His mother’s lovely face filled the screen. Her eyes were expressive, and her smile could light up a room. She said hello to the camera.
“Hey,” he whispered back.
The camera pulled back. His mother was dressed as if going to the theater, and wore a strapless black evening gown and a string of white pearls. She sat at a table covered in black cloth with occult symbols painted on the fabric. Symbols were an important part of the spirit world, and every psychic worth his salt knew what they represented. The symbols on the cloth were new to him, and appeared to be a cross between a unicursal hexagram used to summon the spirits, and a common pentagram.
The camera pulled back even farther. His father sat to his mother’s right at the table. The quintessential college professor, he favored rumpled sports jackets and never combed his hair. Now he wore a tailored suit, a white shirt with a button-down collar, and a tie with a gold stickpin. His goatee was neatly trimmed, and the part in his hair was as straight as an arrow.
They both looked like royalty. He hit pause with the remote, and spent a long moment staring at them. His eyes grew moist. It was an image that he would forever savor.
He hit play, and the film resumed. Out of the shadows appeared four other people, who took their places at the table. Two men, two women, all dressed in formal attire. It was Lester Rowe, Milly, Reggie Brown, and Madame Marie, all looking twenty years younger.
On the screen, his mother said, “Let’s begin.”
The other participants nodded agreement.
His father struck a match, and lit three white candles in the table’s center. The lights in the dining room were dimmed. Everyone at the table joined hands.
His mother began to chant. She was soft-spoken, and he strained to pick up the words. Unexpectedly, things started to happen. First the candles’ flames flickered, then various pieces of furniture began to move around, with a painting on the wall crashing to the floor. In a mirror hanging behind the table, a ghostly reflection appeared. It was a man whose face had melted on one side. The man was laughing, and appeared to be enjoying himself.
“What the hell,” Peter said aloud.
His mother stopped chanting, and the face vanished from the mirror.
Everyone at the table seemed to relax.
Peter did as well.
His mother said, “Henry?”
His father reached beneath the table, and came up with a rectangular wood board. He moved the candles off to the side, and placed the board on their spot. The board looked ancient, and was covered in numbers, letters, and astrological signs. It was a talking board.
His mother said, “Ready, everyone?”
The others bobbed their heads. His father removed a heart-shaped planchette from his jacket pocket, and placed it onto the talking board. Everyone placed their fingertips onto the planchette, and scrunched up their faces. The planchette moved deliberately across the board, stopping briefly to touch on different letters and symbols, before moving on. Suddenly, his mother jerked in her chair as if being shocked by a cattle prod, while her face made horrible contortions. The other participants drew back in their chairs, clearly alarmed.
His father said, “Claire!”
His mother shook her head wildly, causing the pearls to flop around her neck. Her eyelids fluttered, revealing nothing but white. She had become possessed, and was no longer in control of herself. A stiff wind blew through the room, sending everyone’s hair on end. The candles went out, throwing the room into darkness.
Peter squirmed in his chair. He tried to remind himself that it was just a film, but it didn’t calm him down. His father relit the candles. Everyone was standing at their places except his mother, who’d collapsed onto the table and appeared to be passed out. His father gently lifted his mother’s head, and spoke in her ear.
“Are you all right?”
His mother sat up straight in her chair. Her eyes were now bloodshot, her beautiful face dark and ragged with age. Her fingernails had grown several inches, and resembled talons. An evil spirit had invaded her body.
Jumping up, his mother tossed her husband across the room with a flick of the wrist. He crashed against a wall, and winced in pain.
His mother clawed viciously at the air, causing the others to coil away in fear. She was like a wild animal, and appeared fully capable of killing someone. This was not the same woman who’d nurtured and raised him; it simply couldn’t be.
He tore his eyes away to look at the mirror behind the table. The visitor had returned to the glass, and was again laughing at everyone’s expense.
He looked back at his mother. She was wrestling with Reggie, who was attempting to grab her by the wrists. Reggie was a foot taller and outweighed his mother by a hundred pounds. It didn’t matter. His mother tossed poor Reggie over a chair like a child.
Lester Rowe was up next, grabbing his mother from behind in a bear hug. Lester was strong for his size, but no match for her. His mother broke free, and raked her fingernails across Rowe’s face. Ribbons of blood appeared, prompting her to laugh wickedly.
His father returned to the picture. In his hand was a small brown bottle. He uncorked the bottle and tossed several drops of clear liquid his mother’s way. She screamed, and protectively covered her head with her arms. His father calmly corked the bottle, and returned it to his pocket. Then he placed his hand comfortingly on his wife’s shoulder.
“Claire,” he said.
His mother struck out at him. The demon was slowly leaving her body, and the blow bounced harmlessly off her husband’s chest.
“Claire,” he said again.
His mother’s body trembled. Then, slowly, she lowered her hands. Her face had returned to normal, and she looked beautiful again. She seemed bewildered by what had happened, and glanced nervously at her friends.
“What’s going on?” his mother asked.
His father smiled thinly. So did the others in the room, who’d gathered around to comfort her. In the mirror, the demonic face faded away.
It was here that the film ended.
Peter lay in bed trying to make sense of what he’d seen. Before his very eyes, his mother had turned into a monster. Had the others not restrained her, there was no telling what she might have done. It didn’t seem possible. His mother had been the most gentle person in the world, and had never hurt anyone, as far as he’d known.
He felt himself becoming one with the darkness. Was he also turning into a monster? Would he at some point start to physically change like his mother had, and become out of control? He shuddered to think how his friends would react. He had wanted to know the truth about his parents, and now he did. His mother and father and their three little friends had struck a deal with the Devil. In return for their lives being spared, they’d allowed the Devil to inhabit their bodies, and give them psychic powers. There was no other explanation for the things he’d just seen. This was the origin of the Order of Astrum. Its members were in league with the Devil, and had been since they were children.
Which made him what? A child of the Devil? He wasn’t sure. All he knew for certain was that he was changing, and those changes had driven away the woman he loved.
He slipped out of bed, and threw on his robe. His body had grown cold again. He could feel evil nearby, stalking him. He looked around his darkened bedroom. He was alone.
Or was he?
He turned on the light and had another look. In the mirror above the dresser he saw the face from the seance. It was hideous to behold, burned so severely that one eye was gone. He had seen many horrible things in the spirit world, but none quite like this.
“Go away. Leave me alone.”
The face began to laugh at him.
He picked up a shoe from the floor, and threw it at the mirror. The face vanished the moment the glass broke. He had sent it back to wherever it came from.
