no sleep. "D-daniel?"
"Oh yes. I'm afraid he was another casualty. I had to bring his essence with me to prevent a full bond with you—just in case I had to escape quickly." She knelt beside me. She brushed my hair away from my face and tucked it behind my ear. "Wow…by the time this is all over you'll be prematurely gray, won't you?" She smiled. "Writing the Grimoire, Zoë, educated me to all forms of magic, even Abysmal magic. And that's something I won't be sharing. I made sure that piece of the book is well hidden. But it allowed me to know how to create a temporary bond so that I'm not locked into one life for a long period of time. Of course it does mean a soul has to act as my surrogate. And Daniel with his broken mind and heart is a perfect fit."
"Where…"
"He's with me. In here. Keeping this troll of a woman away from me. I had to gain strength in order to take your body from you because you are brethren. You're kin in a strange way. But Vanessa…she's just human and easy to manipulate." She stood and moved away.
I did manage to turn my head to follow her. She started pulling books down and making an even bigger mess of the room. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find that wand and find that cop friend of yours. I don't know who's hiding him or if he's doing it himself. But I will find him. And then I will use him to find the rest."
"…stop you…mom will…" Jesus… Moving was like traveling through molasses. I pushed forward and did manage to roll onto my other side, away from Manuel's body.
Invite me in!
"Nona won't ever know I'm here."
"But…others will. Jason…and Umaymah…"
There's not much time!
She laughed. "No they won't. You forget. I have all the magic of the Grimoire," she said as she pointed to her head. "In here. They won't know I'm here if I don't want them to. Now," she clapped her hands. "I need to set the stage, you see. And soon I'll have to take my book back."
I reached out for her as she marched out of the office. I heard her talking with her guards and then the door closed.
Talking outside. The sound of car doors closing. Engines revving.
I took several deep breaths and slowly pushed myself over and up on my hands and knees. Crawling to Manuel took a bit longer than I thought it would. The feeling of impending danger settled on my shoulders and remained there and I had to fight the overwhelming urge to OOB and get the hell out of there. I knew on an unconscious level I didn't have long to do what I had to do. Every part of what I'd become told me to leave. But who I was, the part of me that was me…Zoë…refused to leave someone in trouble. Not when I could help them, the way I'd helped before.
Once on my knees I bent forward over Manuel, held out my right hand and forced it incorporeal before I plunged it deep inside of his chest. He didn't move. The body was dead. And as soon as I found and released Manuel's soul, the body was going to turn to goo and I was going to have to find enough strength to get the hell out of there.
I remembered the cold from before as my arm sank deep. That bone numbing cold and the way it touched off every gross nerve I had. I searched around for Manuel the same way someone would search for a missing bauble inside a vat of crude oil. Blind, with only the sensation of touch available.
I was about to give up and OOB as two things happened.
I touched the warmth of a soul.
And I heard cars screeching to a halt as they parked outside and a lot of people running.
10
Invite me!
I couldn't see through the windows who was now banging on the front door, until a bull horn cracked through the thrumming.
"This is the police! We know you're in there! Come out with your hands up!"
The police? Not the Society? Had Inanna triggered some kind of silent alarm to delay me? She hadn't bothered killing me—though I wasn't that sure she could.
What the fuck ever—I grabbed the warm soul, cut the fetters that bound it in place—Morgan's blood—released it—
And collapsed backward.
Letting him go and not devouring him was the hardest thing I'd had to fight within myself for a long time. I was starved, robbed of power and strength. Had Inanna taken it? Had she somehow sabotaged me physically just to stop me from going after her?
Zoë…please help me…
I heard my name.
Not from the bullhorn outside, but from inside. There in that room. I held my breath and listened again.
….Zoë…
Yes! It was faint but it held all the resonance of a First Born. I pushed myself up on my elbows and stared at Manuel's body. "Morgan?"
There was a rush of relief, kind of like the first cool breeze of Fall at the end of Summer. It cooled my skin and I hadn't realized I'd been sweating until that moment. I also hadn't noticed the blood covering my clothing. Again. Even my arm was scarlet red from my elbow to my hand…
And in my hand I held…a heart…
I screamed. Oh man it was the best old fashioned girlie scream I could give as I dropped the heart and scrambled away from it. I made scarlet brushing marks on the carpet as I pressed myself against the desk.
Whathefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck…
Please Zoë…you must consume it…to save me…
I swallowed down bile. "You…you want me to eat Manuel's heart?" My voice had a bit of a shriek to it.
A voice outside near the window said, "I heard someone inside!"
Eat…the heart? How…when the hell did I tear it out of his chest?!
You freed him, Zoë…he's gone. At peace…I will return to the well if you don't consume me.
"Consume…you? You're in the heart?" Oh gross. Gross. Gross. Gross.
What is left of me. Please…Inanna must be stopped. I know where the wand is. You have to get to it before she…
When Morgan didn't finish I sat up and leaned toward the bloody lump on the carpet. It quivered and I hiccuped.
