Shadows

by Amy Meredith

  ‘It’ll take longer …’ Eve shifted from foot to foot. She didn’t like standing still. It made her feel as if the shadows were moving towards her. Sneaking up on her. About to envelop her.

  ‘You’re right,’ Jess said. ‘Let’s just go this way. It’s not like Creepy comes out – ever.’ They began walking again.

  Creepy’s real name was Veronica Martin, but every single kid in Deepdene had been calling her ‘Creepy’ for so long that even the parents called her that now. She hadn’t been out of her big, crumbling-down house for as long as Eve could remember. She got everything delivered, and when a delivery came, she slid an envelope of money under the door. No one Eve and Jess’s age had ever seen her. Jess’s grandmother had, though. She and Creepy were supposed to have been debutantes together.

  ‘Megan’s mom can’t wait for Creepy to go to a nice – a very, very nice – retirement home,’ Jess commented. ‘She hates how the Creepy House ruins the look of the street. Makes it hard to get people to pay a lot for the other houses. She was ecstatic when Mal’s family did all that work on their place.’

  Eve had to admit she was pretty happy Mal had moved into town herself. She reached out and ran her fingers along the privacy hedge that ran around Veronica Martin’s property, rustling the leaves and tiny branches as she went. The hedge was overgrown, completely neglected. Nothing like Mal’s hedge, Eve thought.

  She took her hand away, but the hedge continued rustling.

  Eve frowned, watching the branches. Definite rustling. Well, there was a tiny breeze. Maybe that was why.

  But now the hedge was shaking. There was no way a breeze could be causing that kind of movement.

  ‘Jess—’ Eve began. But before she could even get the words out, a thin white hand burst through the hedge and grabbed her wrist.

  Eve let out a yelp of shock. She tried to pull away, but the grasping fingers were locked tight around her wrist. She peered through the leaves and branches. A pair of rheumy eyes stared back. Creepy.

  ‘Stay out of the shadows,’ Creepy rasped. Her voice sounded thick and rough, as if she hadn’t spoken for years. ‘They’re in the shadows.’

  Eve jerked her wrist away, and Creepy’s fingers slid off, leaving scratches on the back of her hand. ‘Let’s get out of here!’ she cried.

  ‘The demons,’ Creepy screeched after them as they raced down the street. ‘The demons!’

  Eve and Jess didn’t stop running until they’d turned onto Marigold Lane, where the church was. Eve could see the spire jutting up in front of the full moon. Gasping for breath, they slowed to a walk – a fast walk. Only one block to go.

  ‘I should have worn my cheerleading sneakers,’ Jess said, huffing a little.

  ‘It’s sacrilege to wear them for anything other than cheering,’ Eve reminded her. ‘Isn’t that the first rule of cheer?’

  ‘Oh, right.’ Jess smiled. ‘Guess we’ll have to go shopping again and get me some regular old exercise sneakers.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Eve wished they were shopping right that moment. On Main Street there would still be people around. On Main Street, there were old-fashioned streetlights, and all those twinkly fairy lights in the trees. Here the only light came from scattered windows in the houses – houses that felt like they were miles back from the street.

  That’s why the shadows feel thicker, Eve told herself, trying to forget how Katy had said that it was getting darker earlier when they’d been window shopping. Had Katy been seeing shadows that day? Was that why she thought it was darker?

  It’s always darker off Main Street, Eve thought. That’s why it’s darker now. That’s the only reason. Except that didn’t explain why the shadows looked like they were moving; twining around her ankles the way Spiffy had in front of the hardware store; reaching out from shrubs and trees, like Creepy’s fingers.

  She glanced at Jess. Was Jess seeing what she was seeing? Eve didn’t want to ask. If Jess didn’t think the shadows were moving like they were alive, then there was no need to freak her out by mentioning it. Jess seemed to have her eyes locked on the church. Good idea. Eve focused her gaze on the church too, and kept putting one foot in front of the other. Soon they’d be safe inside.

  But the shadows were sticky. Eve wasn’t quite sure what that even meant, but it was the only word that came to her mind: sticky. As if they were made of thick black treacle or something. Walking through them got harder with every step. And the shadows – they were murmuring.

