The Soul Auction

by Amy Cross

  Candles are burning in alcoves in the walls, casting flickering light across rows of pews, but there's no sign of anybody here. The only sound comes from the howling storm outside, with gusts of wind blowing rain against the stained-glass windows. I can also hear a faint, close tapping sound, although I realize after a moment that this sound is caused by drops of water falling from my soaked clothes and hitting the church's stone floor.

  Thunder rumbles outside.

  I start making my way past the nearest pews. Looking toward the altar, I see some more candles burning, but there's still no sign of anyone. A moment later I hear a shuffling sound, and I turn to see that Graham has followed me all the way into the church. He looks so scared, but I'm glad to have someone with me.

  Suddenly I hear footsteps nearby, and I turn just as the steps march along the main aisle. I still can't see anyone, but I can hear the steps as they make their way toward the altar. The sound rings out loud and clear through the church, echoing slightly, and I can't help but realize that these seem to be the same footsteps I heard coming from one of the rooms in the pub.

  He's here.

  A moment later the footsteps come to an abrupt halt, and I realize I can hear a faint whimpering sound.

  “We really have to get out of here now,” Graham whispers right behind me. “We'll call the police and they can come and check what's happening.”

  “My sister's here,” I reply, hurrying between the pews until I reach the main aisle.

  And that's when I see her.

  Kate is huddled on the floor in front of the altar, shivering in soaking wet clothes, curled into a ball and hugging herself tight.

  “Kate!” I shout, hurrying toward her. “Kate, what the hell are you doing here?”

  Dropping to my knees, I reach out and put a hand on her shoulder. She twitches and turns to me, and I see tears flowing down her face. She's so cold, her lips are starting to turn blue.

  “I found him,” she gasps.

  “We have to get out of here,” I tell her.

  “I found him,” she says again, before holding up a raggedy, tattered teddy bear that looks like it's going to fall apart at any moment. “I found Mr. Puddles. He was right here, he was -”

  Suddenly the bear is torn from her hand, and I watch as it flies through the air and lands on the altar.

  “No!” Kate stammers, trying to get to her feet, only for her legs to give way beneath her.

  I grab hold of her, holding her tight. A moment later, I hear the loud footsteps again. I turn and see Graham watching with fear in his eyes, and then I look over at the far side of the church as the footsteps march past candle-lit alcoves.

  There's still no sign of whoever's walking, but the steps are making their way past the rows of pews until, finally, they reach the center aisle and start coming this way. I watch the floor, following the footsteps, and then I realize that they're getting closer and closer to Graham. Just as I'm about to call out and warn him, however, the steps reach the exact spot where he's standing and then come to an abrupt halt again, and I look up to see that the fear is gone from Graham's eyes.

  Instead, he's simply staring at me calmly as I hold my shivering sister.

  Finally, slowly, a smile begins to cross his lips.

  Chapter Sixty-Four

  Alice

  “Do you have any idea,” Graham asks slowly, “how patient I've been over all these years? How I've held myself back and waited, savoring every second of the anticipation?”

  “What are you talking about?” I ask, although deep down I can already feel the panic stirring in my gut. “Graham, please...”

  “I could have taken her all those years ago,” he continues, as he starts walking toward us along the aisle. “I very nearly did, on that beach, but then your mother's sacrifice made me realize that I would gain by waiting. I realized Kate's pain would only grow over the years, that her soul would ripen and mature, becoming ever more succulent. In truth, I planned to wait even longer, but finally...”

  He stops just a few feet away, staring down at Kate, and after a moment he licks his lips.

  “I paid so much for her at the auction,” he explains, keeping his eyes fixed on her. “Soulspieces are gathered by transient demon merchants who find items of immense importance to troubled human souls. They then take those items to the auction. In your sister's case, when her tattered little bear came up, there were several bidders. Her lineage made her an especially tasty proposition. I paid more for her than I would have paid for two or three lesser souls, but I told myself I deserved a little treat. Some of the others were so jealous, and they'd be even more jealous if they could see how perfectly she has grown. At the next auction, I shall entertain them with stories about how I -”

  “No!” I say firmly, letting go of Kate and getting to my feet, finally facing Graham. “I don't know what's really going on here, but you are not getting my sister!”

