Mother of Darkwaters: Book one of the Vessel series (77 page)

  
Slap!

   Caroline looks curiously at Julianna.

   “Hee-hee,” Caroline laughs with a child-like voice.

   Julianna stares into Caroline’s bloodshot eyes, “Jamés? Hello there.”

   Caroline’s eyes widen, “You not play fair.”

   “Me?”, Julianna counters, “You tried to kill me you little bastard.”

   “Yesss,” Caroline coos, “How youuu know it Jaw-mays?”  

   “Your evil little laugh is kinda hard to forget,” Julianna says while releasing Caroline. She takes a step back, “If you try anything, I’ll put you down.”

   “Hee-hee,” Caroline laughs with a young boy’s tone within her voice, “Julieee-awww-nahhh not hurt Jaw-mays here.”

   “How do you think your boss will like hearing about the fact that you tried to kill me?”

   Caroline slams the back of her head against the padded wall. Julianna notices blood on the wall whenever Caroline’s head comes forward again. She is bleeding from her impact against the floor.

   “Rules,” Caroline grins within her triumph.

   “I know about the rules of free will, Jamés. But don’t you think you’re being stupid for trashing the body you’re in?”

   Caroline places her hands against the wall. She faces forward and keeps her eyes on Julianna as she scales up the wall like a spider. When she reaches the ceiling, a deep male’s voice laughs loudly.

   “You should try that at a circus sometime. I’m sure you’d fit right in.”

   “Ughhhh!”, the demon’s voice screams out as Caroline drops from the ceiling. She lands on her feet with her face inches from Julianna’s silenced lips.

   “You mock me?”, the deep voice accents the k sound in the word
mock
.

   “Just stating the obvious you clown.”

   “I should kill you right now,” the deep voice threatens.

   “First of all, you lost the element of surprise”, Julianna counters, “Secondly, you don’t have what it takes to defy your master. I know it and you know it. So stop vomiting at the mouth.”

   Julianna closes her eyes as a stream of vomit covers her face.

   “Hee-hee,” a child’s voice laughs.

   Julianna wipes her mouth and eyes with her hands. She looks at Caroline who is walking the wall like a spider again.

   “That was really nasty, Jamés.”

   “Jaw-mays not do.”

   “How many of you are in her?”

   Caroline drops from the wall and lands on her feet again.

   “No-no-no Julieee-awwww-nahhh. You not trick Jaw-mays anymore.”

   An older woman’s voice escapes Caroline’s lips as though she were elderly, “You cannot make us leave, dearie.”

   “No I can’t,” Julianna concedes, “You got me there.”

   “Why are you here!”, a deep male voice speaks.

   “I was hoping to invite you into me,” Julianna answers, “I want more power.”

  Caroline snaps her head from left to right. Her eyes look leftward towards Julianna. Her head slowly turns to follow her eye’s movement.

   “We are not stupid,” a seducing woman’s voice beckons, “We know
everything
about you.”

   “If I thought you were stupid, I would not be here. I am choosing you to live in my house while I conceive your king’s child. Together we will be
very
powerful. I wonder what your rank will be after you help oversee the birth of your king’s only son?”

   Caroline sways into a snake-style dance with her arms overhead. The tones within her voice reflect the many voices within her as she speaks, “Yesss, Julieee-awww-nahhh. But we cannot leave. No-no-no. Rules.”

   “You must allow me to speak to this worthless human you are in,” Julianna explains, “Or I cannot help you.”

   A moment later, Caroline’s eyes roll upwards as she collapses to the floor. Julianna rushes over and kneels by her side.

   “Caroline. Can you hear me?”

   The cheerleader remains silent.

   Julianna gently slaps the left side of Caroline’s face.

   “Caroline!”

   The cheerleader’s eyelids flutter.

   “There you go. Wake up.”

   Caroline squints against the bright fluorescent lighting overhead.

   “Uninvite them, Caroline.”

   “Uhh,” the cheerleader moans while reaching for the back of her head.

   Julianna grabs her hand, “Tell Jamés you don’t want him anymore.”

   Caroline attempts to focus in on the woman in front of her blurry vision, “Who are you? What are you doing to me?”

   “Say it!”

   Caroline whimpers, closes her eyes, and begins panting.

  
Dammit.

