I watch the small-framed Atargatis hold Siara up before disappearing from sight. If she could teleport, why didn’t we teleport in? Placing my hand against the stone wall, ice begins to fill the cracks and crevices in the dark room around us.
A wooden object sits shadowed in the corner. I don’t have to go close to know what it is. ‘I didn’t know you still had this,’ my voice breathes out as a whisper. It’s unlikely that my sister can even hear me in the state she’s in. ‘You could have at least taken better care of it. Look at all this algae.’ I peel seaweed off the rotting wood, letting it sink to the floor. ‘I shouldn’t have left you here. If I had known that this place had changed…’ Who am I kidding? Even if I had known, I wouldn’t have come back for her. Especially not back then.
As I leave, I close the door behind me. Ice creeps into the locks and hinges, making the door unmoveable, sealing it shut from any demons that might prey on her power. ‘See you, Mar,’ I say, barely audible, before heading back to the forest.
We stand before the portal, its distortion shimmering in the low light. Two blades of kelp cross together gracefully as they continue to sway in the current. I wonder how many demons know about this portal; it’s barely detectable even by me. Not noticeable to the naked eye.
I give a small nod to the Goddess before taking Siara off her hands.
‘Your sister was not lying about the human. This realm has left its mark on her.’
The small pouch of food pills falls from the pocket of the girl’s clothes. They slowly drift to the ground. Atargartis picks the velvet pouch up with judgemental eyes.
‘These aren’t good for her. She won’t be able to stay here.’ Atargatis lifts Siara’s hands, placing the small bag underneath on her stomach.
‘Trust me, I don’t want her on this side either,’ I say, my tone uncaring. ‘She’s really become nothing but a burden.’ The water Goddess looks up to me, unimpressed.
‘It appears both you and your sister share a taste for untruths,’ she says. I open my mouth to retort but she waves me away. ‘I bid you farewell. Please send Heret-Kau my regards.’
I close my mouth, deciding not to waste the effort. With a final nod of gratitude, I move through the portal.
13
What waits for me upon our return is chaos.
I am but a foot through the portal, stepping out onto the cottage’s wooden decking, when Xander’s cry of relief reaches my ears. And it isn’t the only sound. Clicks and groans float in and out of my hearing, scattered through the trees surrounding the clearing. The asymmetrical limbs of disfigured creatures creep out from the shadows.
The lower-level demons scatter throughout the misty clearing. Some fight amongst themselves, lowering their numbers, seemingly clueless as to why they came here to begin with. Others dawdle about the expanse in search of something, most likely me, their sights set on obtaining power and conquering their own space. Their existences, similar to the formless beings that occupied the stone castle, were once human in shape but now barely recognisable. Some are short and muddy, others tall and ghostly, each demon different and individualised to their home world. These lower demons, with little soul left, have lost most of their own powers over time. Whatever the cause, the empty creatures now wander the realms lusting for only one hunger.
Souls.
Here they congregate like moths to a flame, hoping for a tiny piece of demonic power to be syphoned off to them after my supposed defeat to whoever brought them here. Acting as nothing more than vultures, waiting for the kill.
My eyes watch them in morbid curiosity as they unknowingly walk against the invisible barrier surrounding the cottage. In most cases, the barrier confuses them as its design dictates and diverts their ambling in a different direction. Occasionally, they push too hard and too stubbornly, and either burn away or degrade into dust. The sound of their sizzling flesh, and guttural screams cause me to think that maybe it’s good that Siara is still sleeping on the couch inside. A loud trot of high heels approaches me from behind.
‘So Hex was right.’
Heret-Kau appears beside me, resting her lean arms on the verandah’s railing. The clouded fog thickens on the field of scuttling demons. A coincidence, or possibly an act of security by the Goddess herself. It’s unclear to me how many demons have gathered in the haze but it’s enough that her characteristic charm hasn’t made an appearance. Silence lingers as we watch more of them empty out of the forest into the wasteland.
‘Isn’t it sad how many there are?’ she says, her tone grim. ‘I would pray for them, but who do I pray to?’
Another demon is torn apart by the barrier in a shocking display of stubborn will. Heret-Kau winces, feeling for the souls that she couldn’t guide to the afterlife. There is no afterlife for those who die here, just an eternal nothingness, a curt and sharp end to existence. She turns to me, in what I assume is an inability to watch any longer. She lays a comforting hand on my arm. ‘I’ll make preparations, keep her safe until then.’
‘She is still unwell. Surely it’s too soon for the girl to portal travel again.’
Heret-Kau purses her lips. ‘Yes.’ She draws a portal with her regular quick motion. ‘But she can’t stay here.’
She’s right, as usual. It’s not just a matter of the lower demons. My barrier is sure to hold up against them but it’s not them that I’m worried about. Although numerous, they could never open a portal to travel here themselves. Someone else is orchestrating them from behind the scenes. As if sensing my thoughts, Heret-Kau narrows her arching brows. ‘I’ll be in touch.’
The Goddess disappears just as silently as she appeared. The fog enters the barrier, encompassing the cottage in its haze.
‘Where is she going?’ Xander says quietly, appearing through the white.
I wave the boy’s question away. ‘Nowhere important. We have other things to focus on at the moment.’
Xander nods, peering to the demons before turning back. ‘Master, you should go see her too,’ he insists, giving me a look.
‘She’s alive?’
‘She is. She’s starting to wake up now.’
‘Then there’s no need.’
Xander bites at his bottom lip, a movement he does when he objects to my decisions. I brace myself to hear his argument, a dismissal already at my lips. He opens his mouth. ‘But, if you just–’
The heavy feeling runs through my body like a weight of added gravity on my bones. I look for the cause out in the clearing, waiting to see him emerge through the trees.
‘Xander,’ I warn, but he already knows. The boy’s eyes are wide, his feet step back, unnerved at the individual’s presence. They’re here. ‘Get Siara. Meet me out here.’
Xander nods, silent in his fear. Scurrying footsteps trail back into the cottage.
Walking down the steps, I scan the treeline. The lower demons feel the individual’s grave presence, restless with anticipation. It’s possible he’s hiding amongst them, concealed in the bustle of his created chaos. The tension grows, causing their aggression to heighten; confrontations between them escalate to ravenous attacks, ripping and shredding each other apart. A rather distressing sight for anyone not used to carnage. Someone like Siara, who’s now awake in the cottage.
As I summon an ice spear, I do my best to ignore the wails of the feeding demons nearby. The pentagram I draw in the thick snow is uneven but will still work. At each point of the star is a curved and enigmatic symbol, representing coordinates for the human world. They glimmer after every inscription. I glance back to the cottage. What’s taking them so long?
As I spear the centre of the portal, a cacophony of voices fills the clearing. They call to the demon with screams and groans as he sways his way through the masses of creatures. He’s here. My body tenses. We don’t have enough time. I can feel my teeth gritting, jaw clenched.
A few of the lower demons completely lose all sense, charging to attack the individual. In seconds, they disintegrate under the torrid hellfire the greater demon unleashes. The others scavenge the remains of their brethren in an attempt to feed on their essence. Power-hungry vultures. He scoffs in disgust at the lowly creatures around him. On his slow walk through the masses, he clasps a scavenging demon, its head buried deeply in the corpse of another. It doesn’t take long for the lower demon to become a pile of ash on the snow, dropping in small flakes to the ground.
