Dark Arts

by Randolph Lalonde

  The hammer came down in the center of his hand, breaking the skin and bone beneath. Morley made him miss his knuckles, but still felt every bit of the pain. He was receding; the pressure of Panos taking over was pushing him away from awareness despite his fight to remain in control.

  “You have two daughters,” Darren said with relish. “I will visit them if you don’t let me take control. I’ll do it in your flesh, so they can see their daddy’s face grinning at them while I strip their belly flesh off layer by layer.”

  Morley rallied against Panos’ presence and managed to get enough control back to drop the hammer. It didn’t last. “You can’t win.” Panos said in his own face.

  Darren immediately returned his chin to his chest, and began grinding his teeth. Panos was in full control. “I am going to kill you now, with your own weapon. The hammer was a test, a way to try to get you to take control one more time so I could crush your spirit. Your soul won’t go far. The Dawn is near. You will shoot yourself in the head, and they will believe you slashed April until she can speak again.”

  With natural grace, Morley drew his sidearm, held it to his head, turned the safety off, and pulled the trigger. At the last instant Morley forced the hand to jerk, sending the barrel upwards. It was not enough. The bullet passed through his head high, but only high enough to leave him conscious and bleeding to death on the floor.

  The pain was incredible, he could not move, and the ringing in his ears was as bad as or worse than anything. He didn’t recall falling, but could feel the warm blood against the side of his face. Darren walked over, picked up the gun and looked at him, shaking his head. The young man wiped the tears from his face.

  He could see it wasn’t him. The thing that had ended him was inside Darren, he could see it in the boy’s eyes. He desperately wanted to utter the only blessing he believed in at the young man, but instead of saying ‘God help you,’ he only managed to croak; “God.”

  “You’ll see soon enough,” Panos said with Darren’s lips. “He has left us all here and there, like a child who has abandoned his ant farm in the back yard. Goodbye.”

  XIII

  “She is ruined!” Maxwell heard Steven Sands howl. He was on his feet and out of the family waiting room before anyone else. He knew the nurses allowed Scott to visit April after she was stable, he didn’t know her father had arrived. Maxwell didn’t realize that everyone else in the waiting room were right behind him as he took the corner.

  “Oi!” Maxwell said as he caught sight of Steven in a fresh suit, towering over Scott. They were right beside the door to April’s hospital room. Trent, as equally fair as his sister but thick, a towering footballer, leaned against the wall opposite the door. He seemed calm, entirely unaffected. “Back up, quiet down!” Maxwell said, the harshness of his tone making up for his lack of volume. “She’s right in there.”

  Steven quieted down, but was still so furious he was shaking. The bruises on his face reminded Maxwell that he was facing someone he had difficulty restraining himself with. The pair of officers down the hall reinforced his need to keep calm. “You should be inside, holding her hand, taking care of her, happy she’s still with us,” Maxwell said.

  “Like any of you know anything about her or the future she’s lost,” Steven replied. “She was going to marry Revelationem Lux royalty, bridge my family back to our European ties, now no one will touch her. What am I supposed to do with what’s in there?”

  “Sir, I understand this is traumatic,” said a nurse coming down the hallway. “But please keep your voice down.”

  “You see these people here?” Steven said, turning on the nurse and pointing at Scott. “Especially this one? They’re her family now. I told her not to go near them, she went against me, and this is what happens.” He looked to Scott. “You want her? You can have what’s left.”

  “That’s enough, Steven,” Allen said, Bernie beside him. “If you want to leave, if you want to blame people, that’s fine. We will take care of her, we’ll answer all the questions you should be here for, and when she’s well, she’ll have a home.”

  Steven didn’t say another word, but rubbed his hands together in the air as though he were washing them for a moment, then strode down the hallway. His son didn’t make eye contact with anyone, but followed a few steps behind. Scott’s father nearly bumped into him as he came around the corner. He was the opposite of Steven, the embodiment of compassion and concern.

  “I’m sorry, Dad,” Scott whispered as he accepted a brief but firm hug. “This wouldn’t have happened if she wasn’t hanging around.”

  “Don’t worry about any of that. I doubt anyone could stop her from doing anything she wants to. Did I hear that right? Is Sands abandoning her?” Desmond asked Allen.

  Allen nodded solemnly. “She’ll never be alone. I know you don’t have the room, so we’ll move her into the main house if that’s what she’d like.”

  “Thank you, Uncle Allen,” Scott said.

  The nurse, an older woman with three clipboards still under her arm, was watching everything. “I’ll tell her doctor what’s happened. Are any of you related to her?”

  “No, but we have her father’s number, so he can talk to him directly. If he doesn’t change his mind about leaving her alone here, then we’ll gladly make sure she has everything she needs.” Desmond said.

  “It’s really up to her,” the nurse said. “She’s eighteen, and we can have her write her wishes down when she isn’t so heavily sedated.”

  “Is she going to be all right?” Scott said.

