The Harbinger

by Wendy Wang

"I don't know," Charlie said. "It just seems sort of disrespectful."

  "I know." Jen patted Charlie on the elbow. "But sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures and as much as I hate to admit this, there are spells that could help you achieve your goals.”

  “But how high is the price?” Charlie asked.

  "Listen, I’ve looked through them all and the owner did dabble in dark magic. That's the real reason I took them. I didn't want them to end up being used by anyone. But …"

  "But you're proposing we use them now," Lisa said.

  "Maybe. Maybe some good can come from them,” Jen said.

  "Is there anything in there about locating a person?" Charlie asked.

  "I could do a location spell without any of this darkness." Lisa waved her hand over the box. "But I've got to know specifically who I'm looking for.”

  "Your spirit. The one from your dreams," Jen said. "You said she's been a little cagey. Not wanting to stay around. What if we called her and asked her to talk to us?"

  “You mean forced,” Lisa said.

  "I don't know," Charlie said. "I don't like the idea of that. At all."

  "It's not like we’re gonna kidnap her or force her to do anything horrible on our behalf,” Jen said.

  "I know. It just feels wrong," Charlie said.

  "I hate to admit this, but," Lisa began, "Jen may be right. She’s seen his face and where he kept her. All we want from her is some information. When we’re done, you can have Tom escort her to where she’s supposed to go."

  "I guess if Tom could get her away from him and help cross her over, maaaaybe it might be okay," Charlie said.

  "We’ll need some of her personal effects,” Jen said. "Hair would be best. Preferably with the root still attached."

  "I can give Jason a call and see if they catalogued anything like that into evidence,” Charlie said.

  "What about her apartment?" Lisa said. "You think Jason could get us in?"

  "Probably,” Charlie said. "Why? What are you thinking?"

  "I'm thinking there's gotta be a hairbrush somewhere in her apartment. And that we should see if she has any other personal effects that we could use,” Lisa said.

  "All right then," Charlie said. "I'll give him a call."

  Charlie, Lisa and Jen waited in Lisa's car in the parking lot of Bethany McCabe's apartment complex. Charlie glanced at the watch on her wrist.

  "Don't worry, he said he would come," Lisa said.

  "I know," Charlie said.

  "What are you worried about, Charlie?" Jen asked.

  "I'm not worried." Charlie’s cheeks heated at the lie. She turned her head, looking out the window, hoping her cousins wouldn't notice.

  "Charlotte Grace," Jen said in a tone usually reserved for Ruby and sometimes her father. "You want to try that again?"

  Charlie shifted in her seat and crossed her arms. "No. Not really."

  "If she doesn't want to talk about it …" Lisa said.

  Charlie let out a little irritated growl from the back of her throat. "Fine. I’m worried."

  "About what?" Jen asked.

  "I'm worried that Jason won't show up. Not because he's breaking his word. But because Cameron has somehow convinced him otherwise. Cameron's a bad influence if you ask me."

  “You’re jealous,” Lisa teased.

  “No, I’m not,” Charlie said.

  “You are.” A grin spread across Lisa’s face. “You couldn’t care less that he and I are dating, but have someone else move in on your crime-solving territory and you turn positively green."

  "Hush your mouth Lisa Holloway. I'm not jealous." Charlie tightened her arms across her chest. She hated it when Lisa was right.

  "Don't worry, Jason still loves you," Lisa said. "I wouldn't take it personally that he doesn't believe in demons. It's not really about you. Or even Cameron. If he ever ran into one, he'd believe."

  "Well let's just hope it doesn't come to that," Jen said. "Demons are dangerous creatures, and they should not be messed with, especially not by humans."

  Jason's black Dodge Charger pulled into the parking lot.

  "He's here,” Charlie said, pulling on the door handle and opening the door. She jumped out of the car to greet him, her gaze flitting to the passenger seat. It was empty. She let out a sigh of relief, raised her hand and waved.

  Jason parked one space over from Lisa's car. As he got out of the car he waved but his expression was tight, wary.

  "Hey," Jason said. "So I'm here. What is it that you need to get from the apartment?"

