by Mina Carter
“Yes, when we met I was in the body of the old Roma magician and everything he told you was true. I was able to work with the magician and guide him in finding both the amulet and Annah’s spirit. It was difficult, because Annah was the servant of the demon Lilitu. The magician was dying, and that is why I had to go into a younger body. Jakub was in need of help in those bad days. Years later he couldn’t live with the power that he had gained, and so he got rid of the amulet. I couldn’t stop him. I stayed hidden in Jakub’s body, and I would have had to remain there until his death. But I was stripped from Jakub and placed into this body, by her.” Shandor pointed to Annah.
“Why did you call her Marcella? She came to me as Marcie? Why didn’t she just call herself Annah?” Lexi asked.
Shandor explained Annah’s history to them. “Remember what she told us? She couldn’t remember her true name until now. The first body she took was that of a very evil woman who practiced magic. A witch by the name of Carmella who used to conjure different spirits of the dead. They were the ghosts that wandered the earth because they were too evil in life to be born again. She would become possessed by their spirits in the hope of finding an evil spirit with great power.
Lilitu put Annah’s spirit into Carmella’s body where she carried out Lilitu’s bloody work. Carmella the witch was captured and burned, so Annah’s spirit had to find another body. Lilitu transferred Annah’s spirit into many different people over time. She continued to call herself Marcella with each new body. The humans she invaded would become the most vile, evil killers. Legends were born from the people she possessed. They called her vampire, succubus, demon, and witch.”
Lexi remembered the Marcie that had befriended her in Montana. It didn’t make sense that her sweet and funny Marcie could be this slave of an ancient bloodthirsty demon. “She never once tried to harm me. She was my best friend. I loved her.”
“Yes, I think she was drawn to you and she didn’t know why. Perhaps because of that ring. It must have woken a little part of Annah’s memory. I am sure when you go back to your home, you will be find many different unexplained deaths, unsolved murders, and strange reports of attacks that sound like legendary vampire attacks. Those were her work.”
Lexi looked at Annah and then back at Shandor. “What about Ben? What about the girl that Annah’s spirit took over? I don’t even know who she is now. What will happen to them and to the both of you, when these witches are gone?”
Shandor looked at Annah and stared at her quietly. He looked up to the moon and then after a few minutes, he answered her. “I don’t know for sure.”
“You said that like you weren’t sure if you WANTED to tell me, not that you didn’t know.”
Lexi looked at Annah, who was sitting on the ground. “Annah? Is there anything that you know that could help us? We found out those witches were absolutely terrified of Lilitu. Do you know if she’s still trying to control you?”
Annah jumped to her feet. “No! I can’t! Don’t ask me to call her back! Imagine yourself being swallowed into the heart of that demon. Imagine your spirit in that hell. You can’t even hope for death, because she is eternal as is your captured spirit. I don’t even know for sure how I am free now, but please do not make me ever see her again. Find a way to kill my spirit, Shandor! Please, you must!”
Annah noticed the pistol that Lexi had dropped earlier was lying only a foot away from her. Lexi and Ryan saw her looking at the pistol, Lexi shouted. “I forgot to pick it back up!” Annah knelt back down and reached for the gun. Ryan dove headfirst toward the gun and skidded through the dirt over the top of Annah’s hand. He knew that if he couldn’t stop her from grabbing the gun he could at least stop her from picking it up. The gun went off with a muffled blast.
Ryan laid perfectly still with his face in the ground. His arms were stretched out ahead of him, he didn’t move an inch. “Ryan!” Lexi screamed. “Ryan! Get up. Please get up.” Her voice had tapered off to a wavering whisper. She fell to her knees at his side and as soon as she put her hands on him, he rolled over. He grabbed at his shirt and pulled it away from his chest. The shirt was burnt from the muzzle blast of the pistol. The bullet had barely grazed Ryan’s skin, leaving an angry red streak across one side of his chest. He smiled at Lexi before grabbing the pistol and tossing it away from everyone. “Holy Cats!” Ryan exclaimed.
