I picked Clarita from the swing just as I caught the lithe shape of Maggie in panther form disappear around the side yard followed by Lace, hobbling behind.
"Shit." I said, waking Clarita, whose eyes widened first with joy, then in recognition of my tense mood.
"She's bad," Clarita whispered in my ear as I hustled her out to the truck and dropped her into the rear seat.
"She's very bad and you need to go with Gabriella." I turned and plucked Nelson from Kelli and helped the waking boy into the seat beside Clarita.
"What's going on?" Kelli asked.
"The woman in your home is evil," I said. "Go to my house and have Clarita let you into the basement." I desperately wanted to see Gabriella driving away in the truck, but I knew better than to suggest it, which was why I was confused when she offered.
"I'll drive," Gabriella said, climbing over the passenger seat and into the driver's. "I'll come back for you."
"Don't," I said. "Hunker down in the lab. There's no way Thea will be able to break in. Call Anderson."
I'd like to have said more, but the sound of breaking glass in the back yard caught my attention.
"Help Andy," Kelli begged.
I nodded to her as I closed the passenger-side door and sprinted toward the house.
Gone to Ground
Telekinetically, I turned the doorknob on the front door as I ran, kicking the door open violently the second I got there. I wasn't sure what Maggie and Lace were doing, but I knew they were in trouble as neither of them could stand against the ghrelin within Thea. Andy was sprawled on the kitchen floor, blood running from his mouth, but still very much alive.
"Can you walk?" I asked, crouching next to him.
"Dang. What's her problem?" Andy asked, still confused by whatever had transpired.
"She's not who she said. Kelli and Nelson are in danger and you have to go to them."
Andy shook his head and struggled to his knees. "What? Where?"
"They've gone to my house," I said.
"Why would they do that?" he asked.
I'd been around Andy enough to know that while he had difficulty with conversation, he was plenty smart. He used questions as a smoke screen while he worked out complex situations. The problem was I didn't have time.
I pushed him. "Get in your truck and rescue them!"
Between the minor compulsion and the turn of events with Thea, his brain locked on to the simple plan I provided. I helped him to his feet and he was off, unfortunately in the wrong direction.
"Front door!" I said, grabbing his arm. "Thea went out the back. You can't get stopped." It was an unusual ballet we performed as he allowed me to anchor him but used his momentum to swing around. I released him and like a missile, he rocketed toward the front door.
"Godspeed," I whispered to his back.
The sliding glass door stood open and I plunged through into the darkness.
"Felix!" Thea exclaimed in a saccharine sweet greeting. "I'm so delighted you made it."
My eyes adjusted to the dark and I found her standing in the back yard, eyes glowing orange.
"Why did you follow us here?" I asked.
"Can you not smell her?" Thea asked. "The Faa child is so delicious. It's a pesky talent - that ability to hide in shadow. Can you hear me, dear?" Thea raised her voice. "I will release your magics upon the world and you will be the queen you've always been destined to be. And you, Felix Slade, or should I say Baltazoss? You will be her loyal guard and advisor."
"Let me guess, the only thing we need to do is let you possess her?" I asked.
"Only way it works," she replied. "A small price to rule the world."
"You’re nuttier than a fruitcake," I said.
The sound of footsteps to my right caught my attention as Andy ran to his truck's cab. We exchanged a quick look. I just wanted to face-palm; coming into the back yard for his truck had been his best idea.
"Never a big thinker, were you, Baltazoss?"
"Name is Slade," I said. "My mother left me when I was six. I took my dad's name."
"Did she now?" Thea asked as Andy's truck engine struggled to start, catching her attention. "How very noble of you. Distract the big hairy monster so the innocent might flee."
Thea reached behind her, grabbing at nothing. When her hand came forward, it contained a fiery ball, which she hurled at the truck. As it flew through the air, the ball grew in size until it was larger than the truck itself.
