Almost Demon (The Sigil Cycle) (31 page)

“Don’t do it, Gem.” Brian’s voice carried over the pattering of the torrential downpour. I lifted my head and saw Sam’s body between my feet, halfway in the base of the gate’s mouth. With the last of my strength, I gave one hard kick to his face and sent him careening into the black. 

The ground began to shake and I scrambled back to Charlotte, who by now looked like a sad wet kitten. The flat interlocking pieces of the gate began to spiral back together until the hole was no more. 

As if on cue, the rain stopped and silence followed. Full dark had already settled in but the familiar pin-pricked sky was back, no longer obstructed by the hideous creatures.

“It’s over.” I sighed with relief.

“Looks like it.” Brian looked up with me. “There’s the big dipper.” He pointed. 

“Let’s go home.” I stood up and pulled Charlotte along with me, even though the idea of getting her all the way back to my house was daunting.
Just do it, Gem.

It’s alright, Gem. I can manage myself.

Our eyes met at the unspoken words. In the light of the full moon, I could see that Charlotte’s eyes had reverted to their original lustrous sapphire color. 

“You’re really okay?” I asked.

“Yeah. I think so. Except for the mud.” She looked down at her tattered dress and tried to smooth off the caked dirt but only made it worse with more streaks.

“I think we could both use a shower.” I locked arms with her while Brian followed us back to the house.

It was hard to tell the extent of the damage at this time of night but it was evident from the charred smell drifting through the air that the rain had put out all the fires. We went straight to the house and while Charlotte was in the shower, I helped my dad clean up the mess. Most the papers he had been obsessing about the last few weeks turned out to be nothing but garbage. 

“I can’t believe I wasted so much time on this nonsense,” he said while I swept the kitchen floor. 

“I’m sure it’ll help somehow,” I reassured him. 

Brian was sitting on his chair at the counter. So far Charlotte and I were the only ones who could see him and I liked it that way. It made things easier to compartmentalize. I could stick him along with the sigils in the box in my brain where I kept things that I couldn’t talk about with anyone else. Like Charlotte’s head games.

“You’ve got to tell him,” Brian said.

“Tell him what?” I muttered under my breath.

“Were you talking to me, pumpkin?” My dad looked up from the blueprints on the table.

“Huh? No, sorry. I was just thinking out loud.”

He smiled and went back to rolling the surveys into the cardboard tubing.

“Tell him it wasn’t you driving.”

I didn’t answer, instead moved the broom back and forth in a nervous frenzy.

“This isn’t about you.” Brian followed me down the hall. “I don’t think I can go wherever it is that I’m supposed to go if I have this kind of unfinished business hanging over my soul.”

“You think this is a good time to bring this shit up?” I whispered. “It’s done and buried. And from the looks of things around here, I don’t want to set Dad back any more than he already has been already by these demons that have been feeding on his soul this entire time.”

“Please, Gem. Just get it out. We’ll all be better for it.”

“I’m fine.” 

“Don’t be like that, Gem. I know when you’re lying. Remember. We’re twins.”

“Not really.” My dad’s hurtful revelation about my parentage echoed in my head.

“Yes, really. We’ve been together since the beginning. Through Mom leaving and Dad being just as distant. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. That’s why I know you’re going to tell Dad the truth. Because you would do anything for me.” 

Gem, you better get in here
.

Can you please stop invading my head? At least make a ringer sound so that I know you’re about to talk.

Okay. Ring Ring. Gemma, this is Charlotte speaking. Get your ass in your room now.

“I promise I’ll tell him, Brian. Tomorrow.” I left the broom leaning against the wall and went into my bedroom. 

Charlotte was dressed in a pair of my sweats, a thin gauzy t-shirt, and extra thick, fuzzy white socks.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“You’ve got take a look at this. I mean all I can say is wow.”

She handed me an envelope. The creamy white paper was rich and the gold wax seal on the back showed a lion’s head. I ran my index finger underneath and pulled out a card. Written on it were three words in metallic pewter calligraphy.

It’s not over. 

Below them was a signature. Ian.

“You would think I’d get more of an explanation. Or maybe an apology. I don’t know. You’d think after sleeping with me and then ripping my heart out, he’d have more to say.” The paper crumbled in my curling fist as tears spilled down my cheeks.

“Gemma, I hate seeing you like this.”

“Me, too,” Brian said. I hadn’t even known he was standing behind me this whole time. 

“I’m just so tired.” I threw myself onto the bed. Images of Ian and me assaulted my thoughts. Holding hands in front of the yew tree. Swimming in the lagoon. Smiling in class. Saving me from Allison. Losing ourselves in the music. “I can’t. It hurts so much.” My anguish flooded the pillowcase and I pressed my face further into the bed. 

“Shh. It’s alright.” Charlotte ran her hand through my hair. 

“It hurts so much,” I cried.

“I know.” Her touch was comforting. She kept running her hand over my head and down my back until everything was gone.

I am on top of a large mountain. Below me the desert is endless. Its red-hued sand blows on in on an endless storm, dumping more and more onto the rolling dunes. The earth is red. The sky is red. And the sun is a brilliant white so strong it hurts to look. But I’m not looking up. My eyes are fixed upon the horizon at the wall. I can’t see anything yet but I can feel the evil power that is gathering far beyond the walls of sand and stone. 

The air is thick and restless, caught in the task of moving all the sand to the base of the mountain. I look down and then back to the hazy line where earth and sky meet. It is turning darker. I hear the sound of the ocean even though my thoughts tell me there is no water to be found for miles. 

Then it happens. A wave of red-black crashes down, flattening the dunes. It pools at the base of the mountain and laps up against the chalky rock. Blood.

