Necromantia: Vol. 1-3 (Three Book Set) Read online

  A hissing sound engulfed Lazarus as his shirt lifted to his chest.

  Ester's voice popped and crackled in the darkness. “No, you brought me here so I'm going to stay.”

  Lazarus was spun around and flung into the sand next to the fire. The center of the pit began to glow red hot as flames re-emerged causing the remnants of the wood to ignite. Ester's body came into view. The heat boiled up as she sprinted towards Nathaniel who was now rapidly filling the bag with sand. Her body was a collection of clear ripples and Lazarus could see a distorted view of Nathaniel through her chest.

  Lazarus called out to Nathaniel, “Nate! Get back! She's behind you!”

  He spun to see Ester bearing down and bringing her hand across his face. He was thrown to the edge of the clearing. He choked back trying to regain his breath. A soft stream of blood ran down the edge of his face from an open cut above his eye. Pressing down, he lifted himself and began to sprint to the tree line. Before he could make it, Ester was on his back and tackled him to the ground. She rolled him over and pinned his arms. Her eyes opened as her face turned red hot. Before Nathaniel could yell for help, her mouth opened and fire poured out onto the ground like lava.

  Lazarus watched as Nathaniel's face was lost in flame. His body kicked and writhed under her hips. He bucked twice and was still as Ester closed her mouth. She swiped at the loose ground sending a cloud of dust over the smoking charred remains of Nathaniel's face. His mouth was open, still searching for that final breath. Lazarus knew there was nothing he could do and broke for the bag of sand. He reached it and clawed his way back to the fire pit pushing his feet through the loose ground. He could hear Ester's feet closing the distance behind him as he dumped the contents onto the fire. He dove over the pit and reached into his pocket for a salt bag. If the fire was not out, he would have one shot to hit her. A cloud of dust kicked up as he rolled across the ground finishing in a prone position looking back for Ester.

  The last thing he saw were two shimmers of feet sliding down through the middle of the fire pit. The image disappeared and the surrounding area was left in total darkness. His breathing was labored as he pressed down on his knee to lift himself up. Deep inside his chest, a knot was building, his eyes began to cloud as he rubbed his eyes with the back of his arm. Across the clearing, he could see Nathaniel's body lying motionless, staring up at the sky.

  Lazarus kneeled down and placed his hand on the boy's chest. Down Lazarus's cheeks streamed his sorrow. His eyes overflowed as he mumbled towards the dead boy, “I’m…I’m sorry for this.”

  He paused for a moment as he gathered himself. He ran his sleeve over his face, clearing away the last of the tears. His face looked up to the sky. “I'm certain you are in a good place now.”

  His hands rummaged through his pockets looking for any objects, paperwork, or potion bags. He would not be able to carry the boy's body out of the woods and would need to burn it. The boy had no home to go to and no family. Lazarus was all he had. He stripped the boy down and placed him on a new fire pit outside the circle. With the remaining wood, Lazarus built a small funeral pyre and burned the body. The evening was cool and his breath clouded his face. Lazarus whispered incantations ensuring the young man good passage.

  “God, and Lord of heaven and earth, the source of peace. I offer you the body of Nathaniel and seek your eternal healing. He is your servant. He has taken of the wine and bread. He is baptized and confessed. Lead him safely to the kingdom of light. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

  Lazarus packed the candles and clothes alongside the fire pit. His stomach felt ill from the stench of burning flesh. To his left, the fire pit moaned, the gravel shook at the base and charred wood tumbled down. Lazarus stood up and let out a hissing voice. “I was wondering how long you would make me wait.”

  From the ashes, two coins popped up into the air and tumbled down at Lazarus's feet. One was plain gold with a marking of the cross. He knew this coin. It was payment for his duties, but the second coin was new. It was jet black and very cold to the touch. In the middle of the coin was a cross covered in a shroud and along the edge was an inscription that read “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”.