"Scutum!" I strained to form a shield large enough to deflect it. I concentrated on just the cab and was horrified to hear a yelp of pain as Lace and Maggie became visible in the truck’s bed. Lace looked at me in panic as her left arm was engulfed in fire. I struggled to redirect the shield and formed it around her arm, smothering the flames. As I did, she collapsed.
"How delightful!" Thea exclaimed. "I had yet to look in the truck."
Just then, Andy's truck roared to life.
"I don't think so," Thea answered, pulling another ball of flame from the air.
I raced toward the truck as Andy's tires dug into the gravel drive. With timing only possible under duress, I twisted in midair as I flung myself into the bed of the truck and punched at the ball of fire streaking toward us with my weakening shield. It was just sufficient to redirect the fireball upward, but not enough to keep it from impacting the cab of the truck.
Andy howled in pain as a piece of the ball peeled off and brushed past him, hurtling out the open window on the other side. To his credit, he stayed focused on his task and the truck bounced off the curb and onto the asphalt as he turned onto the street, plowing over his mailbox as he did.
I caught a fleeting glance of a giant-sized soda cup splashing in Andy's face as I struggled to gain balance. With nothing to hold, I was thrown into Lace and pinned her against the truck bed's sidewall. The momentum in the truck shifted as Andy accelerated down the sleepy suburban street and we all slid backward. I grabbed hold of the tailgate in time to see smaller, twin fireballs streaking toward us. Flattening myself onto the truck's bed, I watched one sizzle overhead and strike the steel cab, exploding on contact with the window. The truck jerked to the side as Andy howled again in pain, no doubt from flying glass, but the tough little bastard didn't give up and roared around the next corner, cutting through a neighbor's lawn.
"Are you all okay?" Andy yelled through the back window as he straightened out on the road.
I looked around for Maggie and when I didn't find her, recalled an image of her jumping from the truck's bed, still in panther form. I looked back to Lace's crumpled and unconscious form, her head still in contact with the hard steel of the truck's sidewall. Her arm was a bleeding mess. I didn't know much about fire injuries, but it didn't take a genius to realize she'd been badly hurt. I pulled her onto my lap as I rotated to a seated position facing the back.
"Find a hospital. Lace is hurt," I yelled back.
"What in the hell was that?" Andy yelled back through the window. As he turned, a streetlight illuminated bits of glass, still embedded in the side of his bloodied face.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I answered, too quietly for him to hear as I searched for and found Lace's pulse. I pulled Lace and myself closer to the back of the truck's cab, where I knew the wind would buffet us less.
"My arm," Lace complained as she regained consciousness.
"I know. Don't look at it," I said, trying to sooth her. "It was burned by demon fire. We're headed to the hospital."
"No hospital. Not safe," she said.
"But your arm," I protested. "It's burned."
Agonizingly, she twisted her head and looked down at her arm, flexing her hand. I cringed when I saw the side of her head where a softball-sized spot of hair had been burned away. "I'm alive, don't let it be for naught."
It was a horrible choice. The burns on her hand and arm were disfiguring and I didn't believe her neck or the side of her face would escape scarring as the skin had already started to blister.
"You must!" she said. "Don't let the demon have me, Felix. You're my only hope."
"Dammit! Andy. My house. Go!" I said.
He shouted over the roar of the truck. "We're almost at the hospital."
"No. It's not safe."
At the next street Andy turned and I pulled the phone from my pocket to dial Gabriella.
"Felix? What's going on? Are you safe?" Gabriella asked in rapid fire.
"Lace is hurt," I said. "Burned. Thea attacked us with fire."
"Where are you?"
"Ten minutes from the house. Where are you?" I asked.
"Just pulling in the drive."
"Call Willow," I said. "We need her to help Lace."
For a moment, we argued about the relative safety of the hospital, but in the end, Lace took the phone and painfully explained that it was her decision.
"I'll call Willow," Gabriella agreed.
I sat back against the truck and did my best to comfort Lace as I inspected the damage the fire wrought. I found it ironic that the bandages on her cheek from where Willum had slapped her had, in the end, shielded much of her face.
