Heaven Sent

by E. Van Lowe

  Organ music began to play, piped in through speakers throughout the chapel. It wasn’t the wedding march. The music crackled with discord, like something out of a horror movie. While this excited the crowd even more, I was feeling just the opposite, knowing the show was about to begin.

  “Coming through, members of the wedding party,” Maudrina announced, raising her voice. She grabbed me by the wrist and began pulling me through the crowd. We stepped on toes and elbowed people in their ribs. My ankle continued to throb as we slashed our way forward. “Wedding party, coming through,” Maudrina announced again and again as she shoved her way to the front. Reluctantly, the crowd gave way.

  I again realized how lucky I was to have Maudrina by my side. There was no way I could have gotten this far without her.

  The discordant song came to an end. A reverent hush replaced the excited murmurs. The air was flush with anticipation.

  As we pushed our way forward, the altar came into view. It was made of a highly polished wood, like mahogany. Demonic drawings were carved into its sides and up the walls to its rear. Erin stood before the altar, straddling a pentagram that had been expertly painted onto the floor. She was wearing the robe we had helped her into and was now wide awake.

  She wasn’t saying anything, but she was eyeing the crowd with fright in her eyes. She had every reason to be afraid. She was being held against her will by two giant bruisers with thigh-sized biceps. The bruisers gripped each of her arms, pinning her to the spot. She squirmed in their grasp, but there was no escaping them.

  Danny stood before Erin facing the crowd. He was wearing a black robe with bright red piping. The hood was down, draped over his shoulders. He was holding the butt of a golden dagger in both his hands, the slightly curved tip pointing toward the floor. His eyes were shut as if in prayer. Then suddenly they shot open, and in them I saw madness.

  “My dear followers, the time for darkness is once again upon us,” he announced.

  An exalted cheer rose from the crowd.

  “Quiet!” he commanded, and they quieted.

  I gazed into the frenzied faces around me and realized these people wanted blood. Either give them Satan, or give them blood, nothing else would do. For a moment I allowed my thoughts to wander back to when Erin and I were little girls. Smart girls rule. Neither of us seemed so smart right now, did we?

  “He’s going to kill her,” Maudrina whispered.

  “Danny!” we heard Erin whine. “Danny, what’s going on here?”

  Danny’s back was to her. He didn’t turn to acknowledge her. Instead, he smiled at the crowd and winked. Once again the frenzied Satanists erupted into loud cheers, and once again he silenced them with a single word. “Quiet!”

  It was then I noticed a black lacquer casket to the left of the altar, illuminated by many candles. After silencing the crowd, Danny faced the casket. “The year is one,” Danny murmured. “Rise, oh, Satan. Rise.”

  The crowd took up the chant: “Rise, oh, Satan. Rise… Rise, oh, Satan. Rise.”

  I glanced into the face of a woman nearby. Her lips were moist, and she appeared hungry, like a wolf waiting to devour its prey.

  “How long before they give up this chanting and sacrifice her?” Maudrina asked.

  I didn’t answer. I was too busy conjuring up a belly full of anger.

  I could tell by the freaked out look in Maudrina’s eyes she realized that I was about to use my abilities, and was well aware of the possible consequences.

  “We don’t have to do this,” she whispered urgently. “We can sneak out of here and come back with the police,” she said, making a final, futile appeal. Then her eyes moved to Danny on the altar, with the golden dagger clutched in his hand, and a resigned look came over her. “You’re right. We’d never make it back in time,” she said, her voice cracking. She gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

  “Rise, oh, Satan. Rise! Rise, and claim your bride,” Danny called with all the flair of a storefront preacher.

  The wind came in from the rear. It ripped open the chapel doors, slamming them against the walls. The crash of the doors echoed throughout the chapel as the wind shot through the crowd. It was a steady wind that made a frightening sound. The wind reached the front and knocked out all the candles, bathing the chapel in near darkness.

  “He’s here!” someone shouted. “Satan is among us.”

