My Demonic Ghost #3: Hunters and Creators (8 page)

With that said, I turned my back and continued walking. They did not follow me and I heard Gargoyle speak from where they lingered.

“You know we can’t let you do that…” He said without raising his voice.

I only slowed so I could shout back over my shoulder, “That’s not up to you. I can’t help you anymore.”

I never imagined I would be relieved walking back to the old Whitehaven house. As I got to the front door, I had to knock and wake up the other two. Kate opened the door, rubbing at her eyes drowsily.

“Hey… didn’t think we would see you till tomorrow. Your date didn’t go well?” She asked mid yawn. I merely shrugged, not knowing how I could even begin to explain everything. She stepped aside to let me in before closing the door behind me. Tom was in the kitchen and poked his head around the corner when he heard us speaking.

“Ah, Rach welcome back.” He walked out slapping the side of his laptop, “This stupid piece of crap. Come on!”

“What’s the matter?” I stopped with my foot on the first step.

“Oh, the internet is playing up. The net has been down since last night.” Kate murmured. Tom growled furiously, and mimed tossing his laptop out the window.

“I can’t get onto my site to check my views. This is infuriating. I don’t know how people can survive out here with no internet, it works sometimes and the next it doesn’t. Argh, the sooner we get back to civilization the better.”

“Naw, he’s just grumpy because nothing special happened last night.” Kate teased, perching herself upon the back of the couch and puckering out her lower lip. “And you called me the supernatural dork.”

That’s right… they can’t remember.
I almost felt myself leaning forward to tell them about the Hunters when I immediately snapped my lips shut. I was leaving that problem behind, so no point in trying to drag others into it. 

“Make sure you’re packed Rach, I’m playing drill sergeant and I want us out of here and on the road by eight sharp.”

I chuckled into my chest, “I’ll try to remember to set my alarm.”

“You better!” Tom ordered playfully. I got upstairs and walked into the remaining unclaimed bedroom for the night. Despite all the madness that happened, I fell sleep easily once my head hit the pillow.

Chapter Ten:

When my alarm buzzed and my eyes snapped open, the dream was just a fleeting image lost behind the welcome of a brown ceiling.  I sat up and rubbed at my eyes, blinking focus back into them before looking down at my phone. The light was a harsh burn that I had to glance away, only peeking at it by squinting.
10:30?
I tossed my phone down in my panic.
Why didn’t the others wake me?

“Ah! Crap!” I kicked my legs over, rushed to my bag and got myself dressed. Opening the door, I bolted down the hallway shouting, “Sorry! Sorry!”

When I hit the last step at the bottom, I felt myself pull back. I could see the driveway through the dining room window, and where Tom’s van had been parked was now just an empty patch of grass. I wandered around, checking all the rooms to see everything was packed up. The hallways were silent in their absence.
They left without me?

“I told you we couldn’t let you go.” Gargoyle said, his voice, bordering arrogance. He leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed and his shoulder pressed into the wood. He looked incredibly bored. He must’ve been waiting for me to wake up for a while.

“What… but?” I turned around myself.

“Don’t worry they won’t come searching for you.”

“What did you do?” I stormed up to him only to have his eyes sharpen.  

“What had to be done. We’re not letting you go until this is completed.” He commanded from where he towered above my head, arms firmly crossed and his brows tightened.

“This is kidnapping.”

“Think of it as doing your spiritual duty.”

“I told you already that I can’t help!” I growled under my breath.

“You’re just not trying.” I threw my hands up in frustration. “Rachael…” Gargoyle took hold of my shoulders before I had the chance to storm off, and dug his eyes fiercely into my blue hues. A familiar itch pressed against me, like an invasion of foreign fingers pulling at my strings, and I heard Gargoyle’s low muttering inside my head.
Calm down. Don’t fight me.
 

I wrenched my shoulders away from him harshly as a child scurries away from a spoon of bitter medicine. “Don’t try to mind control me.”

Gargoyle stepped back in his own frustration, “Typical. Stop being so difficult.”

“How can you say that to me?”

“This is much bigger than you and I. You have a responsibility now.”

“A responsibility?” I felt my voice rise, “Unlike you, I didn’t sign up for this. You don’t even have a plan.” 

He stepped forward and jutted his index into my face much like a scolding older sibling, “I do have a plan. We’re going to capture the Creator by using your irrational and wild emotions as bait.”