  "We need to get some of Bethany's hair, if possible," Charlie said, keeping her tone neutral.

  "Do I want to know why?" Jason asked.

  "Probably not," Lisa said.

  "I'm gonna try to get Bethany’s spirit to talk to me. She doesn't seem to really want to sit down and have a chat, so were gonna force the issue,” Charlie explained.

  "And you need her hair to do that?" Jason asked.

  "Yeah, I do,” Charlie said.

  Jason's gaze bounced from Charlie to Lisa to Jen and back to Charlie. His shoulders slumped a little with defeat and he pointed to the nearby stairwell. "Come on. I’ll let you in."

  Charlie and her cousins followed him up the steps to the second floor landing. Bethany's apartment was on the left. It had been sealed by the sheriff's department, and the yellow tape warning people that it was a crime scene and not to cross, was still in place. Jason tore the tape and pulled a Leatherman tool from the sheath hanging from his belt. He opened the knife and sliced through the seal on the door, before inserting the key into the deadbolt.

  "You're in luck. The landlord's been after us to release this back to him so he could get it cleared out," Jason said. "But I haven't been willing to do that just yet. In case we needed something else."

  Charlie and her cousins entered the well-appointed living room. "Should we wear gloves?" Charlie asked.

  "No,” Jason said. "CSU's already been over it. If you find something that you think might be helpful to me, though, let me know before you touch it."

  "You got it," Charlie said. "Where's her bedroom and bathroom?"

  Jason pointed to the hallway beyond the small kitchen. "That way."

  "This really shouldn't take but a minute or so," Charlie said. "I'll check her bedroom."

  "I've got her bathroom," Jen said.

  The two of them walked down the hall with Jen taking the first right into the bathroom and Charlie heading in to the bedroom at the end of the hall.

  A fourposter bed dominated the room along with a heavy matching dresser and mirror hanging on the far wall. The nightstands were clear of any clutter but a thin layer of dust had already fallen, dulling the shiny varnish of the mahogany. The bed was covered with a floral comforter and more pillows than was necessary. Charlie checked the drawer of the nightstands closest to her and found a small notebook and a Catholic prayer book. She thumbed through the notebook. It appeared that Bethany had been writing down her dreams. Charlie skimmed the text. It looked more like Bethany’s dreams were more akin to nightmares. Charlie sat down on the edge of the bed and read through several pages.

  May 9 — I dreamed about that creature again. Chasing me through the woods. Always chasing me. Why won't he leave me alone? I know it's just a stupid dream but sometimes I wake up and it's so real. I can't shake this feeling.

  There were three more pages of similar dreams. The last entry made Charlie's blood go cold.

  May 14 — I finally got a good look at it in my dream last night. It was the most hideous thing I've ever seen, with skin so pale it looked purple. I could see his dark veins and those eyes. Black. Just pure black. I swear it's like evil is chasing me. I don't know how to stop it. Praying doesn't help. Maybe I'll talk to my priest.

  "Jason!" Charlie called as she got up from the bed.

  Jason, Lisa and Jen all hurried into the room.

  "What's going on?" Jason asked.

  "She was dreaming about him,” Cha
rlie said.

  "Dreaming about who?" Jason asked.

  "Dreaming about the demon. He was stalking her in her dreams,” Charlie said.

  "Where does it say that?"

  Charlie pointed out the entries to him she felt were most pertinent. Jason looked up at her. "Charlie, it’s just a dream."

  "I'm not so sure about that,” Charlie said.

  "Can I see that?" Jen asked. Charlie handed her the book and Jen read through the last three pages.

  "Look at this," Jen said. "She's been documenting her dreams for a while now, but it doesn't really change to him until May. Something happened. She must've come across him somewhere and he took a liking to her. Jason, did you recover a calendar?"

  "Yeah, I think there was a calendar on her desk,” Jason said.

  "Maybe we should look at that to see if there were any places that all three victims went to," Charlie said. "Something that wouldn't stand out. And something way before they were taken."

