by Tom Mohan
Tobias leaned close and whispered in Liza’s ear. “Take out that talisman. Keep your hand on it. Don’t let go for anything.”
Liza’s sweaty palm closed around the small piece of metal. It burned into her palm, but it wasn’t so bad as the first time. She could hold it, though that didn’t calm her growing fear as whatever was upstairs drew closer. She looked over at Tobias. His lips moved silently, and his hard eyes were locked on the stairs.
The doorknob at the top of the steps rattled. A bead of sweat dripped down Liza’s back, though the basement was cool compared to the outside air. Her breath sounded loud in her ears, and she fought to quiet it.
The knob jiggled again, and there was a click as the latch opened. She thought she heard the door open, but there was no squeak of hinges or light spilling through it—only a light breath of air that carried a trace of putridness. Next came the sound of a footstep on the top stair. Again, the sound was soft, more like the step of a cat than a person. Another step, and a foot appeared at the top of the stairs. It was in no hurry.
Liza watched as the feet descended into the basement. As the being came into view, she realized that it was hard to distinguish the form as that of a human. She saw a person, a man, but at the same time, she saw something else, as if he were covered with another form—a form that was not entirely there.
It reached the bottom of the stairs and turned toward them. Its eyes glowed red, sending fresh waves of fear and dread through her. She suddenly knew that this was the same man who had been in the back corner of the Roundup the night Jacob had been beat up. Hatred radiated from the figure. In the dim light of the basement, it was difficult to focus on him as the darkness encasing him shifted and blended with the shadows surrounding it.
“Glory be,” Tobias said.
“Were you expecting me, old man? You should have been.” The voice seemed to come from all around them. It was low yet loud, like an amplified whisper.
“I thought you dead,” Tobias said.
The thing—Liza had stopped thinking of it as a man—chuckled. “Can I be killed, Old One? Even I don’t know the answer to that. You can, however. Three of your brethren have proven that true.”
“What is it?” Liza heard herself say. She hadn’t meant to say it out loud.
“It is a Rakshasa. To my knowledge, the only one left on this side of Tír na nÓg. We did not think there were any left.”
“You know so little, Princess,” the Rakshasa said. “You have much to learn of your people.”
“My people? What are you talking about?”
“You leave her be,” Tobias said. He stepped in front of Liza. His voice was strong now, the shakiness having fled as courage or resignation took over.
“You can’t stop me, Old One. Your powers have become so weak in this modern age. Weak and soft. This whole world is weak and soft. The fae will gorge themselves on the human race, and your kind will come willingly. Once the Prince and his Princess are united, nothing will stop us.”
The Rakshasa held out one hand. In it lay a huge knife. The blade began as a single shaft that divided into three as it extended from the pommel. It glowed with a green light that shone no further than the blade itself. Liza’s gaze was drawn toward it. The light was familiar, almost comforting. Tobias moved to one side, blocking her view. As soon as her vision was clear of it, the evil it radiated hit her like a slap.
What is that thing?
Tobias muttered some words too soft for Liza to understand. He held his arms out to the sides, and his head tipped back as the words came faster. Stars of white light danced at his fingertips, growing brighter as they multiplied and covered his strong hands. The thing of darkness shrunk back as the light intensified, but it did not retreat. Tobias lowered his head until he once again faced his foe. “My Lord protects me. I do not fear you.”
“Then you are as foolish as the others.” The Rakshasa lunged with the knife. Showing incredible strength and speed for one so old, Tobias caught its wrist in one hand and grabbed it by the throat with the other. Liza found herself scurrying out of the way to avoid being struck by the combatants. Tobias growled as he pitted his own strength against that of the Rakshasa, the sound a mixture of strain and fury. The Rakshasa made no sound at all, not even breathing that Liza could hear.
The combatants stumbled around the basement, each seeking some advantage over the other. Liza could not help but remember that this thing had killed three other Old Ones. What chance did Tobias Yoder have against it? She could see sweat dripping from Tobias’s face as the exertion of the fight took its toll on him.
