I felt a hand on my arm, “Come on! We have to hurry!” she whispered urgently. The girl had come down the stairs to reach me, and too stunned to resist, I followed. We hurried up two flights of stairs before exiting. She had some rope from the post she had used to smash the entrance door. She used it to tie the handle of the stairwell door to the door handle across the hall, effectively preventing the door being opened from within the stairwell.
“Okay, that will stop it for a little while, but we have to get out of here. I don’t suppose you have any silver weapons on you?”
“What?”
“You guys are warriors, right?”
“What?” She wasn’t making sense. I couldn’t get my bearings. God, poor Danny.
“Okay, look,” she said softly. “I’m sorry about your friend, but we have to focus if we’re going to survive. The only thing that will kill that thing is silver.”
“You mean…it’s a werewolf?” I asked incredulously.
“No, it’s a demon, and the only way to kill it is with silver. We have to stick it with something silver.”
Still breathing hard and desperately trying not to remember the stairwell, I shrugged. I felt sick but the nausea was beginning to retreat.
“What’s your name? Why did you come in here?”
“I’m Jarret. We saw you and saw that wolf thing chasing after, so we wanted to help you.”
“So you are a warrior?” She asked uncertainly.
“I don’t follow you.”
“You must be. If you weren’t, it would’ve been absolutely crazy for you guys to follow that thing in here. Okay, look. Listen to me.” She looked as if she’d made a momentous decision, and she really wanted me to pay attention, because she even grabbed my arm and gave it a shake.
“That is a demon down there not a wolf. They take different appearances when they first form. Mostly they seem to be somewhat humanoid, kind of black cloaked with elongated arms that end with claws for hands, but they can really be anything. They can look like the monsters from fairy tales or human. Not many take on a completely human form though. But all the stories you’ve ever heard about monsters, werewolves, and vampires are really about the same thing, all demons.”
“Demons?” I asked wondering if she was a complete psycho.
“Demons,” she replied. “Look, I know it sounds crazy, but you saw your friend fire directly into it, and it wasn’t even fazed.” That was true. Danny must have fired four or five shots at the thing between the kitchen and stairwell, several times were up close and extremely personal.
“There are those of us, who for whatever reason, were chosen to fight the demons,” she continued. “It’s to prevent the Dark from consuming the Light.”
“The Light? Like the sun?”
“No, it’s more like the Light that lives within each of us. The demons don’t just kill people; they consume people’s souls. Each time they do, the Dark grows stronger and the Light dims. If your friend hadn’t pulled that trigger when he had, then his soul would have gone to the demon.”
“So, you what? Kill demons for a living? Was that a major at your college? Demons 101?” Sarcasm had always been a forte of mine—one reason my dad and I didn’t get along too well, and at the moment, it was the only thing letting me hang on to my sanity.
“Well, no, but when I come across one, then I have to kill it—if I can. I felt compelled to come to Miami which meant that there was one here, but I came upon the wolf unexpectedly in that side street. This hurricane evacuation thing has really caused me some problems. Before I knew it, it had knocked me down, and I had lost my weapon. So I just ran for it.” While she was speaking, we were trying doors in the corridor, looking for one that might be open.
“How did you find out about the…demons?” I asked.
“I dream about them. Look, maybe you haven’t remembered anything yet. Or maybe you won’t ever, I don’t know,” she paused, looked at me, and grabbed my arm again. “I just know that they are real. In fact, I’ve killed two others before this one.”
“You’ve killed others?”
“Yes. One was this really huge, hulking creature, straight out of a 1950s B horror movie. You know, kind of like Abbott and Costello Meet The Creature from the Black Lagoon. It shambled along, and its sheer size and weight was the problem. But it had this soft, flappy, oozing skin that everything stuck to. It was completely disgusting. The other was small—with lots of teeth. You know, I think that the demon’s size is usually determined by how long it’s been here.”
“You mean, maybe they start out small and grow as they eat souls?” I asked her.
