Demon World

by Balvir Bhullar

  I wonder what they’d say if I told them that I’d had poltergeist activity in my home. I could probably kiss my job goodbye as well as my reputation, never mind the ghost story. I would become the centre of attention. On second thoughts, best keep it to myself.

  Rowanne’s phone started to ring; it was Lady Enid. She didn’t remember giving her number to her, but maybe she had, and was too tired to recall. ‘Hello, Lady Enid. How are you?’

  ‘Good evening, Rowanne. I realise that this is probably considered a late time to call. If I’ve disturbed you, then I sincerely apologise and I’ll ring back-’

  ‘Not at all. I was just wondering when I’d next have the chance to meet you,’ said Rowanne.

  ‘Unfortunately, I’ve been busy with work. And I’m going away for a bit. I’m afraid I’ll have to postpone my visit. How are you, my dear?’

  ‘Well, believe it or not, I’ve had my interview with detective Driskell. And before you ask, it went extremely well. I’ve given my statement, and from what he told me, it seems to be the end of it, for now,’ replied Rowanne.

  ‘I think, he in all likelihood must have treated you dreadfully during the interview, am I right in assuming?’

  ‘Actually, he behaved courteously, for a change. I was taken aback by it, and could not believe that it was the same man.’

  ‘I am glad that it went well. However, I will caution you to never drop your guard around that man,’ she said vehemently.

  ‘Lady Enid, it might be impertinent of me to ask, but I would like to talk to you one day about detective Driskell, and what type of man he really is. Perhaps, you could enlighten me as to your history with him.’ This was met with silence, and Rowanne feared that she had said too much. ‘Lady Enid, I apologise if I’ve stepped over the line.’

  ‘...No, Rowanne, you have not. I was just thinking... let me get back to you on that.’

  ‘Sure. How are you?’

  ‘I’m keeping well, thank you. I find my life becoming busier the older I get. My job sometimes takes a lot out of me, not just physically but emotionally as well,’ replied Lady Enid honestly; though, possibly more honest than she had intended.

  Rowanne considered Lady Enid’s line of work. She’d been present at the court, and had been the senior official, and her position exceeded detective Driskell’s. Perhaps she was a judge.

  ‘You could call me a judge, but I have a jury to answer to. And above me there are others of a higher authority, that even I stand powerless before...’ and she laughed darkly.

  Rowanne got goosebumps along her arm. For a moment, her mind conjured up an image of a place of unimaginable torment that even God had forsaken. She started to shiver uncontrollably.

  Now it’s happening with other people. What’s wrong with me, why can’t I distinguish between my thoughts and what I’ve spoken aloud? Rowanne found it extremely uncomfortable and nerve-racking.

  Lady Enid could sense in palpable waves the fear that emanated from Rowanne. What could she do to help? Rowanne must face the truth and soon, if she wanted to retain her sanity.

  Taking a deep breath, Lady Enid continued, ‘I’ve always found its best to consider a problem from every angle, and then leave it alone - a solution will surely follow. I’m sorry to say, I have to go now. Good night, dear.’

  Lady Enid had ended the conversation before Rowanne had a chance to respond to the cryptic message. She needed to help herself. Feeling sorry for her present state had got her nowhere. Practical solutions were what she needed.

  Though, Lady Enid was right; Rowanne had problems, plural. It was not as easy as focusing on a single issue. Taking a deep breath, she thought of the things that were bothering her. She needed to share them with someone, yet she had no one. She loved her grandmother very much, but the point was, they never shared any real concerns between them.

  It was partly her fault for never phoning, always being stuck on one assignment or another. Then there was the fact that her grandparents travelled a lot. How she envied them their almost carefree life of adventure, never being tied down to one place.

  Thinking more on it, Rowanne realised that the reason she had become a journalist was to travel; admittedly though, she had not travelled very far. But the stories were different, it was what made her job so interesting.

  Getting back on track, she realised that she needed to acquaint herself with more people, and actually start to build lasting relationships on a deeper level; friendship, to name but one. She needed to cultivate trust, not only in herself but in others.

