Revenant

by Catrina Burgess

  And in that brief moment I stopped breathing and I swear my heart stopped beating for a second as the dagger swung down—only to restart when I saw it slice across Luke’s arm.

  Luke jerked back, but Caleb and Jacob were holding his arms stretched out on either side.

  The whirlwind of energy lessened around me and I felt the ghostly caresses stop as they started to move away.

  I focused on Gage again—he was catching Luke’s dripping blood in a bowl. After a moment Gage reached over to the boy laying prone on the boulder and smeared the blood onto his face. Gage, book back in hand, began to recite the spell again. The mist had entered the tent and was growing thicker. It curled around my legs, spreading like a carpet through the tent.

  “Colina—the spirits!” I heard Mildred’s voice shriek in warning. My head whipped around. She stood off to one side of the tent and next to her—

  I couldn’t believe my eyes. Mildred held the two hellhounds on leashes like dogs. The beasts’ red, glowing eyes were trained on me. My blood turned cold, and my heart pounded hard in my chest.

  I forced myself to focus on the spirits again. I could sense them hovering over the boy on the boulder. Gage said I have to keep them out. I took a deep breath and with every ounce of strength I had, pulled those lost souls away from the body. The mist grew thicker, rising from the ground and filling the air around me. All I could see of Gage was his glowing red eyes, but I could hear his voice shouting out the words of the spell as they echoed through the fog like waves on the ocean.

  Luke’s outline began shimmering with light and I watched him fall to his knees, dragging Caleb and Jacob, who were still holding his arms tightly down with him.

  Mildred’s lips moved as she whispered into the mist, but the wind carried her words away before I could make them out.

  A bolt of lightning hit a nearby tree, and in the split second it took for its flash to die down, I could have sworn I saw the same rune symbol I’d seen earlier on Dean’s arm floating in the air.

  I could hear voices, see shadows moving through the fog, and felt powerful magic throbbing in the air, and a sense of impending tragedy almost overwhelmed me. Everything inside me was telling me to run, but I stood my ground.

  Flaming eyes moved through the mist at knee level, and I realized in shock that it was the hellhounds. How did they get loose? Without warning, the fog turned black and screams of panic filled the air. Gage, too, was yelling.

  Then lightning struck the ground by the side of the tent. I looked on in horror, watching a hellhound race forward just as another bolt struck the same place, causing the mist to dissipate. Mildred has the power to use lightning, I recalled. I couldn’t help glancing over at her, but she just stood calmly watching the chaotic scene, the hellhounds’ now-empty leashes hanging from her hands.

  People in the tent shouted and scrambled for escape in panicked fear. Through the havoc, I saw Luke, Jacob, and Caleb rise from their kneeling positions, staggering into each other as the twins attempted to keep a tight grip on Luke’s arms. Is he standing because the spell worked? Did Luke’s spirit transfer? The boy’s body on top of the boulder still lay as still as ever.

  That’s when I realized one hellhound was heading for all three of them.

  I stood stunned for a moment, not able to comprehend what I was seeing. The hellhound is loose. It’s heading toward Luke. This was a creature intent on destruction, a monster capable of killing with very little effort. I started forward, shoving my way through the throng. A scream burst from my lips, but the crowd’s shouts of fear and panic drowned it out.

  Caleb and Jacob seemed to see the creature at the same time. Jacob let go of Luke, diving to the side, but Caleb was not so lucky. Before he even had a chance to react, the hellhound lunged and dove straight into him, knocking him and Luke to the ground.

  I heard a throaty scream, and then I heard the sounds of terrible gnashing and gnawing—sounds I’d heard once before in the mansion, when a hellhound attacked one of Macaven’s men. It had made those same sounds when it tore out the mage’s soul. For a moment, time seemed to stand still. My feet stopped moving, my body frozen in place.

  This cannot be happening.

  Moments ago, I was about to get what I’d been dreaming of: Luke would be transferred into another body—one he didn’t have to share. We’d find a way to be together.

