Quint, Doshia sneered inside me. Your time is soon to come. I can’t wait to taunt you. You will beg and plead and maybe cry—weep for the love of your sorry life and for the woman who should have been mine.
But my feelings had changed now. I was no longer interested in the bitch who shared this body with me. She would pay soon enough for turning away from me. Etta would answer for my imprisonment. And as for Kassidy Bell—she would die after watching that shell of a doctor—Ben—wither away.
“Doshia!” called Trabek. “I have suspended Eras and Quint for you. If you give me that body—Kassidy—together we can shut away Etta again. Keep her for bargaining purposes. Her people—her clan—are still in existence. If they were to ever find out that we had arisen—escaped our coffins—then they would come looking for us. Her corpse and soul will allow us many opportunities. Together, you and I will rule. You give me that body and you can take either the shell that Eras uses, or the one that Quint resides in.”
Eras—Quint—Ben—Jude. Those names swarmed around inside my head. They meant something to me. Something nice. Yet, why did I want to kill them? Why, when I stared across the vaulted ceiling at them frozen in time, did I feel venom and hate? I shook my head as if it was filled with storm clouds. It was like I had been in a deep sleep or had suffered a fevered nightmare. And then I remembered where I was—what I had done. Robert! No. That had been a part of the dream too—hadn’t it? It had been just a nightmare. I wouldn’t have killed Robert. And as these terrible images became stronger, so did the realisation that I had indeed killed Robert. I was hanging from the ceiling. I had taken Robert with me. I had hung him from my own hands. Oh, God. I swallowed down hard as my stomach turned over. And in the dim shadows of this room, I could see blood over me—on my hands—under my nails. I could taste it in my mouth.
I gasped out loud. “No!”
Robert’s face had been pushed up against mine. His mouth had gaped open and his tongue had been hanging out. I had stretched open my own mouth and taken his tongue between my teeth. I cringed and screwed my eyes shut tight. I didn’t want to see it. I didn’t want to know what I had done, but there was no escaping it. Even behind my closed eyelids, Robert was there, and so was his tongue severed, clasped tightly between my teeth.
Stop it. Stop it.
I shook my head and opened my eyes, desperate to rid myself of such horrors. I glanced down at the floor. I could see Trabek peering up at me, his foot pressed down against Raven’s throat, a dark swarm of a shadow beside him. And there, by his feet, was Robert—a splattered, lifeless mess. I cried out. “No… no… what have I done?” How could I? Me!? My head swarmed with questions and accusations, and then, as I thought I could bear it no more, a voice whispered to me. A soft, gentle voice that brought me back to my senses.
Kassidy, it wasn’t you. You didn’t kill Robert. You were used. Doshia used you to kill him. You are not to blame.
“Etta?” I mumbled, my voice shaky. “Where have you been? Look what I did.” I glanced back again at Robert’s body. I shivered at the sight of the fog lingering around the perimeter of the chamber.
Shhh, you can’t fall apart now. We don’t have long. Doshia is consumed with Trabek at the moment. He has weakened his strength in you while he splits his soul outside of your body. He held me back, silenced me, but for now, while his attention is elsewhere, I can come forward. Take a knife. We must destroy these demons.
“But I thought demons can’t kill demons. How can I while a part of Doshia is still inside me—while you are in me?” I whispered, my bloodied nails digging into the stone ceiling.
Because, Kassidy, I am not one of their group. Listen to me carefully. Take a hold of that crucifix, don’t let it go. I will try to dispel Doshia from your body. If I succeed, your body is free for the Cleaners to take. You must be quick, don’t linger. Doshia can come back at you if you take too long, and the Cleaners will snap you up faster than you can swallow. The knife with the Eye Agate and black Obsidian set in the grip—take that—it holds some protection against evil. It was mine once, long ago. You must stab the corpses with force. Then, take the burning torch from the back of the chamber and set them on fire.
“But which corpse belongs to which demon? I could end up killing Quint and Eras. I could kill myself—and you, too!”
I am still in coffin seven… my body was never switched. I know my own corpse. With the others, you must hold your hand over their skulls. I will know when you do that, who is who.