“Maybe, I’m not sure. There are some that don’t look like creatures at all. Some look completely human.” She added that in a quiet, thoughtful tone.
“Anyway for trying to help me, you deserve some help in return. In New York there’s the Light House. A man named Jarvis runs it, or used to, for The Foundation for Light, which owns it. I set it up as a sanctuary, sort of, years ago now. Anyway, if you make it out of here and I don’t, go there. Tell whoever answers the door that Diana sent you. Got that? I’m Diana. Ask to stay in the Blue Room. Inside the wardrobe in that room, there’s a safe. Its combination is easy to remember: 5-4-3-2-1. I’ve left information about demons in the safe. Go there. Use it as a home base to travel from if you want. Tell others if you run across them. I don’t mind. You got that?”
“Umm, house, New York, Diana sent me, blue room, safe 5-4-3-2-1,” I repeated.
“Okay, we’ve got to find something silver, preferably something really sharp.”
“Silver?” I felt like an idiot, seeming to parrot what she was saying every single time.
“Yes, demons can only be destroyed with silver. The silver must remain in their body for a minute or so to do them in. I’m not sure why. Some strange chemical reaction I think, because they sure smoke,” she said with a grin.
“Smoke. Ummm, there were some cases in the lobby displaying knives and swords. I noticed them when we came in—some medieval thing. One of them might be silver, I guess.”
“Excellent,” she nodded and headed down the hall.
“Hey, wait. Where are you going?”
“Let’s find the elevator and see if we can climb down the shaft.”
We located the elevator next to a narrow hall table that was holding up several stacks of travel brochures describing the best sightseeing destinations for the Miami area. The hotel wasn’t going to be on my list anymore, that’s for sure. We found we weren’t able to use just our fingers to pry open the doors, and before I knew what she was going to do, Diana flipped the hall table over and smashed her foot down on the end of one of the legs, breaking it off. With the sharp edge of the leg, we pried the elevator door open to a completely black well.
“Uhh, no. No offense, but I’m not going down that,” I said, backing away and shaking my head.
“It’s okay, I’ll go. I suggest you get as far away from that stairwell as you can and find somewhere to hide. I’ll give a yell if I manage to kill the thing.” With that she eased over the edge and started working her way down into the blackness. But I couldn’t leave. I waited, holding my breath to listen as she progressed downward, and heard when she reached the top of the elevator.
“Great…great, great, great,” I whispered, slipping over the edge into the shaft to follow her. She had already gotten into the elevator and was working on the doors when I reached her. Together we exited the elevator and made a quiet advance to the lobby.
“There,” I whispered and pointed to the far wall where the cases were standing. Inside them on display were daggers, knives, even rapiers. Above the cases on the walls were broadswords crossed over each other, shields with lions and flags pictured on them, and spears. She walked along the cases gently dragging her fingertips along the glass, even reaching up to touch the swords. She stopped when she got to the end of the cases.
“Here, help me.” I gave her a boost, so that she could
climb onto the case. It was a spear on the wall that she was interested in. As she pulled it down, the wolf appeared, slinking along the wall from the elevator moving silently, its black eyes glittering feverishly in the dim light that filtered through the lobby windows. The hurricane rain had already begun, I noticed irrelevantly. She eased back down to the floor and stood before me.
“Go. As soon as I engage it, run.” With that she took a step towards the wolf and gave an experimental jab with the spear.
“Is that silver?” I asked her, uncertain if I should leave…it felt cowardly somehow.
“Yes. Now go!” She ran headlong towards the wolf as she shouted, and the wolf crouched and gave an enormous leap straight at her. The spear pierced the wolf, glancing off its ribs, leaving the silver tip sticking back out along its side. It screamed in rage and pain with the spear lodged, but its momentum carried it forward. It smashed Diana to the floor with its front paws, latched its teeth onto her shoulder, and gave her a shake. With her lips curled back, she screamed through clenched teeth and tried to fend off the wolf’s head unsuccessfully with her hands.
