by P. K. Tyler
"This key," Ma began, "was given to me by my grandmother, who was given it by her grandmother. It has traveled with our people for centuries, from Egypt to India to Russia and so many places between. Our people need no country to call home because we are always connected here. Many keys open many doors, but all who enter are the same."
Nik shifted his weight and asked, "If you're supposed to guide Vai and there are all these other people who know all this, why wasn't there anyone to help me? Why have I been all alone?"
Ma frowned and Nik swore it looked like she was going to start crying. Her hair seemed to dull and her skin turned a pale shade of blue.
"Some have been lost. Some never reach their potential and then, generations later, someone is born with the sight. The Church's Old Order has also organized itself and guided Sin Eaters.”
Ma's nostrils flared and in the same moment Nik smelled sulfur. It was the same scent given off by the possessed, but so much stronger that it burned his nose and eyes. A sharp, blinding pain resounded within his head and a powerful wave of nausea threatened to make him pass out.
"Something's coming," he warned.
He met Ma's gaze, her eyes watering the same as his. "No, Nikolai. Something is already here."
Chapter Nine
Nik's nose ran from the sting of putrid flesh. "What the fuck?"
A woman in tan slacks and a button up shirt strode through the rows of bookshelves, holding a small man in front of her, a knife to his neck.
Hovering over the woman’s face, Nik could see not just the black shadow of a possession but a face so corrupted by evil it barely resembled human. This must be the demon's true form, just like how Vai and Ma were transformed in the Crypt.
"So, there are more already here?" the woman sneered and the black smoke around her seemed to quiver with excitement. It was a mind trip, like seeing two bodies working together as one.
"Let him go." Vai stepped forward, hands balled into tight fists. "You aren't supposed to be here."
"Oh, don't I know it." The demon's voice oozed satisfaction. "My kind have never been here before, what number of delights await me now that I've entered your sacred realm? You think you can keep us out? You can't even keep track of your own kind."
The demon slipped the knife she held into her belt and gripped the small man’s head with both hands.
Nik rushed forward with a scream but before he could get to her, the demon twisted his neck with a sharp jerk and dropped the limp body to the ground.
"No!" Vai screamed.
Nik charged, intending to ram the demon with his shoulder, but the closer he got the harder it was to move. The black smoke coming off the possessed woman seemed to grab a hold of him and weigh him down. The closer he got, the more it felt like he was wading through tar, fighting for every step.
The demon easily side-stepped Nik, inching its way closer to Ma.
"Get away from her," Vai called out.
A blade shot past Nik's face, almost slicing his cheek, and sunk blade first into the demon's shoulder.
She screamed and the black smoke recoiled, pulling back to the woman’s body.
Nik collapsed to the ground and took a deep breath. His body felt like he had already fought a demon and lost, but he hadn't even been able to get close to this one.
"Nik, get Ma out of here." Vai pulled a short sword from a nearby table and took a battle stance.
"I'm not leaving you here with that thing," he said, collecting himself to standing.
"It's not a fucking request. Do it."
Ethereal black tendrils snaked out from the demon, flicking in their direction, like a serpent's tongue tasting their presence.
Vai sliced her blade through the air. On contact, the tendril dissipated and the demon sneered. "You think you can defeat me with your human weapons? We are stronger and older than your imaginations can comprehend. No weapon can stop us. Cut me down and another will take my place."
"Not in here it won't." Vai's legs tensed and she made a run for the woman.
The demon dodged to the side and, with a burst of speed, barreled into Ma.
Ma screamed, agony overtaking her features. Even as she clawed at the possessed woman, she lifted her up, one hand sunk deep inside Ma's abdomen.
Vai spun around and tried to rush to Ma’s aid, but the demon backhanded her with her free hand and sent her flying back against the shelves.
His anger rose until his body hardened. Stone formed along his flesh and he grew bigger. Stronger. He funneled all his hate and frustration at the world toward the demon who seemed to be working on disemboweling Ma right in front of him.
Vai struggled to stand and threw her weapon, but without enough momentum it clattered to the floor a few feet away from Ma and the demon.
