The sound of bodies moving alerts me, the rustle of clothes and footsteps. Are they moving into the kitchen? I look around trying to plan my next move in case Travis decides I’m unwelcome. It’s a square outdated little room and there’s nowhere to go. Slipping through the wall may be my best option, but when neither appear, I decide to sneak a look around the corner into the living room.
Juliana sits straddled legged over Travis’s lap. The fabric of her shorts is stretched tight, showing way too much skin. Travis reclines back against the cushions taking in the view with the smuggest look on a man’s face I’ve ever seen.
The urge to kill him propels me out of the kitchen and straight for the weasel. I don’t even think about what I’m doing. He’ll never look at Juliana that way again. I feel my hands reach for his throat and eyes simultaneously, but before I can lift her out of my way and fulfill the primitive need to murder, the front door rattles and Juliana slides off of Travis. In one fluid movement she twists to the side and sits down on the couch, feigning naiveté.
Travis likewise composes his rat face and we all watch as Patrick and Jared shamble into the room.
Similar to watching court proceedings, both parties’ facade of innocence is obvious to the extreme, and yet no one says anything that may shatter the fragility of guilt lying just under the surface.
“What are you doing here?” Jared asks, not hiding his disapproval.
“Nice to see you too, brother,” Juliana says.
“I mean it, Jules. What are you doing here?”
“What are you doing? No wait, let me guess, you’re—”
“Leave,” Jared interrupts. “Go home.”
“That’s hilarious, Jared. I was about to tell you the same thing.”
Marcus, who is standing outside, raises two wide brows at me. I disappear from my awkward stance in the living room and reappear outside next to him. While I regain control over my emotions, I half listen to the bickering between Juliana and her brother. Jared’s intrusion is an overwhelming relief compared to what I was just witnessing between her and Travis.
“Here we are again,” Marcus says.
I grunt, a noncommittal sound which is neither implying nor approving.
“Going that well, is it?” he asks.
This time I shrug.
By the face he’s making, I have to think he doesn’t believe it’s going all that well. At this point I don’t think composing my shattered mind into an intelligible reply is a real option, so I frown at him and elect to say nothing.
“This place is what some would call a devil pit. Nasty little party going on inside. You feel it?”
I have to take a second and focus on his words before I can answer. “Yeah, maybe,” I conclude.
“Oh, it’s him all right. He’s brought it to this house. That devil wielding man in there. I won’t step a foot inside if I don’t have to. Jared best get out of here before he crosses over, or something may try to take over his body. I don’t need a mess like that today. Hey, man, your injury. It was this evil sucker, wasn’t it?”
I give Marcus a sharp quick nod, and then lean to the side for another look. Travis is just a man. A man who plays with dark things and uses his stepdaughter as a tool. He’s a monstrous little man that Juliana is attracted to. What did he do to her! He has to be to blame for this.
Jared stands in front of his sister on the couch, insisting she get off her butt and go home. She doesn’t budge. Travis cuts their squabbling short by standing up and hissing something I don’t quite catch.
“Dad, yeah. That’s why he’s here,” Patrick insists.
“The two of you come with me. I’ll show you what I’ve got,” Travis says to Jared.
Then the three of them start down the hall, leaving Juliana on the couch.
“What? The girls aren’t allowed to play with the boys?”
“No way, Jules. I swear you better stay out of this,” Jared calls back.
“Really Jared? You can’t hide anything from me. I know what you’re about, and you better share it with me too.”
“Fuck, Jules! Forget the whole deal. I can’t watch you do this. You’re not getting high ever again. Not after last night.”
Jared turns around and walks out the front door nearly walking straight through Marcus and me. We sidestep out of the way and then Patrick staggers out after him. Marcus gives me a salute. “I’m off.” He follows the boys across the yard and off into the trees.
