"Oh, thank God he got you back here, I thought you were done for. Okay, on your feet," she pulled on Charlotte's arm, and she staggered to her feet, "we have to go now, before it's too late."
"Iris?" She mumbled while pressing a hand on her aching head. "I thought you were dead."
"I am." The girl stole a solemn look at the body sprawled out on the kitchen floor behind her. "Well, at least my body is. He pulled my soul before your ex snuck up on me and snapped my neck."
"Clarence?"
"No, the Skudakumooch. At least that's what the Native people used to call him. He is the being the witch trapped at the gateway to hell under this island. He's weak from the chains she placed on him, but he had enough power to pull my soul before I died."
"Where is Kevin?"
"That's what I'm trying to tell you, we have to go now, that nasty man has your son, and by Chuck's account, they got Zack too."
"What? Who has them? Where? And is Chuck okay?"
"Chuck’s fine, I told him to fetch the boat, and drive it as close to Lighthouse Point as he can so you guys can escape. The witch has your son, and Zack at the sacrifice site. I'm afraid that with me gone, she needs Kevin now to restrain the Skudakumooch for another twenty-five years, and I think she plans to do horrible things to Zack after the ritual. She wants to punish him for interfering in her plan. You need to go there now if you wish to save them. Do you know where it is?"
"I... I think I can find it. But, what about you? I can't possibly leave you here like this."
"Charlotte, I'm dead. There is nothing more you can do for me. I belong to this island now, like Clarence, and your dad. But you can still save Zack, Kevin, Chuck, and yourself. You just have to move."
Nodding her aching head, Charlotte thought of her son and what Victoria intended to do to him. Her body screamed in pain, and her face felt like raw hamburger, but she had to get to them no matter how badly she hurt. Thanking Iris, she turned for the door and ran outside into the pouring rain, which had once more picked up with cold gusts of wind to batter her aching body.
Chilled and soaked by rain, she set off down the road, picking up speed even as her lungs burned and her legs felt like Jell-O. She knew what Bret was capable of, and she knew what the witch intended to do with her son. Fueled by a new purpose; a burning desire to stop Victoria and not let her father's sacrifice go to waste, she pressed on faster, fighting her instincts as she ran. Someone was indeed going to pay for the deal Cyrus made all those years ago, but she was determined to make sure it was not her, or anyone else she cared about.
Chapter Fifty-Three
“Son, the greatest trick the Devil pulled was convincing the world there was only one of him.” – David Wong, John Dies at the End
R ushing through the twisted trees, Charlotte thought the fog had churned into a solid wall as she ran into a suffocating cloud blanketing the forest. Struggling to breathe, she paused and waved her hand in front of her face, coughing, and realized the mist was thin, gray smoke seeping out from the ground. Every pore of the earth bled the caustic vapor, filling the surrounding air with the scent of sulfur, singed hair, and boiled blood. The clouds snaked between the gnarled tree roots and up the crooked trunks, shrouding the forest in a hazy gloom. With no visible markers to guide her, she looked around, disoriented by her new surroundings.
"Where to now..."
Pondering what direction to take, she heard branches snapping ahead of her and turned to see what was rusting in the distance. To her surprise, a large, white Yorkshire pig walked out from the smog and looked up at her, grunting. She had not seen a single farm animal on the island until now, and she quickly recalled what her father told her.
"Clarence, is that you?"
The pig snorted, nodded, and turned, walking a few feet forward before it stopped to look back at her. It appeared he wished for her to follow him, and so she took a few uneasy steps towards it. Satisfied, the pig grunted and returned to walking, stopping occasionally to see if she was still behind him. The round moon above their heads turned a deep shade of crimson, bathing the smoke-covered forest in blood. All around her, the trees appeared to pulse and move in a trance-like dance. Their branches let out soft whispers with the gusts of the wind, and they moaned as they bowed down to the ground. Mist continued to swirl and flow under her feet like a bloody river, rising slowly up to the pink sky.
