The Demon's Grave (16 page)

It was us.

A translucent Nora and Aidan stood against the wall, facing our group. It was surreal staring at my face. She made the familiar expressions I’d seen in photographs.

The Smokey Nora and Aidan wore our clothes, but they were rumpled, dirty, and wet. The other me was soaked, her dyed blonde hair matted to her skull and water dripped from her fingertips to the rug. The other Aidan was similar; pale and wet, though his roan hair was sticking in all directions. Together they were chilled, hazy, unhappy, and dirt-stained.

Uncertain, the real Aidan and I glanced at each other. At the same time our clones turned to glare at each other.

Robin breathed, “Whooooaaaa.”

Aidan detached himself from my hand and touched the planchette. “Who are they?” He demanded of the Ouija board, agitation stiffening his shoulders.

Y-O-U
, the Ouija board answered.
A-T-T-H-E-E-N-D
.

“At the end?” Read asked slowly. “Why is it just you two?”

I had no way of answering and bit my lips together.

At the same time, Aidan and I stood up. I just knew that if he was moving, I was too. It would be better to be closer to my friends than the doppelgängers.

Taking in a deep breath I saw Robin grab Aidan’s other hand and squeeze until her knuckles were white. Her other hand was still latched onto Read’s arm.

“How should we get rid of them?” I asked Aidan in a hushed tone.

Before he could speak, Other Nora answered. “If Aidan did his duty, we wouldn’t have failed.” Her voice was mine, though like a recording, it sounded minimally different coming from someone else.

Other Aidan’s eyes swept the room, despondent and grim. “I will never see this room again because of her,” he grumbled, gesturing to the Other Nora in disgust.

“Shut up,” she snapped, it was eerie hearing my own voice so full of revulsion. “It’s because of
you
that they died. You were supposed to guard the tower.”

Aidan‌—‌our Aidan‌—‌held up a hand to silence their bickering. “
They
? They died?”

The Other Nora sneered at him. “Yes, Phoebe drowned, Robin was eaten by spiders, Read…‌”

“Make them shut up,” Robin squeaked, she was looking to Read.

The Other Nora continued as if Robin hadn’t spoken. “…‌Read burned, and Cody well, we never found him.”

Other Nora tilted her head to the side and spoke in a low voice. “And it is all because of you, Aidan. You killed us all by bringing us here,” she hissed, raising the hairs on the back of my neck. “It was your job to keep everyone away from this place.”

Aidan took a step around the coffee table toward the fake us. I didn’t like the separation and whispered frantically, “What are you doing?”

Cody had wandered off in the dark, Phoebe had separated from us by opening doors. I didn’t want to lose someone else because we couldn’t stick together.

Ignoring me, Aidan edged closer until he stood beside the boy who looked like him. Every feature was in place. The color of his eyes, the serious straight-thin lips, dark, straight eyebrows and the thick roan colored hair, it was all the same. To the two of them he asked. “Are you the future us? That’s why the
Bending Time
book appeared in the bookshelf?”

“We are,” Other Aidan replied, his eyes narrowing as he looked at me. “We made it, but couldn’t get through the swamp. If it wasn’t for her crazy family‌—‌”

Other Nora moved to slap him. Teeth bared she shrieked through them, as if it could contain the rage that flushed her cheeks. At the same time their bodies appeared to solidify, their translucent quality fading little by little. I hadn’t noticed until I couldn’t see light through Other Nora’s flailing arm.

The slap was sharp and echoed through the living room. Other Aidan’s head turned with the hit and he kept his face turned away, the bitter smirk betraying his amusement.

The swamp?
I swallowed hard. Was that why they were so wet? Did they‌—‌I mean
we
‌—‌die in a swamp? It also meant that Aidan knew about my family. Out of all of the outcomes, that one bristled my hairs the most. Irrational, I know. I assure you, I’m completely aware that I am.

“How do we stop it?” Read asked the peculiar doppelgänger, his voice steady.

Other Nora’s eyes shifted to the real Aidan, though she made the small gesture seem difficult.

“We need a sacrifice,” she said. “They can all go home if someone takes their place. Someone worthy of the sacrifice.”

