My Demonic Ghost #3: Hunters and Creators

by Maree, Jacinta

  “R-Rachael…?” He choked on my name. I shivered; I shouldn’t be surprised that he knew me, but just hearing him say my name made me feel sick.

  “Don’t Rachael…” Gargoyle called, “We need him…” I glanced back at Lock, just in time to watch him sink into the darkness and vanish.

  Chapter Eighteen:

  We eventually made it back to the cottage. Our pace slowed because Gargoyle depended on me to carry most of his weight. When we finally arrived, Damage paced and twirled a dagger in her fingers, her hair a sweaty frizz. As soon as she saw us, she dragged Gargoyle into a fierce hug.

  “I was so worried. Let me heal you.” She stepped aside and kissed her palm, but Gargoyle held his hand up to stop her.

  “I’m okay; I’m healing on my own. Damage, the Reapers…they got-”

  “Chaos. I know, I watched it happen,” She turned away sharply and brought her palm to her mouth, physically holding back her despair. “I couldn’t do anything. They were just… everywhere.”

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “Yes it is! Gargoyle, I was there and they took him right out of my hands.” She cried out. I stumbled in exhausted and sat on the edge on the desk on my own. Gargoyle and Damage faced each other beside the couch, Gargoyle kept his hands on Damage’s shoulders to console his upset sister. Even crying she seemed to radiate beauty.

  “How are we going to save him? They are going to torture him till he snaps!” She whimpered.

  “No they won’t, because we have something that they want.”

  Damage scrunched her face in both disapproval and pain, “I love Chaos, but we can’t give them the Creator.”

  Gargoyle exhaled slowly, steading his breaths. “Rachael come here for a moment…”

  I slowly slid off the desk and approached them. Damage peered over, her golden eyes awash with tears that sat trapped in her long lashes. Gargoyle reached over and clasped his hand around something invisible by my neck. With a careless tug, smoky chains appeared shimmering in his grip. He tugged hard enough that the Banished Lock stumbled out of my shadow and sprawled across the floor. He was still writhing in pain. I yelped in surprise. So, I hadn’t imagined it. The demon was hiding in my shadow. I turned around trying to find the hidden trap door he must have used. Damage’s slacked muscles suddenly flexed with rage. Gargoyle held his hands out to stop her from stomping on the downed spirit. I quickly shuffled out of her way in case he failed to restrain her.

  “You brought him back here?” Her voice rung in disbelief.

  “We can trade him.”

  “He’s the worst one! We can’t give him back, he must be destroyed. What are you thinking? Letting him attach to Rachael out of all people! And with Chō so close?”

  “He’s weak! We can control him so he won’t corrupt her. Listen, I don’t want him attached to Rachael any more than you do. But they have Chaos.” Lock groaned again and rolled over onto his side, his eyes squinted shut.

  “But Gargoyle!”

  “Please, Damage; they will not have mercy on him otherwise…”

  Damage looked deep into Gargoyle’s gaze and her lower lip trembled, “Okay, okay fine! The moment he’s useless to us I will personally haul him into the inferno.” She whipped her fiery glare at me, “If I get even the tiniest inclination that you’re helping them.”

  “What?” I stumbled back, “I wanted to destroy him, too. I’m on your side.”

  “You better not betray us,” She warned and Gargoyle growled at her.

  “Hey, she hasn’t done anything wrong.”

  “I’m not going to betray you Damage” I reassured honestly.

  “We’ll see…” She hissed and disappeared out the window in an impatient huff.

  “Damage? Damage, don’t go!” Gargoyle chased after her, but stopped upon reaching the door’s threshold. He turned back, gripping his hair in frustration. I, on the other hand couldn’t tear my eyes off of the demon slumped on his side in the middle of the lounge. Even the lights seemed to struggle to glow in his presence, the air was colder and shadows collected by his form as if he were a magnet.

  “This is bad.” Gargoyle started to pace, his mind confused by the many problems they all faced.

  “What should we do?” I mumbled.

