by Karl Morgan
“Are you serious?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I had the same experience with that book. Which talent do you want me to train you on?”
“Floatation, no doubt about it. I want to fly like a bird.”
“How about two for one?” He took her hand, and they disappeared.
They reappeared on a small hill, half a mile from the school. “What the heck was that?”
Carl smiled. “That’s called the Teleport talent. You can go anywhere instantly. Of course, you have to be sure where you’re going.”
Barbie looked down. “Just the Floatation for today is more than enough.” She looked around the area. “Why did you pick this place? So we can be alone?”
Carl coughed. “No, not that. To learn this talent, being outside is easier to start because of the breeze. Now, you stand here and put your arms out to your sides.” That’s good. “Now close your eyes.”
She closed her eyes and puckered her lips, as though expecting a kiss. “I’m ready.”
“Barbie, you know that I’m with Aida Whitehall. Stop playing around.”
She opened her eyes to see Carl ten feet away. “Sorry, but you know I’m a hopeless flirt. I’ll be serious now, I swear.”
“Now close your eyes and feel the breeze. Don’t force it. Just relax and let the breeze lift you off the ground.”
A minute later, a look of frustration was painted on her face and a few tears leaked out of her eyes. “I’m too stupid and untalented. It will never work. I’m wasting your time.”
“Barbie, don’t be silly. Open your eyes and look at me.”
She opened her eyes and discovered she was floating twenty feet over Carl’s head. She screamed and plummeted downward. She stopped in midair, five feet above Carl and slowly descended into his arms. He put her down onto her own feet.
He smiled. “You did a lot better than I did the first time. And now that you know it’s possible, you’ll be an expert in no time.”
“It was really me? You weren’t helping me?”
“Well, I told you how to do it, but I did nothing to get you up into the air, although I do admit to stopping you from crashing to the ground.”
“Okay, now it’s my turn.”
“What was that talent you are going to teach me?”
“It’s called Ghost Walking. Now watch what I do.” She stepped back a few feet and stood with her feet together and her arms at her sides. She closed her eyes and then put both arms fully extended over her head, with the palms pressed together. She then brought her arms down with fingers pointed up until her fingertips were just below her chin. She bowed and then vanished.
“Wow! That was cool. Where are you?” He felt her warm breath by his ear.
“I’m right here.” She kissed his cheek.
Suddenly, one of her hands was on his crotch, and Carl bent over. “Whoa! That’s not cool.” She swatted him on the butt. “Ouch!”
Barbie appeared three feet in front of him. She laughed uproariously. “Sorry for being a tease, but you already knew that about me, right?”
Carl walked up to her, grabbed her hand, and they reappeared in the storage room. “Next time, please respect my boundaries, Barbie.” He turned and stormed out of the room.
He walked out of the Gratia Dei Hall and headed for the main building. Once there, he went to the secret room in the bell tower of the school. His anger at Barbara Conway was starting to ebb, so he sat on the couch and held his head in his hands. “What a mess!” He stood, walked over to the windows overlooking the atrium, and stared into the encroaching darkness. “Who does she think she is?”
“Woman problems, Carl?” a familiar voice replied.
Carl turned around and saw Bertrand Aloysius Thorndike the Eighth sitting on the side chair. “What are you doing here?”
“Just wondering how you are. That was quite a commotion a month ago, right?”
“Commotion? We were attacked with nuclear bombs, Eight! If it hadn’t been for Aida and your ancestor, Victor may have won.”
“Who’s Victor?” Carl smirked at him. “Oh, was that the real name of the demon?”
Carl rolled his eyes and walked up to the man, who then stood. “What kind of crazy maniac are you? You buried your own son alive and allowed that monster to rip Aida’s soul from her body. Are you even human?”
Eight held up his hands in contrition. “Let’s just try to settle down there, Carl. That demon was manipulating me too.”
The temperature in the room soared. “That’s not what I heard.”
“Heard from whom?” Sweat poured down Eight’s face, and he wiped it away with his sleeve.
Carl thought for a moment. “Forget it. Are you here to apologize or just to irritate me?”
“Can we open a window or something? It’s so hot in here!”
Carl and Eight reappeared in the center of the atrium. “Sorry about the heat. I guess my emotions are on edge tonight. Now, why are you here?”
Eight grinned. “Carl, as you may know, I keep track of my dear father’s thoughts, so I know what my ancestor told him happened in that room during the battle. If he is right, that means my ancestor and the girl are the Invisible Hand as well, right?”
Carl laughed. “Don’t be silly. I spread my power among the three of us to defeat the demon. The Beast could only defend himself against one at a time.”
“I don’t believe you, Carl.”
“I don’t care what you believe, Eight.”
Eight turned and walked several steps away. Turning back, he said, “Then we are all doomed, Carl. After being around the demon, I learned to sense his presence. Well, now I can sense at least three more on Earth.”
“What do you mean? Three more demons? How can you know that?”
“They know how I helped the first, so they have been speaking to me in my dreams. So far, they are unaware of the presence of each other, but that won’t last long. If there were more Invisible Hands, perhaps humanity would have a chance. Since it’s just you, I guess I need to join forces with them. Nighty night, Carl.” A bolt of lightning struck Eight and showered the atrium with sparks. When it faded away, Eight was gone.
