My Demonic Ghost #3: Hunters and Creators

by Maree, Jacinta

  “That’s right, only other Hunters can get in.” Chaos then added.

  “I’ve done it before. Similar to when Reapers teleport, you create a type of scar behind you that leaves a two second window of opportunity to follow. You jump to Heaven; we’ll follow through the scar.”

  “That could work.” Chaos mumbled, “But would everyone be able to follow in those two seconds?”

  “We’ll hold onto each other and tear the scar open a little wider, we all should fit then.”

  Evan carefully stood up and said, “I want to join you.”

  “Evan you’ve done enough. Just rest here with Teresa.” Jordon replied.

  “You’ll be a liability if you come.” Gargoyle added. I looked over Evan’s pain filled face and saw fierce determination rise up through him.

  “Just us four will go. Chaos can get us there. Gargoyle, you should know your way through the halls and Mother…”

  “Stop it! Stop calling her that!” Evan suddenly snapped, “I know she’s Rachael, stop calling her Mother!” then punched Jordon squarely in the jaw knocking him backwards. Raix pounced from his hiding place and bared his teeth. “We’re going to fix her. Miira can undo this; we are going to fix Rachael first...”

  Jordon pursed his lips, “You know…?”

  “Of course I know. You really think you could hide something like this from me?”

  Jordon grimaced, “I’m sorry that I tried to keep this from you, but I still don’t think you should come with us for many reasons. Mainly because Nathan will be there.”

  Evan’s eyes narrowed for a moment. “I’m not a kid anymore…If he comes at me I can defend myself.”

  Jordon nodded, “Stubborn as always. Okay, fine. I’ll make sure he won’t do anything. Elliot, Teresa, you mind things down here. If anything goes wrong, Chaos will come back and lure the rest of the Sins and demons up to the heavens.”

  They both nodded and Elliot crossed to Teresa, peeled back her torn sleeve and inspected her wound. Jordon held his hand out to me. Reluctantly, I took it. Gargoyle and Chaos followed suit. Finally, Evan reached out and slipped his fingers into my palm. In that moment I felt like a true monster. My hands were twice the size of theirs; I could easily crush them if I squeezed too tightly. At the same time, I was aware of the repulsive odour that leeched from my hair and that my skin must’ve felt like oily hide. I prayed with everything in me that the Blue Spirit destroyed me before I became this creature forever. The very idea that everyone found me repulsive broke my heart. Chaos split open a teleportation hole and we all crammed into it, taking the final leap towards Heaven’s doors.

  Chapter Fifty:

  The moment we stepped out onto the other side we were greeted by clear blue skies, and still crystal waters surrounded by cascades of uninhabited forests. The entire place seemed to sit upon a cliff’s edge, the thundering water plummeted into the clouds below. As a Queen gives herself a castle, Miira had ensured her lifestyle met the finest standards of true nobility. I had to take a moment to step back and really appreciate the impossible beauty and perfection of this place. The clouds that lazily meandered across the blue skies blended beautifully with the white foam collecting at the shore. The green foliage was flawless, sending a chilled calm through my entire body. Aside from the rumbling of the waterfall, it was peacefully quiet. I could not believe that Miira, after being threatened with assassination, would leave herself completely unprotected. Our suspicions peaked. The focal point of the realm was the mansion, where we waited outside a set of large golden doors that lead to the main entrance of the estate.

  Chaos looked over apologetically, “I can’t get any closer. She’s even created barricades for the Hunters.” Obviously, her trust in her army was being tested, or she believed Chaos would betray her. I glanced down at my palms; I still had two Sins with me, which should be enough to take on Miira and whatever army of Hunters she had sitting at her heels.

  Chaos opened the door first and led the way in, closely followed by Gargoyle, Jordon, Evan and lastly me. I couldn’t bear to look in Evan’s direction, and I had a sickly feeling he couldn’t stand the sight of me either. The interior was not as I’d expected. The lights were dimmed, the beautiful polished golden surfaces seemed tarnished and scratched. It was silent, except for the swooshing of a draft moving through the hallways and stairs. There was no warmth here, no signs of life. Jordon, Chaos and Evan snuck in as quietly as possible, their heads tilted up scanning the high windows for any signs of moment. Gargoyle lingered with me by the doorstep.

