The Suicide Forest (The River Book 5) (12 page)

“How do I find out?” Steven asked.

“Experimentation,” she said. “I know of no test. Are you a
man of your word?”

“What do you mean?” Steven asked.

“Nevermind, I want a thousand dollar deposit,” she said, and
pointed to her shelf.

“What?” Steven asked.

“Over there,” she said, “in the bookcase. A thin volume, old
blue spine, ‘Varieties of Demonic Repression,’ or something like that. Find
it.”

Steven stepped over to the bookcase and scanned the titles,
looking for the book she described. He found it, pulled it from the shelf, and
returned to her.

“I don’t care if you’re trustworthy or not,” she said. “I
want a thousand dollar deposit and I’ll loan you the book. You can have the
money back when you return it. People have the worst habits with books and I
don’t want that one to walk off on me. You’ll want that book. Read it. It’ll
answer your questions.”

“I don’t have a thousand dollars on me,” Steven said.

“Of course you don’t, you’d be crazy to walk around with that
much cash. There’s plenty of banks in town. Come back with the money and I’ll
let you take it, but listen to me young man,” she said, raising a bony finger
at him. “I expect that book back, do you understand?”

“I understand,” Steven said.

“And don’t go thinking you can skip on the deposit,” Judith
said. “If I don’t get it back in a few days, I’m going to issue a nasty curse
you’ll have a hard time getting rid of. Understood?”

“Understood,” Steven said.

“Very well then,” she said. “Take it and read. There’s more
in there than I can tell you.”

Steven’s phone rang. He pulled it from his jacket pocket. “I
apologize,” he said, looking at the phone. Then he looked up at Roy. “The
caller ID says it’s Bill Williamson.”

“Take the call,” Roy said.

“Pardon me,” Steven said to Judith, and turned to walk to the
far end of the room. He spoke in hushed tones and Roy couldn’t hear everything
he was saying. Roy was left, uncomfortably, alone with Judith. She eyed him.

“You’re not married?” she said, observing his hands.

“I was,” Roy said. “She died, a couple of years ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Judith said. “She must have been an
impressive woman to be able to handle all of you.”

Roy wasn’t sure what she meant, so he remained silent.

“You know,” she said, raising a hand to adjust her hair
slightly, “after this is over, you should come visit me without your son. Just
the two of us.”

“Well, that’s a kind offer,” Roy said, “I’ll consider it.” He
looked back at Steven, wishing he’d hurry up.

“You have a mysterious quality about you,” she said. “I’d
enjoy finding out more about what makes you tick. Lift up your hood and check
your engine.”

Roy cleared his throat, and Steven pocketed his phone,
rejoining them.

“He wants us to stop by,” Steven said. “He says it’s
important.”

“Alright, we’d better leave then,” Roy said, smiling.

“Let me get that deposit you wanted,” Steven said, handing
the book to Judith. “We’ll be back in a few minutes.”

◊

They drove to Bill Williamson’s house. A deluge had hit, and
the roads were wet and slick. It was slow going. They arrived at the house just
after noon. Bill welcomed them in.

“I think you’re going to be surprised,” he said, leading them
to a room in the back of his house. “Look who showed up.”

He opened the door to the bedroom, and inside was Evie. She
was cleaned up.

“Whoa,” Steven said. “I’m not going in there with her.”

“Why don’t we all go out to the living room,” Bill said. “She
says she has something important to tell you.”

They retraced their steps, and Evie followed them. They all
sat in the furniture in Bill’s living room.

“Just so you know,” Roy said, looking at Bill, “the last time
we saw her, she had pinned the corpse of your sister-in-law to the wall, and
she was covered in her blood.”

“I didn’t kill her,” Evie said.

“You sure didn’t have a problem swinging her bloody corpse
around,” Roy said.

“She wasn’t the greatest mother,” Evie said defensively.

“Her body was sliced up beyond recognition,” Steven said.
“She didn’t deserve that.”

“Robbie did that,” Evie said. “Not me.”

“I’ll bet you didn’t try to stop him,” Roy said.

