by Sean Stone
“Don’t run, Eddie,” it continued in Rachel’s voice. Hearing a human voice emit from such a monstrous being was more chilling than the words that came out. “Only little boys run. Little boys who need their mummy.”
The words were obviously designed to make me angry. To get me to act on impulse rather than intelligence. It worked. I charged at the beast, sword up and ready to slash. It batted me aside with the back of its massive hand. I crashed into the nearest tree and the sword fell from my grip. I lunged for the sword but the wendigo got me again. This time it backhanded me in the face, knocking me in the other direction. Its claws tore through my cheek and blood poured out. I saw it lick the blood from its claws as I fell to my hands and knees. There was definitely something human in its eyes now. I no longer saw an animal. There was some sort of evolved thinking going on behind those eyes. One giant pale hand wrapped around my neck and lifted me up into the air. It thrust me against a tree and held me there, choking the breath from me. I flailed about, desperately trying to break free but it was just too strong. I lifted my hand and tried to think of an attack. It’s hard to concentrate when you’re literally being strangled to death and the second most important thing needed for casting spells is concentration.
None of this made sense. Rachel didn’t want me dead. I was too valuable to her. Unless she’d found a way to extract my power from my corpse but that was unlikely. Which meant she thought I would win. Rachel had confidence that I would beat the wendigo. Her wendigo. Somehow that managed to give me the motivation I needed. Fire roared out of my palm and scorched the wendigo’s face. It let out that hideous scream and darted away from me. The flames died as I hit the floor. I didn’t hang about. I located the sword and scrambled for it. The wendigo got to me before I reached the sword. It crashed into my side and sent me rolling across the ground. My clothing and skin ripped on broken twigs and stones. Fresh cuts opened up. Laying on my back, I saw the wendigo stand tall. It opened its mouth and screamed again, the sound threatened to shatter my eardrums. Then Ashley was at my side. I’d never been so grateful to see that beautiful face of hers.
“Where’s the sword?” she said frantically. I pointed. She left me on the floor and ran for the sword. She didn’t make it. The wendigo snatched her off the ground mid-run. She raised a hand to attack but it was wise to our magic now. It’s head shot forward before she could get the spell out and she screamed as its teeth dug deep into the soft skin of her neck and tore out her throat. Her scream was haunting.
“Ashley,” I whispered in horror as it released her. Her body flopped to floor and she did not move again.
The beast turned back to me, her blood coating its lips sickeningly. I pulled myself to my feet. My anger was boiling away, ready for release. That nasty inner-darkness that I work so hard to keep buried was begging to be set free and I no longer had the will to contain it.
A roar filled the air. Not from the beast. Not from me. From the wind as my furious magic tore around us. The beast understood what was happening and lunged at me. Tree branches lashed out and snatched its limbs, cutting it off mid-leap. Every tree around it joined in at my command. They grabbed it by its wrists, ankles, arms and legs and held it in place. It screamed again and again but the sound had no effect on me now, I barely even heard it. All I heard was my own anger telling me to kill it, to destroy it, to rip its fucking head off and mutilate its corpse. The trees held it still and I held my palm out. The sword flew into my hand. I approached the monster. For the first time I stood directly in front if it, my face millimetres from its and I was not afraid. It screamed again. Its breath sent a strong wind through my hair and its stinking saliva stuck on my face. I was unmoved. It closed its mouth and locked onto my eyes. Its pale eyes held no emotion; no anger, no hate, no fear. Nothing. I don’t think mine did either. In that moment my anger was gone and the darkness was in complete control. The darkness feels nothing. But it was about to have pleasure. I swung the sword over my head and brought it down with all my strength on the wendigos neck. It screeched horribly as the blade cut into its flesh but only by an inch or two. It took more strength to pull the sword out than it had to put it in but I managed. I swung again and again and again. Chopping a head off is not as easy as it looks on television but after six attempts the monster’s head finally came apart from its neck and fell to the floor. I told the trees to release its body and it thudded down next to its head. Its dark red blood spilled out over the grass and mud. After all that screaming the silence was blissful.