“Well I’m definitely ‘irrational’ and ‘wild’ now aren’t I? Where’s the spirit?” I turned my back and stormed away, going in any direction to create some distance between us. Like a mosquito buzzing around my earlobe Gargoyle teleported in front of me, slamming his palms on each side of the narrow hall and barred me from walking forward.

“You’re coming with us and that’s final.” He snarled and a spark of light punched him in the shoulder, throwing him off balance before pinning him to the wall. The dust formed into Damage’s lean physique as she kept a strong grip on Gargoyle’s shoulder.

“Cut it out, the both of you. We don’t have time for you to be bickering.”

Gargoyle wretched himself out and composed his clothing, “We’re not bickering. We’re just about to leave. Come Rachael.”

“Didn’t you hear
anything
that I just said?”

“I heard you and I’m choosing to ignore it.” Gargoyle turned his gaze back to me.

“You know what? For an angel you’re a real jerk.” I growled.

“What you think of me is irrelevant.”

“Gargoyle, just let me handle this.” Damage tried to intervene but Gargoyle waved her off with a dismissively.

“It’s fine, I can handle this. I just need to talk some sense into her.”

“Go, Gargoyle,” She ordered again, and after a moment of silence Gargoyle fixed his collar and disappeared.

“God… he’s so condescending.” I complained under my breath.

“He’s also correct,” Damage shifted her gaze and I felt myself shrivel under her stare. “For five years we’ve been hunting relentlessly for this spirit, hoping it’ll be able to lead us to the stolen Staff. Two nights ago it appeared to you, we can’t just ignore that.”

I lowered my head sourly, “I understand, but it’s not working.”

“We’ve only tried it with anger and love, or whatever you call that attempt of love was last night. Maybe something else will trigger it. You don’t understand exactly the dire situation that we are in. Come with me.” Damage pushed off the wall and signalled for me to follow. As she got to the front door, she walked briskly out into the gloomy morning with long purposeful strides, causing me to jog just to keep pace. She spoke without turning her head.

“There is something within the spirit world called a connection. Reapers use this connection to be able to transport from spirit world into the physical world. It allows them to disappear and move through material objects, but at the same time it can interact with earthly things and people as well. Banished demons can also use this connection to remain in the physical world and summon dark powers. Usually, Banished attach themselves onto either stationary objects or living beings. Living things allow them to use dark powers; nonliving things just let them stay hidden in the physical realm. There have been incidents, though, when a Banished demon can restore their body from minerals of this earth so they can interact with a human world; this is rare and incredibly dangerous. Similarly, there are also ways for a human to transport between the two worlds too, where the living can go to where the dead are; we call this the Forbidden Act. It’s extremely dangerous for both demon and host. It’s where the demon creates a human capsule, sacrificing half of their power so the host can survive longer and be able to switch into spiritual body. It’s an unhealthy practise that corrupts the human’s way of thinking. You should never trust these demons; they can control minds with just a simple look.”

“Like Gargoyle?” I panted.

Damage twitched her lips, “Yes… like Gargoyle.”

We hit the main road and took a sharp left, Damage not slowing her steps and I struggled to keep up with her incredible pace.  “Why are you telling me all this?”

“Because that is exactly what is happening here. You may think this is a problem for just the spirits but it’s not. Now I don’t have the ability to connect with a host, so I can’t transport you into our spirit world, but I can show you this.” She suddenly stopped and snapped her fingers. At first there was just silence as I lagged behind looking over her shoulder at the empty road. After only a moment, a lone man walked out of his house, glancing at us warily before crossing the road and halting only one step away. I probably wouldn’t have paid him any attention if it wasn’t for Damage’s rigid reaction to his presence.

“Reaper,” She addressed the man, prying his gaze away from me, “Bring a Banished here.” He nodded then merely vanished into shadow. I looked around strangely unbothered.

“Wait, did you just say Reaper? That was one of them? But he looks just like-”

“Everyone else? Yes, it’s their cloaking device. They linger among the living as it’s easier to transport the souls when necessary. They are Reapers, designed to carry the spirits from the physical world into the spiritual. Without them spirits would just languish here without direction.”

I scrunched my nose, “But you told him to bring it here? A Banished demon?”

