“Thanks for coming,” I said.
“I’ve known Isaac for years,” Dr. Zimmer answered. “If something is really wrong, I’m going make sure he gets through.”
My eyes burned. “Thank you.”
Miles’ plane was beautiful and comfy looking, but I couldn’t really appreciate it right now.
I took the seat next to Isaac, wanting to keep an eye on him. I held his limp hand as everyone strapped into their seats. Ethan sat in the chair across from Isaac. He met my eyes. Neither one of us said a word; we didn’t have to. We were both terrified. Hades planted himself in front of Isaac. I eyed him. He was in the guard position, but it wasn’t for me. Odd.
The pilots closed the outside door then moved into the cockpit. The cabin was silent, the tension thick.
We were waiting to taxi to the runway when I remembered something. “Oh, shit.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket.
“What’s wrong?” Ethan asked.
I dialed Rory. “Rory.” I turned to look at them across the aisle as I held the phone to my ear. “Parents.”
The others cursed and pulled out their phones too.
“Hey, kid,” Rory answered.
I cringed. “Um… don’t kill me…” I quickly gave Rory a rundown of events. He immediately started cursing. He told me to take care of Isaac, and that I was in deep shit when I got back. All in all, it wasn’t bad.
The plane took off soon after that. I kept hold of Isaac’s hand. For the first time in my life, I felt like praying, but I didn’t. I was too worried about Isaac. The others were just as quiet. Two hours. Just two hours and we’d be there.
We were halfway to Boulder when it happened. Hades growled. Isaac’s hand suddenly crushed mine. I gasped in pain as I looked up. Isaac’s face was in a snarl, his eyes glowing red through the black shadow completely covering him. His hand jerked away from mine. The zip tie broke; his fist snapped out. I felt the hit, tasted blood. I dropped out of my seat to the floor in an effort to get away.
“You fucking bitch!” A deep, demonic voice filled the cabin as the lights started flickering. There was shouting. I was pulled to my back. Isaac was over me, his weight on my waist pinning me down. “You think you can take him from me!” The demon pulled his fist back. “He’s mine, you’ve already lost.” Before I could block, a black blur knocked Isaac off me. I scrambled away from the fight between Isaac and Zeke. The plane suddenly plummeted. Asher moved to help. Zeke was hitting Isaac. That wasn’t going to work. The plane was in a nose dive. Heart hammering in my chest, I crawled to the wrestling guys. I moved to Isaac’s head while Asher got through to Zeke.
“Isaac!” I called to him. The demon reached for me. Both Asher and Zeke slammed Isaac’s arms to the floor of the plane. “Cookie Monster! Help us!” Isaac shook his head hard; the plane suddenly made a hard turn. Everyone was pressed into the floor. I held his face and lowered mine to his until his eyes were all I could see. “Isaac, fight,” I whispered. Isaac’s amber flickered in his wild red eye. He was fighting, he was just losing.
No! Something inside me snapped. My chest felt solid, strong. Without thinking, I sent my will searching for him. I focused on sending out that gold thread to grab onto his soul. I watched, as if in slow motion, that golden thread move over Isaac’s chest. Then it dove deep into his chest.
I was instantly thrown into Isaac. It was like I was skydiving and sliding down a rope at the same time. I held onto that thread and dove past all his memories; I wasn’t here for them. I was here for Isaac and nothing would stop me. Suddenly, there was darkness everywhere. I hit the ground hard. I moved to my feet. It was pitch black. Before I even wondered if it was possible, I conjured a light and threw it a few feet above me. The ground was rocky, dry, and covered with red clay. That voice was whispering again. I ran towards it, sending the light ahead of me.
“There is no point in fighting me. They don’t want you, they don’t care.” The voice was growing louder.
Isaac screamed. I increased the light and kept running along a small dirt path towards a craggy outcropping. I threw more lights up to brighten Isaac’s center.
"Isaac!" I shouted, hoping he'd hear me as I moved along a desert ridge.
“You are not me,” Isaac repeated over and over. “Get out, you fucker!” I ran into the middle of an outcropping of stone pillars and found Isaac, pacing, with his hands over his ears.
