“This, this was his drug of choice.” He reached into the box and pulled out a leather-bound volume. He waved it in Kim’s face and she was able to read the title. She gasped when she realized it was one of the books from her room “It started with this one right here, this escape from reality. He was so proud. So proud.” He opened the book up and stared into its pages.
“These words…” He gripped the pages with one hand and pulled. Sheets of paper tore themselves away from the book’s binding and he crumpled them up in his fist.
“No, don’t!” Kimberly started to step forward, but a look from her father halted her motion.
“Do you know how one deals with a disease when there is no cure, Kimberly?” He flicked the lighter open and held it underneath the crumpled pages. “Purification. By fire. You burn it out!” The pages caught and he watched them in a fever as they crumpled upward. Just before the flames licked at his fingers, he threw the pages into the fireplace, followed by the book.
Kim choked back words, words that would have made things worse.
“These things consumed him, drove him further away from his obligations, from reality.” Nathan pulled another book from the box and flipped it open. He shoved it into Kim’s face. “These words of little meaning. Their hold over you is pathetic.” With that said, he gripped another handful of pages and tore them out, casting them into the fire. The second book suffered far worse before it was cast into the flames.
“What power indeed. Months, years to compile, so easily cast aside.” He grabbed two more books and tossed them into the fire. “Don’t you understand, Kimberly? You are either the fuel or you are the flames. Those meaningless words don’t protect those books from being burned. Nothing in them is of any real use.” He pulled another book from the stack and shoved it in her face. “Tell me! Tell me what this one taught you!”
Through tear-stained eyes, she could just make out the title.
“That love can be the greatest weapon in the world. Sir.”
He slapped her. She held her ground.
“Oh really? I remember you once told me that you loved these stories.”
“I still do. I always will.”
He hit her again, harder than before.
“Well then, save them! Use your love as a weapon, free them from the flames!” He tossed the book in with the rest. The smell of burnt paper and leather made the room stink.
“And this one?” He held it up in front of her. “Tell me!”
“That friendship is powerful. That risking it all for a friend means everything.”
“Oh really? Go save your friend.” He tossed it in. The fire roared higher than before. Nathan walked over to the fireplace and adjusted the flue. He stared into the flames as they burned away the many worlds of Hal Stone.
“What is their power over you? What is your power over her?” Kim realized that he wasn’t talking to her as he paced over to the box.
“Well, Dad, what is it! Huh? Where are you now?” He kicked the box and it slid across the floor. “Was it really worth it, Dad? Were these fables worth it?” He was screaming as he grabbed the box and held it in the air.
“These things meant so much to you! Much more than a son who wanted a dad to play catch with! More than a son who wanted you to come to his games! Look at them now, Dad! Watch them burn with me!” He tossed the box into the fire.
“You’re dead and gone. You left me a long time ago!” He grabbed his empty glass and threw it into the fire. “You never cared. I accomplished so much and you never cared. You bastard. I will never make the same mistakes you did. I would never ignore my own children.” He turned and looked at Kim. “I always have my eyes on my own kids.” His words rang ominously as he walked over to the chair and lifted up the cushion. He pulled the copy of Elurra’s Journey from its hiding spot and Kim’s heart stopped, ice flooding her veins.
“How long have you had this?” His eyes were full of murder.
For a breathless moment, Kimberly simply shuddered. Deep down inside, she felt a fire of her own begin to burn.
“It’s mine. Give it back to me.” She met her father’s gaze with a murderous one of her own.
“How long have you had this?” He leaned forward and screamed, spittle hitting her face. Somewhere in the house, a door slammed. It was the sound of her mother stepping outside so she wouldn’t hear anything.
“He sent it to me.”
“When?”
“At school.”
“I see.” He leaned forward and his nose briefly touched hers. “It’s the last thing of his you will ever see.”
Nathan turned and cocked his arm sideways, making to throw it sideways into the fire. Kim reached out and grabbed onto the book with both hands. Nathan stopped and looked at her, his tie crooked, sweat under his armpits, anger pulsing under his face like lifeblood.
“Let go or I will hurt you.” His words went beyond promises.
“Try and take it from me.” Growling, she leaned forward and bit the back of his hand. Nathan howled and let go, sending Kim backward onto the floor. She struggled to stand and run; Nathan was too fast. He grabbed a handful of her hair in a tight fist, fresh blood along the back. She reached up and clawed frantically at his fingers.
“You stupid bitch.” She turned away and he caught the side of her face with a closed fist, just below her left eye. She dropped to the floor, clutching the book to her chest and sobbing uncontrollably.
“No child of mine disrespects me.” He tried to take the book, but Kimberly held tight with both hands, her eyes closed. He pulled harder and harder, dragging her across the floor toward the fireplace. When she turned to look up, he slapped her across the face and the book slipped just a little from her fingers. His grip was like iron as he slowly pulled it free.
“I said, give it to me!” He slapped her again and the book slipped some more. With the fire reflected in his eyes, Nathan grunted as he yanked on the book one last time. The binding ripped and the book was now his. He howled in triumph, holding it up in the air.