  “There are a thousand things we have to do. I have to get Chaos back from the Reapers. I have to stop the demons from rising to the surface and return Chō to the spirit realm before it starts to destroy this world. I have a war to stop. This is just too unbelievable that Miira would do this. That she allowed them to ambush us.” Gargoyle turned towards the door and started to rush out when I called out to him desperately.

  “No, no please don’t leave me here with him.”

  “I can’t stay. Don’t you understand what’s going to happen?” He retorted, frustrated.

  But, I’m scared Gargoyle! The thought of being utterly defenceless while in the presence of this demon overwhelmed me. Gargoyle hesitated by the doorframe, turning a hopeless gaze back in my direction. I shook my head as the tears swelled, “I’m sorry, but I’m scared.”

  “I’m sorry… I won’t be long. I promise he won’t hurt you. Just to be safe, you better stay away from the town.” Gargoyle disappeared into the wilderness outside and I leaned back against the table. In Gargoyle’s absence, the room got darker, the light bulb above Lock’s body flickered in its struggle before burning out.

  I glanced up as more lights blinked off slowly, one by one. I returned my gaze to Lock, who appeared to be asleep in the middle of the carpet. My mouth was painfully dry and my nerves overtook my body. I was too scared to move, knowing there was a chain that leashed him to me. I was fearful it would jostle him awake if I stepped to the side, it was a sickening thought that a Banished had a hold on me at all times. That there was no way for me to outrun him or try to slip away undetected. Soon all the blubs went out and the only source of light came from the kitchen. It overspilled into the lounge, not reaching much beyond the kitchen entryway. Was it even possible? It was like the shadows were purposely pushing the light back, as if they had created some sort of wall where light couldn’t penetrate.

  I watched him sleep, studying his face with fierce attention. He didn’t look as frightening with his eyes closed, his lower lip stiff and his brows furrowed in pain. He kept his hand on his chest where the wound still bled. The cut must have been very deep; and now that I was looking into the face of a boy, I felt guilt twist at me. I started to doubt myself. Was this really the same demon from my nightmares? The person from last night who blanketed himself in twisting shadows was not the same boy who lay here now, exposed and broken on the carpet. Similar to that Hunter, I started to get the sense of familiarity. I couldn’t figure out why I recognised him.

  “It’s rude to stare…” Lock’s voice crackled like embers spitting out of a bed of fire. His whispered words were a loud against the unyielding silence.

  I stiffened and pressed myself further away from him. His eyes were open, a green blaze that pierced the dim light and crawled all over me. It didn’t look like just his irises were green; it was like the colour was washed over the white bits too. He was the same demon. I recognised the feeling of suffocation and chilling fear. His eyes struggled to stay open, so he watched me through the rim of his lashes, squinting through the pain that anchored him to the ground. For a long time he just lay there, staring at me - as still as the carpet he rested upon. He looked up at me, his hair messily swept out of his face as if he had just as a shower.

  “I can’t believe you stabbed me.” He spoke again, calmly.

  I spun away from him as if he was rabid. I didn’t know what to say; of course I defended myself. “You gave me no choice.” I grumbled.

  He smiled, his demon eyes seeming to brighten. Without breaking his stare he continued, “Do you know who I am?”

  “Yes, they call you Lock” He raised his brows questioningly, almost as if he was waiting for the words to connect inside my head. My lack of
reaction caused him to exhale, annoyed.

  “I don’t go by that name. Tsk!” Wincing sharply, he added, “I can’t get up…” He pointed at his chest weakly, “The blade is poisoned. Guess I know now how the Sins felt. Can you help me?” He was incredibly weak. He could barely lift his chin up to talk properly.

  I shook my head with a stern frown, “It’ll be wiser if you remain exactly where you are and away from me.”

  “Rach… You don’t have to pretend now. We’re alone,” He rolled his eyes like I was being irrational.

  “Don’t say my name; we may be alone, but don’t forget I’m the one who took you down.” He smiled gently and chuckled; his eyes roaming my face, like he was trying to speak to an uncomprehending child. He groaned and his chest convulsed.

  He glanced down and warily prodded around the wound, “I figured you’ll stab me in the heart sooner or later.”