Nik took his pocket knife out and sliced it across his hand before it hardened to rock like the rest of him. He smeared the blood across both his hands and began chanting in Latin.
"Regna terrae, cantate Deo, psallite Dominoqui fertis ascendit super caelum."
He approached the demon, the blood dripping from his hand.
Ma's face contorted in agony as the possessed woman twisted her fist with a smile.
"I'm going to fucking kill you," Vai screamed. She lurched forward and dove for her blade on the floor.
Nik ignored the heart wrenching screams coming from Ma and maintained his focus.
"Caeli ad Orientem.”
The closer he got, the paler the possessed body became. The demon inside her snarled and sent out another tendril of black smoke. It whipped across Nik's face with a crack. The stone protection of Nik's true self protected him.
Nik ran at the demon, tackling her. The impact forced the demon to release her hold on Ma, who fell to the ground in a bloody pile. Her abdomen gushed, making the floor slick with her blood.
Vai hesitated for only a moment, kneeling at Ma’s side, gripping her face and whispering with her.
"Ecce dabit voci suae vocem virtutis, tribuite virtutem deo."
Nik pressed his hand against the demon's forehead, but was unable to get a solid footing. He scrambled to hold on to the demon but she wrenched away, ducking under Nik's reach.
With one hand on his stomach and the other on his neck, the possessed woman lifted him and turned, throwing him at Vai.
Vai dodged the impact of Nik's body. She rolled to the side, shouting as she went. "Nik. Get Ma and GET OUT! NOW!"
She rose quickly and ran toward a table lined with weapons and grabbed a handful of the sparkling red dust.
Vai approached the demon but she disappeared in a wisp of dark smoke, leaving the body of the woman. Her eyes went wide and her mouth gaped, moving as if she wanted to say something but no words came.
Nik was caught between getting Ma out of there and helping the innocent woman who had done nothing to deserve the situation she was now in. But the decision was made for him as the woman crumpled to the ground and slumped to the floor. Her chest heaved twice and then went still. The woman was dead.
The demon disappeared into the shadows. Her ethereal form hidden within the darkness.
"I didn't know they could do that," Nik said.
"Me either," Vai breathed. She held her sword at the ready and moved slowly toward him. "Get Ma out of here.”
Vai faced the back wall, opposite the doorway out of the realm. She paced in a tight circle, with Nik and Ma at her back.
Nik removed his shirt and bundled it up. He pressed it against the gaping wound in Ma's stomach. It soaked through with blood almost immediately How much blood could she stand to lose? He took off his belt and wrapped it around her middle, cinching it tight over the wound to hold the shirt in place and try to staunch the flow.
Ma groaned, but didn't scream. Her skin felt damp and her face was pale and drawn. The youthful radiance he had seen before faded and the old woman he knew from the gypsy compound returned.
Dammit. That couldn't be good.
He pulled her to her fee
t, and hoisted her body up with his arms so he could move her toward the door.
Vai continued guarding them, moving back toward the entrance at a distance. Her stance was tense, poised for attack.
Nik was thankful for her presence and her skill. Under other circumstances, fighting alongside her would probably be fun.
Smoky tendrils reached out from the shadows, slithering along the ground toward Vai. Three reached up, like heads, solidifying before their eyes. The fourth stretched out behind her thickening and solidifying form.
Four lower appendages formed from the body creating muscular legs, as long as a human's. The body and legs took on the shape of a bull dog. A giant bull dog. The heads took shape and lips stretched back across all three sets of bladed jaws. A satisfied growl rumbled out of her deep chest.
"Oh my God," Vai whispered, her ready position faltering for just a moment.
"Is that—"
"Cerberus... it's the fucking hell hound!"
The tail that grew from the body sprouted sharp protrusions like teeth which glinted in the light like metal.
Nik and Ma bumped against the door.
The black, over-sized hell hound rushed Vai, powerful leg muscles making the distance between them negligible.
Vai reacted so fast, Nik was impressed with her instincts.
He fumbled for the door handle while still holding up Ma, who had gone limp in his arms.
