Authors: Richard Jackson
“We see that you died in a fire. Want to talk about it? How did it feel?”
“What the hell are you thinking?!?”
I sense rather than hear Kara’s sharp intake of breath. I can’t even imagine the look on my face. I know provoking a spirit is an effective method to get a response. The problem is the response is usually not a positive one. True to form, the booming titanic laughter that bounces off the walls of the cave proves my point. Hagan would love this.
Kara forces herself to remain calm. “
It’s a demon.
”
I am sorely tempted to say something smart but that would mean using my brain power for something other than getting out of here with my skin and soul intact.
“
It’s guarding the ring on the pedestal.
”
Okay, that explains why the ring is still here while the rest of the room has been ransacked. It could have cared less about the rest of the stuff in here as long as the ring was untouched. An icy hand threatens to pull out my lungs as I mull that thought over. That other stuff we traced here was all Class Three items. That ring, whatever it is, must be uniquely dangerous and powerful. I move a little closer to Timothy who is also getting over his surprise. What galls me about this whole thing is the way he is looking at me. His expression shouts “This is your fault”.
“We need to spread out. That’s no ghost” He says.
“Shut the hell up.”
The laughter continues though nothing takes form or shape. There is just a presence that means to do us great bodily harm. When it speaks, its voice is tinged with amusement. The tone reminds me of a young boy about to pluck the wings off of a butterfly so he can take his time frying it under a magnifying glass. There is no thought given to how the butterfly might feel, just his own sadistic pleasure.
“You are here for one of three reasons. All carry the same consequences. Since neither one of you appears to be priests, we can rule out the first. The second is that you have come here by accident. That is most unfortunate for you but a welcome diversion from my boring vigil. The last and most likely possibility is that you have come for Bloodstone. In which case, I get to mix business with pleasure.”
“
The Bloodstone?
”
I’ll ask Kara about that later when I am not busy thinking about how much pain a demon’s pleasure can inflict on me. What I need right now is some advice on how to deal with this thing when she calls out another warning. “
Look out!!
”
There is a rush of power. My skin feels painfully warm as if I am standing too close to a bonfire but I don’t burst into flames like the rest of the cavern. My talent saves me from an agonizing death. It also saves Timothy as I redirect the magic away from us. It’s a useful gift for an aspiring paranormal investigator.
Kara yells “
We need to get out of here!”
“It seems one of you has a bit of power to make this interesting.” The demon says.
I don’t know how interesting that will be. Kara is right. I need to get out of here. If I stick around much longer, I’m a dead man. My gift, as I like to call it, doesn’t have any major downsides but it does have its limits. I’ve learned it can protect me against all but the strongest of magic. That came in handy when me and Hagan were confiscating all those magic items but I also found out it is useless against the byproducts and side effects of a spell. Smoke from a magical fire as it consumes the chests and other flammable material in the cave can still suffocate me. Air heated to extreme temperatures by those same flames can still burn my lungs. I’m in trouble. It’s enough for me to forget about Timothy. He’ll have to fend for himself while I rack my brains for a way out of this. Who am I kidding? We’ll never make it out the crack and into fresh air. I can’t even see because of all the smoke and fire.
In between hacking coughs, Timothy barks something out in a language I don’t understand. I take in a lung full of bad air. Kara screams something and so does Timothy but it is the demon whose words I hear.
“IT IS DONE!!”
I can barely make out the smoke and fire coalescing briefly into a humanoid shape. As I choke and cough, it surges and flows into Timothy’s form. There isn’t anything nice or good about this development.
Kara growls “
That fool!!
”
I turn my thoughts inward now that I am no long in danger of dying in the next few seconds. The smoke and flames disappear from the cavern as suddenly as they had appeared. I can breathe again.
“
What?
”
I’m not angry or annoyed at Kara, far from it. It’s just that near death experiences really put me on edge.
“
He made a pact with that thing!
