by Rob Cornell
A prickly chill ran down Elka’s back. But instead of tamping down the memory, she fed on it. The more she could stress her system, the stronger her power grew and the longer it would last. Unicorns didn’t need sacrifices for their magic. They needed massive amounts of adrenaline.
Too much, however, could ramp up her blood pressure enough to risk cardiac arrest.
She didn’t care. Dying here would earn her plenty of honor and guarantee her a high place in the Great Beyond. Killing hunters was a sacred act. Saving billions of lives in the process was an unfathomable feat.
I’m coming, Daddy.
She shoved the tornado forward to engulf the girl. It lifted her from the floor and spun her around like a floating top. But she didn’t scream like Elka had expected.
She laughed.
“Wee,” she said and giggled like a little girl riding a carousel.
Elka clenched her teeth and made the swirling dust spin faster. The wind blew Elka’s mane flat against her back. Stray particles stung her eyes. All of the candles flickered out, drawing the shadows in around them. Only the light coming through the open door cut through the dark enough to allow Elka to see.
“Oh, this is too good,” the girl shouted and held out her arms like propeller blades.
Elka’s heart pumped harder and harder as her anger flared. How could the bitch mortal stand the abuse?
The girl laughed with a full-throated glee. It sounded both wicked and insane. Exaggerated. She was making fun of Elka even while she spun at a sickening speed. “Feeling a little queasy now. Fun’s over.”
Her arms still extended to either side, the girl clenched her fists. The tornado around her burst apart in a spray, each speck of dust glowing like an ember.
Elka scampered back as the enflamed dust scoured her face.
All of the glowing particles dropped to the floor and the light winked out of them, leaving no evidence that they had been disturbed in the first place.
The girl stood at the circle’s center, arms outstretched, hands in fists, wearing a smile that clashed with her dead, dark eyes. She slowly opened her fists and lowered her arms.
“Aren’t you a beautiful creature,” she said. Her voice sounded all wrong. The cadence different. The tone askew.
The ritual had worked.
The girl was no longer the Chosen One. She was Gabriel Dolan.
An oily vibe radiated from her (or him). Her eyes traced Elka’s body with the leer of a child molester. It looked unnatural coming from a teen girl.
“Too bad about that nick in your horn, though.” She looked past Elka to where Earl lay motionless. “It’s so hard to find good help.”
A shiver rattled Elka from horn to tail. Gabriel’s ugly demeanor, projected through the girl, disturbed her. But the ease with which he had countered her magic was what frightened her. Without any goading from herself, Elka’s stress level cranked up several notches. The adrenaline coursing through her system made her feel light-headed. Too much oxygen pumped to her brain from her overcharged heartbeat.
But as her body began to suffer from the stress, her magic devoured it and grew all the stronger.
She aimed the tip of her horn at Gabriel and concentrated on manipulating every heat source in the room, no matter how small. From the candles’ smoking wicks, to the glowing ends of the incense sticks, and the body heat from the three of them in the room. Any of it by itself amounted to nothing. Drawn on and concentrated, however, and Elka could ignite it with her will.
An orange ball of flame formed in front of her, floating in the air a foot away from her horn’s tip.
The fireball blasted back the darkness like a miniature sun.
The girl’s eyes shone in the new light. Her lips parted in a toothy grin.
“Magnificent,” she said.
Elka flicked her horn as if drawing a checkmark in the air.
The fireball soared forward and struck the possessed girl square in the chest. Flame engulfed her body and the impact threw her backward.
She sailed in a straight line until she slammed against the wall. The concrete cracked with the force, and when her limp body bounced off, the flames left behind a scorch mark on the wall.
The girl lay face-first on the floor, as still as a corpse.
Elka whinnied victoriously.
But then a lump caught in her throat as she watched the flames die.
Not a stitch of skin, or even clothing, had burned. Only an aura of smoke rose off of the girl’s body. Her laughter reverberated against the floor, making it sound as if she were laughing into a cup. Then she rose to her hands and knees, lifted her head, and cackled like a witch.
“You have such amazing strength,” she said. “I think I might have popped into the wrong body.”
She jumped to her feet. Pointed at Elka’s horn. “I’m going to have to take that as a souvenir.”
Chapter Fifty-Six
WITH JESSIE’S SOUL BOUND in the center of at least a thousand others, she found herself more detached from her physical body than she had the first time Gabriel took over. She felt as if she floated in a vat of thick liquid, or a womb.
She only had a vague sense of what was happening with her physically. Where once she had had the “privilege” of riding in her body like a passenger in a car, peering out the windshield, now she had been pulled into black depths.
No sensations.
No control.
But there had to be something she could do. She refused to think she had lost. And she knew something had given Gabriel a moment of doubt. As long as her soul was still in her body, she could try to take back control.
First, she had to find herself a way out of this knot of souls.
Her will alone couldn’t drive off so many.
What arsenal did she have at her disposal?
The Return wouldn’t do her any good in here, even if those pieces of—not Wertz, they aren’t Wertz anymore—gnome stone weren’t sitting out there.
That left her with her sharp wit.
Yeah, maybe I can insult them to death.
