by White, L. C
I toss the rune stone across the room in anger. It bounces off the wall and rolls across the floor, hitting something metal beneath my bed. Holy shit, there is water here. Well sewerage water. There’s a small section of pipe, which runs down the corner of my room.
I storm across to my bed and yank it away from the wall. The pipe hasn’t been tampered with at all, but I can’t see any other water source in here. I bring back my boot and slam my heel down onto the metal, hard. It’s loud, but it’s not like anyone can get in here to stop me.
I kick at it again and again, until it jolts and ruptures open. Immediately, shitty water spills out over the floor and the stench makes me gag. I plant my face inside my elbow, grunting, and crouch down to pull at the pipe.
“Come on,” I growl out, suddenly falling back with the loose pipe section in my hand.
I shuffle up onto my knees, seeing a red bag hanging out of the pipe. Holding my breath, I whip it out and race to the corner of the room, gasping out a breath.
I open the bag and tip the contents out onto my bed. I see a ceremonial knife and a book. Jeez, Kylie knows I hate this magic stuff.
I pick up the small blade and twiddle it in-between my fingers, before dropping it back on the bed. I scowl as I lift up the torn brown book, and flick to the first page. There’s an inscription, written by Kylie:
Tristen
You have absolutely no idea the lengths I have gone to, to get this to you. So please don’t fuck it up. And sorry about messing in your room, but when Beth arrived, I thought it would be a good idea to have an escape plan for you, if the shit hits. So here it is. Turn to page 9 and follow the instructions to the letter. It’s a risk Tristen, but I’m hoping it works. While you do your thing, I’ll do mine. Rendezvous at Mary’s coffee hut. Hopefully in one piece.
I flick onto page nine. Oh great. This is her big plan to bust me out, to use Apollyon. She wants me to summon Apollyon, by carving his sigil into my chest. The whole page is about the possessed, always being tethered to the exercised demon. How those who have beaten possession, can use the power of the demon locked in hell. The ritual is called, the Effusio. Basically, I allow Apollyon to see what I see, in return for his power for a short time. It will be like a vacation from hell for him, and I’ll be his ticket.
I pace the room. This is dark shit Kylie wants me to do. My fingers run hard down my face as I grunt out. If this is the only way to be there for Beth, then I have no choice.
I pick the blade up from the bed and slice open my shirt. My chest swells up and down as I read out the Latin summoning spell. I pierce the tip of the blade into my right breast, and begin to slowly carve Apollyon’s signature.
“Ligabis ad pecus mei sunt. Et erit fortitudo vestra. Qui vocat vos in me Apollyon. In reditu non videbitis. Apollyon vocat te.” I gasp, as Apollyon’s bloody sigil burns into my flesh.
I collapse to my knees panting, saying the translation of the summoning spell in my mind, over and over. You are the beast on my leash. Your power I will be. I summon you into me Apollyon. In return you will see. Apollyon, I summon thy.
I feel nothing other than the sting and warm blood trickling down my chest. Shit, I probably said the wrong words. I hate Latin, and I avoid exorcisms completely. Stuff like that is best left up to Kylie and her voodoo.
I bring my knee up and go to stand, when I hear the bones in my spine crack. I rip my shirt from my back and reach over my shoulder, to feel my wings sprouting. What the hell! I’m not even doing this.
The ground beneath my boots begins to quake, and my hands fly out to my sides to keep my balance. Deep cracks start to appear on the walls as the ceiling above me opens up. I watch the dust and rubble drop as the night sky opens up to me. This is it. My way out.
I close my eyes, bend my knees, and bring out my wings to full span. Inhaling the air, I spring up and take flight, weaving to dodge the falling debris. I’m out. Free. And I feel so rejuvenated.
The cold air flows over my body as I twirl and swim through the sky. I gaze down through the trees and see where I’m supposed to be, Mary’s coffee hut. But I feel like leaving it behind. All I want is my freedom. I howl out, shaking my head. This isn’t me. It’s Apollyon trying to take over.
