Chapter 3
Vesper
Ifollowed the whispers inside the darkness of the forest.
I always clung to the shadows when I lived in the mansion, retreating into the darkness like a phantom. I remained with my mother, cocooned in our own secluded universe. When she departed from the living world, my withdrawal became even more profound, enveloping me in an abyss of solitude.
Going inside the darkness here made no difference. I had made a promise that I would move on and wasn’t this a step in that direction? Was I actually living now?
The gentle breeze pushed me. The lights from the mansion faded. I reached for my phone in a hidden pocket on the side of my leggings to turn on the light, but then I thought better of it.
I didn’t want anyone to know I was coming.
I wasn’t in complete darkness, not with the moon overhead, but the surrounding temperature dropped considerably and not only that, my surroundings were changing.
Mist and fog swirled densely around my feet, curling like ghostly tendrils on the forest floor. The leaves, which should have been clinging steadfastly to their branches, were now sparse and scattered, creating a patchwork of bare limbs against the overcast sky.
I wasn't far from the mansion, its silhouette looming in the distance like a shadowy sentinel.
A soft, dark blue moss carpeted the bases of the towering trees, lending an eerie, otherworldly hue to the undergrowth.
Above me, vines draped themselves in tangled knots, resembling a chaotic jungle canopy, their long, sinewy lengths swaying gently in the damp breeze.
I had walked for a few minutes and I already saw what caused the tire tracks. It was a gardening vehicle with a small trailer hooked to the back. It was left abandoned with supplies in the back.
The voices became louder and the flickers of firelight came from the distance, it wouldn’t be a problem finding them now.
I trekked further south, where more strange foliage of dark red and green covered the land. Some of these shrubs curled up and around the trees, giving great places for me to hide.
I distinctly heard Leo’s voice and several other men grumbling to themselves.
As I crouched into my hiding spot, I noticed a body lying inside a circle, strange lines branched out beneath it. At the tip of each line sat a flickering candle. I squinted, trying to make sense of it—then my eyes widened as the shape clicked into place. A pentagram.
I rolled my eyes and pinched my fingers at the bridge of my nose.
Leo, what have you gotten yourself into? What would your father think?
And that was when I heard Leo’s father’s voice. “I’m not sure if this is a good idea. How sure are you that this is going to work?” Leo’s father came from the other side of the body. I was too busy taking in the scene to notice him.
Gods, he even had his poor father in this too?
“It’s going to work, then we will roll in it, old man. Trust me.”
I rubbed my chest at the betrayal. Mr. Marchant was in it for the money too, the dumb asses. My last shred of respect for the man had gone out the window.
Mr. Marchant hesitantly walked over to the body, careful not to disturb the white trails of the misshapen pentagram. “Vesper did a great job. He looks brand new, doesn’t even look dead. Crazy how she does that.”
Leo hummed and flipped through the ancient book in his hand.
Where did an idiot like him get that thing?
“Yes, it will bring us millions. Can you imagine? For the right price, bring back your loved ones and have them for a few more years, depending on their age of course. We can’t have walking zombies coming around, now can we.
Not unless we have Vesper to figure out a way to tuck skin and make people more youthful.
Or, or!” He wagged his finger. “We could transfer spirits into other youthful bodies.” He flipped the pages. “There is a spell for that, I’m sure.”
I covered my mouth in disgust.
“What makes you think she would do a thing like that? I don’t think Vesper could ever, if she knew we were doing this, she never would have agreed. I told you this was a one-time deal for me son, enough to pad our pockets. We don’t need to be in excess, Leopold.”
Leo scoffed. “You never did look at the big picture. Come on. We need to prepare before those goons show up with the money.”
I lowered myself onto the ground, trying to remain as silent as possible, my mind swirling with disbelief and curiosity.
Could he truly believe he had the power to resurrect someone from the dead?
The body may be just a vessel, as my mother always insisted, but how could he possibly think he could summon a spirit to return and dwell within it?
He’s playing as though he is a God. Nothing good could come of this.
I peeked through the bushes again, the ancient book that was tattered and torn. It was a stark contrast to the Armani suit that Leopold wore.
A businessman conducting magic. It would never work.
Leo carefully placed candles at each corner of the pentagram. Mr. Marchant, with a flick of his lighter, ignited the wicks, and the flames danced, casting flickering shadows on the trees. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed from my right, growing louder with each deliberate step.
The two men from yesterday approached. Thank gods they didn’t have their sunglasses on, instead they brought two suitcases. My guess, with a butt load of cash inside.
The one on the left lifted his left arm and glanced at his watch. “Is it ready?”
The other, more stiffly walked to the circle, placed the case down and glanced over the body. He leaned over and observed the face and nodded. “Appears alive already.”
Leo chuckled. “I told you, Vesper is a miracle worker. His blood has been replaced and he will not die again unless the liquid inside his body is drained. It stinks, so I suggest you bring him back here quickly before people realize he no longer bleeds.”
My mouth dropped, yet again in disgust.
The two men looked at each other and nodded. “This better work.”
Leo turned his back. “I’ve done this three times before on animals. They are still alive. They eat, breathe and even shit. You won’t know the difference. Then you can go back to your lives.”
My eyes widened when I watched as Leo took his place at the top of the circle where the dead body laid. Each person took a point to stand, just as Leo had instructed. Before Mr. Marchant stood at his point, he brought out a cage with an animal inside. It appeared to be a wolf.
“This is the sacrifice we are making. A life for a life.” Leo said with a smirk.
My heart pounded in my chest as I watched. This couldn’t possibly work. He was tricking them.