“Sir, do not move. Put the sword down and put your hands above your head,” a shaky voice said. Slowly I turned to face the two police officers who had come to investigate all the noise. They stood a few meters from me, batons out and ready for a fight. They were petrified. Had the circumstances been different they may have been spared but Ashley was dead and the darkness was in control now. I let the sword fall from my hand and with my now free finger I drew a small sharp horizontal line in the air. The officers’ throats opened up and their blood oozed out. They gagged and gasped and clutched at their throats and then they both fell down dead. I did not feel a thing.
The gasp from behind me snatched my attention away and I turned to see Ashley sitting bolt upright, her hand at her neck where the wendigo had bitten her. I’d thought she was dead. I was clearly wrong. As the realisation that she was not dead took hold the darkness lost its grip. It didn’t fight. It just dwindled back down to where it belonged and I was myself again. Just plain old Eddie Lancaster, with two innocent victims to my name.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I was at Ashley’s side in an instant. The bite wasn’t as bad as I’d thought. It had looked like the wendigo had torn her throat out with its teeth but it had only bitten her. Several small holes were dotted over her neck in an oval formation, blood was still trickling through the scabs that were forming over them.
“Ash, Ash, are you okay?” I took her head in my hands and turned her face to mine.
“I… Eddie, what happened?” She pushed my arms away and turned to the mess behind us. She’d see the dead cops and know what I’d done. She’d despise me for it. She hadn’t taken it well when I’d killed Killian but she’d looked past it because I had a good reason; this time I had no such reason and I doubted she’d accept that I wasn’t in control. As true as it was. I’d take it back if I could; not because I cared about the officers lying dead on the floor but because I cared about what Ashley thought about me. I didn’t want her to think I was a monster.
“It killed them,” she said quietly. She thought the wendigo had done it. I breathed a sigh of relief. Sometimes I get lucky. So long as she didn’t get close enough to the bodies she’d never find out that it had in fact not been the wendigo.
“Yes,” I lied. “I couldn’t do anything to save them.”
“It’s dead now. We need to—” she tried to stand but her legs would not allow it and she collapsed into my waiting arms.
“You need to rest.” I helped her over to one of the trees and propped her up against it. “I’ll deal with the clean up.”
“Cut its heart out, Eddie,” she reminded me. It was a good thing too because I was just going to burn it.
The park was too dark to work in now so I had to conjure up a fire to give me some light. I’d need the flames anyway. I retrieved the sword and got to work. Ashley looked away as I stabbed into the wendigo’s chest and hacked my way to its heart. I wished I could look away as well but for obvious reasons I couldn’t. It took longer to remove its heart than it had to cut its head off. The ribs posed a rather difficult problem. After several whacks with the sword I finally smashed them apart and could cut the heart free from the rest of the carcass. It was much larger than a human heart but looked roughly the same, apart from the fact that it was grey. Holding it in my hand I had the odd urge to squeeze and see if it exploded. I resisted. I probably would have done it if I hadn’t heard sirens in the distance. Back-up was coming and I had a tingling
suspicion that Inspector Richards would be among them. I didn’t have much time.
I threw the heart into the fire and it was incinerated in seconds and the fire vanished. I conjured another fire not far from the first and then resumed my work. I conjured up a wind to scatter the ashes as Margie had instructed. After that I gathered up some of the remaining ashes and deposited them in one of the sandwich bags from my pocket. I’d discard it somewhere far from the park and ensure that the ashes could not regroup. Although, I doubted that was likely.
Under normal circumstances I’d leave the bodies where they were for someone else to clean up but I’d already been linked to this case, albeit loosely, and I didn’t want to leave any evidence whatsoever. I heaped the wendigo on top of the two police officers and then I had the flames travel across the grass to the piled bodies.