Without thinking I ran forward and grabbed the end of the spear that bobbed around as the wolf moved, pulling it back out. Distracted from finishing off Diana, the wolf gave another growling roar and came at me head on. I braced myself, planting the butt end of the spear on the floor and angled the tip to face the wolf. The wolf impaled itself on the spear, the weight snapping it in two. The animal fell sideways to the right while I dove out of the way in the opposite direction. Then as we lay there, it started to smoke! Black spirals of smoke were heading toward the ceiling, and before I knew it, it was just gone! The spear clattered to the floor.
In shock, I crawled over to Diana. She was bleeding heavily from wounds in her chest, shoulder, and side, but as I sat up and pulled her into my arms, cradling her, she smiled at me.
“We did it,” she whispered. “Well done.”
“What happened to it?” I asked as I smoothed her hair back from her forehead gently.
“They always evaporate back into the Dark. I don’t know if they’re reborn or not, but I’ve always thought that they are.”
“The Dark?”
“Go to the Light House, Jarret. You’ll find some answers there,” her voice faded. And then the light in her eyes disappeared, and Diana was gone.
* * * *
I really expected whoever answered the door to the house in New York to think I was a complete psycho just trying to pull a scam, especially when I saw how large and stylish it was. Before I had a chance to finish walking up the front steps, the door opened, and a little boy, who looked to be about five, came out.
“Fine, I’ll just stay outside then until a bad person takes me away!” he yelled and slammed the door shut. But he stopped short when he turned and saw me towering over him. His eyes got really big and round, and I knew that he was thinking I must be the ‘bad person’ he’d been warned of so often.
“Hey, I’m Jarret. What’s your name?”
“I’m Third.” At which point the conversation ended. Fortunately, the door opened and a tall man in a black suit stepped out.
He looked at me then said to the boy, “Third, go to your room. I’ll talk to you later about your attitude towards your mother.”
“Yes, Grandfather,” the little boy said and scurried quickly through the door disappearing into the darkened interior. The man looked at me inquiringly.
“Umm, hey, my name is Jarret. I met this girl named Diana. She told me that I should come here.” I paused at that point because he started looking up and down the street as if he expected her at any moment.
“Diana sent you?” he finally asked.
“Yes.”
“Is she coming too?” he asked looking hopeful.
“I’m sorry,” this is what I’d been dreading telling whoever answered the door, “she died.” But he just looked down for a moment and sighed.
“Well, I guess it was too much to hope to see her this time around. Just out of curiosity, how old was she?”
“I’m not really sure, umm, early twenties maybe or a little younger.” He nodded at the information.
“Come in then. Did she tell you to stay in a particular room?”
“She told me to ask for the Blue Room.”
“An excellent choice.” It sounded as if I were choosing a bottle of wine. “Come, come. You are most welcome, and we will get you settled in before you know it.”
“So you know about what Diana does? Did?” I asked curiously as we entered the foyer.
“Yes, she saved me from a demon when we were both twenty-two. I had just graduated from college and was looking for a job,” he smiled in memory. “Are you a warrior too or just a believer like me?”
“I guess maybe a warrior. Or at least I’ve killed a demon. I don’t really know anything else. She told me that I would find some information here.”
“Ah, yes. There’s a diary she probably wanted you to read. I really hoped that I’d get to see her again. Even though our meeting was so brief, I feel as if I knew her well. There was a connection. I miss her.” He added simply.
“I know what you mean,” I said as he opened the door to the Blue Room. It was completely blue—not one shade, but many. The carpet was darkest, the walls gradually lightened as your eye moved upward and the ceiling was lightest of all. I felt almost as if I had walked into an underwater ocean room. It was cool, relaxing and completely remarkable.
“I hope you like it,” Jarvis said.
“How could anyone not like it? It’s amazing. I love it.”
“I’ll let you settle in then. Dinner will be served at seven.” He quietly closed the door as he left, and I heard his even footsteps muffled by carpet move down the hall. When I looked around, I saw the wardrobe that should contain the safe. Sure enough, it was there, and the combination worked. Inside there was a stack of papers and a small, thin leather bound book. I took it out and opened it, flipping pages and randomly read a few passages.