  “Am I not?”

  “You're not even going to touch her!”

  He smiles.

  “You were helping me!” I continue. “You can't have done all those things! You were with me when they happened!”

  “Surprise. I can do things without you even seeing.”

  “People here said you were a good person!”

  “People here think what I want them to think,” he replies, “and remember what I want them to remember, and say what I want them to say. They remembered a man named Graham existing. They didn't notice that he had the same face as the elusive Mr. Goodman. Their little minds were twisted so easily, and the only consequence will be a few tumors here and there.”

  Shaking my head, I take a step back.

  “All this time, you've been helping me get closer and closer to the truth, but you were secretly -”

  “I was secretly enjoying myself,” he replies, interrupting me. “I've always been rather theatrical. Perhaps I was even showing off a little. When I decided it was time to take Kate's soul, I knew luring her to Curridge would be the perfect final move. Then I learned about her sister being an author, and I decided to lure you here first, to make the game more enticing. Did you like my little reviews of your work, by the way? Beneath the game-playing, I was also giving a very honest opinion. I liked your novels, although the short stories left me a little cold.”

  “You're lying,” I reply. “Why are you lying?”

  “I'm not lying about anything,” he continues. “Not now. Not like before, when I had to pretend to be shocked by the actions of my darker half. Did you like the footsteps, by the way? Another theatrical touch on my part. I'll be honest, the only regret I have is that I didn't seduce you and lure you into bed so I could fuck you. I wanted to do the same to your mother, but -”

  Before I even know what I'm doing, I slap him as hard as I've ever slapped anyone in my life. He turns his face away, but as I lower my hand I see that he's still smiling.

  “Well, perhaps that was deserved,” he says, slowly turning back to me. “The funny thing is, I can't even remember what your mother looked like. Human lives are so easily forgotten, unless they happen to have a soul that one has won at auction. There's no -”

  Stopping suddenly, he peers past me.

  “Now what does she think she's doing?”

  Turning, I see that Kate is crawling on her hands and knees toward the altar. She's still shivering, but after a moment I spot the toy bear still resting on the stone slab.

  “Ah,” Graham continues, “she wants her soulspiece. How cute. Maybe it's time for me to taste what I won all those years ago.”

  “Don't you dare!” I say firmly, turning back to him. “If you want to get to her, first you're going to have to go through -”

  Suddenly I'm pulled up into the air and spun around. I cry out, but I'm immediately sent crashing down against the pews, landing hard on my back and screaming as I roll down and slam into the cold stone floor. As soon as I try to get up, I feel a cracking pain in my left shoulder, but I force myself up and
then I turn to see that Graham has reached the altar. He's looking down at the ground, and I can hear Kate still whimpering.

  “Leave her alone!” I shout, struggling to my feet. “You can't have her!”

  Ignoring me, Graham turns his back to the altar, and a moment later I see Kate's frail, trembling hand reaching up toward him.

  “Kate, run!” I yell, limping to the aisle and finally spotting her at the far end, down on her hands and knees in front of Graham.

  Realizing that she seems unable to get away, I start hurrying toward her. My heart is pounding, but I know I have to get my sister out of here. Maybe Graham's telling the truth or maybe he's lying, but there'll be time to figure that out later. Right now, I just have to get her the hell away from this church. And as I reach her, I grab her shoulder so I can -

  Another force slams against me, throwing me through the air until I crash into the wall. Slumping down, I land hard on my ankle and feel a sharp crack, and I let out a cry of pain as I fall forward and bump against the end of a pew. I grab the arm-rest and manage to hold myself up, but then I try to stand and I immediately feel an agonizing jolt in my ankle, forcing me to drop to my knees.

