No. I couldn’t touch it. I shook the thought from my head as one would an old rug to rid it of dust and brought my mind back to center. Focus, Amber, I thought. And I did. My body, still tensed, was alert now instead of just nervous. But the nerves hadn’t left. Not completely.
What exactly was coming? What was I going to see crawling out of that still pool of black water? A shadow, manifested into solid form? Would it look like a man or a woman? Or would it resemble some kind of dead beast? Maybe it would look more like the aspect of the grim reaper I saw in my dream; that cloaked, bony figure depicted throughout history as the specter of death. I held onto the amulet tightly. So much so that I could feel my heart beating against the silver locket. I was ready. My body was buzzing, pulsing with energy and adrenaline, and a healthy dose of fear.
My heart began to race as I focused my gaze on the pond. Everyone was silent as a morgue, waiting for something we all secretly thought was never going to come. Time seemed to stretch on and on, the moment we were in suddenly seeming as infinite as all of time itself. This must be what it’s like to be inside a black hole, I thought randomly. But then… movement. A tiny ripple in the pond, as if a droplet of water had fallen in.
Then, from out of the black, two hands reached out and groped for Collette. I screamed, horrified and paralyzed, as they wrapped around the startled Necromancer’s neck… and pulled her under.
CHAPTER 10
“Get her out!” I screamed.
The thing that came out of the pool of black water reeked of old clothes and stale bread. Its hands were made of shadow and almost featureless save for the distinct shape of five fingers. And the sound that came out of that hole, sound that seemed to come from it, was like cats wailing and howling into the night sky.
Frank and Damien reached for Collette’s arms and pulled. She was submerged all the way to her shoulders, and she was struggling with the thing that had come for her. The black water bubbled and splashed as Collette fought to break free, but even with Damien and Frank’s help, it was impossible.
I stood upright. “Stand back,” I said. The Power came to me in one sharp jolt, and with a gesture of my hands I yanked Collette out of the water so hard her back hit the ceiling. But something—someone—was attached to her! The thing turned its neck to look at me and I saw its face, sunken, ash gray and angry. But the angry expression didn’t get me almost as much as the fact that it was an exact physical clone of Collette down to the black knitted cardigan!
“What the fuck is that!” said Damien.
“Let her go!” I screamed, but the creature ignored me. And as Collette’s thrashing and flailing started to slow, I knew she was losing the fight.
I imagined myself pushing Collette harder against the ceiling with invisible hands while also grabbing the entity in whatever way I could and pulling them apart. It was working! But the entity was strong, and its grip was tight. I didn’t know what it was trying to do to her, but it shrieked when my magick overpowered it and forced it to relinquish its hold on Collette.
To the pool it went, splashing down into the black water and disappearing from sight. The water rippled for a moment, but immediately stilled once more. Careful, I lowered Collette from the ceiling and into Damien’s waiting arms. Her skin was pale again and she seemed to have lost consciousness. But the gate persisted beyond her concentration; still and silent, but open.
“What… the fuck,” said Frank, panting.
“I don’t know,” I said.
“How is she?” Frank asked Damien.
“Hurt,” he said, “Her breathing is shallow. Is there a bed around here we can lay her down on?”
“In there,” I said, pointing at a door to a different room. It was ajar, and beyond it I could see the makings of a bed. “Frank, kill that fire, will you?”
Damien and I took Collette into the side room while Frank tossed dirt into the hearth and stood watch by the cenote. It wasn’t moving, but then neither was Collette—and that was more worrying.
“Do you think she’s—”
“Dead? No, I don’t think so,” I said. “But I also don’t think she’ll be waking up anytime soon. What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You seemed strange out there. I hadn’t heard a peep from you.”
“Yeah…” Damien trailed off, his eyes never leaving Collette’s unconscious face.
“So?”
Damien turned his head to look at me. “I saw… I don’t know.”
“What is it?”
“I thought, when I saw Collette the first time, I thought maybe someone was standing behind her.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know.”
“You do know, you just don’t want to tell me. Damien, this isn’t the time for secrets and hesitation. Tell me.”
Damien pressed his lips together. “I don’t know what I saw, Amber.”
Collette awoke with a gasp, hacking violently and grasping her chest. I thought she was having a seizure!
“Roll her on her side!” I said, and Damien acted without sparing a second thought.
Collette coughed in a terrible, heaving fit, though she was on her side and my fear that she would choke to death were gone. But then a strange, odorless black liquid began to ooze out of her mouth along with her coughs. Blood followed. The floor was covered in the mixture of blood and black, now, but the coughing seemed to halt and Collette’s natural breathing returned.
As did her consciousness.
“Collette,” I said, at her side, “Can you hear me?”
She nodded, but she seemed weak now. Like she had aged ten years and hadn’t slept in as much time. Frank entered the room after having heard the sounds.
“Je suis désolé,” she said, “Je ne voulais pas de cette—”
She was speaking in French. “You don’t have to be sorry,” I said, stroking her hair. “I know you didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
Her eyes rolled into the back of her skull. She was slipping again.