  "Yeah, I guess we pretty much just focused on the days they went missing. It's worth another check.” Jason pulled a small notebook from the breast pocket of his polo shirt and wrote down the information. From his back pocket he took a folded up evidence bag. "I'm gonna confiscate that." He held it open for Jen to drop it in.

  "Did you find a hairbrush?" Charlie asked.

  "No. No sign of a comb or brush,” Jen said. "Did y'all take those into evidence?"

  "I don't think so. But I can check,” Jason said.

  "Well there goes that idea," Charlie said, feeling a little relieved that she didn't really have to summon Bethany McCabe’s spirit.

  "Jason, did Bethany have long hair or short hair?" Lisa asked.

  "All the pictures I’ve seen of her she had a ponytail, so I guess long hair. Why?" Jason said.

  "You're not off the hook just yet Charlie," Lisa said. She walked out of the bedroom, her footsteps muffled on the carpet. Charlie heard a door open and the sound of something heavy being shuffled around.

  "Do you need help?" Charlie called.

  "Yeah, Jason can you bring me your knife?" Lisa asked. The three of them left the bedroom and found Lisa at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. Propped against the bar was a vacuum cleaner that Lisa had turned upside down. She fiddled with a pale gray plastic piece holding the round carpet brush in place. Jason handed her his Leatherman tool and the gray piece of plastic flipped open to one side and Lisa carefully lifted the brush out of its holder.

  "How much you want to bet all this hair is hers?" Lisa asked.

  Charlie smiled weakly. "Great."

  They all looked on as Lisa used Jason's knife to scrape some of the hair free from the vacuum cleaner brush. "Jen, do you have anything in that monstrous bag of yours that could hold this?"

  Jen dug through her messenger bag until she found a tin of mints. She opened it to reveal she had repurposed it. Several black ponytail bands filled the space. She took them out and stuffed the nylon covered elastic bands into an inner pocket, then handed the empty tin over to her sister. Lisa put the small ball of hair into it and closed the top. Jen took the tin and put it into another pocket inside her messenger bag.

  A loud cracking pierced the quiet of the apartment, making all four of them jump.

  "What the hell was that?" Jason headed back toward the bedroom with his hand on the hilt of his weapon. "Holy shit!"

  Charlie raced back to the bedroom. Her cousins not trailing far behind. She stopped just inside the doorway next to Jason. The oversized mirror that had hung on the wall above the dresser was now face up, balanced precariously on the edge of it. Charlie took a step forward and the mirror fell, landing with the frame against the bed. The sound of the glass shattering set Charlie's teeth on edge. Slowly, she approached the mirror, stepping over the few shards that had fallen out of the frame. They should've cleared the house with sage before they started work. Mirrors could be portals for spirits. Charlie internally chastised herself for not thinking of it sooner.

  A low growl reverberated against her skin making her heart jump into her throat. Charlie stopped a few feet away from the mirror. Transfixed by what she saw in the cracked glass. Scratched deep into the mirror was the word mine. As she watched, the mirror clouded over and Charlie could see in the hazy glass the form of a creature, pale with marbled skin, growing smaller and smaller until it disappeared.

  Chapter 18

  They gathered in Charlie’s living room. Charlie lit the sage, letting it flame up for a moment before she held it over a small silver bowl and blew it out. The trail of white smoke curled up toward the ceiling of her house. She handed the lighter to Lisa and Lisa lit the sage smudge in her hand. As soon as it produced smoke, she gave the lighter to Jen to light her bundle of sage.

  "Mother goddess,” Jen said, "bless this house and keep it free of all evil that might try to do us harm."

  "So mote it be," Lisa and Charlie said in unison.

  "So mote it be," Jen echoed.

  They each headed in different directions with a smudge of sage and a white feather. Charlie wasn't taking any chances. They filled every corner of the house with the cleansing smoke. When they were done smudging, she poured a line of salt in front of every mirror in the house.

  "There," Jen said, tamping her sage smudge out in the silver bowl and laying it against the inside wall. "Nice and clean."

  "And just in time," Charlie said. She heard two car doors slam. "Sounds like Evangeline and Daphne are here."