   “Jamés,” Julianna speaks lovingly, “You will have to do better than this. I need her complete consciousness back. If you don’t, we will never be united as one. I really want you in my house. We will be so powerful Jamés. Can you imagine your reward?”

   A moment later, Caroline’s body stiffens. She screams out within her pain. Her body becomes limp. She coughs and opens her eyes. Her vision is blurry. Someone is cradling her aching head. A voice speaks through her fogginess.

    “Caroline, you must uninvite Jamés. He is the demon you invited into your house. Remember? Remember inviting someone into your house?”

   “Who?”

   “Jamés. Uninvite him.”

   “I uninvite you, Jamés,” Caroline forces the words through her sore throat.

   “Oh gawd it burns!”, Caroline screams out as the ensuing burning sensation rips its way through her body. She closes her eyes and begins screaming. She has never felt this type of elevated pain before. She can’t think of anything else, but the pain. It is excruciating.

   “Ahhhhh! Make it stop!”, Caroline screams out.

   “It is almost over,” Julianna coaches, “hang in there.”

   Caroline rolls over on her right side and enters a fetal position, “Ahhh! I can’t take it anymore!”

   Victoria grabs at her head as the screams fill her ears. She opens her eyes.

   Julianna backs away and stands up. She closes her eyes with her arms outstretched, “I invite you into my house, Jamés – all of you within Caroline. Welcome home. You are invited into my house.”

   “Oh my gawd!”, Caroline screams out, “Make it stop! I beg of…”

   “Ooomph!”, Julianna lets out a grunt as her body slams against the padded wall behind her.

   Victoria rushes over to her daughter. There is blood on the floor. Caroline is breathing heavily from the recent pain within her body. She is crying. Tears rush down her face into the blood below.

   “Get her back”

   Victoria glances over her right shoulder. Julianna is on her hands and knees. Her voice speaks with the sounds of many other voices. She is gritting her teeth.

   “Now!”, Julianna yells out.

   Victoria drags her daughter to the far corner of the room. She places herself between Caroline and Julianna. The Mother of Darkwaters is pacing on her hands and knees like a wild animal trapped within a cage – a cage in which Victoria is locked inside of.

   “Veeek-torrr-riahhhh,” a deep voice beckons.

   Victoria feels hands tugging at her. She briefly glances at Caroline and sees her daughter sitting up with a look of horror. Victoria repositions herself to her daughter’s left side while maintaining visual contact with Julianna. She wraps her arms around Caroline to lend as much support as she can possibly give under the circumstances.

   “No!”, a deep voice snaps from Julianna’s lips.

   “Yes,” Julianna’s natural voice comes through as though it is being filtered through an electronic device submerged underwater.

   Victoria jerks as Julianna flips herself onto her back. She watches the young woman grin as her rapid breathing begins to slow itself.

   “Stop it!”, a child’s voice demands.

   “Shut up, Jamés,” Julianna argues with her own lips, “Deal with it.” She begins laughing as the familiar pain begins ripping its way throughout her body. When it subsides, Julianna speaks with her own voice.

   “Take them home, Dranestan.”

   Victoria feels Caroline’s death grip around her arms as Julianna’s body arches upward and slams against the floor. Julianna breathlessly rolls over and slides herself into a sitting position with her back against the wall. She looks up at the ceiling.

   “This is my favorite part,” Julianna says within her exhaustion.

   Caroline attempts to retreat into a wall that won’t let her as she looks up at the ceiling. Black swirling mist circles overhead with an array of varying voices. A few moments later, the mist tightens around its vortex and dissipates. Caroline looks at the visitor across the room.

   “Is-is it over?”

   Julianna nods and swallows. She leans over and begins throwing up. When she stops, she removes her hoodie and wipes her face. As she stands, her belly rumbles. She drops to her hands and knees and begins dry-heaving. The room begins to darken as she collapses to the floor.

   “Mom!”, Caroline panics.

   Victoria releases her daughter and rushes over to Julianna. She feels for a pulse.

   “She’s alive,” Victoria confirms, “Help me to get her in the bed.”

   Caroline gets up and quickly joins her mother. Together, they lift Julianna from her own mess and place her into the hospital bed. Victoria points at a tray.

   “Hand me that water.”

