The Presence

by Shady Grim

  THE PRESENCE WATCHED the fracas happening on the other side of the lake. He was enraged. Nothing was going according to his plans. Lizbet was still hovering at the dock. She was focusing too much on the second ritual. The Presence had expressly told her that the first ritual was of greater importance. Those three should’ve been dead by now. The fourth was hidden from sight, most likely inside the house. He was sure that the fourth was nearby despite not being able to see him. It was essential that the four of them be kept separated. The Presence was deliberately keeping his distance from the house because it sapped his strength. It was too soon to perform the desecration, but he had no other option. It had to be done now, or not at all. Perhaps a slight change of strategy would work in his favor. He looked down at the mess of bodies on the ground. Gerald’s was the most whole. The Presence stepped into Gerald’s lifeless body and stood up. He stretched his neck and arms. He disliked the restrictive sensation of being confined inside a dead body. He had to be careful when he entered a living body; he had to contain himself or risk damaging it. But with Gerald’s body, he could stretch it to make it a more comfortable fit. Gerald’s clothing split and tore to accommodate The Presence’s huge form.

  With his lifeless suit of armor hanging about him, The Presence could enter the water without being harmed. It was no longer a barrier to him. He entered the water and began swimming across the lake. One of the three was pushing the children in a canoe far out into the water. He watched them glide past him, unaware that he was only a few feet from them. Heather left the water, patting her arms to reduce the chill. The Presence would not bother her. Herbert could have her. She needed to be killed at the Faerie tree. Killing her anywhere else would be a waste of time. The Presence could not take her to the tree himself because the Faeries would not let him near it. His energy was best focused elsewhere, and he had no time for distractions.

  The shadow-beasts ran into the woods in the same direction the children were headed. For the first time in many years, I prayed to God to keep them safe, and hoped that He heard me. I exited the freezing cold water intent on getting to Ethan, who lay sprawled on the lawn. The pukwudgies made a terrible uproar, and I looked to see them running away. Something frightened them. I turned to see Fitzie, or a grotesque facsimile of him, emerge from the freezing black water. The figure standing before me was much larger than Fitzie. The limbs were abnormally long and the body misshapen. His eyes were black, showing no white at all. He was barefoot, and what was left of his clothes hung in tatters. The pale greyish skin was stretched almost to the point of splitting. The skin was so stretched and drawn out that it resembled a suit that was much too small for the wearer. My mind had such difficulty processing the monstrosity that stood before me that I was forced to rely on instinct alone. My instinctive reaction was to stand my ground and defend myself. I crouched low and threw a strong left hook to Fitzie’s liver. The punch landed perfectly. An impact to the liver is both sickening and excruciatingly painful–so painful that even Herbert would find it unpleasant. Fitzie didn’t respond at all. His skin didn’t have the rebound that living tissue should have. It felt like I’d slapped a carcass. Fighting was obviously futile, so I turned tail and bolted into the woods behind the pukwudgies.

  LIZBET WAS UNCONCERNED about the children, and told Herbert to fetch Persephone. She lay unconscious in her car. Herbert turned off her wicked ungodly music before lifting her body out of the car. He took her to the dock and laid her out according to Lizbet’s instructions. “The element of fire,” said Lizbet as Herbert laid Persephone’s body in the triangle next to the charred piece of foundation stone. She pulled Persephone’s lighter out of the girl’s trouser pocket and laid it next to the red candle; then she removed the poison bandage from Persephone’s hand. She placed Rick’s box of drawing pencils next to the green candle, and a lock of Jimmy’s hair, bound with a gold chain, next to the yellow candle. Herbert felt a little tired and a bit out of breath, both alien sensations to him. He fetched Jim’s still-warm body and laid him in the triangle on the other side of the foundation stone. “The element of water,” said Lizbet as she removed Jim’s gold watch and placed it next to the blue candle. Lizbet permitted herself a proud smile as she looked the bodies over. “One male and one female, both in the prime of their reproductive lives.” Herbert stretched and placed his hands on his lower back, he felt sore. “Only air is left, and I shall collect it.”

  “Something is wrong, Lizbet. I feel sore.”

