Sacred Fire

by Tanai Walker

  “We were hit,” she said.

  “Jimmy, my antique dealer, ex-antique dealer.”

  She grinned. At least her sense of humor was still intact.

  “We have to get out of here. Are you hurt?”

  She nodded. “I think so.”

  Behind us, in the backseat, Sandra gathered the blue bag from the mausoleum and the gun, which had fallen under the passenger seat in the melee.

  “Everything okay?” she asked. In the dying glow of the dashboard, I checked Juliette for injuries. A nasty bruise began to spread at her jaw, across her cheek. I touched her face gently.

  “Tinsley?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’ve loved you, all this time.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at Sandra, who stood outside the car keeping watch. I looked back to Juliette, who smiled wanly and nodded. We had both in different ways given our lives to the Sisterhood. Looking into her eyes, I knew that she had held on to the memories of the summer of ’83 as I had.

  “Let’s get you out of here.”

  I helped her out of the car and onto the street. She winced and gasped when she tried to stand on her own. Sandra wrapped her arm around Juliette’s waist to steady her.

  “It’s my leg.” Juliette touched the side of her left thigh gingerly. “It’s broken.

  “We need to get to the pyre,” she groaned, and lost her footing. Sandra stumbled under the sudden weight. I managed to keep them from falling. We hitched along toward the house. I saw the glow of the Sacred Fire and the silhouette of the house flickering in the light.

  Halfway up the white drive, Sandra stopped us. She peered anxiously at the shadows between the oaks on the side. “There’s one out there watching us.”

  I peered into the darkness until I could make out the misshapen form, lurking, prowling, its glowing eyes concentrating on our little huddle.

  “Hold on to her,” Sandra said, transferring Juliette’s weight to me.

  She shot at the thing and it darted away only to be replaced by two more. I fired. The light from the discharge of the gun revealed a half dozen of the creatures waiting in the darkness.

  “They’re everywhere,” Sandra gasped.

  “Did they follow us from Houston?” I asked.

  “Once the Sisterhood started the Sacred Fire, the hell gate should have closed,” Juliette wheezed. “These must have slipped through on this side.”

  “We need the beast,” Sandra said urgently. “Tinsley—”

  “I know,” I shouted. “The mausoleum…it must not have worked.”

  A warm body bowled into my back. I fell forward on my hands and knees. The gun clattered to the road and skipped a few feet away. Sandra’s and Juliette’s well-being dominated the jumble of thoughts that burned in my brain as I hit the gravel. I heard their startled screams.

  Before I could turn over, a weight settled on my back, pressing me into the rocks. Sharp claws dug into the skin at my ribs. Hot, foul breath assaulted my neck and teeth dug into either side of my left shoulder.

  I struggled to get up, but it seemed to set the teeth deeper into my skin, through sinew and cartilage. I screamed, bile rising into the back of my throat. One gun blast rang out into the night, and a second blast sent the gallu on my back flying.

  I sat up in a shower of sparks and embers. To my right, Juliette sat on the driveway shooting the demons that slipped out of the shadows beyond the road, their eyes aglow with hellfire. She swung the gun toward me and I turned to my left to see Sandra swatting at one of the demons with her bag of tarot cards. Its teeth snagged on the fabric, tearing a hole in the bag and sending cards flying. There were sparks, and the thing shrieked and backed away. Juliette shot it back into the oblivion it came from.

  One of the gallu slowly stalked behind her. She pivoted at the waist and shot the thing. Another leapt out of darkness and snapped onto her injured leg. She screamed and aimed her gun. It didn’t fire. She was out of ammo. She flung her gun at the thing. It yelped out a swarm of sparks before bursting into flames. She shielded her face from the flash. She then removed a retractable baton from her boot, ready for the next attack.

  I looked back to Sandra and saw that she was making a circle around herself with the cards. I puzzled at her action until I saw one of the gallu leap forward and explode in sparks and ash. Inside the circle, Sandra crossed her arms over her face. She called to me and Juliette to join her.