  I closed my eyes, willing the chaos to all be some terrible nightmare that would disappear any moment, but when I opened them, the scene before me was all too real. Luke and Caleb lay in a tangle of limbs on the ground, the hellhound looming over them. It was gleefully gobbling…something. The beast shook its head, spraying out a cloud of ash and embers, and, horrified, I realized the beast had just devoured a soul.

  For one terrifying moment, I thought it was Luke’s soul. My heart stopped. But then Luke’s head moved ever so slightly. Relief washed over me. The creature must have killed Caleb. Good riddance.

  The second hellhound, which had hung back during its brother’s attack, crept toward Luke until it was only inches from his unconscious body. At any moment, he’ll tear into Luke. Any moment now, and he’ll devour Luke’s spirit. That thought shocked me out of my frozen position, and my terror dissipated. It would not take him from me! I called for help through the link granted to me by the old gods, and I felt the immediate response. The pack was coming, but it did not relieve my sense of urgency. I raised my hands and took a deep breath, knowing there was no time to wait for my spirit pack—by the time it appeared, Luke would be dead.

  I screamed in a mixture of frustration and determination, and without thinking, reached out to the spirits still hovering around me. A jolt of electricity ran through me as a mass of images and sounds slammed into my overwhelmed mind. A swell of pain and anger filled my body and soul as the spirits’ histories flooded my mind. In that moment, I knew these were spirits from the nearby battlefield—the one Gage had explained earlier.

  These spirits died violent deaths, full of pain and regret. They were warriors, men who fought for country, for king, fought to protect their homes and families. They died too soon in a bloodthirsty battle and were angry that their lives had been cut short.

  I took all of it in—all that pain, all that rage—and, on pure instinct, raised my arms and forced the energy out.

  A crack of thunder filled the small space, and suddenly a concussive force pounded against the tightly pressed bodies before rebounding back. It slammed against me from every direction, only a shadow of the force that struck those around me, but it still made me stagger and caused my head to throb. As my vision cleared, I saw something form out of the ether and move into the physical world. It floated in the air before me. I created that? I knew without thinking that it was a collection of the rage I felt—both my own anger and that of the spirits surrounding me. Its consistency was a reddish-gray, swirling light, like rippling lightning in a cloud at sunset.

  It was the horror of war made manifest, but I felt no evil in it. There was only violence and pain and rage, the suffering and horrible purpose of good men fighting for what they believed.

  Freed from their burdens, the souls that had been ensnared here for hundreds of years drifted away, and small flashes of cascading lights filled the night. Anger had been all that was holding them here, and now that I’d removed it from them, the trapped spirits could find their way across the veil. They left behind a well of power, pulsing in the air with the promise of violence.

  The first ghostly form of a wolf burst into the tent, leaping over the prone bodies that had been standing before the blast of released energy. Voices cried out in shock and alarm, and there was a general rush out of the tent. Most jumped up and ran—those who couldn’t walk crawled, or were dragged by their compatriots.

  The wolf spirit stopped in front of me, howling a challenge to the hellhounds. I felt the force of his challenge in my soul, a call to join the pack, to fight and defend it against all that was unnatural and evil. I felt the
hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and I bared my teeth in a matching challenge.

  The hellhounds turned to face the wolf, meeting its challenge with growls that caused painful pins and needles as the power rolled over me. The fire in their eyes flared higher, and the smell of smoke and sulfur filled the tent. The lone wolf spirit looked tiny compared to their heavy-shouldered bodies, but it did not back down. I felt the rest of the pack coming, but in the few seconds it would take for them to arrive, the fight could be over.

  The wolf advanced slowly, moving into the coruscating red cloud to reach the hellhounds. With a sudden rush of insight, I thought of a use for the liberated power. With a push of will, I gave it all to the wolf. It paused, frozen for two heartbeats as it absorbed the power that surrounded its ghostly form like a sponge. The wolf swelled, becoming larger than any natural wolf, almost the size of a bear, and its eyes glowed red gold with the power that filled it. I felt the drain on my energy as I fought to maintain the link between the wolf and the stolen power and rage.

