Bran stroked her hair gently, making soothing noises.
‘And now I’ve left Calix when he needs me the most. He’s the only friend I have!’
Bran stiffened slightly. ‘I’m your friend.’ The softness of his voice belied the strong clench of his jaw.
‘And I’m still hiding.’ Kaelia’s eyes blazed. ‘So are you. You even have a motorbike so no-one knows who or what you really are!’
‘People wouldn’t understand.’ Bran’s voice was low. He jerked his head in the direction of a young couple strolling hand in hand to the cafe. ‘Do you think people will let you live if they know what you’re capable of? We can’t show our powers here, it’ll start a war. The human armies against us.’
‘Isn’t that what The Salloki want?’
‘Yes,’ Bran answered honestly. ‘But they’re not ready yet.’
Surprising both of them, Kaelia burst into tears. ‘No, because they want me first!’
Bran gathered her in his arms, shushing her gently. ‘They can’t hurt you, Kaelia, not while I’m here to protect you.’ Over the top of her head a movement in the shrubbery at the edge of the car park caught his attention and Thom drew into view. Bran tightened his hold on Kaelia, pressing her head into his shoulder. Beads of sweat broke a line across his top lip. He swallowed nervously.
‘I don’t want you to protect me.’ Kaelia wriggled out of Bran’s hold. ‘I want to stop being scared and take control!’ She stalked into the service station without looking back.
Bran watched her walk away, making sure she was safely inside before charging to the shrubbery. The Draugr’s foul stench engulfed Bran and he coughed to clear his lungs of the contamination. ‘What do you want, Draugr?’
A cloud of violet smoke engulfed them both as Thom juddered and shook, taking his human form. The long, black ponytail hanging down his back twitched, flicking away the last of his overpowering odour. A tang still lingered on him, although to those unaccustomed with who he was, it would be barely noticeable.
Thom laughed dryly. ‘Why do you always assume I want something? You are making progress with Kaelia, I see. I am faintly impressed, Necromancer.’
Bran looked over his shoulder, checking Kaelia was safely out of sight. ‘I know you’re not here for idle chat, so spit it out.’
Thom picked his teeth and flicked out a globule which had been wedged uncomfortably between the front two. Having human sized teeth was a pain; he really needed to pick out the remains of his last meal before changing into his human form in future. ‘You have interfered once again. Where is Cadence’s spirit?’
Bran laughed. ‘Mighty Draugr, are your powers waning? You should already know.’
Thom grabbed Bran’s neck, squeezing until his nails bit into soft flesh. ‘Do not push your luck.’
Although the Draugr’s appearance was more pleasing than usual, Bran’s senses were finely tuned to the face of evil and the Draugr’s illusion did not mask Thom’s true being from him. With restraint, Bran easily picked Thom’s long fingers from his neck and pushed him aside. ‘It is you who should not push his luck. You have forgotten I am stronger than you.’
Thom’s taunting laughter followed Bran to the service station doors. ‘But you will not be stronger than her. You will never be stronger than her!’
* * *
Back in the woods, protected inside a sphere reaching below the ground to prevent Thom from sneaking up through the earth from his realm, Jade slapped her left arm with her right hand.
‘You can’t keep me inside you for ever!’ Her voice carried an echo.
Jade forced her hands underneath her bottom and determinedly sat on them. ‘It’s not for long, Cadence,’ Jade replied in her normal voice. ‘It’s only until Calix returns with a Rosealrium bloom.’
Jade’s right hand tried to wriggle free and the echoing voice of Cadence took charge. ‘What if I don’t want to wait?’
Jade’s head twitched. ‘Well, Cadence, you have to.’
The echoing voice was petulant. ‘Who died and made you boss?’ The right hand was free.
‘You did.’ Jade forced her left hand to grab the right and struggled to hold it still. ‘Pack it in, Cadence. You’re being an annoying bitch.’
Laughter echoed. ‘I deserve to be. Don’t forget it was you who landed me in this situation in the first place. If you hadn’t made yourself Thom’s blood slave, this never would’ve happened!’
‘I didn’t ask for it!’ Jade replied. ‘I didn’t go out looking for him and throw myself at his feet.’
‘No,’ Cadence’s echo sharpened with sarcasm. ‘You threw yourself on him.’
