“How are you gonna sell it?” I asked. “The second you untie me and put that knife in my hand, I’m gonna use it to cut your throat.”
Shelly clicked her tongue while shaking her head. “I’m very disappointed in you, Luther. Surely you know that all the fear in this room has made me more powerful than before. I don’t even need those ropes to tie you down.”
To prove that point, Shelly raised her arm. One by one, the ropes snapped and I was free. But the demon was right—I couldn’t move from the chair. The demon’s power kept me pinned to it.
“You’re my puppet, Luther. If not for the joy of forcing Tim to carve up his own family, I’d make you do it yourself. So getting you to stand there with a knife in your hand as the police rush in, that’d be child’s play.”
Shelly stepped closer to me, closing the distance between us. She climbed onto my lap and stared into my eyes, that smile never leaving her face. Leaning forward, she whispered into my ear.
“You’re going to die, Luther. And then, you’ll be with us. In Hell.”
Shelly jumped off my lap and moved over to the tied-up family, gently running her hand down Maria’s cheek, following with Diane and Stuart.
“Do you ever wish you had a family, Luther?” it asked, looking at me. “Y’know, if your slut mother didn’t love demon cock.”
“Keep talking, bitch…” I muttered. “I’m still gonna see your ass fry.”
“Tough guy, I like that,” said Shelly, turning from the hostages and moving back towards me. “What was your childhood like, Luther? Living in that monastery? Being fed bullshit by those monks? Told you were destined to become some kind of righteous, holy warrior?”
She paused, tilting her head to the side as she studied my face.
“Oh wait…that’s it, isn’t it? You actually believed them, didn’t you? You really thought you were going to be their Luke Skywalker. Well, I’ve got news for you, Cross. You’re nothing to them but a weapon.”
The demon sure liked the sound of its own voice. Keep it talking, that’s what I had to do. What the demon didn’t know was that I had a plan. It was a risky plan, one I wasn’t even sure would work. But it was the only chance I really had left. I’d only managed this once before and it was just a practice run under intense supervision with safeguards in place.
Trying it in this situation with a mind as hostile and as powerful as this demon’s, it was risky for someone with decades of experience. For me, it was damn-near suicidal. But it was also the only chance I had to save this family. And maybe I’d be able to save the girl, too.
But I needed more time to concentrate, and that meant I had to keep the demon talking. Keep it from killing for just a little bit longer. It was the only shot.
“You sound like you’re trying to convince yourself instead of me,” I said. “What’s the matter? You afraid they might be right? That I really am some kind of chosen one?”
“Please, you’re a cambion. Nothing but a half-breed mongrel who should’ve been killed the second you were born,” said Shelly. “Carraway and the Sons of Solomon saw an opportunity to use you. Get some extra firepower on their side. But they had to make you believe you had a chance to be one of them. So they made you think you were someone special. But really, all you are—all you’ve ever been—is a mistake.
“Do you know what your true destiny is, Luther? Do you know who sired you and why? Do you have any idea just what it is you were bred to accomplish?”
I shrugged. “Listen to boring speeches from arrogant bottom-feeders who think they’re better than they are?”
Shelly glared at me and an invisible force slapped my cheek, strong enough to throw my head to the side. I worked my jaw a few times, stretching the muscles to try and relieve the pain. I turned my head and looked at her.
“Go on, tell me. You’re gonna kill me anyway, right?”
“If only your father could see you now,” said the demon. “He’d be so disappointed in you. So ashamed of what you’ve become.”
I was getting closer. I just needed to keep the demon talking a little bit longer. Right now, it was too distracted. Between keeping me pinned to this chair, influencing Tim, and my goading, the demon wasn’t able to focus on its defenses. And I was searching for a weak point.
I found one.
“Wonder if he’d also be disappointed in you,” I said. “I’ll see you on the other side.”
“What are you talking about?” asked the demon.
My eyes flashed crimson and the demon screamed. We both collapsed.
7
This was a bad idea, but I had no other options.
The only way to strike at the demon was to weaken its power. That meant disrupting the hold it had on its vessel. The more a demon takes root in a host body, the stronger that demon becomes, because it no longer has to fight the person it’s possessing.
So pinned down by the demon, what other choice did I have? I attempted a dreamwalk. This involved projecting your consciousness into the dreams of another person. Fortunately, when a demon was in the driver’s seat, the host was pretty much left in a state of dreaming.
But dreamwalking isn’t easy. Takes a lot of energy to do, especially if you’re doing it with a hostile subject. And I’ve only done it one time before, in a controlled environment. If anything goes wrong during a dreamwalk, both the host and the dreamwalker could both end up trapped inside the dreamscape.
When I opened my eyes, I was standing in a school corridor. Rows of lockers were on either side of me. The corridor was empty and I began to walk down it. I passed bulletin boards with flyers and student art pinned to them, trophy cases, and classrooms with a window in the door. Peering through some of those windows, I saw every classroom was completely empty.
The bell rang and I stopped, just waiting. The doors to every classroom opened and suddenly, a sea of children came rushing out into the hall. They pushed past me, going to their lockers, talking amongst themselves, and rushing to go home.
