“At first, the Kalona found his pleasure by changing shapes and walking among humans. He was no longer welcome among the spirit world, and he could not belong to the human world. So he hunted those the Great Spirit protected. He would prey on the weakest, the sick, or the very young until he chose a soul he wanted. The young he would scare with nightmares, abusing them, pulling on them, attacking them, beating them, but leaving no marks.”
Jake sets the bottle of vodka down on the bar loudly, making everyone jump. Elsbeth reaches for Jake’s hand, needing to touch her brother. “Years of abuse as a child, and now it has a name,” he says looking at her with anger in his eyes. “If I had known, Beth, I would have protected you better,” Jake says, tortured by the memories of the past.
Looking at the pair, Hunter continues. “Only the Gunskaliski could have protected you Jake.”
“Eventually the fear was not enough; he found a way to remove the heart of his victims leaving no external mark on the body. The act of feasting on the heart added emotion, and feeling back to his spirit. This gave him stronger abilities. He could imitate people and even animals if he chose. This allowed him to take his time picking the best victims. The sick or dying were not enough to satiate him and he learned quickly that eating the heart gave him a stronger physical form. He began to hunt more frequently, and that is when he came upon a Cherokee village.”
“He moved and lived among the people for many moons until he chose his first victim, an old woman with great power. She was a village elder who was close to death. He waited with her in the form of her son. He sent away the other villagers taking care of her, and enjoyed tormenting her. Just before her death, he showed her his hand, which was the claw of a raven, and savored her terror. Her eyes became wide, but she was too weak to fight or scream as he sunk the claw deep and pulled out her beating heart. The power she had! He had found a special people. They were one of the Chosen people, your people. In eating her heart, he gained her memories and the knowledge that was hers.”
“The Kalona had to remain in mocker form to choose his victims, and so far no one had been able to detect him. That changed the next morning when the people were burying the woman. A child of nine looked closely at the Kalona in his mocker form and pointing at him, he called out loudly, “Sgili!” meaning “witch” in Cherokee.”
“For the first time, he was seen. The others did not notice at first, until another child did the same thing. It became apparent to him that he was recognized, and something would have to be done. With the powers he had acquired, he destroyed every man and male child in the village.”
Elina buries her face against her father’s shoulder, not wanting to relive the memories his story draws up. In her mind, she hears the screaming of her village and family. Elsbeth listens intently.
Hunter looks at her, saying, “He stayed at the village abusing the women. The children born were born of rape and all were evil, immortal males with physical deformities and abilities that should never have been. Raphaim was the Kalona’s favorite son because physically he was a beautiful, dark angel, but his spirit was true evil. He had inherited some of his father’s abilities and some of his mother’s. He had thirteen sons in all.”
Looking back at Elina, Hunter thinks, “They do not know of the book, do they, Keeper?” Elina shakes her head no.
“The Kalona stole that knowledge from the old woman. He has the book,” Hunter responds.
Wide eyed, she stares at him and replies in his mind, “I have to get it from him and you’re going to help.”
“I am confused,” Polly says. “Who was the demon in your vision, Elina?”
The sound of Polly’s voice startles Elina. She replies, “Raphaim is the son of the One. He is the demon who attacked my village. His father is the original Fallen. That is why we call him the one. He was the first to fall and he hunted the ten tribes into hiding. We split up to protect our children and ourselves. I am tasked with reuniting our people. In my vision the Kalona, or Mocker, as my village called him, and Raphaim are together. They know who I am. They will be looking for me now,” Elina tells them. “I have to find more Watchers now because we are more powerful in greater numbers.”
“What we need is a plan. We need to lure them away, and buy you enough time to locate more Watchers.” Jake tells Elina.
Everyone begins to talk at once, and Elina interrupts saying, “The problem is that you all, are a magnet for the demons. Every time you watch, they will be drawn to your golden thread. Today they were attracted to Elsbeth because she is marked. The demon in the alley told me she was marked by the son of the One.”
Horror fills Elsbeth’s mind and she looks at Elina. Tears streaming down her face, she demands “Asa?
Elina responds saying, “Yes, he was a son of the One too.”
Elsbeth says, “Thirteen, Hunter, you said thirteen sons! How many more children were born?”
Not sure what to say, Hunter responds carefully, “They littered our planet with Shadows, Elsbeth. They are some of the demons who hunt you.”
“So will I ever be free?” Elsbeth asks looking at the group.
Elina moves closer to Elsbeth saying, “I need to look closer to see what attracts them. I can watch and I will be able to check to see what is going on. We will figure this out, I promise.” Elina looks at them and takes a deep breath. “Okay, I
