Revenant (33 page)

“I
never foresaw what the
boy
is. Who
would have thought Dean would be a berserker? But I’m thankful he’s one
now
. He’ll be useful in the battle to come.”

I
raised my hands to my throbbing temples.
Do
I believe her? Is this one of her wild hallucinations
? I’d heard her
singing nursery rhymes and made-up songs so many times. I’d watched her dance
to music no one else heard. She was a seriously troubled woman who befriended
me in an
insane
asylum
.

But
as I studied her, I realized she truly believed that she was telling me the
truth. Could she
really
be two thousand
years old? She knew stuff about demons that no one
could possibly
know. Why hadn’t she told us about them before? What
did she gain by keeping the information to herself—
if
it was the truth? With each new question that whizzed through my
head, the throbbing in my temples got worse.

I
looked at Mildred, just now hearing what she’d last said and asked, “Wait—what
battle?”

She
started wringing her hands. “The demon wants to bring its brethren across the
veil into our world. It wants war.” Her head turned toward the door. “I’ve
spent too much time explaining. They’ll be coming for you soon. Gage wants you
by his side. He needs your power and strength, but there are three parts to the
spell he’s trying to do. He did the first—the reawakening. Next he must
do the ceremony and make you his wife. And then he must do the last part—he
must bed you. If he completes the spell, you will become his in
body
,
mind,
and soul.”

That
last part got my attention. I grabbed her arm and gave it a hard shake. “You
can’t be serious. How can he complete the spell? I’ll never marry him. I’ll never
sleep with him. I’m not mind-controlled anymore.”

Her
eyes grew wide. “You said it yourself when he was here and you were looking in
his eyes—you couldn’t control your actions.”
Her voice trembled a bit as she said, “The potion I gave you has partially
broken the hold. As long as you stay away from him, you won’t fall under his
spell, but child, if he somehow goes through with the other two parts of the
spell, there isn’t any magic I know capable of breaking the bond that would
form between you two.”

“So
I have to stay away from him. And how do you suggest I do that when Sonja shows
up with the dress and expects me to go with her?”

She
gave me a small smile. “You could tell them you’re sick?”

Would
Gage let me off the hook if I feigned an illness? He seemed so excited for me
to spend time with his new best friend.

Mildred
must have seen a discouraging look on my face, because she reached out and
patted my cheek. “I’ll be there. I promise I’ll help keep him distracted. We’ll
be long gone before any wedding ceremony takes place.”

I
looked at her as if for the first time.
Mildred
is my only ally.
I had to trust her. I’d never felt so powerless, so
helpless. If Mildred’s plan didn’t work, I
could
try and escape before the wedding on my own.

But
if I left, any hope I had of Gage bringing Luke back was gone.

Mildred
nodded as if she’d decided something and continued. “There’s something else. You
aren’t going to like it.” She looked away and said in a soft voice, “When the
demon chooses an earthly form, they take on some of the traits of the host. In
this case, it used the blood on the sacrificial blade, but it had not gathered
enough power to morph itself straight into adulthood.”

“The
blood on the blade? You mean Macaven’s blood?”

“No,
my dear.” Her expression filled with pity and she put a hand on my shoulder
before saying, “It was your blood. Don’t you see the resemblance?”

Her
words shocked me to the core. I thought about the little girl’s face, with shade
of my chin, my brother’s eyes. I desperately thought back, trying to recall how
my blood ended up on the knife.
The knife
flew out of Macaven’s hands… I grabbed it… It cut my fingers… “
You mean
that creature used my blood to…what? Clone me?”

Mildred’s
hand reached out and steadied my trembling hand. “Something like that. And it
used your brother and father in its creation, too, didn’t it? It used your
family to build its human form.”

For
a
moment,
I thought I might be sick. Was
it possible to feel anger,
vengeance,
and
sadness all at the same time? I forced in a deep breath, willing myself to stay
calm. That creature still contained my father’s and brother’s souls. And, if I
could believe Mildred, it had
my blood
pumping through its veins.

That
thing had a part of me in it. It
had to
be destroyed
.

Sonja showed up with the
dress and a bag full of makeup and accessories. She braided some of my hair and
curled the rest, using an iron rod just like she had done for the fancy ball days—or
had it been weeks?—ago. Then she picked three roses from the bouquet Mildred
left and carefully weaved them amongst the crown of braids and curls.

Sonja wore a tight black dress that flared
out at the bottom. Not surprisingly, it was very low cut, almost plunging to
her belly button, and had a slit up one side. She teetered around again on
impossibly high black heels.

“There, what do you think?” she asked,
holding up a hand mirror.

I studied my reflection in silence.
I looked so different.
She’d made up my eyes
with grays and blacks. The dark colors made my usually boring hazel eyes
sparkle and look a lively green. She’d painted my lips with a bold red color.
I don’t look anything like myself.
A
cool, stylish young woman stared back at me, much older and more attractive
than I remembered.

