Rise of the Beast (54 page)

“That’s crazy,” replied Krissie. “That sort of thing can’t be real.”

There was a general round of mirth from the group around her. It only added to Krissie’s fear.

“You are such a foolish girl,” said Lielani. “Do you remember Julio Mendoza? He was one of the boys who attacked you and Leland in Central Park. He was the lone survivor. Does it not strike you as strange that he later became a member of Lusan’s youth organization? It’s all very simple, really. He was possessed by one of our lord’s minions. But as I said, possession is a difficult task for a demon. At the critical moment, when he was to kill Leland’s grandmother Claire, Julio fought against his possessor. He delayed him long enough that Claire James was able to cast him out, using the Spirit of God within her. Now Julio fights against us. This, and several other incidents, have made it necessary to explore a new alternative to the classical possession. We found it in the ritual of the union.”

Krissie’s eyes grew large and filled with horror. “I’m going to be possessed? No, I’ll fight you. I’ll fight any demon who tries.”

“Yes,” replied Lielani, “I’m sure that you would if you could, but you see, union is different.”

One of the other women in white came forth with a large and menacing looking syringe in her hand. She approached Krissie’s right arm, which had been strapped to the chair in two places to hold it more securely.

“We found a biologist who had the answer to our problem,” continued Lielani. “We call it tetraflexis. It is a drug that attacks the neurons of your cerebrum.” Lielani chuckled. “At least, that was the way it was explained to me. In essence, it kills your soul, severs the silver thread. It destroys all that it is that makes you who you are, yet it leaves an imprint behind. All that you knew and loved is still there. Your body is still quite alive, only you are gone. Then the demon comes in and forms a union with what is left. He takes the place of the
soul that has departed. He rules the body without interference. It becomes his body, a body that he has to share with no one.”

Krissie struggled as a security guard held Krissie’s arm still, even as the woman with the syringe searched for a stout vein. “No, please, you can’t; you can’t!”

“Now don’t become overly difficult,” warned Lielani. “I wouldn’t want to have to glue those pretty lips of yours together to keep you quiet. It’s such a messy job to separate them later. The effects of the drug aren’t painful at all. Actually, it’s quite a pleasant way to go.”

Krissie winced as she felt the sting of the needle, felt the horrible liquid entering her bloodstream. It took over a minute to unload the contents of the syringe into her. She tried to pray to God for forgiveness, but she didn’t know how.

She thought back to that dream. Grandma Claire’s spirit had warned her not to come here. If only she had listened.

“Grandma, help me,” she gasped, even as the syringe was withdrawn from her arm.

“No one can help you,” said Lielani. “Let us hope that all goes smoothly. Usually this technique is quite effective, but sometimes something goes wrong. Your memories become scrambled and you become something like a zombie. It was that way for one of the scientists, too bad. But I think you will be fine—at least, your body will. As for your soul, I have it on good authority that that part of you will find its eternal home in Hell’s Great Sea of Fire.”

“No,” gasped Krissie in a voice no louder than a whisper.

Lielani stepped away from Krissie and joined the others in a circle around the outside edge of the marble platform. They chanted in some indecipherable tongue even as the world began to slowly whirl about Krissie. She felt so confused. She fought against the influence of the drug, but it was to no avail.

“We’ll be leaving you now,” announced Lielani, though her voice seemed far away. “It will give you and the new master of your body a little time to become acquainted before you leave.”

The group departed. The light of the torches faded away, leaving only the faint green glow of the cavern walls. And in the faint glow, something stirred.

No, it wasn’t just one thing, but a multitude. They were faintly glowing, almost transparent entities flying around her like plastic wrap in a whirlwind. Krissie was feeling weaker, more disoriented, by the minute. Were these apparitions real or imaginary? She practically jumped out of her skin when one of them abruptly moved toward her. Within seconds it was floating directly in front of her.

It had the face of an incredibly old man and was clothed in translucent robes that prevented her from seeing its entire body. It was like some sort of hologram, quivering and fading in and out of focus. It was terrifying. It reached out to her. Krissie could actually feel its icy touch. It was waiting for something, waiting for this body to be vacated so that it could take full control. Its arms and hands reached into her body then pulled up, only to repeat the cycle. And with each pass, those hands felt more real.

Others, whose appearance was like the first, gathered in close around her, reaching into her with their boney arms. Then, it happened, Krissie felt like she was being ripped out of her own body. A moment later she found herself looking down upon her own body from above, restrained by four ethereal beings. She was surprised when her head looked up at her and smiled.

“Go away, little Krissie,” she heard herself say. “This is not your body anymore, it is mine, all mine.” Her physical form looked to the demonic spirit to her left. “It has gone well. I’m in. Take this wench to the rift and see her through the corridor to the master’s kingdom. You know the procedure.”