“You cannot win, Old One. The time for you and your kind is over. A new world is on the cusp of birth.”
“’Tisn’t the first time I’ve heard that,” Tobias rasped. He stumbled and lost his grip on the Rakshasa. It took advantage and grabbed Tobias’s throat. It slammed the Old One against the concrete wall so hard that Liza felt the blow must have broken Tobias’s back. Still, the Old One held back the knife that now hovered only inches from his chest.
Liza felt a sharp pain against her palm. She’d been so focused on the battle that she’d forgotten about the pendant. It pulsed in her hand, the white light still shining from between her fingers. She pulled the chain over her head.
Liza heard a scream and turned to see the glowing blade touch Tobias’s chest. Without thought, she ran the three steps to where he fought for his life and rammed her shoulder into the Rakshasa. It was like hitting a brick wall. She found herself on the floor, the breath knocked from her. She pulled herself to her knees. Tobias had managed to push the knife away from his flesh, but it was obvious he had little energy left. The talisman still pulsed in her hand. She held it before her face and opened her fingers. It looked different, almost alive.
My strength is all you need.
Liza was certain the words came from the talisman, that it was somehow communicating with her. She didn’t know what it meant, but she followed her instinct. She held out her hand toward the Rakshasa. It uttered a surprised sound and turned its attention on her. She sensed waves of fear, but the feelings could not penetrate the light that shone from the talisman.
She crawled closer to the Rakshasa, one hand supporting her on the floor, the other holding the talisman high. At the last moment, she lunged and touched the talisman to the Rakshasa. The scream that emitted from it penetrated mind and soul. She fought to keep her hand outstretched. The thing jerked and spasmed beneath her hand, as though caught in an electric shock from which it could not tear itself free.
The thing’s screams hit a crescendo that Liza thought would crack her head open, and then a silent explosion tossed her across the room. Overhead, the lightbulb popped, showering sparks that blended with those that danced across her vision as she slammed against the wall. The white-hot glow of the talisman filled her view and then faded as she slipped into darkness.
Liza’s head felt like it was being split open. She tried to roll over and heard herself groan as the pain brought her to full awareness. She put one hand to her aching head and opened her eyes to see—nothing. Blackness surrounded her.
Basement. I’m in the basement.
The thought grounded her. She pulled herself to a sitting position. She didn’t know how long she’d been out but felt like it couldn’t have been too long. She struggled with clumsy fingers to pull her cell phone from her pocket and activate it. 9:17 p.m.
“Tobias?” The word felt thick in her mouth. “Tobias, are you there?” Fear gripped her as the silence stretched on. She squinted at the illuminated phone screen, but her vision was still blurred. She managed to get the phone to flashlight mode and shined it around the room until she came to a body lying on the other side of the basement.
“Tobias?” She crawled toward the still form. As she drew closer, she knew it wasn’t Tobias. The clothes were wrong. She moved close enough to get a good look and gasped in terror. Whoever it was looked as though their very life had been sucked out of them.
The flesh was shrunken and sunk in on the bone. Liza kicked away from the body until she’d put enough distance to feel safe. The light from her phone reflected a glint off something near the body. She leaned closer and recognized her pendant. She had no desire to go back near the corpse, but she needed to retrieve it. She scooted across the floor as fast as her aching body would allow and grabbed the pendant. The dead man did nothing to stop her.
Had Tobias gone for help? She didn’t think so. She doubted he would have gone off and left her there alone. As her eyes adjusted, she could make out a little light high up on the wall that she thought must be the door to the kitchen above. Using the wall for support, Liza climbed to her feet and made her way up the stairs. After the total darkness of the basement, the kitchen seemed almost bright. The sun had set below the horizon, full night having fallen over all but a sliver of western sky.