  “Rachael…” He whispered before indicating to the side with his head. I slithered over, but kept my distance. I didn’t want him smelling the stink on me. “I don’t know really what to say to make things better. I mean, I can’t believe that she is actually you now or that you are her… I can only imagine what you must be going through.”

  I lowered my head before dipping my hand into my hair. I’m okay.

  “No, no, you’re not okay. What Evan said to you was true; we’re going to get you out of that body one way or another.”

  The idea I didn’t want to consider popped into mind, so I dipped my fingers into my hair. It was easier to write it than say it aloud. What if you can’t?

  Gargoyle swallowed gently, even though the banishment marking his face in coal and his eyes a fierce, I could see the gentle side of him. He took a cautious step forward and I leaned back. “Then I will stay with you…”

  His answer surprised me. Gargoyle was willing to stay with me even when I was this repulsive creature? I didn’t know how to respond, and for a brief moment all I could do was stand there bewildered. Almost like he could sense my shock, Gargoyle lowered his head and gently chuckled. “You were the first person to accept me for me. I didn’t have to prove myself to get your affection or your kindness, you still accepted me. The very least I can do is return the favour.”

  You don’t have to…

  He drew his lower lip into his mouth nervously, his voice barely a perceptible rasp, “I know what it’s like to be an outcast. You will never be alone.”

  I held my hand to my mouth. I didn’t know what to say to him. I didn’t have to the heart to tell him that the Blue Spirit was going to destroy me. I feared that he would try to talk me out of it; that living the rest of eternity as Mother wasn’t going to be that bad. I was thankful for the weeping hair for it covered my real tears.

  Thank you…

  Gargoyle nodded before he joined the others. They ventured up the twin staircases to explore the mansion. There was hall after hall, all of them identical and all of them washed in some sort of dreary must often found in abandoned houses. Jordon must’ve glanced back for a moment; he pulled on Chaos’ sleeve alarmed. We all turned around to notice the room was filling in behind us, becoming drenched in a flooding, moving darkness; that an eerie and sickening presence covered the floors we just passed. I would have panicked too, until I realised that I was, unknowingly, the one causing the change. It seemed that my presence in Heaven acted like an infection, my touch turned gold to rot. I looked back bashfully, when all of a sudden, a low rumble echoed through the walls.

  “Guess we’re not exactly welcomed here anymore” Gargoyle joked under his breath before he indicated to continue walking.

  Chapter Fifty-One:

  We walked for a while through halls that appeared identical in every aspect; the others were easily ten steps ahead of me for I elected to stay at the back. There was no way Miira was going to help me, the further I walked into the halls the more apparent it became. Why should she help me when I came as her executioner? We exited a set of doors no different to the rest, when a sudden force scooped me up from below. As fast as the ground disappeared beneath me, I was slammed against the back wall. The entity so strong that I was held suspended above the ground, my tail and arms all locked against the walls like a butterfly with a pin in my centre. Even with my newfound strength, I couldn’t manage to move a single muscle, which meant there was
definitely no chance of me raising a mask to my face.

  “Rachael?” Jordon called out just and a voice pulled them back. Damage stood at the end of the hall, her arms crossed and her eyes as sharp as claws.

  “Nice to see you again, brother.” She hissed towards Gargoyle. Beside her Nathan appeared, both of them wearing the identical uniform white cloak with a blue X marked through it.

  “There is a black sheep in every family,” Nathan tilted his head, wearing a menacing grin. “Clever move, demons… I thought our Royal had destroyed the beast, but no matter.” He motioned towards me with a careless shrug, “You never should have brought it here. Mother’s strength and darkness is at its weakest within our Royal’s presence. We knew you’d fight dirty, so we brought back up.” He motioned behind him to a Creator frog that waited on the doorknob, its blue coat and matching dark eyes focused on me.

  “Our Royal? I never saw you as a religious man.” Jordon mocked.