“No, I didn’t,” she replied. “Look, I don’t care how angry
you are at me. I’m far more angry at myself. I was tricked. I was supposed to
keep Robbie safe for someone, and I failed.”

“Don’t you mean ‘safe
from
someone’?” Steven asked.
“Most mothers try to keep their children safe from harm.”

“I think you already know what’s going on here,” Evie said,
“so let’s not play games.”

“Why don’t you tell us?” Roy asked. “Start at the beginning.”

Evie sighed. “From the beginning… Alright. My father
introduced me to the gift when I was seventeen. I loved it, but after a while
it bored me. He bored me. He was very specific about what I could use it for,
but I didn’t agree with his rules. I sensed there was a lot more out there for
me that he wouldn’t let me explore. So I went out on my own.

“He was very upset. Like most fathers, I imagine. Tried to
reign me in, but wasn’t able to do it. I rebelled, big time. I did things just
to piss my parents off. Got arrested a few times – that really angered him. I
was delighted whenever he’d become upset with me. It meant I was succeeding
somehow, becoming the opposite of what he was, and I liked that. I explored
things I could do with the gift that he considered off-limits and evil. It was
thrilling. He never knew about most of it. I sensed if he knew all of it, he’d
cut me off. I didn’t want to be disowned, I just wanted to really piss them
off.”

Steven glanced at Bill, watching his face for a moment as
Evie told her story. He could see in Bill’s reaction the recognition of Evie’s
history as true – these were things he’d seen Mark and Evie go through.

“I was hawking some of my mother’s jewelry one day,” Evie
continued, “but there was this one ring I kept. I was drawn to it. And when I
went in the River, it glowed. I knew it was interesting, so I kept it. Turns
out it was the opening.”

“Something that allowed a demon a way in?” Roy asked.

“Yes,” Evie said. “I assumed it was my father’s and somehow
got mixed in with my mom’s jewelry, because it was powerful, and something my
mother wouldn’t know anything about. I couldn’t believe he’d leave something
like that just lying around. Maybe he didn’t know what it was. Anyway, I used
it. I put it on. I focused on it. It called someone. Next thing I knew, there
was this man in my life. He was huge – powerful, sexy, very seductive. He
followed me for days. I knew he was different, not normal. When I took him to
bed, he revealed himself. I was so enamored with this guy, I would have done
anything he asked. As he fucked me, he explained what was going to happen. I
didn’t care, I was getting off on the evilness of it all. It felt like the
ultimate fuck you to my parents, the worst I could hurt them.”

“He told you that you’d have a child,” Roy said.

“Yes,” Evie said, “and that the child was his. I was to raise
it to puberty, then he’d take it.”

“How could you raise Robbie,” Bill asked, “knowing this?”

“I just cut myself off from him,” Evie said. “At first it was
easy. I moved back in with June and she did all the mothering. She thought I
was incapable of it, a bad mother, all of that. She gave Robbie everything he
needed. I knew what was going to happen to him, so I kept my distance. It got
harder as he got older, I’ll admit. But I knew there was no point to loving
him.”

“And the demon?” Roy asked.

“He checked the baby as soon as it was born,” Evie said.
“Looking for markings, like the ones I have.”

“You’re marked?” Steven asked, surprised.

“Yes,” she said. “On my hands. You’d need a special glass to
see it. I think that’s why the demon was interested in me. He was hoping that
since I was marked, the baby would be marked too. It doesn’t always pass from
parent to child. When he saw the marks on Robbie, he told me it was my job to
make sure he was safe until puberty. I think if Robbie had been born without
the marks, he wouldn’t have cared, he would have just moved on, or killed the
baby right then, I don’t know.”

“Did this demon have a name?” Roy asked.

“Normally, telling you his name would involve you,” Evie
said, “but you’re already involved up to your necks. His name is Vohuman. The
reason I asked Bill to contact you is to warn you. You’re both in danger, but
you especially,” she said, nodding at Steven.

“In danger?” Steven asked. “Why?”