“You belong in the dark, Isaac. You know you do,” the demon called.
Oh, hell no! I instantly conjured a fireball and threw it towards the voice. It hit a boulder and lit it up, not burning, just making light. The demon roared. I sent another and another until there was enough light to see by. Isaac stood still, gaping at me.
“That’s not going to do it, girl,” the demon hissed from the darkness. I strode into the middle of the pillars of stone where Isaac was still eyeing me.
“You're in my territory now, bitch,” I warned the demon. Something in the shadows moved through the formations. I kept my eyes on it. “You may be stronger than me, but you don’t rule here.” I turned to Isaac; he backed up.
“Cookie Monster, it’s me,” I told him. He blinked.
“Red? How… how did you get here?” he asked, confused.
“I don’t exactly know. But I’m here. We need your help. I don’t know how much time I have here, so listen.” I pointed at the dirt. “This is your center, Isaac. This is who you are, everything you are. You control this world. Bring in the light and you'll drive it away.” I really hoped I wasn't lying. Isaac just stood in the sand.
“I don’t have any light left, Lexie.” Tears were running down his weary face. “I’m tired.”
“Then you can have mine.” I conjured a golden ball of light from my own energy. I made it grow. Made it brighter. I poured more energy into it, until my nose started bleeding. It was huge. I sent it up into the sky. The shadows fell back a good five hundred feet. There was a scream of pain from the demon as the light burned its flesh. I searched the remaining shadows for it. The shadow was gone, for now. When I turned back, Isaac was looking up at the light with hope in his eyes.
“It’s not gone, is it?” he asked wearily.
“No, but this will give us time,” I admitted. “You can get him to back off. Visualize light; imagine the heat on your skin, that sting in your eyes, and will it into existence. That’s how it works here.”
“Really?” he asked, his voice cracking.
“Yeah, that’s how it works.” I felt that pull. I quickly conjured a pack of road flares for him to use. “Shit, I’m being pulled back. We are with you, we are fighting for you. Hold on—”
I was jerked back and thrown out.
I opened my eyes and the world spun. I groaned and curled up on my side. Pain radiated from my temples and back over my head. It felt like I had broken something in my brain and the shards were digging in. What… Green eyes met mine. Miles gently brushed my hair from my face.
“Lexie?” Miles’ smooth, silky voice was nice on my mind. A tongue licked the back of my hand.
“Here… minute,” I whispered. I closed my eyes and floated in misery. Someone pressed a napkin to my nose. I held it there and groaned. Nausea had my stomach in my throat. “Kit,” I whispered. There was movement. Someone put a nausea tab in my hand. I popped it into my mouth and tasted cherries. When the nausea finally pulled back, I opened my eyes again.
“I take it we aren’t crashing?” I asked, feeling miserable.
“No, as soon as you closed your eyes the pilot was able to get control,” Miles told me. “What did you do?”
“Not now,” Dr. Zimmer told them. Miles moved so the doctor could kneel next to me. He pulled out a light and checked my eyes. I answered his questions to his satisfaction before he got to his feet.
“She checks out fine, let’s get her in a seat,” Dr. Zimmer announced.
I swallowed hard. “Let me get up.” I rolled to my stomach and pushed to my feet, swaying instantly. Zeke caught m
e, lifted me off my feet, and moved me to sit in the closest seat.
“What did you do?” Zeke snapped.
I checked my tissues before meeting his eyes. “Well, I kind of grabbed Isaac. I… I somehow went to his center.” Zeke frowned. “I found him in the dark, helped him, told him how his center works. Then I was yanked back out.”
“How the hell did you do that?” Asher demanded, his eyes wide.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I was desperate and just kinda did it.”
“But you spoke to him?” Ethan asked, his voice thick.
I met Ethan’s eyes. “Yeah.”
A wave of exhaustion crashed over me. I laid back against the seat. “I… I think I’m going to pass out…”
Miles hit a button and the comfy seat reclined. Oh, that was better. Engine grease filled my lungs as my belt was buckled.
