by Devon Ashley
Abby dropped her hand and leaned back, keeping her head facing forward. “Doesn’t really matter, does it? What could she possibly tell me that would make me feel any better?”
“Just as well. Zeus has forbidden any interference from the gods this time,” explained Noel. “Where did you go earlier?”
“Back to Twindel’s.”
Noel stiffened up. “Abby, going beyond the manor gates leaves you open for an ambush.”
Abby’s words turned emotionless. “Doubt it. I’m destined to fight this demon whether I want to or not. Nothing will keep us from meeting one another come spring.”
Damn it. Noel left the second pew and sat down next to her in the first.
“The grinloch won’t be the last demon to come. Morphus will try as many demons as he can to eliminate you before confrontation.”
Abby didn’t respond, only sighed deeply.
“You look really exhausted,” he added, gently tucking her hair behind her ear.
“Mentally I am.”
“Good.”
Abby looked at him curiously. She hadn’t bothered to think beyond his statement to understand the meaning of it.
“That’s the best time for you to practice conjuring the elements. The weaker you are, the harder it’ll be to access your powers. You need to learn to overcome that.”
With nothing more than a ‘hmm,’ Abby left the temple somberly. His prior concerns of bringing Abby here were amplified. The stress of their impending future was breaking her down - dealing with the Order, discovering the harshness of her childhood, learning her life has never been her own, learning an associate of the Order is not only aware of her secret but may end up seeing other secrets she doesn’t wish to share, being attacked by a demon most likely sent by another demon to kill her, etc. It just kept piling on. Fearing this would lead her down the path in favor of evil once again, he prayed to Athena to keep it from happening, particularly before meeting Morphus.
These things had taken their toll. She seemed tired, defeated and even secretive towards him, whom she had always been open with. He still had this sensation she wasn’t being completely honest with him over the details of the ancient journal. He really needed to find a way to decode it, for she was not offering the information willingly.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Emily was tired, absolutely exhausted, like always after enduring one of Abby’s workouts. She physically wanted to quit but was unwilling to show any sign of weakness. She continued to battle with her four foot pole, thrusting and swinging as hard as she could.
“Stop,” Abby said to her, withdrawing her weapon.
“I know, I know. I’m getting sloppy,” Emily breathlessly berated.
“It’s not the force of your swing, it’s the accuracy. It won’t matter if you swing with all your might if you’re hitting the pole instead of sweeping my legs.”
“Okay.”
“If your opponent is greater than you, let him do all the work. You just block until he gets weak from attacking you.”
“Okay,” Emily repeated.
“You’d be surprised how often this tactic works. Now, ready to go again?”
“Yes,” Emily answered, regaining her stance.
She successfully held her own for quite awhile but was unable to get the upper hand against Abby. Not surprising though, seeing as how Abby was far stronger and more skilled in battle. Abby eventually outmaneuvered her and knocked her to the floor.
“Are you okay?” she asked worriedly, hovering over Emily.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she responded, her voice a few octaves higher.
“Take a breather. I’ll grab some fresh water.”
Abby disappeared into the gym. Turns out she hadn’t destroyed the small refrigerator containing the water and protein shakes.
Emily slowly picked herself up off the floor. Her back and arms were strained from all the swinging. A few quick stretches helped relieve some of the pain.
“Wow. That was really sad.”
Emily rolled her eyes as she turned to face Daniel. She wanted to whack the smirk off his face with the pole lying next to her.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she snapped.
“Getting a good laugh.”
“Think you can do better?”
“You know it,” he scoffed.
“God, you’re such a jerk.”
Daniel spun to leave but found himself face to face with Abby, who was not amused. Daniel’s smile faded just as Emily’s grew, having known full well Abby had moved in quietly behind him.
Daniel was at least a foot taller. Yet with one swift movement, Abby choked his neck and pushed his knees to the floor. “Interested in putting your body where your mouth is?”
She released him and passed the water bottles over to Emily. Daniel stood up, rubbing his reddened neck.
“Fighting you isn’t fair. You’re freakishly strong,” he cried.
“Is that what you’re going to whimper to the first demon that crosses your path?” Abby mocked. After a moment’s hesitation, she added, “Fine. We’ll make it a little more even for your ego.”
Abby threw her four foot pole at Daniel. “Come on,” she taunted, motioning him forward with her fingers.
“What? You’re not gonna use one?” Daniel sneered.
Abby chuckled. “I won’t need one.”
With the very first swing of the pole, Abby stopped it, twirled it out of his hands and smacked his body to the floor, stunning him. She casually left to retrieve her water bottle.
Emily bent over Daniel and imitated him from before, “Wow. That was really sad.”
He was clearly annoyed but too stunned to verbally rebut.
“Did that hurt?” asked Emily cheerfully. “That looked like it hurt.” There was a pull from the back of her pants. She took the hint and backed off.
“Do you know why you immediately fell to the ground and Emily didn’t?” Abby asked.
Daniel groaned. “She’s been training under you for two years. She knows your moves.”