Lexi was both laughing and crying as she bent down to his outstretched arms. They held each other for a couple of minutes without saying a word. She sat up and wiped at her tears. A thunderous clap startled the group, cutting off all conversations. Something seemed to fly out of Lexi’s chest. Bright, red blood sprayed out in frothy spurts. Ryan saw Lexi’s blank open-mouthed expression as she fell forward and landed on his chest.
Shandor saw the two guards who had been wakened from their slumber by the accidental discharge of Annah’s attempt to grab the pistol. Nervous and afraid, the younger guard fired a shot directly toward the little group gathered around Ryan’s body. The bullet had hit Lexi in the back. It sliced a path right through the left side of her chest. Shandor pulled out the pistol that Ben carried in a concealed holster strapped to his lower leg. With two quick shots he killed both guards.
Ryan didn’t hesitate when Lexi fell on him. He quickly positioned her so that with her wounded side faced the ground. “Abraham, quick, hold your hand flat and tight against the bullet hole in her back. You want to seal it. She’s been hit in the lung. You have to keep air from going through.”
Abraham held his hand over the little hole just above her bottom rib. Air and blood from her lungs made a hellish bubbling mass that flowed from the front of her chest down to the earth. A sickening sucking sound emanated from the wound, until Ryan closed it with his hand. “Ben-er-Shandor, get our vehicle. I have everything I need in there. Kate! Run up to the guard station. Look for a phone or radio. Anything! Call for help! Go!”
Shandor ran to the four wheel drive vehicle and found the keys on the seat. He started it and gunned the engine as he ran it right up the hill to the scene. The back hatch popped open and he quickly pulled out the large first aid case. Ryan barked out commands. “I need two field dressing packs. They’re marked. Open them.” Shandor found them and ripped them open. “Take one and seal it in place over the wound that Abraham is covering.” Ryan looked at Lexi who breathed in the short and shallow pants of a frightened rabbit.
“Lex, you’re going to be okay just listen to me. When I take my hand off your chest, I’m going to tell you to exhale as best as you can. It will be really hard to do, but you have to get the air out so I can seal the wound. Ready?” Lexi slightly nodded. Ryan pulled away his hand and yelled “Exhale! Now!” Lexi did her best to force the air from her lungs while Ryan rapidly applied the field dressing and sealed off the wound.
Lexi’s lips began to turn blue from the loss of oxygen. “Shandor there is a small oxygen bottle with a breathing mask. Bring it!” Shandor handed the bottle to Ryan, allowing him to replenish her oxygen. He went to the kit and took out an auto-injector full of morphine. Without warning, he slammed it against her thigh. “That will help you. It’s okay if you get sleepy. This will lower your blood pressure so you don’t go into shock.”
He knew that he would have to keep a close eye on her breathing. The blue tint of her lips started to fade and they returned to a pale red color. Ryan noticed that Lexi was starting to make small coughs and some of the frothy blood was coming out of her mouth. He had to act quickly, to relieve her lung of the blood and to release the air that got sucked into her chest cavity. It was squeezing her lung from the outside. The first aid kit contained a piece of equipment that resembled a siphon. It had a clear plastic tube with a squeeze bulb attached. He opened the dressing and had Abraham fasten his belt around Lexi’s ribs, to keep her chest compressed. The air in her chest was forced out and he wasted no time inserting the tube under the dressing and into her lung. Once he had removed the blood, he sealed the hose in place, hoping that the one way
valve on the end would drain the fluid without letting more air in.
“Okay Lexi. Now you just have to stay still. You will be fine.” Ryan knew he was lying to her. If she didn’t get to a hospital soon there were a number of fatal complications that could occur. Kate returned and frantically told Ryan about her attempt at calling for help. “I called on the radio. I know someone was answering, but I didn’t know the language. I think they understood me. How is she?”
