hanging like a fine veil refracting a dull orange light that was now creeping through the stained glass windows. He sat up, shaking his head at the arrangement for he knew what it was. It was a ritual Seers carried out for those who had passed on, to ease their spirit on its journey to peace. He got to his feet quickly, slightly uneasy after his experience, and strode towards one of the side rooms where distant voices seemed to be coming from. As he got closer he found it to be Lancer and Michael apparently arguing.
“…It is too dangerous! We cannot-!”
“I don’t care it’s the only option now!” shouted Michael abruptly cutting off Lancer.
“Do you want all we have accomplished to be for nothing!?” Lancer growled back sternly, “because without a way to send him back that’s exactly what everything would be for.”
There was a harsh bang as Michael slammed his hand on a table in frustration. “And if we do nothing then all is lost! We have to confront Millaian and at least try!”
Suddenly the door swung open to reveal Richard standing in the opening against the misty orange atmosphere quickly spilling into the room. “He’s right…We have to confront him now,” he smiled at Michael then turned to Lancer seriously, “and I know how to do it,” he smiled lightly to himself and stepped further into the room. “We have to exorcise him.”
Lancer stared at Richard for quite some time, with him becoming more and more suspicious as the seconds passed by. “You’re awfully chatty for a dead man.”
“Dead?” Richard asked cautiously, “what makes you think that? I must have only been away an hour, maximum, I mean it’s only just dawn now,” he waved a hand back at the glow coming through the windows.
Michael and Lancer looked at each other, concerned of how they should proceed. “Rich…I don’t know how to tell you this but it’s dusk…You’ve been gone for over 17 hours…” Michael said tentatively.
“You see…” Lancer carried on, “after half an hour you still hadn’t awoken so I tried the return ritual…It…didn’t work,” he breathed heavily and shook his head slightly. “I tried it over and over for hours until Michael returned-”
“Which, by the way, is another story entirely” Michael stated, butting in.
“-With his information we had a chance but not without you…We tried everything we could Richard, I promise you…But with time running out until All Hallows we finally had to commit ourselves to the idea that you were, indeed, dead.”
Richard said nothing, trying to comprehend how so much time had passed in this world. The only explanation, he thought, was that considering the Median Worlds time frame never seemed fully sure of its self it must mean that of the Other Side, as well as its border world, was somehow faster. He considered venturing into why this was, what was the significance of this eventuality but soon decided there happened to be more pressing matters. “That doesn’t matter now, only that we now have a real chance at stopping him,” he looked between the two who still seemed a little shocked that he was alive. “Now, Michael, what’s this about information you have?”
“Erm…” he started unsurely, “he found me, Millaian…But I- I managed to get away and found out where he’s going,” Michael stuttered, thinking it was better he didn’t go in to what had really happened.
“He’s at the Ansen Memorial…The dome at the centre of the cemetery in town-”
“I know the one,” assured Richard quickly, “we should get going now, before it’s too late.”
“We should take the body; I don’t know how much longer she will survive, I need to remerge them as soon as possible,” he was responded to with a casual nod before turning to Michael and giving a second nod prompting him to quickly get up and head outside. “What do you mean exorcism?” he asked finally after Michael was out of earshot, “not only is it impossible, it’s been decreed that it would be forbidden even if it was possible…This whole thing about permanently severing a person from their eternal soul,” he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. “It was never supposed to be done.”
“Listen,” said Richard firmly, “I never got to the Other Side. I think it was the Far Side border world, point is while I was there I encountered what I think was their version of a Median. He told me that the only way to defeat Millaian was to separate him from his power…The spirits he controls. The only way to do that is an exorcism; we have to separate them from him by force. I don’t see there to be any other way.”
“There’s always another way. Exorcism is wrong-” Lancer tried.