Jade didn’t miss the insinuation. ‘Ewww, I did not!’
‘You really expect me to believe you?’
The right hand pulled free and slapped Jade’s cheek before Jade regained control. ‘Why would anyone want to do it with a Draugr?’ There was a silence before Jade realised. ‘You had sex with Thom! Oh, Cadence, you’ve really messed up now!’
‘I’m inside you,’ the echoing voice spat, ‘I can see you, Jade. You can’t lie to me. Tell me the truth. You had sex with him too!’
A shiver ran through Jade’s body. ‘I didn’t! I wouldn’t and I can’t believe you did.’
‘You’re really telling me you never considered it when you were under his thrall? You didn’t want to share in his power?’
‘No way.’ The thought sickened Jade. ‘I was his slave not his lover. There was no choice involved.’
Cadence’s voice was silent.
‘You want to be a Draugr!’ Jade’s jaw dropped open.
Cadence’s echo voice was low. ‘I was dead. Thom offered me a chance to live again, to be immortal, so I took it. It doesn’t seem so bad to me.’
‘But you’ll be a Draugr. You’ll be Thom’s wife. You’re twenty years old, how old is he? Hundreds of years!’
‘At least you’d have your body back to yourself and did you miss the part about me becoming immortal?’
‘I don’t care about you becoming immortal. I want you back as you!’
‘What if I don’t want to be me?’ The echo was frustrated. ‘I want to live forever. Who else do you know who can say that? Even Kaelia isn’t immortal. I’ll outlive The Chosen One. I’m glad Thom offered me immortality. He’s cute when he looks all normal and stuff.’
Jade gasped. ‘You don’t mean it.’
‘I do. My human life pretty much sucks at the moment. I’m dead and being held hostage by my best friend. If you let me go,’ Cadence’s echo voice cajoled, ‘we can both leave this stupid wood. We can still be best friends and everything will be back to normal.’
‘Except you’d be a Draugr! You don’t know what you’re saying. Thom has seduced you, his poison has filled you. You’re not thinking straight.’
‘Clarity has not left me,’ Cadence’s voice echoed painfully, causing Jade’s head to pound. ‘Release me!’
‘I’m not releasing you so you can go into your body and chase after Thom.’
The echo was low, menacing. ‘If you don’t release me now, when I do get out, and be in no doubt I will, I’ll destroy you, Jade.’
Jade trembled and wrapped her arms around her chest. ‘I will not release you.’
‘You’re the worst friend ever!’
‘No.’ Jade curled up into a ball, longing for a moment of peace. ‘If I let you go then I’d be the worst friend ever. What I’m doing is for your benefit. You’ll thank me in the end.’
Jade screamed, clamping her hands over her ears as within her, the spirit of Cadence screamed too, clawing furiously at Jade’s mind.
* * *
All four cubicles in the service station toilets were empty and Kaelia stepped into one, locking the door shut. She was grateful for some time alone. She took her rucksack off and hung it on the hook on the back of the door before unbuttoning her coat. Reaching into the bag she pulled out the small book of Vanadis. Kicking the toilet lid down, she sat upon it and opened
the book. Running a light hand across the pages, she willed the apparition of Vanadis to appear.
‘Am I doing the right thing?’ Kaelia asked the book. ‘Can I trust Bran?’
Nothing. Not even a splutter of light appeared from the pages and Kaelia slammed it closed in frustration. She stuffed the book back into her rucksack then used the toilet. ‘What use are you if you don’t answer me when I need you to?’ she asked the book crossly. ‘Is it because you feel you did your part when you saved me from the Drauguri Sea?’
The main door to the toilets opened and Kaelia flushed the toilet, wriggled the straps of the rucksack over her shoulders and hurried to the sink to wash her hands. She kept her head bent, rubbing furiously at her hands. Why did everyone leave in the end? She shook excess water from her hands and shoved them under the dryer, staring angrily at her palms. Life would be much simpler without her powers.
The mirror above the basin Kaelia had used clouded over. Its reflective glass swirled with stormy clouds that parted to reveal a sad face framed with long, plaited hair. Kaelia didn’t stop to check her reflection before turning to leave. In the mirror above the basin, Vanadis faded away to nothing.