  Why could she not trust people? She got on well with others, but beyond that she’d never really let her guard down, or let herself become vulnerable. Now in the space of almost two weeks, there were people who wanted to help her, and who were seemingly kind and reliable; but could she trust them? Each of them knew a truth about her, but even then, she’d held back from being completely honest with them.

  Alexander had the potential of being someone whom she could trust and lean on. And Lady Enid seemed like the type of person to help someone in need; though mainly Rowanne was thinking of herself, she admitted ruefully.

  Rowanne thought it best to articulate her thoughts by committing them to paper, and proceeded to make a list.

  What happened to Thomas?

  Who is Alexander Black?

  Who is Lady Enid?

  How do Alexander and Driskell know each other?

  How do Driskell and Lady Enid know each other? Other than as work colleagues.

  ‘I’d like to stop you right there!’

  ‘Who said that?’ asked Rowanne startled. ‘Is anyone here?’

  ‘Ah, I see. I thought you’d recognise me. But I guess the fact that I’m not speaking in your mind has spooked you.’

  ‘Alexander, if this is a joke, it’s not funny. You sick-’ said Rowanne angrily.

  ‘Tut-tut, mind your manners, Rowanne. And no, it’s not him.’

  ‘Stop it! Come out and face me. I’ve had a really crappy day and this is the last straw, I’m warning you!’ she said irritably to thin air.

  ‘Fine. If you are adamant, but don’t say I didn’t warn you...’

  Rowanne was beginning to regret her poor choice of words, particularly as the room’s temperature dropped to freezing. Oh no... she thought dazed.

  ‘Rowanne, walk to the full length mirror,’ commanded the entity.

  Rowanne felt herself drawn towards her reflection and could not help but walk towards it; she felt like she was on cloud nine.

  ‘Ok. Now stop!’ said the entity.

  Rowanne stood just before the mirror.

  ‘Now look into my eyes...’

  Rowanne obeyed. You mean, my eyes, she thought absently. She looked deep into her violet eyes; But my eyes are green... On closer inspection, she could see long waist length blonde hair - she was absolutely not a blonde!

  Rowanne stepped forward, fascinated with the person before her, and reached out a hand towards the mirror and froze — her reflection didn’t mirror her, let alone look like her. The reflection smiled and walked towards the mirror, and tapped it. This alone nearly stopped Rowanne’s heart. It spoke to her again.

  ‘Hello, Rowanne. Nice to finally be acquainted with you. I was going crazy being trapped in here,’ said the entity, tapping her temple.

  ‘Where-where were you trapped?’ stuttered Rowanne, as her lips became numb.

  ‘In you, of course. Or, to be more precise, your psyche. Surely, you have to admit the truth of what I’m saying. Did you never wonder about the very helpful voice in your mind?’ The young woman in the mirror laughed, and it was like musical notes hanging in the air.

  ‘My mind...’ Rowanne felt as if she were slow in comprehending what the ghost, for all intents and purposes, was saying.

  ‘Come on, Rowanne. I know you’re brighter than this. Think logically, this is not the first time that we’ve met now, is it?’ asked the entity gently.

  Rowanne thought hard, and came to the dawni
ng realisation that she had in fact communicated with this ghost on more than one occasion, and on each of those occasions, it had been when she was in trouble.

  Well, if this ghost had helped her before, then surely it wouldn’t harm her...

  ‘So, you’re like Casper then?’ she asked tentatively.

  ‘I don’t understand your meaning. But do not address me as ‘ghost’ - it’s not as if I address you as ‘human’! Though, technically I could...’ she chimed in laughter.

  ‘You were once a human. Sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. What is your name?’ asked Rowanne.

  ‘Lily,’ she replied. It seemed as if it was hard for her to get her name out. She was frowning and there was tension between her eyes, observed Rowanne.

  Rowanne took a deep breath to steady herself, as she asked the all important question, ‘Why are you haunting me? Now that I think back to it, I assume you caused that little scene at my apartment?’

  ‘Yes, that was me. But in my defence, all I can say is that I don’t always have control over my actions. And it is extremely exhausting,’ replied Lily.