  I stood and went to help Juliette, dodging one of the leaping demons. I kicked at the one that had bitten Juliette’s leg. It prowled around her, growling. Another joined it. Beyond the shadows, I happened to see the crooked figure of a man. Jimmy.

  “Help us,” I shouted at him.

  To my relief, Jimmy limped out of the shadows toward us with a tire iron in his hand. I helped Juliette to her feet. Together, we limped toward Sandra’s circle. Behind us, Jimmy fended off the gallu.

  I delivered Juliette to the circle. I turned to check on Jimmy and saw that he was surrounded. A familiar pain claimed my stomach and back. I rolled over into a ball and felt the beast claim my body. The change doubled me over, but I welcomed it, welcomed that pain. One of the demons leapt at me and I swatted it away with a half-clawed hand. It fell and exploded into a pool of embers.

  Jimmy screamed. Two of the things had hold of his arms. They pulled him to the street and savaged him. I charged and tossed the gallu aside like trash. Jimmy looked up at me with a mixture of fear and awe. I howled at the sky in triumph.

  A searing wind rolled around me. The night began to lighten as it was suffused with an unknown glow. I looked around for the source of the light. It grew brighter. I saw the outline of a figure in the glow, made completely of fire.

  Leda.

  She moved fast, a corona of flames around her head and a blazing tail behind her like a comet. She rushed me. The intense heat knocked me to the street, and Leda was on top of me burning as bright as a star. Her face had no features.

  “Tinsley, I will take you with me to my slumber. I will return, while you will not see this life or Sandra again.”

  She burned white hot, bleaching the night, burning my eyes.

  Leda was right, but I had not failed, not totally. I had bought the world another seventy years. Juliette and the Sisterhood would continue. The cycle of seven would continue. I closed my eyes and waited for the fire of Leda to consume me.

  Instead of darkness, when I closed my eyes, there was a blood-red glow.

  I saw a cavern flowing with black rushing water, and beneath were the ethereal blue forms of floating, glowing bodies. There were shadows of expressions on their faces, some completely serene, others in agony. Above the surface, a familiar face appeared. She looked a little older, though I would never tell her. Sandra, searching with a flashlight, the corners of her mouth pulled up in an excited grin. From the water, she pulled a dripping metallic cup engraved with a crop and flail. She turned it around to reveal a seven-sided star.

  “Tinsley, I think this is it.”

  I opened my eyes. Leda’s white light faltered, and I knew she too had seen my vision and had some knowledge of its meaning. The shadow of a woman’s figure played over us, standing on splayed legs, and one arm was raised over its head, some kind of stick in her hand. I recognized the form as Juliette. She had a crop in one hand, the flail in the other. She stepped fully into the light. I saw perspiration and tears on her cheeks and her brow creased in pain. I tried to warn her away, but only a whimpering bark came out. I doubt she would have listened to me at that point. She lashed out at the fiery form. One of the gallu appeared out of nowhere and collided with her. She fell from my view.

  I summoned my strength and managed to push Leda away, just an inch. She faltered and floated backward, taking the light with her. I tore at her with black claws. What remained of the light burned, but I continued to claw until it cooled.

  The white light died, leaving only the night. The gallu were all gone. Jimmy sat in the middle of the street hold
ing his bleeding shoulder, dazed. I stood and saw Juliette lying in the street, her body wreathed in smoke. A few feet away lay Leda, still glowing lightly, but steadily fading.

  Six women jogged up the gravel path shining white beams from flashlights. They surveyed the scene and a few of them came to kneel beside Juliette. The rest of them stood over Leda’s prone form. I took a tentative step toward the fallen goddess.

  Sandra came to me and embraced me. “She wants to talk to you.”

  Together, we went to Juliette. She lay on her side, barely breathing. She reached up. Sandra kneeled next to her and touched her face.

  I loomed in close, my body hulking over the Sisterhood, Sandra, and Juliette.

  She smiled when she saw me.

  “Tinsley, you and Sandra must lead them now.”

  I chuffed in affirmative.

  “Thank you,” she said. “Both of you.”

