“He will be fine,” Damion stated. “Arrive just before three in the morning. The spell must be cast at exactly three. Do you understand?”
So precise. No pressure, right? I nodded. “Yes. Understood.”
Whatever prep work needed to be done for that next portion of building the portal, Damion and Belinda had to be a part of it, too, along with Walter. Lucretia and I remained behind. We had the whole house to ourselves, and I should have been taking full advantage of that. My frustration distracted me from appreciating my time with her. She tried to reassure me with kisses, and it did not help. My heart wasn’t in kissing her back.
Have you, dear reader, ever had your gut tell you everything was wrong? To be ready because you were about to face something huge? That’s what mine told me that night. A lot weighted on my doing the job correctly.
At fifteen minutes before three, I joined the others at the farm, in the exact same place I’d set fire to the crop. As I walked out to the center, that pit of dread grew. A slick liquid decorated the surface of the obsidian circle. Swirls and lines that almost looked like a form of writing were there. I leaned down a little, trying to decipher what the strange substance was. Not water, I figured that out right away. Too thick. Paint? No, the smell didn’t match. A metallic, slightly sweet, smell.
“Blood…” I whispered.
The closer I got to the center, the more I noticed dark lumps spread in a line around it. Under the moonlight, their shape became clearer. Bodies of the dead. Eyes closed, blood trickling from their hearts and integrating with the design. I stopped. The bodies were of all ages and genders. One particular woman stood out to me. Her face was tilted away, dark curls covering her features. She seemed so peaceful, and the slightest crook of a smile was on what I could see of her lips.
One lone figure stood in front of me. Damion.
“They volunteered for the sacrifice. They believe in what we’re doing too,” he said softly. “When you light the fire, their souls will be freed, and they will be your greatest of allies.”
I still wanted to puke. “Why?”
“If we’d told you, would it have made a difference?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
“It’s almost three. Please, don’t let us all down, William. If you miss the time, they will be trapped forever.”
And then the sacrifice would be in vain.
I swallowed, closed my eyes, and stepped into the center. My eyes stayed squeezed shut as I called upon my magic. I let the frustration and anger pour out along with the fire. Whispers filled my ears.
“Thank you.”
“I’m excited for this.”
“I love you.”
And so many other phrases. They could only come from the dead. As strange as it might sound, I hated the idea of letting them down. Whatever Damion said to convince them to sacrifice their lives for the creation of the portal, it rested on me to make their hopes come true.
When the fire died, I was alone. The obsidian glowed a faint purple, and while still solid, it also had ripples constantly traveling across the surface like water being dropped into a pool. All the bodies were nothing more than sparkling dust scattered about.
I took in a deep shuddering breath and fled. The second my foot stepped onto dirt once more, I was tackled to the ground with a hard thud.
“William Hermanson, you are under arrest for murder in the first.”
No, I was not surprised at all.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Interlude Four
At the mention of the circle of dead found with me, Delia’s skin paled. In that moment, things got real, I suppose. The way Trevor told it, though, I killed all of those people. All of them, even my own mother. I acted alone, so I could unleash the power of black magic and make the portal open. My heart was stained with greed, etc. etc. When I get a chance, I’ll tell her the full version. Seeing the shock and horror on her face crushed me.
“So he…really will do whatever it takes to get his way,” she said it as a fact, not a question. “And he wants to bring about the apocalypse, why?”
“Because he’s demented, I suppose. No one actually knows why, but he promised he’d ruin the town. The world. All for power.” Trevor shook his head in disgust. “Why does anyone do anything terrible? It’s all about greed.”
It’s not all about greed…not entirely. But I’ve established that Trevor knows zero things.
Delia looked so…disappointed. “And here I thought he wasn’t a cliche baddie.”
Ouch.
“You focus on strange details,” Trevor observed.
“It helps me process and not freak out,” her voice was so soft. “Because if I think about the horrible parts you’ve described, I might lose it. I don’t want you to see that.”
“Why?” It was his turn to be disappointed.
She gazed away from his sad, puppy-like eyes. “If I’m weak, you’re going to baby me. I hate that. Besides, the whole ugly cry thing is a huge mess to look at. And to clean up. And most importantly, I need to keep my head grounded in facts so that I can stay safe. This monster is after me, right?” Trevor nodded. “Then I can’t get all emotional. It’ll be too distracting.”
Trevor wrapped his arms around her from behind. “You’re not alone. A lot of us are ready to protect you. It’s why we’re here.”
“I know. I don’t like it.” She sighed. “Tell me how it ends.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
A Family Divided
After my arrest, I got a lot of time to think in my cell. I’d been abandoned by my new family, the people who said I could belong with