My muscles grew tense and still. A
sacrifice
, the very word was a jagged cut down my spine. To me, I don’t think there’s a dirtier word out there. To the Other Nora I argued. “That would be cheating. Damien said we couldn’t win this way. We had to beat the Challenge.” I remembered how Robin had been called a cheat. Could she try to sacrifice herself? Or worse, someone else?

Other Aidan was trying to protest, grabbing his throat trying to speak, but no sound escaped. The Other Nora seemed pleased, though I wasn’t sure what was going on between them.

“I’m sorry Nora,” Real Aidan spoke up, sounding as if he meant every word. “Maybe this is my Challenge. Maybe we have to separate after all.”

Aidan waited for me to catch his pointed gaze before asking. “What if we kill each other? This is my fault for running us in here. I should have looked upstairs before‌—‌”

I shook my head, stopping him with a frantic flutter of my hand to keep him quiet. “You won’t kill me, Aidan.” Fear was evident in my voice and I wished I could sound confident, like Phoebe.

“You can’t,” Read announced to Aidan, his tone smothering the whispers. “Nora’s right.”

Read’s back-up gave me some relief. He’d listen to Read before he would me.

I started to nod when a book flew off the one of the shelves. The hardcover volume sailed at Robin’s head. Gasping, I slapped a hand on her back as a warning and ducked with her.

I felt the pages ruffle my ponytail before the book slammed into the bookshelf behind us.

Robin screamed so loud that my ears rang. I shouted to the Others. “I know Aidan won’t kill me because he didn’t mean for any of this to happen. How many parties do you think were invaded by a demon? How would he know?” I looked to the bookshelf for any sign of a disgruntled book before looking to Aidan.

Aidan, the real one, was staring at me aghast while the Other Nora grumbled something about being an idiot.

The second her eyes met mine, another book launched itself from the same shelf, spinning like a top.

I tried to duck again but the corner caught my bare shoulder. It bounced off of me, hitting the Ouija Board with a
thud
, sending the planchette sailing.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aidan jerk to rush toward me, but something was stopping him.

The impact wouldn’t break bones but it stung. Cupping my throbbing shoulder, I picked up the book and flung it away as fast as I could. Being so close it made my nerves shake. Glaring over his shoulder at the others I realized they were dry, no longer drenched from the swamp. Their clothes weren’t as rumpled either. “If we die, I won’t blame you, Aidan.” I spoke out of the side of my mouth.

He attempted a crooked smile, though he strained.

Pointing to his legs I asked. “Can’t you come near us?”

Aidan’s fingers twitched and he stuttered through his teeth, making futile grunts in response.

“Oh God,” Robin whispered.

Read started forward, pausing when he heard me hiss a warning.

Aidan face reddened, but he managed a single step. It looked labored and stiff, as if his legs were filled with hardening cement.

Three books launched a concurrent attack. Shrieking I dropped onto the floor in a ball; hugging my knees tight enough to make my fingers cramp. I heard Aidan shout my name as one book out of three hit me in the middle of my back.

Yelping, I straightened, grabbing my throbbing spine only to be pelted again in the arm and the hand. Curling back into a ball I felt Robin’s fingers snake around my ankle. She clung to me and I at least knew she was alright. It was a small comfort when a book grazed my ribs, scraping as it went by.

I wished that Read and Aidan could somehow let me know they were okay. I waited for something to hit my temple and knock me unconscious. I waited, with dread, for Robin’s fingers to go slack.

The dissonance of pages, books, and the crashing items filled the room, making hearing a shout impossible. Peeking above my knees I watched the country-fried lamp tip over the couch, crushing itself into the cushions.

Another book cracked into the middle of my back. It took all my will to remain still and not straighten to make myself a bigger target.

That’s when Robin’s fingers let go, nails scraping my ankle. I thought I heard her scream, but couldn’t be sure.

I swatted out an arm to grab her when a book hit the back of my arm hard enough to sweep my hand back around my knees. “Robin?” I called, my voice useless.

Something glass shattered. I heard the sound of a crash, maybe a bookshelf, and then all went silent.

Waiting for a noise, I hesitated. Was it really over? Or was this the calm before the storm?

Peeking past my knees I saw scattered books, coating the floor like a second skin. Lifting my head, I looked around to see only a few hard-covered books resided on the bookshelves. They seemed stationary, for now. One of the bookshelves had toppled over the Lay-Z-Boy. The mountainous pile of books at the base of the chair made me think of Read. Was he trapped beneath?

