The Grasp of Nighttide (24 page)

*****

Alice left the car and headed towards the entrance of the cemetery. It was a relief to walk away after the cold talk and silence from Derek.

“Alice wait,” Derek called her. She turned, not knowing what to say. He came closer. “I’m sorry for my behavior. I’m angrier with myself that I couldn’t prevent Steph’s death. That I didn’t know she was doing this stuff… trying to kill you.”

“I should be the one apologizing. To you, to mom, to so many families I have destroyed. I wish Steph had killed me instead,” Alice said. "So… I think..." Alice felt it difficult to say the word. "This is… goodbye?" 

"Definitely not." 

"What do you mean?" Alice asked, confused. "I’ve killed so many people. Steph." 

"No. Never say that in public," he said, looking around afraid that someone heard them. But there were alone. "Don't tell anyone you don't trust." 

"That doesn't change the truth." 

"This will pass, you will be alright soon. I promise. I can’t lose you Alice. I love you. You can’t imagine how much...” he trailed off. 

“I love you, too,” Alice said. “Will I see you tonight?”

“Yes.” Derek replied. “I’ll be back before nightfall.”

“I’ll be waiting,” She kissed Derek in time to see Carl step up beside Cloud, looking on surprised.

*****

The cemetery was black and grey. It was a joyless place that seemed to suck life and happiness into itself. Alice had on the only shirt which remained with her, after the blood stained shirt of last night. It was a turquoise blue. The florist adjacent to the place had pitied her, and let Alice borrow her black scarf. Alice referenced the picture in her pocket, trying to match it up to the faces around her to see if anyone could have been in it from a younger day.

No one in the family had seen her in years. She had only supposed to have spoken to Granny Verica over the phone a few times. She took out the picture yet again and gave a hard look around. Her eyes zeroed on an old lady, she thought resembled her grandmother from the picture. She checked the picture, pretty certain it was her. Verica caught sight of her and came closer. Alice shoved the picture back in her bag and had to control herself to keep from panicking.

“Do I know you?” she asked

Grandparent instinct
, Alice thought. “No, I actually…”

“That voice…” Verica murmured. “What is your name?”

Words were stuck in her throat, she couldn’t speak. Veronica’s younger sister Scarlett, whom Alice now recognized from the picture, noticed and came over as well. Two teenage girls with dark hair followed her.

“Who is it, mom?” Scarlett asked.

“Who is that Gran?” One of the girls pointed.

At first Alice was surprised that even the girl wanted to know but as Alice studied her closer she realized that the girl was so much similar to her. The shade of her brown hair was just right with the exact length of wavy hair at the bottom. Her eyes and face cut were the same too. Except for her sharp nose and thinner lips, Alice could say it was surely how she looked as a young teenager.

“I do not know Eleena,” Scarlett promptly answered before studying Alice’s face.

Caught, caught, caught…

“Doesn’t she seem familiar to you, Scarlett?”

“Could it be her? Is it her?”

“Oh, there you are Alicia,” Etsy Monroe appeared from out of nowhere. Alice realized it was the first time she’d been called Alicia.

“Alicia?” Verica said puzzled. “Etsy, who is this?”

“My granddaughter, Alicia.” Etsy lied, Alice was grateful that she did. “She came here straight from the airport, so excuse her.” She continued, trying to spread the black scarf over the shirt.

“Then where is Rave?” Verica demanded.

“Rave is currently unavailable,” Etsy sighed. “She is in Australia and we are not able to contact her.”

“Give me her contact number,” Scarlett ordered.

“She does not have a number there, I’d sent mail. I’m hoping that she’ll call later tonight or tomorrow. She will be so heartbroken.” Etsy finished sadly. “Ah Alicia, I see you made time to get flowers. Go on, place them there.”

Alice laid the roses on Veronica’s grave and whispered. “I’m so sorry, mom. I promise that I will stick to my promise and get out of this. I wish I had more time with you. I love you mom,” a tear formed a drop of dew on a rose.

“We need to leave,” Etsy stood next to Alice. “Looks like Verica and Ronald still have their doubts about you.”

“You are grasped,” Etsy Monroe whispered, opening the door to her home. Alice had first thought she was going to say ‘you are welcome’, but ‘grasped’ didn’t make sense. 

“What? Grasped?” 

Etsy beckoned her to come inside and closed the door. “Yes. Grasped.” She brought her tone to normal. 

“Is that supposed to mean anything?” Alice asked absent-mindedly.

Veronica had mentioned Etsy was a witch and Alice expected to see a typical movie-like witch house. Instead it was an ordinary abode, which didn’t smell of incense or herbs. It was neat and seemed like she was the only one who lived there- no cats. 

“Do you live here?” 

“Yes. Where you met me last time was my daughter’s home in Castle Pines. And by the way the house where you and your parents lived before is just a block away from here.” 

I killed them both, 
Alice thought. 

Etsy placed a hand on her back. “Make yourself comfortable dear. Could I get you some tea or coffee? Rough day.” 

“Coffee,” Alice said and plopped down exhausted on the sofa. She hadn’t slept all night and she couldn’t take any rest before knowing what was wrong with her. 