The sound of a car pulling up in front of the house caused Liza a moment of alarm. Who would be coming out here this time of night?
She waited, her senses seeking any of the danger she’d felt earlier that evening. She detected nothing but exhaustion and a deep-seated fear of things that a week ago she didn’t even know existed. She wondered if her worldview would ever be the same again.
Liza fumbled her way through the unfamiliar house to the front door. A car’s headlights momentarily blinded her before going dark. She opened the door and stepped out onto the porch.
“Liza?” Jacob’s voice came out of the darkness. He rushed across the yard and wrapped her in a tight embrace. “Oh, Liza, I was so worried about you. When Maggie told me you’d come out here, I didn’t know what to think.”
Liza returned his embrace, holding tight to the one person who had been constant since she’d arrived in the Mill.
“Maggie told you?”
“Yeah, I was looking all over and saw her light on. She said you had been really upset and wanted to see Grandfather.” He pulled away but kept his hands on her arms. “Why would you want to see him?”
“I don’t know any of the other Old Ones.” She took a couple deep breaths to steady herself. “Something happened here. Something your grandfather called a Rakshasa attacked us in the basement.”
Jacob’s face seemed to pale in the dim light. “Is that what killed the Old Ones?”
Liza nodded. “Tobias thought so. It wasn’t just here for him, though. It was here for me. It was the same thing that came after me in California. I felt it that night at the bar as well.”
Jacob looked over her shoulder into the dark house. “Where’s Grandfather? Is he all right?”
“I don’t know. He fought the creature, and then I’m not sure what happened.” She told him everything she remembered from the time she had arrived at Tobias’s house to getting a close look at the dead man in the basement.
“I’m going to take a look. You wait right here.” Jacob went to his car to retrieve a flashlight. As he passed by, Liza put a hand on his arm.
“Be careful. Please.”
Jacob nodded and strode into the house. Liza stood on the porch listening to the night. Crickets chirped, and somewhere not too far off, a frog was croaking. These were the sounds of a world she’d never before known. In her world, the sounds of the night consisted of traffic, sirens, and loud music pumping from passing cars. She closed her eyes and let the music of the country release some of the tension from her body and mind.
A mosquito buzzed in her ear, pulling her out of her musings. That was one country sound she could do without. Then Jacob’s footsteps announced his return. He came out onto the porch, visibly shaken.
“There’s no sign of Grandfather. I have no idea who that is in the basement. It looks like some giant spider sucked the guts right out of him.” He must have seen the look that image brought to Liza face. “Sorry, I guess I should have kept that analogy to myself. It was horrible, though. He looks like he’s been dead for days.”
“I think the Rakshasa that possessed him fed off him in some way,” Liza said. “Not that I know much about this stuff, but that sounds right to me.”
“That’s pretty much what it looks like. Can I see your pendant?”
Liza had forgotten that she was still holding it. She held it up, and it dangled from its chain. “Tobias said it was the talisman of the Prince. Why would I have something that has to do with Tír na nÓg?”
Jacob held the flashlight up to get a better look at the pendant. Liza thought she saw a startled look on his face, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.
“I’ve never seen that before,” Jacob said. “Maybe you should give it to me. I can take it to one of the other Dadai and see if they know what it is.”
Liza had no intention of giving up the pendant. While she had no idea what it was, she did know that it had saved her from the thing in the basement.
“No,” she said as she slipped the chain over her head and tucked the pendant away beneath her shirt. “Tobias told me not to let it go. Speaking of the remaining Old Ones, should we warn them about what happened here?”
“No problem. I’ll let Brianna know, and she can get the word out to them. What now?”
Liza thought it over, but her mind was numb. “I don’t know. I wish Fallon were here. She always seems to know what to do.”
“Well, she isn’t here, but I am. It’s you and me now. The Finns aren’t around to help us.”