I looked down upon Trabek, at the dark mass that shrouded over him and then at Quint and Eras. They hadn’t moved. Trabek held them steady with an unseen force.
“Etta,” I whispered, feeling afraid of what was to come. “What about Eras and Quint? They’re stuck.”
I will deal with them as soon as we remove Doshia from you. Are you ready?
I looked down again into the chamber, trying to remember everything Etta had told me to do. There was so much to remember that I replayed the instructions over and over again inside my head. Crucifix. I took one hand away from the ceiling, pulled out Father Williams’s crucifix, and held it tight. I stared down at the stone plinth, which held the knives. After a quick glance, I spotted the knife that belonged to Etta. My next move would be to the coffins. Could I pull this off? Even if Etta removed Doshia from me, he would still be here—still lurking, waiting to get his revenge.
Believe in yourself, Kassidy, believe in us. We can do this. We have to, Etta whispered, hearing my doubts.
Taking a deep breath, I waited for Etta to begin. I stared down into the chamber at the fog, Trabek and the dark form of Doshia. My fear began to grow. I was about to drop into the lion’s den.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Kassidy
With serious doubts raging through my head, I waited, breath held, for Etta. My long, black nails dug into the ceiling and my stomach churned with unease. With my own thoughts more prominent than Doshia’s, I felt more like myself, although somewhere deep within me, I could still sense Doshia. He still had a hold over me and I wondered what would happen when Etta began to rid him from me. Would he come back to me stronger than before—would I lose myself forever? Would my mind be turned to evil and would I end up killing everyone like Doshia had planned?
Breaking into my thoughts, I felt my mouth open and I began to speak, only it wasn’t my voice and it wasn’t Doshia’s. It was the soft voice of Etta.
“Depart from this body. Depart from this body,” whispered Etta.
I gripped onto the crucifix and peered down below. The stone plinth with the knives were just below me. I would have to drop from the ceiling and hope that I would land safely. I waited, stomach turning over and over. I felt sick. I wanted this over with, but the wait felt like forever.
With her voice raised, Etta began to talk again. “Depart from this body in the name of my power, my strength, and my soul. Depart now! I cast you out, demon!”
I felt a rumbling—a shifting inside my body. I could hear those evil voices pipe up in my head. They were like whispers and cries. My fingers tightened around the crucifix and I pressed myself close to the ceiling as I began to sway.
A rush of cold air seemed to race by me and then it turned and came back, swirling around my body. My hair flowed out like it had a gentle electric current sending waves through it. My mouth opened and my lips corresponded in time to the voice of Etta. I shuddered violently as Doshia began to twist and turn. I could feel him inside of me. He felt like a snake twisting and slithering. My mind wanted to go back to him. I could feel Doshia trying to take me back. With all of my concentration, I closed my eyes, clutched the crucifix, and listened to Etta.
“I cast you out, demon! I cast you out, Doshia!” Etta repeated the sentence over and over.
In my head, the sound of many voices echoed, but Doshia was the loudest. Over Etta’s chants, I could hear hissing. It rose up from my stomach and out through my mouth. It grew louder and louder.
“I cast you
aside… I throw you from this body!” shouted Etta. “Out! Get out!”
“No!” hissed Doshia.
“Depart from this body in the name of…” continued Etta.
“No!”
“I command you to leave!” screamed Etta.
“No. No. No. No. No. No!” growled Doshia.
The chamber appeared to ooze with a negative energy. I found myself crawling across the ceiling. The room shook as Doshia gained momentum.
“Help me… Etta… help!” I shouted, realising that the crucifix had slipped from my hand. But that wasn’t all that was slipping. My mind was a jumbled mess of dark, evil, disgusting things and I could feel my self-control slowly slipping away. I cried out as Doshia filled my head with wicked images. I could see myself grow as some kind of dark, malevolence, vile creature. I was going to kill everyone here. With my own hands, I was going to tear the life from each and every one.
“I condemn you from this body!” Etta screamed, pushing herself forward.
“You think that your powers of good will dispel me?” hissed Doshia. “You are weak, Etta. You always were a limp, feeble creature—easily led by the likes of Quint. I command you to leave this body! Leave. Leave. Leave!”