"That's strange. I didn't think we had a blood moon tonight."
No blood moon, she heard in her head, Feast of Shadows moon always red, blood-red. She knew it was Clarence talking to her telepathically, but she was still not use to him being inside her head. Suddenly, she froze where she was, her skin tingled and the hairs stood up on her arm. Something else was nearby, an evil presence she knew all too well. From the trees she heard whooping and yipping, as if a pack of coyotes were on the prowl. These, however, were no animals, they were once humans who transformed into horrible demons ready to do the witch's bidding. Listening to the soul eaters hooting around her, she heard something else much closer to her, something that shook her to the core.
"No," Kevin screamed at the top of his lungs from a clearing ahead, "let go of me."
"Let him go." Zack growled.
A dull thud, a soft groan, and silence followed.
"Dad..."
Swallowing the air she'd been holding, Charlotte rushed forward and stopped outside a perfectly circular clearing where nothing seemed to grow, not even a blade of grass. The moon bled its burgundy light onto a stone altar at the center, with Kevin tied up by his hands and feet sprawled out on to of it. A few feet ahead of him was Zack, slumped over and tied to a wooden stake with a pile of timber under his feet. Instinctively, she retreated into the tree line and watched as Victoria walked out from the shadows of the forest wearing a black hooded robe, lined with gold. In her hands, a large cream dagger glistened blood-red as she approached Kevin with it raised near her chest. Clarence didn't need to tell Charlotte what she intended to do with it, she already knew, and her body moved on its own.
Chapter Fifty-Four
“But the Dark cannot claim what Light does not surrender.”—C.L. Wilson, Crown of Crystal Flame
V ictoria raised her hands over her head, getting ready to make her first sacrifice to appease the island and keep its guardian chained. Fixated on the kill, she didn't notice Charlotte dash from the trees to intercept, nor did she hear the crinkling of leaves as she ran straight for her. Wrapping her arms around the witch's waist, Charlotte brought her down to the ground hard, causing the dagger to go tumbling across the barren soil. The hood of the cloak fell back to reveal the woman's withered face with an ancient fire burning in her eyes. She hissed and clawed at Charlotte's face who was sitting on top of her, thwarting her attacks.
The witch mumbled something under her breath and pressed her palms to Charlotte's chest, sending a shock wave through her body, causing her to fly back. Hitting her head on the cold ground, she gasped for breath while attempting to get up. She felt like a car hit her head on, with every bone in her body aching, and every breath she took sent icy daggers through her spine. A sour taste filled her mouth as she continued panting and digging her nails into the dirt. Forcing herself to roll over, she watched Victoria scrambling for the blade, crawling across the infertile soil. Thrusting herself up, she crawled after her, grabbing at the hem of the cloak, yanking her back.
Turning around, Victoria's eyes flashed with rage, and she hissed again, kicking Charlotte in the face, causing her to let go of the robe. Stunned, she looked at the witch, and grabbed hold of her again, pulling he away from the ceremonial knife. The woman chanted in a language she did not understand, and suddenly something wrapped itself around her ankles. Letting go of the cloth, she glanced at her attacker and saw dried up roots snaking their way out from the dirt, their brittle fingers holding her in her grasp, and giving Victoria a chance to pick up the blade.
Thrashing and pulling, she attempted to liberate herself from the dried up ro
ots, freeing one leg. It was not ideal, but it was enough to allow her to scramble to her feet and lunge at Victoria, grabbing hold of her silver hair before the trees pulled them both back to the ground. Clasping the witch's mouth as they were dragged towards the trees, she fought for an advantage which miraculously came when the frail root snagged on a rock and broke away from her. Quickly rolling on top of her former boss, Charlotte struck her in the face with her fist. A crack of pain radiated from her hand to her wrist, but the witch was mumbling again so despite the discomfort, she struck her again, rendering the woman unconscious with a jolt of heat shooting up her arm.