  ‘Exhausting, indeed! Do you realise you scared the life out of me?’

  Lily walked back and forth in the mirror in an agitated state. ‘Yes, well... you seemed to handle it really well, after the first few seconds of your meltdown, that is.’

  ‘I seriously hope that wasn’t a compliment,’ said Rowanne, who was now feeling angry at the blasé way in which Lily had condensed her moment of horror into a joke.

  ‘Look, I’m in no mood for frivolity. I’m stuck here, of all places. What do I have to look forward to?’ asked Lily, glaring at Rowanne.

  ‘I think we both need to calm down,’ said Rowanne, and sat on the bed to get her equilibrium back in a world that was rapidly losing it. ‘Do you have something against Alexander?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ asked Lily.

  ‘The way you hurled him out of the apartment, and slammed him into the wall! It doesn’t exactly indicate that you are fond of him,’ replied Rowanne, angry afresh at the memory of his suffering.

  ‘Why the concern about Mr Black? Is he your other half?’ asked Lily sassily, as she leaned against the mirror, her arms folded.

  Rowanne would not be swayed, and replied smartly, ‘Please, don’t change the subject. I see that you are good at skirting the uncomfortable.’

  Lily looked at Rowanne for a long time, before answering. ‘So, it’s good that I ended up like this, is it?’ she asked, tears in her eyes as her voice threatened to choke on her pain that was insurmountable.

  Rowanne wondered about what might have happened to Lily, and could feel the sorrow that radiated from her. The more she thought about it, the warmer she felt. Hang on, why would I feel like that?!

  ‘Um, Rowanne. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but you’re glowing. I don’t mean that in the positive sense, either. There is literally a purple glow just below your throat. Is there something you’d like to share with me?’

  Rowanne looked down, and sure enough there was a glowing violet light under her t-shirt. ‘It’s not me. Let me show you,’ and pulling out her chain, she held her glowing amethyst pendant. ‘As far as I know, this necklace has never done this before,’ she replied to the sceptical look on Lily’s face.

  ‘Would you mind if I have a look at that? There seems to be writing on the silver rim that’s holding the stone.’

  ‘You have really good eyesight, most people wouldn’t have noticed. It won’t do you any good, though, as it’s in a language that I’ve never seen before.’

  ‘Rowanne, that is impressive. Are you acquainted with every single language on this planet?’ asked Lily drolly.

  Rowanne chose to rise above it, and went to the mirror and held it up for Lily’s inspection.

  Instead of a smart remark, what she got instead was one pale ghost — if a ghost could go a degree paler, that is. She started to feel fear at Lily’s reaction. Panicking, she fiddled with the clasp.

  ‘What are you doing, Rowanne?’ asked Lily, frightened at Rowanne’s hasty movements. If she should damage that stone... ‘Stop!’ she shouted.

  Rowanne looked up at Lily. If a ghost feared this, then she was most certainly not going to carry it around. It’s probably cursed or something. No way am I keeping it.

  ‘Don’t worry, Lily. I know what I’m doing. I’ll destroy it.’ There was a wild look in Rowanne’s eyes that Lily didn’t trust. Oh my God, she means it, she thought desperately. How do I stop her? Foolish human.

  ‘Rowanne, you have to listen to me. Please, stop for a second. Didn’t you say that your grandmother gave it to you?’

  Rowanne paused before the mirror with the pendant in hand having finally managed to free it from her neck. ‘How could you possibly know that... I’ve never told anyone,’ she said shakily.

  ‘I um... Look, I was in your mind, remember? I picked up one or two things there. It can get quite tedious occupying a single cell of a person’s mind; it seems to shrink every second, whilst remaining the same,’ said Lily, exasperated with Rowanne for not understanding what it was like for her, imprisoned as she was.

  ‘I can’t think about that right now. I want this all to stop,’ said Rowanne. A steely look came into her eyes, her mind was made up. She angled her arm back to throw the pendant toward the mirror.

  ‘No, Rowanne!’ screamed Lily. But it was too late, as Rowanne let the pendant fly. All she could do was watch powerlessly as it flew towards her.