  “The Lord is collecting His strength.” Herbert didn’t know what that meant, but Lizbet did and that was all that mattered. “We have a chance to start again, Herbert–if it pleases The Great Lady to grant it to us. The children are young enough to be retrained. We’ll have a boy and a girl this time, the perfect family.”

  “We’re supposed to kill them, Lizbet.”

  “They’re only children, Herbert–harmless children.”

  “But the Lord said–”

  “The Lord isn’t always right. He said the fourth was here, and he isn’t.”

  “We don’t know for sure.”

  “If the fourth were here, he’d have shown himself by now.”

  Herbert’s eyes glinted. “Does that mean I can have Dixon?”

  “Yes, Herbert. Go now while you have the strength.” Lizbet knew the Lord was pulling away from them. His protection would soon leave them, but it was for the best. She would never tell Herbert as she feared that his faith might wane, and she needed him. She needed his special talents. Lizbet saw the Lord emerge from the water in His protective skin. She bowed her head in reverence and ran for the house. She called Shelly out of the kitchen and dragged her into the woods.

  “What’s happening, Lizbet?”

  “The Lord is approaching. We need to find shelter.”

  “I thought the Lord was helping us.”

  “He is, dear, He is. He’s preparing to destroy the house, and we need to stay out of His way. Help me to sit under this tree. We’ll be safe here.” Shelly sat next to Lizbet with her back against an old tree. Shelly was so nervous that she didn’t realize she was ringing her hands. “Would you like something to help you relax?”

  “I don’t know if I should.”

  “It’s perfectly safe,” smiled Lizbet. “In fact, I think I’ll join you.” Lizbet pulled two glass vials out of her bag and handed one to Shelly.

  HERBERT SPRINTED INTO the woods after Heather. He was slower than usual. He tried to push his body harder, but it just wouldn’t respond the way he wanted it to. No matter. Herbert was sure he could still catch his prize. Herbert easily picked up Heather’s trail, although he found that his senses weren’t as keen as they should be. Lizbet said everything would be okay, and he believed her. Herbert slowed his pace, eventually stopping altogether to catch his breath. He resumed his hunt at a much slower pace. His prize was lost. He could tell by the way her trail zig-zagged through the brush. She probably couldn’t see in the dense darkness, and didn’t know how to use her other senses to right herself; all the better for Herbert. He was a little disappointed that he wouldn’t have the lengthy chase that excited him so, but he could find other ways to entertain himself. He saw her standing in the distance. She was very still. He could easily walk up behind her and slice her throat, but that would be too quick. He wouldn’t get to hear her scream. He closed in.

  Herbert grunted as he was body-slammed and thrown to the ground by Royal. The impacts were painful and normally would not have hindered him, but he felt the pain more keenly than he ever had. His body didn’t recover from the shock as quickly as it should have. His hunting knife was in his hand as he stalked his prize, and he’d managed to retain a hold of it when he fell. His mind instantly thought to jam the blade into Royal’s ribs, but it took several seconds for the impulse to reach his arm. Royal moved as they struggled and Herbert stabbed him in the side, producing a painful but non-lethal wound.

  I heard rustling and a man grunt behind me and jumped away from the sound. The
re was a scuffle, but I couldn’t see well enough to do anything. A great burst of pale-blue light, followed by an unearthly scream, illuminated the entire area. I saw Tim on his back with Herbert on top of him. Tim’s left arm was shaking trying to hold back the knife that Herbert was determined to plunge into him. His right arm held back Herbert’s left. In the flash of light, I’d seen my grandfather’s fighting knife lying on the ground next to Tim. I grabbed it and sunk it into Herbert’s side. He whirled around so quickly that I didn’t have time to react. His hunting knife gashed my shoulder, and I fell backwards with Herbert on top of me. I didn’t have time to struggle. Tim was on Herbert’s back in an instant. He pulled the fighting knife out of Herbert’s side, plunged it into Herbert’s neck, swished it around, and drew it out again. I felt warm blood spatter on me, and I heard gurgling as blood and air escaped through the wound in Herbert’s neck. Herbert dropped his knife and grasped at the air in a panic. Tim shoved Herbert off of me, and we left him alone to finish bleeding out.