  No, Eve decided. The murmuring – all hisses and low moans – was in her mind. Her imagination had jumped on the crazy train. Whoo! Whoo! Less than a block to go, psycho chick, she told herself, struggling to get her brain under control.

  But the murmuring continued. It deepened, grew louder, and Eve realized she was able to make out words – ‘skin’, ‘soul’, ‘death’, ‘agony’. The words became sentences that painted images so gruesome they took Eve’s breath away. ‘First we take your mother’s skin, then drink her blood, then suck the marrow from her bones. Then we drink her soul and your mother becomes one with us—’

  And then Jess screamed.

  Eve whipped her head towards her friend. Jess was frantically clawing the air in front of her. ‘Get off her! Leave her alone! Mom!’ Tears streamed down her face.

  She’s seeing it – what they’re saying, Eve realized. Laughter, deep and evil, snaked through her mind.

  ‘Jess, it’s OK,’ she cried, taking her friend’s hand.

  ‘Mommy,’ Jess sobbed.

  ‘Jess, your mom’s not there. It’s in your head. It’s only in your head!’ Eve exclaimed.

  Jess screamed again, her knees buckling under her. All Eve could do was wrap one arm around her, and half pull, half drag her down the street. They had to get to the church. To Luke.

  ‘Ah, the skin is so soft and sweet. But not as sweet as yours will be,’ the voices in Eve’s head thundered. ‘We’ll savour yours. We’ll eat it slowly, while you continue breathing, while you stare up at us. Your screams will be our music.’

  She kept her eyes on the church doors, the hundreds of gargoyles staring down at her as she hauled Jess closer.

  ‘Stop, please, please,’ Jess was whimpering. Eve hugged her tighter and began talking nonstop. Maybe it would distract Jess from whatever she was seeing. Maybe it would block the voices from Eve’s head.

  ‘Almost there, Jess. Almost there. None of this is real.’ The voices laughed again. ‘None of this is real,’ Eve repeated. ‘We’re here, Jess. We’re in the church courtyard.’

  The church courtyard, which was filled with shadows. Writhing, slithering shadows, heavy around Eve’s feet. Trying to trip her, to pull her down.

  ‘The door’s right here. We’ll be inside in one second. Just one second, Jess!’ Eve stretched out her hand, keeping one arm locked around Jess’s waist. She grabbed the cold metal handle of one of the church’s double doors; the gargoyle perched on the handle gazed back at her, its eyes gleaming in the moonlight.

  ‘Almost there,’ Eve gasped. She yanked the door open and pushed Jess inside.

  ‘Noooo!’ Jess screamed. ‘They’re inside!’

  Chapter Twelve

  ‘Jess, open your eyes!’ Eve begged.

  ‘You’re OK, Jess. Everything is OK,’ Luke told her, his voice calm and steady.

  They stood on either side of Jess just inside the dimly lit, peaceful church. Jess had the backs of her hands pressed against her eyes, protecting them.

  ‘Come on, Jess, please look.’ Eve gently tugged Jess’s hands away from her face. Her eyes were screwed shut. ‘We’re the only ones here, just you, me and Luke.’

  Jess cracked open her eyes, took a breath, then opened them all the way. ‘I thought … Eve, they were … They had my mother.’ She shuddered.

  Eve wished she had a sweater to wrap around her friend. But the night had been so nice, she hadn’t worn one. At least, it had started out nice. It doesn’t really matter. A sweater wouldn’t help, Eve thought. She�
�s not cold on the outside. She’s cold inside. Eve felt the same way, as if the voices had left icy slime trails in her body.

  ‘No they didn’t. It was in your head,’ Eve said gently. ‘Even outside, there was nothing really there.’

  Jess’s eyes darted frantically around the church. Finally she seemed convinced she was safe. She moved slowly towards the closest pew and sank down onto it, exhausted and pale.

  ‘What happened?’ Luke asked, baffled. ‘Did those guys come after you again? I’m so sorry. We needed to meet at the church, but I should have walked you over here.’

  ‘No, it was shadows,’ Eve answered. Which sounded like nothing. ‘It was like the shadows had a life of their own,’ she tried to explain. ‘They were pulling at us, grabbing for us. And they were whispering all these horrible things.’

  ‘Whispering?’ Luke repeated doubtfully.