“Beth. This is for her!” I scream out and retract my wings back into my body, so I’m falling from the sky.
My arms and legs kick out as I near the ground with speed. I’m slapped in the face by branches, twigs, and leaves. My body is being battered and jerked as I fall through the trees.
“SHIT!” I land and tumble across harsh dirt.
I stop rolling, moaning out in pain. My ribs are broken and I can hardly breathe. My hands, face, and back sting and burn. I feel like I’m going to die.
I’m nudged hard on the foot. Groaning out, I roll onto my back to see Kylie’s smiling face, and Bennett’s horror.
“Wasn’t so bad was it?” she chirps. “Come on, we have an apocalypse to stop, and an angel to save.” She walks with a spring in her step toward Mary’s coffee hut.
Bennett bends and takes hold of my elbow. I hiss through the pain, struggling up to my feet.
“Beth?” I blow out.
“She doesn’t remember you, me, anything,” he says.
I hop, using his body weight for support. “And you do?”
“Michael can go to hell. He can’t erase me from this,” he says, his voice straining as he tries to hold me upright. “Kylie made sure he couldn’t screw around inside my head.” He huffs, staggering with me. “We have a lot to go over. So let’s get you fixed up first.”
***
“Will you hold still,” Mary snaps, brushing this mud concoction over a deep cut on my shoulder blade.
I shuffle on the stool, watching flames flick high from the fire pit outside the coffee hut. I’m running out of patience. Kylie has been chewing off Bennett’s ear for the last half hour. I should be over there with them, not being mollycoddled like a baby.
“What the hell is this stuff anyway?” My nose twitches, because whatever it is, it reeks.
“It will heal you up in no time,” she says, slapping more of the mud further down my back. “Drink your coffee, it’s medicinal, and let me get on with this.”
My ribcage swells up with air as I shrug away from the muddy spatula she’s using on me. I can’t sit here all night. I feel fine, considering I’ve just fallen from the sky. I have a damn job to do, and I’m not helping Beth sitting here, being covered in this crap.
“You know, you’re a stubborn shit.” Mary slams the bowl of muck down on the table. “I told you years ago to leave Michael’s regime. I told you it would end badly for you. And by the looks of you, the ball is now rolling.”
“Mary, I don’t need to hear your wise frigging words right now!”
She sighs out a deep breath as I nod my head. I shouldn’t have bitten her head off. I know she’s only looking out for me.
“Mary, I’m sorry.” I exhale. “And your right, I should have got out. But I didn’t, and this is where we are. The edge of death.”
She moves before me, and perches on a stool. She’s looking at me like she did when I was fourteen and disobeyed orders to come here, because I refused to repent.
“You’re not going to want to hear this,” she says, leaning over to rest her elbows on her thighs. “But you can’t save her. You trying, will only make matters worse. You knew it would come down to a sacrifice. And I knew you had too much love in here.” She pats her hand on her heart. “To allow that, Tristen. You’re siding with the demon that possessed you because you’re in love, and you’re not thinking of the bigger picture. What she wants; what she is.”
“Don’t you think I know that,” I snap in anger. “I thought you more than anyone, would be on my side.”
“Jeez, Tristen.” She blows out, patting my knee. “I am. But this is happening now, and how many have to die because of it. If I were Beth, I’d want no one hurt. She’s hope for us all. For you and the other lost s
ouls. I hate the angels as much as anyone who’s had the misfortune of getting on their wrong side. But I have to agree with asshole Michael on this. The world is in chaos. Only last week I watched my friend’s son die from possession. The evil is everywhere, growing stronger.”
“I…I.” I pause, my neck getting tighter with frustration. “Have trained my whole life for this, so I’m not going to go out without a fight. Not now.”
She smiles, shaking her head at me while patting my knee. “I know that. That’s why you need patching up before you go and get yourself all torn up again.” She stands up and lifts the wooden bowl off the table. “I need to fix up some more magic mud.” Her hand squeezes my shoulder as she makes her way back into the hut.