“You’re gone for good, you bastard!” He tossed Elurra’s Journey into the fire and pumped his fist in the air. Kim tried hard to stand and make her way toward the door.
“We aren’t finished yet.” He grabbed a handful of her hair and started to pull her up. Kimberly screamed in rage, struggling for freedom.
Ip appeared from out of nowhere, leaping down onto Nathan’s arms, biting and scratching. Nathan got a good grip around the little fox and threw him off into a corner.
Kimberly saw her opportunity and took it. She stepped forward and kicked Nathan in the groin as hard as she could. Color drained from his face and his lips curled into an O. Struggling to keep her balance, Kimberly limped toward the door, her eye swelling shut. Ip barked once and she picked him up on the way out. The door closed silently behind her.
* * *
A hateful minute passed as Nathan gasped for air. He struggled to stand up, weak in both mind and body. Even a small part of him recognized that he had gone too far, a part that was quickly shuffled away, covered up by evil thoughts, thoughts about ripping and tearing.
A cool breeze from an open window blew across his back and an icy hand gripped his neck, lifting him up. Nathan turned and fell back. A man in a black suit smiled at him with pointy teeth.
“Who are you?” That was all Nathan could choke out.
“I’m not surprised you don’t remember me. It has been so many years.” This close together, they were the same build and height. “I guess you could say I am the reason you’re only half the man you could have been.”
“I don’t understand.” Nathan was guided to the chair. He sat down and faced the dark figure.
“Allow me to introduce myself.” The stranger waved his hand over at the fire and smoke filled the air. It coalesced behind the stranger who then sat on it like a chair. “I am you.”
Nathan laughed. The idea was absurd and he was drunk.
“No, it isn’
t absurd.” His voice echoed, whispered, and shouted all at once. “You and I, we used to be the same. We had such a strong destiny, a world to conquer together. Our father didn’t want that for us.”
“My father.” Nathan was confused. Between the alcohol and the stress on his mind, he was having too much trouble focusing.
“Yes. Think back, to when we were six. Do you remember?”
Nathan tried really hard to. Truth be told, he had no memory of his childhood.
“Let me help you, brother.” A cold hand touched his own, and images filled his mind. Images of discovering he could fly. Images of melting into shadows. Images of dropping down from above and ripping a human being apart.
“That’s right. He found out.” More images now, images of his father standing outside a circle, one that Nathan couldn’t cross. Nathan screamed in rage, he was nine now and the skin of his hands was black like ink. His father spoke words and summoned fire everywhere, fire that burned, fire that forced Nathan to push his way from the circle, the sensation of ripping apart and screaming.
“He ripped us apart. He ripped us apart and left me to rot in that circle while you lived.” Nathan was back in the room now. “I was nothing more than a shadow, your shadow. And I hid from him in the darkness, waiting to step back into the light so that we could be one again. Make no mistake, a father’s love won’t save us this time.”
“My father’s dead.” Nathan felt a rush inside him, the rush of success, of fear, of everything in between.
“Yes. Now nobody can stop us. We can do whatever we want. But,” he said, waving a finger in Nathan’s face. “You have to want it. You cast me out when you walked from the fire. You have to accept me once again.”
“I don’t know.” Nathan was so confused right now; his mind was murky. Was he dreaming?
“Watch.” The creature stretched his arms wide. Every window in the library cracked and a screeching sound filled the air. They all blew inward, showering the room in glass. “This is our power, just a tiny bit. I am your heart, Nathan. You are the body, and together we can be whole once more.”
Nathan watched the show of power in awe. It felt familiar, and he wondered if all these years the feelings he had now were the ones he had been pursuing. He stood up and stared at his other self, smirking.
“I accept. I want to be whole again.”
“Good.” The stranger rose and grabbed Nathan by his shoulders, and Nathan flinched. “We’re going to accomplish great things. Great things.” His teeth soon loomed in Nathan’s face and Nathan started to fight. “I need you to know something. This is going to hurt you. A lot.”
The sound of ripping skin and screams filled the air.
An Evil Reborn
Screams filled the house, screams of pain, fear, and delight. Billy stood up, his dirty magazine falling to the floor. Was that his dad? Billy ran through the house, tracking the noise up the stairs and to the library. The door sat crooked in the frame; it fell to the floor when he pushed it open. Inside, he saw his father’s back and more than a little blood on the floor.
“Hey, Dad, are you okay?” Billy walked forward and slipped on something. It was like blood, only darker, like it had been mixed with dirty oil. He leaned forward, watching his father.
His father looked slightly taller. It was because his feet were hovering above the ground. Turning around, he opened up his arms and smiled. His teeth were filed to points and when he opened his mouth, there was a second row behind the first. His pupils swirled between gray and black, like they were still being mixed.
“My son!” He vanished and reappeared in front of Billy, holding out a hand. Billy took it, his eyes wide in awe. Something deep inside Billy recognized the magic in his father. Without a word, Billy fell to his knee and bowed. He was now part of something bigger.
Zane was already in the doorway. He watched Billy bow down and gave his dad a curious look. His dad simply smiled and a queer wind rustled through the room.