  Rushing forward, the wolf flashed through the air and lunged at one of the hellhounds, which stumbled under the sudden onslaught. It spun in circles, trying to face its attacker, but it wasn’t quick enough, and neither was the second hellhound. Its jaws snapped at empty air as flashes of molten fire flared on the beast, and it screamed out in pain. The wolf moved so fast—biting and burning away chunks of the first hellhound’s flesh before attacking the other—that it flashed in and out of existence like lightning striking. More flashes of red and sparks of orange shot into the air.

  Despite the battle going on before my very eyes, I stood immobile, my hands raised. All of my attention was focused on holding the link between the wolf and the power that made it posible for it to take down the beasts that threatened Luke.

  The two hellhounds fell to the ground, one in markedly worse shape than the other, and—somehow—they seemed to turn from solid to murkily transparent. What’s happening to them? I roughly grasped the idea that not enough of their physical bodies remained to hold their earthly shape.

  There was a sudden burst of flame, and one of the beasts was gone. In the spot where the hellhound last lay, a cloud of ash fell gently to the ground. The other lay immobile on its side, breathing painfully. As I watched, it stumbled to its feet and began its escape, limping off into the night.

  All the energy drained from me, I fell to my knees and looked over to Luke. The spirit wolf stood over him, shrinking slowly as the energy I’d given it dissipated. Though the added magic was now gone, its eyes still glowed with a golden-red hue, like the sun setting on the horizon, and it was larger than it had been originally. It turned and ran into the darkness beyond the edge of tent, the rest of its spirit pack joining as it chased the remaining hellhound. I wondered for a second what I had done. Had I somehow changed the wolf forever? For good or evil? I shook off the question and turned back to Luke’s inert body.

  He lay unmoving on the ground. Oh, Goddess, please. Please. Let the spell have worked, or at least let him still be in Dean. Sheer panic gave me strength, and I pushed myself up and staggered to his side. With trembling hands, I reached out to touch Luke, but my fingers froze in the air as I remembered his friend, Freddy, screaming in my head, You can’t touch him! I-I won’t let you turn him into a zombie.

  I had seen him move before, but now he was motionless. A sob escaped my lips. What if Luke’s dead? I wiped at my tears, trying to think quickly. Dean—it’s Dean’s body. If Dean’s dead, Luke’s soul is back in the ether sea.

  If Dean’s dead, I’ve lost them both.

  For two heartbeats, my fingers hovered in the air. If I touch Dean and he’s dead, I’ll turn him into a zombie. Fear kept me immobile, but not for long.

  I had to know.

  My fingers reached out and felt for a pulse. There was no bright flash of orange, no tug on my energy.

  His heart was still beating.

  Dean was alive.

  I cried out in relief and rocked back on my heels. He’s alive. And there’s a chance Luke is still with me.

  Caleb lay motionless on the ground next to him. The hellhound had killed him. I wouldn’t be sorry to see him gone.

  My heart still constricting, I looked up at the body on the boulder. I wouldn’t be able to tell if the spell was successful until Luke spoke from Dean’s body, or the boy woke up. Mildred approached the boulder, completely at ease with the chaos that had just transpired. She looked from Luke to the boy, her expression mildly curious. “The spell wasn’t completed…the transfer didn’t work.” Her tone was calm, as if commenting on the weather instead of the life or death of the one I loved.

  My stomach dropped. If he didn’t transfer, could Luke’s spirit have been forced out, pushed back into the ether sea? I bent down and called out Luke’s name frantically. “Luke, can you hear me? Luke?”

  A few heavy seconds passed. Luke’s eyes stayed shut, but he whispered, “Colina.”

  Relief raced through me and I swallowed a sob. Luke was alive.

  But then, unexpectedly, I heard a moan and glanced over at Caleb. He’s…moving? I watched, stunned, as he rolled into a sitting position, groaning in pain and looking around in confusion.

  I heard that hellhound take a soul. I know I did. The air rushed out of my lungs as one thought roared through me: if it didn’t take Caleb’s soul, then it must have taken either Dean’s or Luke’s. My heart stuttered. I leaned down and called out Luke’s name again.

  “Luke?”