They’re already dead, Jess.
Whatever!
Besides, insults and snide remarks were nothing more than words.
Words. Words. Words.
Like movie dialogue.
Sure. She could quote great lines from classic films. Brilliant idea.
Stop it. You’re giving yourself attitude. That’s just lame.
Words.
Talk.
Could she talk her way out of this?
Appeal to a bunch of evil souls’ better nature.
Another grand plan.
It had been a long time, but Jessie used to write scripts for the short films she put online. She had a way with words, and not always the sarcastic brand. She remembered one movie she made, a melodramatic story about a suicidal poet. Cry for No Reason. A title for the ages.
But Jessie had written an almost Shakespearian soliloquy where the main character’s mother talks her out of killing herself. Jessie had cried when she wrote that. Obviously, it was angsty teen wish fulfillment, a way of working out her own issues with her mother.
And before Mom’s death, Jessie had worked out those issues, no cheesy soliloquies required. Just a recognition that both of them hadn’t understood the other even while each of their needs were the same.
Jessie realized she had made a mistake by assuming the souls holding her were all evil.
Maybe she didn’t understand their needs. Or motives.
She had recognized some of them from the last soul party in her body. The ones from the artifact. The ones who had given her power and never once tried to harm her like Gabriel had.
If they’d been evil, they would have stood in line to have their shot at the steering wheel.
So, not all of them were evil. But why were they now serving Gabriel?
Because they had to. Because Gabriel had convinced them they had to. Or manipulated them somehow.
If she could get through to the g
ood souls, if she could win them over, make them see that they didn’t have to do Gabriel’s bidding no matter what he had said or done to make them think otherwise…
Really? You’re going to defeat Gabriel by giving a speech?
Make fun all you want, it’s the only option I have left.
I guess it’s better than digging a hole to hide in.
Man, I can be such a bitch to myself sometimes.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
“LET ME GO GET THAT saw,” Gabriel said to the girl and pointed to the floor where the saw lay, as clean as new, all of Elka’s dust consumed by the ritual. “I’ll finish up what Earl started.”
Like hell you will.
Elka sprung forward. Her heavy breathing sounded like the roar of a furnace. The lingering smell of flame helped bolster the image. She was charging into hell, and she was going to take Gabriel with her.
The power in her horn burned so hot it stung her crown. If she couldn’t release it soon, it would consume her. She might go up in smoke like she had meant the girl to.
For an instant, she thought she saw panic in the girl’s eyes. But then she dodged at the last minute and Elka ran by like a bull tricked by a matador.
She pulled to a halt. Her hooves scraped against the floor for a few inches before she stopped completely. When she turned toward where the girl had dashed away, Elka didn’t see her.
She turned in the other direction.
Nothing.
She made a complete three-sixty and saw the rows of dead candles, Earl’s still body, the altar. No sign of the girl.
A glamour of some kind. She had to be in the room, but Gabriel had conjured an illusion to hide from sight.
“Hello there.” The voice came from above.
Elka swung her head back to find the girl standing on the damn ceiling. It looked like gravity had reversed. Her hair didn’t hang down. Her face remained devoid of color, so her blood wasn’t rushing to her head. For the girl, the ceiling had become just another floor.
Gabriel’s magic was demonic.
How could Elka fight something so powerful that her own magic didn’t seem to pose any threat?
She couldn’t.
She had missed her window. Earl had protected the girl long enough to complete the ritual. Now she didn’t need any protecting. With Gabriel inside, Elka would never have the chance to kill her.
She’d failed.
Failed her family.
Failed the world.
The mortals could burn for all she cared. Saving their plane had been a bonus, nothing more than a side effect of her vengeance.
But when her turn came to enter the Great Beyond, the shame of letting the hunters win would push her to its lowest depths, where she couldn’t hope to reunite with her dad.
Did that mean she would give up? Let Gabriel mutilate her for his souvenir?
Like Craig Lockman had asked, is that what her family would want for her?
Hanging above Elka, Gabriel laughed with the girl’s voice. “Why the long face?”
Elka’s heart felt ready to burst. The air in her lungs burned. For the first time since Lockman woke her with a full dose of adrenaline, she noticed the knife still in her side. Her heart’s wild beating pushed more blood out from around the blade. Droplets of it rolled down her side to her belly, then dripped off onto the floor with a steady patter.
If the knife hadn’t corked the wound, she would have bled out in seconds. She still might. If she didn’t have a heart attack first.
All that stress on her body continued to flare up her magic like gasoline onto a fire.
Eventually hers would match Gabriel’s. It had to. If not, she was as good as dead.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Gabriel said from above. “But not even a uni has the power to harm me. I am so much more than I was. More than any mortal ever was.”
Let the bastard talk. Elka didn’t care for threats. She preferred an actual demonstration of strength. And Gabriel Dolan was going to get one.
Elka concentrated every ounce of her magic at the tip of her horn. The light that flared there looked like the proverbial angel on a pinhead. It shone bright enough to make the girl squint.
Using magic to manipulate the elements was a unicorn’s stock and trade. But they weren’t limited to it. Glamours, summoning, even temporary resurrections were all fair game.
