by Sara Clancy
Bird had perched on Benton’s shoulder. His massive wings were pulled back, his plumage bristled until he looked like a dark specter looming over Benton. Talons of polished onyx sliced easily into Benton’s flesh. He didn’t seem to notice. Didn’t so much as flinch as blood began to stain the slashed material of his shirt. All of his attention was fixed onto Daniel alone.
“I live with demons.” Benton’s voice came out distorted. Softer, echoing within his chest before ever passing his lips. Lifting his chin, the world erupted in the wild cry of the ferocious birds. “Threaten him again, and I’ll unleash them all upon you.”
Chapter 12
Heat cupped Benton’s cheeks and he was jerked to the side, a sudden lurch that made his brain slosh around his skull. He staggered, barely able to keep himself upright. None of it felt like it belonged to him. Not his bones, not the blood rushing through his veins, not the pain pulsating from his shoulder. Bit by bit, he contorted his soul to fit the suffocating confines of his skin. It all felt terrifyingly similar to waking up.
Nicole’s voice rolled in his ears. Just the tempo and volume. None of it made any sense.
“What’s wrong?” he mumbled, his tongue feeling too big for his mouth.
The competing noise separated itself from her voice. He glanced up, shocked to find the flock that had crowded around them. The abrupt motion pulled the skin of his shoulder, the resulting spike of pain making him gasp. Jerking around jostled Bird, making him flap wildly to keep his balance. His talons scraped over Benton’s collar bone, forcing a whimper from Benton’s lips.
“What the hell, man? We talked about this,” Benton grumbled through clenched teeth.
He held up three fingers. Trial and error had proven that was just thick enough for Bird to stand comfortably without his talons doing any damage. With a squawk, he fluttered over. The nails leaving his skin hurt just as much as they had going in. Benton almost doubled over before Bird had finished the transfer. Nicole appeared out of thin air, her delicate fingers peeling the blood-soaked material back from his slashed skin.
Enduring the touch, he glared at the owl. “If I need stitches, I’m going to be ticked.”
Bird rotated his head around 180 degrees.
“I’m talking to you,” Benton grumbled.
Nicole pressed a finger hard against his skin and he screamed, cringing away from the contact.
“It’s already healing,” Nicole whispered.
“So, by all means, open it up again,” Benton snapped. The fear in her eyes shattered his anger. “Nic, what happened?”
“You don’t remember?” Wapun asked.
Benton jumped. The jumbled mess of his mind had completely forgotten about the elders’ existence. He was strangely repulsed to remember them now.
Shifting his shoulders to crowd closer to Nicole, he whispered, “What’s going on? Did I fall asleep?”
The flock began to disperse as Nicole studied him closely, casting deep shadows through the brilliant green haze. A few of the light serpents coiled around them as he waited for her response.
“Does it feel like you fell asleep?”
He nodded shallowly. A dark look crossed Nicole’s face. It was there only a moment before she covered it with a smile.
“Come on, I’ll explain on the way.”
“Explain it to us first!” Daniel roared.
Bird screeched and flung his wings wide, tipping forward as if preparing to attack. The ferocity of the gesture quickly had Daniel retreating. Benton could only stare in shock at Bird’s barely contained fury.
What happened? The question raced around his head, unable to find anything that could possibly be considered an answer. It was as if he had blinked and the world had lurched forward without him.
“Would it be possible for you to calm it down?” Daniel reluctantly added after a heartbeat, “Please.”
The utter lack of demand jarred Benton from his thoughts. He flicked his gaze from one face to the next, seeing a matching hint of fear upon each of their features.
“What the hell is going on?” Benton whispered.
Nicole swooped in once more, tentatively reaching out slightly to stroke the back of Bird’s head. The owl crouched low and twisted his head around, flashing his beak threateningly at her approaching fingertips.
“It’s okay,” she cooed softly. “No-one’s going to hurt Benton. It’s okay.”
Bird scooted along Benton’s fingers, stopping just as one foot enclosed around his wrist. Pinpricks of pain sparked at the contact, racing up Benton’s arm while remaining low enough to be easily ignored. Bird’s head swiveled again. Large yellowed eyes locked onto Benton’s. An odd sensation worked its way around his chest. Something almost foreign and yet undoubtedly familiar was emerging from within the depths of his soul. Suddenly, Bird settled back into his natural placid state, accepting Nicole’s touch and even rubbing his head against her fingertips.
Never one to let an opening pass by unexploited, Nicole quickly grabbed Benton’s elbow and dragged him towards the forest. With the elders caught between shock and dread, they were already past the first line of trees before they thought to intervene. She plowed a straight path to the thin, narrow opening he vaguely remembered from the night before. That was when he locked his knees and jerked her to a stop.
Nicole reeled and practically launched herself back onto his shoulder. Bird echoed his disgruntled protest. Not that it was enough to stop her. With rushed, careful fingers, she peeled the soaked material of his shirt from his skin.
“It’s almost healed. How is that possible?” she mumbled over and over.
“Nic, I really need some answers. What happened?”
She swallowed thickly and stood still.