”
“
What do you mean ‘a pact’? You mean like a deal with the devil?
”
“
Yes.
”
This unexpected development has put her in a foul mood and my questions aren’t helping. I direct my next one at Timothy.
“What did you do?”
He doesn’t try to lie. We both know what he’s done.
“I did what I had to. It was that or die.”
I open my mouth and then close it. There is no point in trying to argue with him. It won’t change a thing. What’s done is done. It’s his next statement that nearly causes me to punch him out, demonic pact or no.
“You would have done the same thing if you knew how.”
“Not bloody likely” I growl.
Timothy takes a step back from the truth and hostility in my words. Maybe, his bargain allows him to see me in a new light. “You’re not one to judge. I am a reflection of you, Count. We are both bound to higher powers. There isn’t much difference between us.”
Is he serious? It’s a rhetorical question. You can’t get much more serious than this. I call Kara my guardian angel but in truth, I don’t know who she is or where she comes from. She could be a spirit or any number of things. It’s not important. What is important is that she cares for me and deep down I know beyond a shadow of a doubt she would never try to control me.
“
I don’t, I can’t possess you.
” She says and I believe her.
“
I know. Whatever choices I make are my own. I’m just glad you’re here for me when I need you.
”
Aloud, I say “You don’t know what you’re talking about so I’ll let that slide.”
Timothy shrugs away my words and glare. He is correct about one thing. Like it or not, he is a reflection of me, backwards. On the surface, there might be similarities but it ends once you take a closer look.
“Look, maybe we could have found a way to beat him, maybe not. At least, this way we all come out ahead.”
“Well then, you have no problem with me claiming the Bloodstone.”
Timothy’s smile falters. His expression shifts and changes too fast to be that of what I would call a sane man or someone totally in control of himself. For a moment, I think I will have a fight on my hands. I find myself almost hoping for one when whatever internal debate or struggle there was ends. “It is yours if you can take it but I wouldn’t touch it. Its power is dangerous to ones such as us.”
“And if I insist.”
“It is your life to toss away“
I didn’t know if it was Timothy speaking or his partner. His words gave me pause. You don’t assign a demon to guard something unless it’s valuable, dangerous, powerful, or all of the above but there was no way I was going to just leave it here.
“
It’s safe for you. Take it.
” Kara says.
And that was that. Timothy ignored me as I made my way over to the pedestal. He had some adjustments to make and things to discuss with his new partner. I left him to it though Kara kept a close watch on him in case they tried anything.
Up close, the ring didn’t look like much. Made of gold and set with a deep green stone, it looked like any other piece of jewelry. The crimson bands were barely visible in the darkness of the cave. I reach out to touch the ring. There is a strangeness to it that I can’t quite identify. With effort, I get past the sensation only to hear Kara say the unspeakable.
“
The Bloodstone is yours, Count.
”
I shake my head as I leave the cave and Timothy behind. After this, I want nothing to do with him. I won’t be alone in that sentiment. Sol and many others in the community have a thing about demons and the possessed. Most will have nothing to do with Timothy. Others might want to kill him. The rest might have a use for him but those aren’t the sort of people I do business with.
“I’m not going to keep it. I’ll turn it over to Sol the first chance that I get. He and Scott will know what to do with it.”
I didn’t want to admit to Kara or myself but the ring scared me as much as Timothy and his new partner did.
***
“Possessed?!?” Jennifer lowers her voice with some effort. “Like in the Exorcist?”
I pick my words very carefully. No matter how I try to explain it, there is no good or delicate way to put it. “The difference is that he’s a willing participant.”
She looks at me as if I had just totaled her brand new car. That difference is an important one. To exorcise a spirit or a demon from someone, a part of them, no matter how small and frightened, has to want to be free. Timothy is quite happy with the deal. It is one of the reasons why I don’t count him among my friends. He isn’t the issue. I’ve been avoiding the real issue, letting myself get distracted. I can’t afford that luxury any longer. Too much has happened that I don’t understand. There are too many players in this game and the stakes keep going up.