  “Leave my sister alone!” I gasp, before starting to get up again.

  This time I make sure to avoid putting any weight on my damaged ankle, and I quickly start limping around the pew. Ahead, I can see Graham kneeling in front of Kate's shivering form, and he has a hand on the side of her face as he whispers something.

  “Stop!” I yell. “Kate! Push him away and run! Don't -”

  Suddenly I bang my ankle against one of the pews, sending a ripple of pain through the damage bone. I almost fall, but at the last moment I manage to steady myself. As I do so, I look over at my sister and see that she's staring into Graham's eyes. He's running a hand across the side of her face, and to my horror I realize that there's some kind of translucent slime on his fingers. A moment later he moves his hand away, and strings of slime dangle down as he slowly starts licking his fingers clean.

  Kate lets out a pained, trapped whimper.

  “These demons literally eat the souls of their victims,” I remember Graham telling me earlier, back when he was pretending to be on my side. “They turn the souls into a physical substance and they swallow every drop.”

  “Kate!” I scream, limping toward her. “Run!”

  Graham's hand moves down onto her shoulder, pushing the fabric of her dress aside. At first her shoulder looks fairly dry and clean, but the translucent goo seems to rise up through her skin as if it's drawn to Graham's fingers. Kate seems frozen in place, shivering with fear but unable to move a muscle, but I can hear a faint, trembling whimper coming from her lips.

  “That's enough,” I whisper, grabbing a metal candle-stick from the back of one of the pews, and stepping up behind Graham. “Now you're going to -”

  Suddenly he turns and snarls at me, and for a moment I'm frozen by the sight of his features twisting and contorting as if some darker force is breaking through. There's glistening slime all around the edges of his mouth, and his sharp, pointed tongue is already licking some of the slime away. His eyes, meanwhile, are bulging from their sockets, and I swear I can feel pure evil staring straight at me.

  “I let you in here to watch,” he sneers, “not interfere!”

  With that, he sends another invisible force slamming into me. This time I manage to grab the edge of the nearest pew just in time, holding on for dear life. The force continues to crash against me, trying to force me back, but I hold onto the pew until finally its wooden frame breaks apart. Crying out, I'm tossed through the air until I slam into the wall. This time, as I drop to the floor, I'm battered by pieces of the broken pew. I drop to my knees and try to get up, but one of the pew's broken legs crashes into my neck and pins me against the wall, slowly squeezing and crushing my throat.

  “Stop!” I gasp, trying in vain to push the wood away, even as if presses harder and makes it impossible for me to breathe. “Please...”

  I can see Graham running his hands all over Kate's trembling body, drawing the slime from her skin, but I'm powerless to get over and help her. The wood is pushing against my throat so hard, I feel as if my neck is about to break, and I can feel splinters digging into my chin. I try with all my strength to get free, but the force is too strong and I'm already desperately struggling for breath.

  “Kate,” I whisper, “try to stop him...”

  Graham's hand moves back onto her face, and I watch as he draws more and more of the slime from her cheek. Leaning forward, he licks the slime from his fingers, and then he starts licking her face directly. At the same time, he lets out a satisfied sigh, as if he's utterly consumed by the pleasure of taking what he's wanted for so long.

  A moment later, just as I think I'm about to pass out, the broken pew leg falls away and clatters to the ground. I drop down, clutching my throat and taking big, gulping breaths. Finally I get to my feet and start limping toward Kate again, pushing through the immense pain in my ankle. As I get closer, however, I realize that if I simply try to grab my sister, I'll only end up getting tossed aside again, and this time I might not be able to break free. I look around, hoping against hope that I'll spot something I can use as a weapon, but I already know that I'm running out of time.

  And then I see the bear on the altar.

  “When a demon wins a soul at an auction,” I remember Graham telling me earlier, “what it really wins is an object owned by that person. The demon then uses that object to make a connection, and that's how it's able to take their soul.”