  “Well,” the nurse looked at the group of them again before going on. “I will tell you what her doctor told mister Sands, but this didn’t come from me, do you understand? I’m not supposed to, but I have a feeling he won’t be coming back. Overall, April will be fine. Most of the damage was cosmetic. The damage to her left eye looks a lot worse than it is. She was able to fight off her attacker so he was only able to bruise and cut around the eye, so it’ll look bad for a few days, but once the swelling goes down, she’ll be able to open both her eyes again. The worry now is infection, so we have her on a course of antibiotics. Her hand will require several surgeries, the rest is a game of wait and see as healing begins. She’s going to be heavily sedated for the next few days at least. That’s as much as I can tell you though, the best you can do is make sure she’s not alone. How do you know her?”

  “My son is…” Desmond started.

  “I’m her boyfriend,” Scott finished. “I’ve known her since we were kids.”

  “I grew up with her,” Bernie said. “We’re all friends of hers, and she was taken from a party we were having.”

  “Well, the police cleared you all,” the nurse said. “I’ll tell the doctor to call her father, if he’s really left her here alone, I’d appreciate it if someone could stay around.”

  “Funny, the police haven’t spoken to us since we were first interviewed,” Miranda said as she rejoined Maxwell. “They didn’t say anything about who they’re suspecting.”

  “I’m very nosy,” the nurse said. “And I know Samuel, he called before she came in, told me to keep an eye on her and all of you.”

  “Valerie?” Allen asked.

  “I was wondering when you’d recognize me,” she said. “It looks like a lot of people have had a rough week. What happened to your lip there?”

  “Farming accident,” Allen said. “It’s good to see you.”

  “I’m glad you’re all here,” she told them. “I couldn’t imagine that girl having to recover alone.”

  “She’ll never be alone,” Allen said. “Don’t worry.”

  “Thank you,” Valerie said. “Tell Samuel I’m looking forward to his next batch of chokecherry wine.”

  “I haven’t seen her in twenty years,” Allen said as she walked out of earshot.

  “About twenty three,” his brother, Desmond said.

  “Aunt Susanne said everything’s almost ready,” Miranda said.

  �
�All right,” Allen said. “I think Bernie can take your place, Desmond, that is if you’d rather stay here.”

  “Thank you, Allen.”

  “It’s still going ahead?” Scott asked quietly. “Even with this?”

  “The stars don’t stop for anything, even tragedy,” Desmond told his son. “They do it tonight or we wait another seven years.”

  “We’re dedicating tonight’s ceremony to her though,” Miranda said. “We have everything we need, Samuel and my Aunts are already taking care of it.”

  “Okay, that’ll help, thank you,” Scott said.

  “There’s one thing, and it’s not easy for me to say, Son,” Desmond said to Scott. “We’ll help her because that’s what this family does, but you have to be sure of your commitment before you are the first face she sees when she wakes up. I remember what it was like to be young, and think that every girl was the greatest love of my life in the early days.”

  “I love her,” Scott said. “We knew each other all through school, this is real.”

  “Are you sure, be sure, because I don’t remember you talking about her for years.”

  “She’s the Sands girl,” Scott replied in a whisper. “I know what you think of that family, so of course-“

  Maxwell didn’t hear the rest of the conversation. Two police officers, one he went to high school with named Craig, a towering brown haired man, and an older one quietly tapped him on the shoulder. “Maxwell Foster?” asked the older one.

  “That’s me,” Maxwell replied.

  “We have a few questions, you’re not in trouble, we’re just trying to clear a few things up,” the older officer said. “Let’s have a word in the family room.”

  “Is he in any trouble?” Bernie asked.

  “No, we just need information. He’ll be back in ten minutes,” Craig said.

  “Be right back,” Maxwell told everyone.

  They all sat in the nearby family room, a space decorated with simple landscape paintings on the wall, brown sofas and chairs all around. John Travolta grinned from the cover of the Tiger Beat magazine on top of the stack in the middle of the coffee table. John Travolta --- SHY? Unbelievable but true! His story inside! The cover proclaimed.

  Maxwell took a seat on one side of the room and the officers remained standing. “Questions?” he asked.

  “We’ve come to understand that a band mate of yours, Zachary Ross, was just admitted an hour ago. He was found in his apartment downtown by a friend this morning. He’s still in surgery, but we have been informed that his injuries are similar. It doesn’t look good for him,” the older Officer said. “The family has requested that you and the rest of your band stay away from him. They claim that you may have been responsible for providing him with psychedelic drugs that could be responsible.”

  “April was attacked and tortured, I can’t see how drugs could factor in, and if I’m honest, I’m no dealer anyway,” Maxwell said.

  “Zachary’s wounds are worse. It’s early yet, but the doctor has already been able to tell us that most of the injuries were self-inflicted, except for the removal of his tongue.”

  Maxwell lowered his head into his hands, remembering the last conversation he had with Zachary. What made it worse was the nature of the injuries, they all seemed like the kind of work that Panos would do if he were alive. Maxwell knew for certain that the discarded monk had used ceremonies and spells from the book to empower himself in death. It was him, circling, possessing people who were not initiated or guarded. It made sense, Panos tried him first, visiting in the dead of night and trying to pull his amulet off him so he could get in. He failed, then he got into Zachary. “Does it look like Zack attacked April?” Maxwell asked.