  For a demon, he appeared to be quite gentle. “You’re… not what I was expecting.” I tilted my head to study him, “You don’t look any different from an ordinary boy.”

  “Except for the glowing eyes and my devilish charm right?”

  “You’re definitely as arrogant as a teenage boy.”

  His face relaxed as he sighed, twisting his lips into a dimpled sloppy smile, “I really missed you.”

  I pulled my face back, “You miss tormenting me, you mean?”

  “I kept my distance the best I could. Unless you’re talking about that James guy? You can do better than him. I was doing you a favour.” He scoffed back hotly, sneering every time he uttered James’s name.

  “That has nothing to do with you! You know what; I’m done talking.” I turned my back and marched down the hall to my room. After I shut the door behind me I turned to find Lock was on my bed, bending over to keep his hand securely on his stomach.

  “You can’t run from me….” In his palm, he jostled the silvery shackles that linked him to my neck, “I can heal a lot faster if you just let me attach the others.”

  I tried to snatch the collar, but I was merely grasping smoke, “I’m not your toy that you can just chain up.” I growled, as Lock laughed unkindly. His lips curled like something rotten curdled inside him. “Get out.” I snapped with more authority.

  “You’re sounding more and more like your dad.” He was speaking to me with a snide laugh, belittling my confidence breath by breath.

  My dad? No, don’t listen to it. It’s trying to manipulate you! “You’re not some great demon; you’re just some boy.”

  “I’m not just a boy. You must remember me, even if it’s just a little bit?” He said. I did remember, I remembered nightmares.

  “I don’t remember anything.” I replied instead. I would not allow him the satisfaction of scaring me. Lunging abruptly, he charged at me through a swell of ash and knocked me against the door, pinning my shoulders down with his arms. The door slammed shut against its frame and shuddered with his weight and pressure. His minty eyes scolded me, his nose mere inches from mine, and heat started to rise from my neck. His deathly glare pierced mine with an unkind smirk, like my words were thorns I had shoved through his heart.

  He then hissed chillingly calm, “I don’t believe you,” before disappearing.

  Chapter Nineteen:

  I didn’t know if Gargoyle had returned or not that night. If he did he snuck in silently and remained hidden. When exhaustion finally won the battle over my body, and I felt comfortable enough that Lock wasn’t going to harm me, I finally fell asleep. I shouldn’t have been surprised to see that my old nightmares replayed themselves, but this one was different. This dream felt real. Sometimes you can just tell that you are in a dream by the sense weightlessness. There’s nothing physically holding you down, there’s no restriction in your chest when you breathe and you can’t feel your feet touch ground when you walk. It’s a trick of the mind when really everything is built out of air. But in this dream I felt everything. Every uncomfortable tickle, every breath and brush of tile against my fingertips. I had convinced myself that this was my reality, standing alone at the train station, waiting for my train on an empty platform.

  The lights overhead were annoyingly bright; so much so they cast a white fog around the entire station. It was eerily quiet as I stood in the middle of the platform, my arms crossed and my head turned towards the dark tunnel opening on the other side. As time ticked on, the temperature dropped dramatically. I wrapped my arms around my midsection and curled my fingers into fists. My shoulders started to tremble and my bones ached. The chilly air created frost against the white tile walls. The frigid air caused the generator to fail and the lights started to flicker. They struggled for a moment then stopped blinking. I glanced up to where one of the lights at the far end had blinked off. The shadows created underneath the dead blub started to burgeon with life.

  I took a step back as the light next to it turned off, and then the one next to that also switched off. The shadows pooling together shifted upwards, forming the body of a man with green eyes. It was Lock; I knew it, even with his face completely masked in darkness. He stood at the end of the platform, bearing his sharp white teeth and glowing green eyes. Then he ran at me.