“Rest, Ally,” Asher whispered. A hand took my left; I recognized the callouses on his fingers. It was Ethan. Darkness washed over me.
Chapter 13
Boulder, Colorado
We pulled the rented SUV into the parking lot of Saint Joseph's church. The church was beautiful, built from old, rough stone. The stunning stained glass shone in the fading sun light. A great place to take your possessed friend.
We all agreed to have me go in with Ethan while everyone else stayed in the car to keep control of Isaac and Hades. I jerked the door open. We rushed through the foyer and stepped into a large chapel. No one. It was empty. Faces looked down from the ceiling. They were probably saints or something. Down the aisle was a simple altar with a white cloth draped over it. I noticed a door off to the left side of the altar and started striding towards it.
A door on the right side opened. A man in his sixties came out, dressed as a priest. He had nicely trimmed salt and pepper hair, a pleasant face, wrinkled with age, but still likeable. That chill ran down my neck. I cursed. There was a ghost here. I saw her a second later. She walked through the door after the priest. She was older. She had to have been in her eighties when she passed. She wore a long, old-fashioned, flowered dress and a cardigan with a hummingbird brooch. Her hair was short and thick, falling into a bob just below her ears. She had nice eyes and a happy smile. She stayed with the priest, keeping pace.
He looked up and smiled welcomingly. The priest limped over to meet us at the first row of pews.
“Welcome to Saint Joseph’s.” His voice was just as pleasant as his face. He had the same eyes as the ghost. His mother? A sister? She had stayed back, so I didn’t know. Her hands clasped in front of her as she watched us, happy, waiting. I’d never seen a ghost like her before. “Is there something I can help you with?” The priest brought my attention back to him.
“We’re looking for Father Francis,” Ethan answered, his voice respectfully low in the church.
He smiled bigger. “I’m Father Francis, how can I help you?”
“I’m Lexie,” I told him bluntly. I had no time for subtlety. No, Isaac had no time for subtlety. His eyes ran over me before meeting mine.
“Ah, yes.” He gestured for us to sit. I didn’t budge. “I understand you believe you’re a Necromancer.” Huh?
“I am,” I told him. That didn’t matter right now. “Isaac’s in the car with the others. Where do you want him?”
Father Francis smiled gently and sat down in the first pew. “I’m sure you believe you have abilities. And I’m sure you also believe your friend is possessed. However…”
He didn’t believe me. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! We did NOT have time for this shit! I looked at the ghost, slipped my beads off and took several steps closer. For the first time in my life I didn’t fight as her memories slid into my mind. She was his mother. He hadn’t called her back; she never left. She never would, not till he passed himself. She was there to protect and watch over him, not to haunt. I felt the love she had for her son. It was enormous and selfless. It was a mother’s love. I felt wetness on my face when I opened my eyes again. I turned to meet his eyes, tears falling, my heart bursting with his mother’s emotions.
“Elise is right here,” I told him, my voice shaking. “She’s wearing the hummingbird brooch that you and your dad picked out when you were seven.” I shook my head, my throat tight.
“She never went anywhere. She’s been here with you all this time.” Father Francis’s eyes shone as his jaw clenched. He looked away from me. I couldn’t take any more. Her emotions were still pouring into me gently, softly. I had never felt anything like it.
I backed away, slipping on my beads and wiping my face until I backed into Ethan. He wrapped his arm around me and squeezed. The pain began to fade. Whether it was Ethan or the distance I didn’t care.
It wasn’t long before Father Francis was looking at me again. He didn’t seem surprised to hear anything I said. “No one has ever mentioned the brooch before,” he announced, his eyes bright. “Okay, you’re telling the truth. Why do you think your friend is possessed?”
Seriously? I repeated everything that I told him on the phone, then added, “Oh, yeah. And on the way here, it made our plane do a nosedive.”
Father Francis listened to everything. Then he pulled out his phone and started texting someone. “What kind of car are your friends in?”
“The only black SUV in the lot,” Ethan answered.
He hit send, put his phone back in his pocket and looked up. “Some of our people will bring them in and get your friend into a room,” he said, “We will examine him and determine if he is possessed or mentally ill. True possession is rare.”