  This was the second payment for Nathaniel. Lazarus's fist closed, squeezing down on the black coin. His face winced, still feeling the pain of his loss. He was alone for the first time in years. Nathaniel was competent; he would have made a good replacement. But now, so close to the end, he was forced to start again.

  Tennison Center for the Criminally Insane

  Seattle, WA

  1978

  I never intended to kill those children.

  That's what Zinn Mara told the jury and her lawyer repeatedly. She knew they were born good, but somewhere they changed. She never understood why they changed or why the darkness globbed onto them. At first, it grew in them slowly, creeping along like a river moving under a thick canopy. She would watch from the far side of the house hiding behind banisters and door jams obsessively analyzing their every action. She would watch their hands grasp at unseen ghosts floating across the room. She saw their legs shift and float unnaturally across the carpet as they chased each other. Their cold eyes would dart about the dark nursery as if watching figures walk along the walls. Zinn's nightmares were filled with their little voices squealing from locked rooms. They terrified her.

  Over time, the children were greeted by a figure that Zinn called the tormentor. At first, he was just an aberration, a blurred vision following the children. By the end, she could see the tormentor walking with them clear as day. His black hooves echoed through the old wooden walls of the house. His body was consumed by a dying black smoke that flowed like a waterfall from his face and died away like a vapor when it reached the ground. He was always at their side, playing with them. She could hear his whispering as he bent to their little ears, guiding and instructing.

  For Zinn, it was pure terror to see their innocence corrupted. How could this have happened by accident? Hell doesn't choose randomly. She was resolved that these children must have welcomed this beast into their home. She couldn't imagine any other reason. She would walk into the children's rooms looking for evidence of the dark arts. He would be there in the doorway, watching her.

  Time moved on and the tormentor stayed. A resolute fixture in a dark and cold home. The days and weeks flooded by and it began to tug as her soul begged her to take action. She was a prisoner in this house and the children were the guards. She felt trapped in her own home, a wooden cell in a quiet neighborhood.

  She would wake after long sleepless nights to see his face hovering above her. The tormentor flooded her brain with images and words unspoken. The smoke flowed faster over his face as he peered into her eyes.

  They deserve relief and peace. Will you give it to them?

  Most days she would push back by yelling and throwing objects. The tormentor ignored her advances, deflecting both words and objects. She became angry at his presence and began to take it out on the children. She cursed them for bringing this creature into the house. They sat quietly taking the abuse and absorbing the hits. As she continued to rage, the only thing she could hear was the tormentor continuously asking his question. She wanted the relief and peace and she wanted her children.

  The court documents corroborated her efforts. She spoke with the police, the schools, and finally the Church. She explained the children, the tormentor, and the long days and nights. She still remembered the priest ordering her from the premises. He cursed her and doused the children's faces with holy water. A faint smoke lifted from the cross as he drove them from the pews.

  I never intended to kill those children, but he commanded me to.

  One early morning, she rose to see the tormentor standing along the far wall. His black smoke enveloped a small stand covered in newspapers and poured out onto the ground. She was at the endpoint. She would be the reliever. He nodded and pointed to the hallway. She rose mechanically out of the b
ed and he followed her out of the room.

  It wasn't hard for her. She thought there would be more struggle in their little bodies. She expected her hands to protest the unnatural deed. He promised relief and peace, and they received it. The children didn't splash as hard as she thought they would. They didn't scream or beg and she knew why - the tormentor explained it to her as she stood waist deep in the river.

  The little demons are accepting their fate and giving up on their bodies.

  She released the children down the river where they floated for days eventually emerging in the Puget Sound. Their bloated and bouncing bodies danced along the shore and rolled in the waves kicked up by the evening winds. A woman jogging on the beach discovered the youngest tangled in a dried kelp field. The tide was out and the rotting smell caused her to faint in the sand.

  He wanted me to kill those demons, and she did.

  The Queen's Room

  Her room was spartan with painted gray cinder walls. In the corner sat a small single bed wrapped in a navy blanket. Occupying the opposite corner was a small toilet and sink adorned with pictures of her dead children. Zinn stood in the center of the room staring up at the corner of the ceiling. Her hair draped down the side of her face and looked as if it hadn't been washed in weeks.

