The Third Sin

by Tamara Geraeds

  “No, pentagrams can be used for any kind of magic. The points of the star represent the spirit and the four elements, which can be used for good or evil.”

  “So this could also be the room of a good person?”

  She gestures at the dark walls, the blood stains on the altar and the skull and bones placed on a side table. “What does it look like to you?”

  I let the light travel around the room. “Yeah, pretty much like someone celebrated the birth of the Anti-Christ.” I pause and step closer to another small table. “Hey, look at this.”

  Vicky follows me, carefully avoiding the altar.

  We stare at a wooden board with letters on it. The edges are chipped, as if someone chewed on it, and there are burn marks all over it.

  “It’s a Ouija board.” I examine it from up close, without touching it. “But not a normal one, I think. Look at that horned head in the middle. It kind of reminds me of…”

  “The Devil,” Vicky finishes.

  I step back. “Oh my God. Has someone been talking to Lucifer here?”

  Vicky’s hands hover above the Ouija board. “It sure looks that way. Feels that way, too.” Slowly one finger moves closer to the board. For half a second she touches the wood. “Craig.”

  “The Snapper? The crab man?”

  “Yes, he’s been talking to the Devil.”

  My finger burns and I wipe my hand on my pants again. “Well, that explains why he tried to reconstruct Kale’s face.”

  Vicky walks around the altar, studying every detail of it. “That confirms my suspicions.”

  I lean closer to the Ouija board. “Which suspicions?”

  “Just before we were interrupted by Mr. Crab and his coach, something occurred to me.” She stands still and looks at me in the dim light. “I think the people they chose are valuable because they have no tendencies towards the sin they will be convicted for. They do something that is essentially against their nature. They are driven to it by despair.”

  I scratch my chin, trying to grasp what she’s saying.

  “Think about Kale. His coach said he is really a nice kid. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. Yet his sin will be violence, if we don’t stop him. If it’s him, I mean. They push him until he breaks.”

  My mind goes back to the phoenix we saved. “And Myah’s need to save her parents made her commit fraud.”

  “Exactly! She was never the type for fraud, but she didn’t see any other way out.”

  My head bobs up and down in agreement. “Right. I guess the sin weighs more if it comes from a good soul. It makes it more powerful.”

  We fall silent for a while, lost in our own thoughts.

  The beeping of my phone, warning me that the flashlight is quickly draining the battery, pulls us back into reality.

  “We should stop Craig from messing with Kale,” I say. “Maybe you can make him feel guilty.”

  Vicky shakes her head. “By the looks of it, he’s been getting instructions from the Devil himself. His hold on Craig is probably too strong for me to break.”

  I shrug. “We could try.”

  “I guess.”

  “Or…” I step closer to the Ouija board, “… we send him a message back.” In a reflex I pick up the board and slam it onto the altar. “Let him know that we see through his plans.”

  She steps in front of me. “Are you crazy? Do you really want to provoke the most powerful evil entity in the universe?”

  I tilt my head. “Well, I’m destined to fight him, so why not?”

  She places her hands on her slender hips. “Because you’ll piss him off!”

  I’m not sure why, but with every second I want to use that board more. “Wouldn’t make much of a difference, since he’s always pissed off.”

  My hand shoots forward and grabs the planchette stuck to the top of the board. “Just a short message, it’ll only take a minute.”

  “No!” Vicky yanks the board out from under my hands. “This is a bad idea. We should leave the board alone and focus on Craig and Kale.”

  I wave the planchette in front of her face. “Actually, I think it’s the best idea we’ve had yet. I’ll let this bastard know he can’t mess with me anymore.”

  She steps away from me. “I’m pretty sure he can do more than mess with you.”

  With a grin I follow her. “I don’t mind, I’m ready.”

  She shakes her head, still walking away from me. I really really want that board. I want to call the Devil and tell him what a complete asshole he is.