I scanned the face of every child who passed me, trying to find Shelly. She was lost somewhere here in the dreamscape. If I could get her out of here, I could break the connection the demon has on her and then perform the exorcism. But first I had to find her.
I tried to avoid going through any doors. Every time you walk through a door in the dreamscape, you risk going to another place. The demon could easily use the doors as a way to separate me from Shelly and I wasn’t about to let that happen.
I stood at the doorway and looked into each classroom, but found them empty again. Any room with a window got a glance. The children ignored me, just going about their business. I grabbed a few girls who had the same hair as Shelly, but when I turned them to face me, I saw not one of them was her.
“C’mon, girl…we don’t have a whole lot of time…”
One by one, the children left the school. Soon, I was left standing in the school corridors all alone. And still no sign of Shelly.
As soon as I walked past an intersecting hallway, I heard a giggle and footsteps from behind. I spun around, but no one was there. I stood in the middle of the intersection and looked down both sides of the hall. No footsteps, no giggles, no noise of any kind.
Again another giggle and footsteps coming from the side. I turned and saw a shadow disappearing around a corner. I took after it, running down the hall. As I turned the corner, I saw someone run through an exit door.
“Damn,” I muttered. It might be a trap, but it could also be Shelly. Staying in here wasn’t doing me any good.
I walked up to the door and pushed it open. And when I did, I stepped into a very different setting. I stood in the chapel of a gothic cathedral, one which had obviously seen much better days.
“What the hell is this?” I asked aloud.
“I think you know.”
The voice came from behind me. I spun around, reaching into my jacket and drawing out the revolver. A man stood behind me, wearing a brown trench coat and smoking a cigarette. I reco
gnized him—how could I not? Sure, his hair was a little less gray and he had fewer wrinkles, but there was no mistaking the man who stood before me.
“Alistair,” I said, lowering the gun. “What is this place?”
“Gary, Indiana,” said Alistair, closing the distance between us.
His hand disappeared into his coat and he pulled out a pack of cigarettes, holding it open for me. I accepted one, drawing it from the pack and placing it between my lips. Alistair produced a lighter and I lit the cigarette, the two of us standing there and smoking in the remains of the old cathedral.
“Gary?” I asked. “You don’t mean—”
“The United Methodist Church,” said Alistair with a dour expression. “That’s right, lad. This is the night you were born.”
I’m not proud to admit it, but that was the moment when I got sucked into the dreamscape. When I completely forgot about Shelly and the demon, focusing instead on one thing and one thing only.
“We can save her.”
Alistair looked at me out of the corner of his eye between puffs on his cigarette. He gave me a single nod and flicked the cigarette off into the darkness. Reaching into his trench coat, he drew the same revolver as I had.
“What are you waiting for?” he asked.
I crushed my own cigarette with my shoe and drew my revolver. Alistair took point and we moved towards a door along the side. Once he pushed it open, we entered a stairwell leading down. I could hear the sound of screaming. Between the screams, there were chants. We were getting closer.
Alistair had never told me much about this night. I knew I was born here, but other than that, I didn’t know much. Alistair said he tried to help my mother, that he’d killed the demon who was watching her.
“What’s with the chanting?” I whispered to him as we moved through the basement.
He didn’t answer and we just continued forward. I felt a pit in my stomach at the thought of what we were about to see. We came to a stop at a door and Alistair kicked it in. I followed his lead, seeing seven figures in crimson robes standing in a circle. Lying on the ground in the center was a woman writhing on the ground, her brown skin glistening with sweat, black hair plastered to her face. Her knees were bent and occult symbols had been carved into her pregnant belly, with more on the rest of her naked body. She gritted her teeth in pain, her eyes clenched shut.
“Mom…” I was stunned by what I saw, my hand falling to my side and the gun slipping from my grip. The men in the robes ignored me and I did the same—they went straight for Alistair. I was more concerned with my mother.
I knelt down beside her, staring in shock and horror. The symbols carved into her flesh, what did they mean? I’d never seen anything like this before in my life. I noticed the inverted pentagram painted on the floor beneath us.
She finally looked up at me, opening her big, brown eyes wide. I couldn’t tell what was going through her mind—was she happy? Scared? I opened my mouth to speak, but emotion cut off my vocal chords.
“You…it’s you…” she said, then gasped and backed away from me.
“Mom, wait!” I reached for her, but she had a look of sheer terror on her face.
“Your eyes! What did they do to your eyes?”
“It’s nothing, it’s just—”
“Stay away from me!” she screamed. “You’re not my son, you’re not even human!”
I had no response for that. I looked down at the pentagram she’d crawled out of, fixing my eyes on it. I couldn’t look at her, couldn’t stand to see her fear anymore. Is this what she would really think of me if she were alive?
And then I heard something else.
“It’s over.” Alistair’s voice. “You can’t complete the ritual now.”
I looked up to see the last of the robed figures reply with, “Perhaps not. But the child will still be born. And one day, he will bring humanity to its knees!”
“What?” I asked, rising to my feet, watching as Alistair threw his dagger into the man’s head. I stepped over the body, staring at my mentor. “What did he say?”