* * *
Bran comfortably sat at a table in the restaurant area of the service station by the large windows overlooking the car park, gazing outside. Kaelia purchased a mug of coffee and a toasted bagel from the food counter, watching Bran from the corner of her eye. Although he’d swept it to one side, his raven hair flopped against his forehead. Sunlight whittled the sharp line of his jaw. He had removed his overcoat to reveal a fitted maroon shirt that emphasised the sleek line of his torso. One booted foot rested on the knee of the opposite leg and dark rinse jeans skimmed his long legs. Even though Bran was clearly self-absorbed, Kaelia saw how the eyes of most of the females in the room skirted towards him despite the rough scar slicing across his left eye. The scar, Kaelia thought, added to the mysterious, exotic aura he exuded.
‘I thought you were hungry.’ Kaelia’s plate and mug met the table with a clatter and she blushed as a young couple at the next table glared at her for the interruption. She shoved her rucksack onto one of the two chairs opposite Bran and pulled off her coat, dropping it on top of the bag.
From under the table, Bran kicked the chair out opposite him for Kaelia to sit in.
‘Smooth.’ Her lips twitched.
Bran grinned. ‘I was waiting for you to join me before I ate.’
‘What are you eating, thin air?’ Kaelia hungrily bit into her warm bagel, melted butter oozing down her chin.
Bran clicked his fingers in the air. Immediately, an attractive, blonde-haired, young woman scuttled out from behind the food counter with a tray and brought it to their table.
‘Do you want anything else?’ The young woman fiddled with her hair, coyly eyeing Bran.
Bran dismissed her with a flick of his hand. The woman opened and closed her mouth several times before turning dejectedly on her heel. Kaelia watched her plod back to the counter and force a smile on her face as another customer arrived.
‘You’ve been turning on the charm, I see.’ Kaelia wiped her chin before tasting her coffee. ‘I don’t know why she’s making cow-eyes at you after the way you just treated her.’ Kaelia watched the young woman desperately attempt to look as if she wasn’t at all interested in Bran but fail miserably. ‘If you’d dismissed me like that, I’d have slapped you.’
Bran picked a sausage up from his plate and bit it, chewing slowly. He swallowed the mouthful before replying. ‘That is exactly why I dismissed her. I’m partial to a handful.’ His eyes gravitated to the scoop of Kaelia’s stretchy, long sleeved top.
Kaelia flicked her last piece of bagel at his head, her own eyes falling hungrily on the remaining sausage on Bran’s plate. He pushed it towards her.
‘Go on,’ he said. ‘You have it.’
Kaelia bit it, enjoying the juicy mix of pork and herbs. ‘Look at us, sharing food like we’re normal.’
‘Like a couple you mean?’ Bran supped coffee from his mug.
A commotion at the entrance caught their attention, saving Kaelia from having to answer Bran’s question. At a table by the door, a woman screamed. She was wrenched from her seat, blood spraying from her neck as a deranged man, his eyes shining obsidian gems, plunged jagged teeth into her. The woman’s scream caught in a Mexican wave throughout the restaurant. Metal chair legs scraped against the cheap, linoleum floor as other diners jumped up in terror. Crockery and cutlery sang a fanfare, clattering to the ground. Chairs tumbled over, tripping people as terrified, the people attempted to flee. Screams were deafening, fear clung to the air, as easy to taste as salt-spray caught on a breeze from the ocean. The man beside the injured woman froze in shock. Coffee dripped from the mug he held, staining his trousers.
‘Dybbuk,’ Kaelia whispered, easily seeing the tortured spirit of the human screaming from its body. ‘The crazy man is possessed. They’re here. The Salloki are here.’
Bran sipped his coffee and squinted. ‘Yes, I see the demon. Poor chap - the human. His soul must be in anguish.’
The Dybbuk tore at the woman, wrenching her left arm clean from its socket. The woman screamed, convulsed, then was silent. Dead. The man who had been sitting with her, finally jerked out of his shock and shot from his seat but the Dybbuk caught him, slicing the man’s neck as if it were butter. The man’s eyes widened, he clutched at his neck, blood coursing from between his fingers. Blood bubbled out of his mouth and he too crashed down, dead.
