by Amy Cross
The youths are arguing again. I know that Shaltak is still trying to weaken my resolve, which actually gives me strength since I take it as a sign that she is worried. If she felt that I could not hold her back, why would she bother with these constant attempts to make me lose heart? Stepping around the altar, I feel a flicker of panic as I realize that I might yet be unable to entirely hold Shaltak back, and then I turn and see that the girl has reached the end of the aisle. As she comes closer, she jumps up and sits on the altar, placing a bag next to her before shining some kind of light around. She is most disrespectful, but I refuse to let Shaltak manipulate my anger. She wants my anger to fuel her. Maybe she even needs my anger.
Suddenly the girl turns to me, and I see her eyes widen with shock.
She sees me!
Before I can stop her, Shaltak reaches out and grabs the left side of her face. I try to pull back, but her grip on the girl is already too strong.
“What are you doing here?” Shaltak screams through my mouth. “What do you want in my church?”
The girl tries to pull away, but she's helpless. I knew Shaltak was strong, but the sheer ferocity of her power has left me struggling to hold her back. I try desperately to stop Shaltak, but already she's twisting the girl's head around as if she means to detach it from her body.
“Why are you in my church?” Shaltak sneers, and this time her voice comes not only from my mouth but also from the mouth of the girl. “What do you want here?”
I can feel every ounce of the girl's fear. Her mind is screaming, but of course she's far too weak to resist Shaltak. That's my task, so I pull as hard as I can on the demon's mind and try to draw her back into my own head. I feel so utterly weak, however, and Shaltak keeps asking the same questions over and over again, still speaking simultaneously through both mouths. I can't imagine why she's doing any of this, or what she stands to gain, but her strength is burning too hot and too hard for me to restrain her.
“Why are you here?” Shaltak's voice asks, as the boy comes closer to the altar. “What are you doing here in my church?”
Squeezing my eyes tight shut, I try to find some last reserve of strength that I can use, but Shaltak is utterly overwhelming. I try to cry out, but my body is not even my own and I can hear Shaltak's voice still speaking, still asking those same questions no matter how hard I try to stop her. For a moment, I begin to feel that this misery shall never end, that Shaltak has finally been unleashed.
And then, with no warning, I feel my hand pull away from the girl. Opening my eyes, I step back and let out a shocked gasp, and I see the girl slithering off the altar.
“Hey, are you alright?” the boy asks her as he crouches down. “What the hell were you just on about there?”
Trembling with fear, I try to regather my composure. The boy is still talking to the girl, still trying to find out what happened. I hold my hands up and see that they're trembling, and I can still in some way feel Shaltak's power coursing through my body. Her strength was tremendous, and for the first time I worry that there is no way that I can ever hold her back. And if I can't hold her back then who will?
Hearing footsteps, I turn and see that the girl is running away.
“Excuse me?” the boy calls after her. “Seriously? I follow you into this creepy-ass church and I wait around for you in the freezing cold, and then you just take off on me?”
He peers at something the altar, and then he picks up a small device and shines its beam around the church. I want to warn him, to tell him that he must run, but I am too weak to utter a word. Instead, I simply watch as the boy's beam of light illuminates the ruined husk of this once-magnificent house of worship.
“Screw this,” he says eventually, and then he starts to walk away. “I am so out of here.”
Once he's gone, I remain completely still at the altar. I don't understand what just happened, but I can feel Shaltak's rising sense of satisfaction. I had thought she meant to kill the girl right there and then, yet now it is clear that her intentions are rather different.
“The signal has been sent,” she whispers in my head. “Now I must wait.”
I don't know what she means, but I am afraid. For the first time in a while, she sounds confident again. And then, just as I am about to turn and walk away, I spot something glinting on the altar. I reach down, and to my shock I find the same silver crucifix that I dropped from the tower all those years ago. How it ended up back inside the church, right here on the altar, I cannot imagine. Perhaps the girl found it and then accidentally left it here in her moment of terror. As I stare at the crucifix, however, I am reminded of how this whole wretched nightmare began, and of the sliver of jealousy and greed that first began to crack open my soul.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“If she knows that we're here,” the boy says as he and the new priest work in the office, “why doesn't she try to stop us?”
“Actually, I've been wondering that myself,” he replies. “As demons go, Shaltak seems especially cautious.”
“Did you hear that?” Shaltak purrs as I listen from the corridor. “He said my name. He has come to release me.”
“So it's not actually Judith Prendergast?” the boy asks.
“It's her,” he explains, “but she's still possessed by Shaltak.”
“Again!” Shaltak enthuses, as the priest continues to speak. “I am recognized! After all this time trapped here with you, my name is still known out there in the world!”
“What are they going to do?” I whisper.
“There were times when I thought I'd be stuck here forever,” Shaltak continues. “Actually, I think this period of enforced seclusion has been good for me. I have so many ideas for when I leave this place. By the end of this night, dear Judith, we shall say our farewells.”
“No,” I reply, “I won't let you. I'm strong enough to -”
Before I can finish, my left hand flinches and bangs against the wall.