This…this was just too much for me. I couldn't do this…not anymore. Oh dear God…what kind of world was I born into? I clasped my bloodied hands over my mouth to stifle a scream, but that didn't help because I could taste the coppery blood on my lips. That was a flavor I never wanted to experience again. Even when Inanna had fed the smell…the metallic tinge of blood…made me nauseous.
"Morgan?"
They were getting ready to hammer the door down.
She didn't answer.
Why…why did I have to eat the heart? Why couldn't she just step inside the way Inanna had?
Zoë!
The sound of Mephistopheles's voice in my head made me jump. He was here? Close by?
Zoë…you have to let them in. Is Inanna with you? Is Morgan here? Zoë, we can't sense them.
Oh God OH GOD! "Morgan…" I whispered. "I'm scared. I'm so….so scared…"
The heart quivered again. Was she so weak she couldn't talk to me anymore? Was it really possible a being as infinitesimal as a First Born could inhabit…a heart?
I don't know what possessed me, or why I did it. Maybe it was because I couldn't make up my mind. I crawled quickly to Manuel, closed his staring eyes and pulled what bit of life was left in the cells of his body. As I did I shifted and became the Wraith. I don't think I really needed the added power. I could tap the planes themselves if I wanted too. But I didn't want TC to see…I didn't want anyone to see…
I stood as the door in the front came crashing in. I spread my wings as I knelt down, my knee pressing the blood into the carpet, and carefully scooped the heart into my hands. By the time I stood up, the door to Vanessa Stephens's office opened and a crowd of uniformed men, suited men and women, and a familiar dark haired man in Hugo Boss stood in shocked silence.
They were regular Atlanta Police Department. Mastiff stood among them. And…they could see me.
Me.
The Wraith.
The Harbinger.
And…they could see Manuel's body, the chest torn open, the symbols carved on his skin, and his heart…in my hands.
Zoë…did you kill Manuel? Mephistopheles's voice had an odd tone to it. Bordering on shock and anger.
"No…" Jason said as he started forward but Mastiff put a hand out to stop him. "That's…this isn't possible."
"What the fuck is that?"
"That's one hell of a Halloween costume, bitch. Now put the heart down…and put your hands up." This was one of the larger of the uniformed men in front. Everyone had their weapons drawn.
And none were L-6.
I looked at Jason. "I'm…I'm sorry."
He pulled forward but Mastiff continued holding him back. "You killed Manuel!"
I knew what it looked like to him. I knew he felt it harder than anyone. He'd been in Manuel's position once—under the knife of Maureen and held by the spell in the markings. Even his flawless skin could reflect the ghost of their magic in the right light.
"Put the heart down!" The cop said again.
I spread my wings.
They fired their weapons.
But I wasn't solid enough to feel them anymore. To them I'd be little more than a faint image, a faded photograph.
And then, nothing.
I sieved through the house, through the ceiling and into the sky, the heart still in my grasp. I didn't know what I was going to do. I just knew I needed to keep the heart alive.
The Coterie will find you, Wraith. Metphistopheles's voice was no longer gentle and kind, but thick and menacing. There is nowhere for you to hide for what you've done. Two First Borns! There will be nothing left of you by the time we—
I cut off him off. I didn't know I could till I did. Without a First Born inside me, they couldn't track me.
Two? Did he really believe I'd killed Inanna? Was that what that damn bitch wanted? It made sense as I sailed north to the woods. Misdirection was the art of war. Weaken your enemies from the inside. Turn them upon one another so that when the real battle begins, they are defenseless.
She was pitting the Revenants against me, as well as the Society, hoping to keep us all busy so she carried out what ever sick, twisted fantasy she had in that warped old mind of hers.
Well…I was pissed now.
Really pissed.
And it's really not a good idea to piss off a Wraith.
I wasn't going to let her succeed, but there wasn't much I could do right then. The damage to my own heart was sapping my strength even as I moved, and if I wasn't careful I was going to end up in a hospital and very easy to find.
It might have been the pain in my chest, or the delirium that threatened to take me out of the sky, but a really crazy, gross, nasty idea came to me. Something that I had no idea how to pull off…and no real proof it would work.
I hovered over Red Top Mountain as I looked at the heart. I couldn't hear her. I didn't know if Morgan was still there. But…my heart was damaged. And this heart…
I did what any other desperate, red blooded American Wraith would do when faced with adversity. I made the heart incorporeal and shoved it into my chest.
And that…was…
Oh my…
about the author
Phaedra Weldon is a writer and mother of one. Born in Pensacola, Florida, Phaedra was raised in the lush, green southern tropic of Georgia. She grew up on southern ghost stories told while eating marshmallows around campfires, or on the back of pick-up trucks in the middle of cornfields on chilly October nights. She worked as a Graphic Artist for over twenty years in the publishing and sign industries until she became a full time writer in 2009. Phaedra currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and daughter.
This work and everything in it is the sole property of Phaedra Weldon. Any copying or reprinting will be prosecuted to the furthest extent of the law.
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