Darkness Rising

by Mary Jennifer Payne

  “Hang the bitch!” someone screams out. The shout is so guttural, so full of hate, that it sends a shiver up my spine. I look over at Jade and my heart stops. Hopefully I’m wrong or just misinterpreting things, but I swear the beginning of a smile is tugging at the corners of her lips.

  “Unfortunately, it gets worse,” Smith says, closing her eyes for a moment, in a massively overdramatic gesture. “As Toronto’s finest closed in on the group of highly trained teenaged girls that perpetrated this crime, Gonzales attacked them brutally, rabidly, snapping their necks and kicking them with such hate that internal bleeding caused by blunt force trauma was also listed as a cause of death. Bradley Browning, twenty-nine–year-old father of two, died on the scene. He’d been with the force for only six months. He leaves behind his wife, Jennie, who is seven months pregnant.” Tears glint in Smith’s eyes. I know they are crocodile tears, but I’ve got to give her credit: she knows what this audience wants and is stirring their collective fear into a frenzy of rage.

  Cue a petite, heavily pregnant woman being helped up the stairs to the stage. She waddles, cupping the bottom of her baby bump protectively with the palm of one hand, to stand beside Smith. Her tears are definitely genuine and flow freely down both her flushed cheeks.

  Mayor Smith puts an arm around the woman’s shoulder and draws her in close. “Jennie Browning will now have to explain to her unborn child why his or her father was cruelly and senselessly torn away while trying to defend our great city.” She turns to Jennie. “Is there anything you’d like to say?”

  Officer Browning’s wife nods and sniffles loudly. She takes the mike and stares out at the crowd, her long lashes blinking away tears.

  The crowd is completely silent. It’s as if everyone is holding their breath.

  “Kill the bitch,” she replies, her blue eyes narrowing.

  JADE

  Jasmine knows something is wrong with me. So do the others. I wish there were some way to send out an SOS or some other kind of alert to them. Instead, I try hard to move my hands and feet, to do anything that might signal to them that I’m in here, deep inside, fighting for my life.

  But I can’t.

  It’s as though I’m encased in wet cement that’s setting fast. I’m unable to move even my pinkie finger. The world outside is hazy. I’m like a fish stuck at the bottom of a murky tank, trying to look up and out at what’s beyond me.

  In fact, this thing controlling me has already reached out and contacted several people. Important people. It’s let them know where we are. I’m like a walking microchip. The others are in so much danger.

  And there’s nothing I can do.

  I’ve never been so frightened. I can’t remember much about being taken to the Place-in-Between when I was young, but I’m certain this is far worse.

  The thing that’s taken over my body wants blood. And chaos. Destruction and death.

  Whatever this giant, pulsating force is, it’s much greater than anything I have ever imagined. I know now it was the source of the screams I heard when Seth touched me. It’s of this Earth, but also of the universe and beyond. And it’s ancient, as old as the moon and the stars and the seas.

  Most of all, it’s been awoken from a long, deep slumber. And it’s hungry.

  JASMINE

  I hold my breath as the camera swivels around 360 degrees again to reveal a cluster of heavily armed guards. They’re escorting two hooded figures up the steps of the stage to the gallows.

  “They’re really going to do this, aren’t they?” Lily says to no one in particular. Cassandra takes her hand and gives it a little squeeze.

  I don’t want to watch, but it’s a bit like a car accident. I’m torn as to why we’re watching this. I know we need to be informed, but do we have to watch the actual demise of one of our friends, one of our fellow Seers? Not to mention an innocent man alongside her?

  And that’s when I notice: the smaller figure, the one who is likely female, is too small to be Eva. Too thin. Not only that, but she’s walking as though in pain and with a slight stoop. Though I haven’t known Eva that long, I would have bet my life she would walk up to those gallows with her head held high.

  A noose is carefully placed over each of the prisoners’ heads by an armed guard. A tsunami of cheers rises up from the crowd. The guards turn toward Smith. They’re waiting for her next command.