“Shit. Frank, Damien, help me. She needs healing or she’s gonna die.”
They rushed to my side, and the three of us placed a hand each on Collette’s body. Steady, rhythmic chanting of a healing incantation filled the room with magically induced warmth and positive energy, and we used that energy to channel our power into Collette and mend her internal injuries. None of us were doctors, and no amount of magickal healing can replace one, but with our power combined we were able to stabilize Collette and help her to sit up.
I brought her a bottle of water for her to drink and clean her face and ears with, then waited for her to recover enough to speak.
“What happened out there?” I asked.
“It was ze shadow,” Collette said, “It was too strong for our magick. It did not want to leave ze Underworld.”
“What was it doing to you, is what I want to know.” Frank said.
“It… was stealing my life force: or what’s left of it.”
“To what end?”
“Mine.”
“How… how can it do that?” I asked.
“Ze shadow needs to steal energy to live and to use its powers, or it will die. Just like me.”
“You’re going to die?” Damien asked.
“Oui, and much sooner than I thought.”
“Why is that?” I asked.
“Because every use of my magick drains me further. Even now I can feel myself slipping.”
My body went numb, and despite the cold fire being out I could feel the icy chills even harder than before. I was worried for Collette. I didn’t want her to die. “How long?” I asked.
“I cannot tell you, but one sing is clear—if I die, ze shadow will inhabit my corpse and become something altogether more powerful.”
“A lich,” Frank said.
“A what?”
Collette nodded.
“I’ll explain later,” Frank said, “For now we have to concentrate on figuring o
ut another plan before time runs out. What are our options?”
“I am afraid zere is only one,” said Collette. “Ze creature will not leave ze Underworld—”
“So we have to go to the Underworld after it,” I said.
I couldn’t believe the words came out of my mouth when I said them, but they made sense. The idea of ghosts and death gave me the creeps, but I had dealt with far worse things than ghosts before and that shadow thing didn’t scare me. I’m the red witch, dammit. Collette came to me because I was the only person she thought could help.
My fate was sealed the moment our spell failed, and I was ready for it.
“I cannot ask you to risk your life in the Underworld,” said Collette, “Ze spell should have worked. I should have had control over ze shadow.”
She blamed herself. I could see it in her eyes. “Don’t do that,” I said, “You didn’t know how powerful it was going to be. I want to do this for you, Collette.”
“Well, like hell if you’re going to the Underworld alone,” said Frank.
“And if you go, we all go,” Damien added.
“Then it’s settled,” I said. “We’ll do this for you.”
Collette struggled to stand. Damien held her hand and Frank pulled her up by her shoulders. “You will not be alone,” she said. “I will go also.”
A dizzying heat overcame me. “What? No! You can barely walk!”
“Please,” she said, “Ze magick of ze Underworld will sustain me. If I stay here I will die before you return. At least, zere, I stand a chance at survival.”
Having seen what I saw earlier, I couldn’t help but believe what she was saying. The moment that gate opened Collette’s face filled with life. I didn’t understand how, at the time, but I was starting to paint a picture in my mind of a witch who had somehow tricked the laws of magick into giving her energy from the Underworld instead of from the world of the living.
I had to stop for a moment to consider the thoughts going through my head. A few days ago I didn’t even know this other realm existed; now I was standing only a few feet from a gate to the very place.
“Fine,” I said, “But only if you’re sure.”
Collette nodded.
“Let’s do this, then,” said Frank, but Collette stopped him from continuing.
“No,” she said, “We can only enter the Underworld at midnight. The barrier between our worlds is weakest then. To cross at any other time is to invite harm to come to your body.”
“Midnight, then,” I said.
“Amber, there is one more thing,” she said. “Once inside, you will have only twelve hours to find ze shadow and leave ze Underworld.”
“Twelve hours?” Frank asked. “But, didn’t you say that you had survived in the Underworld for days?”
“I did, but back zen I was whole. A big part of me, the part zat contains the majority of my magick, is gone.”
I understood. “We can do it,” I said, “We can find this thing and stop it.”
“We have no choice,” Damien said. “Otherwise…”
He didn’t need to finish what he was about to say. We all understood. At least, now, we knew the risk. But we were all committed. A nod from Damien and Frank was all it took, and I was proud of them for it. Proud and thankful. For all that Collette believed in me, I didn’t think I would be able to do this on my own.
The three of us together were strong enough to deal with this problem.
CHAPTER 11
At Collette’s request, we left the cottage so that she could rest. By the time we left the room the pool of black water was gone, the fire was out, and a still silence had fallen about the place giving an almost crypt-like feel. But the silence persisted even as the three of us left the cottage. None of us spoke about what we had seen or experienced. About what we were planning to do or the horrors we may encounter in an alien place.
It was like something out of a horror novel.
I drove Frank and Damien home and left them with instructions to be ready for me later on in the night, and then I made my own way home. By the time I got there, Aaron was waiting for me on the porch. Maybe he hadn’t left the house yet? I hadn’t been gone for as long as I had anticipated, after all. Collette’s shadow made sure our ritual ended abruptly.
