Dust to Dust

by Karina Halle

  I shuddered and quickly looked away. I jogged over to the lighthouse and could feel them watching my every move.

  The minute I entered the lighthouse, the temperature dropped again and I was met with the musty old smell of rotted wood and sea-rust. It was dark with several doors leading to rooms that shouldn’t spatially exist. I glanced up the spiral staircase, hearing quick footsteps disappear. There were candles lit along the railing, illuminating the slick steps and the inky trails of kelp that slithered down them.

  My throat felt like it had a piece of dry toast lodged in it. Every instinct told me not to go up them, that I knew what was at the top, waiting for me as he had before. Old Roddy had been banished from my world the moment the lighthouse blew up, but he existed here, in this realm so close to Hell.

  This was his home.

  I ignored the queasy butterflies in my stomach and began to ascend the stairs, careful not to slip. I’d face Old Roddy to get to Dex. I’d face anything.

  As I walked up, I started to hear the sparse notes of a piano floating through the air. When I reached the first landing, I noted one of the doors was open and a faint glow was coming from the room. The trails of kelp went straight in there.

  And so did I.

  The room was large and bare, the walls covered in splashes of rust or blood. There was a grand piano in the middle and from where I was I couldn’t see if anyone was playing it. The notes were sad but dull at the same time, each one growing louder and filling the room with unease.

  I carefully stepped toward it, prepared to be met with a gruesome site.

  But there was no one there.

  I came closer and stared down at the keys, all cracked and broken. Though the music kept playing, there was no movement, except for a wasp that was slowly crawling down them, from F to G to A.

  The sight of the wasp struck fear in the very heart of me and I didn’t even have to turn around to know there was someone behind me. I could feel her.

  No, no, no, please not her.

  The door creaked, like breaking bones, and shut with a loud click. Fog rolled between my legs and the buzz of the wasp started to drown out the pianos’ haunting song. With my heart beating fast, vying for my throat, I turned around and saw…

  Nothing. Just the closed door.

  I let out a shaky breath, the handle of the knife starting to slip. I needed to get a hold on myself. For a moment there I was sure I was about to see someone I never wanted to see again. Wouldn’t that have been –

  “You can’t have him,” a voice came from behind me. Metallic, raspy, like buzzing wasp wings. Utterly, terrifyingly familiar.

  I whipped around to see Abby standing in the corner of the room, her head askew at an unnatural angle, blood pouring down her arms and legs and pooling on the floor. Wasps crawled out of her mouth, pushing her lips aside.

  This really was hell, wasn’t it? Filled with the ghosts of people I’d only been too happy to be rid of. And here, in this place, they were no less scary and no less dangerous. Abby had the power to keep me here. She was certainly going to make sure Dex wasn’t going anywhere.

  Although, that meant he was here to begin with. A rocket of hope jolted through me, battling the fear.

  “I can’t have him,” I repeated, surprised to find my voice. “That means he is here, with you.”

  She smiled at me, the grin of a mad woman, a dead woman. More wasps came out of her mouth, heading straight for me where they circled around my head. A few came out of her nose and ears. One of her unblinking eyes pulsed and moved as a wasp squeezed between the eyeball and the socket. I was having a hard time not throwing up.

  “He is upstairs. With them,” she said. “They won’t let him go. He’s right where he belongs.”

  I raised my chin, staring at his grotesque ex-girlfriend with defiance. “I’ll be the one who decides that,” I said, feeling strength and conviction when I thought I would have none. I’d come this far, I guess. There was nothing left to lose, no reason not to believe I couldn’t beat this.

  Before I could even turn for the door though, Abby was flying across the room, her long, bony fingers wrapping around my neck like icicles. She threw me back, my head smacking against the door and we crumpled to the ground. She smelled like rotten meat and blood and death and I knew if I didn’t act fast, she was going to kill me.

  I somehow managed to roll out from under her but she was fast and as I struggled to get to my feet, my soles slipping on her greasy blood, she grabbed onto my ankles, her nails slicing into my skin.