“No, it’s because she anticipates my next move. Her number one objective is defense and then issues an offense when an opportunity presents itself. You haven’t gotta clue how to defend yourself and it’s gonna get you killed.”
Abby dropped the pole on the floor next to him and headed for the exit. Emily grinned ear-to-ear as she followed her out, leaving Daniel to struggle and roll over on his own.
She caught up to Abby in the hallway, trying her best to contain the giggles within. “So now what?” she asked rather jubilant and giddy.
“You should catch up on your rest.”
“Me? You need it more than I do. You’re exhausted.”
“I promised Noel I’d work on something. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“Alright,” Emily replied. She watched Abby until she turned the corner. Then she returned to her room for a shower. Darby and Mira were there, talking quietly on Darby’s bed. They stopped when Emily entered the room.
“Hey,” Emily said, gathering fresh clothes from the chest.
“How’d the workout go with Abby?” asked Darby.
“Pretty good. How’d it go watching it from the balcony?” Emily asked, watching both for their facial reactions.
Darby and Mira looked at one another. Mira responded first. “We were just curious. Since you rarely come to our group sessions anymore we wondered what you were getting from her.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said sarcastically. “A competent trainer that’s actually had field time? Someone who studies demons because she understands they exist in the real world? And let’s not forget that in the past two years, I’ve learned far better combative moves from her than I ever learned from the Order.”
“We did notice Daniel went down rather easily,” Mira said, trying hard not to snicker.
Emily’s lips curled happily as well. “That was enjoyable, wasn’t it?”
“In all seriousness though,”
Darby said, “she nailed you with some pretty hard blows. I mean, look at your legs. They’re still red where she smacked you. Those are gonna be some nasty bruises.”
Emily looked down. Sure enough, her legs were all sorts of colors. Funny she didn’t notice the pain until now. Her adrenaline must have been running high. She wasn’t concerned, though she was mad at herself for not remembering to have Abby heal the wounds before separating. Daniel’s interruption had distracted her.
“It’s fine. No pain, no gain, right?”
“Emily, isn’t this similar to what you said Abby endured? Bruises and cuts from her training?”
Emily stared at Darby in disbelief. “Not even close to being the same thing. Abby was beaten relentlessly. Constant broken bones, open wounds and concussions. My getting a few injuries learning a new skill is normal. I mean seriously, how many cuts did you get when you first learned to twirl the tridents in your hands? It’s the same thing.”
Darby and Mira sat quietly on the bed, avoiding Emily’s gaze.
“Don’t forget,” Emily continued, “Abby may be from a different generation, but she’s still one of us. She grew up here too.”
Emily carried her clothes into the bathroom, shut the door and started the shower. As she stripped, she noticed more bruises hidden underneath her clothing. She didn’t fret, even over the bigger ones that her friends had noticed. She would still have them healed. The only things she would have to endure over the next week were long sleeved shirts and pants.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Abby spent the next week spending a little more time resting in solitude. Emily came around a few times to say hello but left her alone for the most part. She had a feeling Noel asked her to minimize the company. He too backed off a little and let her be, not once asking her about the journal.
God, am I that obvious? Sure the stress had been building. Sure the burn inside her had been lingering since she felt it her first day back. But she wasn’t going to snap instantaneously. She didn’t need to be avoided by the ones that could keep her sane.
Feeling more refreshed, she made her way to the conservatory. It was still daylight out but the clouds weren’t going to clear any time soon. Even if they did it wouldn’t be a problem for her. She looked through the glass towards the cliffs. The weather was warming slightly. Snow was no longer falling on a daily basis but the temperature was still cold enough to keep the upper crust on the lake frozen.
She settled down in the middle of the jungle and dumped the contents from her bag: wide set white pillar candles, a small vial of myrrh oil, a lighter and the journal written by her previous self. She circled herself with the candles, anointed them with the oil, lit them and tossed the book back onto the bag. Sitting in the lotus position with her feet resting atop her thighs and her hands palm up on the knees, she began to meditate.
The wind wrapped around her body and whipped her hair. The plants in the conservatory began to sway faster and faster. Sparks of energy transformed into small lightning bolts.
Abby opened her eyes and turned around. Valerie was watching from the safety of the pebble path. She raised her right hand to make a fist and the wind and lightning slowly died down. Valerie moved to Abby’s line of sight.
“Emily died the night you met her, didn’t she? You weren’t able to save her in time. That’s why she keeps having nightmares.”
Abby didn’t answer. She knew the longer she stayed here, the more visions Valerie would have about them. Denial was pointless. If Valerie felt affronted by any of them, she might seek comfort elsewhere, perhaps even the Order.
“How’d you do it? How’d you bring her back to life?” she pushed.
“I performed a reincarnation spell. She was reborn the next day. Before anyone even knew what happened.”
Valerie kneeled down on the ground outside of Abby’s circle. “Reincarnation is rebirth from the beginning of life. How’d you get Emily to come back at the same age?”