“What did you mean by grasped?” Alice asked aloud. However Etsy didn’t bother to reply until she was back with two cups. 

“The Grasp summoned a demon to possess you.” 

“It was like fifteen years ago,” Alice blinked in astonishment. “I was just a kid back then.” 

“That is how they work their way,” Etsy pushed the sachets of sweetener on the table towards Alice. 

“Who are the Grasp?” Alice leaned closer and spoke like she meant business. “I need to know every detail you can offer.” 

“We better begin at the beginning. You might be able to understand them better that way.” Etsy said. Alice took in the smell of the coffee before pouring two packets of sweetener in. She needed the caffeine to get her through the conversation. 

“Grasp has been in existence since ancient times,” Etsy Monroe started. “It all started with a group of people in England. It is unknown who taught them the dark arts, but we do know from ancient texts that they did not learn it on their own. They asked for their powers, asked for dark side of magic to be a part of them- to be passed through generations. They submitted themselves to the greatest of dark forces and made a pact to acquire control over demons. Presumably they still remember who taught them originally, but who knows for sure? They were taught how to control demons of the most powerful sorts, and these ancient pre-English men used them to possess other people to help them stay young.”

“How is that? Using demons to stay young?”

“I was getting to that,” Etsy said. “As you may or may not know- demons can’t wander around in this dimension without a host, and so they needed people to house them – and in turn acquire souls. And with these soul offerings they could become young. Of course, their abilities were abused and misused from the very beginning. There is something about dark arts that attracts those who would misuse it in the first place." 

“So they stay young and don’t die?” Alice interrupted. 

“The fact that they can lower their age doesn’t mean they cannot die. I’ve heard a bunch of them die in freak accidents,” she saw Alice’s blank face and sighed. “They are stronger than humans but they can die as we do. They can get blown up or fall off a cliff or… you know those sorts. These days very rarely do we hear any of them dying with diseases- thanks to medicine that has been a boon even to their kind- but with minor and semi major injuries you can expect them to recover quickly.” 

Alice’s fingers hurt when she tried to snap them again. A small cry escaped her lips.  

“I’ve always told you to get that habit under control.” Etsy then muttered something under her breath and sparks of yellow light formed in her left palm. Slowly, Etsy pushed her palm towards Alice and the light disappeared inside Alice’s hand. 

“What did...? What was...? What the...?” Alice was at loss of words that suddenly her hands felt as good as new, by an act that seemed like an illusion. 

“I know Veronica would’ve let you in on my powers. She was a dear friend to me. I wish this magic could get her back.” She took a quick sip. “So where were we? Right. Yes. They hadn’t come into light for ages before a coven of witches discovered them. By that time there were hundreds of them spread around the globe. Witches could destroy them, but a fool proof plan was needed to destroy them without alerting them. Are you following?” 

Alice savored the last sip and put the cup down giving complete concentration to the subject at hand. “Yes.” 

“Good. After months of watching it was discovered that there was a meeting. The place where the Grasp gathers is known as Mortegrath, taken from a Latin word ‘morte’ meaning death. It was a world they brought into existence. They used their dark powers to bring that crossing point where life joins with death. To use it as a meeting room with a portal that connects to our world. 

That was hard to figure that out because at that time only one portal connected to Mortegrath, which was very well hidden. However the witches kept watch as about five hundred of them got to Germany. Travelling took time in those days. Flocking of Grasp took a process of several months before the actual meeting.” Etsy noticeably rubbed the side of her cup until vapors started coming out from it once more.

“From what my grandparents told to me, on the night of the meeting, the covens charged into Mortegrath to wipe out the Grasp. The very air had changed. The spirits knew, and the children began screaming. The adult Grasp were instantly alert, but it was too late. There were too many witches opposed to them, and they were caught off guard by the ferocity of the fiery magic being used. The battle raged for hours. Grasp using tricks of their own- but eventually tried to retreat. They were cut down one by one, not a single survivor on the field." 

“What happened then?” Alice asked. Etsy had entered a zone all great storytellers know, a captive audience and an entrancing story. 

“After the battle, the witches discovered a cabin at the Grasp encampment that housed frightened children, and one woman who had been tasked to watch over the little ones while the rest of the adults went to meet their deaths. The carnage of the battle had been severe and there were those who wished to simply wipe out any who had been tainted by the Grasp, but Anise, the most powerful witch among them, had mercy. Although the children were part of Grasp, the witches decided to let them live and allow them to be spread to new homes amongst the various covens that had come together to fight their parents. The final adult member of Grasp was to stand a sort of trial before being executed. She was to represent all of the evils that her entire organization had committed." As she mentioned these action of the past her voice grew angry, and yellow sparks flew from her wizened and wrinkled fingers. 

“How is Grasp still out there if they all died hundreds of years ago?” Alice asked. Etsy's history rang true deep in her soul, and she needed to hear more. Every aspect of the enemy had to be known. 

