by Brian Harmon
She screamed.
Eric started to run toward her, but Sissy ignited the ground at his feet and he staggered backward instead, tripping over one of the dissolving ogre carcasses. He actually fell into it, his body sinking into the smoking corpse. It felt awful. It was gritty, yet slimy, cold and thick. He inhaled the noxious smoke and choked on the putrid taste of it on his tongue.
In spite of his revulsion, he managed to wonder why these were taking so long to dissipate when the imp she threw at him burst into smoke in an instant. Maybe it had something to do with the amount of energy she used to create them.
As her sisters rushed to Delphinium’s aid, Sissy stalked toward Eric, her face contorted into a murderous rage. “It’s all your fault,” she snarled. Her hands burst into flames. “I’ll melt the skin off your face!”
Eric had no time to think about it. He lifted his hand from the smoking muck, clutching the dagger that he’d found there, and thrust it upward, impaling her.
Her face changed again. Confusion. Fear. Panic. She stumbled backward and looked down at the handle protruding from her belly. “Grandpa’s dagger…” she gasped. “No…”
Eric rose to his feet. What had he done? He’d acted entirely on reflex, trying to save himself.
A memory surfaced in Eric’s mind. That last spell he sat in on, right before the water exploded. Delphinium had asked how to stop the magic man and everyone else had seen Eric. But he’d seen a flash of dull metal at the bottom of the bowl. He didn’t realize it at the moment, but what he’d glimpsed was the blade of Desmond’s dagger.
Delphinium shook off the false imps easily enough, reducing them to smoke and ash, and turned her eyes back to Sissy. “Sylvia!”
Sissy looked up at Eric, her eyes wide, and actually managed a laugh. “Okay then. Fine. You win.” She staggered toward him.
Eric took a step back. What was she doing?
She collapsed into his arms.
He lowered her to the ground.
She gave him an awful grin. “I can still take away the satisfaction…”
“There is no satisfaction,” he told her. “I didn’t want this.”
“Good. You can…tell it to Sylvia.”
“What?”
But suddenly, her face changed. Her eyes widened. “Oh God!” she gasped. “What’s happening? Where am I?”
Eric didn’t understand at first. What was she doing?
She clutched at her belly, her small fingers feeling around the handle of the dagger. “Oh God…” she gasped again. “What…?” She was trying to catch her breath.
Eric’s heart broke as he realized that Sissy was gone. She’d lost and so she’d done the vilest thing she could think to do: She gave back Sylvia. Just so they could all watch her die.
Again, he remembered the words of the old drunk as he laid him on the ground behind the club. She doesn’t know! Poor Sylvia had no idea that another part of her mind had taken over and done horrible things. And now he remembered the other thing that old man had said, too, something that weighed far heavier on his heart: You won’t be able to save her!
“Stay calm,” he told her. “Somebody get over here and help!”
Then Delphinium was kneeling beside them. “Sylvia?”
“Del… What’s happening? It hurts…”
“I know.”
“You have to do something,” Eric told her.
But when she looked up, her eyes were filled with tears. “I can’t. The blade…”
Desmond Weizner’s cursed blade. It would never stop cutting. It would continue to tear her up inside, even if they pulled it out.
Some say it cuts all the way to the soul. These were the words of the monstrous messenger returning to haunt him. He prayed it wasn’t true.
She looked up at him, her green eyes wide with fear, fat tears flowing down her cheeks. “Help me…”
Eric’s heart broke. How could someone as cruel as Sissy possibly have been inside this poor, sweet girl? It wasn’t right.
The girl shuddered. “Please…” she pleaded. “It hurts…”
Holly knelt beside her and took her hand. Tears streamed down her face. “Just hold on,” she said. “You’ll be okay.”
Eric couldn’t imagine how hard this was for her. His own heart was aching and he hadn’t even known her. Now Holly was watching her die for the second time in less than a day.
The rest of the sisters gathered around. All of them looked devastated. Even Cierra was weeping.
Sylvia cried out in pain.
Delphinium, so strong, so composed, burst into tears.
There was nothing anyone could do. She held on a few more seconds, but she died in Eric’s arms.
Chapter Forty-Four
Eric sat alone on the ground, his back against the foundation of the barn, looking out at the open fields and the clear, blue sky. It was approaching noon now and he could still smell smoke in the air, but the fires were all out.
Delphinium and the rest of the coven were saying goodbye to their sister. An impromptu funeral. A loving grave in a quiet grove at the far end of the north field.
A proper service wasn’t possible. Too many questions. Reporting it could do nothing but bring them all more suffering. No one else could understand what had happened here.
Pain. Heartache. Death. Sacrifice. The warnings they’d read in their spells had turned out to be true after all, though none of them could possibly have guessed what it really meant.
He still couldn’t believe it. It never had anything to do with the mystery organization and their nameless agents. This time, the enemy had come from within. Poor, sweet Sylvia. Damaged even more than anyone could ever have known.
He sighed and lowered his head.
