Authors: Karice Bolton
“
Aah, we can take care of it.” Cyril said his cockiness flooding the room.
“
I know, I know. I think…” I cut her off before she could begin. I knew what she was feeling. We couldn’t bear to lose them both at the same time.
“
I want to be a part of this. I need to be. In fact, I insist. I can’t be talked out of it. I know I’m no match for the demon’s skill level, but there has to be a way to include me… We bring him into our trap, not fall into his. I can be the bait.”
“
She’s right,” Arie firmly agreed with me, and I could tell that our history must have included a lot of these types of chats, “We don’t know his true skill level. If he detects your trance, he’ll be waiting for you. We never want to be on the defensive, only the offensive.”
The two guys looked at each other acknowledging defeat. They both sat back on the couch. I saw Athen begin to shake his head. I knew the fight was not entirely over.
“
No, I’m not using you as bait. There is no way I can do that.” Athen argued, “I’ve lost you once. I’m not going through that again, especially at my hands.”
“
It’s true, Ana. I don’t think I could go through another day, let alone a year, of having to deal with Athen’s moping around. Plus, I missed you too. It’s gotta be a no.”
I could fell the fury building up inside me. I was being thrown aside and given no vote in any of this, and it was all involving me. I was not giving up.
“
No, sorry. I’m not going to be on the sidelines anymore. That time has passed. We can all leave in that car together, but I guarantee you that Arie and I will be back at the house waiting before you trance or whatever it is you’re talking about. I won’t take no as an answer. We will have to come up with a solid plan, and I will be a part of it. You’ll be on your best performances to ensure nothing happens to me. Got it?” I didn’t know where this assuredness was coming from, but I liked it. I looked over at Arie, and she nodded at me. I was on the right path. Maybe I wasn’t the self-conscious Sally I had grown to be on my own.
“
That’s my girl,” Athen said coming to sit next to me in the oversized chair. He squeezed in between the pillows and me, giving me a big hug, “You are quite right. I didn’t ever want to get back to the stage where you were part of it, but I knew it would come sooner or later. You always wanted to be in the action. I guess I hoped that part of you wouldn’t fully return like before. Apparently, I was wrong.”
“
Well, wait until I get my fighting skills up.” I said laughing with a pit in my stomach.
“
Not so fast on that one,” He said kissing me on my forehead, “So what’s our plan?”
I
t was the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We had decided this would be the best day to lure the demon or demons to me. We didn’t want it to look too eager in timing compared to his failed attempt. The butterflies had begun in my stomach, but a curious thing was beginning to happen as well. An excitement began building. I was part of something much bigger than myself. If I could master this small little task, it would help as I relearned the more complicated abilities. It was still hard to believe that someday, I, too, would be fighting these creatures for the sake of mankind. The thought brought me a lot of happiness. I was completely fulfilled by my family. I was so fortunate to have a calling that would actually help the world, even if my part was a small one in the whole scheme of things. I had to keep focused on that aspect so I could fight the distaste of what my title was. I still resented that I could be classified in such a despicable group, regardless of what side I was on. I fought to keep the feelings at bay, not today.
I had finished putting on my oldest fair-isle sweater and adjusted the t-shirt under it. The sweater was one that had seen a lot of use. The red coloring had faded in many spots, perfect for today’s escapades. In case something went wrong, I wouldn’t be heartbroken if something happened to it. Not that I should be thinking of things like that, but in times like these, crazy thoughts happened.
We were pretty confident that the demon never left our property and was very aware of any of our movements when we were outside. Arie and Cyril went to the grocery store as a test run and sure enough the demon was lurking down the driveway. We decided to have the garage doors open and tables set up. Arie thought if it looked like we were making wreaths, it would give us all an excuse to be tromping around the woods near our house, collecting cedar and fir boughs. Then if, when we separate briefly, it shouldn’t look too out of the ordinary. I was actually kind of surprised that Arie had wreath-making equipment, but I was learning to not underestimate this family’s many talents.
They told me not to talk about it at all and to follow our plans as exactly as possible. I met Arie, Athen, and Cyril down in the garage and sure enough the door was open, and the tables set up. She had the circular wreath crimper bolted to the table and a huge assortment of berries, twigs, and ribbons piled in two bins. I couldn’t help myself from gazing out past the doors to see if I could see it, but I didn’t and quickly looked down.
“
Hey guys! I brought more hot cider to keep us hydrated. I’ll plug the Crockpot in on the counter.” I was hoping that my acting skills were on par.
“
Thanks. Let me help you with that.” Athen came over and grabbed the Crockpot, setting it on the workbench.
“
Are we all ready to go gather the boughs?” Cyril asked, “I’m getting antsy to get this fun holiday task over with.”
Arie playfully smacked him on his butt, “Very funny Mr. Scrooge! Now get in the holiday spirit, or I’ll make you.”
“
I’d like to feel that or I mean see that.” Cyril exclaimed.
“
Oh my word, that was corny.” I said rolling my eyes.
We all grabbed our garden clippers and headed out through the garage doors as planned. My nerves were starting to get the better of me. I knew I had to keep in control; otherwise I would be endangering all of us. I followed Athen up the hill back towards the road. Arie and Cyril went down more towards the shore. There were downed limbs everywhere from the recent windstorms so we were able to collect quite a few boughs right away.
“
Ok, Athen, Arie said not to take any part on the limb that looked brown or grey. Do you think this counts?” I asked holding up a floppy looking Douglas fir limb. He must have known what I was feeling because he winked at me, which made me feel immensely better.
“
Yeah, clip off the bottom and we should be good.”
“
I bet we will only have to go another 30 feet, and we will have enough to take back to the garage.” I said surprised. I never noticed how many limbs these trees dropped.