  And that’s when I realize Smith never needed Solomon’s Ring — clearly, there are already enough people willing to do her bidding, thinking they’re keeping themselves and their loved ones safe from some enemy that doesn’t really exist, an enemy that Smith and her administration have fabricated to keep control over Torontonians. The demons she controlled were basically just a more violent addition to her loyal fan club.

  “Let’s go live now to Trafalgar Square to witness the crowd that has gathered there to watch the live stream from Toronto,” one of the female broadcasters says. The scene splits in half, allowing us to simultaneously watch the events in Toronto and the enormous crowd of people gathered in central London. Thousands of people, probably hundreds of thousands, are there. Some are sitting on and hanging off of two large, black metal lions under a tall, thin column, while others are seated along the rim of an unused fountain — all of them are watching several massive screens displaying the execution. Like in Toronto, the mood seems almost celebratory. There are occasional outbursts of cheers, as well. They’re more like spectators at a soccer game than at an execution of fellow human beings.

  “Despite the raids taking place across the capital today, it looks as though a sizable crowd has come out to witness the events across the pond, in Canada. We take you back there right now, as we’ve just gotten word that Mayor Smith is about to start the proceedings.”

  The screen shifts back completely to the scene in Toronto. Smith silently nods at the guards. Apparently, that’s their cue, because one of them speaks into his video watch, and suddenly the nooses tighten as the silver ropes begin to quickly disappear up into the arms of the poles, hoisting the two figures off their feet and into the air. Their bodies jerk and twist violently for a few moments before becoming perfectly still.

  As quickly as the execution began, it’s over.

  There are shouts of joy as people in the audience hug and high-five each other.

  “I think I’m going to be sick,” Dani says, covering her mouth and leaping to her feet. She races over to the kitchen sink and leans over it, retching loudly.

  “Jasmine! Look!” Lily says. She and Cassandra are staring in open-mouthed horror at the images playing out on the screen.

  I turn back to see the picture zoom in on the faces of the dead, their bulging eyes, protruding tongues.

  The crowd’s cheers and whistles of approval reach thunderous proportions.

  I stare at the image, unable to believe what I’m seeing. Because I was right.

  It wasn’t Eva being executed.

  It was Ms. Samson.

  All of us in the room sit in stunned silence as the drones continue to swoop back and forth, filming close-up shots of Taylor Moore and Ms. Samson’s lifeless bodies as they gently sway above the cheering crowd. Ms. Samson looks so thin and fragile, almost childlike. Tears roll down my cheeks. I don’t even want to save humanity if this is what we’re like. The world would be better off without our species.

  Cassandra is the first to break the silence.

  “If Ms. Samson is dead,” she says, her voice slow and deliberate, “then where’s Eva? Does this mean she’s safe?” She wipes at the tears that are trickling down her cheeks.

  Clarence shakes his head. “That we can’t be sure of. However, just as we have contingency plans here in London for any situation in which the authorities capture our members, or in which Seers such as yourselves are in grave danger, I’m sure they had the same at Beaconsfield.”

  I slide a sideways glance at Jade to observe her reaction to it all. Pretending to be preoccupied by brushing away my own tears, I stare a
t her. Her face is emotionless. She’s showing about as much feeling as a brick wall.

  “How come people aren’t freaking out about the fact that the wrong person’s been executed?” Lily asks.

  “People who cheer on this kind of thing don’t care much about all of that. They’re not thinking clearly. That’s why the followers of these corrupt governments are more dangerous than the leaders themselves,” Sadie answers, her eyes darkening. “And, just you watch, a story will be spun over the next few hours to explain it all. Fake news that these same people will lap up like honey.”

  Clarence’s video watch buzzes. He glances down at it, his bushy eyebrows drawing together in a gesture of deep concern as he reads the message.

  “We’ve got to go,” he says sharply, as he taps his watch and looks up at us. “Our location is on the raid list for tonight.”

  Sadie stands up. “We’ll need a medical van to take Cassandra in,” she says, worry lining her voice. “I want to reduce the chances of being stopped and questioned.”