When Carl arrived at the door to his room, he saw a note asking him to go to Aida and Grace’s room across the hall. He walked over and knocked. Grace opened the door and moved aside so he could enter. He took one step and stopped cold when he saw Barbara Conway sitting on the couch with Aida. Conway’s face was red and wet with tears.
“It’s okay, Carl,” Aida said. “Barbie explained what happened.”
Conway raised her head. “I’m so sorry. I know I’m a flirt, but what I did was wrong.”
Carl walked over to one of the desks, turned the chair around, and sat. “It will be okay. It’s already just a memory.”
Aida shook her head. “It’s more than that. I don’t think she did those things alone.”
Carl pointed at himself. “You think I wanted that to happen?”
“No, I don’t. I get the sense that someone or something is pushing her to do more and more outlandish things to you.”
“But who?” Carl asked.
“Come on, it hasn’t been that long,” Aida replied. “You remember how Headmaster Greenleaf was doing horrible things because of the Beast nearby. I think it’s like that.”
Carl’s eyes grew wide. “I was just talking to Eight about that!”
Grace gasped. “He was here?”
Carl nodded. “We need to talk to the headmaster.”
“Carl,” Grace began, “you need to French kiss Barbara to find out who it is.” Conway put her hands against her face as more tears flowed.
Carl turned red. “No, that isn’t necessary. The Book always said that those rituals and baubles were crutches for those who refused to accept their greatness.”
Conway removed her hands. “What book?”
“That’s not important right now, Barbie,” he replied. “Let me sit next to her, Aida.” Aida stood and walked behin
d the couch. Carl sat next to Conway. “Don’t worry. Everything will be okay.”
“I trust you, Carl.”
“Now just lean toward me a bit. Our foreheads should touch. That should be more than enough contact for me to figure out who is manipulating you.”
Conway forced a smile, leaned in, and closed her eyes.
Carl leaned forward slowly until their heads met.
Carl felt a cool breeze and opened his eyes. He was lying on top of a large cloud. All around him, hundreds of scantily-clad women were lying nearby. All had their eyes focused on him. They got onto their hands and knees and moved toward him. Those closest began to run their hands over his head, arms, legs, and torso. Carl tried to move back, but he was surrounded. More climbed on top of him, and he struggled to move or breathe. “Enough!” he shouted, and the women began to move away. The cloud beneath him dissolved, and he plummeted downward. As he fell, he could see the women around the opening waving and blowing him kisses.
He managed to flip over and see the rapidly approaching surface. He braced for impact, but instead, fell through the earth like it was air. The temperature was rising fast and the rock around him was beginning to liquefy. When he thought the heat would kill him, he emerged in an underground cavern. Seconds later, he smashed into the floor.
Oddly, he felt no pain. He climbed to his feet and looked around. There were several pools of magma, and the heat of the molten rock gave the chamber a dull reddish light. He noticed activity in front of him and moved forward. After a short distance, he could see demons throwing screaming people into the pools of magma. After a few seconds, glowing red human skeletons crawled out of the pools and laid on the dark ground. After a short time, the organs, muscle, and skin of the victims reformed. The victims rose to their feet and ran away. The demons would then catch them again and toss them into the lava.
Hysterical laughter rose not far away. Carl turned in its direction to see a massive pillar of rock. A golden throne sat at its peak. Satan was sitting on the throne and seemed to enjoy the repeated slaughter of the damned. Carl walked toward him. As he approached, several demons tagged along.
Carl stopped at the bottom of the pillar. “What do you want?”
Satan noticed the boy and waved. “Hi, Carl, what brings you to Hell?”
“Which one of your servants is trying to attack my friends now?”
Satan stood, flew up into the air, and then landed behind Carl.
Carl spun around to see a man who looked remarkably like Manny, except his shirt and tie were red.
Satan put up his hands in a sign of contrition. “Don’t blame me for Victor. He’s not one of mine. You’ll have to talk to Manny about that.” He stuck out his hand. “You can call me Luce.”
Carl shook his hand. “Luce is short for Lucifer, right?”
Luce shrugged his shoulders. “If that’s what you want to think, okay.” He grinned. “Of course, nothing is ever that simple. Someday, you must let me explain it to you. So, you’re saying one of my children is doing a Victor too?”
“Yes, the demon is infecting Barbara Conway.” Several of the nearby demons chuckled. “What’s so funny?”
“Don’t get them wrong, Carl. To be frank, the Incubus/Succubus thing is one of our best ideas. Enslave them with a kiss, pretty romantic when you think about it.”
“Why are you allowing it?”
Luce chuckled. “You already know the answer to that one, Carl. Neither Manny nor I stop our kids from acting out as long as there is a likelihood of stopping them. Victor got away with too much, I agree. Since you’re the Invisible Hand, I suppose it’s your fault.”
“It’s my fault he tried to blow us up?”
“Carl, making the transition from ordinary human to Invisible Hand is clearly difficult. If you had learned sooner, you could have stopped all the pain and suffering the people of Earth are having nightmares about. Perhaps it’s your parents’ fault or Headmaster Dorchester’s. I’m not here to judge you… yet.”