  I screamed and she yanked me back down on my stomach, pulling me toward her by my legs. The air started to swarm with wasps, first a few, then more, until their droning buzz was all I could hear. They landed on my arms, my back, my face, crawled into my hair, stinging me again and again. The pain was unbearable and every time I screamed they made a go for my mouth.

  Growls spewed out from Abby’s lips and I felt the back of my shirt lift up, her ice cold nails trailing over my exposed skin near my spine. I felt like any second she was about to slice on in and pull my spine out with her bare hands. Panicking, I flailed my arms, trying to buck her off me, but she wouldn’t budge. The wasps continued to assault me and the blood around me was rising, moving, as if it were a living thing, wrapping sticky rivers around my arms and legs.

  When I felt her mouth center over my spine, her teeth razing my vertebrae, I knew I was done for. She was going to tear me apart and eat me alive, sucking out my spinal fluid as an aperitif.

  “Dex!” I screamed in vain, a wasp landing on my tongue. I doubted he could hear me. It was a way to let him know that I tried.

  I tried.

  The sharp stab of her teeth sank into me and I closed my eyes to the pain.

  They were immediately blown back open.

  A giant rush of wind, of warm force, of power came blasting at me, causing Abby to fly backward, letting me go. I flattened against the ground, my eyes having a staring contest with the writing blood on the floor, coming for my face. I was aware of Abby growling, screaming, and I lifted my head just enough to look over my shoulder, to see what was going on.

  Abby was being dragged by her own ankles toward a black pit that had opened up where the door used to be, swirling in the air like a black hole, sucking all the wasps into it. I couldn’t see what was dragging her, it was just this mess of shimmering light, a golden glow in this world of darkness, but the hole that it created was growing stronger and stronger.

  I heard the piano screech, the keys rattling in a chaotic song, and I turned my head back to see it moving inch by inch, being sucked into the vacuum, just as my own body began to lift up in the air. I pressed my hands into the bloody ground, desperate to not be taken where Abby had been but it was useless. The piano was sliding toward me and I was pulled back too. I was going to be crushed.

  Then, just as my body became airborne and I started to twist like was going down a drain, the roar of sound stopped and for one moment I was perfectly still in the air, floating. Then I dropped. I belly-flopped on the ground, hard, and all the air was squeezed from me.

  I gasped, trying to regain my breath and figure out my next move. If I could just lay down my head and close my eyes for a while, I was sure that everything would be fine in the morning.

  Perry, I heard a voice. It came from behind me and yet it came from everywhere. At first I wouldn’t let myself believe in it, believe I could be hearing it.

  But she spoke again, her voice drifting softly through my head like feathers. Perry.

  I swallowed and gingerly turned over on my back.

  The door had returned to normal and in front of it was Pippa.

  Pippa!

  I couldn’t believe my eyes but there she was. She was faint, looking more like a hologram than anything real, but she was there, glowing wildly.

  “You’re here,” I said before I lapsed into a coughing fit.

  She nodded, giving me a sweet smile that was laced with worry. Use you
r inside voice. Save your strength.

  I understood. Okay. What are you doing here? I thought I’d never see you again.

  I’m not really here, she said, and when she caught the confused look on my face, she quickly elaborated. I have moved on but…I thought I could help. I can help. I can push through, make holes from where I am into this part of the Veil. I can take people, demons, away.

  Where are you?

  I am in death, she said but she said it with a smile. Almost at peace.

  Except for this whole thing.

  There will be peace when I help you. I had warned you this would happen. I knew to expect it, even though I didn’t want to believe it.

  Yes, well her warning was rather cryptic but I didn’t bring that up.

  Do you know where Dex is? I asked as I got to my feet. Please tell me you do, I thought, that isn’t all for nothing.

  She nodded. He is upstairs, but he is not alone. This is your Hell, Perry, and it’s his too, and the ones that brought him here will use what scares you to kill you, to keep you here. They know you are coming. They planned it this way.