Shaking her hand, she ignored the dull throbbing and got up, running to her son who was flailing about on the flat slab of stone. Doing her best to calm the boy, she undid the knot on his left wrist when someone grabbed hold of her neck, lifted her into the air and hurled her away from the altar. Bracing her impact with her hands before her, the pain shot up from her right wrist, and she rolled over to see Bret standing over her, looking down on her with his dark brown eyes, which sparkled with a sadistic malice. He scowled at her as his body shook with rage, his hands clenched into fists and his teeth grinding so loud she could hear them from where she lay. It was a look she remembered well; it meant he was about to pound on her like a meaty punching bag, or violate her in other ways.
"Keep your hands off her." Zack struggled against his ropes. "Don't you dare lay a finger on her. You hear me?"
"Want me to knock the wind out of you again, fagot?"
"I don't give a damn what you do to me. Just stay the hell away from Cherry and Kevin, you damn prick."
"Rich, coming from the man who abandoned them. Now, suddenly, you want to play father of the year, and she is all over you like a fly on shit."
"I didn't even know I had a son. You can't blame me for abandoning a kid I was not aware of."
"Oh, that's right, you didn't know. Want to know why? It's because Charlotte didn't give two shits about you to tell you. At least not until you made some decent money. Why, I'm more of a father to the little bastard than you are."
"You are nothing more than an abusive, self-absorbed, manipulative asshole, Bret." Charlotte staggered up to her feet. "You will never be Kevin's father. You haven't even got the right to call yourself a man."
"Of course not. Because you were always planning to run back to pretty boy as soon as you had the chance, you worthless bitch. You are nothing without a man and you know it, that's why you were so eager to pounce on me."
Lunging at her, Bret went to tackle her to the ground when some instinct made her insert her knee between them as they fell, keeping him back away from her. His weight was bearing down on her leg while he attempted to grab for her throat. Wedging her other foot between them, she pushed him away, giving her a chance to kick him in the face. Roaring, he fell back, clutching his bloody nose, giving her enough time to grab hold of Victoria's knife. Pressing the dull edge close to her wrist, she swung her arm as Bret moved in on her again, running the razor-sharp blade against his throat. Gurgling, he fell to his knees clutching his neck as the sheet of blood flowed down his throat and onto his white shirt.
Panting, she looked from Bret—who was trying to crawl to her as he gargled and spewed out blood—at the blood-streaked knife in her hand and gagged. She realized the polished ivory was made from human bones. The figure of the screaming man consumed by hellfire was carved out of the top half of a humerus. Dropping the blade to the ground in disgust, she returned her attention to Bret who collapsed by her feet.
He was motionless and the thirsty ground lapped up his blood, suckling it down beneath the surface. With the last drop of crimson gone, the island shook and groaned, forming cracks in the earth beneath her. Trees rocked, lighting rippled across the sky, and the stench of sulfur filled the air. Black smoke billowed from the veins in the earth and bright red lava bubbled out by the altar, sinking it slowly into the ground.
"Mom." Kevin screamed. "What's going on here?"
"I don't know."
Running up to her son, she worked on freeing the other knots still binding him to the submerging platform.
"You polluted her sacred ground with impure blood, it's all over now." Cyrus stepped into the clearing and untied Zack from his post. "Her powers over this place have shattered. Clarence and I are now free to step foot inside the circle, and the guardian is almost free. We have little time left." He nodded his head to the moon, which turned a tinge of dark pink in the time she'd been in the clearing. "When the moon returns to normal, the Feast of Shadows is over, the island can be free, and we must get you out of here before that happens."
"What happens if she doesn't leave?"
"Then she will be bound to this place forever."
"Why didn't you mention this before, old man?" Rubbing his wrists, Zack ran over to help Charlotte untie the knots. "Seems to me, like you enjoy leaving out useful information."
"I figured you would have been gone after the last talk we had. I never expected to run into another obstacle."
"Zack," Charlotte screamed as she spotted Victoria lurking behind him, "watch out."