  Lily calmed herself in that moment, accepting what was to come, and dealt with it by calling on her ancestry. The moment seemed to freeze, the trajectory still on course for the collision, but the speed slowed down.

  Rowanne closed her eyes and covered her face, expecting an explosion of glass, but nothing happened. She opened her eyes to the incredible sight of time being slowed down. What’s happening... she wondered, fascinated and puzzled at the same time.

  ‘No. You. Don’t,’ she said to Lily, and began to wade her way through the river of time to reach the pendant before Lily could get to it.

  ‘I’m sorry, Rowanne, but there’s no other choice. I’m doing this for both our sakes. It may not appear so now, but in the future you’ll thank me for rescuing you from your moment of stupidity.’

  ‘Don’t count me out just yet,’ said Rowanne, as she got closer to the pendant, almost within her grasp. She’d just find some other way to destroy it... But first she had to get out of there.

  Lily started to break into a sweat as she felt herself losing consciousness at the amount of concentrated energy it took just for this one small feat; In the old days, this would have been nothing, she lamented. The past echoed with the misery of others; uncaring, stretching back, or so it seemed to Lily who was alone in that empty space.

  Lily had a reason to hope when the pendant hovered before the mirror. She felt herself fading, and looked at the triumphant grin on Rowanne’s face. I’m not finished just yet, she thought, and gave Rowanne a wink as she thrust her hand forward with her last remaining strength.

  Rowanne could see what was about to happen, and pushed her arm through some kind of barrier to grasp the pendant. But unfortunately, her hand went through Lily’s, so that it was like they each held the pendant as one hand overlapped the other.

  Rowanne and Lily looked at one another, shocked at the strength and magnitude that the other possessed. They quickly looked down as the stone started to vibrate, gently at first, then violently.

  ‘Let go, Rowanne. Get back!’ shouted Lily.

  Rowanne looked at her hand, and then at Lily. ‘It’s no use, I can’t move it. I’m locked in place. What’s happening? I really don’t like the look of it,’ she said, panic stricken, and not just because a ghostly hand had popped out of the mirror and she was touching it.

  ‘That’s your fault. I told you to stop and stay back, but you insist on doing the opposite, every time,’ said Lily irately. She had no idea what was going to hap
pen, or why she had reached for the stone; some unnamed compulsion inside of her had urged her not to let it be destroyed.

  The pendant by now was a blinding flash of indigo. It was too bright, and Rowanne was forced to close her eyes. She could feel it doing something, tugging at her.

  ‘Before you ask, I’m not the one pulling it from your grasp. In fact, I’m getting the exact same sensation. I too feel like something’s pulling me, and it’s spinning really fast, like a tornado. Rowanne, call for help quickly before it’s too late. I can’t save you this time. Hurry,’ said Lily, desperate to save both Rowanne and herself.

  Rowanne looked at Lily, their gazes locked, the cerulean fire reflected in their eyes. Time stopped altogether and silence descended as the pendant pulsed, each vibration greater than the last, until finally it shattered, just as Rowanne asked Lily, ‘You saved me before-’

  The explosion was huge and shattered the mirror, causing each of them to be flung in opposite directions. Lily was flung towards the mirror’s edge, and glimpsed Rowanne hitting the back wall hard before falling unconscious to the floor.

  ‘Rowanne!’ screamed Lily silently, before she too surrendered to the chaos...

  * * *

  1 Mandarin for ‘You are very charming.’

  2 Mandarin for ‘You are very pretty.’

  CHAPTER 16

  Rowanne opened her eyes. It was dark and silent. Where am I…? she wondered, rubbing her eyes. Why am I on the ground? She got up and walked slowly, each step bringing clarity, until at last the haze receded and she was fully awake.

  She gazed up at the sky, and thought it looked beautiful, the stars strewn about forming constellations that she didn’t recognise, but were nevertheless majestic, and she spied the moon hidden behind clouds that pulsed with the reflected light.

  Rowanne could just make out a stone path, and followed it as it wound its way through the woods. Eventually she came out into a clearing, and before her stood a magnificent palace. She sighed, ‘Finally, home.’