Norval and the rest of the Dirty Bunny gang were cleaning things up around the farm, trying their best to hide the stranger evidence of their battle with Sissy and her army of monsters. Things like claw marks and the drywall damage done by Siena’s overly-powerful thrust.
It wouldn’t take much to explain it all away, though. The news on the radio was reporting freak storms. Tornadoes had reportedly touched down in multiple locations. And lightning was thought to have started a number of wildfires in the area. As far as anyone else would ever know, that’s all that had happened here. And now that the blanket was back up, no one would come snooping around until everyone was long gone. It would be like they were never here.
It was surprisingly convenient, Eric thought. Almost eerily so. But he had no intention of complaining. He didn’t want to think about it. He was ready for this long night to be over.
His cell phone rang. It was Karen.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi.”
“Isabelle told me what happened. I’m so sorry.”
He closed his eyes. “I just don’t know why it had to be me.”
She didn’t reply. She didn’t know, either.
“One part of her was so dark. All those things she did… Those poor girls… All those monsters she made… But the other part of her… God! I saw her eyes. She was so afraid. And I couldn’t…”
“Don’t,” she urged. “You’re torturing yourself. You couldn’t help her. She was sick.”
But Eric shook his head. “Not all of her. There were two different people in there. I saw them both. I could feel them both…”
“Stop.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Think of all the people you saved. They all would’ve died if it wasn’t for you.”
Eric didn’t speak.
“You know, that picture you sent me was terrifying. ‘Wrapping things up here?’ Really?”
He smiled in spite of himself. “Forgot about that.”
“My husband, the smooth-talking action hero.”
He actually chuckled a little at that. “I make a pretty pathetic action hero, I think.”
“I disagree.”
“Thanks.”
“So anyway,” said Karen, changing the subject. “
By my calculation, you should be home just in time to help me finish packing.”
He smiled again. “Damn it.”
“Oh, quit complaining.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Be a good boy and maybe I’ll pack a little something extra to wear for you.”
This raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”
“Maybe. We’ll see how good you can be until you get home.”
“You saying I’m a screw-up?”
“Sometimes.”
“True… I’ll have to be on my best behavior.”
“Besides,” she added. “Isabelle says you owe me one amazing anniversary getaway.”
This time, Eric actually laughed. “That’s right. I did tell her to hold me to it.”
“Oh and she will.”
Eric smiled. “Good.”
“I love you so much.”
He looked out over the fields to the north. He didn’t like being this far from her. It felt lonely. “I love you just as much.”
“Come home soon.”
“I will.”
“And don’t screw up again.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Karen hung up and he lowered the phone and gazed out at the blue sky again. He was happy that she wasn’t mad at him anymore, but he couldn’t quite get Sylvia’s frightened eyes out of his head.
The phone rang again. This time, it was Isabelle.
“She was wrong, you know.”
Eric frowned. “What?”
“Sissy. She said there was no magic. But she was wrong.”
“She was?”
“The things they do, the spells, the thrusts, all of it, they really are psychic in nature. They manipulate their surroundings. They move things. They see things before they happen. They sense things that others can’t. Sissy could create complex projections, move things with her mind to such an extent that she could manipulate the wind into a raging storm and even cause spontaneous combustion. But there’s something else. It’s all tied together with that strange energy I’ve been feeling all night.”
Eric sat up. He’d forgotten about that energy. She said it was distinctly not psychic or spiritual.
“I think Desmond Weizner really did know how to use magic. And I think he used it to augment the coven’s preexisting psychic powers and even to transfer new powers to them, like teaching Alicia to see in the dark.”
“Wow. You can do that?”
“I guess so. It’s only a theory. I could be wrong. But…”
“You usually aren’t.”
“Well… I don’t want to sound full of myself.”
Eric leaned back against the barn wall again. “So the real magic is still out there somewhere?”
“I’m sure of it. In fact, it might be right there in Grandpa’s spell book.”
“Huh.” He’d forgotten about the book. Now that Sylvia was dead, the rest of the coven could open it. Or at least, that was what Sissy had claimed. He couldn’t help but wonder what fantastic secrets might be hidden in those mysterious pages.
“I agree with Karen, by the way.”
“That I’m a screw-up?”
“No. Well, sometimes, maybe.”
“Oh.”
“That you’re a pretty kickass action hero.”
He smiled. “Thanks.”
He hung up the phone and stuffed it back into his pocket, then he gazed out over the field again. He didn’t feel very kickass. He felt tired. He felt sore. Most of all, he felt sad. He couldn’t stop thinking about Sylvia’s terrified tears. Or the poor girl who burned to death in the motel room. Or Marissa’s battered face.
So much sadness and fear.
Every one of these women had a story. Every one of those stories was tragic. Loveless childhoods in an endless parade of foster homes. Terrible abuse. Neglect. Starving on the streets.
He stared up at the warm, blue sky. It was such a bright day. It was hard to imagine that there was so much darkness in the world.
Jude appeared around the corner of the building. “We can go when you’re ready,” he reported.