  “This is a good knife,” said Tim as he wiped the blade on his pants and handed it to me. “It looks old.”

  “It is. It was issued to my grandfather during world war two.” I unclipped the sheath from my back, slid the knife back in it, and clipped it to my side. Tim was limping badly. In the quick flash of light, I’d seen that the deep slashes on the soles of his feet were caked with dirt and leaf litter. You can’t keep walking on those mangled feet. Let me give you a piggyback.”

  “I’m heavier than I look.”

  “You aren’t nearly as heavy as Ethan, and I can carry him–not very far, but I can carry him.” I knew Tim was in a great deal of pain because he didn’t argue with me. He jumped on my back and let me carry him out of the woods. I suppose even undersized supermen have their limits.

  THE PRESENCE WAS CERTAIN that his fleshy suit of armor would protect him. He placed one foot on the bottom step of the back porch. The wood crackled and smoked, and broke under his immense weight. He proceeded to the next step and the next until he stood on the porch. It creaked and groaned under him, but held his weight. He wouldn’t dare enter at the front of the house; it was too well fortified, but the back of the house was unguarded. It was weak. The only things protecting it were a few fresh planks of birch and oak, which weren’t strong enough to harm him through the skin he wore. He stretched out his arms intent on breaking down the door. A metallic glint coming from a small brass cylinder at the corner of the door caught his attention. A great flash of pale-blue light flared from the cylinder and thrust The Presence backwards. His fleshy shield was torn to pieces and incinerated. Ash floated down and lay lightly on the ground.

  LIZBET FELT SICK. SHE heard a deafening scream and assumed the Lord had been successful. How could He not be? Shelly’s mouth was already frothing. It was time. “Relax girl, it’ll be over soon.” Lizbet forced herself onto her aching knees. The Lord’s blessing had left her. She was as weak and frail as any ninety-year-old. She turned toward the elder tree that she and Shelly had been sitting under. It was a very special elder tree; one that had never been sown or cultivated. It had been created in exactly the form in which it still stood. “Hear me, oh Great Lady, Queen of Winter. Hear your humble servant. Grant me your blessing, Elder Mother. In exchange, I offer myself, the autumnal equinox–the time of gathering, the time of plenty...” Lizbet had planned to say more, but her body was weak and her poison worked too well. She fell over, her mouth frothing, and gasped for her last breath.

  The roots beneath the elder tree curled and drew in upon themselves. The tree’s canopy withered and drew down toward the earth. Small white flowers rained down onto Shelly’s head and formed a delicate crown of luminescent white. The elder blended itself with Shelly’s body until the tree was no longer visible. Shelly’s eyes fluttered open. Her once blue eyes were now dark brown. She inhaled deeply and filled her lungs for the first time in centuries. She still looked like Shelly, but was a more beautiful version of her previous self. The Great Lady, the Elder Witch, looked down at Lizbet’s body and smiled. She would be rewarded for her service. The Elder Witch extended her hand and Lizbet’s hawthorn broom floated into it. Her touch turned the broom an iridescent black.

  Lizbet opened her eyes and sat up. The Great Lady had granted her request. Her hand hurt where Emily had bitten it, but it would heal in time. Lizbet’s new body felt warm and strong. Persephone’s light-brown eyes were gone, and Lizbet’s dark-green eyes took their places. She reached out to the body lying next to her. “Herbert?” He stirred, but he didn’t draw breath as she had. His body was cold. “Talk to me, Herbert.” Jim’s body sat up, and he opened his eyes. They were solid black. The Lord grunted and stretched his limbs to make his new skin fit better. He was exhausted from his failed attempt to enter the house. His strength was failing him, but he was not so weak that he couldn’t seek revenge. The two people striding out of the woods would be the perfect targets to satisfy his rage.

  “You haven’t asked me where that blue light came from,” said Tim.

  “At this point, I’m just winging it.”

  “Just as well, I have no idea what it was.”

  With Tim’s guidance, I found the tree line and exited the woods. I could see the back porch, and except for broken steps, it looked the same as it always had. I headed straight for the front of the house where I hoped Ethan still was. I found him crawling very slowly toward the front porch. I was so exhausted that I wasn’t able to run to him, despite desperately wanting to. My legs were burning from carrying Tim.