“Let’s just say I tweaked it a little,” Abby said, mentally recalling the time it took for her to perfect that spell. She wasn’t even sure at the time if it would actually work.
“Is that how you’ve stayed alive this long?”
“Valerie, you know how I’ve stayed alive this long and you know it has nothing to do with magic. The spell only works on mortals. I spent decades creating it. It wasn’t perfection but it worked well enough.”
Confused, Valerie responded, “She seems normal. Is there something wrong with her?”
“Emily’s body should have renewed itself completely but she came back with scars. An unfortunate reminder, but they actually helped convince the Order she was the one who killed Eraticus. All we had to do was make the injuries look fresh.”
Valerie was overcome with a sudden eagerness - she really needed to get out more. “So how does it work?”
Certain she had already seen something in her vision to make her ask this question, Abby told her it was complicated. “I have to have the body, a personal possession and the spell has to be completed within the first day of death, before the body begins to decompose.”
Valerie pulled back, slightly perturbed. “Wait a minute. You reused the same body?”
“There lies the reason why I have to have the body,” Abby said wryly.
“But the body died. You put her back into the body that died on her?”
“The spell heals the body so it can support life again.”
“Interesting,” she said, drumming her fingers on her thighs. Teasingly, she said, “So, Emily is basically a zombie. The walking dead.”
“No, Emily…,” Abby paused, thinking, “just died for a little while.”
“Uh-huh,” Valerie responded. “Didn’t you just have to die a little while to go through your transformation?”
Abby was prepared to rebut but stopped herself short. Apparently Valerie didn’t know everything about her condition. “Not the same thing. But for your sake, I wouldn’t let any one of us bite you.”
“Funny,” she said, but there was a hint of anxiety in her voice. Valerie gazed upon the book next to Abby. Recognizing it, her mouth dropped open. Eagerly, she burst, “Is that –?”
“No,” interrupted Abby.
“But it looks like –”
Abby once again interrupted, more stern this time. “Valerie, stay out of my head on this one. This information is for me and me alone.” She didn’t want anyone telling Noel what was in this book. He would never approve, never accept what had to be done.
Valerie was taken aback. Anxious, she responded, “I haven’t learned anything about it. I only recognize it.”
“Good. Keep it that way.”
“I –”
Abby raised her hand and signaled silence to Valerie. She stared out the window.
“What?” Valerie asked quietly.
The wind outside carried a whisper that Valerie couldn’t here. “I hear screaming.”
With Valerie left in her wake, Abby rushed out of the manor, through the break in the trees and all the way to the arena balcony in the children’s building.
“What the hell is this?” She was appalled by the sight before her eyes. Fourteen girls ranging between four and sixteen and one eight year old boy were on the arena floor. Advisors, some Abby had never seen before, were off in the shadows making notes on their performances.
Six vampires had been set loose. They were athletic, their human faces distorted as they presented their fangs. Pale and sallow looking, they seemed underfed, as if the Order had deliberately imprisoned them for a long period of time to make them weak, yet excruciatingly hungry and violent.
The eldest female hunter burned a vampire using a large cross with sharpened ends. She then twirled the cross and staked him through the heart. The vampire disintegrated into thin air.
Annabella, the little girl Abby had already met, was crying and running scared. Abby momentarily stared in disbelief, then braced herself to jump the balcony. Valerie reached out to
stop her.
“Don’t worry,” she said breathlessly. She pointed to several advisors positioned up high, each following a separate vampire with their crossbow. “They won’t get hurt.”
“Did they do this to you?” asked Abby, still astonished.
“Well, yeah. Before they realized I was clairvoyant. All hunters are tested this way.”
“I don’t remember this.”
“I don’t think they did this in your day. The Order has bounty hunters that trap and deliver live vampires to us.”
Abby’s head shook sideways as she watched the advisors above with their arrows and the ones below with their pens.
“No one’s ever been hurt. They only release a few at a time and they’ll shoot any that gain the upper hand.”
The final vampire was staked. The advisors continued to write on their clipboards.
“And here I thought there was nothing more the Order could do that could possibly make them appear more disgusting to me.”
Their fear sent jolts down her spine and screamed in her head, particularly from the little ones. She wanted nothing more than to rip the heads off the advisors standing by watching the sweet, little Annabella run and scream in terror, even after the monsters had been slain.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Noel frantically tossed books from the library bookcases. He knew it was here somewhere, but he had to make sure it wasn’t hidden in this room before he could move on. Hundreds of books were already on the floor.
“Noel, stop.” Was that annoyance or urgency in her voice?
He turned. He hadn’t sensed Abby, nor had any idea how long she had been watching him from the doorway.
“You’ve already gone through every book this place has to offer twice. It’s not here.”
Frustrated, Noel ignored her request and continued to toss books. “It has to be. Athena wouldn’t go to this much trouble and not leave you the containment spell.”
He heard her sigh from inside the room. She had moved closer. Calmly, she softly said, “Maybe I’m not meant to trap Morphus this time. Maybe I’m meant —”