"It's better this way," Lace said through tears. "No one else need die because of me."
"You're very brave, Lace," I said. "I'm sorry I was unable to protect you."
"I've already lived longer than I'd thought to."
"Why did you go in the back yard?"
"Your friend's family didn't need to lose their father because of me and my family," she said. "If Willum hadn't summoned this demon – if the Dark Folk would simply leave demons alone …. I don't see what's to be gained and yet it is my family's legacy. We brought this destruction."
"Rest, Lace," I said, smoothing her hair. "We'll figure it out."
Finally, we arrived at Tenebrius Manerium. Even with all the work, the stone façade still bore the scars of the witch's assault the previous fall. Old houses might look cool, but they sure demand a lot of attention, especially when people hurl rocks at them. I shuddered to think what a demon-fueled ex-girlfriend might do.
"How is she?" Gabriella met us as Andy parked his truck next to my blue Suburban.
"Lace? Can you get up?" I asked, helping her to a seated position.
Headlights illuminated the end of the long drive that joined to Happy Hollow Blvd.
"Who's that?" Gabriella asked.
"Get her inside." I leapt from the bed of the truck and walked forward, hands at my side, fingers stretched out, reaching for the power stored within the bounds of my family's property. I breathed deeply as the energy greeted and filled me.
A convertible, still a hundred yards away, paused and revved its engine.
"Give it up, Slade," Thea shouted, standing up on her seat. "I've got you boxed in this time."
"Turn around Thea," I yelled back, still approaching. "This is my home and I'll defend it. Leave before you're hurt." I knew I was tilting at the influx of power and no doubt overstating my position. The fact was, however, if I couldn't take the ghrelin here, I stood no chance anywhere.
"You are no match for me," Thea said, hurling three watermelon-sized fireballs.
With power to burn, I pulled my shield up and stood firm as they splashed away harmlessly. Thea sat back in the car and floored it, hurtling toward me.
"Adoloret," I shot flames down the lane, impacting the car dead center but it continued to roll forward, undeterred, even as the engine gave up. The darkness within me rose and I laughed as I pulled more and more energy from the stores beneath and intensified the stream of fire. I cackled with glee as the car burst into flame and small explosions rocked the engine compartment, bits and pieces flying apart. I would burn it to the ground before it reached me.
Unfortunately, I was not in my right mind as flaming wreckage barreled toward me. At the last moment, a hard shoulder caught me beneath my ribcage and I was thrown to the side, rolling down the embankment next to the drive. Entangled with a panther, I came to rest on the edge of the rocky stream bed that cut through the property.
"Rawr!" Maggie cuffed my face with her large paw. Even with claws retracted the smack hurt, but her message was well deserved. I'd lost control again and nearly died.
"How cute," Thea taunted, walking up from behind the vehicle. "Saved again by the broken sister who'd rather live as an animal than face a life without any real power. Felix, though, I'll say it now, you've really got something there. That was quite a display; it left me all tingly. Now I can't figure out if you're a snack or the main course."
Thea reached out and pain lanced through my body as my limbs stretched and I was lifted from the ground. I screamed in agony, all the while, still able to clearly hear her speaking.
"So much faster this way," she said. "I'd heard rumors that Atronia had a place in the suburbs. It's so much more inviting than her others. If only she was here to defend it."
I attempted to activate my shield, but the pain in my body simply increased.
"Tsk, tsk. None of that now." Thea's voice had changed to that of a man's and I knew it was the ghrelin's own. "You do bend so wonderfully." Fresh pain and the cracking sound of my finger being bent back at an impossible angle caused me to snap back into reality, from which I had started to fade.
"Why?" I asked.
"Why the pain?" the ghrelin asked. "It feeds my soul. Anguish, despair and loneliness are tools of the trade for my compatriots, but not me. I'm all about pain, suffering and death. I won't lie to you, Felix. I feel I owe you that much. You were a strong adversary and you weakened me back there in the Carolinas. I had a good thing going, but you exposed me and I had to give up much. Don't worry, though, I'm not angry with you. Really, life was becoming repetitive. Capture, torture, kill. You'd think the mountain air would be nice, but I got tired of it. It was time for a change and this will be even better."
