What Lies Beyond

by B. B. Palomo

  It was hard to tell how long we’d been walking. I turned back a few times to search for where we started, but it seemed like it had closed up behind us. After what seemed like forever, the trees began to thin. I went to step through, but Cora appeared in front of me. I jumped back before realizing it was her.

  “You startled me.” I laughed. “I don’t think I’m ready for your pranks yet.”

  Her face stayed solemn, riddled with fear and anxiety. I wanted to tell her it would be okay, remind her she could go back, but just as I went to open my mouth, her eyes flashed.

  “Whatever happens, never let go, okay?” she finally said, and I had to lean forward to catch everything.

  “W-what?” I asked, not understanding what she was referring to.

  “Just.” She sighed. “Just promise you’ll remember.”

  “Okay,” I said, scared at the sadness in her gaze. “I’ll remember.”

  Before I could say more, she broke through the trees and worked her way toward Grammy. I quickly followed, my wide eyes taking in the alien-like area. The spot was cleared of debris, and a large, near-perfect circle of gray stones surrounded my grammy. She held a heavy bag of salt, pouring it just inside the rocks until both ends of the sodium kissed and matched the shape surrounding it.

  When she heard me step forward, she stood, holding the bag close to her side. Grammy wore a midnight dress that hugged curves I didn’t know she still had and billowed out around her. The tight sleeves cut off at her forearms, exposing the bangles I knew all too well.

  Compared to my dark jeans and wrinkled shirt, she looked like someone you’d find in a deep forest clearing wielding salts and crystals.

  “Careful not to disrupt the salt,” she added when I almost stepped right on top of it. I froze, my step mere inches from the ground and shifted my weight to step over instead after the warning.

  “What’s it for?” I asked, carefully maneuvering over it.

  Cora paused at the circle, refusing to cross over.

  “To keep the demon attached to you from running,” she answered and pulled a brown satchel from a box she’d placed on the ground.

  “Great,” I muttered. “Cora, did you not want to come in?”

  Grammy looked up, searching the spot I was looking at. I probably appeared crazy to someone else, but she knew, if not by her energy by my sight, that Cora was here with us.

  “She can’t pass, Willow,” she said. “It works both ways. Spirits and entities are kept inside, but also can be kept out.”

  “So, she’ll be safe?” I asked, relieved.

  “Yes,” she said. “I believe so, but them”—she pointed a finger at the trees—“I’m not so sure about.”

  Hunkered down, hiding poorly behind the stumps, were Noah and Adira, who even from here you could see were arguing. I’m sure Noah was saying they shouldn’t have come, and Adira was telling him it would be fine like she always did when she did something wrong. However, when Grammy shouted that they could come out now, they both froze.

  “We see you,” I ground the words from my teeth.

  One after the other, they popped guilty faces from behind the tree, trudging their way over to me.

  “I’m sorry—” Noah tried to say, but Adira cut in.

  “I’m not sorry.” She stomped her foot. “We’re here to protect you.”

  “You’re putting Willow in more danger by being here.” Grammy remained calm, almost like she knew this would happen. “And your own lives, you’re putting them on the line—are you okay with that?”

  I tried to look up, assuming she was making some sort of cruel joke, but a wave of nausea almost brought me to my knees. I gripped my stomach, shooting pain ripping through my organs, stealing my breath away.

  “Are you okay?” Noah rushed to my side, ignoring the hand I threw up to try and keep him from the circle.

  “Yeah, yeah.” I wiped the bead of sweat from my brow and stood upright as the sensation passed. “Just the nerves.”

  “Okay.” She moved closer to the circle's edge. “We should begin, but keep your guards up.”

  Grammy opened the bag, sprinkling coarse black shavings over the salt. I instantly moved to stop her, maybe shake her for some answers, knowing that there was no going back once she completed the circle, but my legs were already frozen in place.

  “Wait.” I licked my cracked lips. “Noah, you need to get out of the circle first.”

  Just as Grammy was about to finish the circle, Adira jumped over the salts, ignoring the sharp shake of her head in scolding.

