Fractured (17 page)

“Really?” she asked, conscious that she pretty much pounced on the woman. If there were some leads, then she was willing to do anything to get them out of there. Hopefully without losing anyone else.

“Well,” the woman said, taken aback, “I’m not sure, but...”

“Please if you know anything,” Bash said. “
Please.
”

“What’s your name?” Seth asked. He sounded a lot calmer than Bash felt.

“Naomi,” the woman answered. “Naomi Edelstein. I’m a professor at the University of Colorado in Boulder.” She faltered. “A professor of theology. The only reason I know about this is because I just did a lecture on it. On
her,
rather.” She had a nervous energy about her. “As part of an ancient mysticism series.”

“Her?” Bash tried keeping the confusion from her face because she didn’t want to interrupt or discourage the lady, but that was a very weird link. “What do you mean?”

“That...thing that was here,” Naomi continued. “The thing that took that girl. He mentioned a name.
Abyzou.
”

“Abyzou?” Seth repeated. Bash nodded, remembering Rick saying that.

“Can I...can I sit down, please?” Naomi said. “I’m not as young as I used to be, and my back is acting up after all this.”

“Of course,” Bash said. She squeezed Seth’s hand.

There was a bit of a jostle while the professor sat down on the floor next to them. “I’m trying to get this all straight in my head as well,” she explained. “I would have come over sooner, but, you know...” She cleared her throat, preparing to speak, and when she started speaking, her tone was hushed, as if she was afraid to say anything too loudly.

“
Abyzou,
” she said softly, “is a female demon.” She paused, letting that hang in the air between them. “She’s been blamed for miscarriages, stillbirths, and infant mortality since ancient Sumerian times. The
Testament of Solomon
in the first century A.D. said that she spent every night strangling children in childbirth, because she was infertile herself. The texts say she was jealous.”

“That’s sick,” Bash said quietly. “Killing children.”

“Yes,” Seth agreed, his voice choked. “Horrible.” There was something in his voice that Bash had never heard before. She made a mental note about it to ask him later. Something wasn’t sitting well with him saying that, probably some of the things he saw in Afghanistan.

“Demons in mythology are...exaggerations of human feelings and behaviors,” Naomi explained.  “A lot of people explained away the horrible things that happened to them by saying that it was the fault of an external force.”

“An external force that Rick—that
thing
—just mentioned here. Now,” Seth said. He sighed. “So, you think this...this
Abyzou
is behind all of this?” he asked, his voice incredulous. “You really believe this?”

“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” Naomi told him. “I mean, I consider myself a good Christian, and believe in Heaven and our God above, but this...” Bash strained to hear what she said under her breath, indecipherable even in close quarters. “This is completely different than anything I ever wanted to believe. This is supernatural, and real, and horrifying.”

Bash wasn’t very religious. She wasn’t an atheist, but it wasn’t like she attended church regularly either. Naomi’s theory, even if it did seem to fit, shook Bash to her core. She knew that after his tours in Afghanistan, Seth was actually an atheist. He wasn’t going to take this theory very well.

“It’s nothing supernatural or paranormal,” he countered. “I mean, there has to be a way to explain this.”

Bash felt otherwise. There was too much happening that they couldn’t explain, and if a demon could be responsible for it, then she was willing to believe. It made more sense than anything else they’d contemplated. The possibilities and implications of demonic interference opened up a whole host of possibilities that she found terrifying. It was as if she realized the monsters under the bed were real.

“Why would Abyzou be doing this?” she asked. “Why would she be interested in us?”

“If we do have a demon that is keeping us here,” Naomi said, “I know that there’s two options. One, I believe Abyzou was interested in the girl that...that...thing...took...”

“Lily?” Bash said softly. She hugged her arms to her chest, suddenly very cold. “Why would Abyzou want my sister?”

“To scare us? Or maybe possess her?” Naomi offered. “Maybe she wants her soul in some way? But—Rick—said that
you
were cursed, Bathsheba. That’s what scares me. That could be our second option.” Bash shivered at the thought. “Demons are malevolent entities. If there’s an opportunity to terrorize us, they will take it. We are obviously vulnerable to an attack.”

“This is bullshit,” Seth said. “Talking about demons and...and...stuff...”

“How can you deny that Rick was dead, and he suddenly reappeared and kidnapped Lily?” Bash questioned. “How does something like that happen if it’s not supernatural?”

“I don’t know,” Seth groaned.

He abruptly stood up and moved away from them. Bash reached out to bring him back, her fingers encountering empty air. Her hand fell, disappointed, to her side. Seth had left her to deal with this alone.

“Some people choose not to believe what’s staring them in the face,” Naomi said softly. She clasped Bash’s hand. “It’s probably best if he doesn’t.”

“You think she wants my sister for some reason? Or me?”

“I don’t know,” Naomi answered. “There’s not a whole lot of information about Abyzou. The entire lecture wasn’t solely about her, she was almost more of a footnote. I’m sorry I don’t know more.”

“I understand,” Bash said, deflated. She combed her fingers through her hair. Her hair felt oily, greasy. How long had it been since she had taken a shower? It felt like she had Darius’ and all of those other poor people’s ashes on her, polluting her body. Her skin was dry, itchy. Her lungs burned if she thought about what she was breathing for too long.

“How long have you been blind, honey?” the professor asked.

Bash blinked at the strange, personal question. “Since I was little,” she said, giving herself a little shake.

“What happened?”

“I had a seizure at a playground when I was three. Why do you ask?”

Naomi didn’t answer for a few heartbeats. “I’m just curious,” she answered. “That thing said that you were cursed, and I’m trying to find a link. Or a connection.” She laughed mirthlessly. “I’m really tired,” she added, almost self-consciously. “I’m going to head back. Sorry for taking up your time and scaring you.”