“They are already here, that’s my point.” Damage mumbled, again without turning her attention to me. I felt like a private standing next to my commander and chief. I just stood straight and tried not to breathe too loudly. Upon his return, the man did not come alone. A strange shadow shifted through the beams of sunlight beside him, but it was too cloudy and faint to see. I strained my eyes, but it wasn’t very clear. Abruptly, Damage threw her wrist forward, snaring something out of the flickering of light. She looked down, surprised by my somewhat relaxed reaction until a thought dawned on her.

“Oh right, you can’t see,” She turned and placed her hand against the bare skin on the back of my neck. I cringed at the unexpected contact, when I felt my breath knot in my throat.
That’s impossible. 

He was transforming. A face as ordinary as chalk started to morph, twisting black whorls down the right side of his cheek, blooming static white inside his pupils and brushing blonde glint into his hair. His clothes deepened from ordinary cargo pants and red shirt to a heavy charcoal black cloak. His hood tipped back and I could see it collecting in folds at the base of his neck. He was younger, younger than what he appeared to be when I first saw him.

“No way…” I took two steps back in jaw-dropping astonishment. Damage kept her hand on me. An internal chill shifted through my body, racing to my heart where his eyes seemed to linger. He had a callous stare that only hardened the longer he kept his attention trained on me.  From an ordinary blur to this figure of darkness, the world as I know it was turning into a horrific nightmare.  But what was far more frightening than that, was the grotesque beast that stood beside him, its shoulders hunched and its tightly bound jaws snapped shut fighting to keep something in its mouth. The creature was large, easily the size of a hatchback car. Whatever it was, it was a cross between a boar and a bird with its wings snapped, its coat was covered with sticky tar and its eyes, nostrils and mouth exhaled white smoke.  

“That…” Damage spoke above its thrashing, “Is a Goon. On its own it’s just an empty capsule but when it binds with the soul of a Reaping spirit it becomes a creature of Death. Its reason for existence is to hunt down loose spirits in this world. Alone they are wild, unstable and ruthless, only a Reaper can control them. The Reaper and Goon are the same soul, just one looks like a human and the other… doesn’t. But it isn’t them that you have to worry about; it’s what it’s carrying in its mouth.”

With her extended arm, she had a long chain leashed around the animal’s throat, preventing it from bolting off into the distance. The creature fought vigorously with the banished spirit in its jaws, lurching to and fro, stumbling on its hooves as it struggled to keep the spirit contained.

“Don’t run.” She muttered softly just loud enough for me to hear. The Goon vomited, releasing a cloud of rushing smoke that fell and rolled across the concrete. In a matter of second, barely a heartbeat, a set of flaming red eyes snapped upwards onto me. I felt its heat throttle my chest with clamps of hot iron, and a wave of sickness hit the pit of my stomach. The spirit howled before it lunged snatching at the air only inches from my face, the sheer speed of it knocked me over.

Then something extraordinary happened.  I felt weights clamp onto my wrists, ring around my ankles and neck. Darkness sucked the air from my lungs and an irritation started to scratch at the back of my eyes. When my vision was reduced to black, a snap of white tore it apart with a rip of tearing paper. Air and light rushed back into me, filling every pore before I stumbled forward onto my knees. Two blinks cleared my vision as I instantly moved my hand to my throat.

Damage had dragged the spirit off of me, snapping the chains that had been lassoed around my limbs. It desperately clawed the air, trying anything to kick off the Hunter and snatch me back into its grip. I quickly drew my knees to my chest so it couldn’t reach. The Goon then leapt onto the spirit and inhaled it back into its jaws, and both Goon and Reaper vanished into shadow. That demon wasn’t human, if it was; it was everything horrible about mankind put into one body. 

“Do you understand?”

“That was horrifying!” I coughed.

“Yes, and without the Staff ‘those things’ will be running the streets freely.”

“Why are the Reapers releasing them?” I shuffled to a stand, still trying to collect my breath. Its presence lingered around me as if I wearing a dead rodent’s skin.

“To build an army. Only a select few have remained loyal to us, the rest want to take the world and Heaven for themselves. They release the Banished and use them as pawns to fight us. A Banished is controlled completely by the darkness; it’s a powerful enemy that we must destroy before they get too strong. The rebel Reapers are ignorant, but they will soon realise that the Banished cannot be trusted and they will turn on them too. The world would be dark and miserable. Once we get the Staff back we will be able to over throw them.”

I nodded, “I understand.”

“Good, then let’s get back.” Then, as if understanding the hesitation in my stance she whispered, “You can rest easy. You will not have to fight the Banished. That’s our job.” Her words did ease me. A bit.