Daring to stand, I groaned and staggered, feeling the impending bruises.

Wobbling to the books, I heard myself shout but I wasn’t the one speaking.

“Read, help him!”

Twisting I saw Robin edging toward Other Nora on the floor. Other Nora had been transformed in an instant. The dirt had vanished, leaving a smooth ponytail and dry, ironed clothes. Robin looked to Other Nora for reassurance and that’s when I realized what was happening. My friends thought she was me.

The shudder of the wall, as if someone slammed into it, turned my attention to the Aidans. They were grappling with each other and dodged another flying book from the last shelf as it sucker punched them.

Read darted forward again. He grabbed Aidan’s arms, struggling to pin them behind his back. I wasn’t sure if he had the real Aidan or the Other. Like Other Nora, this doppelgänger appeared just as Aidan had when he’d stepped into the room.

Jumping over the coffee table, I clumsily knocked over the game board. I couldn’t let the Aidan nearest me swing at Read’s apprehended Aidan if…‌Bloody hell this was confusing.

Scrambling over the mess I swung my arms around the Aidan that Read didn’t have and hugged him from behind. Clamping my hands together, I leaned back and ducked my head to avoid being smacked in the nose with the back of his head. I pulled him away using every bit of strength my body would allow. I believe he managed to hit every forming bruise except the ones on my back. Read and I pulled them apart. I hadn’t realized that my Aidan couldn’t breathe until the sharp intake of air.

Somehow we were successful, until the five books propelled toward us.

Robin scrambled to her feet and ran behind Other Nora for protection. I wanted to warn her, but Aidan lifted me off my feet, breaking my hold on him. Stumbling, I nearly fell, but he grabbed me around the waist. I thought I should scream until I realized he was protecting me from the books.

I heard three of them hit Aidan’s back, dropping to the floor with heavy
thunks
. He grunted in pain, but he didn’t whine as much as I had. Read took one in the shoulder, staggering back a few steps. He rubbed it with a grimace, losing the grip he had on his Aidan.

“The board lied to us,” I whispered, realizing he wasn’t letting me go. Could this be my Aidan or the Other Aidan? “I wouldn’t try to hurt you and I don’t blame you for anything that happens.” I could eat these words later, but they seemed important for him to hear, whether this was Other Aidan or the real one.

“No!” My doppelgänger spat venom. “That’s a lie. You always felt strange around him and you know it. You have good reason not to trust him. Ask him how he felt about you when you first met him. Nauseous? Sick? Go ahead, ask!”

I pointed at her. “If the Aidan there killed you, then I’m sorry. But, we’re not going to end up like you.” At least I hoped not.

Aidan unwrapped his arms from around me and coughed.

Pivoting in time I saw the Aidan near Read cough as well.

Read and I exchanged a curious glance as the two of them reached for their chests simultaneously.

“What’s happening?” I asked Other Nora, but she was gone, leaving Robin stunned and alone. She backed away from all of us, nearly tripping over a book at her heels.

I wanted to go to her, but both Aidans fell to their knees between Read and me. They were gasping in loud, ragged breaths.

Read scrambled for the Ouija board on the floor.

I caught the planchette on the floor and tossed it to Read.

Fumbling a little, he caught it and slapped it on the board. Placing his hands hastily over the piece he asked loud enough for me to hear. “What’s happening?”

W-H-I-C-H-O-N-E
, it replied, taking a painful amount of time to spell it out.

Glancing up I saw the Aidans’ faces begin to writhe, or rather their skin. It was as if fat finger-width worms were wriggling just beneath their flesh. I tried not to stare, but couldn’t seem to look away, either. Their faces contorted and rippled, the cheekbones stretching so far that identical splits in the skin was visible on their left cheeks before the skin stretched again in another direction.

At the wall where the front door should be, Robin was screaming.

Read pointed at both of them, his eyes on me. “Which one is the real Aidan?” He had to shout over Robin to be heard.

I hadn’t considered that the Ouija board was making us pick. I glanced between them just as the Aidan closest to me tried to shout, producing an inhuman, wet gurgle.

“He’s dying, Nora,” Read warned, glancing between them frantically.