  She closed her eyes and breathed her last. I pressed my face against hers, sniffed the last remnants of her life as they gave way to the beginnings of decay. I placed a clawed paw gently on her chest. For years, I had felt guilt for hurting her while in the form of the beast.

  “It’s time to finish this,” Sandra said.

  The Sisterhood lifted Leda on their shoulders. They began to march toward the house and the pyre that burned in the distance. Sandra and I fell behind them, while Jimmy brought up the rear of our grim procession.

  We reached the yard where more of the Sisterhood members waited. I wondered how many of them there were, how many would look up to me. I realized then that it must have been past midnight and there I stood before the Sacred Fire as the beast, yet fully conscious of myself and the road before me.

  Sandra stopped and held on to me, urging me to stop as well. I did. We watched the Sisterhood approach the burning pyre. Unlike the fire in Houston, it looked like any other bonfire on a humid summer night, except the roar of the flames was like a million voices calling across time.

  The din of the Sacred Fire grew louder as the Sisterhood grew near, and two tendrils of flame stretched out like arms for the burden they carried. Leda began to thrash weakly, her glowing body flashing like coals stirred by a wind. She fell to the ground and clawed at the dark grass, screaming. I moved to help her. Sandra tugged at me sternly, her face haunted by the scene.

  “Let her go, Tinsley,” she said.

  The Sisterhood caught hold of Leda’s waist, her arms. Brutally, they dragged her toward the pyre. Leda continued to fight with them. She screamed and it sounded like a chorus of women in the throes of agony. Once again, I felt compelled to help her. I moved toward the melee, but Sandra held on to me, her fingers tangled deep in my fur.

  Visions like the one from the chiminea seized my brain, and I was assaulted by those old sounds and smells as well as sights. I saw Leda lashed to the mast of a ship, calling out for me, her familiar, in that old language.

  The reaching flames coiled around Leda’s legs and dragged her across the grass. We watched as the fire pulled her into its depths. A chorus of growls echoed around us. She screamed once again, and I joined her with a sad howl. Sandra let go of the tufts of fur at my shoulders. She studied me in the light of the blaze and then swiftly hugged me around the neck without further hesitation. I knew then that she loved me.

  An explosion shattered our short-lived calm.

  From the pyre, a ball of flame barreled across the lawn, right past us. I felt the heat of the fire on my face as I urged Sandra away. A thundering crash followed. I looked up to see my family home and the gaping, smoldering hole straight through the west side. Fire roared from the gap, and the comet shot out toward us once again. The Great Pyre roared one last time and died in a hiss of smoke.

  One of the Sisterhood members touched my fur-covered shoulder. “We have a car. You two must leave here. We’ll take care of everything else.”

  Another of the young women collected Jimmy and his van. Our eyes met as he passed. I saw regret and sorrow on his face. As far as he knew, Leda was gone, forever.

  I knew better.

  A black car pulled up, and a member of the Sisterhood climbed out so Sandra could drive me home. I lay down in the backseat. As we sped away from Salacia, Sandra would occasionally reach back between the seats to pet me absentmindedly, running her fingers through the fur on my back.

  *

  Once home, I went straight upstairs, nudged the rolltop away, and pushed the seamless door open to the secret room with its padded walls. Sandra came behind me, spied what I had revealed, and shook her head.

  “No, Tinsley. You don’t have to hide yourself away. You’re in control of the beast. You won’t hurt me or anyone else.”

  That said, she left the secret room, the door ajar. I waited. Listened. I heard the shower. When I ventured out, she was wrapped in my robe, her hair damp. She smiled when she saw me and hugged me around the neck. I cradled her close, careful of the horns and the claws. She smelled of good, subtle things like fruit and flowers. Her pulse quickened before steadying again.

  She moved away from me and went to the bedroom. I trailed far behind and watched from the doorway as she climbed under the covers. She waved me over and I sat on the floor next to her.

  “Rest with me,” she said.