Kylie and Bennett make their way over to me. Both repeatedly glance at each other like they’ve a hidden secret.
“How are you?” Kylie queries with a guilty expression.
“You need to tell him,” Bennett says.
“Tell me what?” Immediately Beth’s safety is in my mind, and I’m struggling to stand up.
“Sit down.” Bennett pushes on my shoulders.
I eyeball Kylie. She’s biting her lip and I’ve seen her do it before. She had the same expression on her face when she cast a spell on David, and had him clucking like a chicken in the dome.
“What have you done?” I ask.
“Do you feel okay?” Her voice is high and guilty. “Don’t want to kill anyone or anything?”
“Kylie, just spit it out!” I haven’t got the energy to worry about some other screw-up.
Bennett mumbles under his breath, nodding his head. “Kylie’s plan to get you here, involved opening a line of communication with your… your, well, Apollyon.”
“I know,” I say, scowling up at them. “Don’t worry, I haven’t let him in. That’s why I fell from the damn sky.”
“Yes… but.” Kylie utters, before going silent.
“But what?”
“But in order for it to work, which it did, I kind of allowed Apollyon access to your thoughts.” Her face scrunches up. “Which means he knows about Beth, and he’ll probably be the first in the queue to break out of hell through her.”
I spring up from the stool, knocking it over. Mary walks up to me with another bowl full of mud. As she holds the spatula out, I knock her hand away.
“I need to get to Beth,” I say in furious panic, rubbing my hands over my hair.
“She’s fine, Tristen,” Bennett says. “Scott is watching her.”
“Well.” I rub the dry mud off my bare chest. “I still need to get to her.”
“You can’t,” Kylie says and my eyes widen on her. “She’s busy.”
“Busy… busy!” I growl at her.
She’s pushing me with her frigging black magic, and stupid advice.
Bennett steps in front of me holding up his arms. “You don’t understand, Tristen. She doesn’t remember you, no one here does. Michael made sure of that. Tonight is her homecoming. You can’t just barge in there and declare hell is coming for her. We have to be subtle about this.”
“It’s the perfect opportunity really,” Kylie adds casually. “The gates of hell opening up at a huge party full of angsty teens. The demons will have plenty of fucked-up souls to choose from.”
“It’s happening tonight,” I yell, pointing at her.
Again Bennett has to step before me. There are no plans here. No timeline of possible events. And no decent Sentinels to back me up. This is just one huge failure, before it has even begun. Shit-shit-shit!
“There has been seismic activity, over four in magnitude. There has never been a quake here over four. Something is coming,” Bennett explains.
I keel over to catch a breath, then come up in a rage. I kick the stool beside me so it bounces across the ground, narrowly missing Kylie. I turn my back on them both, looking for something to punch.
“Tristen,” Mary calls out, but I’m too blinded by anger to acknowledge her. “Tristen,” she yells.
I turn to her to see she’s holding up a blue suit and a vintage frilly dress. What the hell is she getting at here?
“Looks like you’re going to your first prom.” She swings the hanger on her finger. “There a bit retro, but retro is back.”
Kylie skips over to Mary and takes hold of the short peach dress, smiling like she’s won the lotto. She presses it against her body, twirling around, humming happily.
“They used to belong to my niece and her boyfriend. They wore them for a wedding we had here. Left them behind when the cops showed up with a warrant for their arrest. What’s wrong with selling medical marijuana?” Mary shrugs, as I shake my head down to my boots.
“You want to be there for Beth,” Bennett says. “Then it’s best to take a backseat and observe, until we know what we’re dealing with.”
I can’t believe this is the only option we have. But Bennett is right. I was trained to witness and protect. If it’s my demon, Apollyon, first, I know the signs to look out for. He may have got me out of my cage, but I’m sure as hell going to put his energy back into his.
Chapter Twenty Four: Homecoming
Beth
My head is banging, and the awful music Kim has blaring out of my docking station, isn’t helping. She’s been here since mid-afternoon, preparing and beautifying herself for homecoming, trying to get me to lighten up and join in her excitement. But I can’t. I never wanted to go in the first place. I’ve been railroaded by both her and Marcus, to for once, brush my introverted personality under the carpet, and treat all this like a massive farewell to my high school days.