“You were saying?” Shaltak chuckles. “I still have the power here.”
“She is getting more confident, though,” the priest says in the office, having evidently heard that little bump. “Seventy years is nothing to a demon.”
“So what is a demon?” the boy asks after a moment. “You said its name is Shaltak, right? So who is Shaltak? What does she want?”
“Shaltak this, Shaltak that,” the voice says in my mind. “It's like an orgy.”
“They know about you,” I point out. “That man is a priest. He'll stop you.”
“He has a broken soul,” she replies. “I don't know what happened, but I can sense his sorrow. Can't you, Judith? He has suffered a great loss and now he is keen. He is going to ask me for something in exchange for freeing me. Or, if he is particularly stupid, he'll free me and then ask. Either way, he'll end up dead and I'll end up walking away from this church.”
“I'll warn the boy,” I say, stepping back along the corridor as I try to think of something.
“And how will you do that? You don't even know how to make them see you.”
“I'll find a way,” I continue, before turning and hurrying to the door that leads upstairs. Grabbing the edge of the door, I slam it against the frame, but almost immediately I hear Shaltak laughing.
“Go ahead,” she says, as I step back in shock, “you'll only make them work faster.”
“Well,” the priest says, and I turn to see that he has emerged from the office, “it looks like she slammed a door. How cliched for a ghost. I think maybe she's getting angry or nervous, but she's too afraid to strike at us directly. I'll have to -”
“I don't think I can do this,” the boy says. “I'm sorry, man, but I'm no ghost-hunter or demon-hunter. This shit's starting to feel way too real and I want out.”
As they argue, I try desperately to think of a way I might warn them. Shaltak would not have told me the truth not unless she was certain that her plan would work. I know she likes to torture me with these vile promises, but I still believe that the
re is a way to warn the priest and the boy. I hesitate for a moment longer, and then I turn just in time to see that the boy is hurrying to the main door.
“I'm not falling for any more of your games,” he says, as I rush after him in a state of panic. “There's no way this is -”
Before I even know what I'm doing, I reach out and place a hand on his shoulder. I don't even expect him to notice, but he freezes in his tracks and after a moment I realize that in some way he must be able to sense me. I keep my hand in place and feel the warmth of his body.
“Shall I enter him?” Shaltak asks. “Shall I do to him, what I did to his friend? She died, you know. I can do the same thing to this boy.”
“No,” I whisper, staring at the back of the boy's head as I try to pull my hand away, only to find that Shaltak is holding it in place. “I won't let you.”
“You can't stop me.”
“I've stopped you doing things before.”
“Then let me show you how it all works now.”
Suddenly the boy turns and looks straight at me. Filled with fear, I realize that this might be my only chance to warn him, so I summon all my strength and lunge at him. As I do so, Shaltak tries to hold me back and I scream as I feel an immense pain in my head. Falling forward, I drop to the floor as the pain ripples through every fiber of my being. Finally I manage to look up, and it is evident that the boy can no longer see me.
“Nice effort,” Shaltak says, “but your warnings are futile. I can no longer be bothered to stop you. Within a few hours, Judith, I'll finally be free.”
“Okay,” the priest says to the boy, “I think you probably understand now that I was telling the truth. Are you ready to get this job done?”
***
“Shaltak.”
Again the priest says that name as he reads at the altar, and again I feel Shaltak surging in my soul. I cry out as I try to restrain her, and after a few seconds I find that I'm just about able to keep her here. We're still in the corridor, and – ever since the priest began to read from his book – I've been struggling to keep Shaltak from going through to show herself.
“You can't keep this up forever,” she whispers in my mind. “They're calling me, Judith. You've already lost.”
Trying to ignore her gloating tones, I squeeze my eyes tight shut and focus on ensuring that she can't move my body. I don't know exactly what she's planning, but I can tell that she's drawn to the priest as he continues to read. Every time he says her name, Shaltak tries to burst forward and go to him, and it takes all my strength to hold her here. We're locked in a constant struggle, but as I squeeze my eyes even tighter I tell myself that I can restrain her. I just have to stay strong.
“Shaltak.”
I let out a pained gasp as I feel Shaltak once again trying to twist forward. She turns first one way and then the other, and for a moment I fear that this might be when she succeeds. With my eyes still shut, I focus every last ounce of my strength on the task of holding her back, and finally I feel her sinking back a little. My mind is shaking with the effort that I just expended, but I'm already preparing for the next onslaught.
“You're pathetic,” Shaltak says after a moment.
I refuse to respond. She's trying to weaken me.
“What do you think you're going to achieve?” she asks. “I've basically already won. You're an empty husk, Judith. It's time to surrender to the inevitable.”
“Never!” I hiss, although I know it was a mistake to speak.
“You can't hold me back forever.”
“You won't move an inch!” I snap.
“Oh no? I'm already in the archway, Judith.”
“No,” I reply, “you're -”
Suddenly I stop as I realize that the priest is still reading, and that his voice seems closer. Startled, I open my eyes and find to my horror that Shaltak wasn't lying. I thought I was holding her back, but while my eyes were closed she managed to get me to walk all the way along the corridor and through here to the arched doorway. Looking along the aisle, I see that the young boy is staring at me from over by the altar.