“So I have to do it again, right? There’s no chance you’ll help.”
Carl heard an angry hiss and turned around to find himself facing a female demon. Her body and face were the same as Barbara Conway’s, except her skin and hair were red, and she had horns and a pointed tail.
“Sylvia, I’m glad you could stop by,” Luce said. “Why don’t you come home and stop bothering the humans?”
“Stop telling me what to do, Dad! This is my time. You stay here with your good sons and daughters and let me have some fun for once.”
Luce put his hand on Carl’s shoulder. “What did I tell you? Kids. Go figure.”
Sylvia glowered at Carl. “You should stay out of my way, Carl Prescott. I’m not as nice and forgiving as Victor.” She grabbed Carl and pushed her tongue into his mouth. Then she grabbed him by the arm and tossed him through the air and toward a pool of lava.
As his body touched the molten rock, Carl opened his eyes and sat up on the couch next to Conway.
“What happened?” Conway asked.
“I think I was just in Hell.”
Chapter 2
The following morning, Carl stood in front of the faculty in their dining room before breakfast. Grace, Aida, and Barbara were also there. Carl told them about the threat from the demon named Sylvia and how he had been summoned to the underworld. When he finished, the audience sat in stunned silence. Headmaster Dorchester was shaking his head. Carl smiled and walked out of the room with his friends behind him.
Conway grabbed his shoulder. “That demon looks like me?”
“Don’t worry about it. They can change their form at will. I’m sure she did it to confuse me. You are not a demon, Barbie. A flirt yes, but definitely not a demon.” She smiled and then left to find her friends.
After going through the service line, the three sat at a small table in a corner of the room. Carl watched the others in the room laughing, talking, and enjoying their food. They were all oblivious to the new dangers they would face. At least, this time he was already the Invisible Hand. He noticed Grace and Aida staring at him. “What’s wrong?”
“You’re keeping something from us and the teachers,” Aida noted. “Grace and I can tell. What is it?”
Carl took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. When they reopened, he said, “When I first saw Satan, he was like in the old books. You know, red with horns and a tail. Next, he looked exactly like Manny.”
Aida’s eyes widened, and she shook her head slowly.
“Who’s Manny?” Grace asked.
Carl smiled at Grace. “He’s just some guy Aida and I met once. I think it’s like that demon looking like Barbie. They can change their form to confuse and frighten us.”
“Why is that a big secret?”
Carl looked down. “It was just a coincidence. Let’s drop it, okay?” However, Carl did not believe it was a coincidence at all. He remembered what the devil had said. Because he did not want to visit that place again, he knew he had to figure out why the two looked identical. “Let’s just enjoy our breakfast. Maybe we can go to the woods later. What do you two think?”
“That’s a great idea,” Grace said and then pushed a piece of French toast into her mouth.
Aida pulled a tissue from her pocket and dabbed her eyes. She stood. “Excuse me.” She headed to the restroom.
“Is she okay? Should I go with her?”
Carl sighed. “I was in Hell last night and surrounded by demons. Are any of us really okay?” He smiled. “She’ll be fine.”
Grace frowned at him, stood, and hurried to catch up to the other girl.
After breakfast, no one was in the mood for having fun. Aida and Grace went to their room to discuss how they felt about the revelations. Carl was headed to the formerly hidden storage room until Professor Alistair Donnelly met him halfway back to the residence hall. The professor had been a trusted friend since Carl’s first visit to the school. “Good morning, Professor. How are you?”
&n
bsp; “I am well, Carl, and a good morning to you.” He looked both ways to see who else might be around. He whispered, “I was actually looking for you.”
“What did you need, Professor?”
“Please follow me.” Donnelly led the boy back to the main building where they took the staircase down three flights to the deepest basement. They stood in a hall that stretched in both directions. “Have you ever been to this level?” Carl shook his head. “Well, all the interior and exterior walls on this floor are heavily fortified. This could be considered our retreat in case of dire emergency.”
“Is something wrong, Professor?”
“Of course, you remember how Aida Whitehall discovered the heretofore unknown storage room in the Gratia Dei Hall?”
“Yes, Professor. That’s actually where I was headed when we met.”
Donnelly stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Well, we have also uncovered a significant discovery down here quite by accident. Since you are the Invisible Hand, I thought you might come with me in case we find something that your talent might be required to understand or cope with.”
Carl smiled. “I’m always happy to help anyway I can, sir.”
“Before we go, I also wanted to tell you that some of us are planning a small celebration for your birthday.” He leaned forward. “I was never much of one for surprises.”
“That’s very nice to know. Thank you.”
“Follow me.” The two turned left down the hall and headed away.
For quite a distance, there were no doors on either side of the hallway. Eventually, they came upon a single, metal door on their right side.
“Why are there so few doors, Professor?”
Donnelly spoke while he kept moving forward. “There are no doors on the left, for that is the exterior wall. Each doorway on the right leads to a facility that can house two hundred students and staff. In case of a serious disaster, the number exposed to the threat would, thereby, be limited.”