“How am I supposed to know?” she said, her attempt to make a joke falling flat when her fingertips brushed against his punctured skin. She winced at his sharp hiss. “Sorry. Is it still tender?”
Benton didn’t reply. He only stood there and stared at her with an emotionless expression. She held out about as long as he thought she would. Barely twenty seconds or so.
“I don’t know for sure,” she whispered, avoiding his gaze. “All I can do is guess.”
“So take a guess.”
Biting her lips, she continued to fuss with the wound on his shoulder. But her motions were slower. More like a comforting caress than her sterile first aid training.
“You asked if you fell asleep. Why?”
“It felt like that,” Benton said, not knowing how best to describe it. “Like someone else had pushed me out of my own skin.”
Nicole swallowed again. “I think Mic jumped you.”
“Jumped me?” he said carefully.
“It’s a term I’ve heard on paranormal blogs. Basically, it just means that a ghost slips into your skin and takes over. I guess it’s the same principle with a Grim Reaper.”
His stomach opened up into a dark pit. “I was possessed?”
“That’s a harsh way of looking at it,” Nicole said.
“Mic took me for a joy ride. How would you word it?”
“Not like that either.” It was clear that she was looking for a way to make this easier on him. She was failing. “Nothing bad happened.”
“You opted for running into a haunted forest rather than try to explain this to your elders,” he noted.
Nicole stammered. “You have me there.”
“What did she make me do?”
“Nothing bad,” she insisted quickly. “That’s why I’m sure it was Mic.”
Quickly running out of patience, and numb with fear, Benton growled her name.
“It’s nothing. He more or less told Daniel to back off. She’s very protective of you.”
White static filled his head, drowning out the rest of her reassurances and promises that everything would be okay. The air was ripped from his lungs, forced out with his throbbing heartbeat. Gasping frantically, he couldn’t stave off the numbness that settled into his bones, a
nd dropped to his knees. Bird flapped around him. The beat of his wings intensifying the icy sweat that covered his skin.
“Benton? Benton? Just breathe, okay?”
I can’t! he screamed within his head, unable to push the words past his lips. I’m going to die. The knowledge slammed into the forefront of his mind as his vision brightened and blurred. Nicole cupped his face and forced his head up to meet her gaze.
“You’re having a panic attack,” she said. “Everything will be okay. You’re safe.”
There could be a killer ghost three feet away! The elders want me dead! Grim Reapers can use me as a meat puppet! What part of this is okay?
Unable to scream the words, they were left to fill his head, an increasing power that threatened to break him apart. A piercing whine filled his ears, bringing with it a blinding pain.
“This will pass,” Nicole assured. “Just take a deep breath for me, okay?”
He glared at her as his body began to shake violently. Like it’s that easy?
Bird’s screeching wail made it all the worse. He could feel the animals panic as if it was his own. It didn’t feel real when Nicole grabbed his arm and tugged it off of the ground, like his muscles were water; sloshing about with no real form of their own. Scattering with the motion. Taking with it the rest of his flesh until he felt himself evaporate into the air.
A steady heartbeat rushed through him like a crashing wave. Frothing and churning, it gathered the broken parts of him, bringing them back together. The sensation didn’t last. But, before he could break apart again, another pulse slammed into him. Bit by bit, he could feel his muscles and tendons regain their form. Panting hard, he barely had the strength to lift his head.
Nicole had his scarred palm pressed tight against her chest. Tight enough that he was able to feel her heartbeat through her ribcage. With her free hand, she brushed the hair off of his forehead, letting her nails scrape along his scalp. The tension in his chest began to relax. Blocking everything else out, he focused on the rise and fall of her chest, struggling to match his breathing to hers. It got easier with time. Bird calmed once more, and everything fell silent.
“You’re doing so well,” she encouraged. “Come on, one more big breath. That’s it.”
He relished the feeling of air swelling his lungs and forced a smirk. “You’re going to be a great stage mom one day.”
“Glad to see that you’re feeling better,” she replied.
Suddenly exhausted, he dipped forward to rest his forehead against her shoulder.
“I’ve never had a panic attack before.”
“Well, today’s been kind of stressful,” she said.
He didn’t have the words to describe how grateful he was that she kept carding her fingers through his hair. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered when she had learned how calming that was for him. Not the most obscure thing she’s learned about me.
Benton groaned and curled deeper into her warmth. “It’s bad enough having them rip my mind apart every time I close my eyes. Now I have to put up with it while I’m awake, too?”
“We’ll find a way to stop it.”
“How?” A flash of anger sharpened his voice. Rearing back, he glared at her, her startled innocence stoking his anger. “You never listen! I told you not to mess around with this stuff!”
“I’m not messing around,” she stammered in defense.
“You made me open myself up to the dead. What if I can’t get them out again?”
For once, she didn’t have a reply waiting on hand. No reassurances or assertions of approaching victory. She only sat there, staring at him, silent and defeated. Good. Let her have a dose of reality, he thought even as her expression gutted him. His shoulders slumped as the last of his fight left him.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.
She sniffed. “No, it’s okay. You’re right.”
“Yeah, I know,” he squirmed, suddenly unsure what to do with any of his limbs. “But I should have worded it better. Maybe use a softer tone or something.”