Eric looked up at him. “Are you okay to drive? You’ve made the trip twice already since your last night’s sleep.”
He shrugged. “Magic, dude. I can keep myself awake for days if I need to. No problem.”
Eric nodded. “Okay.” He didn’t press the matter any further. By now, he was fully prepared to believe that these people could do anything.
“Besides,” he added. “I got a little sleep in last night while you were out rescuing my sisters.”
“That’s good.”
“We checked the water again, by the way.”
Eric looked up at him, curious.
“The magic man’s totally gone. We’re all safe, thanks to you.”
He looked out at the fields again. Thanks to him? Thanks to him, Sylvia was dead. He couldn’t help but think that there must’ve been a better way. Couldn’t they have banished Sissy without harming poor Sylvia?
But it was too late now.
“Mom wants to say goodbye. Then just come and get me when you’re ready to go.”
“Sure.”
Jude turned and walked away. Eric remained there another moment, alone with his thoughts.
Chapter Forty-Five
Delphinium wasn’t in the yard, so Eric walked up the front porch steps and peered into the house.
Poppy was sitting at her place on the couch. “Hey, hero.”
“Please don’t call me that.”
She smiled. “It’s okay, you know. We all understand. There was no other way.”
He sighed. He was having a hard time believing that was true.
She wiped at a tear under her glasses and then patted the cushion next to her. “Come here.”
Eric did as she asked. As soon as he sat down, she reached out and embraced him. Then she kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me.”
“Yes, I do. You saved my life. You saved my sisters. And my pervy little brother, too.”
Eric chuckled.
“And my friends at the shelter.” She flapped her hand toward the window. “And even my sister’s stripper groupies.”
He laughed.
“I have a weird family. But thanks to you, I still have them.”
“Most of them.”
She gave him a sad shrug. “Most of them,” she agreed. “But I still have them. I almost didn’t.”
She hugged him again. “I wish you didn’t have to leave us. We could use an awesome, super-healing, adventuring English teacher with an Isabelle phone.”
“Well if I don’t, I think it’ll summon an evil far greater than any magic man. And then we’ll all be doomed.”
She let go of him and leaned back. “What?”
“Tomorrow’s my anniversary,” he told her. “Pretty sure my wife would kill us all.”
She smiled at him. “I don’t blame her one bit.”
Eric felt himself blush a little at that.
“I hope we see you again.”
“Me, too,” he replied. And it was the truth. He’d known these people for only a matter of hours, but it felt like they’d been a part of his life for years.
“But even if we don’t, we’ll never forget you. And if you ever need us, for anything, we promise we’ll come running.”
“Will you?”
This drew a big smile across her face. “For you, I’d definitely try.”
He wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he just smiled.
“You’re one of us now,” agreed a voice from the doorway. It was Charlotte. He wondered how long she’d been standing there. “You only have to call and we’ll be there.”
Poppy cocked her head. “Aw… I always wanted a big brother.”
“That sounds nice,” agreed Eric.
She chuckled. “Lucky guy. Seven way-cool new sisters in one day. And a pervy little brother, too. Bonus.”
Eric laughed. “Nice. He�
�ll fit right in with my pervy big brother.”
“Awesome!”
Eric stood up. “I should find Delphinium.”
Charlotte crossed the room and gave him a hug. “Thank you.”
He turned and walked toward the hallway, but before he could leave, his path was blocked by Cierra.
He took a step back and regarded her warily. “You’re not going to hit me with something again, are you?”
“I can if you want me to.”
“Maybe next time.”
She gave him a crooked little smile. It actually lit her face up nicely. “It’s a date.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
“Del’s looking for you. She’s in her room.”
He nodded. “I was just coming to look for her.”
But she didn’t move. She stood there, looking him over, as if she were only seeing him for the first time. Finally, she met his gaze again and said, “Take care of yourself, okay?”
He was pretty sure that was the nicest thing she’d ever said to him. “You too.”
She brushed past him and walked toward the kitchen. Eric watched her go, then turned and continued down the hallway.
Delphinium was in her bedroom, wiping away the makeup her tears had ruined. She met his eyes in the mirror as he approached and smiled. “Our hero,” she said.
“Not a hero,” he told her. “If I was a real hero, I’d have found a way to stop Sissy and still save Sylvia.”
She shook her head. “Sadly, that was never an option,” she told him. “Sissy was too powerful to defeat any other way. My spells confirmed it.”
“Still…”
“Still nothing,” she insisted. “You did what you had to do. Besides…” She turned and faced him, her expression grim. “I’m not sure there ever was a Sylvia.”
“What?”
“The girl we knew was just a mask. Sissy was the real personality all along. The original. We just never saw her.”
“No…”
She nodded. “It’s tragic, but it’s true.”
Eric couldn’t stand the thought that the sweet girl who died in his arms was nothing more than a disguise. That felt so wrong…
His eyes drifted to the bed. Desmond’s dagger was lying on the comforter, wrapped in its towel again. The very item that had ended her life.