“Something smells good. What’s for dinner?” Ashley asked. I turned around in dumbfounded horror at what she’d said. Her eyes were closed and she was absolutely drenched in sweat. If I had to guess I’d say she was delirious. That bite was having a nasty effect on her. I ignored her question and returned to my task. She probably wouldn’t have heard my answer anyway in that state.
Fire does a fairly good job of destroying evidence but it always leaves something behind. With bodies charred bones tend to remain after the rest has been burned. I needed there to be no signs that the three bodies had ever been here. That meant I needed purple fire. Purple fire destroys everything it touches. There’d be a scorch mark on the grass but no leftovers. There’d know a fire was here but not what was burnt. That was good enough. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the flames. Purple fire is not an easy thing to create. Of all the sorcerers I’ve met there are roughly three who can achieve it and I’ve met a lot of sorcerers. I focused all my energy and all my magic at the flames, willing them to become what I needed. The ever-closer growing sirens were not helping my concentration. I squeezed my eyes shut a little tighter as if that would help my concentration. Surprisingly it did. I felt a resonance between myself and the flames and when I opened my eyes the fire was glowing with purple light. Obviously, why’d you think it’s called purple fire? I know, I know, it’s not a very original name but it accurately describes the phenomenon. Hey, if you’ve got a better one then let me know and I’ll start using it. Until then purple fire it is.
I didn’t need to hang about; the flames would extinguish themselves as soon as the bodies were eradicated. I just hoped that happened before the boys in blue turned up. If the cops saw the purple fire I had no idea how they’d react. They wouldn’t be able to put it out; not unless they had some sneaky magic I didn’t know about. And if they touched it, it would destroy them too. I really hoped they didn’t touch it. Not because I cared about them but because I knew Inspector Richards would just blame me for their deaths. I think it’s safe to say that anything that went wrong anywhere in town would be blamed on me.
“Come on, Ash, time to go.” I went to help her up and saw that the part of her neck where she’d been bitten had swollen and turned a disgusting pale grey colour. What looked like thick yellow puss was oozing from the wounds. “Ash?” I said tentatively. Her eyes were closed and she wasn’t moving.
“Humderumlick,” she mumbled. Her eyes flickered but didn’t open. At least she was alive. The sirens were too close for me to wait for her to wake properly. I scooped her up into my arms like some heroic knight and ran for the exit.
“Fuck!” I exclaimed when I remembered the sword. Matt would kill me if I left it but I couldn’t carry it and Ashley. “I’m really sorry, Matt.” My options were either take the sword or destroy it. I couldn’t risk it being found. It had my prints all over it. I flicked my eyes and the sword shot into the purple flames and began melting instantly. Matt’s luck really had turned. I ran as best I could away from the site. It’s times like these that make me wish I could teleport. There are sorcerers who can teleport but they are the best of the best. I mean like Voldemort level best, not just the average sorcerer. I’m not quite at that level yet but I will be one day. Unless I get killed. What a horrid thought. Can you imagine a world without me in it? It gives me shivers.
The sirens had stopped which meant the police were here. I looked back and saw lights moving in the distance on the other side of the fire. I had time to get away yet.
“Eddie,” Ashley mumbled from my arms. I couldn’t see her face very well in the dark but by the sound of her voice I’d say she was only half conscious.
“I’m here,” I said as gently as I could whilst running through the trees.
“I like you, you know.”
“Yep. I like you too.” We crossed over the water and then I realised I was being an idiot. I’d been heading for a gate when I knew that all the entrances were being guarded. I changed course and went for the nearest road instead. I didn’t need a gate to get out although I wouldn’t be climbing over the fence this time.
“No, no… I mean I… I really like you. Like… like like.” Her words made my stomach flutter. I always thought when people said that that they were being hokey and overly-sentimental, but now I was in that position I realised that it was true. My stomach really did flutter at Ashley’s confession.