Chaos reigned, people charged back and forth, not knowing where to hide. A gaggle of them reached the main entrance doors and skidded to a halt. One woman slid to the ground, crashing into the oncoming feet of an army of Dybbuks who strode through the doors at the same time. The Dybbuk in front hauled the woman up by her hair, twisting its contorted face into hers. Her screams were like nothing Kaelia had ever heard before as the Dybbuk bit half of the woman’s face off, spitting the bloody, torn flesh to the ground before shoving the woman back into the crowd.
Screams reached fever pitch, the metallic tang of blood hung heavy. Without any further hesitation Kaelia jumped onto the table and held out her hands, summoning her powers.
‘What are you doing?’ Bran hissed. ‘You can’t use your powers in front of all of these people.’
In answer, Kaelia bolted a ball of blue-white light at the nearest Dybbuk, sending it squealing to the linoleum floor. It raised its blood stained face and pointed a long, twisted finger at her. Kaelia shot at it again, holding a pulse of light at its head until it exploded. There were too many Dybbuks to save the possessed humans; too many innocents to protect. Kaelia caught another Dybbuk with her light just before it pounced on a man clutching a young boy.
‘Are you just going to sit there, Bran?’ Kaelia raised her voice above the screams and screeches. ‘There won’t be any people left if we don’t help. We’re the only ones who can save them.’
Kaelia screamed as a Dybbuk possessing the body of a woman with black hair grabbed her leg and pulled her from the table. Its clawed fingers ripped through the denim of her jeans into her thigh. Kaelia’s head cracked painfully against a fallen chair as the Dybbuk hauled her across the blood-wet linoleum. Kaelia kicked out, striking the Dybbuk’s leg with the heavy heel of her boot, kicking and kicking until the bone snapped and the Dybbuk released her. Quickly, Kaelia aimed at the Dybbuk and burned into it with her light, taking the Dybbuk down.
Screams turned to wails of agony as the demons tortured and killed any human within reach. People writhed on the floor in pools of blood, Dybbuks tearing pieces of flesh from them. A remaining group of people, including the young woman from the food counter who was now limping heavily, fled into the car park only to be pounced upon by more Dybbuks.
Kaelia tore through the Dybbuks in the restaurant, taking them down as she passed and blew the battered doors from the hinges. In a flash, she reached the group of people huddled on the car park and threw herse
lf into the fray.
* * *
Fourteen
Back in the restaurant, Bran watched Kaelia through the window. He picked up the leftover piece of sausage and popped it in his mouth. Lifting his overcoat off the chair, he casually shrugged it on. Taking his mug with him, he sauntered across the room to the empty food counter, and helped himself to a coffee refill. Leaning against the counter, he crossed his legs at the ankles and sipped the coffee. A stray Dybbuk, its chin and hands covered in blood jerked towards him and Bran effectively flicked out a ball of violet light, making it burn straight through the creature’s head. He smiled as the Dybbuk crashed lifelessly to the floor.
Bran placed the half full coffee mug on the counter, selected a fresh sausage from the hotplate and chewed it as he picked his way through the carnage. Blood made the floor slippery but Bran was steady on his feet. The woman with half of her face missing reached for his leg as he stepped over her.
‘Help,’ she gargled.
Irritated, Bran shook her off. He extended his hand to her, her blood caked fingers lifted hopefully. Crackles of violet light forked from Bran’s fingers, sparking into the woman’s chest. Bran increased the intensity until the woman drew a sharp breath. Her eyes glazed and her head lolled lifelessly, coming to rest on the raw, sticky side of her face.
‘Now you’re at peace,’ Bran said.
Demonic screeches smothered the whimpering of the remaining humans who clung onto life. Bran, ignoring their pleading, stepped out into the car park. He folded his arms across his chest and watched Kaelia domino knock Dybbuks down. Three people huddled together behind her, including the young woman from the food counter. A child - a boy - clung to the woman, tears streaming over his podgy cheeks, his thumb firmly in his mouth. A man, strikingly attractive and in his mid-twenties had wrapped his arms around both the young woman and the boy. The man was shaking but Bran sensed he was trying to hide it.
Mortiswood: Kaelia Awakening (Mortiswood Tales) Page 22