  Clarence nods. “I’m not a hundred percent sure that will guarantee you security today, Sadie, but it’s worth the chance. I’ll call for one now. We’ll shut everything down, and you can meet them in the back garden. Be sure to take her down only when you get the message with the safe word.” He reaches into the pocket of his worn corduroy blazer and pulls out a little bronze tin.

  “I know you have these for you,” Clarence says. “But you’ll need some for Cassandra as well. We can take no chances, especially now.”

  Sadie nods as she takes the tin from his shaking hand.

  Lily’s eyes grow wide. “What are those?” she cries, jumping up and rushing toward the nurse. “Is it poison? It’s the same poison as Vashti took today, isn’t it? You’re not going to poison my sister!”

  Sadie quickly puts the tin into her pocket as Lily tries to snatch it from her hands.

  “Sit down, Lily,” Cassandra says through gritted teeth. “You’ve saved my life enough times. The first time when I was tried as a witch in the Place-in-Between, and countless others. This is bigger than us. Clarence is right.”

  I stare at Cassandra. She’s let me in. She means most of what she’s saying to Lily, except for the very last part. And that’s because she’s pretty certain she’s dying. The surgery on her arm was successful, but an infection is setting in.

  In 2032, even a serious infection is easily treatable, of course, but given our situation, there’s no guarantee that the nurse can obtain the necessary intravenous antibiotics or find a safe place to administer them. Both Cassandra and I realize this. It’s not like they can just wheel her into a hospital. And this is why there is a good chance she will become a casualty of war.

  Tears sting my eyes. Though I’ll admit that I haven’t always felt all warm and fuzzy about Cassandra, in the end, we’re more similar than we are different. We’re both first-borns and fiercely loyal to our sisters and fellow Seers, and we’re both more than a little impulsive.

  I look over at her. She shakes her head at me, then shoots me this sad little smile. She doesn’t want Lily to know what’s happening, even though she realizes that once the infection takes hold and her pain worsens, her twin will figure it out. But by that time, we’ll be on our way to our next destination. Hopefully one that will bring us closer to Spitalfields and the Roman wall, so we can deposit the ring back in its rightful place.

  “Dani, look out the window,” Clarence says. “But be discreet. The cars should be here. One silver, one black. They’ll be across the street.”

  Dani gets up and slides over to the window, her long legs carrying her across the room in just a few steps. She brushes the edge of the drapes aside and looks out. “They’re out there,” she confirms somewhat breathlessly as she turns back to us. “Are you sure it’s safe?” she asks Clarence.

  He shakes his head as he slowly and shakily pulls himself up out of the chair he’s been sitting in.

  “Safe is a concept, a state of being, that no longer exists,” he says. “The faster you realize this, the better off we will all be.”

  He nods at me. “Grab the brown leather satchel sitting on the dining table for me. We must go.”

  JASMINE

  It tears my heart apart watching Lily hug Cassandra goodbye. She clings to her sister until the last possible moment. When I first saw Jade again in the Place-in-Between after spending five years apart, I didn’t want to let go of her, either, because I was afraid she’d somehow slip away and I’d never see her again. I know how much this is hurting both of them.

  “Everyone’s waiting for us downstairs,” I say from behind them. I try to keep my voice from being too sharp, but it’s difficult, knowing that each second we spend here increases the risk of our being caught in the raids.

  “I love you,” Lily sobs, clutching Cassandra’s wrists. “And I’ll see you soon, okay? As soon as all of this is over. Then you’ll be better.”

  Cassandra nods, tears sliding down her cheeks. She’s shaky on her feet. The nurse watches, concern etched across her face.

  “I love you. Be safe. Now go,” Cassandra whispers, her voice hoarse. I can tell from the look in her eyes that each word is difficult to get out. The pain must be getting worse.

  Lily turns and holds her head up, though her shoulders heave from sobbing. I slide an arm around her shoulder as we head out the front door of the flat. But I don’t turn around to say goodbye to Cassandra. I can’t bear to. Because I know seeing her again would be nothing short of a miracle. The chances are practically non-existent, and I don’t want to remember this fragile, shaking version of Cassandra, with her jet-black hair hanging lifelessly over her shoulders and tears streaking her pale cheeks. I want to hold onto the pain-in-my-ass, sarcastic, beautiful version of her. The one I’ll admit I was sometimes intensely jealous of and may have disliked, but now realize I also loved. That’s the memory I want to carry out of here.

