“I couldn’t see anything but its face, no eyes, just this empty space. That was the impression I got…that the space behind its eyes was just nothing, worse than emptiness. I was freezing. I remember that, too. Like I couldn’t breathe, and I was freezing. My skin was made of ice. I could see my breath. It was August, and I was freezing cold.
“But then I saw something else, like he was moving. I saw these…things all over it. The horse wasn’t a horse anymore. It was this walking thing made of…I don’t know…blackness, I guess. I started to feel sick again.” Albert Papal took a gulp. He looked at the ground as he continued his story:
“It laughed. It reared its head and laughed at me. It was so loud. It echoed everywhere. And then, it was as if it was inside me. I don’t know how that’s possible, but it was like the thing was in my head…” He took a deep breath before he finished: “The next thing I knew I was on the grass. My mom came out and shook me, asking me what was wrong. But I just lied there, freezing cold.
“But it was over. I looked up, and the thing was gone. Nothing was there. It was just the street I lived on, as if nothing had happened. My vision came back, but I still felt sick. I lied in bed all day with a fever. My mom wanted to take me to the doctor, but I told her it was something I ate. She was really freaked out. Mom kept coming into my room, asking me if I was all right. I knew a doctor wouldn’t be able to do anything.”
Albert paused again. “The very next day Sadie was killed. And that figure on the horse was all I could think about. How evil it was, how Sadie had been found. I was lucky.” He looked at Malcolm. “But not as lucky as you. I think it wanted to kill you, Malcolm. Sorry. But I think that’s obvious. It wanted to kill you, and you got away. Illusion or not, you got away twice.”
Wind rustled the leaves of the cottonwoods. Malcolm nodded, not looking at anyone. Seth thought about Albert’s story and shivered.
Gavin continued to stare at the ground, plucking at the grass. Eddie looked peaked.
“What about you?” Albert asked.
The four of them looked at Seth.
He opened his mouth, surprised how dry it was. He wished he had something to drink.
Seth looked at each of them in turn. The strength to tell his story wasn’t in him. He didn’t know what to say. Should he begin with Ben? Would he betray their trust if he held anything back? Seth didn’t know if it was worth the risk or not, but they were here to talk, relate their stories, to be honest with one another.
“My story’s different,” Seth said, and hesitated. He looked at each of them. “I’m not really sure where to start. I’ve seen the phantom on the horse. I’ve dreamed about it. Like you were talking about, Albert. But I guess there’s something else I was hoping you guys would mention that you didn’t. Which makes me wonder…I don’t know how real this is. I’m not sure how much I’ve been imagining. All I know is that Sadie’s dead, Howard, Hailey and his wife. It’s not just after little kids. It wants all of us dead. Everyone. Adults. Children. Maybe there’s something special—not about us, but—about this place. Ellishome. Maybe it wants something here.”
Seth paused, trying to figure out the best way to say it. “There is something else,” he said. “Not just a monster on a horse, but—”
He thought about Sadie McCall, Hailey and his wife, how mention was made of a wild animal. Didn’t Ben have the capacity to do to children what the phantom killer had done to Sadie? Suddenly, Seth didn’t want to say a word. He knew what their reactions would be.
“What, Seth?” Malcolm said, leaning forward. “What is it?”
Seth looked at each of them again. He took a deep breath and said:
“There’s something else in the meadow, but it isn’t bad. It wants help. It came to me a couple of times. It’s important you know that. It wants to help. And I think it wants us to help it.”
“What, Seth?” Eddie said, intently.
It was going to sound so trite when it came out, Seth thought. It was going to sound so stupid, so preposterous, but he couldn’t see any other way around it.
“Yeah, Seth,” Albert said. “What is it?”
Seth looked at Eddie and Gavin. He looked at Malcolm and Albert. “You have to promise you’ll believe me,” he said. “That it isn’t made up. And it’s not what’s killing people here. You have to promise.”