“Vohuman was supposed to take Robbie,” Evie said. “But I was
tricked. Another demon named Aka Manah took him.”

“How do you know this?” Steven asked.

“As things began to happen the last couple of weeks,” Evie
said, “I knew Robbie’s time had come. There were several demons in the house,
all drawn to Robbie. I knew Vohuman would drive them away when he came to take
Robbie. But then you showed up. You scared the demons. When Aka Manah showed up
to take Robbie, I thought it was Vohuman. I learned later that I’d been
tricked.”

“How did you learn that?” Steven asked.

“Vohuman came to me,” Evie said. “Explained that it wasn’t
him that’d taken Robbie, but another demon named Aka Manah. It’s what he’d planned
all along, what he wanted to happen. The two of them have history that goes way
back. Vohuman used Robbie to draw Aka Manah out of hiding. My son was just
bait. Ever since the other day, Vohuman has been tracking Aka Manah. He’s the
one who told me you’re next.”

“I’m next?” Steven asked. “Why?”

“The other demons in the house were scared of you,” Evie
said. “But apparently Aka Manah found you intriguing. He wants you for some
reason. I thought I’d warn you. Your intentions were good, I could tell that, but
you didn’t have a clue what was really happening. In the end you were just an
innocent bystander, like Robbie. So I thought I’d warn you.”

“I wish you would have worked with us before,” Roy said. “We
might have been able to save June and Robbie.”

“You couldn’t have saved them,” Evie said. “I’ve spent the
last ten years studying up on Vohuman. He’s an ancient demon, far more powerful
than any of us. Aka Manah is the same. You can’t defeat them. They just use
us.”

“Hey,” Roy said, “keep me out of this. I didn’t open my legs
for a demon.”

“You should be careful what you say,” Evie said. “Even saying
some things can bring them about.”

Roy scoffed.

“What now?” Steven asked. “I’ve been warned. What am I
supposed to do? If these demons are as powerful as you say they are, how am I
supposed to defend myself?”

“Well,” Evie said, “I’ve always enjoyed the company of
demons, so I’m no expert at keeping them away. But I do know you have to open
yourself up to them. At least that’s how it works with me. I use the ring to
invite them in, and they come by the dozens. I have my pick of them.”

“Pick of them? For what?” Steven asked.

“Don’t be dense,” Roy said. “She fucks them.”

“They’re far better fucks than a human,” she said. “
Far
better.”

“Christ,” Steven said. “Aren’t you afraid of getting pregnant
by them?”

“Oh,” Evie said, smiling, “I’ve given birth to a few things
since Robbie.”

That’s where they come from
, Steven thought.
Creatures like Lukas.

“I think I’ve heard enough,” Bill said. “Are we done here?”

“You’re wanted, you know,” Steven said to Evie. “The cops
blame you for what happened at the house. Three deaths, maybe four.”

“Yeah,” Evie said. “They’ll never find me. After I leave
here, I’m back underground for a while.”

“Probably where you belong,” Roy said.

“It was a risk to come here,” Evie said. “I didn’t have to
help you.”

“Why did you then?” Steven asked.

“I could tell you cared about Robbie,” Evie said. “And
anything you do to thwart Aka Manah will help Vohuman. The more I thought about
Robbie after he died, the angrier I became at the whole fucked up situation.
Both my mother and son are dead because of me. That’s enough death. You don’t
deserve to die too, just because you wanted to help.”

“You’d think you’d be angry at Vohuman,” Steven said, “for
lying to you all those years about Robbie.”

“Oh,” Evie said, “I love Vohuman. I always will. And demons
always lie, it’s part of the package. You don’t hate a leopard for his spots.”

◊

Steven drove Roy home, then went to his own house to be alone
with Judith’s book. He spent the rest of the day with it, determined to read it
from cover to cover. The book was disturbing, and in many sections he felt the
hair go up on the back of his neck. Once or twice he wondered if the book
itself wasn’t an opening, a way for evil beings to find him and enter his home.
Judith wouldn’t keep an opening in her house
, he thought.
But then,
she might read it in some protected way. I’m reading it completely unprotected.