Liza was taken aback by the venom in his voice. It seemed a strange way to think of a family, his friends even, in crisis. Or were they his friends? Jacob wasn’t one of them. Technically, he was only the son of the family housekeeper. Was that how they treated him, like one of the servants? She had grown close to the Finns so fast that she now found herself wondering if she knew them at all.
Murderers.
Liza wanted to see Brianna. In spite of her doubts, Brianna felt like someone she could trust. Dammit, they all had! She had no idea what to think anymore.
Even if they did go to Brianna’s, Jacob would not go in the house. “Let’s go back to the farm and see if your mom is up. Maybe there’s been a change with Cullen and Ana.” She remembered the body in the basement of Tobias’s house. “Um, what about the dead guy?” She nodded toward the house.
“I’ll let Brianna know about that, too. She can call Murphy. I’d rather not deal with him tonight.”
Liza couldn’t argue with that. “He’ll want to talk to us, though. Me, at least.”
“We’ll worry about that when the time comes. Since we have two cars, I’ll meet you at the farm. I’ll call Brianna on the way.”
“All right. See you there.”
On the short drive to the farm, Liza considered each member of the Finn family. Cullen and Ana were trapped in the Mist, whatever that was. Conall was dead. Fallon was in the hospital, possibly still unconscious. Brianna seemed to have lost much of her ability, and Marcas was off on his own again.
What was with him, anyway? Since this whole thing had begun, Marcas had been distant or missing altogether. Had he really spent all that time looking for his brother? They hadn’t actually said it, but it had been obvious that his parents were concerned as well.
She reached the Finn farm and pulled into the horseshoe driveway. Jacob was standing beside his truck waiting for her. Liza climbed out of her car and waited for the dog to come running, but, for once, he wasn’t around. She could see the kitchen light on through the front-door window. A moment later, Ruth opened the door and stepped out onto the porch.
“Jacob…Liza, thank goodness you’re here. I’ve been trying to reach Brianna. She isn’t answering.”
“Probably because she was talking to me,” Jacob said. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Cullen and Ana. Something’s happening.”
Liza started toward the house. “What? Are they okay?”
“They’ve moved, closer together. Not much closer, but I can tell they’ve moved.”
Jacob muttered something and ran in the house, up the steps, and
into Cullen and Ana’s bedroom. Liza and Ruth followed close behind.
“What the hell?” Jacob said.
Liza looked at Jacob, not certain she had understood him. His expression was not one of surprise or hope; he looked angry. “Jacob, what’s wrong? This is good, isn’t it?”
“It surely is good,” Ruth said.
“This isn’t supposed to be happening.” Jacob ran the fingers of both hands through his hair, leaving it sticking up in all directions.
In her excitement, Ruth didn’t seem to notice her son’s reaction. “Perhaps something is happening in the Mist to bring them together. Maybe things will work out after all.”
“No!” Jacob’s yell tore from his throat. “This cannot happen!”
Ruth turned to her son. “Jacob? I don’t understand. What’s wrong with you?”
Jacob squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them, they held a look of pure rage. He pulled a large knife from his pocket, flipped it open, and buried the blade in his mother’s chest in one smooth motion. “Don’t you ever shut the hell up?”
Ruth’s eyes went wide. Liza opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. She watched in horror as Ruth gasped. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes moved from the knife in her chest to her son, her pain and disbelief clear. She tried to say something, but it came out as a liquid cough, and she fell onto the bed, her plump body lying across the comatose forms of Ana and Cullen Finn.
Then Liza did scream. It tore from her throat as if with a will of its own. She couldn’t tear her gaze from the blood that seeped out around the knife handle.
“Shut up!”
Pain and blinding light exploded in Liza’s head, and she found herself lying on the carpeted floor. Stunned, she stared up at the ceiling, wondering what had happened.
Jacob stepped into her vision, holding the bloody knife that had so recently been embedded in his mother. Liza shrieked and kicked away from him, but he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to her knees. She struggled to pull away until he pressed the knife against her throat.