Neither Patrick nor Jared acknowledges our presence. Why would they? I have to wonder if Juliana inadvertently saved Jared from something horrible again. There’s no way of knowing for sure, but Jared is still breathing, and that’s what matters.
Inside, I see Juliana move from the couch and toward Travis who is standing at the far side of the living room.
“I still want to play,” she says, and the foreign sound of her voice gives me a chill that could freeze the sun.
The creep smiles at her. It’s a menacing and self-serving grin. It haunts me and crushes me with fear, even as I clench my fists.
“This way, Siren. I have the perfect game for us.”
“You’re not mad about my brother are you?”
The way Jules’s voice inflects on ‘my brother’ sends another shot of ice down my back. She’s not done though.
“Self-righteous prick. How dare he dictate what I can and can’t do.”
“Forget him. You can have whatever you want. Jared will be back. When you’re not around, he’ll finish our deal. Come. You’ll like what I have for you downstairs,” Travis says as he walks down the narrow hallway.
Scared senseless to let her out of my sight, I move back into the house, staying not far behind. Travis doesn’t look back at either of us. How can this be happening? What if Travis tries to attack me again? And why is Juliana putting up with this freak?
As Travis turns the knob on the last door in the hall, she leans her face close to his ear and says, “Is it naughty, or nasty?”
The cool smile returns to Travis’s thin mouth. His dark eyes meet hers for a brief and intimate moment before he opens the door and steps out of sight.
Chapter Twelve: Binding
Nathaniel
Juliana and Travis head down a darkened staircase. The concrete block wall on my left is painted a dark color, brown or black, I’m not exactly sure which, but it has succeeded in its job to suck all traces of light out of the air. The Light, both metaphysically and physically, is gone from this basement. The feeling of being sucked into a cold abyss, surrounded by watchful, hungry beings is overwhelming. About half way down the stairs, I hesitate, Marcus’s description of a “devil pit” sounds in my ear. Even he will not enter this space. Only for Juliana do I keep moving.
They move around the corner when they reach the bottom, and as I follow, I hit a wall. It’s the same invisible shield that kept me from getting to Corrine when Travis was spilling the blood of the fawn. It burns me to touch it and I shy away. Now trapped by the bottom of the stairs, I feel helpless as I watch Travis lead Juliana to the other side of the room.
Black candles are lit, giving off just enough light to see the room. Dark fabric covers the ceiling and hangs down like drapes over the walls. Travis stops in front of an altar. It’s large, like a bureau with a lot of different sized drawers and cubbies. There are shelves above and to the side. He lights a few more candles and I can see it’s an old piece of furniture, intricately carved and has a marble top. He opens and closes drawers removing small items and then searches a shelf for something. Juliana moves up behind him and places her hands on the back of his hips, spinning him around to face her.
“It would benefit you not to interrupt,” he says.
“I don’t really care right now. I’m starving.”
She steps in even closer to him and places her mouth over his, kissing him. Her entire body is pressed up against him in a way that makes me want to kill again.
“Why?” I ask the air, and then complete my fr
ustration by making a declaration. “I can’t do this!” I hit the invisible barrier keeping me from entering the room with my fist and it changes nothing other than leave my knuckles burning.
As I make my way up the first couple of stairs, I hear Travis speak and it halts my retreat.
“We will have time for that later. Back off for a minute, Siren.”
“You’re no fun. Let me play. Since the little mouse is out of the way, I can finally get my hands on you.”
“I am the epitome of fun. Let me work on securing your body. I don’t have to help you, you know.”
“I didn’t ask for your help either. You’ll do it anyway. I know how much you get off on this crap,” Jules says.
“I’m the only one who is powerful enough to bind your little soul. Don’t you forget it.”
“Well, Mr. Dawson, you think very highly of yourself. Don’t forget, I’m the one who chose. And I’m the one who already made the switch,” Juliana spits the words back at him.
She doesn’t even sound the same anymore. If I couldn’t see her mouth moving, I wouldn’t believe it was her at all.