The next thing Krissie knew, she was hurtling through the rocky ceiling and into the night air beyond, though to her, these things of the world appeared but phantasmal. The ethereal wasteland she found herself in was her only reality. The two demons that held her in their grasp and traveled through the nothingness at tremendous speed seemed far more real than the world.

They made no mystery of her fate. It would take seven hours to reach the rift, the only easily accessible route between Earth and Outer Darkness. From there, she would be taken to a holding cell to await the pleasure of the new master of Hell, and then she would travel to the Great Sea of Fire, where she would spend her eternity in agony.

Years ago, Krissie had spoken to Lusan of her greatest fear—being condemned for eternity to the realm of Hell. During the years since, that fear had faded away. Now Lusan had turned that long-dormant fear into a reality. He had betrayed her. Still, during that long flight into oblivion, Krissie’s thoughts
were of her husband as well. If only there were some way she could warn him, warn him about the intruder coming to their home, the intruder in her own body. This wasteland beyond life seemed so very cold. How could a spirit feel cold? Yet she realized that this was just the prelude to her eternity. The nightmare had just begun.

C
HAPTER
22

Leland smiled broadly as he watched Krissie walking down the jetway toward him. He’d been so worried about her during those three nights she hadn’t called. Then when she had, she seemed so cold and distant. Now, at last, here she was, home again. She smiled broadly when she saw him. A minute later they embraced.

“It’s so good to be back home,” she said.

It was when she drew back that their eyes met. For a moment they seemed locked. Then Krissie looked away.

“I want to get my bags and get out of here,” said Krissie. “I’m sure that the work has piled up on my desk this past week.”

Krissie was off toward the baggage claim area almost before Leland realized it. Leland took up the pursuit. Something was wrong. Leland could feel it. Looking into Krissie’s eyes was like looking into a frozen lake—so cold, so distant. And there was more to it than that. There was an aura about her that he had never felt before, at least not emanating from her. He was tempted to say something about it, but decided against it. They picked up her bags and headed for the car.

“Krissie, do you know a woman by the name of Nabuko Yamura?” asked Leland.

“Sure do,” replied Krissie, looking toward Leland only briefly. “She is a project scientist working on the ring project. I met her while I was on the island. Why do you ask?”

“She emailed me about three days ago,” said Leland. “She seemed pretty worried about you. She said something about you going to some sort of mysterious meeting on the island and then never coming back. This Nabuko said that security had come and picked up your things the next day, but that you’d never returned to the resort. She wanted to know if I’d heard from you. I fired an email back, assuring her that we’d talked on the phone that very morning. She sent an email back to me a few hours later. She was very relieved. She was afraid that something might have happened to you.”

Krissie laughed. “She is one high-strung chick. I don’t know what she would do if she didn’t have something to worry about.”

Leland smiled. “Oh, that type.”

“You got it,” replied Krissie. “I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to write a very favorable report about her work on the project. It’s a shame, really. She’s smart, but not too stable.”

“I see,” replied Leland.

Krissie was unusually quiet as they rode home toward Central Park West. Her eyes were on the scenery all the way home. Leland had expected to hear her go on and on about her big adventure, but that wasn’t the case.

“Did you learn anything about the union ritual?” asked Leland.

“Nabuko probably told you about that,” said Krissie, shaking her head. “She had some crazy notion about it being some sort of dark rite. It’s just a graduation ceremony. They hold it when someone graduates from their religious studies program. Actually, it was kind of boring. I’ll tell you more about the trip later. Right now I’m pretty tired.”

“Sure,” said Leland. “That was a long flight. Lusan said that he didn’t want you coming into work until Monday. That will give you the whole weekend to pull your report together.”

“I’ll need it,” confirmed Krissie.

Leland and Krissie pulled into the underground parking garage. Three minutes later, they were in the elevator on their way to their condo. It was just after
six in the evening as they walked in the door. Krissie put a few of her things away and headed straight to bed. She was asleep in minutes. Leland decided not to disturb her. He sat in the living room watching the nightly news. Maybe it was just the fact that she was tired. Maybe that explained the odd way she had acted this afternoon. Yeah, that had to be it.

It was just before ten when Leland stepped into the bedroom to find his wife still sound asleep. He slipped in beside her. He should let her sleep. She’d be more like herself tomorrow. He was sure of it. Then he’d hear all about her adventure. He faded off to sleep pretty quickly.

Leland awoke with bright moonlight in his eyes. He was confused. He gazed up to find himself at the edge of a forest. It was cool and damp. Here and there, a light, low fog hung over the high grass of the meadow and amidst the trees of the forest. The air was full of fireflies. It was like some sort of wonderland out of a storybook.