  Jen went to the door and opened it. The two women greeted Jen warmly and climbed the few steps up to Charlie's front stoop.

  "Y'all come on in," Jen said.

  "Hey, Charlie," Daphne said she took a deep sniff. "I smell sage."

  "Yeah, we just cleansed the house,” Charlie said. "Thank you all so much for coming. I really appreciate it."

  "Jen said it was important," Evangeline said. She put the white canvas bag that she often carried down on the floor next to the front door. "Now what's going on? What’s so terrible that Jen couldn't tell me over the phone?"

  Charlie took a deep breath. What if they wouldn't help her? She had her own objections to this whole thing. She couldn't imagine Evangeline not having objections, too.

  "Charlie, honey, what's going on?" Evangeline asked.

  "I need to summon a spirit. And I didn't want to do it by myself. I thought if you were here, that somehow it would make it better."

  Evangeline's sharp blue eyes widened. "When you say summon, what exactly do you mean?"

  "I mean call forth and hold captive. At least long enough to question her. Then a I’ll call on Tom and have him take her to the other side," Charlie explained.

  "Oh, Charlie," Evangeline said. "You're talking about dealing with dark things."

  "I know. And I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important.” Charlie waited, studying her aunt’s face contemplating her request. Charlie knew it wouldn't be an easy decision. The balance between light and dark, between positive and negative energies was delicate and had to be respected. The very act of summoning could backfire on them, allowing darkness to prevail, and throwing everything out of kilter. Charlie took a deep breath. She couldn't think about that now, there were bigger things at stake. Matters of life and death. If there was fallout, she would deal with it.

  "What is it that you expect the spirit to help you with?" Evangeline finally said. The crack of light and hope spread across the dread in Charlie's chest.

  "I believe the spirit of the young woman is being held captive by a demon."

  "You’re sure?" Evangeline asked, sounding horrified.

  "Yes ma'am. He's laid claim to her, convinced her that she must serve him,” Charlie said.

  "She said those words?" Evangeline asked.

  "Not exactly. But I can tell you that when somebody dies and their spirit remains here, they almost always appear to me the way they saw themselves. Sometimes a little younger but nothing outrageous. The first time I saw this woman, she was crying and had blac
k wings attached to her back. I don't know how, but this demon has convinced her to see herself that way in death. She told me it was too late for her. And I can't believe that. I just can't."

  Her aunt's beautiful face deflated with defeat. "It is a powerful thing to call up the dead. Something not to be taken lightly. This cannot be a solution for you every single time that someone is in dire straits.”

  "No ma'am," Charlie said. "It won’t be."

  "So what do you want to do? You want to summon her here? You know I'm not a big fan of defecating where you eat,” Evangeline said.

  Charlie bit back a smile. "Yes ma'am."

  "We should really do this in nature, preferably in a protection circle. Not here,” Evangeline said.

  "Yes ma'am," Charlie said with her cousins echoing.

  "Where do you suggest we do this mama?" Daphne asked.

  "Marcene Lewis has a field where the regional council sometimes performs rituals. I could give her a call and see if we can use it,” Evangeline said.

  “Actually, I was thinking we could go back to the place where her body was found,” Charlie said. “I’d need to call Jason and make sure it was all right, but there’s a stone circle already in place and the ground is charged with her blood.”

  Evangeline latched onto Charlie’s hand and gave it a hard squeeze. Her wizened gaze bore into Charlie, making it impossible to look away. “You sure you want to do this?”

  Charlie let out a shaky breath and nodded. “Yes ma’am. I am.”

  “All right then. We will stand with you as your family and as your coven,” Evangeline said.

  "Thank you," Charlie wrapped her fingers around Evangeline’s. "You have no idea how much I appreciate your help."

  “You're welcome,” Evangeline said. "I'm still not convinced this won't rain darkness down on all of us."

  "Don't worry Evangeline," Jen said. "I'll make sure that we each have the strongest protection possible."

  “All we can do is hope that it will be enough,” Evangeline said.

  “It will be,” Jen said. “It has to be.”