I scream, and in that instant I fall forward and land hard against the cold stone floor.
“Why did she do that?” the boy asks, before pausing for a moment. “Why did she scream? I mean, she's still got a mind, right? She still think. Did she just do it to scare us? She was way too far away for that. It doesn't make any fucking sense.”
“Come on, Judith,” Shaltak says as I try to turn and crawl away, “you know this is over now, don't you?”
“Never,” I stammer, hauling myself to my feet and hurrying along the corridor, only to stop as I suddenly realize that Shaltak led me the wrong way.
I'm almost at the foot of the altar, and now I'm walking even though I want to turn and run.
“You'd better have something figured out,” the boy says as I try to stop walking forward. “You've got more than a few books, yeah? Maybe it's time to sprinkle out some of that holy water.”
Now I'm making my way up the steps.
“You have to run!” I shout at the boy, as I struggle to regain control of my body. “Get out of here! Both of you!”
Finally I summon the strength to lunge at him. I let out an agonized scream, but then I fall to my knees. My body is trembling and I can feel Shaltak laughing in my mind. She think she's on the verge of being released from this place, but I know I'll find a way to keep her here. The Lord is watching over us and will protect us in the end, no matter how bad things might seem now. As I struggle back to my feet, I try to regather my composure. Has Shaltak retreated a little from my mind? For a moment, I barely sense her at all.
“Do something!” the boy shouts at the priest. “Don't just stand there! You have to do something!”
He pauses.
“Liam!”
Suddenly Shaltak seizes control of me again and forces me to grab the side of the boy's neck. He freezes at my touch, but then slowly he turns and looks straight into my eyes.
“Liam,” he stammers, “please...”
“What are you doing in my church?” Shaltak asks, as if she's trying to goad him. She makes the words come from his mouth as well. “Who invited you here?”
He lets out a faint gasp.
“This is my church and you have no right to be here,” Shaltak continues. “You must leave at once, you are not -”
Forcing her out of my mind, I let out a pained cry as I throw myself forward. I land hard against the side of the altar and then I stumble past the priest, who has now finally stopped reading from his book. For a moment I struggle to keep my thoughts together, and I can sense Shaltak's great appetite burning in my soul. She's savoring this moment, she's convinced that she's about to escape the church, and she thinks I'm powerless to stop her. I have to show her that she's wrong. And as the boy and the priest continue to talk, I realize that my only hope is to make them both understand that they're mixed up in something they can't possibly understand. I have to find a way to communicate with them. Slowly, I turn and step up behind the priest as I try to work out how I can make him hear me.
“Be ready,” the priest says suddenly.
The boy begins to ask something, but then the priest turns and throws something at me.
Before I have a chance to realize what's happening, I feel an immense burning sensation rushing across my face. The pain is so great, I scream as I take a step forward, and then I stumble and have to stop so that I can support myself against the altar. The priest threw some kind of liquid at me, and I can feel a buzzing sensation rumbling all through my body.
“Nearly,” Shaltak gasps excitedly. “Just a little more! It hurts so much, but the pain is a sign that the process is working!”
“What was that?” I stammer, as the pain begins to subside just a little.
Turning away from the altar, I step toward the priest once more. I have to find a way to make him understand what's happening. So long as he locks the church door and ensure it's never opened again
, I can -
“There!” the boy shouts, suddenly pointing at me.
The priest throws more water at me, and this time the pain is even worse. I cry out in agony and turn away, and then I take a few faltering steps as I feel something slowly rising from my body.
“She's trapped,” the priest says. “She knows she has to stop us now, but the holy water is wearing her down. One more time should be enough, but you have to remain vigilant. If she gets close to use again, we might not be able to fight her off. Mark, where is she now?”
“No, you're wrong,” I gasp, stopping behind the altar and turning to them again as they continue to talk. “She wants you to do this! You're playing right into her -”
“There!” the boy shouts, pointing at me yet again.
I try to turn away, but the priest throws more of the water at me, this time hitting me in the center of the face. I scream as the pain burns through my mind, and then my knees buckle and I fall down against the stone floor. It feels different this time, and after a moment I realize I can sense a great weight starting to tear itself away from my soul. I can hear Shaltak laughing in my mind, but somehow her voice is becoming more distant, as if she's no longer a part of me.
“Thanks for the ride, Judith,” she says with a sneer. “Enjoy oblivion.”
“No!” I sob, as I realize that she's gone. I feel so empty without her, and I look around to see where she is now. When I realize that she's nowhere to be found, I break down into a series of heaving cries as I realize that I failed. I held on for so long, I managed to contain Shaltak, but the priest and the boy interfered and now Shaltak is loose. After all these years, she's free in the world and I am left behind to contemplate my failure.
“What's wrong with her?” the boy asks suddenly. “What happened?”
Looking up, I see that he and the priest are staring down at me. They look utterly shocked by my appearance, but I realize after a moment that maybe – just maybe – I still have a chance to warn them.