I opened my mouth and showered the ground below with black vomit. It raced up my throat and sprayed out in thick clots. Then, letting go of the ceiling, I fell back so I was left with just my feet pressed against the rocky top of the chamber.
Disorientated, my body swung to and fro. Upside down, the room seemed to swell and distort. Tiny pieces of rock began to fall, and cracks began to open up across the walls. A vile smell filled my nose. The crucifix hung across my face and I reached out to grab it.
“Noooo!” screamed Doshia, throwing my arms back.
I found myself charging across the ceiling, stomach twisting and visibly stretching out of shape. In the corner of my eye, I could see Raven still pinned to the floor, Trabek holding her down, while he stared up at Doshia, his eyes wide. The fog waited patiently. It hung back in the corners of the room, shifting and breathing. I stopped moving, and as I hung there from my feet, I found myself glancing across the chamber, a smile spreading across my face. I moaned. I swayed forward and back. My nails had grown longer, thicker, and sharper, and as I stared at my hands, I could see my veins popping under the skin. My breathing had become heavy and I panted like a dog.
Etta came forward again. I could feel the struggle as the two demons tried to manipulate me. “I will not leave!” cried Etta, forcing my arm up and snatching at the crucifix. The silver cross showed me a quick glimpse of my reflection. Shocked at my appearance, I let the crucifix drop. My eyes had glazed over with an off-white film. My skin had become a sickly yellow, and my teeth were covered in black slime. Doshia screamed out from within me, clawing at my flesh with my nails.
Spitting black bile, the moaning came again. My arms snapped forward and I saw the satchel fall to the ground. I began to crawl and scuttle across the ceiling.
“I cast you out!” screamed Etta, my lips matching her voice as she yelled out.
I fell to the ground, bones clicking and crunching. Lying on my back, I screamed as my body shook, and over my screams, the moaning from Doshia filled the chamber. I thrashed about uncontrollably. My stomach stretched and bulged as Doshia clung on inside of me.
Etta continued to chant. “Depart from this body, demon… depart from this body!”
I cried out. “Please… it hurts… I… can’t take… it… I can’t go on…” I stared above me as I rolled from side to side. I shivered with cold, yet my skin began to break out in blisters as if my flesh was cooking. My eyes fell upon Ben hanging mid-air, Eras beside him. “Please… Ben… Quint… help…”
But they were unable to do so. Trabek held them in place and all they could do was watch in silence.
“In the name of my power, my strength, and my soul, I cast you out, Doshia!” Etta repeated over and over again, her voice more frantic with each try. And as Doshia continued to thrash around inside of me, I felt Etta move, too. My right arm came up and my fingers curled once more around the crucifix.
My screams mingled with Doshia’s moans and my mouth appeared to stretch open unnaturally wide. My eyes bulged as something big began to travel up my throat. I gagged and heaved, thick, rancid vomit choking me as I tried to breathe. It bubbled up out of my nose like lava. And just when I thought I could take no more, a hand shot out from my mouth, its fingers distorted, snapping like pincers. It twisted round and round, snatching at air as it tried to reach my hand holding the crucifix. And all the while as I tried to desperately hold on to my life, Etta screamed her chant.
I began to fade in and out as the arm and the hand protruding from my throat began to swivel. Somewhere deep inside of me, I laughed and then I stiffened up, still holding tight to the crucifix. My eyes bulged as the arm and hand retreated back down my throat. And with one final jerk of my body, a black mass shot out from my mouth and disappeared into the fog.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Kassidy
“Get up! Move, Kassidy.” Etta’s words seemed to wake me as I lay still on the cold ground, too frightened and unsure if I could even move.
“Huh?” I felt like I had just woken from a coma. My head felt thick like my brain was just stirring from a blackout.
“Get up! The knife. Get the knife!” cried Etta.
As if suddenly realising where I was, I clambered to my feet. I felt lighter somehow—free—and as I glanced about the chamber, I realised that, although Doshia had left my body, he was still here somewhere, waiting in the shadows, hiding in the Cleaners’ liar.