  Why? I cried out. Why do this? Why us?

  Because sometimes…there are energies that just want to destroy. They aren’t picky. It all brings them pleasure and strength. And, of course, you’re both very powerful, very unique. You’re something they covet. They always have. Why do you think you both have seen so much while others haven’t?

  That means they have coveted you too.

  I could have sworn she blushed, like it was a compliment. I suppose for her, there wasn’t really much to fear anymore.

  They did, of course they did. And I still have some aspects they desire, but they know now they can’t have them. In peace you can’t be touched. But I can surely touch them.

  Her face fell, her eyes turning grave, and despite her serious expression, I was struck by how pretty she was. Unlike the last time I had seen her, now she was looking younger and vibrant, even as she was transparent. Peace suited her.

  We must go, she said. And you must block your thoughts. No matter what you see, what things they have arranged, do not let them hear or sense your fear. I will take care of everything. All you have to do is get Dex and run for the door.

  What door?

  You’ll know it when you see it. I’ll created a distraction, and if I can destroy the demons, I’ll do that as well.

  Michael?

  Michael is an angel’s name, she said sharply. This is a demon. And if you don’t do as I say, he will keep you here as he has kept Dex.

  Glowing and brilliant, she turned to the door and it opened before her. She stepped through it, floating a few inches above the ground like a radiant ghost.

  Wait! I cried after her and she quickly swiveled her head around to give me a look. Sorry, I thought, reminding myself to concentrate, to imagine walls up around my mind, blinders around my thoughts.

  I caught up to her and she began to ascend the stairs, I asked, What happens after? When I get him out? Will he be okay?

  She didn’t answer at first until we made it to the second level, a foyer of wriggling kelp strands, twisting around each other like snakes. I kept my eyes away from them, they were only there to scare me.

  As we climbed up the next flight she said, He is stronger than you think. He should be okay.

  I didn’t like the sound of “should.” And the demon? If you don’t destroy him?

  He will be weakened, that will be for certain. I will do my best, what I can from where I am.

  And if you can’t? I pressed. Then what? What can I do to protect ourselves on the other side?

  Kill the body and the head will die, she said after a moment. I was reminded of what Maximus said, his theory that if Michael had been inside of Dex while Dex killed himself, that would have killed Michael too. Of course, that didn’t seem to be the case here.

  Are you ready? she asked.

  I wasn’t. You couldn’t be ready for something like this. But I nodded anyway.

  We went up the stairs, her floating waves of gold a few feet in front of me. I stayed as far behind as I could without losing sight of her and I worked on holding up those invisible walls.

  When she disappeared around the last corner, I waited for a few breaths. There was a flash of light that made everything blot out into a blur of white and then an unearthly roar that shook up my blood. The walls of the lighthouse seemed to throb as it descended into chaos and I took the opportunity to run up the rest of the way, unheard amidst the noise.

  When I got to the landing, where the bulb was now blasting out rays of cold, stark light, I saw a flurry of gold and black swirling around it and that black hole began to form in the middle. I could barely make out a beast, his blackened fur obscured by Pippa’s fury. She was opening up the same door where she sent Abby and if I wasn’t careful, I was going to get sucked in.

  And so was Dex.

  I looked to the corner of the room and saw him lying there on the floor, face-down in blood.

  My heart skipped a beat and came crashing back hard. Dex.

  I ran over to him, pushing through the wind, until I was almost at his side.

  As if sensing me coming, he raised his head and looked at me. His face contorted in surprise and then sadness.

  Dex! I cried out and for that moment, I was so happy to see him that I didn’t block it. I went down to grab him but his eyes widened and suddenly I was being ripped to the side, kelp wrapped around my waist.

  The smell of rot and sea water filled my nose.

  Nice to have you again, a decrepit voice said in my ear, slimy kelp shooting around my throat and pressing on the wounds where the demon had choked me the night before.