“Jen, I need to call someone. Can we pick this up tomorrow?”
“As long as it’s not Timothy.” She says.
Sometimes, it is hard to tell where the man ends and the demon begins. It’s like the two were made for each other. Timothy’s pact gives him a few advantages over his fellow man while his partner gets to avoid a lot of weaknesses demons and spirits have when it comes to possessing people.
“Not a chance. Let’s face it. Dealing with the forces of darkness is one thing. Letting them move into your body is a different story. No, I have someone else in mind. Someone I trust with my life.”
Chapter Twenty One
Jennifer is gone. I am alone now. The apartment feels so empty. It’s funny when Kara was with me, I was never alone. I had forgotten what it felt like. Even when she left, I knew she would always come back to me. It’s not that we never disagree but this time is different. Usually, we patch things up within a day or two at the most. This time, there is something more to Kara’s absence. In anger, I crossed a line. I miss her and I’m not sure how to fix things between the two of us. I could just sit and wait. Even though waiting isn’t one of my strong suits, it would be easy compared to the alternative. It’s always easier to ignore a problem and let it fester. No, I can’t do it. Wheels are in motion. I need to act.
I rely on Kara a lot. It’s not a bad thing having someone who is always there to look after you. There is a problem when you’re totally dependent on someone. I’m not exactly helpless without her but I’m also not at my best. From the start, Kara has been teaching me about the supernatural and giving me much needed advice. Without her help, I would have died on several occasions but I have always resisted her when it came to learning more about my gift. I’ve always tried to avoid using it on a conscious level. It was easier to make excuses. I could solve any problem or case that came my way without having to practice with my talent. To be honest, I was having way too much fun living a life of adventure. It helped me avoid the truth. There is a price for such a gift. I was given this power to stop people like Meredith. When the time came to do just that, I failed. Things might have turned out a lot differently if I was able to use my power to drain the Bloodstone safely. I could have dealt with Meredith easily.
Damn me for a fool. A lot of pain and heartbreak could have been avoided. So what do I do now that I realize my mistake? I don’t repeat it. To do that and get through this, I need information and advice. I need Kara. Not only is she the only one who can help me, I miss her and it’s time to set things right between us. So, what’s my first step? I need to contact her. The only way to do it is via our link. Sounds simple but like any first step, it is difficult. I’ve never used the link to contact her. It’s always been the other way around. I’m not even sure if such a thing is possible. I know a fair amount about magic and the supernatural but less than nothing about the link and my own talent. Lately, I’ve been a bad student. There were always other things to learn and do. I have to change that before my next encounter with Meredith.
Meditation is also not one of my strong suits. Some practice it for health reasons while others for personal development or religious reasons. It usually involves turning your attention and thoughts inward, something I have a lot of practice doing. When I try to focus on my breathing or clear my mind, a million little details usually rise up to distract me. What I do now is different. I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths, falling into a steady rhythm. Instead of meditating, I focus my thoughts on Kara and the link we share. The link is still there and unbroken, a pleasant reminder of just how close the two of us have become over the years.
I remember the first time I saw her. I was in the hospital just after my “accident”. At the time, I didn’t know what had happened to me. Maybe it was too traumatic for me to remember. For all I know, Meredith or his father used some sort of spell to make me forget. The oxygen tent and IV frightened me but not as much as waking up alone in an unfamiliar place. I was in pain, the most pain I had ever felt in my young life. That wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was I couldn't speak. I couldn't even scream for help. It was the first time in my life I was truly and utterly afraid. This was no boogey man or nightmare that on a subconscious level I knew wasn’t real. No, this was frighteningly real, as real as the hands that had tried to crush my throat. Then I saw her. She didn't have wings or a halo but she was a dark haired angel. Her smile put me at ease. A smile I knew was only for me.