“No!” shouted Richard harshly, “the body he controls is not his! He has violated seven people, one of them who I consider family, and he intends to do it to another before doing god knows what to this world!” he turned away angrily for a few seconds before turning back and pointing a finger accusingly at Lancer. “Your kind! If you had never had pushed the boundaries we would never be in this goddamn situation!” he breathed heavily, trying to control his temper and eventually lowered his finger. “All you’re ‘rules’. They don’t apply anymore, this is different! Now do something right, help me save these people and give them peace.”
Lancer stared distraught at Richard before conceding with a sigh. “The process is considered impossible, I suppose you have a way to overturn this assumption, though?”
“If it’s considered so bad, scares Seers so much and has such a strong rule against it, even if it is in theory, then someone must have succeeded in doing it at some point…And I guarantee there’s something about it in Millaians book,” he looked meaningfully at Lancer, placing a hand on his shoulder, “nothing’s ever black and white. Sometimes some evil must be done to maintain the greater good.”
“That’s what I told you, many years ago…It’s strange what the student has become, and how proud of him I am,” he nodded gently once more and took a deep breath. “Alright, let’s do it.”
I-VII – Necrosis
“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death”
-Corinthians 15:26
I can’t deny I was scared. More so than I had been in a very long time. If Millaian managed to take Hollie before Midnight then when the worlds aligned and the portals opened for All Hallows his true form would return with all the power of the Other Side. I had seen this form; decades of his attempts to return to this world had changed him into a near skeletal apparition of twisted humanity, driven only by a hunger for power and the thirst to do anything to achieve it. Yes, I was scared; we all were, but even if I just did this to try and finally to give Chris peace then it would have been completely worth it.
As the veil of the chilled night fell, as did the boundaries between worlds. The planes of the living and dead moving so close that they were capable of imprinting upon each other, going so far as to open fragile portals between them so that long lost relatives could return to their families for a single night. A joyous time for both spirits and the living where reconciliation across the vast void was possible but tonight all was silent for a dark mist hung over both worlds as they knew something was coming; one who would defile the sacred time and use it for his own gains.
A car pulled to an abrupt halt outside of the cemetery gates, mounting the kerb as it did and the doors were thrown open with Richard, Michael and Lancer carefully sliding Hollies now robed body from the back seat, colour having returned to her skin.
“What time is it?” snapped Richard harshly, “we can’t wait any longer.”
“Half nine,” replied Michael promptly.
“Michael, take her,” he passed Hollie into his arms quickly but carefully and gave Richard a slanted glance. “I’m going to need my hands free if we’re going to do this.”
Richard glanced back and then at Michael before taking a deep breath and starting towards the large domed building at the centre of the yard. There was a relatively small opening to the crypt covered with a slightly ajar wood panelled door. Richard looked back at the others and slowly pressed it open into the damp gloom of the age old tomb. All around were shad
owed alcoves with skeletons lying therein, each with an engraved plaque above. They lined the walls row upon row atop each other and in the centre stood a raised platform where Millaian crouched, closed eyed, chanting quietly to himself. The repeated incoherent words were enough to strike a chill through Richards’s spine; even so he slowly stepped towards the platform looking closer at his seemingly unaware foe. “Can’t be that easy,” he whispered to himself, gazing at Millaians hunched figure in the hazing darkness. He turned back and waved Lancer towards him, speaking in low tones as to try and avoid drawing attention to themselves. “I guess now’s as good a time as any.”
“I’m sure it is,” Lancer said back sarcastically, walking carefully up the shallow steps of the circular platform. Coming within a few feet of Millaian he drew a deep breath and took his final step forward, rigidly reaching out an open and shaking hand. Lowering his head and closing his eyes he slowly placed his hand within half an inch of the decomposing skull and started to mumble repeated words in Latin. His words slowly began to overpower Millaians continued chant and a dull ultraviolet glow began to emanate from beneath his hand. Starting to smile with success Lancer stated the words over and over with more confidence and the glow filtering down creating a pool of almost