Her warning came too late. The witch raised her dagger and drove it into Zack's back. Letting out a pained yelp, he sunk to the ground, reaching over his shoulder to grab hold of the spot she struck. She let out a hiss, and he turned to see her with a raised hand, aiming the dagger at his chest. Charlotte screamed as she ran towards him, but she would not make it. The dagger was coming down faster than she could run, ready to pierce his heart when both it and the witch dropped to the ground. Looking up, she noticed a large rock struck Victoria on the side of her head which was oozing black blood, and Charles stepped out into the clearing.
"You know, I never did like her."
"Nice throw dude."
"Thanks, man. I was the star pitcher for the paramedic's baseball team back in Arizona." Chuck stepped over Victoria's body and looked at Charlotte. "What the hell happened to your face? You look like you went a few rounds with Mike Tyson."
"I'll be fine, can you check on Zack while I grab Kevin?"
Freeing the boy's last leg, Charlotte scooped him up into her arms, and he buried his face in her shoulder, sobbing and trembling. Kneeling by Zack, Charles looked over his wound before helping him to his feet and slinging his arm over his shoulders. The ground continued to rumble, and they both swayed as they steadied their feet on the dirt crumbling into the craters forming around them.
"I got good news and bad news, Zack. The good news is, she hit nothing major and I can patch you up on the boat. The bad news is, you will probably require surgery once we get on dry land to repair any cut muscles and tendons."
"Where did you leave the boat, Chuck?"
"Anchored it not far from here, just down the hill by Lighthouse Point. We should probably move before this whole damn island splits in two right under us."
Tightening her grip on Kevin, Charlotte ran after Charles, who was dragging Zack along with him. The earth continued to rattle and crack, making them lose their footing more than once until they slid down the hill to the moist sand of the beach at Lighthouse Point. Lighting sliced through the sky with peals of thunder right behind it, and the sky released another bout of frigid rain that cut them like razors. Through the sheet of water, Charlotte could see a red and white boat bobbing on the surface of the waves close to the shoreline, they were almost free.
Chapter Fifty-Five
“Never leave a friend behind. Friends are all we have to get us through this life—and they are the only things from this world that we could hope to see in the next.”—Dean Koontz, Fear Nothing
R unning chest deep into the water, Charlotte lifted Kevin into the boat before climbing in herself. Not far behind her, Charles helped Zack steady himself in the current. Leaning over the edge, she pulled him up on the deck while their vessel bobbed and swayed in the water, making her a little queasy. Instructing Kevin to go inside the cabin to hide from the torrential
rain battering the boat like a drum, she sat Zack down on a bench under the awning and went back to help her partner. Reaching her hands down towards him, she was getting ready to grab hold of him when something pulled him under the dark waters, making his hand slip between her finger before she had the chance to respond.
Watching him disappear below the swelling waves with a scream, she leaned over the railing following the trail of bubbles rising to the surface and moving away from them. She strained to see past the surf, but something else in the white-capped water caught her eye through the gloom. A soul eater with webbed feet rose to the surface, snarled at her, and dove in after Chuck, leaving her in shock. Another monster popped its head up above the crest of the surf and regarded her with its murky, soulless eyes. The skin of its blue lips curled into a thin smirk, revealing rows of snarled needle like fangs, and it let out a boisterous hiss before going back under the water as if daring her to follow them. She knew that was what they wanted, and without thinking twice about it, Charlotte leaped overboard after it, diving under the raging waves to try to find Chuck, she owed him that much.
Below the surface, in the ink dark waters, she struggled to see where her hands were, let alone where the creatures dragged her partner off to. Salt water burned her eyes, and the cold of the autumnal surf constricted her chest, making it painful to move. Swimming up to the surface she took a ragged breath as the waves battered her body before she dove back under, swimming down towards the continental shelf where she saw them drag Chuck last. Her lungs stung from the icy chill of the water, and she was giving up hope of rescue when she spotted faint movement in the shadows before her. Propelling herself forward, she could make out Chuck fighting off three soul eaters who were trying to drag him down the slope into the ocean’s depth.
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