  In the corner of the room along the ceiling edge was the tormentor, his dark shadow covered in a swirling vanishing black smoke. His hooves dug into the edge of the wall as he perched above her. Fire danced in his eyes as his claws tapped against the concrete wall. He made no sound as he stared at Zinn.

  Her face showed the years of abuse. She pleaded with him, “I did your bidding. What do you want?” Her voice fluttered, gasping for breath, “What do you want from me?”

  The creature stood in silence, smoke pouring out of its face exposing only its eyes to her. Her fingers curled around her shirt pulling up at the waist. “Please leave me be, you need to leave. I gave them relief. I killed for you. I have nothing left to give you.”

  A rap on the door broke her concentration and plunged the room into silence. Her heel danced rhythmically against the ground, pulsing in anticipation. A voice called out from the slit in the door, “Zinn, who are you talking to?”

  “No one.” Her eyes never left the creature in the corner of the room. “I'm not talking to anyone.”

  The soft female voice spoke through the slit. “Are you feeling anxious, Zinn? Do you need help? It is time for you to take your medication. Will you please take your pills?”

  Zinn's hands ground together as she whispered, “Red, blue, red, blue, red, blue, take them and you are through.” She shook her head, her hair lifting from the momentum. “No…no, no, no, no. I don't need any more pills. I don't need any help. I just want to be left alone.” Tears slowly fell down her cheeks.

  The woman's voice sounded as if she had given up, “I'm going to pass your pills through, honey, and I need you to take them.”

  Zinn's attention was pulled back to the corner of the ceiling. The whites of her eyes spoke. She lifted herself up and pointed to the door. “I’m not taking your pills.”

  The slat on the door was lowered and the metal clanged, echoing through the room. A muffled voice spoke on the other side of the door and Zinn leaned in to hear. She knew what was coming, a walk in. She heard the two male voices outside the door. Zinn slowly backed to the wall directing her voice to the corner, “They're coming in. Is this part of the plan? Is this the relief and peace you promised?”

  The tormentor's gaze never broke as he nodded to her question. His hand lifted from the wall and pointed to Zinn. She nodded and slowly pulled her shirt over her head exposing her pale chest to the room. Her breasts sagged with age as the shirt fell to the ground. Her hands slid down her waist pushing her thin linen pants into a small pile on the floor. She was naked and exposed to the room. Her skin pimpled in the drafty air. She lowered herself, squatting, as her hands splayed open in preparation. Her shoulders danced with anticipation as she looked at the door handle for the first movement. She yelled at the door, “Come on in! You're not the worst thing I've seen today.”

  The woman outside the door peered into the room. “Well guys,” her lips curled slightly, “she's in her evening attire.”

  James and Isaac stood behind the woman, slowly applying surgical gloves to their hands. Their pressed white uniforms were firm under the starch. Isaac towered over James and would test the limits of the door as they rushed in. He always ducked when rushing any of the cells.

  Isaac peered through the slit and saw the nude woman crouched along the wall. “As she said, it's not the worst thing I've seen today.”

  James looked up to Isaac. “Are you ready? I'll go for the legs and I'll need you to secure the upper body.” Isaac nodded as he pulled back on his uniform sleeves exposing his large meaty forearms.

  “OK.” Isaac was focused on the door looking through the open slit. “Let's get this over with.”

  The woman pulled out the keys and unlocked the door. “She's going to be slippery. When you have her pinned, let me know. I've got the injection here. Good luck, guys.”

  The woman flipped the key and stepped back, swinging open the painted steel door. James rushed the room and Isaac followed close behind. Zinn pushed off the wall breaking for the open doorway to meet the men in the center. Her face contorted as she howled and screamed, lifting her flailing arms into the air. She connected with shoulders and forearms as the two men blocked and encircled Zinn. James dipped beside Zinn and reached for her thin legs. She pulled back, lifting her knee and struck him in the throat. A dull moan escaped James as he clutched his neck stumbling back into the sink. He could see Zinn's eyes turn a bright red color. Two small flames burning as her madness swelled. Her mouth was open as she curled her lips and exposed her teeth and blackened gums. He questioned in his mind if this was the same woman.

