Emerald City Dreamer (40 page)

"
Hollis, we're ready. Go get it."

"
Him, you mean," Jina said. "I'll go get
him
."

"
Yes, yes, of course," Sandy said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

Jina approached the cell with a chocolate bar in hand. Ezra sat solemnly against the wall, trying to avoid the iron bars on one side and cage on the other. Jina passed the chocolate through, and the troll took it and opened it eagerly.

"
Where's your guitar? You remembered my favorite kind," the creature said. He devoured it in one bite.

"
Yes, I remembered," Jina answered. "I left my guitar upstairs this time."

Jina had been coming down here frequently all day to check on him, and had even sung to him. Sandy didn't agree, but it seemed to make the faerie more compliant.

"
Who's that?" Ezra asked, his mouth full, pointing to Sandy.

"
I'm a friend," Sandy said.

"
She's here to help," Jina said in a soothing voice. "Remember earlier when we talked about how you're different?"

"
Yeah..." it said meekly. "You wouldn't tell me why, though."

Jina shook her head. "I didn't want to scare you. You've been possessed by a spirit. Like a demon, but we prefer to call them fae."

"
Yeah... A demon..." Ezra stared at his hands. "I knew it. Are you going to kill me like it says in the Bible?"

"
Oh, poor kid, no, no. We're not going to kill you," she said with a soft voice, as if she were talking to a frightened toddler instead of a monster. "You're not the monster. It's the fae spirit inside of you. The craziness comes from that, the same way those horns do."

"
They do?" It seemed to relax a little, and Jina kept her tone soft.

"
Yes. And we can get rid of that spirit so you can live a normal life. What do you think about that?"

"
I want a normal life. I do." It lifted its head and Sandy could see the burn marks on its face from the floor of the cage. Any movement visibly hurt it, and it began to look fearful once again. She wondered if the burns would heal as soon as they pushed the nykk out.

"
I know you're in pain right now," Jina said. "All this iron is here to keep that thing inside you from breaking out and hurting all of us. Understand?"

Ezra nodded slowly. "I think so." He looked back and forth between Jina and Sandy with more trusting eyes. Sandy smiled, feeling particularly merciful and benevolent. If she could save this boy from the thing which owned him, she would. If not...

"
I understand," he said, a little more certain.

"
Sandy knows a lot about these things, and we've prepared a way to chase off the fae spirit so you can be normal again. Do you want that?"

"
Yes..."

"
Then come peacefully with us. And if it doesn't work, the worst thing that will happen is you get a good laugh watching us go through a lot of silly motions for no reason." She handed Ezra a Kleenex through the bars and it blew its nose.

"
That's the spirit," Sandy said. "Hollis, pull it out."

The heavy cell door screeched open. Hollis dragged the boy out of his cell and then yanked him upward. "Come on." The man had no sympathy, not even feigned. He slapped iron handcuffs onto Ezra's wrists.

"
Damn it, Hollis," Jina said. "Would it kill you to take it easy?"

He just grunted while Ezra stumbled and limped up the stairs.

When they returned to the parlor, electric light had been replaced by candlelight. Ezra looked a little frightened when it saw the circle.

"
Don't worry," Jina soothed. "It's just magic to keep all of us safe, you included. We need to put you in the center."

"
Will it hurt?"

"
Well, it is iron, so yes, it may, a little. No more than the handcuffs you're already wearing."

Sandy nodded to Hollis. "Watch the chalk." He led Ezra to the center, replacing the iron cuffs for the chained manacles there. Soon Ezra stood in the circle and the three women took positions at equidistant points around the edge. Hollis stood by the door in case brute force was needed. But it shouldn't be. Everything was going as planned. Sandy was finally going to accomplish something.

Sandy officiated. Jina had written the words, while the rest of the spell was a compilation from a half dozen books on demonology. Gretel would be their eyes, essential for finding the soul within Ezra that needed to be banished.

Sandy carried a glass bowl of distilled water. She stepped up to Jina, who dipped her hands in. As she washed, Sandy intoned the chant, her voice echoing through the large room:

Clean as new-bloomed lily,

Pure as the driven snow,

With this water purify,

As above, so below.

Then she carried the bowl to Gretel, who did the same. Gretel held the bowl while Sandy symbolically purified herself and Gretel repeated the chant. Sandy set the bowl on a small table and took up two small dishes, one full of sea salt, the other containing a mixture of crushed herbs: Sage, thyme, garlic, pepper, and dried apples.

She began a new chant. Holding both dishes in one hand, she placed the herbs in Jina's mouth, and then with a simple motion of her thumb, rubbed salt on Jina's forehead, nose, ears, belly, and groin.

With herbs as thread, fasten the weave,

To seal the body's cavity.

Naught unbidden may enter or leave,

No spirits of depravity.

Touch salt and rune on nose and eye,

Ears be entrances no more,

Lips and navel, between the thighs,

A spell to close up every pore.

Jina made a face and swallowed the concoction. Sandy went through the same motions for Gretel, and then Gretel took up the chant and performed the sealing rite on Sandy.

Ezra watched, shaking a little, looking more than a little spooked.

Then Sandy took up her position at the head of the circle. Incense and scented candles had already filled the room with an overpowering fragrant odor that stung Sandy's eyes, but she lit a censer and held it in front of her.

Gretel stood in her position, eyes closed, with a look of intense concentration, as if she were trying to tie a knot in a cherry stem with her tongue. At last, she looked up, and said, "I have found it. I have locked onto the nykk within. Sandy, you may proceed."