  Vicky is trying to open the door with one hand, meanwhile keeping her eyes on me. “Please be reasonable, Dante. We’re not strong enough to face him yet. Let’s just put this stuff down and get out of here. Please?”

  Her blue eyes cloud over and I throw my hand up to block her gaze. “You’re trying to use your power on me? I can’t believe you!” Angry red blotches obscure my vision and something shifts in my mind. I dive for the board, knocking Vicky over. “Give it to me!”

  She holds on tight and throws the door open with all her might.

  Bright light blinds me. I yank at the board, but she pulls it right back. Together we roll through the doorway, into the gym.

  The yearning to talk to the Devil fades. I look down at my hands and wonder why I even want that Ouija board. I let go and lean back with my hands on the floor.

  It takes a while before my heart and breathing steady.

  Vicky stares at me without speaking.

  When the secret door closes with a loud click, we both jump.

  I haul myself to my feet and hold out my hand to Vicky. “I’m sorry about that. I don’t know what happened. For a moment I couldn’t think straight anymore.”

  She puts the board on the floor and takes my hand. “I know what happened.” With one swift move she pulls my hand to her face and studies my index finger. “It’s that black stuff. When you touch it, it numbs all rational thought and amplifies your reckless tendencies. But it doesn’t like bright light. See?”

  She holds my hand closer to the lamp above our heads. The last of the black on my finger evaporates with a soft sizzle.

  I rub it against my pants again and look at the ghost girl standing calmly before me. “Thanks for keeping it cool and preventing me from doing something really stupid.”

  “Don’t mention it. Good thing your orders don’t work when you don’t really mean them. Otherwise we would’ve had a serious problem.”

  “They don’t?” I pick up the Ouija board and try to remember what I said to her. I did order her to give it to me, so I guess she’s right. “What are we going to do with this?”

  She pats down her static hair. “Let’s take it with us. We might be able to do something useful with it. And if not, at least that crab guy won’t be able to use it.”

  I put the board under my arm and make for the door back to the hallway. “Won’t he just buy another?”

  “No, these particular ones are hard to find. Hopefully it’ll keep him off Kale’s back for a while.”

  She picks up the planchette and clicks it back onto the board. When I start walking, she grabs my arm again and stops me.

  She places a finger on her lips. “Someone’s coming.”

  “I think I left it in the back room,” Craig’s voice says. “I’ll be right back.”

  “We’d better hide.” Five steps later I realize Vicky isn’t following me. I turn and hiss, “Come on! Hurry up.”

  Vicky just stares at me. Slowly she tilts her head, further and further, until it lays flat on her shoulder.

  I shiver. “Vicky?”

  She straightens her head, bends over backwards and lets out a high shriek.

  I jump back. “What’s happening? What are you doing?”

  When she lets out a low growl, I understand.

  I press the Ouija board firmer to my side. “Oh, what wonderful timing these curses have.”

  CHAPTER 29

&nbs
p; As fast as possible I shove the board under a closet and carefully approach Vicky, who is thankfully no longer imitating the kid from the Exorcist.

  “Babe, can you hear me?” I hold out my arms to her, but she smacks them away and bares her teeth at me.

  I step back with my hands raised. “Okay, apparently not.”

  She turns and jumps towards the dummies. Before I can think of a way to stop her, she has sunk her teeth into the arm of a doll.

  At that moment, Craig and what must be his coach enter the room. The crab man’s gaze shifts from me to the munching girl. “What the hell are you two doing here?” His eyes quickly move to the secret door before returning to me.

  It takes me just a second to put on my innocent face. “I’m sorry. We were hoping to get an autograph, but my girlfriend suddenly went crazy. She ran past the dressing rooms and attacked that dummy. I don’t know why.”

  He steps closer and puts a mouth hand on my shoulder. “Are you sure that’s your girlfriend and not some shapeshifter?”

  “Wouldn’t a shapeshifter attack me instead of a doll?”