  I laid my horned head on the mattress but stayed on the floor. I watched her sleep. Time elapsed differently as the beast. The light in the room changed around my vigil, and she opened her eyes. I shadowed her as she dressed in one of my T-shirts and a pair of my yoga pants. She then went downstairs and scrambled an entire carton of eggs and turned on the television. All of the morning shows were all abuzz about the riot at the Houston Pride parade. Footage of the aftermath played on every channel. Luckily, all of the parade goers were too terrified or deep under Leda’s spell to take cell phone videos. There was already talk of canceling next year’s Pride parade, and a backlash against the rumor.

  “They have no idea of the danger we truly faced,” Sandra said as she set breakfast on the table. “I’ll leave the TV on to keep you company while I’m at work.”

  The sentiment and the tone of her voice made me feel like a very old dog. I head-butted the television over the back of the stand, killing the insipid daytime show voices that chattered from it.

  “The fuck?” Sandra asked. She palmed the side of her face. “You could have humored me, you know. I don’t want to leave you either, but the both of us can’t be out all week.”

  I hunched over my mound of eggs and sulked, though it actually felt good to destroy stuff and know I was still in control enough not to hurt Sandra or anyone else.

  She came and patted my shoulder before she left.

  “I refuse to clean up that mess with the TV.”

  She left me. I rambled around the house. I peeked out the window and watched Bobby and his friends play in the glaring sunlight. If things had played out differently the night before, those kids could have been killed by gallu. I was relieved to see the world was right again. Like the Sisterhood, their little cult continued. The sun rose high around them.

  Before I knew it, the gate opened and Sandra’s car pulled into the driveway. I waited by the door until she entered with a bag of food. She wore a short sundress, and sunglasses perched on top of her head.

  “I brought steaks and potatoes,” she sang.

  She placed the containers on the table and opened them before I could attempt to tear through the plastic with my claws.

  “Don’t worry about work,” she said. “We’ll get through the week, and this will be behind us for the next seven years.”

  I snorted.

  “Well, you owe me a trip.” She grinned as she cut at her steak. “I was thinking we should meet with the Sisterhood. I can finally get the mark.”

  Another snort from me. Apart from one particular member, the thought of the Sisterhood didn’t thrill me. Even after the events that had taken place in the last twenty-four hours.

  Sandra sighed. “They’re taking Jul
iette back to France. We’ll have to go and visit her grave. I met her shortly after the whole Tinsley Swan debacle. I was in love with her from day one, but of course, she was too involved with the Sisterhood.”

  As she walked toward the door to leave, I crept behind and carefully nuzzled her back. I wanted to tell her that once I was “normal” we could do and go wherever she wanted, that I was sorry about Juliette’s death, that I had forgiven her for her initial deceit, that I would forgive her anything.

  She turned to me and smiled. I realized then that I didn’t need to be able to speak to tell her of my gratitude, my love. She looked into my eyes, past the beast, and saw.

  Epilogue: 2081

  Bobby took her time negotiating the street. She didn’t walk a straight path on the sidewalk but ambled on the curb in between parked cars and along shop windows. The reason for her erratic stroll came rolling down the street on its own track. A domed patrol unit whirred close, its tiny blue and red light flashing around in a circle. It also sported a high-powered floodlight rigged with motion sensors and a camera that recorded all it saw.

  The streets of this part of town were much too dangerous for patrol officers after dark. The curfew evened things out. Anyone caught by a unit on the streets after dark was assessed a two-hundred-dollar fine. More than a week’s salary for most of the people in this neighborhood.

  Bobby imagined she would have grown up in a neighborhood like this if it weren’t for the Sisterhood. Her grandfather, whom she was named for, lived in such a place when things were slightly better. If it weren’t for Tinsley Swan, Bobby, the child of a convict father and a bitter, alcoholic mother, probably would never have left this neighborhood of dilapidated houses.

  She stepped out onto the street once the unit passed. She touched her earpiece.

  “All clear. Bring the car around.”

  She crossed over to a fenced-in lot. A man came out to meet her. He dressed in the way common people imagined the “haves” dressed. He wore a silky top hat and a striped tuxedo jacket over a cheap jersey shirt and sport pants tucked into boots. He didn’t say a word as she passed him a wad of bills as big as her fist.