Vai opened one arm wide and turned her wrist sideways so her blade faced inward. She kept her other hand fisted tightly at her side.
She swung at the demon's side as it barreled into her.
Vai's strike landed shallow, but the red blade was made of the Blood of Christ. The wound bubbled and hissed, burning though the demon's side.
It lashed out blindly with the spiked tail. It raked across the flesh on Vai's arm.
Nik stepped forward, the instinct to join the fight so strong he almost dropped Ma. But at his movement, she moaned and he tightened his hold on her body.
The demon limped and whined as it paced away from Vai.
Her arm looked bad, blood dripped from the wounds, dropping to the ground in tiny puddles.
The red eyes of the hell hound kept a wary eye on her.
Vai's arm shook as she held up the sword. If she dropped it, that thing was going to kill her. But she still had the dust. Maybe it would be enough.
"Vai! Time to go!" Nik finally got a hold of the door knob and pulled it open. He dragged Ma through to the other side. Vai had to get back there. He wasn't going to leave her, but if he stayed, Ma could die.
Vai backed toward the door as Nik watched. She stumbled slightly and the tip of her blade dropped, but the demon kept its distance.
Vai crossed the threshold.
Nik pointed to the line just inside the doorway and spoke to Vai. "Put a line of dust there."
She re-sheathed her sword and dropped to her knees. Carefully, she laid down a thin line of dust across the threshold of the door, trapping the demon inside. Now it couldn't follow them into the real world.
The demon roared and whipped its tail around the room. It overturned tables and slammed its massive body against the bookshelves, shattering them into splinters. They watched as it hissed and snapped in their direction, fury bubbling in its evil red eyes.
Nik glared at the monstrous creature for a moment before slamming the door shut, trapping it there.
Chapter Ten
Nik lifted Ma's body from the ground, her blood squelching under his boots as he carried her out to the living room.
"Dika!" Vai screamed as she ran ahead of him, "Dika, help!"
Nik made his way to the couch, gently setting her frail frame down. Would she be angry about the blood? Some people were like that. Maybe he should look for a blanket or a plastic sheet. He ran his hands through his hair, scanning the room as his mind shot out nonsense thoughts in the midst of his panic.
What the fuck just happened? He couldn't process it. Everything had gone down so fast.
Vai and the older woman with the gray hair swept into the room, pushing Nik away from the couch. The already dingy upholstery was now soaked with red and brown blood.
"Ma?" Vai leaned down and wiped the old woman's hair from her face. Nik couldn't get rid of the shadow of Ma’s younger self that hovered around her. So much like the way a demon's true face would make itself known, he could now see Ma's true inner soul.
Dika used a wet cloth to clear the blood from Ma's face and arms.
"Give me your phone." Vai held out her hand to a stupefied Nik.
"Okay." Nik punched in the pass-code on his phone, Zeph's birthday of course, because he's not a hopeless romantic deep down. Nope, not him.
Vai grabbed the phone and dialed. When she got an answer, she spoke quickly in a foreign language that he couldn't even hope to understand.
Nik looked back at Ma moaning and holding her sister's hand. "Can I do anything?" he asked.
Dika shook her head, "I gave her some medicine and am waiting to see if she has a fever. If she does, we'll need to cast out whatever evil got inside her, if not, we can hopefully heal her."
"She’s not possessed."
"It's soul poisoning. In the Crypt, everything that happens takes on a spiritual component. You saw how she changed." Dika smiled down at her sister. "That was her soul, the real her, the purity of who she is."
"I'm so sorry. I should have done more to protect her." Nik knelt down next to Ma and took her other hand in his own.
"Not you..." Ma struggled to lift her head and look at him, but he squeezed her fingers as Dika rested her hand on her sister's forehead.
"She's hot. Oh sister..." Dika frowned.
Nik watched as Dika touched Ma. Her body began to glow, but in that otherworldly way he knew only Sin Eaters could see.
Her glow increased and flowed over Ma's body, covering her with a pale pink light. Dika reached in the pocket of her skirt with her free hand and pulled out red dust like Vai had used to finally exorcise the demon from the morgue. She scrunched up her face like a child and stuffed the handful into her mouth.