“We made an arrangement to use Corrine. Why did you break it?” Travis asks with evident anger.
“She was having problems that didn’t interest me. I wanted something new, and it’s pretty spectacular, isn’t it? These curves are so much better than that sniveling little girl’s.”
With this, Jules runs her hands over herself. Her left hand lingers on her breast. My eyes close involuntarily. This is not the girl I knew yesterday.
“This new arrangement doesn’t please you? I can have you any way I want now. And, I do need your help. She’s much stronger than Corrine. She was fighting me earlier. I won’t have her doing it again.”
“Let me make one thing clear, Siren.”
My eyes open. Juliana and Travis are only inches apart. I’m not sure which of them is making me feel more ill.
“I will have you, when I want. You will never touch Patrick. And don’t forget, I can be rid of you whenever I choose.”
A hissing sound, like a very angry, large cat escapes from Juliana’s mouth. It makes the hairs on my body stand on end. Travis smiles with wicked pleasure.
“Stand in the circle,” he says. “Face west.”
“First, one more kiss. Seal this new deal.”
“Don’t you ever get enough?”
“Never,” she whispers.
Rage, repulsion, and terror rip through me. I have to turn away as Juliana leans in to meet him. The bastard! What has he done to her? It isn’t her. It isn’t her. It isn’t her! Like a mantra, I repeat the words. How can I get Juliana back? How?
“Enough,” he says. “To the circle. Now.”
“So bossy. Would it hurt to be nice for one second?”
“I want you out of here before your brother comes back. He has money for me, and I need it to buy another Beamer. Don’t pout. You can come back after he leaves.”
“Cars. Why are men so fascinated with them?”
“We can ride them when we want, and they don’t whine or tell us what to do.”
“Whatever.” She waves a dismissive hand as she moves to the center of the room and turns to the west wall. “Fix me up, Mr. Dawson.”
“Stop this. Don’t touch her again, or I’ll kill you,” I say from the stairs.
Travis stops looking in an open drawer and turns his head to stare at me.
“I mean it, you son-of-a-bitch. Don’t go near her.”
His cruel smile returns. Insidious evil oozes from the warlock like stench from a putrid swamp. He narrows his eyes at me and then returns his focus to the altar. He chooses two small boxes and places them on the altar and then slides the drawer back into place. Next he opens each lid and lines them up neatly above each box. From another drawer, he removes something small and white, and another candle.
“Apparently, Siren, we have an unwanted visitor.”
“What are you talking about?” Juliana asks.
“It’s nothing to worry your pretty head about. No more than a nuisance. But I will seal the space in a different way than I would have if it were not here.”
With one of the boxes in his hand, he moves around Juliana in a wide clockwise circle sprinkling the contents of the box over the already visible circle on the floor.
At the bottom of the stairwell, I stand burning, and unable to pass the barrier this warlock has created. “Juliana, love, stop this. Please,” I beg.
Travis continues to make a continual circle around her with the dark powder. When he’s finished, he puts the box down and picks up the white object.
“Take this, and draw another circle inside my own, Siren. Do not lift the chalk, and connect the ends. Start here and end here,” he says while pointing to a specific spot on the floor.
“Juliana Crowson, come back. Move away from him now.” She walked straight into the basement and could leave if she wanted to.
Her shoulders twitch as if a shiver has moved over her. Then she looks over to me. I could swear her eyes meet mine.
“He’s evil, Jules. Come with me.”
She screams and I stumble forward. Fire passes over me, a burning flash of heat rolling over my skin. But where my feet should be, something solid stops me. Looking down, I see a line of gritty powder. It’s stopping me from entering his accursed space.
Juliana’s scream stops and she begins to shake her head, jerking from side to side. Her hand reaches up as if to stop her own violent twitching.
The voice coming from her is not Juliana.
“Do it now, Travis. I want this over with.”