  “No, he almost bled out because he cut himself sometime early this morning,” Craig said.

  “Why would you ask that?” his older partner asked.

  “If the two were similar, then,” Max threw up his hands and shook his head. “I don’t know, I’m trying to make sense of all this.”

  “Well, it looks like there is some kind of connection, judging from the wounds, but it’s early yet. Zachary’s condition is much more severe, there was extreme blood loss. Sir, could you stand for us and submit to a search?”

  Maxwell did as instructed as Craig closed the door. “This’ll just take a minute, Max.”

  “Need me to strip?” Maxwell asked.

  “No, that won’t be necessary. I’m Officer Rollins, that is Officer Gibbs,” he said.

  “I have a knife strapped to my calf under my pant leg,” Maxwell said, putting his hands up. “It’s peace-bonded.”

  Officer Rollins tugged his pant leg up and removed the scabbarded blade. He had the peace bonding off and was examining the blade in seconds. “Ever use this?”

  “My father and grandfather used it for hunting a long time ago, but I just strapped it on for the first time a few days ago,” Maxwell said.

  “We’ll keep this so it can be compared to the wounds.”

  “No, you won’t,” Maxwell said. “I’ll have it back once you’re done patting and prodding because I’m not under arrest and there’s no sign it was used on anyone.”

  Officer Rollins put the knife down on the coffee table and began patting Maxwell down. It was the most thorough search he’d ever experienced, and by the end all the things in his pockets was on the table beside the knife. Even a crumpled napkin had been straightened and flattened out then draped like a poor man’s doily over the table edge before he was done.

  “I smell cannabis a little, are you a smoker, Maxwell?” Officer Rollins asked.

  “I only smoke regular cigarettes, Officer,” Maxwell replied.

  “But you don’t have a lighter or cigarettes on you?”

  “I didn’t say I bought them, I just smoke ‘em.”

  “Right, okay, no drugs on you, get your things together and go on your way. You shouldn’t come back to this wing, you should stay away from Mister Ross’ family out of respect for him.”

  Maxwell found it extremely easy to resist the urge to ask what he’d done to deserve the banishment. Even though he didn’t wield the knife that cut Zachary and April, he knew he’d brought the devil that did. The police wouldn’t believe him if he told them both assaults were his fault, but if there was a hole he could have himself dropped into to stop any further damage, he would let them escort him to it. The first thing he picked up was the scabbard and knife, and under the watchful eye of Officer Rollins, he sheathed it then tied the leather strap around the hilt firmly.

  “Zack going to survive?” Maxwell asked.

  “It doesn’t look good.” Officer Rollins said. “Stay away from the family.” He opened the door and led Craig from the room and down the hall.

  Miranda was waiting outside, visibly worried. “All’s well, love,” Maxwell said to her. “They just wanted to pat and poke me a little, make sure I didn’t give Zack something that made him cut himself. He’s here in surgery they tell me.”

  “What happened? Is it bad?” Miranda asked, crossing the room and sitting down beside him on the sofa.

  Maxwell pulled his pant leg up and started tying the scabbard there. “Those two don’t think he’ll make it, the family wants me and mine to stay away, so we’ll have to hope Zack’s too stubborn to die from here.”

  “I’m sorry,” Miranda said.

  “This is happening because Panos followed me back here,” Maxwell whispered. “Anyone close to me is in danger. I think Zack was possessed, he’s not initiated and he doesn’t carry any protection like I do. When Panos attacked, he tried to get my amulet off me after separating us. That’s why his blade didn’t find a softer mark.” He pulled the chain out from his chest so he could find the notch in the silvered steel. “He was trying to cut this off so he could get in.”

  “Okay, so Zachary, but why April?” Miranda asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Maxwell said before taking a moment to think. “It’s known that he wants the Book of Doors, and s
he’s close to Scott, everyone knows the Sands family too. Maybe she’s just too close to it all? Zachary’s wounds are self-inflicted, so Panos could have gotten in and done the work. I’m sure it was him, Purifiers don’t do that anymore, especially not in Sudbury, there are too many people here who know how to catch them and make the bodies disappear.”

  “So Panos went after Zack to get to you?” Miranda asked. “Why? He’s not a practitioner.”

  “But Panos doesn’t know that. He’s a member of my band without protection against possession, so he’s the perfect target. Panos would assume that he knows something, as for April, the police say the timing is wrong for Panos to use Zack to get to April. I don’t think they know enough to be sure about that though.”

  “So you think Panos went after Zack, possessed him, then took April, attacked her, and then returned him home so he could have his way with Zack then? That would leave him without a body.”

  “No,” Maxwell said. “He had weeks to study the Book of Doors. That thing could teach him to do that and more. One of the most dangerous secrets that book breaks is the one about bringing power from the living world into the next as you die. It’s one of the breaches of covenant, a ritual that helps break the division between worlds down. Panos is known for being glory hungry, I know it’s something he’d do. He must have gotten into the secrets of possession too, I’ll have to take another look at the book. I’m going to put initiation off.”