She gagged, but held a hand over her mouth, not letting the dust fall out. She chewed and swallowed. When she was done, she sat up straighter and the glow around her body intensified, the pink hue darkening until she glowed an otherworldly red. Even the whites of her eyes took on a warm tint.
Dika placed both hands on her sister's face and chanted. "Congamphlgh de en mononusa. Dooiap mad goholor gohus amiran."
The glow around her spread over Ma's body. It grew so intense, Nik squinted. The light was everywhere and nowhere. Red and pink, yellow and orange, all moving together in an ocean of incandescence. As his eyes burned and the room flooded with radiance, Ma sat up, opened her eyes, and spoke. "Zorge lap zirdo noco mad hoath iaida!"
The light faded quickly, seeping back into both of them. Dika slumped in her seat, her face pale and drawn.
"You shouldn't have done that sister," Ma said, pulling Dika into her arms.
"They still need you."
Nik watched, feeling like an intruder, but unable to turn away. Whatever had just happened was intimate, beautiful, and completely otherworldly.
"They're gone," Vai said from the door, phone in her hand. She stared at Ma, but didn't seem to see her. Her eyes were glazed and her face slack.
"Who's gone?" Nik asked.
"Everyone." She dropped the phone to the floor.
"Vai?" Nik stepped closer, grabbing her just as she collapsed onto the floor. He picked her up and took her over to sit by Ma. Today was his day to be the knight in shining armor. He'd carried two women in his arms within an hour. If he wasn't so worried, he'd crack a joke, but the look on Vai's face haunted him.
He kept his arm around her as they sat.
"Golubushka, what happened?" Ma placed a hand on Vai's leg.
"I called Tsura in Florida. The entire kumpania, the whole community is gone."
"What do you mean gone?" N
ik asked.
Vai looked at Ma and shook her head, tears streaming down her face.
A look of understanding transformed Ma's face. Her eyes grew wide and she worked her jaw, seeking words enough to describe the horror she knew had taken place. "That's where the demon came from," Ma said.
Vai nodded and sniffed. "Tsura said she took the kids and ran. She managed to get nine of them out, but didn't know how many more made it away. They haven't had a chance to regroup, if there's even anyone to regroup with." A sob broke from Vai and she covered her mouth with her hand and shook her head as if she could will this evil to not have happened if she just insisted, if she just told the world "no."
After a moment, Vai took a shaky breath. "There was a group of them. Tsura said she thought she counted six, but there could have been more. Demons, congregating and organizing." Her eyes widened and she stared at Ma. "I've never heard of anything like this happening.”
"Because it never has," Dika spoke up, her voice small. "Demons naturally dislike and distrust each other. They're selfish creatures, only interested in their own satisfaction. They haven't banded together in as long as I've been alive. I've never heard of anything like this since..."
"What?" Nik asked as the three women exchanged cryptic looks.
"Not since before the sacrifice of the Galilean. Not since before Lucifer was trapped deep within the rings of hell."
"Really, we're back to bible thumping?" Nik threw up his hands in exasperation. Now that it looked like Ma would be fine, his exasperation with all the Jesus talk bubbled up to a boiling point. "Okay, you know what? Just lay it on me. I can't promise I'll buy any of it, but I'll listen."
Dika and Ma both gave him a stern look. Apparently he'd offended them. Neither woman spoke.
He knew they saw themselves as superior to anyone not Roma, but he doubted they'd be any more helpful than Zeph's church or the Old Order had ever been. With all the shit he'd been through recently, he was out of time and patience. He'd listen, but damned if he'd beg. Especially not when it looked like they were the ones in need of his help.
"Fine, don't speak." He stood up and turned to Vai, doubting his resolve for only a moment at her forlorn look, but he held his ground. He needed answers and if he wasn't going to get them here, he'd look elsewhere. So far the only thing he'd found at the Roma community was some kind of alternate dimension with lots of scrolls and a demon. "Vai, I'm going back to the city. I'll hear the Old Order's take on things. I doubt it's much different anyway."