“No child, that is not all. As the witches celebrated their victory and mourned their own losses, Anise went missing. They did not search far; outside of the cabin where the children were held, they found an arm. Soon after they discovered the horribly mutilated body of Anise, her body ripped almost in half. The final surviving Grasp member had vanished, and taken all of the children with her. The witches were utterly shocked that a lone adult Grasp could defeat Anise, one of the most powerful witches ever known. They had let the mysterious woman live long enough for a trial because they had assumed she was a lower ranking member, powerful enough to be a nanny, but not enough to join in the battle. Anise's corpse proved them wrong. It made them wonder about the Grasp’s power and if the only way they won is because their numbers were far greater." A sense of dread and foreboding crept over Alice at this point in the story. “The witches did try to trace her and the children, but she disappeared from their radar so to speak. There was not a single clue they could use to track her; they didn’t even know her name. It did not take many years before the influence of Grasp was felt again, those were still the days where war was common, and soldiers could be easily influenced by their evil magic. Lives were cheap, and Grasp regained much of their original strength. Never again would the Grasp be as open as they had been before." She continued. “Meanwhile witches tried to search for them but as years passed the covens divided over the idea to be on Grasp’s trail. I hate to even think of it but they started to gain worldly pleasure and just considered dealing with local issues. There is only one coven which is still dedicated to the Grasp, ours. Trying to help and save children as well as tracking Grasp members. We are doing as much as we can but I’m afraid three kids of our coven are willing to carry out our mission further, excluding my own daughter who thinks involving in witchcraft is the one thing she does not have on her life’s list,” she laughed not expressing her true sadness. “Well never mind. Do you have any questions?” 

How will I not? 
Alice thought
. It was just history you told me. Nothing explains why kids were possessed.
 

“Why kids?” 

"With time, human minds and society grew more advanced. Peace became the norm, and investigations into missing or killed people drew more attention. These were not the ideal circumstances for the Grasp; they relied on easy prey and little attention being given to their activities to keep themselves hidden. Demons couldn’t camouflage easily anymore and the Grasp was leaving careless clues. A few of them were caught and executed, not by us witches, but by the normal humans. In the 19th Century, the plague which was spreading through the world was able to erase a good number of Grasp while it lasted. It left them defeated; their foothold was no longer as strong as it once was. 

Of course, it was getting harder to possess a human as demons take time to adjust to them and the host dies fairly quickly. There was no other way for them, as without any kills their existence could be wiped out. Then it was decided that the demon must possess a child and then grow into the body as the child ages.” Upon mentioning the last sentence, Etsy stopped.

“Wh-what?” Alice blurted. “Child possession?”

The old witch nodded weakly, her eyes suddenly grew teary as if she had remembered a tragic incident upon mentioning child possession. “You don’t know much Alice, but Grasp are a cruel bunch of people. God knows how they came exist in this world.” Etsy sighed loudly. Alice could sense that Etsy was furious judging from wild sparks of magic coming out from her fingers.

"They survive only because of the drastic rules that they put into place for themselves." Etsy went on. "Killings only take place at night, and at least one Grasp member must shadow the possessed child in order to control them and keep them hidden. Of course, that is for the children with successful possessions, most died within minutes of a demon entering them." The old woman seemed to stare into the past and aged several years in the few minutes that she had been talking. "Such painful days for those poor children." She murmured to herself. 

"How do they do that?" 

"I have no idea of how they go about possessing the children; we typically only came across the... results." Again, her far away voice told Alice everything she needed to know about what kind of results those were. "I do not know how they choose which children will become the host for a demon and training, but there does seem to be some correlation between children who witness death before being chosen." 

"Did I see death? Is that why they chose me?" Alice asked. 

"Yes, child, you did. Of course, you have no memory of this now, but Veronica told me that you had seen a girl die when you were quite young. Your mother didn’t want to lose you, Rave." Etsy explained, “There was a girl living where you stay in Castle Pines years ago, she too was possessed. She died though.” 

“It was Lily!” Alice blurted out as she recalled the little girl who wanted her to jump. 

“Lily? Yes, her name was… Lily Creg. She had a peculiar demon thrust inside her making her lead people to jump to their deaths. However I was trying to help her. Though still I had no way to free her from the misery she was in, I had convinced her mom to let her talk to me. But sadly she jumped off the window of her room the very night. I didn’t realize her intention until it was too late for me to save her. But in that case, there aren’t any kids we were able to save as long as you.” She looked right into Alice’s eyes. “Yes you.” 

Etsy tried to pull something out from her purse, but it fell out of her bony hands. The sound of metal clanking on the floor startled Alice. Both heads turned towards the direction of the sound, their eyes fixed at the tiny metal object. Etsy bent down and grabbed it, and then handed it to Alice. It was a cross. The old witch passed the cross to Alice with a cold expression. 

“Go on. Touch it.” Etsy commanded. 

Unsure, Alice reached out for the cross. As the tip of her finger touched on the cross, Alice quickly closed her eyes, expecting it to burn through her skin. However, she was wrong. The metal felt surprisingly cool, like ice. The sudden sensation caused her to pull away. 

“How is that even possible?” She exclaimed.