  “You never knew anything about me. You were always too busy being perfect; too busy ensuring you were always the favourite son. Did you know what our caring father would say to me? He would say, ‘I wish you were never born, Nathan, you were a mistake to bring into this family. If only you would be more like your brother, if only you were worth something.’ Tsk!” He snorted and walked forward, opening his arms. “You were lucky, Evan, at least he only saw you as a house pet and not as a real son to belittle.”

  Evan clenched his teeth and I hissed angrily.

  “Don’t do this Damage…” Chaos pled. “Do you remember how Miira betrayed us? How she tried to get us killed?”

  “She never wanted us to die.” Damage calmly explained.

  “Did she tell you that?”

  “Enough…” Jordon interfered, “We don’t have to do this. Nathan, Damage, we’re not your enemy. We’re your family, whatever unresolved issues you have with us isn’t worth being destroyed over. Please, brother…” Jordon opened up his palms, stepping forward. “We can work through this…”

  Nathan lashed outwards, summoning up a thin whip of golden energy that caught Jordon across his torso. Immediately, Raix leapt from the shadows barking and howling, snapping his jaws. Evan attempted to run forward as well, but Jordon held his hand out to both of them.

  “No, I’ll deal with him alone.” He dabbed sourly across the wound and lifted up his fingertips smeared with blood, "This is your last chance, Nathan.”

  Nathan curled his finger forward, beckoning him. Bright white flashes explosively mixed with the darkness. Colours and smoke intertwined like two plastic bags caught in the same updraft, whirling around each other colliding intermittently. The brawl moved into the centre hallway, the sound of punches thrown and grunts of pain echoing down the corridors. Raix paced uneasily behind them, his eyes dilated in feverish excitement, eager to join the battle. Evan strung as tight as a guitar string; his entire body taut with anxiety. Eventually, Jordon managed to pin Nathan underneath him and put his head into a headlock. Nathan, flailed, unable to wriggle free.

  “It’s over, Nathan! Stop trying to make me your enemy. Everything that happened in your life is because of your actions and choices. I never took anything away from you. You are my brother; and I know we never saw eye to eye, but I never wanted to harm you.”

  “I… urgh…” Nathan choked, “I guess… you’re still better than I am.”

  From behind us, Raix yelped painfully. Jordon turned his head, just in time to see the Banished spirit Betrayal lasso a long, electronic leash around Raix’s throat. She heaved the leash forward, strangling Raix. He wheezed and collapsed. With Raix down, Jordon’s body weakened enough that Nathan was able to elbow himself free.

  “B-Betrayal?” Evan stuttered while Gargoyle shook his head.

  “Impossible… we destroyed her…”

  “Not exactly…” Nathan laughed as he stumbled to his feet. With a swift kick to the chin, Jordon’s neck snapped in the other direction and dropped to the floor. The Reaper groaned and rolled onto his back. “You see, when you failed to keep your promise, brother, I gave the Banished exactly what she wanted. Freedom. Protection. I even gave her back her beauty …” Nathan ran his tongue along his busted lip that was healing rapidly. I wrestled in my constraints against the wall, but it was no use - I was completely pinned. Betrayal secured the leash around her wrist, but didn’t raise her head to look at either of them. As if ashamed, she kept her head bowed and her gaze lowered.

  “Be-Betrayal?” Jordon groaned, “Don’t… do this.”

  She trembled as she spoke, “You can’t win, Wolf Reaper, I’m sorry, but I had no other choice. I was nearly destroyed-”

  “Yes, yes!” Nathan comforted as he stepped around Jordon’s body, “She made the wise choice of standing by Miira’s side. And, like all great rulers, Miira has shown her mercy as much as she’s shown her wrath.”

  Gargoyle and Chaos charged at the Banished spirit, but Damage was quick to knock them down. I thrashed again; and found I was finally able to wiggle it a centimetre away from the wall. Damage stormed forward revealing the twin blades in her hands, while both Chaos and Gargoyle sprung to their feet.

  “It’s not too late to join us.” Damage offered.

  “There was a time…” Gargoyle brushed down his top, fixed his collar before running his hand through his black hair, “When all I could think about, or cared about, was Miira’s opinion of me. I thought that I needed to be the best Hunter there was, to prove to everyone that I was worthy of the title. But my eyes have been opened, Damage. We are not great warriors, but mere pawns at her disposal.”