“No, thank you for your help,” Bash said truthfully. “Maybe it’ll start us figuring out how to get out of here.”

“
If
we get out of here,” Naomi corrected exasperatedly.

Bash heard her move back to the other side of the room. She could feel her heart sinking, like there wasn’t any hope.

Would they get out of there alive?

*****

Maria swam out of a deep, deep sleep to a raging headache. She grimaced, gingerly touching the tender bump on the back of her head where she had connected with the wall. She pushed herself up on her elbows, hating how much energy that took out of her.

Fragments of memories flicked through her mind, so rapidly it brought tears to her eyes. She took in a shuddering gasp.

Rick
, her soul cried. He was dead. She remembered him dying. Remembered crying over his body.

And then there was the burned creature that had once been Rick.

“Rick.
Flaco.
” Her voice caught in her throat. She’d never be able to call him that again.

“How are you doing?” Seth asked.

She snapped her head towards him, and then stifled a cry as it made the world swim. “
Ai, dios mio
,” she groaned in Spanish.

“Careful,” he warned. His voice seemed harsher than normal. “You might have a concussion. You hit the wall pretty hard. And we don’t have a doctor who can take care of you.”

“Seth,” she groaned, “what’re you doing over here?” She figured he’d be next to that bitch Bash. That was nonsensical, she realized—she blamed the two sisters for what was happening, and she didn’t know why. The other people here blamed them too, but there wasn’t any concrete evidence as to why they should. The only thing Maria knew was that she had always felt uneasy around Lily. It was better to feel anger than it was to feel despair over her lover’s death.

“I had to step away,” he said with a sigh. “Bash is talking with a crazy professor lady. They think some sort of demon is behind this.”

Maria closed her eyes, trying to put that phrase into reality. “Demons?” She giggled nervously.

“Yeah,” he said with a nonchalant shrug. “Some bullshit about an ancient demon that causes stillbirths.”

Maria sucked in a deep breath. She had a deeply Catholic upbringing, and while she wasn’t as devout as her parents wished, she still had her fundamental roots in religion, which did include the possibility of demons.

“Demons?” she repeated dumbly.

“Yes.” Seth frowned, looking down at her. “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit,” she answered truthfully. She touched her fingertips to her forehead again. It felt like her entire skull was splitting apart.

“At least you’re still alive,” he said.

“Thanks,” she said sarcastically. This felt, weird. Awkward. She had never gotten to talk to Seth alone, and now that Rick was gone, it just felt wrong. She wanted Rick. And he wasn’t around anymore.

“What happened?” she asked, afraid of the answer. “Why do I have a bump on my head?”

“You were thrown into the wall,” Seth answered gently. Maria felt sick, remembering the events that had happened. Rick had thrown her into the wall.
Mi amor...

“By Rick?” she whispered. Was he alive?

“Rick left with Lily.”

Maria fought the urge to snarl. “Lily?”

“He took her...
somewhere
.” Seth threw his hands up helplessly. “In the walls. She was still out cold. We haven’t seen them since.”

“Are you going to try to leave?” That came out as more of a whine than she wanted. She didn’t know what she wanted to do. If there was a chance that Rick was here, she didn’t want to leave. Not if there was some hope of Rick being alive. She had
seen
him dead. Still, if he was moving around, then there was some hope left for him.

He could return,
she thought.

A dark shadow crossed over Seth. “Someone just tried to. He’s not with us anymore either.”

“What’re you gonna do?” Maria asked. She wasn’t even including herself with them. They were separate, like she was looking at them through a sheet of glass.

He was chewing the inside of his cheek as he looked across the room at Bash. The older woman had left, leaving Bash there with Scott’s unconscious form.

“I don’t know,” Seth said at length. He hadn’t picked up that she had detached herself from them. “We need to figure out a way to get out of here. Scott’s really sick. And at this point, I don’t think help’s coming.”

“What are you going to
do
?” she repeated. Her voice rose at the end of the question, and he shushed her gently.

“We’ve got to leave. Somehow.”

She couldn’t hide the sneer that left her lips. She could feel it deep down that she was meant to stay here. Rick was going to come back and they were going to be united.

“I’ll figure it out,” Seth said, clueless to her intentions. “Can you do me a favor in the meantime?”

She didn’t know what it could be or if she could really give him an honest answer, so she just nodded.

“Can you stop treating Bash like she’s behind all of this?”

Maria opened her mouth to explain herself, even though she didn’t really know why either. Seth held up a hand, cutting her off.

“I don’t care about your reasons,” he said shortly. “I don’t want to hear excuses. We’re in this shit together, and it would help if we’re all on the same side. So...can I trust you to stop blaming Bash?”

“I’ll try,” she said softly, only half-truthfully.

Apparently that answer was good enough for him.

“What if it really is a...a demon that’s doing all this?” she asked. Did she dare hope that there was something controlling Lily and Rick? Could she count that as Rick being alive again? Her feverish mind reeled.

Seth was frowning as he watched Bash. “I’ve been to Afghanistan a few times with Darius. I’ve seen some truly horrible things. Done some truly...” His voice choked in his throat again and he looked back at Maria. “I’ve done some
things
. There was no God there. The only demons there were humans. And I was one of them.” He paused. “There’s a rational explanation for all of this. There
has
to be.”

Seth he got up and walked away, leaving her there. Maria watched Bash across the room, the girl with the weird, milky eyes. She didn’t trust her. Couldn’t trust her. Not when there was this fresh hole in her heart that she was looking to fill.