“
True, but she said we needed a ton per wreath so we probably have many trips ahead of us.” Athen tried to yell over the wind that was beginning to pick up.
“
Hmm, alright.” I said realizing I was quickly losing enthusiasm. Not sure if it was over the task at hand or the larger picture.
Athen’s cell phone rang. He placed his limbs on the large boulder that was next to us. I began to feel hot all over. That was not part of the plan.
“
It’s Cyril. That’s weird.” He touched the screen and put it on speaker.
“
What’s up?” Athen asked.
“
It’s Arie. She passed out. I don’t know if the demon got to her. She isn’t responding. Athen, I need your help now. We’ve got to get her inside.”
Athen began running even before he hung up the phone.
“
Ana. Stay put. We will be coming back up this way. We will need your help.”
He was running at full speed. I yelled after him asking why I couldn’t come with him, but he never responded. I began feeling my heartbeat’s every thump. This was not part of the plan. My nerves were more on edge by the second. I wondered what happened to Arie. What seemed like an eternity was only a couple minutes, but I decided to walk over to the boulder and hop up on it. I laid my boughs on the boulder next to me, bewildered by what just happened. My senses began picking everything up – smells, sounds, sights. I was sitting for only a few more minutes before I began to hear the rustle behind me. The problem was that I didn’t know if it was the creature or my family. There was no sense of familiarity whatsoever.
To my disgust, the brown tinged nails intertwined among my sweater fabric. My spirit became full of despair once the creature’s fingers wrapped themselves around me. I looked down, filling up inside with fear like never before. My family was already supposed to be here. He must have gotten to Arie. I was never supposed to be alone. Cyril was supposed to be in the trees right above me on the hill, and Arie was supposed to be near the garage. I didn’t see any of this happening. Then my worst nightmare flashed in my mind. I had to shake it. It kept coming back. What if the demon got to all of them first? What would my fate be? Would I even care to go on? I might just rather go back to the numbness of before. Not knowing what you’re missing was better than the alternative.
I heard no voice coming from the demon, rather a raspy breath speaking to me. “You are alone my, angel. Isn’t that what Athen likes to call you?” He asked as he touched my cheek. “Looks like you are going away for a long time again.”
I grabbed his hand and threw it back at him. I began to let my mind wander off to the nightmares. Could they have been real? Could I have lost my family? I knew I needed to fight regardless.
“
Get your filth off of me.” I howled at him. “Your presence does nothing to me. I have no feeling or regard for you one way or the other. You don’t scare me. You make me laugh at your pathetic self.”
If my family was gone, what do I care if I were saved or sacrificed? I turned to look into the demon’s eyes only to see the nefarious gaze staring back at me. It was as if I was looking at the walking dead.
“
I pity you,” I whispered as I lay back against the boulder. I would at least follow our family’s plan even if they were already taken from me. I breathed out my last, long breath of despair.
I closed my eyes, and a jolt of familiar electricity shot through me. It took everything to keep my eyes shut, and the smile to stay off my face. My family was alive. The plan was working or more to the point their plan was working. I could feel them. Once again, they left me out of the loop. They had to quit doing that. I was exhilarated. I continued to lay still on the boulder, eyes shut. The demon took his long finger and began to trace it along my cheekbone when a sudden burst of wind blew by me. I opened my eyes to see Cyril falling down collapsing onto the demon. From the right, I saw Athen’s body move under the demon as if he was almost folding his form in half. Arie was creating a swirl of movement around the three beings. I could see clearly what was happening, but I didn’t truly understand it. The demon was losing. The screeching bounced off the forest echoing, into my ears penetrating down to my soul. The sounds were pure and torturous, which made me almost giddy. I scolded myself for thinking such thoughts, even if it was a demon. The demon’s black mist was continually escaping into the air and then reemerging. I never saw that in Whistler. This one seemed to be trying to regenerate.
I was able to make out bits and pieces of the creature. He was definitely on the losing end. Cyril and Athen were making sure this was extra painful and extra long. It almost looked as if every extremity was turning into dust; as if they were crushing every cell in his body. Athen and Cyril were dicing him so quickly that as parts of the demon regenerated the appendages were reattaching in the incorrect position. I knew I shouldn’t be in awe over something like this, but it was truly incredible to watch. The evil was evaporating into the wind. The soulless creature was becoming smaller and smaller; until I finally knew he was gone. I had my family left next to me. They did it. They looked completely unscathed. It was over, for now.
W
e had been through so much over Thanksgiving weekend, and I, for the first time in days, felt like I could take a deep breath in. Our trip to Seattle was so calming, as was our first evening in Kingston at the house, but then once the demon arrived it became horrific. I understood this world a little bit better now, and my place in it. The dangers were becoming more apparent as were our strengths. I didn’t participate in any of the actual combat this time around, but I was proud that I was able to help my family with the luring and rituals. I was looking forward to spending the next few days relaxing as much as possible, attempting to get some alone time with Athen snuck in there too. My long bath definitely helped get my mind and muscles relaxed. Part of me didn’t want to leave the bathwater. I didn’t realize how tense I had become during these last couple days.
I had forgiven them for not filling me in completely on their plans, I think, but I kind of wished they had told me because I really thought I had lost them, even let myself think it was ok if the demon took me. The fact the creature was able to touch me at all was more than I could handle. I sunk under the bath water commanding myself to let go of the images as I breathed out creating air bubbles for the demon’s image to escape.
Cyril and Arie decided to go over to Edmonds and pick up some snacks for the remainder of our stay, which left Athen and me alone for the day. I was planning on taking full advantage. I was pretty thrilled at the idea. I heard my bedroom door open and was exhilarated at the thought that Athen was near.