I wondered for a moment how much of it was
makeup, and how much I’d
really
changed
over the last year. Had I turned eighteen yet? It felt like late summer, but I
didn’t remember experiencing spring. A wave of nausea and disorientation washed
over me.
I was drifting, lost, and normal
concerns like missing my birthday seemed unreal.
I was almost an adult.
My mother and father had not been around to see me reach this crucial point in
my life. They wouldn’t be around for the years to come, either. I wanted to
cry, but held back the tears.

“Do you like it?” Sonya looked anxious.

“It looks great.” I restrained a scream of
frustration.

“I know what Gage likes.” She looked away. “Tonight
is a special occasion and you should look your best for him.”

I tried to play the part of the lovestruck
girl. “I…like your dress.”

She spun around instantly to show it off, a
pleased look on her face. “It’s
custom
-made.”
Her hands slid down the sides of the dress, accentuating generous curves way
more on display than I would be
comfortable with
.
The overall effect was
impressive
…and a
little desperate.
She was too beautiful to need
so much staging.
But I was becoming more and
more sure
that I knew
why
she was so desperate. I felt sorry for Sonja. If Gage corrupted this poor girl
like he had me and then tossed her aside for a newer and more powerful model… It
made me hate him even more.

I put the mirror down on the dresser. “What
now?”

“We go up. It’s almost
time.
They’ll be waiting for us.”

“Do we have to walk all the way out into the
woods dressed like this? These heels don’t seem designed for forest trails.”

She smiled. “The party is being held in the
center of town. Too many people wanted to come, so
we’re having
it in the town square. You’ll be so surprised how much
effort Gage put into transforming the place into something quite enchanting.”

I wondered what a crazy like Gage considered enchanting.
A path of dead bodies circling the square? “Lead the way,” I said, waving my hand
toward the door.

I
followed Sonja out of the room and down the tunnels. The way outside was almost
familiar to me now. It took forever, but we both made it to the top in one
piece.

I
looked up into a cloudless sky. The night was
calm
—not
even a slight breeze marred its perfection. The moon was bright and full
overhead as I lifted the skirt of my dress and followed Sonja past the abandoned
buildings.

I could see the twinkling of lights through
the trees. It wasn’t candlelight this time—I could hear the generator
that powered it all quietly running in the distance. The old courthouse was lit
with bright spotlights, showing in vivid relief the damage of neglect and age.
But it was a grand dilapidation, like a fallen Greek temple. The columns on the
front stoop seemed very tall and dramatic, and the long run of stairs up to the
broad porch glowed with the gleam of old marble. Whatever was about to happen,
the porch was the obvious stage.

Where
is everyone?
The place was still
empty
—there wasn’t anyone in sight.

Then the smell of flowers hit me. As I got
closer, I saw dozens of bouquets placed all around the steps in five-foot,
free-standing centerpieces.

An altar had been set up on the porch. A
black silk shroud
was draped
over it,
with a large pentagram stitched into the fabric in red thread. A dozen black
candles sat in a row on the altar, and nestled in the middle of them was one
red candle.
I saw a
glass bowl, a golden
cup,
and a small
dagger. A more acrid smell replaced the scent of flowers as we approached.
Incense
. I could see the smoke from an
incense stick curling up
in the air above
the altar.
A few rows of ornate
chairs sat near the stairs, obviously placed for the dark community’s VIPs.

On the opposite side of the square, the huge
bramble looked impressive. Someone had pointed red-tinted spotlights up through
the branches, making the whole mass glow as if on fire. Long, vicious thorns
stood out in stark relief, and the massive bushes hung over the back of the
square, creating an oppressive backdrop. Deep red splashes of light accentuated
the black shadows they cast, giving the entire clearing the impression of
clotting blood.

As
I took in the eerie scene, a couple dozen people dressed in black gowns and
suits flowed out from the surrounding buildings and made their way into the
square. Someone grabbed my hand, and I looked up to see
Gage,
who’d appeared out of nowhere. His suit was all black, even
his tie. There was not a bit of color on him anywhere except for
the streak
of white in his hair.

His
eyes lit up when he looked at me, and he squeezed my hand. “You look
breathtaking.”

My
heart thumped hard, but not in fear. He still had that crazy hold on me. A tiny
part of me was thrilled he held my hand, but somewhere deep inside I could feel
myself panic when his body slid up against me.

That
voice screamed
at me
to stop the madness.
This is
the man I hate!

No
, another voice cried out,
this is the man I love
.

My
thoughts
were befuddled
and my knees quavered.
Nothing made sense anymore.

I
whipped my head around, desperate to find Mildred. She’d save me from this
situation. She promised to keep Gage distracted.

“Where
is Mildred?” I whispered, trying to keep the desperation I felt from my voice.

“She
sends her regrets. She wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t make it tonight.”

Mildred
wasn’t here.
What happened? She promised
to keep me safe
. Her plan was to escape during the ritual. Why wasn’t she
here? “She didn’t look ill when I saw her earlier,” I said.

A brief look of annoyance crossed Gage’s face, but it was so
fleeting I wondered if I’d imagined it.
“My dear, I don’t want to stand here and talk about
Mildred. I want to talk about us.” He raised my hand, opened my
palm,
and kissed its center.