  “They don’t listen,” Grammy whispered to herself.

  “Adira, no,” I yelled again, furious that my voice was falling on deaf ears. “I’m sorry, is everyone just going to ignore me?”

  Again, no response.

  Hornets buzzed in my ears as Noah waved his hand in front of my face like I’d zoned out and wasn’t the one just trying to get them to acknowledge me. I focused, waiting for his apology, but when his mouth moved, not a single word came out. It was impossible to read his lips when my conscience was suddenly struggling to stay afloat in raging ocean waters.

  Grammy stepped forward, lightly patting his arm, and said something that must have been calming because he reluctantly stood back. She placed something around my neck, the heavy, cold metal immediately centering my mind and bringing it back to the surface.

  “Better?” she asked as I blinked, adjusting to being present.

  “Y-yeah.” I exhaled painfully. The leather rope of the necklace was long, its pendant falling between my breasts. The crystal center was held with intricate wiring, wrapping around it with purpose, but also beautifully. “What was that?”

  “It’s the black salt.” She pointed back to the mineral she’d just poured. “It’s for protection and to help you drive away the evil etched into your soul. This will be one of the hardest things you’ll ever do, but you have a lot of support here.”

  “I know.” I shot daggers at them. “I see that.”

  “Okay, let’s—”

  “Wait!” A voice I never thought I’d hear stopped Grammy mid-sentence.

  I turned, jaw dropping, to see my mother standing at the edge of the clearing. She was frazzled, feral eyes darting from me before resting on Grammy with a look that could kill. She took three giant steps before Grammy threw up her hand, paralyzing her to the ground as if she had magic powers.

  “You cannot break the circle.” Her voice was directive, easily making it to my mom as if connected to a megaphone but never truly raising an octave.

  “How dare you!” Mom screamed back, not able to keep the same composure. “This is not how you were supposed to help her. Willow, we have to leave.” She tried to wave me over while my heart raced with sudden indecision.

  “She can’t do that.” Grammy made up my mind before I could do it myself. “No one can breach the circle now that it’s completed. You’ll put everyone at risk.”

  “This isn’t right,” Mom cried. When she didn’t move closer, I realized everything Grammy was saying was true. “Willow, you were—”

  “Abigail Marie.” Grammy stepped forward, drying up anything else she was going to say. “That’s enough. I know you’re scared, but this”—she motioned around—“your daughter is not something that needs to be fixed, do you understand me? There is nothing wrong with her or her gift.”

  “They’ll take her, Mama,” she answered my grammy, eyes shedding the fear she held inside. The emotion, her tears, broke my heart. I’d never heard her sound so vulnerable before, talking to Grammy like she was still a child.

  “We’ll never let that happen, and the sooner you realize that Willow is stronger than you think, the sooner you’ll be able to let this weight go.” Grammy shook her head, gathering her thoughts. “I know you had it rough growing up, baby, but your experiences are not hers, and as much as you think what happened is your fault, you’re wrong.”

  “How can you say that?” she asked, knees tremblin
g.

  “Because it’s true,” she answered simply. “This is fate, and blaming yourself will never change who we are.”

  A nonverbal exchange happened, ending in a slight nod of Mom’s head. She darted her eyes to me, granting me a supporting smile that I returned, still not fully understanding what had just happened. It didn’t raise my concern, though, all that mattered was the support of every person I loved being here next to me. Their presence told me I could accomplish anything—even if I wished they’d stayed a safe distance away.

  “Willow?” Grammy asked.

  “Yes?”

  “I want you to drop all your guards.” She reached for my hands, clasping them gently before quickly adding, “You don’t have to be afraid. This is the safest place to be.”

  I only hesitated briefly before dropping my walls, expecting the demon’s sensation to overwhelm me immediately, but was surprised when I felt sane. I looked back up at her, confused. There wasn’t even the slight scratch of his presence.

  “I-I don’t feel anything,” I said, wetting my lips.