  We were consumed by shadow as the wind hit the wall behind the altar. When it did, it changed course and began blowing back into us, head-on, knocking over candelabras and throwing people to the floor as if they were plastic toys.

  “Get her!” I whispered loudly. Maudrina started for the front, fighting against the wind, moving toward the altar like a mime in fake slow motion. Something in my consciousness shifted, and Maudrina was no longer fighting the wind. It was as if a bubble had formed around her. She moved easily to the front and began helping a frightened Erin off the floor.

  “They’re getting away!” someone called loudly.

  They were both inside the bubble now, and began moving back through the crowd toward the rear. One of the bruisers appeared in their path. He reached for them, and as he did, the wind yanked him up from the floor and tossed him across the room like a paper cup in a windstorm. He went crashing into the wall then, crumpled to the floor where he lay motionless. The other bruiser must have gotten the message, he was nowhere in sight.

  The over head lights came on.

  With the room bathed in light, I observed total chaos. Satanists were scrambling for their lives. Danny was on his knees on the chapel floor before the altar, his hands covering his head. The golden dagger lay discarded a few feet from his trembling body. He appeared every bit the coward I knew he was.

  Maudrina and Erin made their way to the chapel entrance with little resistance. The Satanists were too busy trying to save their own skins. After the girls had left the chapel and cleared the anteroom, the wind slowly died, like a campfire consuming its last twigs, then stopped. The chapel became eerily silent, and I thought of how it must be in a Midwestern town minutes after a tornado had departed. It was so quiet. The Satanists who remained appeared dumbstruck as they peeled themselves off the walls and floor.

  Fatigue began settling over me like a blanket. Every muscle in my body was spent. I was more tired than I’d been in my entire life. I wanted to lie down right there on the chapel floor and sleep for a week. I knew it was because I had taxed my abilities to their limit. My abilities were spent as well, at least for now.

  Danny got up off the floor and attempted to regain control. “It’s all right now, my people,” he said in an uneven tone.

  “What happened?” a dazed voice called.

  “Satan took his bride,” Danny called back. A hopeful smile settled onto his lips.

  “That wasn’t Satan,” a woman with wild eyes called, “that was a girl took Erin out of here.”

  “Yeah, I saw it. A girl took her out of here,” someone else said.

  “And wasn’t Satan supposed to come out of that casket?” The Satanists were starting to get unruly.

  “It’s Satan’s choice in which form he appears, and how he chooses to claim his bride,” Danny offered as an explanation. He continued to smile, but his eyes had become wary.

  Just then, the lid to the casket opened.

  “It’s him,” someone called. The wild-eyed woman fainted.

  I was in total shock. Could Satan have actually come to claim Erin… or me?

  As we looked on, one leathery hand and then another emerged from the coffin and latched onto its sides. A hideous creature pulled himself up and rose into a sitting position. The creature was swathed in black linen, but his horrible face lay bare for all to see. Several of the Satanists gasped.

  “I am an emissary of hell,” the creature called in a booming voice. He pointed to Danny with a monstrous finger. “And this man is a liar.”

  I recognized the emissary in the casket. It was Orthon.

  Orthon rose to a sta
nding position inside the casket, towering over us all. Several of the Satanists bowed down to him. “He is not whom he pretends to be,” Orthon proclaimed. “Do not follow this imposter. Instead, you must deal with him.”

  Slow outrage began to rise in the Satanists that remained.

  “Danny’s an imposter,” a young male Satanist cried out.

  “No! Don’t listen to him,” Danny called. But it was hard for them not to listen, since it was obvious a demon from hell was standing in their midst, proclaiming they must deal with Danny.

  Danny began scanning the room for a friendly face as the Satanists closed in on the altar, encircling him. His trusty posse had already vacated, leaving him stranded.

  Orthon’s eyes picked through the crowd and found mine. In his eyes, I saw both pain and pride. “Go,” he mouthed. “I love you,” he said with an anguished expression.

  A tear found its way into my eye and began rolling down my cheek, as I realized Orthon had come to rescue me. I didn’t need rescuing, but he hadn’t known that. I thought of how adamant he had been that I not come to this place, and that if I did come, that he be allowed along.