  He charged forward, blowing the lights out as he passed underneath them, their brittle glass bodies cracking and exploding with sharp pops. Panic hit me hard and fast, forcing my legs to stumble backwards, but I was no match against his incredible speed. He was a tidal wave of darkness and I had nowhere to go but backwards. I bolted as the shadows reached my ankles. Where there was once a door at the end of the platform was now just a sealed wall and I hit my palms against it, trying to find the exit. I turned around and pressed myself away as the last light remained on above my head. Darkness flooded the area, basking it underneath a heavy blanket of dark smoke. The light above me struggled, its faint warmth choking on the cold. Lock was right there, standing within reach, where the shadow met light.

  “What do you want with me?” I demanded, but he didn’t reply. He breathed heavily in anticipation. “What do you want? Why won’t you just leave me alone?” I repeated, but still no reply.

  The words that haunted my subconscious sprung up from the back of my head, the green-eyed monster is following you. The green-eyed monster is thinking of killing you. The green-eyed monster wants you all to himself…

  “Do you… do you really think of killing me?” I gulped.

  His eyes smiled, “Every moment of every day, I think of killing you.” Chills pinched the back of my neck, his voice horrendous. It was an unnatural mixture of boy and monster, an undertone of demonic possession.

  “Why?”

  “So I can have you all to myself.”

  “Why? Why do you want me?”

  He didn’t say anything for a long time, only stood there within an inch from reaching out to touch me. The light faded faster and faster, there wasn’t much time.

  “Tell me why?” I pleaded when the light buckled underneath and snapped shut.

  ***

  I jolted upwards. The world spun and I clutched my chest, able to finally feel the difference between my dream reality and now. The room was silent and bare, the morning sunshine overspilling from the window. I got up and searched the house for Gargoyle, but he was nowhere to be found. Not even the Banished spirit, Lock, seemed to be here; though he was the last person on earth I wanted to see. I rubbed my stomach as it clenched for food. I hadn’t eaten since yesterday lunch and the cottage was left unbearably empty, considering the Hunters didn’t need nourishment. We had only gotten enough to sustain me for the week.

  But Gargoyle had said not to go into town; I drummed my fingertips against my chin. Well, I can’t very well starve.

  By the time I hit the main market within the centre of Whitehaven I had fished into my pockets only to remember I had left everything I owned back at the house. I didn’t have a single cent on me and I felt too prideful to beg people for the scraps they couldn’t finish. I even contemplated stealing a chocol
ate bar from the convenience store, but my better judgement wouldn’t let me stoop so low.

  So, I ended up walking the streets with a graunchy stomach, trying to waste time till Gargoyle came back. I walked back past the old high school where we had planned our midnight meeting with Miira. There was police tape around the perimeter and scorch marks painted the entire building. The earth had erupted, the rocks unbalancing the school walls where it split in two. I hadn’t noticed before how much damage had occurred. I lingered for a moment to watch. The local news reporter stood with her back to me, mic in hand and her blonde hair tucked back behind her ear. She was talking into a camera that faced the main body of the destroyed building. I left when the crowd started to grow. I also noticed Chō’s absence. He must’ve run off after the commotion. Not really knowing my way around, I went back to the only place that seemed familiar to me, back to my Uncle’s old home. The leaves crunched beneath my shoes as I stepped onto the driveway and took a deep breath. Maybe Chō will be here-?

  “Where are you going?” A voice suddenly barked at me. I stumbled onto my back foot, disoriented, before catching Lock’s gaze poking through the gaps in the trees. He leaned with his back curved against the truck, arms firmly crossed and his body carefully covered underneath the shadows.

  “I’m just… nowhere, I’m just wandering.” I replied defensively.

  “Wander somewhere else then.”

  “Why? I’m not doing anything wrong.”

  “There’s nothing for you here.” He stepped around the tree trunk to confront me. His body fully healed now, the black veins that marred his skin now gone, leaving him unmarked. If I hadn’t just seen him thrashing in a pit of darkness, I wouldn’t have thought he was a demon. They are creatures of temptation and corruption; I guess it made sense to have them appear alluring to others.

  I tightened my frown, “You’re not the boss of me. Chains or no chains, I can walk anywhere I want!” I attempted to step around him, but he quickly blocked me. I tried again only to have him step in front of me again, his broad chest creating a barrier.