“Zane. My son.” Zane approached, feeling something in his blood boil. His heart pounded in his chest. He knelt by his brother’s side.
The boys looked at each other and smiled. Something deep inside both of them, something dormant, was waking up.
“Honey?” Nathan’s wife stood in the door, looking at her husband. She had a confused expression on her face, her eyes flicking to the space between Nathan’s feet and the floor. She wanted to leave, but couldn’t move.
“My wife.” Nathan curled his hand and she slid across the blood on the floor, only her toes touching the ground. She stopped before him, motionless.
“Merely a shell of the woman you used to be. I have you to thank for this. My darker, better half has been feeding off of you for years, waiting for the moment we could return to our former glory” He reached out his hands and caressed her face. “You gave me three children. Two boys who make me proud.”
He lifted her up and she started to struggle. Dark fire bubbled up from his fingers.
“And a daughter who disappoints me.” The fire pulsed along her skin and her struggling ceased. She began to age at an accelerated rate. Billy chanced a glance at Zane, saw that they shared a smile. When Nathan set her down, she was just a husk, an old woman who could barely move.
“And now, my children. Let’s unlock your full potential.” He placed his hands on their heads and raised his eyes to the sky. “It begins.”
Fire filled the room. Shadows danced around the room and began to twist and distort in time with the magic.
* * *
Running from the library, Kimberly had passed her mother standing on the back step. Her mother started to protest, but Kimberly was moving too fast. Making her way around the property, she found the long stairs that would take her to the shore.
Halfway down the steps, she looked back at the house. She thought she had heard breaking glass. The moon was rising over grandfather’s house and she used the light to make her way to the dock.
The boat was still there and the oars were in it. She looked out onto the water. The island was invisible from here, so she started to paddle. Figuring it was probably a straight shot, she put everything into it. Ip stared back at the house while they moved out on the water and Kimberly heard what sounded like a scream. She began rowing faster, knowing she would disappear on the water.
Time passed and a mist began rising from the lake. She kept paddling, her arms now sore, but she felt lost. Ip ran past Kimberly and stood off to the side, looking into the night. Getting the hint, she corrected the course until Ip was directly behind her, using his eyes and ears to guide them. The house was becoming tiny now and she watched in horror as it caught on fire.
“Oh my god.” The flames and what they meant stunned her. Had her father completely lost his mind? She debated for an instant going back, but realized that was a fool’s course. Something in her chest tugged at her, though, an irrational compulsion. She fought it easily, buoyed by her hatred. She continued to paddle.
“Kimberly!” It was a shout that knocked the mist from the water, a shout of many voices. She recognized it right away and turned around. The island was in view and closing fast. She wasn’t quite sure what optical illusion made it invisible from the shore, but she was happy that it was.
The voice called her name again and she fought the urge to call back, to let the voice know she was here. What was wrong with her?
Ip growled at her and she shook the cobwebs from her head. She made her way up to the beach, pulling the boat as far ashore as she could, and ran up the cobblestone path. Ip was with her the whole way.
The voice was echoed by two other voices. Something else was looking for her now. She reached in her pocket for the key and turned it in the lock. Dashing inside, she closed the door behind her and locked it.
She wandered blindly for a moment when the lights came on by themselves. After her eyes adjusted, she walked up the stairs slowly, knowing nobody would find her out on the island. Ip seemed inexplicably rushed
and kept turning around to bark at her from several steps up. Her adult mind informed her that even though the island’s highest point was only fifteen feet tall, she had already ascended four or five stories. Shaking her head, she could only acknowledge that things were no longer what they seemed.
As she climbed, she swore she felt somebody holding her hand. It was warm and familiar and it didn’t matter to Kimberly what the source was. She squeezed back and pretended that her grandfather was once again making the trip with her.
Her legs burned from the long climb. Summiting the stairs, she walked into the great domed room, the artifacts still where they had been, and smiled. This was a place unsullied by her father. In the middle of the room, she saw the sword in marble. Walking closer, she frowned.
The sword wasn’t Willow at all. Willow, in the stories, had been described as the life force of nature personified in a weapon that was both wood and metal. Vines twisted around the hilt of Willow, and the sword would cling to its wielder.
This sword was different. Up close, she saw markings on the blade and handle; other than that, the blade was ordinary.
She wandered around the room, taking her time. Ip followed her, temporarily complacent. She looked at various items and pulled a few down to inspect them. There were enchanted rubies, fine chainmail, everything a fantasy writer would ever talk about. She smiled at Ip.
“It’s too bad Grandfather never wrote about anything like lembas bread, huh Ip?” Ip answered with a little bark and walked away. Kimberly had no food to eat and she was getting hungry.
What should she do now? Looking around the room, she realized that she didn’t have a clue what to do next.
* * *
Nathan was angry. He stood outside the burning home and scanned the lake with eyes that no longer distinguished between night and day. Below him, his sons shuffled around on the shore, looking for their sister.
He needed the girl. She had something that belonged to him, something he wanted back. His sons had given it willingly and had been amply rewarded.
It was obedience he desired.
A robed figure appeared behind Nathan, its features obscured.
“The boat is missing, Father.”