Sandy nodded once, and then staring at Ezra's frightened eyes, began a new chant:

Foul fae form, you came unbidden,

Unasked, became this body's foe

Orvenoldsted, spirit hidden,

At the mention of its true name, the faerie began to whimper. It fell to its knees and looked as though it were going to vomit. It grabbed at his stomach. Sandy continued unabated.

Now we bid thee, go!

Ezra let go of his stomach, and yanked hard against the chains. Hollis took a step forward, but his handiwork and the iron was more than enough.

Jina wore a fretful expression. She looked like she was about to say something.

Sandy raised her volume and swayed the censer back and forth, pungent smoke rising towards the ceiling.

Thou standest accused by human race!

Cease to resist, you must flee.

Depart on smoke, go from this place,

May the body of man be terror to thee.

Ezra continued to struggle against the chains. When Sandy began the chant again, he whimpered. Sweat poured down his face.

"
Please," he begged. "I changed my mind." He made a few weak testing tugs against the chain. "Please, it hurts. I haven't done anything wrong, not ever. I'm just a kid."

Jina opened her mouth and then closed it again. She looked uncertain. Sandy worried she'd lose heart. She needed to stay focused for just a few more seconds...

"
Please, this is killing me. Please stop. It feels like my soul is ripping away."

The third time through, she raised her voice even higher, until she was almost yelling. She pronounced each word slowly, giving it power, enforcing her belief and directing her power to Gretel, who had a lock on the fae spirit.

Ezra turned to Jina, behind him. "You're the nice one. The iron is the only thing holding me together. Please, don't let her take my spirit away."

Jina took a step forward, and reached out to him...

Sandy had already reached the final
ritardando crescendo
, and slowly, loudly, spoke the last words for the third time. "...May the body of man be a terror to thee."

Ezra shrieked while Hollis pushed a button on his smartphone. With a clank, the manacles fell from Ezra's wrists. Gretel's eyes lifted upward, and Ezra slumped like a doll to the floor.

Sandy relaxed. It was done.

"
He's gone," Gretel said. "Orvenoldsted no longer inhabits this boy."

Jina ran into the circle and put a hand on Ezra's arm, flipping his limp body over. She slapped at its burnt face.

"
He's dead!"

Sandy sighed.

Her books were unclear about this outcome. Some stated the fae spirit cohabited the body alongside a human soul. Many others stated the nykk was the only inhabitant.

"
No, no, come back." Jina shook the body.

She would write about that. One mystery solved. Experiment successful.

Then her friend started performing CPR.

"
Jina, what-"

"
Shhh," she hissed, pumping at his chest. Gretel laid a hand on her shoulder. Jina shrugged it off.

"
No, this won't work," Jina said. "Uhm..." She looked at the ceiling in frustrated thought. "
Glamour's hold... no mortal strife
, uhh, uhh...
bring back his soul, return to life
!" She chanted it three times and sprinkled some of the left-over herb mixture on the creature's cooling forehead.

Sandy approached slowly. She had no idea Jina would take it this hard. "It's not coming back. It can't come back," she whispered.

Jina glared up at Sandy. "Wait... Did you..." She let the question hang in the air, searching Sandy's eyes. "You did. You knew this was going to happen all along."

"
Of course not. I mean, I knew it was possible."

Jina stood, her fists clenched at her side. Hollis was there immediately to grab the legs of the corpse and yank it towards the door. The body smeared the chalk in a grisly trail all the way to the hallway.

"
Possible? Or likely?"

Sandy did not answer. Any answer would only provoke more outrage.

"
Just look at him!" Jina motioned at the retreating body. "If you thought there was even a chance of this, how could you?"

"
It was a monster, Jina. Remember that."

"
She's right, Jina," Gretel said. She looked a little sad.

"
Shut up, Gretel. This is between me and Sandy, and it's been a long time coming," Jina barked. "You
all
knew this could happen, didn't you? You kept it from me."

Sandy crossed her arms and calmly spoke. "Have you forgotten everything? Have you forgotten what his kind did to us? To Lewis?"

"
Of course I fucking remember, Sandy. And it's taken years for me to heal. But you..." Rage boiled out of Jina. "They aren't
all
monsters. Like you."

Sandy ignored the insult. "What do you propose I do? Let them get away with maimings, rape, and murder?"

"
This kid hadn't done anything," Jina said, motioning to the smeared chalk. "He was a little crazy, but there were other options."

"
A mental ward perhaps? Let him plead insanity? Where's the justice in that?"

"
Nobody finds justice," Jina said, taking a step forward. "Not you or any other victim. I'm sick of this drunken, half-baked vigilante bullshit, Sandy!"

Sandy pressed her teeth together. She wasn't drunk. She hadn't had anything to drink all week. "The police aren't going to do anything. You know that, or you would have called the cops on Scarf already. If it weren't for me-"

"
Police?" Jina interrupted. "Now they'll be looking for us - for you! And what have you done to stop Scarf? Nothing. You're too busy kicking the shit out of little kids!"

Sandy let her voice remain calm and unemotional. Obviously, Jina was the one with the problem. "I will not stand here and take this from you. You are completely unreasonable. Listen to yourself, screaming and raving."

"
Of course I'm screaming! I didn't sign up to murder children." Jina's voice cracked.

"
You signed up to hunt fae. What do you think that means? 'Hunt' means to chase down and kill."

"
I signed up to protect the defenseless, like me and you and Lewis used to be. Like
Ezra
was."