  “You’re going to have to concentrate, Willow. The pendant I gave you serves two purposes. The first is keeping the demon from transferring his presence to anyone else around you. It would be difficult as no one besides you and me has another sense, and I’m versed enough that I don’t think he’d risk transferring to me, but we can never be too careful. And the second is it’ll give you the energy to expel him. This is going to take a lot out of you, especially because you have not had years of training, but I know out of everyone, you can do this.”

  “Okay,” I said, closing my eyes.

  “You can dooo ittttt,” Adira whispered in an awful impression of Rob Snider’s voice.

  I bit back the laugh and tried harder. I dug into myself, doing my best to block out the sounds around me. Slowly, everything began to fade, the soft breathing around me, the robins singing in the trees, eventually settling into the constant thud of my heart beating.

  When I opened my eyes, the clearing was gone, replaced by blackness. I reached my hands out to feel for my surroundings, but nothing but air greeted me.

  “Hello,” I called out, flinching when my voice echoed back to me. “Is anyone there?”

  Suddenly a loud click rang out as a blinding light burnt my pupils. I threw my hand up to shield myself, peeking between my fingers to see what was in front of me. It appeared I was in a tunnel, the white light sneaking through the gaps of a door.

  I walked toward it, thinking it was a short distance, but every step forward sent the door two steps back. I picked up the pace, starting at a light jog before ending in a full sprint, reaching out as the handle came within grasp. I cried out when my fingers clasped the metal. I held on with both hands as the floor beneath me rolled away as if it was a treadmill. I twisted as hard as I could and shoved, flailing through the opening and landing on soft white carpet.

  I gasped for breath, sweat clinging to my skin as I lay in the woven nylon, trying to understand what the hell was going on. The fibers snuck between my fingers as I pushed myself upright. The room was blinding. It was void of windows and furniture with white floors, walls, and ceilings surrounding me. I turned back for the door, but it had disappeared. I raced to where I was sure it had been, running my palm against the walls as if it would reappear. My heartbeat tripled as fear coated my tongue. How was I supposed to get back?

  “Well, this is a first.”

  I swung around at the deep voice, half expecting the hideous creature I’d seen before to be standing before me, but it was no one I’d ever met. Instead, I faced a tall, lean man. He wore a fitted, black-on-black suit, with a blood-red handkerchief folded squarely in the front pocket. His midnight hair matched lifeless eyes, both of which contrasted against his pale complexion. He lifted thick eyebrows as I studied him before flashing a brilliant white smile.

  “Do you like what you see?” he taunted.

  “Who are you?” I deflected, uncomfortable with the calculating way he watched me.

  “Tsk, tsk.” He wagged a long finger at me. “Now, I can’t go telling you that. With the name comes so much power, but for you, I’ll share a type of nickname. It’ll be our little secret.” The way he smirked made it seem like a challenge, and as much as I didn’t care to know, I worried I might have to play his game to get out of wherever I was.

  “Okay.” I sighed to appear indifferent. “I’ll bite. What is it?”

  He frowned at me, feigning puppy dog eyes. “Aw, you’re no fun, but”—he clapped his hands together, the startling sound ricocheting off the walls—“I’ll tell you anyway! You can call me Roland, though I’ll admit, it’s a borrowed name. Catchy, though, isn’t it?”

  “Where am I?”

  “What’s the rush? We haven’t even gotten to know each other yet. As I said, I don’t know I’ve ever had the pleasure to talk with the person whose body I control.” Roland picked imaginary lint from his coat. “You must be a powerful little witch.”

  A lightbulb went off. “I’m in my subconscious.”

  “Bingo!” Roland punched an exaggerated fist out in front of him like he’d just rolled a seven in craps. “A smart little witch, too.”

  “Well, as fun as this has been, Roland, you don’t control me and I think it’s time for you to go.” I placed a hand on my hip and jabbed a thumb where the door had been behind me, figuring he’d get the point.

  “Oh, my little Willow,” he purred. “I don’t think you understand who holds power here.”

  I blinked, and he was gone, only the imprints of his shoes showing that he had indeed once been standing there. I turned right then left, not understanding how he could just vanish.