I
went weak in the knees at his romantic gesture. Desire coursed through me
again. A battle raged inside as emotions of both love and hate fought for
supremacy. My head felt as though it would explode.

“You
look a bit pale. I have something that will make you feel better.” Gage raised
his hand, and a woman carried over a tray of fluted glasses filled with red
liquid. Gage whipped one of the glasses off the tray and held it in front of
me. “It’s a special punch. I know you’ll love it. Drink.”

My
fingers wrapped around the stem of the glass. I watched in horror as my hand
raised and my lips touched the glass’s edge. I struggled to keep myself from
drinking it, but my fingers tipped up and I felt the cool, bubbling liquid
slide down my throat. Was he trying to poison me again? What was in this drink?

Gage
gave me a wide smile. “Are you ready, my love?”

I
looked around, confused. “Is the party going to start?”

“I
wanted to keep it a surprise.” He leaned in and gave me a kiss. When he pulled
away, he said, “We aren’t having a party tonight.” He waved his arm out toward
the square. “We’re getting married.
This is
our wedding.”

The
glass slipped from my fingers and shattered against the ground. For a moment, I
didn’t seem able to speak or move. And then I forced out, “I don’t understand.
Our…wedding?”

“Yes,
my heart, I did this all for you. Our friends are here with us tonight to watch
us come together as husband and wife.” He waved his hand again and music filled
the air.

The
spell seemed to reassert its influence on me as Gage guided me up to the altar,
positioning me next to it. Or perhaps Gage slipped something in my drink to
make sure I was docile for the event. Whatever it was, I felt different this
time. I could still think in a slow, muddled way, while inside I struggled to
regain control of myself. I was like a drunken fool trying to walk a straight
line.
For a second, I felt like I was pushing
through—I almost made myself turn and run away from the altar…away from
him—b
ut then I slipped back into
that oppressive fog and forgot why I wanted to run.

The ceremony began, but I
was having
a hard time focusing my eyes. We
stood up on the altar, and the air around me was thick with the smell of smoke
and blood. A bell rang, and when I looked down at my stinging wrist, I saw I
was bleeding.

Gage stood in front of me, a dagger in
his hand. Blood dripped from my cut wrist into the golden cup I’d spied earlier.
Then Gage cut his
own
wrist, and his
blood dripped into the cup to mix with mine. My blood was red—Gage’s was
black. He reached
over
the altar and
handed the cup to a young girl.
The demon
,
I thought foggily.

She stood in front of the altar wearing
a black robe with her dark hair braided into a crown around the top of her
head. A red cord dangled from her hands.

Gage pulled me down until my knees hit
the ground. He knelt beside me, holding my hand.

My temples pounded. I tried to shake my
head, tried to clear my thoughts, but it didn’t help. I felt as though I was
looking at the world from behind cloudy glass. I could see what was happening,
but my reactions weren’t coming through. I opened my mouth to say something,
but nothing came out.

The only clear thought pounding in my
head was that I needed to find Mildred.

The demon stood in front of us.
The smoke from the candles and incense
gathered around her, wreathing her in shadow and making her form indistinct. In
my fogged vision, she seemed to morph back and forth from one shape to another—from
an evil creature made of shadow to an innocent girl raised from the same family
as me.

She took the cup and pressed it to my
lips. My mouth opened and I choked down the warm liquid of
our mingled blood, gagging and
choking as my body struggled to reject it even as my mouth forced it down.
The taste of salty copper and rotten meat assaulted my senses.

The demon girl held the cup into the
air and began turning. Left, then right. Front, then back.
Each time she turned, she chanted
words that echoed with the dark chorus of the demon’s voice. I thought I heard
other voices screaming and wailing in horror. My mind immediately jumped to my
father and brother. Through my mental haze, I knew they were somewhere in
there, fighting like I was, but powerless to change the outcome.

The demon lifted the
cup
high into the air. She looked up, and my
head rose with hers.
I could
clearly see the full moon up in the sky, low on the horizon.

She
put
down
the cup and unwound the red cord from around her wrist. She grabbed
my hand and then Gage’s, placing mine on top of his and then slowly winding the
red cord around them.
The cord
sucked up the blood from my still-bleeding
wrist
and the darker black blood from Gage’s. Where the trails of blood met, they
seemed to recoil, refusing to mix.
Her words floated on the air around me, and
I struggled to
understand what was going on.
I found myself
focusing on unimportant little details—the wispy smoke drifting slowly in
the still air, the smell of blood and brimstone that seemed to radiate from the
demon, and the murmur of the watching crowd each grabbed my attention in turn.
My mind
was having
a hard time making
sense of it all.

And there was no one to save me, no one
to stop the madness.

A small group of people rose from the
front row and gathered around us. Chanting, they
circled us slowly
. The demon began shouting and drowned
out their words—I could just barely hear them murmuring. She shouted at
the moon in a language I couldn’t understand, a language I somehow knew was not
meant for human ears. It made me want to cover my ears and hide from the awful
noise, but even that amount of control was beyond me.
It droned
on—the sound of horror and pain tearing through the night air.