“She’s stable. For now. This is going to be a fight for her though.” He pulled out his phone, but still no signal could be found. He remembered what Ben had told him in Haifa. “Shandor, check your pockets for a cell phone and give it to me.” Shandor found the phone and handed it over. “Kate, read me Kemil’s number from my phone.”
Ryan hastily punched in the numbers that Kate rattled off.
A gush of relief flooded the group to hear that Kemil and his team would rush to the scene. They would be there in an hour. Shandor took Annah by the hand and then spoke to the others. “Stay here with her Ryan, the witches will be here soon. Annah and I will stop them. You must keep Lexi alive, or they will take her spirit with them through the portal.”
Chapter Twenty One
SHANDOR AND ANNAH stood before the stone altar. Together they placed the amulet in the small depression in the middle of the altar and spoke the ancient magic words. A purplish light began to glow from the altar and grew into a shimmering wall that stretched between the two giant pillars. The alignment was now at its peak and the door to the dark world of the ancient past was open before them. They held their breaths as they waited.
In a fury of wind and screams, the witches arrived. They circled around like fallen leaves caught in a tempest. The laughter of insanity accompanied the evil shrieks. Shandor squeezed Annah’s hand. “You must do it. Now! They are trying to call out The Seven.” Annah raised up her hands and called. “Lilitu! It is I, your servant!” The great owl swooped down. “Lilitu!”
Dried blood and dirt covered the sparsely feathered female body. Her head retained the horns that resembled those of the great owl. In a spectacle that could only be imagined in the depths of hell, the hideous thing opened her gaping mouth to reveal a cavern filled with pointed fangs. With her wings fully extended she screeched and hissed furiously at the erratic whirlwind created by the witches.
This time the witches refused to leave. They continued to circle their cherished portal, chanting their incantation to conjure The Seven. Lilitu snagged one of the witches in her giant claws. There was a crackling sound as the ancient bones and dried flesh were clenched in Lilitu’s grasp. The witch let out a shriek that echoed through the valley as Lilitu devoured her in a series of bone crunching bites. In the distance a horrific wailing erupted from the little group huddled around Lexi.
Lexi died.
Among the ripped open wrappers from bandages and first aid supplies there was a small patch of dirt, spattered with her blood. On this little piece of earth, Lexi’s heart seized. Her body laid motionless. Kate fell to her knees in hysterics. Her unintelligible pleas had transformed into sobbing wails of anguish. Abraham held his head in his hands overcome by the death he witnessed. Ryan had been so focused on his frantic effort to save Lexi that he hadn’t allowed his emotions to interfere.
Now his heart felt like it had truly been broken. He wrapped his arms around her lifeless body, cradling her head against his chest. Ryan’s tears rained down against her pallid face, which not long ago was bright and sassy.
The remaining witches scrambled about the portal. They screamed for their demons to come forth and save them from Lilitu, who had already devoured three of them. Shandor and Annah were forced to take cover under the stone altar, and could only be observers of the surreal battle scene that played out before them. Annah had done her part by calling Lilitu. She had finally decided that the only way to redeem herself from a millennia of cruelty was to sacrifice her eternal soul. It was the only thing that could be done in order to get Lilitu to defeat the witches.
“The girl is dead!” Shandor knew it was his turn to redeem his own vengeance-filled existence. He had to save Lexi’s soul from being stolen away into eternal darkness by the witches. Shandor grabbed the amulet and stood in front of the glowing portal. With the shining disc held above him he shouted to the witches. “You can only see this again on the other side!” He threw the amulet through the portal, and the remaining witches flew down into the supernatural abyss. Shandor took Annah’s hand as they ran from the portal, which suddenly closed up and disappeared.
Lilitu was still there. Her huge wings flapped as she walked on the ground with her massively clawed feet. A lion’s roar grew from her cavernous mouth and echoed through the valley below. She smelled Lexi’s blood on the ground and went to investigate. Annah looked at Shandor and cried. “There is no way to stop her. Without that amulet we truly have no protection from her.”