I lean over my dressing table, pulling down my eyelids. Tiny red streaks of exhaustion surround my pupils, and no matter how much concealer Kim dotted beneath my bottom lashes, the bags of tiredness are still visible. All this stress over the stupid dance, has only intensified the sleep paralysis, and given me the appearance of a walking corpse. And to top off this nightmare, Marcus has been dropping hints left right and center, that we can once again push our friendship over the line, and become more. I thought I could handle it, and I’ve been treating his private flirty messages like he’s joking. But as I sit here in my prom dress, with my hair loosely curled over my shoulder, I’m wishing I’d have been straight with him, and told Kim that I’m sticking with our original plan, and spending the night in my pajamas.
I watch Kim trot back into my bedroom wearing her dress. Her hands reach behind her back and she twists awkwardly, biting her lip, while trying to zip herself up. Her legs wobble as she huffs and puffs, making her way over to me.
“Give me a hand,” she says in a sigh.
I stand up from the dressing table and move to her back. A long deep yawn leaves my mouth as I pull the zip up to the base of her neck.
“You need a pick me up,” she says.
She swoops her sequined clutch bag up from my unmade bed, and pulls out a small black flask. My eyes quickly move to my bedroom door to check she shut it. My mom is stressed enough, after her visit with Nan in Wellington. If she catches me drinking, she’ll have a heart attack.
“Kim, put it away,” I hiss. “You do know if you get caught with that in school, you’ll be in deep shit.”
Her eyes roll at me as she unscrews the lid and takes a swig. She sighs out as she swallows the liquor, then holds the flask out to me.
“It’s traditional to get smashed at homecoming. You know it, I know it, even Principle Masters knows it,” she states. “It will steady the nerves,” she adds. “You may look stunning in that dress, Beth, but your miserable face will be the only thing people see.”
God, she’s being a bitch tonight. Since she’s been with Luke, she’s changed. She’s become hard-faced. I wave my hand to refuse her offering, then turn the music down on my iPod.
“Beth, please will you try to enjoy tonight,” she grumbles. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately, but I promise, once we get there, you’ll have a good time.”
“With Marcus?”
“Yes, with Marcus. He’s your friend, Beth.”
I blow out, feeling bad. I’m ruining her whole prom experience. It’s one night, I tell myself. A few hours pretending to have a good time, can’t do me any harm.
“Okay.” My lips form a small smile. “Sorry. I’m just tired. Promise I’ll try to lighten up.”
She screws the lid back onto her flask with a beam on her face, and tucks it into the zip section at the back of her bag. She straightens up, wiggling her legs, while brushing down her hips.
“Will I do then?” She twirls with her hands out to her sides.
“Luke won’t know what’s hit him.”
I hear Jake running up and down the hallway outside, as I check myself in the mirror one last time. Mom wants photos. She’s dug out her very expensive digital Canon camera, which she uses to take photos of the window displays at Baby Boomers, and is waiting downstairs for our big entrance.
“Bethy,” Jake calls through the door, knocking. “Come look at my wings.”
Kim frowns at me then opens the door. Jake zooms passed with his arms out. My eyes widen as I bite down. He’s racing up and down, wearing one of my bras back to front. I quickly dash in my four inch cream heels out into the hallway, as Kim giggles. As he goes to run by me, I reach out and grab him.
“Jake,” I utter down at him. “This.” I pull the straps off his shoulders. “They’re not wings.” I toss my bra into my room so it lands on my bed.
He laughs at me. “I know. Mommy told me they’re for girl’s wobbly bits.”
Just as I’m about to tell him to go to his room, the front door bell rings. Kim seizes my hand tight and jumps on the spot. Jake hurries down the stairs, because he’s nosy, as I hold in a breath. I’m suffering a sudden bout of nerves, and want to shut myself in my bedroom.