Leo chanted words that sounded like Latin from the days I homeschooled. The words I recognized sounded like he was calling upon demons to rise and bring back a spirit from the dead. It wasn’t calling for the man’s spirit specifically, though, it was just calling for a spirit.
Was I wrong? Was it part of this enchantment?
I rose slowly, feeling an overwhelming wrong feeling about the entire thing. I needed to stop this.
That was when his voice erupted, booming and commanding, as if the very air bent to his will.
The wind roared around us, a furious tempest swirling around him, amplifying his power.
It howled and raged until it suddenly collapsed with a deafening silence around the lifeless form.
The leaves crashed to the ground like thunder.
I sat back in the bushes to watch and Leo dropped the book at his side.
“Shit,” he spat.
The surrounding men looked on in confusion.
“Something is wrong.” He went over to the cage and kicked it. The wolf inside growled and snapped at the sudden jostle of the cage. “This wolf should have died.”
Mr. Marchant looked from the human body to the animal and rubbed his chin. “Animal life for animal life. Perhaps you need a human life for human life?”
As Leo looked down at the cage a menacing grin spread across his face. The two men that were waiting for their boss’s body to rise looked at one another and crossed their arms.
The tension rose.
Mr. Marchant and Leo were both stupid.
“Father, I believe you might be onto something.”
One man pulled out a gun and pointed it at Mr. Marchant. Marchant raised his hands and shook his head. “Wait!”
A rope was brought out from a bag and Mr. Marchant was tied quickly. It was all happening so fast, I barely believed it. My gasps were quickly becoming sobs at the shock of it all.
They were going to kill him.
They were going to kill a person right in front of me. They couldn’t do this!
Everyone was in position, ready to partake of the spell and the wind blew once again. My hair flipped around my face and woke me from my stupor.
Those words in Latin were spouted about bringing forth a spirit and I grit my teeth. There was nothing said about bringing Blackstone’s spirit. If my translation was correct, it would be a dark entity that would take over the body. We wouldn’t know who would inhabit it.
I jumped over the hedge and ran toward Mr. Marchant. He was trying to wiggle free as the wind rose around us. The moon shone down on us but more mist and fog surrounded the circle.
I knew I couldn’t untie the man, he was twice my size, so I began pulling, dragging him away from the circle to break it. I kicked in on the circle, to break the white lines, break whatever incantation there was.
I didn't know anything about magic but I would do my damndest to try.
Mr. Marchant’s eyes widened when he saw me, and I pulled. He groaned when he fell over and the wind rose around us.
Leo’s voice rose and the other men saw us struggle. They took a step toward us but a loud roar came from deep within the forest.
Thunderous footsteps shook the ground, the wind no longer blew, and Leo stopped the incantation. The body was still laid on the ground while the vibrations of the earth turned into mighty tremors.
The ferocious snarls and the violent snapping of branches made my heart seize in terror. I halted abruptly, breathless from dragging Mr. Marchant, and whipped around to face the cacophony of chaos, dread flooding my veins.
And oh my gods, I had never seen anything like this creature in my life.
There it was, a massive, half-petrified, half-skull-like head of a bull. Its imposing horns, far from evoking the typical image of a bull. It reminded me instead of a demon conjured from the depths of hell.
These horns were long and ridged, arching gracefully over the back of its head before curving sharply at the tips.
As I stood transfixed, its nostrils exhaling plumes of steam that billowed into the cold air.
Then, with a slow, deliberate motion, it unfurled its long, serpentine tongue, winding it languidly around its mouth and curling it against its snout before retracting it back into the cavernous darkness of its maw.
The dense, black fur draped over his shoulders made him look larger, exaggerating his already considerable size. Yet, this visual trickery was hardly necessary, as his broad, well-muscled torso was far from ordinary.
His chest looked like it was cut from stone against the stormy hue of his skin.
Thick, coarse hair cascaded from his belly, forming a wild, unkempt trail down to the tattered remnants of pants that clung to him until just above his knees—or what I presumed were his knees.
For below them, his limbs transformed into the powerful legs and sturdy hooves of a bull.
His thighs were muscular and immense, like ancient tree trunks rooted in the earth.
His tail was an impressive, snake-like appendage, with scales that shimmered like those of a mythical dragon.
The black scales that adorned his back and arms glistened ominously, catching the dim light and casting shadowy patterns across his body.
As he swung around to snarl at Leo, who looked as if he might lose control of his bladder at any moment.
His obsidian claws slashed through the air, tearing effortlessly through a branch that dared to stand in his way. I instinctively leaped backward, my heart pounding as I left Mr. Marchant sprawled on the ground in front of me.
For a minute I thought about leaving Mr. Marchant there but my conscience wouldn’t allow it.
Gunshots rang out and I tried not to look at the creature. It was a mixture of everything demonic and hellish that I could think of.
Screams came quickly, one being of Leo. The beast had him by the neck and snapped him like a twig.
I gasped and tried to pull at the knots until Mr. Marchant wiggled the gag from his mouth.
“Go child!” He yelled at me.
More gunshots and screams from the men rang in my ears.
“I’m old and full of sin for this mess, especially raising a son like that. Run. I deserve to burn in the inner rings of hell!”
I looked one more time at the beast that sat in front of me. The skulled monster shouldn’t have been able to move, yet his jaws opened. Blood dripped from his teeth, his fangs glistening as he wrenched free from a mafia man’s shoulder.
“Damnit, run Vesper!”
I dropped the ropes and, since I could not run past the men to get out of the woods and back toward the mansion, I ran in the opposite direction, directly into the middle of the forest.