Bits and pieces of the mountain slough off and are devoured by the angry liquid. I look back to where it came from. The sound of horses. Four of them. I cannot see them but my mind is telling me there are four. One comes into view. His rider pushes him to the point of exhaustion but there is victory in his posture. The white horse. He is here. It’s not over.

I woke up drenched, sweat running down the back of my neck. I pushed away the damp curls that clung to my face and noticed two things. Charlotte was snoring away in my bed and the sun was pouring into my room. Something that I had missed for a while.

Without thinking, I threw on some sweats, tied my running shoes and headed out for my run. On my way out the door, I passed Brian and waved. He returned it with a smile and I was off onto the damp dirt path that was so familiar to me. I had neglected it. 

Each time the ball of my foot hit the ground, I imagined punching Ian in the face, one after another until my head cleared, and the anger left every cell in my body. I had found some peace, even if it was temporary. 

When I got back, Charlotte, my dad, and an invisible Brian were waiting for me on the deck. There were eggs, bacon and toast.

“I know it’s chilly out but I thought we could all use some fresh air,” my dad said, pouring everyone a glass of orange juice.

“Yeah. Wow. Your dad can really cook,” Charlotte said, digging right into her plate.

I sat down and looked over at Brian. He would never be a part of our family anymore. It was selfish of me to keep him here just because it made me feel better. I had to let go.

“Dad, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Sure, pumpkin.” He put down his fork and knife and looked up at me. 

“It’s about Brian.” I thought it was going to be easy to let go of the burden but the words seemed to be getting caught in my throat.

“What about him?” he asked. The uncomfortable situation was agitating him. I could tell by the way the crease in his forehead was deepening and he nudged his glasses up with one finger.

I looked down at my plate. “He was the one driving,” I said.

“Driving?” he asked.

“The accident. He was the one driving. I switched spots with him before any help came. I didn’t want him getting blamed for it. I didn’t want anyone thinking badly of him.”

“Are you sure? Because you didn’t seem to remember all that much.”

“My memory was fine. I didn’t want to talk about it so I pretended like I didn’t remember. We were in the car and Allison was texting him and before we knew it, the truck blindsided us. That’s the truth.”

“I don’t know what to say,” he replied.

“You don’t have to say anything. I just thought you should know.”

“Wow, Dr. Pope, these eggs are killer,” Charlotte said.

With that, we continued to eat in silence. I peeked up from the corner of my eye and saw Brian smile. But he was still there.

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-N
INE

Brian didn’t disappear or go into the light like we thought he would. He was there every day when I woke up. We spent our days volunteering (I actually did the work) with the town clean up during the day. At night we returned to our routine of searching through Mom’s things while I cried.

I did as much as I could. Cleaning out branches. Piling up trash. Reorganizing the school library. Sweeping up glass. Anything to keep my mind occupied. I couldn’t let myself think about what happened with Ian until I was alone in bed and I could let go of all the tears.

It was three more weeks before we were able to return to school. Everyone in town pitched in as much as they could to clean up the mess and the Senator was able to get a lot of government aid when Harrisport was declared a disaster recovery area. The story on the news went that we had been hit with major cataclysmic weather phenomena, one after another. Which wasn’t too far from the truth. 

I poked my head into his room. He seemed lost in thought, his face turned to the window. His eyes caught mine in the reflection. “Hey, sis.”

“Hey. So do you want to come with me? Or will you hang out here all day?”

“I’m not sure.” He looked back out the window. Our view of the forest was untarnished by the fire but I could feel it in my bones, as well as where the gate was and where every demon had left its taint. 

“Come on. It’ll be fun. You can do a running commentary. It’ll be like that show. You know, the one with the high school boy and he narrates his own life.”

“Gem, I thought I’d be gone right now.”

“Yeah, but you’re here. So let’s go pretend like we’re normal teenagers.”

“It hurts to be here.”

All I wanted to do was reach out to him but as soon as I did, my fingers went passed right through his form.

“We’ll figure it out,” I said. “I’m sure I can summon the right angel who’ll tell us what we need to do.”

“No, I don’t want you doing that stuff anymore. It’s not safe. For you or anyone else. Look what happened to Charlotte.”

“I kind of think she lucked out. I mean, who else on this planet can communicate telepathically. Brian, I know you’re probably scared. I am too. I know they didn’t all get locked back in the chamber. The one on the white horse. He’s still out there. So we can just ignore that if you want.”

“Then it’s only the beginning.”

“One day at a time,” I said, slinging my bag across my chest. “So let’s make today count.”

He looked at me. “Since when are you the smart and optimistic one?”

“I lost everything. I’m not going to let that happen again. Not if I can help it. And that includes you.”

We left his room together and I knew that nothing could bring me down.

It was strange being in homeroom without Thom. The mood in the classroom reflected the sentiments of the town itself; a bit depressed but ready to overcome. 

When Ian walked in, my heart dropped to the floor. I could feel him stomp on it as he walked past my desk. I couldn’t help myself and followed his body as it sat right next to Allison. The two of them smiled at each other and were speaking in hushed tones. I felt like an outsider looking in.

“Stop torturing yourself,” Brian said. 

“I’m not. But what is he doing here?”  

The boy sitting behind me, Dave or Doug, gave me a funny look. I couldn’t tell which one he was since he had an identical twin brother (I know, shame on you, Gemma) and it was already too late in the year to ask without looking stupid so all I did was smile and turn back to my journal. I was trying to catalogue the names of the demons and angels I already knew for my own purposes and I was trying to elaborate on Thom’s sigil in an effort to find a way to bring him back when Principal Kelly walked in.