  ‘Well, screaming but in whispers. Or … I don’t know,’ Eve said. ‘That’s what it was like for me, anyway. Like the shadows were talking, but I didn’t really hear them. They were whispering right into my mind, filling it up.’

  Luke didn’t answer, but the look on his face was enough to make Eve squirm. She knew she sounded crazy, but it was all true.

  ‘It was worse for Jess,’ she went on. ‘I just heard voices, but somehow Jess was seeing what the voices described.’

  ‘No. It was more than seeing,’ Jess corrected her. ‘It was smell, touch, everything. I could smell my mother’s blood.’

  For a moment none of them said another word. Luke stared back and forth between the girls, his eyes wide.

  ‘Coffee,’ he finally said.

  ‘What?’ Eve asked.

  ‘Coffee will help. Great smell. Great taste,’ he answered. ‘I brought some.’ He grabbed his backpack from the floor behind the last pew, and produced a big plaid thermos and three Styrofoam cups.

  ‘It does smell good,’ Eve said as Luke poured them all coffee.

  ‘I don’t think I’ve seen anyone with a thermos since fourth grade,’ Jess commented. She took a sip of the hot coffee and forced a smile. ‘The plaid has kind of a fun, retro vibe. I can see it as a cute little skirt.’

  Eve felt her shoulders relax. Clearly Jess was feeling a little more herself.

  ‘That’s why I bought it,’ Luke answered, his snarkasm showing. ‘Actually, my dad bought it. He almost never wears cute little skirts.’

  They all laughed, but the sound seemed to get swallowed up by the heavy silence of the church. Luke took a gulp of coffee. ‘So … shadows.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Jess said softly.

  ‘But as soon as you stepped inside the church, everything was OK. Is that right?’ Luke asked.

  ‘For me it was,’ Eve said. She cradled the cup of coffee close to her body, trying to absorb that small amount of warmth.

  ‘For me too,’ Jess agreed. ‘It just took me a couple of minutes to realize it was over.’

  ‘So the gargoyles are working,’ Luke observed.

  ‘Huh?’ Eve said.

  ‘Yeah, huh?’ Jess added.

  ‘Gargoyles,’ Luke said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

  Eve glanced around the church. It bristled with gargoyles. Dozens and dozens – gleeful, sneering, snarling – gazed down at the three of them as if they were listening to the conversation. And there were even more outside. She remembered them staring at her through the shadows.

  Jess cleared her throat. ‘I hate to repeat myself, but huh?’

  ‘Gargoyles are supposed to scare off evil spirits,’ Luke explained. ‘And demons. I thought everyone knew that.’

  ‘No, only ministers’ kids know that,’ Eve teased him.

  She’d never thought much about the gargoyles, although the church was famous for them. Tourists even came to see them. Eve had never understood the appeal of the stone monsters, but if they kept demons away, she was now a fan. A big fan.

  ‘Makes sense. Some of them are pretty scary,’ Jess commented. ‘There’s one over there that has a skeleton in its mouth.’

  ‘It’s weird that we have a church with the most gargoyles anywhere in the world,’ Eve said slowly. ‘I mean, the town used to be called Demondene.’

  ‘It can’t be a coincidence,’ Luke agreed.

  ‘Do you think the town founders put all the gargoyles here because Deepdene – Demondene – because it’s some kind of demon magnet? I mean, the place attracts them?’ Eve asked.

  ‘Cheerful theory,’ Jess muttered, her head tilted back as she continued to look up at the gargoyles.

  ‘But a good one,’ Luke said. ‘The old minister’s diary confirms there have been demons in Deepdene before now.’

  ‘Really? What did it say?’ Eve asked. ‘How come we never heard anything about demons before?’

  ‘Are we talking about Reverend Simon?’ Jess asked. He had died of pancreatic cancer just after Christmas.

  ‘Yeah. He kept a diary,’ Luke answered.

  ‘Reverend Simon was like three feet tall,’ Jess put in. ‘There’s no way he was dealing with demons.’

  Luke took a plain brown leather journal out of his backpack and sat down on the pew next to Jess. ‘Well, Reverend Simon mostly talked about ideas for sermons and thoughts about how to help parishioners in here.’ He tapped the book.

  ‘Oooh, gossip. Anything juicy?’ Jess asked. Eve smiled. Her friend was definitely feeling better.