I stepped out of the car and Aaron lunged, grabbed me by the waist, and kissed me on the lips before I could speak. “Hi,” he said.
I went for his face with my hands but then I remembered that I had been handling the locket, so I stopped myself and rested my hands on his shoulders instead. “Hi yourself,” I said
Aaron paused. Did he just sniff me? “Are you okay?” he asked.
“Uh… yeah, I’m fine. Why?”
“I don’t know. You just smell a little strange.”
“The fact that you just said that is strange.”
“We’re both just a couple of weirdos, I guess.”
Oh, the irony. If only I could have told myself six months ago that Aaron and I would be weird together in a not too far off future. Would we have remained together? Would I have seen Aaron’s virtuous side clearly enough to want to stick it through? I couldn’t say. Maybe I needed to be with Damien for a while to truly appreciate Aaron and what he represented. But then, I wasn’t entirely sure what he represented. Stability? Loyalty? Protection? Care? A little of everything, I guess.
“I guess we are,” I said.
“So, what do you want to do today?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you want to go out somewhere?”
“Maybe.”
“Wait, aren’t you meant to be working?”
“Not today.”
“So then let’s enjoy it. Let’s go out somewhere. Take a drive, find something to eat. Let’s not spend it indoors.”
I didn’t fight him. We circled around the back of my car and headed towards Aaron’s 1970 Plymouth Road Runner, the car he had driven away in, which was parked against the curb. A slight trickle of adrenaline teased my slowed pulse as the thought of driving around in Aaron’s beast of a car manifested itself before me and became inevitability. I had never been driven around in it before.
The day was still young—some folks still consider early afternoon to be young—so we drove around for a while, picked up a couple of subs and made our way to a quiet, elevated spot in the woods. There weren’t many outcroppings that overlooked Raven’s Glen, but some spots were particularly beautiful during the day.
Like this one.
A sea of trees lay before us, each one melting into the other to create a mantle of green. The afternoon sun shone bright from on high, and the city beneath threw its rays around like a child plays with toys. I watched as a flight of birds sailed past in the sky and took a moment to thank the Horned God of the Sun, Helios, for this gorgeous change in the weather.
We were sitting on the hood of Aaron’s car, listening to the birds and the sounds of the forest while we ate. Aaron had hooked my smartphone up to his car stereo via Bluetooth so that we could listen to my music for a while, so I searched for the right song and played it loud enough for us to hear. Moments, and Aaron was bobbing his head to Smells like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. But then the song ended, and Jack Off Jill’s brand of angry nineties rock music filled the car.
Of all of the songs that could have played, it had to be My Cat.
“What is this?” he asked.
“You don’t know Jack Off Jill, I take it?”
“Not really.”
“I don’t blame you. This music isn’t aimed at you.”
“Who is it aimed at, then?”
“People like me.”
“What, women?”
“Women, strong women. I love Jessicka Addams. She taught me how to stick my middle finger up at all those people who used to call me a freak, to keep my head high. I wish there were more people like her in the world.”
Aaron pressed his lips together. “I’m sorry I contributed to that.”
I reac
hed for his hand. “It’s okay,” I said, “I didn’t mean you.”
Silence fell. Well, it wasn’t exactly silence, not while Jack Off Jill was talking about pussy superstars. But the silence between Aaron and I was total, and seeing as though I didn’t want him to dwell on the many times he had called me a freak I started to sing along to a screamer about amazing cats.
Aaron smiled, and then laughed.
I took a bite out of my sub to shut myself up, but remained happy with what I had done. Aaron was smiling and that made me feel great. What made me feel better still was that Aaron was starting to grow fond of my music. I could see it in the steady sway of his neck, the tapping of his foot. This boy was musical and open to new kinds of music in his heart. He had just been conditioned to believe that self-expression was wrong by parents and friends. Maybe that’s why he was such an asshole to me in the past.
“So, I was thinking tonight,” he said, “We could maybe go out on that date?”
I choked down a half-chewed bite of my sub. “Ow. Tonight?”
“Yeah, maybe we could go and watch a movie? I don’t know what’s on, but that’s how people date, right? Dinner and a movie?”
I hadn’t forgotten my conversation with Aaron from the other day, when he said that he wanted to be seen with me in public, but I had pushed it to the back of my mind what with all this Collette business. I had a habit of pushing stuff back that wasn’t important and then forgetting to pull it out to front again. That needed to stop.
“I, um…”
“We don’t have to,”
“No,” I said, reaching for his hand. “I want to, only, maybe not tonight?”
“Plans?”
“Sorta. But I would rather spend my night with you, if that makes you feel better.”
“It’s cool. We can go out another day. What is it you’re up to?”
Shit. Do I tell him or don’t I? Do I bring him into my web of magick and mystery or let him sit on the sidelines, completely unawares, just like Eliza and Evan and everyone else on this world that ever meant anything to me? It wasn’t an easy choice, and with every second that passed the chasm of awkwardness was growing wider and wider.