  “The bear,” I whisper, realizing that although idea sounds insane, it's my only hope.

  Limping around the side of the pews, I make my way toward the altar. Grabbing the bear, I half-expect Graham to suddenly turn and scream at me, for his connection to Kate to be broken, but instead I simply hear Kate continuing to whimper. It's almost as if Graham is so involved in what he's doing, he's barely even aware of me, and he'd only notice I'm here if I tried to pull him away again. He must be consumed by his desire to take more and more of Kate's soul.

  “Over here!” I shout, still not quite sure how I'm going to get us out of here. “Graham! Look what I've got!”

  I hold the stuffed bear out, but Graham doesn't react.

  “You don't need it?” I continue, my hands trembling as I try to figure out what to do with the bear. “Was that all a lie, or are you just too busy to notice?”

  I wait a moment, before realizing that I only have one choice.

  Taking a firmer hold of the bear, I twist its two ends until finally it breaks in the middle. Stuffing falls out as I rip the bear in half.

  Suddenly Graham turns to me and snarls, and now I see the outline of some other, more angular skull pressing against his face from inside.

  “Is this the link to my sister?” I ask, tearing one half of the bear into two more smaller pieces. “Is this the soulspiece you were talking about and -”

  “Give that to me!” he screams.

  “I won't let you have her,” I say firmly, as I tear the bear again. “I won't -”

  “Give it to me!”

  He lunges forward, trying to grab me, but I manage to step out of the way and he quickly falls against the altar. Turning, I see that he's already coming after me again. Just as I'm about to scream at him to stay back, however, he opens his mouth and holds his hands out at his sides, and the air between us erupts into a huge fireball that sends me crashing back against the wall.

  Ducking down, I crawl around to the other side of the altar. Above me, the flames rage for a moment before starting to fade, but a wooden shelf filled with bibles is burning.

  “I have waited so long for this soul!” he shouts, stumbling around the altar to find me. “She's mine!”

  “Not anymore!” I yell, ducking out of the way just as the air bursts into flames again. This time the fire lasts longer, and I have to take refuge behind a stone pillar until the inferno subsides.
>
  Looking along the aisle, I see that Kate is still shivering near the pews.

  “Run!” I scream at her. “Get out of here while you still can!”

  A moment later I hear Graham's footsteps again, and I roll away from the pillar just as flames fill the air again. This time, when I look up, it's as if the entire church is filling with a vast ball of fire, but finally the flames die down leaving just some curtains burning in a nearby window.

  “Kate!” I shout, scurrying over to her and grabbing her arm, trying to pull her away. “We have to -”

  Suddenly I hear the roar of flames again. I look over my shoulder and see the nearest pews starting to burn, while Graham steps toward us through the inferno. A moment later, I feel Kate's ice-cold hands trying to take the fragments of her old toy bear.

  “Kate,” I stammer, turning to her, “we need to -”

  “Give it to him!” she gasps, sneering at me with dark eyes that swim with black veins.

  “No!” I pull the bear away, but Kate lunges at me, scratching my face. I push her back, but the pews all around us are burning brighter than ever and wooden panels on the walls have also caught fire.

  “He's all I have left now,” Kate whimpers, with translucent slime dribbling down one side of her face. “He's already started to take me! I can't live with half a soul!”

  “You should listen to your sister,” Graham says calmly, walking toward us through the flames. “Play nice, Alice, and I might even let you walk away from all of this.”

  “Give it to him!” Kate gurgles, trying again to snatch the bear from my hands. “Let him have me!”

  I pull away, as the pews continue to burn, but Kate is already starting to crawl toward me and I can tell she's just waiting for her next chance to take the bear.

  “I won that soulspiece at the auction,” Graham continues, “fair and square. It's my right to collect the soul now.”

  “But you can't do it without this, can you?” I point out, trembling with fear as he gets closer. “This is what you won, so this is what you need.”