“He almost killed himself,” I reminded him.
He nodded with a patient look on his face. “Which is why we will take every precaution.”
“Is he going to be okay?” Ethan asked, his voice lost. I grabbed his hand on my shoulder and held it tight.
Father Francis sighed. “If he’s mentally ill, there are treatments. If he’s possessed…”
“Then what?” I demanded.
Father Francis looked at the two of us. “Depending on the stage, it’s a fifty-fifty chance he’ll survive.” It was like a blade was driven into my heart. It became hard to breathe. Ethan gripped my hand tighter. Father Francis continued. “It all depends on the person and how long they’ve been dealing with it.”
“It’s been… a few days.” I told him.
Francis nodded, his eyes understanding. “Then there's still hope for him.”
The door opened. A tall, bald, muscled man strode into the church. He had a distinctive face with sharp cheekbones and a strong jaw. He was wearing black military pants and a black T-shirt. But what held my gaze were his tattoos. Down the outside of his neck were black and bronze scrolling letters in a single line. They ran down his neck and disappeared into his shirt only to reappear on the outside of his arms and continued to his wrists. They were the same as the tattoos my True Self had… What the fuck? The guy moved to the priest before he bent down and whispered in his ear. Father Francis brow drew down. The man pulled back as the priest got to his feet and turned back to us. “Come with us.”
We followed Father Francis as the man led us through the door into a back room. “This is Craig. He’s the leader of this unit of Templars.”
“Templars?” I asked as we were led outside and across a large garden courtyard to an even bigger building behind the church.
"Yes, the Templars are the world's first line of defense,” the priest explained as Craig opened the door and led us out into a large hallway. "Templars all have the same full body tattoo you can see on Craig here. Anyone wearing these tattoos is a Templar." Craig opened a large door across from the front door. We started down the wide stone steps. The air temperature dropped twenty degrees; it seemed like we were going into a basement. The walls were blocks of rock. Lights hung from the ceiling.
“What do the tattoos do?” I asked carefully. “There has to be a reason.”
“It’s a spell tattooed into the skin for the Sight and
also protection against possession from ghosts and demons,” Craig explained, “which is why it’s so large.” They could do that? My mind raced with possibilities. I shoved them away. We had bigger problems right now.
When we reached the basement, there was another long hall branching off to the left and right. We turned right and were led to a door with a crowd of people standing around it. All of them were in black and bearing the same tattoos. I needed to ask about it, but right now Isaac was what mattered.
“Make a hole,” Craig barked. People began walking out of the door. There had to have been twelve people in that room. All of them said some form of ‘sorry, Captain’ or ‘sorry, sir.’ I put it out of my mind for later and followed them into the room.
It was a medium sized bedroom; there was a desk, a chair, even a bookcase. Isaac was there, in a hospital bed against the middle of the far wall. There were two more of those tattooed guys inside, standing like guards beside Isaac’s bed. Dr. Zimmer, Zeke and Asher were standing near the right wall, next to the bookcase. Father Francis moved to the left side of the bed, past the desk. Ethan moved to the foot of the bed next to Miles and Hades, while I stayed where I was in the doorway. There wasn’t much more room.
Isaac came into sight. His eyes were glowing red, the shadow slithered over his face.
“Uh, does anyone else see that?” I asked the room.
“Yes,” Craig and the other Templars said in unison. Oh, good. I wasn’t nuts.
The demon smiled wickedly, its eyes on the priest. “Father Francis of the Templars. I’ve heard of you.” The voice coming out of Isaac was the same as before; deep, dark, and chilling. “How’s the family?”
“What’s your name, demon?” Francis demanded.
The demon cackled as he looked around the room. His eyes found Ethan. “Hermano, tu lo que eres un idiota, eres un imbécil. No te preocupes, yo me encargo de el,” he taunted. Ethan’s hands balled into fists at his side. Those demon eyes moved to me and his smile grew. “Ah, Red, we need to talk.”
When Evil Comes To Play (The Veil Diaries Book 5) Page 25