Chapter Twenty Two
THE MOON SHINING through the window was the only light in the room. Two entwined bodies rhythmically moved with their shared passion on the bed. They stopped and caressed each other gently. Ryan thought about how he had seen the moonlight on Lexi’s lifeless face in the desert. His heart was well and truly broken. At times it seemed like only yesterday, when in fact, it had been two years ago.
Now his heart overflowed with life and love once again. He ran his fingers through the girl’s hair and kissed her again. He was completely and deeply moved to passionately make love to her once more.
He was interrupted by a hideous shriek coming from the dark. The piercing screech alerted them and Ryan jumped up. “Shush...listen.” They heard the noise again. Ryan reached out and quickly pulled on his shorts. “Stay here.” Ryan walked quietly toward the bedroom door. The screeching had stopped. He tried to be as stealthy as he could while he navigated through the darkened doorway. A yellow glow on the wall eerily took the shape of an animal. It resembled the head of a bear. The light also made the shapes of stars on the wall as well as a crescent moon.
Ryan felt the hot breath from the large black beast in front of him. He reached out and touched it. His hand was soon covered in the slobbery goo dripping from Buddy’s mouth. “Shh Buddy. It’s okay.” In the rectangular shaped structure next to Buddy there was a softer sound. Ryan walked over and looked down. He gently scooped up the tiny demon. “Hi Annie! I thought you were awake. He gave his three month old baby daughter a kiss and held her against his chest. The little yellow nightlight illuminated her face, and he could already see that she would look just like her mother. He carried the cooing baby to the bedroom.
Lexi rested in the bed, still aroused from their love making session. She glanced at the moon outside through the window, and thought about that moonlit night in the desert. All that remained now was the little scar on her side. She remembered the feeling of floating above her own body while she witnessed everyone struck down by grief as Ryan held her. She remembered how he suddenly and forcefully flung her body to the ground to start CPR on her. He didn’t stop, until Kemil and his team arrived with the ambulance. It was so strange to see her body forcefully arched upward from the shock of a defibrillator.
She thought about how the monstrous creature had swooped over her body and then jerked back at the sight of the owl necklace that Ryan had so sweetly placed around her neck. Lexi reached down and held the little owl pendant in her hand, and thought about Annah and Shandor the Magician. Shandor had tricked the witches through the portal by throwing something that appeared to be the amulet. He had literally kept the amulet up his sleeve and then used it to banish Lilitu from the scene.
Ryan walked in carrying Annie and he laid her down next to Lexi. “I think she’s hungry, or she just misses you.” Ryan noticed that Lexi had been holding her owl necklace and looking at the moon, when he first walked in. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I was just thinking about Shandor and Annah. I can’t believe how much Shandor loved her. To wait thousands of y
ears to save her, and then to actually take her back to the place in time before she was taken away to the temple. How cool is that? Eternal love. I was wondering if they’re having as wonderful of a life in ancient Mesopotamia as we are here in this old Montana farmhouse.”
Ryan laid down on the bed with Annie between Lexi and him. “Oh I don’t know if they will stick around in that period of history. With a time traveling magician you never know where they could end up. To tell the truth, what we have right here would be pretty hard to beat.” He gave little Annie a kiss on the forehead and then leaned over her to kiss Lexi.
In the kitchen, Allie Cat was sliding Lexi’s cell phone across the countertop, in an attempt to get it to vibrate like it had been doing off and on for the past hour. The cat curiously looked at the glowing screen.
“10 Missed Calls: Kate
“10 New Messages – 10 From Kate- urgent.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melanie James is a USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen books. She grew up in western Pennsylvania before heading off to Chicago seeking new adventures. She found that life in a big city was fun for a while and even met the love of her life there. Melanie quickly tired of hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle and settled down with her one true love in northeast Wisconsin.
Melanie has two kids, three step-kids, a beautiful daughter in-law, and the cutest grandbaby. She also has two dogs and two cats that often make appearances in her books.
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