  Vicky grabs the head of the dummy and pulls it right off. She throws it over her shoulder with force.

  Craig’s coach steps aside to avoid getting hit.

  “Good point,” the Snapper says. He starts walking in Vicky’s direction. “I’ll get her.”

  While I’m praying he doesn’t hurt her or discover why we’re really here, a strange noise reaches my ears. It comes from the hallway and makes me think of an animal following a trail. It sounds like sniffing combined with claws scraping the walls. When a soft crackling is added to it, my chest tightens. Falling sand.

  I reach inside myself and with a jolt my power awakens. “I think we have a bigger problem.”

  Craig looks back as two sand demons appear in the doorway. “Oh, don’t worry about them. They’re my guards, they won’t attack you.”

  Two tongues shoot out of the mouths of the lizards, to taste the air. They lick their lips and lean forward. Sand jumps from their skin and moves in my direction, catching fire on the way.

  “I’m not so sure about that,” I yell at Craig, while his coach moves out of the way.

  The demons approach me with long strides and eager expressions. Their tentacles slither along the floor, trying to grab my legs.

  I jump back and summon a lightning bolt. “Can you please call them back?”

  Craig leaves Vicky to demolish the second dummy and turns back to us.

  “That’s enough!” he bellows. “Leave him alone!”

  The two monsters throw him a sideways glance, but keep sliding forward. Sand flows from their scales.

  “I don’t understand,” Craig says. “They should only attack when someone threatens me or when they find the ch…”

  He narrows his beady eyes at me. The mouths in his hands have fallen open. “Wait, wait, wait.” He throws his head back and laughs. “You’re the chosen one?”

  On first instinct, I want to deny it. But this crab hybrid is not stupid. He has figured this out fast and I’m guessing he’s not patient or amused enough to listen to my lies.

  So I lift my chin. “Yeah, so what?”

  He slams his claws together with a clang and cracks his neck. “You don’t look so tough. I can beat you up without breaking a sweat.”

  I can’t stop a grin from spreading over my face.

  Behind Craig a sword is raised. I recognize Taylar’s white-haired head just before he slams his weapon against the crab’s human legs.

  There’s a loud clang and with one swing of his arm, the Snapper throws Taylar across the room.

  My lightning bolt hits the boxer square in the chest and he falls backward.

  He’s still laughing. “Is that all you’ve got?”

  Anger courses through my veins and when I stick out my arms again, ice creeps up from the ground, quickly covering the crab like body. His face scrunches up with the effort of breaking through the cold.

  “Better,” he pants. Slowly he brings his scaled arms down and slams them against his legs. Shards of ice fly in all directions. “But still not good enough.”

  He drops his arms and turns to me with a grim expression.

  I ball my hands into fists and think of a snow storm. But while the power inside me builds up, Vicky appears between me and Craig. Her face is inches from his and I know she’s staring into his eyes, trying to meddle with his feelings. A deep frown forms in his large, orange head as he fights her power.

  Craig’s coach takes a step closer, but before he can say or do anything, the rest of my Shield drops down out of thin air and blocks his path.

  “Let’s get rid of these demons,” D’Maeo says from beside me.

  It takes me a second to understand what he’s talking about. I’ve been so preoccupied with the Snapper, that I forgot all about the sand demons. Unfortunately they didn’t forget about me.

  Two tentacles shoot out at me and the old ghost, wrapping around our ankles and pulling us face forward off our feet. I hold out my hands to break my fall, but they disappear into the floor.

  “Where did the floor go?” I ask no one in particular.

  My breath catches in my throat as I look up. A waterfall of sand cuts D’Maeo and me off from the rest of the group. The two demons hold on to our legs like glue while we slowly glide down a slope that wasn’t here a second ago.

  “Jeep?” I yell, not wanting to disturb Vicky’s hypnotizing.

  At the same time, D’Maeo calls for Maël. Neither of them answer or show themselves.

  I turn my head to look at the old ghost. “Can you deflect this magic?”