  “Put me down. We have company.”

  I was so fixated on Ethan that I hadn’t noticed the two figures standing on the dock. One, in particular, looked very familiar. “You can’t fight that thing, Tim.”

  “I know, but I can stall it so you can get to the front door.”

  It was a good idea, but The Presence was much too fast. He steamrolled both of us. I landed on the ground, out of breath, with broken ribs. I tried to steady my breathing as I crawled up the porch steps to the door. I’d just made it to my knees when young Lizbet appeared and threw me onto the lawn. When I saw The Presence lift Tim in the air, I realized that we weren’t going to survive. This was the end of all of us.

  THOR FELT A PAT ON his flank and opened his eyes. He’d been placed in a very deep, healing sleep by the spirit that was kneeling next to him. The spirit of the Medicine Woman removed his leg bandage and smiled at him. “It’s time.” She rose and opened the study door for him. He heard clawing and scratching under the floor. It was so deep under the ground that Ethan and Heather couldn’t hear it, but Thor heard it. He’d been hearing it for a long time, and he knew what it was. The scratching sounds were much closer now. The things in the ground wanted out. Thor walked through a maze of ghostly figures; some were people, others weren’t. They’d all come to help the house, to protect her. Many voices were speaking, and singing, and chanting. They spoke different words and different languages, but their goal was the same–protect the house. They lent her all the energy and good will that they could. The house appeared weak, but she was not. She’d been resting, saving her energy for this moment.

  The house creaked and groaned loudly as she prepared herself. The foyer door glowed yellow like sunlight. It stretched and grew until there was no door or wall left; there was nothing but light. Thor ran through the light and lowered his head as he battered his way through the outer door. He bound down the porch steps and took young Lizbet by surprise. He knocked her to the ground and tore out her throat. The Presence looked away from Tim to the dog, and Tim was able to thrust his thumbs into its black eyes. The Presence screamed; not in pain, but in temper. He wasn’t able to occupy a body without eyes. The eyes held the spirit. Eyes make the body a vessel, without them a spirit will drift away. Jim’s ghastly stretched-out body flopped to the ground in a heap as The Presence vacated it. Tim landed hard on his back. A shadow-beast grabbed his leg and began dragging him away. Thor ran after it, dove on its back, and
ripped into its neck. It vanished. Ethan had managed to turn himself onto his back. The left side of his face was a battered mess. He could only open his right eye. I tried to speak to him, but my broken ribs prevented me from gathering enough air. Tim crawled to us.

  “Lizbet was successful.”

  I looked past Tim to see a figure coming toward us. It was a woman, and she was radiant. She was holding something long in her hand, a long dark stick or staff. I blinked several times to be sure that my eyes were actually seeing what I thought I saw. The woman’s feet didn’t touch the ground. I felt a tremendous sense of menace that increased as the woman came nearer. I didn’t have time to wonder about her as a second shadow-beast grabbed my leg and tried to pull me away. Ethan’s savaged arm reached out and grabbed my wrist. Tim held Ethan’s other hand, and the two were able to hold me until Thor could round on the beast and chase it away.

  The woman hovered over us, smiling beatifically. Thor growled viciously at her. The staff I thought she was carrying was actually a broom. I almost laughed at the absurdity of it. She raised the broom, and I gripped Ethan’s hand a little tighter. I reached my other hand over to take Tim’s free hand, ignoring the agonizing pain from my broken ribs. The Elder Witch heard something that we didn’t hear. She lowered her broom and turned away from us. A brilliant yellow light shone from the house, and it changed the Elder Witch’s appearance as it enveloped her. I caught a glimpse of her face as she turned away. She was the most horrifying being I’d ever seen.

  “I see her,” said Ethan. “I can finally see her. She’s beautiful.”

  Four figures appeared in the light and walked around the Elder Witch. She tried to retreat, but was unable to pass the figures. She shrieked and clawed at them to no avail. She raised her broom, and it disintegrated in her hand. I felt pressure building in the air, and a humming sound that was so intense it made Thor cry. Then a great light flashed, like a sudden discharge of energy, and she was gone. The four figures were also gone and everything looked normal again.