Diary of Diana
February 3, 1936
I had another nightmare last night. Not sure what it was about. It was all dark and cold. I can remember shivering constantly and the feel of stone under my palms and along my back. Woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep. Drank hot chocolate sitting by the fire in the library.
I guess she dreamed in all of her lives, I thought flipping to another page:
March 14, 1936
Dreamed about him again. He was on a black horse with the wind whipping around, but he was smiling as if he enjoyed fighting against the elements. He reached out his hand towards me, as if inviting me to join him. But when I put my hand in his, I awoke.
Men and horses, great.
June 8, 1936
In the dream everything was shrouded in fog. I was lost and could hear someone calling my name, but I couldn’t tell in which direction I should go. Fear was my constant companion, as I seemed to wander for hours. I woke still tired as if I’d had no sleep at all.
Well, so far there’s nothing really explaining the whole demon thing, I thought, turning another few pages.
September 28, 1936
It was him once more. What draws me to him in my dreams? Who is he? I’ve never heard his name, just seen his dark compelling eyes and that rare, wonderful smile. All men pale in comparison. My mother doesn’t understand why I’m not interested in any of the men she introduces me to and I can’t tell her. She would think me a lunatic. Besides, she worries enough because of my nightmares.
Who was she dreaming about? Why didn’t I have dreams? Diana, the one I’d met anyway, seemed to think that dreams gave her answers, but the diary Diana didn’t seem to have answers, only questions.
December 2, 1936
Mother’s friend Dot told me of a spiritualist, Madam Rosa, today. She says I should go see her, not wait, but run to see her today. I don’t believe it will help, but I am willing to try anything at
this point. I sometimes try to skip sleeping completely. I feel as if I am coming apart, nothing is holding me together anymore. Exhaustion wears me down.
December 3, 1936
I saw Madam Rosa yesterday. She was incredible. She knew about him. I’ve told no one about the man in my dreams. More importantly she told me that I would die soon. Incredible! But with that information she said that I had died many times and been reborn. I need to investigate fortune tellers. It was almost as if she could read my mind.
I’d never really credited seeing the future or mind reading but Madam Rosa certainly nailed it about being reborn. I wonder, and I turned to the last entry.
May 6, 1937
Dreamed of him last night. He was standing on a hill by a tree in the fading afternoon light, holding a bloody sword with his head bowed. He seemed defeated and sad.
Today we are going to meet Daddy’s business associate, Alberto Rossi. He and his family are to arrive in the United States from Italy.
Well, she did die young, that’s true, I thought. Was it the fact that a previous Diana had not known anything about demons that my Diana had wanted me to see? Maybe I’m not supposed to know about them during this life. Well, that’s screwed up now.
Under the diary in the safe there was a stack of papers. Still searching for answers I pulled them out and sat down at a writing desk placed along the wall near the window to look them over before going down to dinner.
* * * *
The Present
It had been close to twenty years now since I’d flipped through that diary, and now here Diana was again. It was mind-boggling. If I weren’t a part of this, I never would have believed it.
“We think you’re the last to arrive, Diana.” I gestured towards the others in the room. “People just started showing up out of the blue, and somehow I thought you’d be here before long to tell us what’s going on. At least I hope you can because no one else has a clue. Come, let me introduce you to Solomon, David and Helen.” I pointed to each as I said their name.
Helen. Wow. Helen was statuesque and gorgeous. If Wonder Woman had been blonde, she would have been Helen. Her china blue eyes sparkled with mischief as she held out her hand to Diana and said, “You are so very young. Have you any experience yet?” Not asked unkindly from her mature thirty with just a hint of a British accent, just curious. I had never met anyone I wanted to know more than I did Helen. It wasn’t just her looks, which were almost unbelievably awesome, but kindness seemed to emanate from her. People felt—I felt, at ease with her as I never had with any other woman.