  The others are in the foyer, all standing along the wall. There’s only the dimmest light coming from a single bulb hanging above us, and there’s no guarantee that it won’t go out at any moment.

  “You will need to put the ring back in the wall as early as possible tomorrow,” Clarence says. “The cars will take you to a flat very close to Aldgate Station. Only when the ring is back in its proper place will you have a modicum of safety. But again, you mustn’t count on safety. You cannot let your guard down. Things will likely move more quickly now, and you’ll need to be ready for battle. Everything you need to know is in there.” He nods at the satchel around my shoulder. “Guard it with your lives until you reach the Aldgate flat, where you can read it. And guard that ring in the same manner until you are able to place it in the wall.”

  “What? You’re not coming with us?” Susie asks, her eyebrows drawing into a frown. “You’re just leaving us on our own? That’s rubbish. You’re our Protector.” She nods toward Sara.

  “It’s true. How can you not come with us if things are as bad as you say?” Sara says.

  Clarence places a hand on each of their shoulders. I hold my breath, part of me wondering if Susie will haul off and punch him. “I fully intend to meet up with all of you, but I can’t leave quite yet. There are a few things I need to take care of here. But enough talking. You all need to go.”

  “Not before I have the ring,” I say, turning to Jade. “I’d like to keep it in here.” I pat the smooth leather of the satchel. “It makes no sense to have each of us carrying such critical items.”

  Jade looks at me. Her eyes narrow a bit just for a second, as though she’s trying to figure me out. It’s a strange gesture, almost like that of someone sussing out a complete stranger. Then her eyes widen with surprise and she laughs. “Don’t you trust your twin?” she asks.

  I try to reach into her thoughts once more, hoping that maybe it will work this time, that our connection will have somehow, miraculously, restored itself. Nothing. I feel like I’m reaching my fingers out and hitting a brick wall
. It’s as frustrating and discouraging as screaming into the wind.

  “Give her the ring, Jade,” Lily snaps. “We don’t have time for this bullshit. I don’t know about Jasmine, but I personally don’t trust you. Why would I? You took the ring out of the wall without bothering to tell any of us in the first place.”

  Jade’s eyes widen again, but I’m certain I detect a feigned surprise, a mocking condescension, as she turns toward Lily.

  “Okay, I hear you,” she says. She reaches into the pocket of her jeans, fishes out the ring, and hands it to me.

  Almost as soon as the ring hits the palm of my hand, it begins to warm up and vibrate. I close my fingers around it for just a moment and feel a surge of energy course through my body, making me feel stronger and more assured about what lies ahead.

  Clarence cracks the front door open and peers out. “It’s clear,” he says. “Remember, curfew has started. You need to get into the flat as quickly as possible. The lack of people is even more dangerous than a crowd is. You’ll stand out like sore thumbs.”

  We dash out the door. The headlights of the cars flash on as we approach, and the engines purr to life. Without a word, we split into two groups, each one dashing into its respective car.

  Jade gets into the car beside me and sits silently, staring out the window as we slide along the streets of London. In Toronto, some people are exempt from curfew, such as office cleaners, first responders, and subway repair engineers, but there are checks in place during curfew. I’d bet my left arm that it’s the same here, which makes me wonder how we’re going to make it to our destination without, at the very least, being stopped and asked for identification.

  I look over at Jade. She’s still staring out the window, angled away from me, so I can see only her silhouette against the window. Not only does she have this blank expression, but every few seconds, the corners of her mouth and eye twitch as though she’s got some weird tic or her face is moving independently of her or something. After watching for about a minute, I’m so disturbed, I turn away. The distance I feel from Jade causes me to think about Mom and wonder if she’s okay. She must be worried sick about us, which hurts my heart. Though I try not to think about it, I realize there’s a good chance I’ll never see her again.