“Okay…” I didn’t really know how to respond. Obviously I felt the same way but for some reason I couldn’t say it back. Not like this. I wanted her to be awake when we had our moment; not in a state of delirium. I’m not really a romantic guy but this was below even my standards.
“I want… kiss you, but… scared…” I wondered what she was scared of. Rejection? As if I’d turn her down. She was smoking.
“Don’t worry, Ash, once I’ve fixed you up you’ll have your chance,” I promised. Although, I was probably going to kiss her first. Now I knew she wanted it I had no reason to be nervous. No fear of rejection.
“I don’t wanna be… a… wendigo…” Her words hit me like a dick-slap on both sides of the face. I hadn’t even thought about that. Humans turned into wendigos. I hadn’t asked how. It seemed obvious now. Therianthropy. Not the type you came back from. Therianthropy is when a human turns into a beast of some kind in case you were wondering.
“I’m going to fix you,” I vowed. We reached the wall and I blasted my way through it, not bothering to ensure nobody was on the other side. I ran out into the road, stopped the nearest car and hopped in the back seat with Ashley. I told the driver where to take us and then got to work with incantations to try and heal the bite before she started turning into a monster.
I knew that the incarnations weren’t working. I could feel my magic being met by some sort of barrier. There was nothing else I could try to heal the bite. Nothing I knew of anyway.
We arrived at Ashley’s house and, after erasing the driver’s memory, I pulled Ashley from the car and hurried up the garden path. The door opened when I arrived and Margie was standing in the hallway. She looked almost as bad as Ashley. Sweaty face, clammy skin, pin-prick eyes. There were even disgusting lumps forming on her neck. She’d caught whatever her husband had.
“What happened?” she croaked.
I barged past and headed for the living room. “Bitten!” I yelled. I gently rested Ashley on the sofa and then turned to Margie. “I need a cure for a wendigo bite. Tell me how to cure it.”
Margie shrugged. “There is no cure.” She crouched by Ashley and examined the wound. Disgustingly, she actually pushed one finger into one of the holes and then examined the bloody puss on the end.
“There has to be something. A spell or a potion? Something! Anything!”
“Eddie, I have a very nasty headache and your shouting is not helping.” She eased herself into her armchair and closed her eyes, fingers pinching the top of her nose.
“My shouting… You’ve got a headache! Your daughter is turning into a wendigo and you’re worrying about a headache!” I never imagined I would ever speak to Margie in such a disrespectful way. I hadn’t known the woman long but
I already loved her as if she were part of my own family. But her nonchalance at what was happening was inexcusable.
“Oh, Eddie,” she said as if I were a stupid child. “Wendigo bites don’t turn people into wendigos. They just make you sick for a few hours. Let her rest and she’ll be fine.”
I felt my cheeks fill with blood. “They don’t?” I said feebly.
“No. Now, I was rather hoping your offer of a potion is still available.”
“Of course, what do you need?” I asked.
“I hate to admit it but nothing I’ve done is curing me or my husband. This is… You’re talented at brewing potions. Can you make the most powerful cure you know?”
“Cure for what?” I could whip up most potions but I needed to know what they were for first and I doubted that Margie and her husband were suffering from a bout of flu or even the plague. Any sorcerer worth his salt can cure flus and plagues.
“I don’t know.” She closed her eyes. I wasn’t sure whether she was frightened, tired, embarrassed or what, but the look on her face pained me.
“I’ll figure it out. Give me a couple of hours,” I said. Although, when I left the house I had no idea how I was going to figure it out.
I was almost home when Matt called. I hoped he wasn’t going to ask for his sword because I did not want to deliver that bit of bad news just yet. Thankfully he didn’t.
“I need help, Eddie.” His voice was weak. Really weak. Like barely audible weak. Why was everyone falling apart at the same time? It was terribly inconvenient. “I know you only said you’d make the potion earlier but I really need it now. We need it. I think we might be dying.”