Chapter Six. #2
The second part of the evening was a near-disaster.
We were wandering the paths, looking for any sign of the Lavender Lady.
Although there were five of us, I refused to split into two teams. We’d probably cover more ground, but we only had one Callum, and I knew deep down splitting up was a mistake.
As we rounded a mausoleum, I caught a flash of movement.
I placed a hand on Sunny’s arm and pointed.
We both strained our eyes, and then we saw it again. A black, hulking figure moving amongst gravestones and mausoleums.
“Damn,” Callum muttered. “I was hoping that creature was stuck in one place.”
“Not so lucky,” I replied.
“Nope. And I don’t see Lavender,” Callum said, staring around.
Tonight was overcast, and that made seeing things harder.
The gloom seemed denser than earlier this evening, and then I realised…
the darkness surrounding the minion was thicker; no light penetrated it.
Now I knew what I was searching for, it would be easy to spot the creature.
“There,” Chey murmured and pointed. I looked and saw another flash of Lavender and then she appeared.
Lavender was dancing and twirling on her toes as she sang. Her hair flew out behind her, and her beauty stood out in the moonlight that touched her face. Lavender danced toward her minion, cooing and encouraging it. It moved towards her, and then its head turned suddenly, luckily away from us.
“Go feed!” Lavender called.
The minion raced off through the graves as we crouched low. We didn’t want Lavender to spot us. A scream rang out, and I gripped Sunny as he began to rise.
“That’s an animal,” I said, stopping him.
“Are you sure?” Celt demanded.
“Keep your voices down, yes, I’m certain,” I replied.
The creature reappeared and howled at the moon. “Is it a werewolf?” Chey asked.
“No. It’s trying to throw people off the scent,” Callum murmured. “Minions do that.”
“Come to me,” Lavender called.
I stiffened, thinking she meant us, but a glance showed she was calling the creature.
“She looks translucent tonight,” I whispered to Callum, who nodded.
“Because she’s not eaten, look,” he replied softly.
The creature approached Lavender, and she held her hands out. It placed a dead rabbit in them. I winced in disgust as Lavender sank her teeth into and tore flesh from it.
“I’m going to vomit,” Chey murmured. Celt tucked her head into his shoulder so she couldn’t see.
“Fresh, live flesh. She’s a Cambion,” Callum stated as I looked away. I didn’t need to watch her feed. Although Sunny, Celt, and Callum all watched.
“Jesus,” Sunny muttered.
“That bad?” I asked.
“Don’t look, babe, not until I tell you to,” Sunny muttered, squeezing my shoulder.
“No problem there,” I responded.
“Here,” Lavender intoned.
I couldn’t help it and looked over Sunny’s shoulder. Lavender threw the scraps of the rabbit at the creature, who scoffed them down. Blood ran down her mouth, and she was more solid.
“Come,” she ordered her minion.
He fell into place behind her, and keeping our distance, we followed. Lavender skipped through the cemetery with the creature following. After ten minutes, I stopped everyone.
“She’s leading us in circles,” I said.
Sunny nodded. “I just thought that too; we passed that grave over there already.”
“Shit,” I cursed.
“What now?” Celt asked.
“We stop playing her game and see what she does next,” I replied.
“Beware,” my spirit box activated, making us all jump. “Danger.”
“Hello? My name is Callie, I’m a paranormal investigator,” I called.
“Be careful, danger.”
“From the Lavender Lady?” Callum asked.
“Not human.”
“We guessed that. She’s what we think is a…”
“Cambion.”
“Yes. Who are you?” I inquired.
“Over here.”
That wasn’t very helpful. I glanced around and couldn’t see anything. It was made harder by a mist rising and thickening. I heard a bark and frowned.
“There,” Celt said and pointed. Standing in a sliver of moonlight was a woman dressed in black.
“I’ve seen her before, and the dog. They seem to protect people from Lavender. She’s known as the Woman in Black,” Callum explained.
“Hi.” I stepped forward, and the Woman in Black didn’t move. She remained still, with the hound by her side, almost reaching her hip.
“Danger,” the word came from her.
“I understand. Can you tell us anything about yourself?” I asked.
“Widow.”
“Did the Lavender Lady kill your husband?”
“Widow.”
“Does that mean yes?” Chey whispered.
I shrugged; I couldn’t say; I didn’t have enough information.
“Was your husband buried here?” I pressed.
“Leave.”
“We’re here to get rid of the demon. Someone else, just like she controls the creature, controls the Lavender Lady. Any help you could give us, we’d be grateful for.” I faced the Woman in Black.
“Leave.”
“Please, we can’t leave until we’ve dealt with this. Lavender is a cambion demon, and the creature is a conjured minion. We need to know where her sire is so we can send them all back to hell. If we miss him, he’ll spawn another offspring,” I explained.
“Foolish girl. Leave.”
“We’re going in circles,” Sunny said. “She’s not going to help us.”
“No, she seems determined to protect us,” Celt agreed.
The Woman in Black pointed beyond us, and we spun, expecting to see Lavender, but the space was empty. When we turned back, she’d faded with the dog.
“Let’s head over there,” Callum suggested.
I nodded, and we walked towards where the Woman in Black had indicated. There was a copse of trees. They surrounded some gravestones which had been knocked over or were uneven. There was nothing remarkable about the area.
“Is that the cemetery’s exit?” Callum asked and motioned to some gates.
“Yes. Well, I guess that’s why she pointed here. To make us leave,” Sunny complained.
“Shush, everyone,” I snapped and gestured for them to get down. Everybody fell quiet and obeyed. There was a second creak, and we exchanged glances. Now they heard what I had.
“It’s coming from over there,” Sunny whispered, and I nodded.
I peered over the gravestone I was hiding behind and observed.
The doors to a large, unkempt mausoleum slowly opened, and a hunched figure crept out.
As we watched it, it craned its neck and looked around.
It was smaller than a minion, but the blackness surrounding it reeked of evil. It cracked its back and cackled.
Behind it came Lavender without her creature. The demon wrapped a hand around her throat and dragged her to him. He placed his mouth near hers, and I saw her shaking her head. The demon didn’t listen and drank from her. Lavender cried out in pain and denial, but the demon refused to stop.
After a minute, he flung her from him, threw back his head, and roared.
He started to grow, and a stallion formed under him.
A dark laugh rang out as he leapt onto its back, and the horse bucked.
The demon’s form changed, and he became the Headless Hessian.
The stallion reared once more and then began galloping towards the gates and headed for the bridge.
Left behind, Lavender screamed a wordless sound of anger and disappeared into the mausoleum.
We swapped glances.
“Looks like the Woman in Black helped after all,” Chey said.
“I guess I know where we’ll have the exorcism tomorrow. He is powerful; we should go. I will need a lot of rest,” Callum replied.
“Did you see how he morphed into the Horseman?” Celt asked. “Is that normal?”
“Demons can possess someone and manipulate their surroundings. But to change like that is rare. We’re not dealing with a low-to mid-level demon. This is a higher entity, and we must guard against it. Come on, we need to rest. Tomorrow, we head into battle,” Callum stated.
I exchanged a glance with Sunny. I knew there would be a fight later about my attending, but I would. However, I would also ensure I was heavily protected against the demon and its servants. Nobody would hurt the baby or me. But neither could I allow this evil to exist and let it harm innocents.
As Callum said, we battled tomorrow.