A weak smile twitched the corner of her mouth. “Yeah, maybe. I keep making things worse for you, don’t I?”
“No,” he replied instantly before shrugging one shoulder. “Well, yeah, you do sometimes. But you always drag me back out again.”
Nicole wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees. It took a moment for him to realize that she was subconsciously mirroring him.
“Do you really think I’m going to get us killed one day?” she asked abruptly.
He shook his head. “No, just me. You promised, remember.”
“Why do you put up with me?”
“Because you put up with me,” he replied instantly. “Besides, who else have I got to hang around?”
Her smile reappeared, staying longer than it had before. “You always have yourself.”
“That jerk?” he dismissed.
Nicole reached towards him. A peace offering. Forgiveness. The pain left his chest as he moved to take her hand.
An ebony stain rolled out from behind her, twisting like oil bleeding into water, blotting out everything it came into contact with. Benton latched onto Nicole’s wrist and yanked her to his side. She tumbled down onto the undergrowth, giving him the second he needed to ensure he was between her and the gathering Death. The oblong smear that served as Mic’s head tore itself free from the mass. She rose one bone-white hand, each joint locked to make the swift motion still distorted.
“Don’t touch me.” Benton’s throat swelled with the promise of a scream, making his voice rumble.
Mic didn’t retreat.
“I swear to God, I will find a way to hurt you.”
The Grim Reaper locked into place, as still as stone even while the edges of its form wafted out like smoke. Benton refused to blink. Panic filled him like tidal waves. Of all the stupid, reckless things he had done in his life, challenging Death to her face was the worst.
Mic studied him carefully as she hovered in silence. He flinched back as her arm moved. Ebony shadows draped over the frail limb as she slowly swung it out to the side. The exposed bones of her fingers curled in, leaving only one to point the way into the depths of the forest, slightly left of where they had intended to go.
“What’s going on?” Nicole whispered as she pressed against his spine.
“Mic’s here to give us directions,” he said.
Nicole squeezed his shoulder until the bones ached. “That’s nice. Um, why?”
Without taking his eyes off of the Death before him, he turned his head slightly towards her.
“Not sure.”
“Do we want to follow?”
“You make the call.”
“Didn’t we just agree that I suck at that?” Nicole instantly followed that up with, “Let’s go.”
Reaching blindly back, Benton grabbed her hand, clutching it tightly as they got up to their feet. All the while, Mic held her position with all the rigidity of rigor mortis. Cautiously, Benton edged around the figure, sneaking quick glances over his shoulder at the direction she indicated.
“She wants us to go to the river?” Nicole asked.
“Is the river over there?”
“Yes.”
“Then I guess so,” he replied.
Nicole tightened her grip on his hand a little more and gave him a slight tug. “Come on. We don’t want to stay in here too long.”
Not willing to give Mic his back, Benton walked backward, trusting Nicole to lead the way. Mic made no attempt to follow, remaining as a dark void against the rich colors of the forest.
Muffled noises drifted from the nearby campsite, the faintest rumbling sound that could barely be heard over the crunch of dried leaves. Morning light flashed through the canopy, striking his eyes with a blinding glare. Without the living aurora, all the colors were too bright. Pain pricked the back of his eyes as he searched the treetops for movement. It was easy to pick up on the sound of rustling leaves. Far harder to
find the source.
The earth moistened under his bare feet as he followed Nicole’s lead. Every step brought another ache to his legs. Not a throbbing pain. More like his muscles were hardening underneath his skin. The fingertips of his free hand began to toy with the thick beads of his choker, seeking out the thin iron wire that held them all together.
“We’re getting close,” he whispered.
“You see it?”
“Feel it,” he replied.
She threw a questioning look over her shoulder, but he shook his head. Now’s not the time. Reluctantly, she left all of her questions unspoken. The soft babbling of the stream emerged through the leaves. Flowing as it did around the bend had left it gently lapping at the muddy bank and gnarled roots. Ducking under a low branch, Nicole’s foot found the soggy drop-off. Benton had barely enough time to grab onto the tree branch with his free hand before toppling down after her. Using their grip for leverage, she pulled herself back up.
“Watch your step over there,” she whispered.
“No kidding.”
There really wasn’t anywhere they could have fallen that would have done much harm. The river pushed into the forest, depositing silt and claiming the fallen logs, creating a gradual transition from water to land. The steepest drop off was only a few feet at most, and the calm, clear water hid relatively little. None of that was enough to soften the ache forming in the back of Benton’s throat.
“Where to now?” Nicole asked, still keeping her voice low.
Benton glanced around at the undisturbed beauty surrounding them. Sunlight glistened off of the water, making it shine like a shifting sea of jewels. The scents of fresh mud and pine lingered on every breath, and only the lapping water broke the silence.
“She’s not here.”
“Reassured or alarmed?” Nicole asked. “Which one should I be feeling right now?”
Instead of answering, Benton shifted his weight between his feet, feeling every muscle involved pull taut. Thick mud oozed between his toes, coating his feet and numbing them just a little bit more. Nicole began to squirm beside him, more out of impatience than trying to fight off the cold, although she would deny she felt either.