  I was overcome with mixed emotion. In that moment I both loved and hated him. A part of me wanted to thank him for coming to my rescue, but another, larger part felt a thank you would be a betrayal of Guy. Orthon had tricked me into believing he was the angel I loved. That thought alone erased any kindness that may have wormed its way into my heart.

  I steeled myself, sucking back any tears that might fall, and returned his words of love with a searing glare that did its job of increasing the anguish in his eyes. Then I turned and started out.

  Angry accusations greeted my ears. “It’s some kind of a trick,” Danny whined, raising his voice over that of the complaining Satanists. “That’s a mask!” he cried out. The next sound I heard was that of punches landing.

  I didn’t look back to see who was winning, but I could guess. I limped from the chapel keeping my eyes straight ahead, through the anteroom, and up the short flight of stairs. Once in the ballroom, I could see the front door hanging open, beckoning me to hurry, hurry from this evil place. With total disregard for the pain in my ankle, I sped up my gait and fled Tavares Castle.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  A gibbous moon hung low in the night sky.

  Dazed Satanists were slowly making their way through the shadows and down the hill toward the castle gates. I discarded my robe on the ground and limped along after them.

  “What do you suppose happened back there?” I heard a young man ask.

  “I do believe that was the wrath of God,” and older woman replied. “Yes, siree! The wrath of God.”

  Obviously, she didn’t stay for the part where the hideous demon comes out of the box. I got the feeling some of the Satanists had lost their taste for the devil, at least I hoped they had. I exited the gates right behind the older woman and peered anxiously up and down the street. There was no sign of Maudrina and Erin.

  The street emptied quickly, the Satanists seeming to vanish like ghosts into the night. In a short while, I was alone on the deserted street. I fought off a twinge of fear, along with the idea that Satanists had taken Maudrina and Erin. I started walking, putting some distance between myself and Tavares Castle. They’re fine, I told myself. Maudrina could handle herself in a tight spot. Hadn’t I just witnessed that? I pulled out my phone, and when I did, I realized someone had texted me.

  Meet up at your place.

  It was from Maudrina. Thank God, I thought, allowing the relief I’d been pretending to feel to engulf me like a hug. I continued walking, hoping to find a taxi, and when I realized that wasn’t going to happen, not in this God-forsaken part of town, I pulled out my phone and called our local cab service hoping they’d send a car out here to get me. When they said they would, I moved to a nearby bus bench. I sat and waited, and with silent night all around me, allowed myself a good cry.

  I cried alligator tears, saturating the sticky night air with noisy, shrieking sobs. I can’t say what I was crying about—there was so much to cry about, really. I couldn’t believe I was still here, that Satan hadn’t come for me. I wept non-stop for ten full minutes. At times laughter would erupt through the tears, only to give way to agonizing sobs, the sobs coming on quickly, like a sudden summer storm. I don’t remember how many times I wiped my nose on my sleeve, which normally I’d say was nasty, but sitting there on the bench crying my heart out, I didn’t think anything of it.

  When I saw the headlights of the cab creeping in my direction, like a panther in the night, the crying slowly abated. By the time the cab pulled up to the curb in front of me, I was all smiles for the young driver. “Take me home,” I said as I tumbled into the back seat. “Take me home.”

  *

  They were waiting outside my front door. I saw them from half a block away, and a knot began forming in the hollow of my stomach. My mouth became bone dry.

  I paid the cabbie, got out, and started up the walkway. I peered through the darkness trying to get a glimpse at the expression on Erin’s face. How did Maudrina manage to get her here? They both seemed anxious to get inside and out of the heat, but that was about all I could detect.

  “Hey,” I said, trying to keep it casual. Maudrina had discarded the wig and dark glasses, along with her robe.

  “Hey,” she responded. “I hope your AC’s working ’cause I’m sweating like a pork chop in a hot house.”

  I chuckled. “You made that one up.”