  Behind Zinn, Isaac's enormous frame closed in over her shoulders. His arms reached around her chest and she disappeared beneath his white uniform. She struggled against his grasp as flashes of exposed skin popped and oozed out from the white wall. Isaac could feel her cold and loose skin as she fought and clawed against his grip. Her strength was enormous for such a small woman. He could feel his frame giving and shifting with each punch and kick.

  James returned to the melee reaching down to grab the squirming legs beneath Isaac's grasp. “I need you, man!” cried Isaac. “She's strong!”

  “I know!” James could see the strain on Isaac's face as he pulled her legs and stumbled forward. His face slid up her leg and grazed her unshaven patch. His cheek ground against the curled hairs leaving a foul trail against his face.

  Zinn could feel James's face in her midsection and she let loose a muffled cry, “You like that, pervert?”

  “What are you doing?” Isaac cried out.

  “I got her!” James responded. The three bodies tumbled to the ground, sandwiching Zinn in between white uniforms.

  James pressed up against the pile and pulled Zinn's legs back. “I've got her le…” He never finished the last word as Zinn kicked. For a brief instant, her body glowed a dull red and her eyes shone brightly. The kick sent James through the air and crashing into the far wall.

  Isaac could feel a warmth in his arms as Zinn released a primal growl that consumed the room. Isaac watched as James fell to the floor and struggled to get up. His hand reached for his head. He stumbled along the wall in a confused state, passing Isaac on the floor and heading towards the open doorway.

  “Where are you going?” cried Isaac. “I need you here!”

  James mumbled, waving his hand at the room as he disappeared into the dark hallway.

  Isaac was alone still holding on as Zinn fought in his arms. He could not believe the scene he just saw. How could this little woman lift a man into the air like that? He looked back to the doorway looking for help but found nothing. “Carly, we need more help.”

  The frightened woman's face peeked over the edge of the do
or. “I've already called. They're on their way,”

  Isaac looked back down at the struggling woman. He was startled as the metal door closed behind him. Isaac was alone in the center of the room as the naked woman kicked in his arms. He yelled to Carly through the door, “I need you to be faster! I don't have all day!”

  “Let me go!” Zinn cried.

  “I'm sorry, lady,” he struggled. “You need to calm down or I can't help you.”

  “Help me? Help me how? You don't understand.” She struggled and fought against his hold. “We…we are not alone in here.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “He's in here. He's in this room.”

  Isaac's head quickly scanned the room and walls. “Lady, I don't see anything other than you fighting me on this floor.”

  Zinn stopped fighting and relaxed against Isaac's chest. “He's here. I can smell the burning smoke.”

  Isaac's face was confused at the woman's ranting. He lifted his nose and checked the air. There was a distant smell of a burning sulfur match. His feet shifted on the floor moving his weight into a better position. His ears were listening for the muffled voices of additional staff outside of the door. He knew he just needed to manage for a few minutes more and help would arrive.

  All around the room, Isaac could hear a faint ticking sound as if someone was impatiently tapping. He scanned the room but still couldn't see anyone or anything. He looked down to see if the noise was coming from Zinn, but there was nothing. Zinn was motionless as if in a trance. “Lady, lady?” He shook her gently but no response. “Are you awake?”

  The tapping continued. He scanned the room but there was nothing. He leaned back to the door. “Hello? Is anyone out there? Are you guys coming in? What the fuck are they doing out there?” The door was silent.

  The tapping grew and now circled the room quickly before stopping behind him. His eyes opened wide as the room fell into silence. He felt a static popping in the air around him. There was a heavy pressure slowly pushing down on his shoulders. His heart began to race as the burning smell grew. Zinn's head slowly looked up. The fire was gone and her hazel eyes looked past his shoulder. “He's here.”