  He opened his eyes, but they were wrong—they were blue. My chest constricted. I was looking into the face of Dean, not Luke.

  For a moment, reality seemed to tilt. The world around me narrowed.

  The hellhound took Luke’s soul. “No!” I wailed, screaming out Luke’s name.

  I felt myself falling. Everything went dark.

  Chapter 11

  When I opened my eyes, I saw steel bars. I was back in the cell. I didn’t know how long I’d been here. I had no memory of getting here. Was I carried…did I walk? And then the memories rushed over me.

  The hellhound. Luke on the ground. Those blue eyes staring up at me—blue, not dark gray. It was Dean who woke up despite the late hour, which meant Luke was no longer inside him. Luke was pushed out—no, wait—he wasn’t pushed out. The hellhound attacked—I heard it devour his soul.

  A cry broke from my lips.

  The creature had taken Luke’s soul. My cry turned into one sob after another. Despair ripped through me. My body trembled as an ache shot through me—an ache so painful and strong, I thought my heart might stop.

  But it didn’t.

  My heart continued to beat. I continued to breathe. I’m still alive, but Luke is gone.

  I don’t know how long I sobbed on the dirt floor. I cried until I could cry no more. Eventually, I slowly pushed myself into a sitting position.

  It only took a second for me to realize I wasn’t alone. For a moment, my heart stopped as I waited for ghostly fingers to caress my face, waited for his voice to whisper that he loved me.

  Then I heard a noise and turned my head. The company I had was not ghostly after all—it was all too human.

  Gage stood on the other side of the bars with Caleb by his side.

  “I’m sorry, my dear. I had no choice. You’ve been quite mad and inconsolable.” Gage motioned over to Caleb. “You struck anyone who tried to touch you.”

  There were two long red scratches running down Caleb’s cheek and bite marks on his arm. I did that?

  Gage leaned closer. “Your spirit pack cost me two hellhounds.” His eyes narrowed. “You injured a half-dozen people with that little blast of yours.” Then, unexpectedly, his face broke into a smile. “Color me impressed. Just when I thought your powers might have serious limitations, you do something I’ve never seen before—you make an animal spirit powerful enough to tear apart a hellhound. Even the most seasoned mages have a hard time against hellhounds. But not you. You really are the most
fascinating creature.”

  I watched him, but no words came out of my mouth. Tears were streaming down my face. Heartache. Loss. Only those emotions raged inside me, so raw and powerful that I thought I might lose my sanity.

  “You need to calm yourself. Get yourself under control.” Gage looked annoyed at my tears. I was falling apart in front of him, but I didn’t care, nor could I stop the wave of emotions that were crashing through me. “My dear, you are making yourself hysterical. I’m not sure what went wrong, but I promise you I’m looking into it.”

  “Luke…” I wanted to say more, but I couldn’t get the rest of the words out.

  Gage looked uncomfortable, as if he was unused to attempting sympathy and annoyed by the necessity. “I’m sorry, but it seems the hellhound”—he stopped and seemed to consider his words carefully—“the beasts are hard to control under the best of circumstances. They’re…ravenous creatures.”

  Gage was voicing my worst fears. But still, for a moment I held on to a glimmer of hope. “Is he…back in the ether sea?” I finally managed to whisper from between trembling lips.

  Gage frowned. “I’m afraid the hellhound took his soul.”

  Luke was gone.

  “If the hellhound took his soul, does that mean…” My words petered off, and my hands were shaking. I took a deep breath and forced the rest of my words out. “Is his spirit in…hell?”

  Gage was thoughtful for a moment before he answered, “Yes.”

  At Gage’s answer, I felt a weak glimmer of hope swell inside me. All was not lost. There was still a chance to bring Luke back—a chance I could cling to. I needed Luke. He was the only one on my side. I couldn’t face the retributions of the death dealers—and the world—alone. I rushed forward and gripped the metal bars. “You promised Mildred you could bring her daughter back from hell, which means you can bring Luke back, too.”

  Gage looked uncomfortable. “It might be possible. I promise you I’ll do whatever I can. You know I want to see you happy.”