  “Is that the Banished part of you speaking?” Damage frowned, “Look at you. Look at what you’ve become! How much more can you disgrace yourself?”

  “I may be Banished, but I am not a disgrace. I am still me. But this isn’t you, Delilah. I will not fight you.” Gargoyle held his hands up in peace. Damage clenched her teeth firmly.

  Chaos then snorted, “If you won’t fight her then I will!” He jumped forward and swung a sword fashioned out of magic at Damage’s torso. She avoided it by a mere inch. They only managed to strike at each other once, before Gargoyle threw himself in the middle, forcing them to separate.

  “Chaos, stop it! This is Damage! She is one of us!”

  “Get out of the way, Gargoyle; she doesn’t care about us anymore!”

  Damage growled as she tightened her grip on the blade, “My brother is dead. You’re just a mockery of everything great about him.”

  She raised her arms above her head to strike Gargoyle, but just as she swung downwards, Chaos shoved Gargoyle out of the way and was beneath her blade. The blow was so loud that the echoes resounded up and down the halls in a deafening roar. Everyone froze when Chaos’s body hit the ground.

  Nathan laughed so hard that he struggled to breath. “Well done Damage, you’ve proven yourself to be quite the Hunter.”

  Damage’s arms shook and she stumbled backwards, unable to comprehend what she had just done. Gargoyle picked Chaos up, but his head rolled limply to the side.

  “This is just too easy…” Nathan stepped over Jordon’s body, drawing a blade from his pocket that he twisted around in his palm, “If only father could see us now. Me, the unwanted son, just bested the golden child…”

  A whistling disc slammed into Nathan’s side, knocking him away from Jordon and he caught himself on the wall. I looked down at where Evan stood, enraged, fists bunched and his shoulders heaving with power. “Evan? Oh, of course, ha ha ha Evan, Evan, Evan!” Nathan started singing from the other side of the hall. “Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about you little brother.” I felt Nathan’s cold sadistic gaze fall upon Evan. I struggled against my restraints. With this body I could stop him. I knew I could stop him, if only I could convince the Creator to let me go.

  “That’s enough, Nathan!” Evan barked.

  “Oh, is that so?”

  “Don’t… leave him alone!” Jordon pled; Betrayal looked over st
artled. He caught her gaze, “Please, Betrayal?”

  “Don’t bother asking her for help. Betrayal is connected to me; whatever happens to me, happens to her. So, it’s in your best interest that you obey.” Nathan snarled wickedly.

  I saw Evan’s body tremble as he took a deep breath, “All I ever heard from you are complaints about how bad your life was. How Jordon made you feel like dirt! He has been nothing short of a supportive brother to the both of us; the problem you have is with yourself, not him. You’re not the victim here!”

  Gargoyle went to jump up to Evan’s aid, but Evan held his arm out to stop him. Nathan noticed the noble gesture and only laughed harder. “This is becoming more and more interesting. And what are you going to do? Hmm? I have always been bigger than you, Evan. I will always be stronger and there is nothing you can do to stop me!”

  “All you ever did was make me miserable in a pathetic attempt to make yourself feel worth something,” Evan’s demeanour was…different. I saw it in the way he carried himself, how his spine seemed to straighten and he held his chin higher. Nathan, obviously noting the body language, only quickened his steps.

  Evan continued on, his voice growing louder with his burgeoning courage and confidence, “I used to be like you. I blamed others for all the things that happened to me. I blamed mum and dad for their abandonment; I blamed you for making me miserable, and my teachers for never caring that I was struggling. But, looking at you now has taught me one thing. You taught me what I am not. I’m not scared of you anymore; you can hit me and hurt me, but you will never break me. I am stronger than you now because, at the end of the day, you’ll always feel worthless. You’ll never get your credibility because you can only get it from yourself. I am worthy. I am strong. I am better than what you say I am!”

  “Shut up!” Nathan bellowed and sprinted headlong at him. Evan raised his arms back, his face scrunched in rage. I couldn’t stand to watch. Evan took every one of his blows without cowering. Above the loud punches, Jordon could be heard pleading with Betrayal, begging her to let Raix go. She covered her eyes, unable to watch.