  He reappeared right in front of me, a red blaze burning in his eyes. I tried to move back when he reached for me, but my feet stayed glued to their spot. He snaked cool fingertips up my cheek, burning a trail of repugnance over the skin, and moved some hair from my eyes. Roland leaned in so his lips could brush my earlobe, sending chills up my spine.

  “Do you get it now?” he whispered before running his tongue up my neck, tasting me. I fought against the force, but it was no use. “I already own you.” A tear slipped from my cheek, and he quickly used the pad of his thumb to brush it away. “Shhhhh, there’s no need to cry. We’re going to have so much fun together.”

  I closed my eyes, fighting to find the strength to move, to get his filthy hands off of me. It was like I was a prisoner in my own body. I knew my limbs could move that I could walk and run, but as I pressed against the paralysis, agony tore into my brain, begging me to pull back. I screamed in frustration, the pain increasing as I pushed harder. My resolve only grew stronger as I heard him laugh, mocking me in my attempts. Just as I was about to give up, I heard the faintest voice call for me. I listened harder, straining myself to make sure it wasn’t just in my mind.

  “Willow,” Noah called out. “Please come back to me.”

  “Pesky little fellow,” Roland growled. “I can fix that.”

  Those words unlocked something inside me I couldn’t put into words. “You will never lay a finger on him.”

  I shoved my hand into his chest, not expecting him to fly back into the opposite wall. Dust blew up around him as I stared, unbelieving. He caught his fall, moving from the new body-sized indent, and brushed himself off. His laugh bellowed around us, vibrating in the air. I looked down at my palms, shocked they did that.

  “You surprise me.” Roland smiled, seeing me differently. “And dare I say, I’m just a little bit annoyed now. To make it up to me, we’re going to play a game.”

  “I’m not playing—”

  “Maybe I’ll rephrase.” The smile left his face, turning the room arctic. “If you don’t want to see every person surrounding your body right now dead in the next five minutes, you’ll join me in my game.”

  “N-no.” I panicked. “They’re protected.”

  “Let us make a wager if you believe that.” He shrugged. “I
will jump ship, give you a little break, but one of those buddies out there is going to be my new host. I’m willing to bet one of their souls is weaker than the rest. That’ll be my target.”

  My heart raced as my mind jumped to Adira, knowing the loss she wore heavy on her sleeve. “What do I have to do?”

  “This is the best part!” Roland squealed with the excitement of a toddler at Christmas. “You have two options.” He held up his index and middle finger. “You can give me your soul, or”—he dropped a finger—“you can exorcise me before I kill your friend. Ah, caveat there, though. If you cannot do it, I still get your soul. You’ll rest easy in hell next to your great-grandmother while I make the most out of this shell. Not to worry, it won’t last long, and I’ll be right down to join you.”

  “I—”

  “Oh, I lied.” He slapped a hand to his head and shook it. “You don’t have a choice. I just thought it created better tension.”

  Nervous laughter bubbled from my lips, the emotions coursing through me mingling into one crazy fit. I gripped my stomach, bending at the waist to try to stifle them, but it just made it worse. Roland cocked his head to watch me, curiosity perking up his gaze.

  “What’s so funny?” He smiled humorlessly.

  “It’s just…” I wiped the moisture from my eyes. “When I send your ass back to hell, Grammy is going to be so proud.”

  His face fell, anger clouding the persona he still wore. Heat burned under his skin, melting the flesh from his bone and replacing it with his true form. It was as intimidating as I remembered, and I couldn’t help but step back until I hit the wall. Horns grew from his skull, the crunching from the bones shifting making me sick. Roland stood taller, pointing one of his claws my way.

  “A parting gift,” his monstrous voice roared above me.

  Just like before, the control of my hand shifted, but this time, instead of being still, it moved on its own. I commanded it to stop as it reached across my chest and gripped right where I knew the pendant was. With a solid yank, the sensation of the band snapping stung the back of my neck, and even though I couldn’t see it, I knew it was gone right along with the confidence I desperately tried to manifest.