I rushed forward across the room. I snatched up the knife, my other hand still holding tight to the crucifix. The Cleaners began to move from the perimeter of the chamber.
Trabek, still holding Raven down with his foot, held out his hand, and pointing his finger in my direction, said, “You are mine. You will not take another step.”
I stumbled back as something invisible knocked into me. I tried to take another step toward the coffins, but something I couldn’t see was blocking me.
Trabek smiled. “You are not strong enough to stop me, Etta!”
Then, turning on my heels, I faced Ben and Jude, who were still suspended in the air. With Doshia gone, I could now feel the true power of Etta as she whispered, “Drop… be free…!”
My eyes widened as what appeared to be a bright spark came from my hand. It travelled across the chamber, multiplied into tiny lights, and then showered Ben and Jude like a firework. They dropped to the ground and I felt my heart jump as Ben came racing across the room toward me. His blue eyes lit up and I held open my arms. “Kassidy… I’m here.” Our hands touched briefly before Ben shrunk back and Quint took over.
Snatching me up, he spun me around and whispered, “Etta!” Then, as quick as he had picked me up, he let me go and turned on Trabek.
I stepped back as Trabek fell to the floor. Too scared to move, Raven lay on her back, eyes frightened. Quint rose over him. And as he began to talk, his voice changed to someone much younger than himself.
“Uncle...” His nose screwed up and he continued. “Such a title is not befitting for someone like you. I feel my insides twist and my body fills with bitterness and hate just calling you that. You are no uncle… you never were.”
As if awakening a memory in Trabek, I watched as his eyes flickered and his body twitched. Peering up at Quint, he hushed, “Mathew! Is that you, Mathew?”
“Don’t you even dare speak my name. You… the one who gave my life away, and that of my brother, Adam… such evilness should not dare speak the names of the innocent. We were just children. Young. Scared. Innocent. We had just lost our parents. You… you should have been there for us… your nephews. But you turned on me and Adam. You gave us away to the demons that you dragged up from Hell. It was here. In this chamber when you allowed us to die… you took away our innocence and replaced it with evil and death.”
Looking from Quint to Eras and shaking his head, defiance across his face, Trabek shook his head and said, “I gave you eternity. I gave you power… I gave you Quint, and you, Adam,” continued Trabek, “I gave you Eras! Now show me some gratitude!”
Trabek got to his feet. “I could have killed you. Your cousin wanted you both dead. I could have just ended you, there and then, when you both turned up at my home looking for a place to live. But no… I showed you something far greater than a home. I gave you something far better. I gave you a family… a powerful family… and here you are now… believing you were so hard done by… believing you are something better! Better than me? Better than your cousin? Get down on your knees and remember who I am! Be gone, Mathew and Adam!”
I watched as Trabek stared at Quint and Eras. Their feet lifted off the ground and they flew back. Trabek moved toward me. He summoned the Cleaners with a beckoning finger.
“Go, Kassidy, move!” Etta called out. And as I turned to go, Etta, using my right hand with the crucifix, held it up in the direction of Trabek and shouted, “My light is stronger than your darkness. My good is far more powerful than your evil. I hold you back, demon. I turn my back on you and follow the light!” A rush of wind and bright light seemed to trail out from me. As I moved forward, crucifix held up, I felt my hair flow out in all directions and the bright aura that emanated from my body lit up the dark chamber.
I heard Trabek cry out as I quickened my pace toward the coffins. Passing Raven as she still lay curled up on the ground, I reached down and pulled her to her feet. “You’re coming with me,” I ordered, dragging her along beside me. “I need your help, Raven, like I’ve never needed it before.”
“But you’re a demon… you killed Robert… I saw you… I saw what you did!” Raven yanked her arm away. “And look… you’re holding a knife…you’re going to kill me, too!”
“No. No I’m not. That wasn’t me. That was Doshia. But he’s not in me now. I’m me… I’m Kassidy!” I pleaded, snatching hold of her hand again. “We’re going to destroy, Doshia, Trabek, and Vectis. Take the knife!” I shouted, holding it up for her to take. “You don’t trust me with the knife? Then you have it.” I shoved it into her hand and continued to drag her with me.
Deceived Page 18