“I think we’ve established that already,” Malcolm said.
Seth nodded. “Yeah. But this isn’t any less crazy. It might be even more crazy.”
“You got that right,” Gavin agreed, looking into his lap.
“Would you just tell us already!” Albert said, going red in the face.
Seth looked at Albert for a long time. He took a deep breath. “Something came to me in the meadow. And it wasn’t a demon on a horse.”
Eddie fidgeted, hopping up and down. Albert gave Seth his undivided attention. Gavin shook his head, preparing for more nonsense. Malcolm didn’t move.
“A tiger,” he finally said. “A real, live full-grown tiger. Only he isn’t a man-eater.”
No one said a word.
“And I know what you’re thinking,” Seth said, looking at each of them. “Believe me. I thought the same thing myself. I’ve gone over it a billion times.” He paused again. “But he’s different. He...talks.” He looked at them again, waiting for them to laugh at what was obviously a ridiculously made-up story. But for whatever reason no one rebuked him. No one said a word.
“I saw him one day when I was out playing,” Seth said. “In the meadow behind my house. He told me not to run, not to be scared. He said he wasn’t a stranger. But I didn’t believe him. Not then. I was scared. And I ran. I ran like crazy through the meadow and all the way home.” Seth took another deep breath. “But then I saw him again. He came to me another time. He showed me Sadie’s killer. He said it was his enemy. I…I think he’s magical. Like light…in a good way.”
Everyone exchanged glances, but not a snicker issued among them. They raised their eyebrows—skeptical perhaps—but no one laughed.
Seth decided to take the ultimate plunge. It was time to tell them everything, no matter what they thought. “His name is Ben,” he said, and looked at the ground. “He said that he and this demon have traveled through time and space for centuries. Ben calls him his ‘phantom adversary,’ his ‘immortal companion’. I don’t know how, but they’re linked in some way. I think Ben needs us. I think the only way the phantom can be destroyed is through Ben somehow.”
“A tiger?” Eddie asked, frowning.
“I know it sounds crazy, crazier than what we’re talking about,” Seth said. “But it’s true. He’s real. Ben is real. He…he’s magical. He’s powerful, and he needs our help.”
“Didn’t Sheriff Bimsley say something about an animal?” Malcolm asked.
“No,” Seth said, suddenly defensive. “Ben wouldn’t hurt anything. He hasn’t hurt me, and he’s had plenty of opportunity. He’s the one who showed me this thing. That’s when I saw him. Ben came to me one night. He showed me this thing riding through town. If it wasn’t for Ben, I wouldn’t even know what it was. I think Ben wants to help us. I think he wants our help, and I think we have to help him. I don’t think we have a choice. Ben is exactly what we need.”
The five of them were silent for a long time.
“Seth,” Albert said. “How do you know this creature isn’t trying to deceive you?”
Seth’s blood boiled. Anger surged through his veins. “Because, goddamnit! I know! I just know! I was this close to him!” He put his index finger and thumb half an inch apart. For some reason, he had never been so furious as he was now. He couldn’t stop. “This close! Do you get that close to a man-eating tiger and live? Jesus! If he wanted to tear me to pieces, he would have! Quit making this more difficult, Albert! You want me to tell you my side of the story? Well, I am! This is it! Don’t you get it? We have a chance to destroy this thing. If we didn’t have Ben, we’d all be dead! Can’t you see that? He licked me
, for crying out loud! He licked the side of my face! Get it? He’s not a real tiger. He talks. He talks to me through my head. I was hoping you guys would’ve said something about him. That’s why I didn’t say anything. I was afraid you’d misunderstand the whole stupid thing. He doesn’t want to hurt anybody. He wants to get rid of this thing just like you do. Just like all of us do.”
“Okay, Seth,” Malcolm said. “Calm down.”
“I believe you,” Eddie said, simply.
“Me, too,” Albert said. “I’m sorry. Really, Seth. Jeez. I didn’t know.”