   Caroline turns around and grabs the water. She turns back and hands it across the bed to her mother. Victoria lifts Julianna’s head and begins pouring water into her mouth. A few moments later, Julianna chokes and pushes at the arm attempting to drown her.

   “She’s back,” Victoria proudly announces.

   Julianna’s eyes flutter as she opens them. Her head is pounding and every fiber of her body is in pain. She looks at Victoria.

   “I had him inside of me for a while,” Julianna explains the unexpected falter, “Captains are really hard on you.”

   Julianna moves her head to the left and smiles at Caroline, “You only had a soldier and some of his buddies in you.”

   “Captain?”, Caroline is completely confused, “Buddies? What in the hell are they Mandie? And how do you know so much about this?”

   The woman on the bed sits up. She pats Caroline’s mother on the hand, “Thank you, Victoria.”

   She stands up and grabs her back with her left hand as she straightens. She feels stiff everywhere. Caroline rounds the bed and walks up to her. Julianna offers her right hand.

  “Hi cousin,” Julianna smiles, “My name is Julianna”

   Caroline’s head retreats as she looks at her mother. Victoria nods.

   “Why’d you lie about your name?”

   “Your mother will explain it to you. And you will keep my secret. That is the price for me helping you here tonight. Do you understand?”

   “No.”

   “Shake my hand cousin. I’m tired of holding it out.”

   Caroline reluctantly shakes Julianna’s hand with a one-dip.

   “No shock that time,” Julianna smirks. She can tell from Victoria’s facial response that she is familiar with the story in one form or another.

   “Who are you?”, Caroline demands, “And why do you keep calling me cousin?”

   “I’m Julianna. What do you remember?”

   “I went to bed in my bedroom and woke up with you crawling around like a dog.”

   “You, Becca, Tamara, and Jennifer all performed a blood ritual.”

   “You what?!”, Victoria panics.

   “Uh-oh,” Julianna tiredly smiles, “Busted.”

   “How do you even know about that?”

   “What is wrong with you girls?”, Victoria sounds highly agitated at her daughter’s ignorance.

   “Anyway,” Julianna continues, “You are bound by your blood oath. And the power which binds you is demonic. You, my dear cousin, must have entered the circle where Jamés was already standing. He attached himself to the one he thought he could trick the easiest. I guess you fit the bill with your daddy-issues and all.”

   “I don’t have…”

   “Your dream guy is Jamés. He is the one that brought his buddies with him. I brought a captain. Luckily for you, I know how to pass them through me. If it weren’t for me, you would be locked away forever or some priest would be here attempting to cast them out. People have been known to die from that sort of thing. So stop looking at me like I’ve betrayed you and go home with your mother so you can listen to what she has to say.”

   Julianna looks at Victoria, “I’m really tired. I need a hot shower and my bed. So if you’ll excuse me.”

   “Thank you for saving my daughter’s life.”

   “No problem. Glad I could help.” Julianna walks towards the door.

   “Let’s go home,” Victoria says while looking at her daughter, “We need to have a discussion about where you come from – your family history.”

   “Mandie
is
my cousin?”

   “Yes,” Victoria confirms.

   Julianna pounds on the door, “Open up!”

   A few seconds later, the door unlocks and opens with two men standing in its opening. Julianna turns around and looks at a bewildered Caroline.

   “I am Mandie whenever we’re at school. Julianna when it is just you and me. Your mom will explain the seriousness of keeping this secret and you will
not
break it – not to Rebecca or anyone else. Do not forget this and we’ll get along just fine.”

   Caroline remains in silence. She isn’t sure how to react at this point. This whole scene is beyond her mangled mind.

   Julianna turns back around and looks at the man on the right, “They are both free to go.” She steps into the hallway and stops. She looks back over her shoulder into the room.

   “By the way, it is nice to meet the non-possessed version of you Caroline. You have beautiful eyes. See you in school.”

   Julianna turns to her right and heads down the hallway. The men wearing black suits follow close behind.

   Caroline searches her mind for answers. Any answer will do. But her mind is swimming in a haze of total madness. She looks at Victoria.

   “Mom?”, Caroline begs for help.

   Victoria lovingly wraps her left arm around her daughter. They begin walking towards the door, “Come on, baby. Let’s get you home. I’ll explain everything. I promise. Right now, I think we all could use a hot shower and some sleep.”