  I immediately swung my fist back, trying to knock a hole into what I knew would be the skeleton face of Old Roddy, but the kelp was too tight and the helpless sense of déjà vu didn’t help.

  Choking for air, the world going black, I looked back to the ground, to Dex for help, but he was lying there lifeless again. Oh shit, oh god no. I was so close, so fucking close!

  I kicked back at Old Roddy, fighting for life, determined to win against him again. But I just couldn’t get the leverage, couldn’t find the strength. So much of what had been done to me earlier was starting to take its toll.

  Suddenly the wind from the vacuum that Pippa was creating kicked into high gear, spinning me and Old Roddy around and around like we were doing a dizzying waltz, while pulling us to the middle of the room.

  Just as I was losing the feeling in my hands and feet, the sense of evil permeating my bones and dragging me under, I was knocked out of Roddy’s grip and flung to the floor. While the world spun and I continued to be dragged away, I looked up and saw a flash of Dex, his hands wrapped around the kelp and pulling it around Roddy’s neck, choking him. Dex’s arms flexed and with one big tug, he snapped the kelp so tight that Roddy’s head went bouncing off and into the black hole.

  The next thing I knew was Pippa’s voice was in my head, telling me to run, and Dex was at my side, hauling me to my feet.

  “Fancy meeting you here, kiddo,” he said. Blood had dried around his throat but I still heard him clear as day, the sense of awe and relief coming through. Then he grabbed me and pulled me along, the both of us trying to make a run for the stairs. Unfortunately, the hole that Pippa was wielding was blocking the way as she tried to drag the beast who had masqueraded as Michael into it.

  “Only one way out!” Dex yelled over the noise, his eyes darting to the window. “Second times a charm, right?”

  I could only nod. I had him. I could do anything.

  We ran for the window, hand in hand, and jumped through it, the glass cracking all around us. Beneath us the darkness turned to rocks and turned into waves and we were falling stories upon stories.

  Just when I thought we were going to smash into the rocks, a wave swept up, lifting us away like cold, wet claws, dragging us out to sea. I floundered in the water, trying to stay af
loat, trying to grab onto Dex, but the current was too strong. Then I felt his grip around my waist and I was tugged up and onto shore, rough rocks beneath my skin and the waves crashed at my feet.

  Dex pulled me up further until we were away from the shore as he could take us, rocks turning to cool dune grass, and he collapsed beside me.

  I wanted to cry but I couldn’t. Not yet. Not while we were still here. I rolled over, grappling for his touch, to feel him, to know I had him.

  “I’m here, baby,” he said with a sharp cough, grabbing my hand.

  “Dex,” I whimpered, holding on tight and rolling onto my side so I could stare at him, absorb the sight of him moving, seeming to be alive. Please god, let this work.

  He tilted his head to look at me, his chest heaving up and down. “Is it just me, or is Hell a million versions of fucked up?”

  A shaky smile broke my face. “It’s not just you,” I said, moving closer to him. Pain shot its way through me in bursts but I pushed it aside until I was right up against him.

  With effort, he lifted his arm and let me rest my head on his chest. “Cuz if a shitton of coffins holding Chinese lepers suddenly washed up here, I wouldn’t be the least surprised.”

  So it had been the same for him.

  “I can’t believe I found you,” I said, staring at him in wonder.

  His smile faltered, his brows furrowing. “I can’t believe you came to get me.”

  “Of course,” I said and that’s all I could say. How could I even begin to explain what he was to me. I would go through Hell for him again and again.

  I closed my eyes for a minute, hearing his heart beneath me. It was so steady, so beautiful. I wanted to luxuriate in this moment, in having my love back. I wanted to just breathe it all in. But we weren’t in the clear yet. There wasn’t a second in this world that we could take for granted. We didn’t belong here.

  As if to make a point, the lighthouse, which was only half a football field away, started to rock on its foundations, as if explosions were ripping it apart. The top of it went flying off and the light bulb was now just a black hole, spinning violently while gold and black plumes of light battled for domination.