Gavin shook his head. “This is crazy. This is crazy! I can’t believe any of this. It sounds like The Lion, the Witch, and the Crazy Phantom Killer Story.”
“Please, Gavin,” Malcolm said, trying to be patient. “We’ve been through this already. You said you were with us.”
“I know I did,” Gavin said, rolling his eyes. “I’m just saying it’s crazy. Even if it’s real, that doesn’t mean it isn’t crazy. What would our parents think, talking like this? I didn’t say I wasn’t with you, Seth. I just said it was crazy. Real. Sure. But crazy. I think we can all agree on that.”
Seth felt like strangling someone. He tried to catch his breath. He’d told them everything, but he had to agree with Gavin. It couldn’t be any more preposterous, any more lunatic. It was flat-out crazy, loony-bin crazy, crazy to the rooftops! When the words came out of his mouth, even he couldn’t believe them. They sounded stupid and ridiculous even to him, and he knew they were true.
“When was the last time you saw him?” Albert asked.
Seth thought about it. “I don’t know,” he said. “It’s been a long time, almost a month, when Sadie was killed. But sometimes...” He stopped and looked at them. “Sometimes I think I can hear him. I know that sounds…well, wacko, but it’s true.”
“No more wacko than what we’ve been talking about,” Eddie said.
Everyone nodded.
“That’s damn strange,” Albert said, browns coming together.
“Why?” Eddie asked.
“Because,” he said. “If both these things are real…if what Seth is saying is true, then…well. That means they both got here about the same time, like Seth said. They’re linked. So, what are they?”
“I don’t know,” Seth said, wishing he had an answer.
“I don’t like it,” Albert said, taking Gavin’s skeptical role. “I don’t know about this tiger of yours, Seth. It just seems too fantastic.”
Seth’s brows came together. “I don’t really care how it seems to you, Albert!” Seth lashed out, and everyone flinched. “You believe in this monster that rides a horse, but you won’t believe what I’m telling you about Ben? You just said you did! The whole reason I told you is because this monster needs to be killed! Ben might be our only chance! I thought if I didn’t tell you, then something worse would happen, like we wouldn’t be able to defeat it at all. If I didn’t tell you, we wouldn’t win.” Seth was breathing heavily. His forehead and armpits were damp with sweat. He didn’t understand why or where this tirade had come from, but he was determined to make them listen…make them understand.
Albert sat and thought about it. “I said I believed you Seth, don’t get me wrong,” he said. “It’s just—” He looked at Gavin, understanding the boy’s incredulousness.
“Seems crazy, doesn’t it?” Gavin finished for him. “Not just wacko crazy, but out of this world crazy. No pun intended. Why are they here? Why this place? Why us?”
“Yeah,” Albert said.
“Thank you,” Gavin said, relieved. “Now what the hell are we gonna do about it?”
Seth, despite his anger, could’ve kissed Gavin for saying what he did. Despite all probability, they were willing to listen; they were willing to try…to believe.
“Maybe Seth’s right,” Malcolm said. “Maybe this tiger has come to help us. Maybe he’s using Seth as an instrument.”
Seth was reticent.
“Then why not the rest of us?” Albert said. “How come none of us have seen him?”
“Why?” Malcolm asked, raising his eyebrows. “Are you jealous?”
“No!” Albert said. “I’m not jealous. I just want to know why it chose Seth.”
“Because,” Seth told them, but didn’t finish.
They all looked at him.
“What?” Malcolm asked.
“Don’t think I didn’t ask Ben,” Seth said. “Speaking of which, he does have a name, and that’s what it is. I asked him all the questions I could. Especially about me. Ben only said one thing…”
“Well, what the hell did he say?” Albert said, anxious.
“He said,” Seth told him. “‘You have enough.’”
Albert furrowed his brows. “Enough of what?”
“I don’t know. That’s all he said. ‘Enough.’”
“I know what he means,” Malcolm said, smiling, but didn’t elaborate.