As was mind control.
A dangerous game, as pushing into another mind also left a doorway into your own.
And she’d be a fool to challenge Gabriel in such a way. He apparently had a knack for forcing his way into others. She was certain to lose on that front.
What Elka needed was an involuntary ally. Someone who could force Gabriel to split his focus and open him up to making a mistake, letting his magical guard down.
The girl clapped like a giddy fan at a pop concert. “Pretty lights,” she said. “Gabriel wants.”
Like an acrobat coming off the uneven bars, she swung off the ceiling in a midair somersault and landed on Elka’s back, straddling her as if she meant to ride Elka like a horse.
I am not a fucking horse.
The girl gripped Elka’s mane and kicked her heels against Elka’s sides.
Pain exploded from the knife wound and drove Elka to her knees.
“Hey, no fun. Gabriel wants a uni ride.” The girl yanked Elka’s mane hard enough to rip away a lock of hair.
Elka barely felt it. The pain in her side had every nerve’s attention.
“Giddy up.” The girl delivered another kick.
The edges of Elka’s vision darkened. She had to act before she passed out. She doubted Lockman could revive her a second time.
Obviously, Gabriel didn’t know a unicorn’s stress response was what fueled their power. While the pain was unbearable, it made Elka’s next move all the easier.
Wake up, Earl. It’s time to redeem yourself…whether you want to or not.
Earl’s body twitched.
He lifted his head. His eyes crossed and his head bobbled like a bleary drunk. But she had him. She didn’t need him in great shape. She just needed him to move.
Slowly, Earl stood.
Then he turned and shambled toward his exotic weapon on the floor nearby.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
EARL HAD SWORN THE UNICORN had paralyzed him, but here he was, getting up on his feet, not feeling a lick of pain. Not feeling much at all really. Just this fuzzy headache.
The weird thing was, he didn’t know what he was doing.
There was the Chosen Girl on Elka’s back, kicking her heels like a cowgirl ready for a gallop across the plains. Only that weren’t going to happen with the unicorn down on her knees like that.
Elka’s horn still shined like a rainbow, but now it had this white star dancing on the tip that reminded Earl of something went on top of a Christmas tree. He felt drawn to that light. There was something special about it. Something just for him.
He stopped staring, though. He had to get moving. Had to walk. Had to wobble his way over to the elf gun. Wasn’t sure what he meant to do with it. Looked pretty clear the ritual had worked and Gabriel had control of the Chosen One. And he seemed to have the unicorn under plenty control.
Then it struck him.
Hot damn, he’d gone and done it. He’d fixed me up real good. That’s why I can walk.
He had an idea now of what he needed to do. His master had healed him, cleared his pain away, and now he was giving him a psychic message or some darn thing that directed him like the hand of God.
Didn’t matter if Earl understood what he was doing. Gabriel knew. He could trust Gabriel now. They had come together, and together they would bring on the Dawn.
Earl bent over to pick up the elf gun and pitched to one side. His balance gave out for a second, and in that same second the bottom half of Earl’s body went dead.
He almost collapsed, but new life filled his legs and he managed to correct his balance to stay standing.<
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He reached for the elf gun again, only this time bending at the knees instead of at the waist. He picked the gun up, stood straight—my lord is it amazing how my body can move with so little effort it’s like I ain’t moving myself—and extended his arm.
He got a little confused when he aimed the gun at his master. He was supposed to be shooting the bitch unicorn. Gabriel had control of the Chosen One’s body now so there weren’t a need to shoot her.
The Chosen One—it was hard calling her Gabriel since she still looked like the same smart-mouth teenager she was before—kept on goading the unicorn, thumping her sides and pulling on her mane.
It pissed Earl off a bit.
He shouldn’t be treating Elka that way. It wasn’t right.
What in hell is wrong with you? Of course it’s right. She deserves a lot worse. Only thing is, it should be me torturing her.
Still, a part of him really hated what his master was doing to the poor—she ain’t poor, she killed your niece, for Christ’s sake—unicorn. Hated it so much he wanted to shoot him. Blast him right in the face.
Gabriel grabbed onto Elka’s horn with both hands and yanked, forcing her head to arch back. She let loose a scream like nothing Earl had heard from any animal, let alone a human.
Gabriel’s, or rather the Chosen girl’s, hands began to smoke as if they clung to a brand, but she went on laughing. She let go and shook her hands. “Wow, girl, you are hot stuff.”
Earl took a few steps forward. He had to stop this.
No you don’t. Don’t you dare.
Gabriel noticed the movement and snapped his gaze onto Earl. Her laughter petered out.
“Earl,” she said. “What on earth are you planning to—“
Earl triggered the weapon.
The beam lanced across the room and into Gabriel’s cheek. Her head snapped to one side as if punched by a heavyweight champ. She flung backward off the unicorn and onto her back.
Elka wasted no time getting up.
Sparks of light sprayed from her horn like a welding arc. When she spun around, the light streaked through the air like dozens of comet tails.
As much as Earl wanted to kill her, he loved her all the same. He’d never seen such a beautiful thing. He’d rather have her for a niece than that snotty brat, Kit.