Alistair sighed and shook his head. He fished in his pockets for his pack of cigarettes and when he finally found them, placed one between his lips. As before, he offered me the pack, but this time I refused.
“What was that all about, Alistair?” I asked. “What happened here?”
Alistair lit the cigarette and removed it from his lips, exhaling smoke. He took a deep breath and then looked at me. And when he did, his eyes turned yellow.
I nearly jumped, reaching into my coat for the gun. But then I remembered I’d dropped it earlier. I could still see it on the other side of the room. And Alistair—or the demon posing as Alistair—calmly walked towards me.
“Carraway never told you what really happened down here, did he? Never told you the purpose for which you were born,” he said. “Quite a fascinating story, really.”
“What am I?” I asked.
“Ah, Luther. You’re a very special child. But you haven’t quite lived up to our expectations. Your father would be disappointed in you.”
“You’re nothing but evil.”
I jumped at the new voice that came from behind. My mother was there, standing still, her face a mask of rage.
“Just like him. A killer. You’re going to kill that little girl because it’s the only way to stop it.”
“No,” I protested. “That’s not why I’m here. That’s not why I came to the—”
And then I remembered. I was dreamwalking. I’d allowed the demon to trap me in the dreamscape. But now that I knew the truth, I could escape. Could find Shelly and get us both out of here. Because none of this was real.
I dropped to the ground by the dead body, pulling the dagger from his head. When I came up, I rammed the blade into ‘Alistair’s’ stomach. He keeled over, the cigarette falling from his lips. A second later, he burned away into ash. I faced my ‘mother.’ She smiled at me.
“Not bad, Cross. But do you really think you’ll be able to save that girl?”
I threw the blade at her, but she vanished before it made contact. After retrieving my gun and the dagger, I went back to the broken door and stepped through the entryway. Once through, I felt the warm sun on my face. I looked down and saw I was standing on freshly cut green grass. There were a few trees and several benches and picnic tables.
And in the center of it all was a large playground with plastic equipment. I walked over, stepping off the grass and onto the pebbles. Children ran about, playing together. Swinging from the monkey bars, going down the slide, spinning the merry-go-round.
But on the swings, I saw one girl sitting alone. Not even swinging, just sitting in it, her tiny hands holding the chains and staring at the ground, kicking the pebbles. I recognized her instantly, though she looked very different without the demon corrupting her innocence. I walked over to her and sat in the empty swing by her side.
“Shelly,” I said. “I’m here to take you home.”
Shelly just stared at the ground, not giving an answer.
“You know you can’t stay here forever,” I said.
“Why not?” she asked. “It’s fun here. I can play all the time. The voice said I never have to leave.”
“The voice lied to you,” I said. “That voice, it’s…it’s a bad guy. What you’re in right now is a prison and while you’re here, it’s out there in your body.”
“How?” she asked, looking up at me.
“The bad guy took over your body and trapped you here. Before long, you’ll disappear.”
“You mean I die?”
“In a way, yeah.”
“Then what? Do I go to Heaven?”
I sighed and shook my head. “Not if the bad guy pushes you out. You’ll just disappear. Little by little until there’s nothing left. No Heaven, not even Hell. You’ll be gone—and I mean really gone.”
Shelly looked away from me and stared down at the ground, dragging her foot through the pebbles. “Wh
at can I do? I’m just a kid.”
“You’re stronger than you think.” I swept my arm from one side to the other. “Look around. All this? You created this.”
“Huh?” She looked at me in confusion and then scoffed. “No way. You’re crazy.”
“I’m serious. Right now, we’re inside your dream. If you can get out of here, you can stop the bad guy. You can win.”
“What do I do?”
“You fight. You win. It’s that simple.”
“What if I’m not strong enough?”
I reached over and placed my hand on her back. “I’ll be there to help you. Together, we can beat this thing. But you have to want it. Because if you stay here, sure it may seem safe and fun for now. It won’t stay that way, though. Sooner or later, you’ll get restless here. And meanwhile, that bad guy will be out in the real world, using your body to hurt people. Like your parents and your brother.”
Shelly sat silently for a few moments. Asking her to face the demon like this, it was a risk. But I was out of options. If I didn’t do this, if I didn’t have Shelly regain some control over her body for at least a few minutes, I wouldn’t be able to get free to perform the exorcism.
I only hoped Shelly didn’t realize the one thing I was leaving out—there was a very real chance this could all backfire.
8
Shelly hopped off the swing and started walking towards the grass. After a moment she stopped and turned to look at me. She waved her hand as a gesture to follow. “Aren’t you coming?”
I got off the swing and caught up to her. We walked over to cars parked along the street at the edge of the park. Shelly went up to one and opened the door. She climbed in first and them I followed behind.
And that’s when my eyes opened. In the real world, very little time had passed. Tim still had the knife, but he looked confused. He stared at the blade, not really sure what to do with it. Stuart, Diane, and Maria were all alive, though still bound and gagged. And Shelly was lying on the ground, apparently still asleep.
Devil's Taunt and Other Stories Page 5