Juliana is still holding the side of her head and the shaking eases somewhat.
“It must be done in order if you want it to work,” Travis growls.
“What are you waiting for then?”
“Draw the circle. I’ll do the rest.”
He moves to the altar and picks up another of the boxes and the unlit candle. With these in hand, he squats down in front of Juliana. He lays out five small whitish objects in a smaller circle and places the candle in the center. Careful to step over his lines, he returns to his supplies on the altar. The smallest circle on the floor, I can now see are bones. Animal or human, I don’t know, but the knobby joint ends are unmistakable.
If I can’t find a way to stop this madness, I will have failed myself and Juliana beyond repair. I pull energy from the universe and manifest my body. Travis’s attention turns my way as I do it and he watches as I try to cross his line again. The pain of touching this barrier is like being stripped of skin by a red hot blade, one piece at a time. Travis smirks as I pull back, and then he continues to ignore me. Juliana hasn’t looked at me again.
There are angry welts on my hands from attempting to cross his invisible wall. It fuels my determination.
“Leave. Her. Alone.”
“Light the candle, Siren,” he says. He stands outside of the circle and hands her something.
She bends down over the candle and then I hear the flick of a match followed by a yellow and blue flame. The wick on the candle flares bright and then settles to a soft glow. The pale skin of her hands and forearms catch the light and cast shadows across her face, making her appear dark and unholy.
“Damn Corrine,” Travis spits out. “I still need the garnets and quartz.”
“Can’t you do this without them?” Juliana complains.
“Yes, but we need your blood instead of the garnets.”
“Let’s use blood then,” she says.
The twisting wrench in my stomach heaves afresh with the sound of the near excitement in her voice over the prospect of using her own blood. Juliana hates the sight of blood. She would never do this willingly.
“That’s my girl. I have just enough quartz. Corrine will find me more precious stones later.”
“Get on with it, will you? Give me a knife already. I thought you said you were in a hurry.”
“Silence, hell cat. I will te
ll you when to cut.”
He reaches under his shirt and pulls up what looks like a cross on a chain. The end of the cross slides out of a miniature sheath producing a tiny dagger.
Dipping the blade in a basin on the altar, he whispers over it. “With the water from the stones of the dead this blade will be cleansed.”
Then he turns back to Jules and hands her the knife. “You must put three drops of blood from each of your thumbs into the melted candle wax. Then drip blood onto each of these stones. There are six of them. Move clockwise around the circle until you are facing the candle again. I will call the demons to assist the binding. Do not interrupt me as I cast.”
Travis moves around the circle placing a quartz crystal at six points around the circle. As Juliana is about to stab the end of her left thumb, her body begins to shake and her feet stumble. Her foot slides over the chalk line on the floor. Travis looks down at her foot. I see his jaw harden and his spine stiffen.
“You’ve broken the seal. Maybe Corrine was a better match after all, you incompetent wench.”
“Screw you, Travis. I told you she’s strong.”
“This is the one time I’ll fix it. Get some control over her, or forget it.”
The powder on the floor. She’s broken the seal. Lord! It’s worth a try. Why didn’t I think of it sooner?
With all the power I can manage, I bend down and blow on the line before me. Forces unknown to me must be assisting because a howling wind escapes from my mouth. The gust circles around the room, causing the drapes to flutter and the candlelight to flicker madly. Half of them extinguish, darkening the room further. The dirty line, which is keeping me from Juliana, scatters like ashes in the wind. Juliana falters, collapsing to the floor. I plunge forward. You would think that hesitation would be the more intelligent course of action, but no one has ever accused me of having too many brain cells. Death is a barrier I’ve already crossed, so how much worse can it get?
Juliana sits on the floor with her knees hugged into her chest. Her body is shaking violently.
“Juliana, get out of here!”
She doesn’t respond. I am whole. I am physical. Why can’t she see me?
Angel Dreams (An Angel Falls Book 2) Page 14