“Well jeez, don’t keep us all in suspense,” Albert cried. “What does he mean?”
“I thought it was obvious,” Malcolm told them, looking at Seth. “Can’t you see it? Seth’s…simple. I mean, he’s not, don’t get me wrong, Seth. I didn’t mean it like that. I mean you’re just…sensitive. You can feel what’s going on around you. You sense things, feel them. Maybe that’s what Ben means. Maybe that’s what it’s going to take to beat this thing. Maybe that’s how we kill it. Because you’re…untouchable in some way. Sentient. The rest of us are spotted somehow, sullied. But you’re not. Your spirit is unblemished. Of course…that means you’re easily corrupted.”
Seth thought it somewhat dramatic, but he couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Well, what about Howard?” Albert asked. “He was pretty angelic.”
“Howard’s dead,” Malcolm said, flatly.
“I don’t know,” Seth said. “I don’t feel very angelic.”
“Maybe angelic isn’t the right word.”
“I like ‘sensitive,’” Gavin said, smiling for the first time, as if the joke were on Seth.
Malcolm ignored this and turned to Seth. “You know. There must be something about you, or Ben wouldn’t have come to you. You have something. Maybe you don’t even know you have it, but you do.”
“But—”
“But what?” Malcolm asked.
“That doesn’t explain what we’re supposed to do?” Seth said, exasperated. He looked to his left, in the direction of the crags, barring the horizon. Maybe he didn’t know exactly how, but suddenly he knew where. It made all the sense in the world, virtually slapping him in the face—Ben and the demon—what he’d been dreaming about…it had all been leading up to this.
“The hills,” Seth said, staring into space, not realizing he’d spoken.
“What?” Malcolm asked.
Seth came out of his reverie and smiled. “The hills,” he said, as if they should understand. He looked to the west, the rocks etching the sky.
“What are you talking about?” Albert asked.
Seth felt a sort of triumph weave through his flesh. Everything he felt was suddenly, unquestionably good. “There’s a way to beat this thing. And I think I know how to do it…or at least what we have to do.”
Seth paused and looked at each of them in turn. “I realize how crazy this is, Gavin,” he said, looking at the boy. “But you’re just gonna have to trust me.”
“Maybe if you’d explain it,” Albert said, “We’d know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“We have to go to the mountains,” Seth told them. “All of us.” He paused. “We have to find a palace.”
A long moment of silence hung in the air after Seth spoke.
“I thought this conversation was about a monster on a horse?” Gavin said. “And now you’re talking about a palace?” He shook his head, putting his hands over his ears.
Maybe this was crazy, Seth thought. They were acting on impulse, intuition, and dreams…nothing more.
“Hush,” Mal
colm told Gavin. He turned to Seth. “What are you talking about? What else do you know?”
“There’s a palace,” Seth explained. “I had a dream about it, but I didn’t really think much of it at the time. There’s always been something…tugging, I guess, telling me I need to get to the hills…to the mountains. I’ve always felt it. Long before Sadie was killed.” Seth looked to the west and pointed. “Those mountains.”
The rest of them followed his gaze.
“There’s a palace,” Seth said. “I’m sure of it. There’s a palace we need to get to. I don’t know what we’ll find when we get there, but we will find it.”
“The only thing in those mountains are more mountains,” Albert said, logically.
“We don’t know anything about that,” Gavin told him, his voice seeming to discredit his own words. “We don’t know for sure. This monster is one thing, even this tiger you’re talking about, Seth. But a palace. How can you be so sure? How do we know we’re not going follow you to our deaths? We’ll be walking right into the hands of this thing! We might never find anything! We might get lost, trapped in a blizzard, and never return! They’ll have search parties looking for us! It’ll be a nightmare! You want us to believe you because of dreams you’re having? Why can’t we just focus on this monster? Why can’t we just focus on that?” Gavin had tears in his eyes.
Snapdragon Book I: My Enemy Page 31