  ‘I’ll let you read the whole thing later,’ Luke said with a wink. He flipped open the journal to a page he’d marked with a little piece of paper. ‘But here’s what I wanted you to see. Starting right here.’ He pointed to a paragraph more than halfway down. Silently they all began to read.

  The Time of the Demon

  Throughout my time here in Deepdene, I have prepared myself for it, yet now my resolve is as weak as my failing body. I wonder if I will live to see the dark time I’ve read so much about.

  As the time of the demon approaches, my mind turns to the evil in the world more and more often. I know I should turn away from such thoughts. I believe that thinking about the demons – fearing them, to be more honest – is unhealthy. Unholy. I must turn my fears over to God. I must pray for the strength to help protect my town when the time comes, when the master demon comes through the portal again. Who will it take the form of this time?

  Can such things be true? I sometimes pray that it is a strange dream, all of it, the writings of those who came before, everything. It’s not so unreasonable that it could all be a strange and intricate delusion brought on by my medications, is it?

  But in my heart I know the truth – as I have always known it. I have read in the Dark Book compiled by the other ministers of this church – a book I will add to, if I survive – that the master demon rises every hundred years and assumes the form of any human it chooses, coming, with its demon minions, to feed on the people of Deepdene. Innocence and faith will be no protection.

  Soon – in less than a year, if the pattern holds – the master demon will begin to feed on the souls of those living here, using those precious souls to strengthen its power. Soon there will be an epidemic of insanity, as each person fed upon is driven mad. A person without a soul can’t have reason. Losing a soul means losing sanity.

  Again, all I can do is pray. Pray for strength, and pray for the appearance of the Deepdene Witch. If history repeats itself, and there is a witch who has come into her powers during the time of darkness, she will have the power to fight the demons.

  Perhaps I know the Deepdene Witch already. Perhaps she is one of my parishioners. Perhaps she is just reaching the age when her powers begin to express themselves. I wish I could be there to support her in what must be a frightening and confusing time. I hope her presence is revealed to me soon – her power will be known by the fire that flows from her hands.

  If I am gone, then I can offer only this. There is still hope. The church is old and strong, and it holds secrets that are key to destroying the demon. The
devil knows, where the secrets are hidden.

  ‘After that, he goes back to regular stuff – like the pancake breakfast,’ Luke said, closing the journal. ‘And his cancer treatments,’ he added sadly.

  Eve stared down at her hands, then put down her coffee and lifted them in front of her. ‘I asked my dad if he’d ever heard of the Deepdene Witch,’ she said, still looking at her hands. Hands that could kill a demon. ‘He thought I was asking about her because I’d found out she was my great-great-great-grandmother.’

  ‘Evie’s great-great-great-grandmother! How amazing is that?’ Jess exclaimed.

  ‘Interesting,’ Luke breathed. ‘So that means …’ He paused, seeming reluctant to go on.

  ‘… that I’m the new Deepdene Witch,’ Eve finished for him.

  ‘It’s just … wow,’ Jess said.

  ‘I know,’ Eve replied.

  ‘No, I mean wow,’ Jess said. ‘You are so going to change the image of witches! Once everyone gets a look at you, no one will think witches are all hairy moles and black hats or grungy, hippy, vegan Wicca chicks ever again!’

  Eve lowered her hands, laughing, actually laughing. Luke laughed too, and Jess joined in. Their laughter didn’t last. The terrifying events of the past few days were too big to ignore for long.

  ‘The demon is already here,’ Eve said. ‘I don’t know where it came from or what that portal was the minister talked about, but …’

  ‘But we all know it’s here,’ Jess said, sounding more serious than Eve had ever heard her.

  Eve nodded. ‘And it’s feeding on souls. That’s why Megan, Rose and Shanna’s mom are already in the mental hospital. We have to find whatever secrets Reverend Simon was talking about—’

  ‘Rose too?’ Luke asked.

  ‘Yeah. We found out after I talked to you,’ Eve replied. ‘And now Belinda’s talking about demons too. She could be next!’

  Luke just shook his head.

  ‘I can’t believe Reverend Simon knew all this was coming,’ Jess commented. ‘Whenever I saw him around town, he always just looked normal.’