It spun me in the air and a fresh wave of pain caused me to cry out.
"You know; I've been arguing with myself about something. Maybe you could help me. I smelled that child. Your daughter? No? Niece then? That Faa princess is one thing, but maybe I'll just take the child instead. Humans are so quick to forgive children. And wearing the skin of a Baltazoss, now that's got cachet. I'm just giddy with opportunity."
I opened my eyes and realized it was not just me suspended in the air, but Maggie also, still in panther form. Anger welled up within me and I pushed against the ghrelin. The more I struggled against the demon's hold the more pain I felt.
"Good. Fight, Baltazoss, fight," it replied to my struggle. "Bring forth the Fury within. It will rip you apart as I reduce you to dust." The intensity increased as two more of my fingers snapped backwards. "Only seven more to go." Maggie roared in anguish, her panther form thrashing, suspended above the ground.
We continued like this for what seemed like hours, although I had a suspicion that it wasn't anywhere near that long. I knew that pain had the effect of extending perception of time and it stood to reason that great pain would be no different. At some point, however, the mind becomes used to the idea of pain and while you feel it all the same, it becomes more manageable. It was at times like this that the ghrelin allowed us to rest.
"You're becoming desensitized," the ghrelin explained. "It's not as good for me when you do."
"I'll hunt you," I said through gritted teeth.
"Let's say you live," it said, contemplatively. "Do you really think you could kill your niece? I assure you, Althea Sanders is still quite alive in here. When I take the child, it'll be just the same. She'll ride along for every evil thing I do. Eventually, she'll grow to enjoy it. They all do."
"Never!" I dug deep and pulled at the energy from beneath without regard for my own self-preservation, allowing the darkness that I feared to flow through me. I had no idea what I could do to this demon, but we were going to find out. If it killed me – so be it.
The energy burned as it blazed through my being, tearing through me like strong alc
ohol. At first, I found it difficult to focus; the energy and darkness pushed at the edges of my consciousness. I fought to maintain a grip on the dim reality around me, but still I pulled at the earth, ignoring the pain.
"So valiant. The brave little wizard finally finds his true calling and is yet tragically too late," the ghrelin taunted, smiling through my onslaught. "Your last moments on this world will be spent with the knowledge of the wonderfully vile things I'll do to your witchy girlfriend and to your brother's daughter. Ooh, the things I have in store for them."
I closed my eyes and pulled harder, feeling the damage the wild energy caused as it coursed through me. I could feel the demon's defenses as it resisted and deflected my attack. Slowly, its grip lessened, but my efforts would not be enough.
"You're losing it," I grunted.
"Too little, too late," it replied, sending a fresh wave of pain through my body.
"Then we'll go together … " I paused. For a third time since we'd started this journey, a large barn owl crossed my vision. For me it was a magic number and I followed its progress as it swooped low over our heads, landing behind Thea. I watched as the owl transformed into a shapely, middle-aged woman with waist length black hair. "Mother?"
"I've heard you cuss before," the ghrelin chuckled. "That’s all you have for me?"
The woman smiled, the love in her eyes bringing tears from my own. I understood I was dying and knew I'd lost contact with the pain. I appreciated whatever power it was that could give me this vision before I finally passed. I'd so longed for one last moment with her.
The ghrelin in Thea's body jerked as the woman raised her hands and lightning arced from the sky above, striking it in the back. The howl of pain sounded more like a wounded werewolf than anything human. For a moment, Maggie and I remained suspended and then we fell to the ground. Fresh pain savaged me as I attempted to break my fall with broken fingers.
"You're real?" I asked, holding my arm up to her.
"I am, but do not let up," she answered quietly although her voice was easily heard.
"Baltazoss?" the ghrelin roared as a fresh bolt of lightning grounded itself through Thea's body.
Wicked Folk Page 26