  “I sure did.” Her expression darkened. “I see you’re still with us.”

  “If you’re talking about the tipping point, I guess I didn’t cross it.”

  She nodded, but she seemed unsure.

  We didn’t mention the threat to my life in front of Erin—a shared, silent agreement. The entire time we were bantering back and forth, Erin said nothing. Her eyes moved from me to Maudrina and back, her emotions concealed beneath a neutral expression.

  “Hey,” I said, giving her a nod and a smile. I pulled out my keys.

  “Hey.” Her tone was as neutral as the expression on her face.

  “I told her everything,” Maudrina said, as I unlocked the door.

  I shot her a questioning glance.

  “Ev-ery-thing,” she repeated with emphasis. Then, as if in her own defense: “It took two busses to get here. We had to talk about something.”

  My eyes moved to Erin. “And?”

  “Can we go inside first?” Erin said. “I could use a cool drink.”

  “Of course.”

  I opened the door, and we went in. The house smelled of stale garlic and spice, and I remembered that I hadn’t taken out the trash from last night’s Chinese food celebration. The AC was off and I kicked it on, but it would take a while before the house cooled down.

  We stopped off in the kitchen where I got three sodas from the fridge. When I came over to the island where they were seated, I noticed Erin staring at the remaining birthday cake in a Tupperware bin.

  “You want a piece?” I asked.

  She looked up at me, as if seeing me for the first time. “Today’s your birthday,” she responded, and I realized she’d just now remembered.

  “It’s… supposed to be your wedding day,” I replied with cautious eyes.

  She nodded, still expressionless, and I thought of soldiers who come home from war after seeing so many atrocities and have no emotional response to anything because of the trauma. “Normally, I would have called her nutty as a fruitcake,” Erin said, nodding toward Maudrina. “But I can’t, not after what I saw tonight.”

  “So… you forgive me?” I surprised myself with the question. I was kind of upset with myself for asking, but I couldn’t help it. I’d been carrying around a heavy dose of guilt and was looking for a little relief.

  “I’m not an idiot, Megan. I know you saved my life and risked your own in the process.” Annoyance slithered onto her face.

  “And?”

&nb
sp; “And I need to sleep on it, okay?” she snapped.

  “Yes. Of course. You’ve been through a lot,” I said, disappointed there was still anger in her. “Let’s go in the living room. It’s more comfortable in there.” And less garlicky, I thought.

  As we moved toward the living room, Maudrina caught my eye. She was behind Erin, who didn’t see her silently smack her fist into her hand. “Bam!” she mouthed.

  I couldn’t help but smile. What a friend.

  They settled onto the sofa, with me in the comfy armchair across from them. Amanda had silently come downstairs and seated herself in the entryway. She’d grown over the past month, and was now more cat and less kitten than before but every bit as adorable. She sat erect, like an Egyptian statue, her eyes glued to Erin. Her presence reminded me there was a demon inside Erin, and that my night wasn’t over yet.

  “Did Maudrina happen to mention the demon inside you?” I asked, trying my best to conceal the concern from my voice.

  Erin sipped her drink and sat back. “Yeah, she told me, but that part’s pretty hard to believe. I feel normal.” She crossed her leg and took another sip.

  “That may be true, but you didn’t see what we saw at the castle.” I eyed Maudrina, who nodded her confirmation. “You were kinda out of it at the time.”

  “She told me you want to call the demon out of me. I get it,” Erin said, and yawned. “But can’t we do it in the morning? I’m exhausted. I’m sure you are, too.” The sweetest smile graced her lips. She stood up and stretched.

  I hadn’t seen that smile in months. It reminded me of the good times. Smart girls rule.

  “No, Erin,” I said, standing as well. “We have to do this tonight.”

  I could feel the tension in the room begin to rise as her eyes moved from me to Maudrina. She was looking at us as if we were being unreasonable. “I’m fine. I’m back! Isn’t that enough for you?”

  I hadn’t noticed it, but Amanda had crept closer. I began to wonder if this was Erin talking, or the demon inside.