What Lay in the Dark

by Casey L. Nash

  ***

  We sat outside. Egan sat in a chair, playing with a few wires he was trying to intricately connect. I sat next to him on the lawn with my arms around my legs, attempting to shield myself from the cold. Andy and Brenden sat on the grass too, arguing over whether or not a squirrel would be able to fit through a hole in Egan’s fence. It was tempting to tell them about the human-sized hole behind them, but I managed to fight the urge to do so.

  “Hey guys,” Mikayla called, walking through the door with Samuel not far behind.

  “Mikayla! Samuel!” Egan cried, throwing the wires beside him. “Just the people we needed to speak to.”

  “What’s going on?” Mikayla asked, sitting on the other side of Egan.

  Egan looked towards Andy and Brenden.

  “Just say it, Egan,” Andy sighed.

  “Ailia had another weird dream last night. But it was...”

  “What happened?” Mikayla asked.

  I explained the dream to her quickly. Her eyes connected with Egan’s.

  “Do you think…?” he asked.

  “No way to know unless we can find the place.” Both of them looked at Samuel.

  “I could try and get a picture of it,” Samuel suggested.

  “It’s a start,” Egan shrugged standing up. “Come on,” he encouraged looking at me. I stood up and followed him inside. The others weren’t far behind.

  Samuel sat down at the table while Egan went to a cupboard and retrieved a pad of blank paper. He placed it on the table in front of Samuel.

  “Ailia, do you think you could keep the dream images in your head?” he asked as I sat down opposite him.

  “I suppose,” I replied as Egan slid a pencil across the table to Samuel.

  “Try meditating,” Egan suggested. “It’ll give you more strength to convey the picture.”

  I nodded and closed my eyes sinking into a meditative state. Ignoring the energies around me I focused solely on the images from the dream. It felt like forever before Egan put a hand on my shoulder and told me they were done. I was shocked when I opened my eyes. Spread out before me were several pictures on different sheets of paper. Each one was an illustration of a different part of the dream drawn in perfect detail.

  “Wow,” I whispered.

  Samuel smiled. “You get good at it after a while.”

  “This was your dream?” Brenden asked, looking over the pictures.

  I nodded.

  “Not sure whether to be freaked out by Samuel being able to draw this, or the actual dream,” Andy muttered. “This is freaky. Do you normally dream this stuff?”

  “I’ve never dreamt anything like that before,” I replied.

  “Dream about what?” Michael’s voice surprised all of us.

  “When did you get here?” I asked.

  “A few seconds ago. Apparently you were all so absorbed in your conversation you didn’t hear the door opening. I expected more from you,” he said pointedly at Egan.

  Egan shrugged. “I had more important things on my mind.”

  “Are these guys hunters too?” Michael looked at Andy and Brenden. “Because I’m getting kind of sick of the amount of hunters in this country.”

  “I am not hunting those things,” Brenden replied with wide eyes. “Never.”

  “Thank God. What’s that?” Michael moved toward the table to look at the pictures Samuel drew. “Why do you have pictures of a summoning?”

  “I dreamt it,” I told Michael.

  “A bit cliché isn’t it? Thirteen black candles?” Michael teased.

  Everyone remained silent.

  “What?” Michael looked around at each of us. “You think this might be a prophecy?”

  “No, Michael,” I said softly. “We think that it may have already happened.”

  He looked confused. “Why would you be dreaming about a demon summoning?” He turned to Egan, then back to me.

  My eyes connected with Egan’s and I swallowed. I could tell Michael was not going to like this one bit, but I couldn’t avoid telling him. After all, he might be able to help. “Michael, I have a demon attached to me.”

  “You what?” he cried. In the blink of an eye, Michael pinned Egan to the ground. I had no idea how he managed it.

  “Michael!” I yelled once I realised what he had done. Brenden stared at the two of them, wide eyed. The others held back.

  “You let one of your demons attach itself to her?” Michael yelled in Egan’s face.

  “Are you kidding? No!” Egan cried.

  “Really? Then how did she end up with one? You’re a hunter! Your job is to stop this from happening! You’re meant to protect her, not let demons get to her!”

  “Michael!” I repeated. “It’s not…”

  “I thought she would be safe with you,” Michael continued, ignoring me. “I hated that she was living with a hunter, but I thought maybe you’d be able to stop this from happening. I thought you’d be able to fight off any demon that came her way or at least make sure none got attached to her. What…”

  “It was summoned!” Egan yelled.