  He shakes his head. “I already tried.”

  More sand drops down from the ceiling as I reach for the buzz within me.

  While D’Maeo kicks the tentacle holding his ankle, I hit the monster holding me again and again with lightning.

  It ducks sideways, screeching, but the fourth bolt hits it square in the chest and it flies backwards and disappears into a heap of sand.

  From a distance I can hear Vicky and Taylar calling out. When I open my mouth to answer, another tentacle wraps around my waist and squeezes the air out of my lungs.

  In a reflex I let go of another bolt, but it misses its target, because the slope of sand suddenly gets steeper. My hands flail for some form of support while we slide down and I cry out when I see the black hole beneath us.

  “Apparate to safety!” I shout to D’Maeo when the sand demon lets go of him.

  With clenched jaws he reaches for me.

  We’re seconds from getting swallowed by the hole, so I tell him to leave me. But my words are drowned out by a loud whoosh.

  It’s like a whole desert is dropped on top of us. I close my eyes and squeeze my mouth shut.

  The feeling of sliding down seems to go on forever. Eventually I have to inhale and I blink in confusion when I don’t choke.

  Turning my head left and right I try to make sense of where I am. The gym is gone. So is the black hole. I’m still sliding down, close behind D’Maeo and the two sand demons. A bright red sun shines down on us, making everything look like it’s covered in blood.

  I try to turn my body to look behind me, hoping the rest of the Shield is with us. Sand and sky are the only things greeting me.

  My anger flares up again and I slam my fists into the sand beside me. It does nothing to slow me down, just hurts my arms as the hot sand scrapes the skin.

  In front of me the two demons shriek with joy. They rest their lizard heads against the sand and push their tentacles up. D’Maeo and I watch in wonder as they stand up like straws for a second and then punch themselves deep into the sand all around them.

  With a jolt, the demons come to a halt, creating a wave of sand. Meanwhile D’Maeo slides on at full speed, with me close behind him. There’s no avoiding the demons, that are waiting with their mouths open, their tongues shooting out hungrily.


  But D’Maeo has a surprise for them. Just before he reaches the monsters, he apparates.

  When he reappears behind the demons, he slams his sword into the body of the monster closest to him. The other struggles to free itself from the sand. Its head shoots forward and it tries to sink its teeth into D’Maeo’s arm. But the old ghost is faster. He jumps out of its reach and brings down his sword again. It cuts straight through one of the tentacles and the monster hisses violently. It snaps at him again, quicker this time, and D’Maeo’s weapon is knocked out of his hands. He vanishes, but the demon seems to sense where he’s going. It lifts itself out of the sand and dives forward.

  I don’t wait for the outcome. Still sliding down, I summon two lightning bolts, one in each hand. As quickly as possible, I aim and release.

  The demon doesn’t even get time to scream as the bolts cut two large holes into its upper body. With a soppy sound, the monster collapses in the sand, inches from the place where D’Maeo reappears.

  As if on cue, the ground levels and I can finally slow down. D’Maeo walks over and helps me up.

  I wipe the sand off my clothes and shake my head, spraying reddish grains everywhere. “What happened? Where are we?”

  A sudden cry of anguish freezes us to the spot. The red sun seems to burn even hotter when more human voices answer the first.

  D’Maeo swallows visibly. “I think the demons took us to their circle of Hell.”

  CHAPTER 30

  “You’re saying we’re in the seventh circle of Hell?”

  The cries have died down and we both look around, trying to see beyond the endless carpet of sand.

  “It sounded like it,” D’Maeo says. “And it looks like it.”

  I scrunch up my nose. “How do you know what it looks like?”

  “I made a calculated guess.” He gestures around us. “We know the sand demons come from the seventh circle. There’s a decent chance that their world consists of sand, like this one. Also, in case you missed it, tortured souls just called out to us.” He raises a finger before I can utter a response. “And I think these demons can only open portals to their own world and to ours.”