  “Of course it was summoned!” Michael spat. “How do you think demons get to this plane? They need a portal; you of all people should know that!”

  “You’re not getting it,” Egan groaned. “It was summoned specifically to her. It wasn’t some experimental teenager. This person knew exactly what they were doing. They knew exactly who they wanted the demon to haunt.”

  My mouth dropped open. I knew the demon was summoned, but specifically to me? Michael stared at Egan.

  “I did everything I could, but the damage was done by the time I worked it out. This thing is powerful, we can’t fight it yet. Our only hope is to find whoever performed the ritual. Michael, you have to know I would never let anything happen to her. If I had the choice she wouldn’t even be here, but it’s too late. All I can do now is try and protect her.”

  “And how is that working out?” Michael asked harshly.

  “Michael,” I spoke, walking towards them. “He saved my life.”

  Michael looked at me and then back to Egan.

  “Come on,” I murmured, holding Michael’s arm and pulling him up. Michael continued to stare at Egan.

  “We have a lot of work to do,” Michael told me.

  “I know,” I replied, helping Egan up.

  Andy interrupted. “Who is he?”

  “He’s my brother.”

  “Come on,” Michael led me back outside. The others followed, but stayed near the house at Egan’s instruction.

  “You remember this?” Michael asked placing his right hand above my left and causing it to tingle.

  I nodded.

  “You should be able to do it by yourself,” he told me. “Like this.” He moved my hands so my palms faced each other. “You should be able to grow a ball of energy with your hands.”

  The concept confused me until I felt a tingling in both hands. The space between them felt thick, as though I wouldn’t be able to pass my hands through it. My fingers naturally curled to form a ball shape around the energy.

  “It’s the same as everything else,” Michael told me. “The more you practice, the stronger it gets.”

  I nodded.

  “That ball can be thrown at things and it will probably sting. As you progress you’ll be able to do it without even making the ball. Try it.”

  “Try what?”

  “Throwing the ball. Try throwing it at me.” Michael stepped back to give me a little bit of space. I tried an awkward throwing movement, pretending I was holding a basketball with both hands and throwing it towards Michael. Michael put his left hand forward. I assumed that he absorbed the energy.

  He moved back towards me with a frown on his face. “I wonder,” he muttered. “Try only your right hand,” Michael instructed. “Picture the energy you’re sending out as white light. Similar to the shield, only it’ll hurt whoever you’re throwing it at.”

  “Okay,�
�� I muttered.

  Michael moved back and signalled for me to try again. This time I raised my right hand, feeling the tingling. I imagined there was a white ball shooting out of my hand. Michael made the same action with his left hand, stepping back. “That was better,” he said. I smiled.

  “What are they doing?” Andy asked as Michael walked towards me again.

  “Michael is teaching Ailia to use magic as a weapon,” Egan replied.

  “Magic exists?”

  “Magic is as real as demons are,” Mikayla replied.

  Michael pulled a small knife out of his belt. “This,” he said, handing me the object, “Is an athame. It’s used mainly in rituals, but it helps to concentrate energy. If you can focus your white light through the blade it will be easier for you and produce a better result. I’d still recommend learning to use magic without one because you’re not always going to have one on you.”

  I nodded while Michael once again moved back to his spot. I studied the dagger. It was simple, with a black handle and silver, double-sided blade. I looked up to Michael, who nodded. I raised the knife, imagining white light shooting from it. Michael grinned as he caught the light. “A lot better.”

  I smiled.

  “Sure they’re not playing games?” Andy asked. “It doesn’t look like there’s anything happening to me.”

  “Ailia,” Egan said. “Want to prove the existence of magic to Andy?”

  I looked at Michael.

  “Go on,” he encouraged. “Just be gentle.”

  Egan pulled Andy out of the house so that he was standing in the open.

  “This may hurt,” Michael warned.

  “Bring it on,” Andy grinned.

  Michael stood next to me and nodded. I lifted my arm again, imagining a small amount of light leaving the athame and travelling toward Andy.

  “Ow!” Andy cried, clutching his stomach.

  “That was pretty good,” Michael told me. “I expected him to go flying.”

  Andy moaned. “Okay, magic is real.” He returned to a giggling Brenden’s side.

  “Come on,” Michael told me. “Let’s try this again.”