JC, Kaden, and Sparrow gathered around the Seeing Eye. �Let us see Joey and Michael,� Sparrow commanded.
An image of Michael lying unconscious and Joey scrambling out of a bedroom emerged.
�Let us see Justin and Chris.�
An image of them pounding each other in a heated fistfight emerged.
�Oh no,� JC moaned, �We�re too late!� Kaden disagreed.
�Every spell can be reversed.� Sparrow nodded. �There is a counter spell which we could put into effect, but it�s extremely difficult. Odds are it will wear off.�
�So the odds are against us again.�
�Hey, odds were you�d have died 6 hours ago.� Kaden steadily faded until he became a thin vision.
�Where are you going?� JC whined unhappily.
�I�m earning back what�s rightfully mine,� he said as he vanished.
�Never mind him,� Sparrow replied, �You and I are teleporting downstairs.�
Bright dazzles of light popped before JC, and he realized they were standing in the 3rd floor corridor. 100 ft. away, Chris and Justin were engaged in a miniature battle.
Sparrow squeezed his arm. �There is something I must tell you,� she warned.
�What?�
�Steer clear from Gandor.�
�Why?�
�Trust me, stay away from him. Especially him.�
***
Joey picked up a chair and smashed one of the ballroom windows.
The millions of tiny pieces of glass rose up from the floor and miraculously pieced themselves together. Joey stared at the whole mirror. What the heck?
At least he hadn�t run into any more of those wimps quivering inside the beach mansion. After ramming the butt of the gun onto Michael�s head, he�d sprinted for the front doors. Surprisingly, they were gone.
�Joey�Joey�Joey��
Joey tensed his body, prepared to flee.
�Joey�Joey�Joey��
�JOEY!�
He gasped. A short guy dressed in a maroon ceremonial robe stood at the center of the dance floor. �Nice hiding spot you chose, considering you�re a singer and dancer.�
Gee I wish I�d brought that gun with me!
�Guns do no good against me, unless you prefer target practice. I�m Gandor,� he laughed, �Keeper of Sadness.�
�You�re one of those creatures,� Joey glared, praying his voice didn�t waver.
�I�m so much more than that. Devon! Devon get down here!�
A tall, dark man surfaced beside Gandor. �Can�t you do your job alone?�
�Nalani has performed the spell. He�s more hostile, therefore more prone to fight rather than fly.�
�We�ll see about that.�
Gandor grinned. �I have a suggestion to propose to you Joey. Care to listen?�
�Depends.�
�Lead me to your friend, er, enemy named JC Chasez, and you�ll be rewarded extensively.�
Joey massaged his chin. Perhaps this was his ticket to freedom.
�Follow me. I believe we can make an arrangement for your proposition.�
Chapter Forty-Two
Lance�s shoulders shook with emotion. He�d been sobbing for half an hour now until there was nothing left but dry hiccups to burn his throat.
Kujaur patted his shoulder to humor him. �It must be hard not to know who you are, not to have a sense of self.�
Lance curled up tighter. He hadn�t a clue who this psycho was, but the evil his presence projected was frightening. �Let me go home. Tell me who I am.�
Kujaur leaned in close until his eyes gazed into Lance�s bloodshot green ones. �Take my word for it, it is best you don�t remember.�
�W-why?� More tears spilled over his flushed cheeks.
�Because you were unloved. Do you hear me?� Kujaur whispered menacingly, �You hear? Nobody loves you.�
Lance stifled a sob. �Th-that�s not true.� Is it? Nobody�s rushed to save me yet.
�You should hear your childhood story. You must�ve been born into the worst family in Mississippi. Your father was an abusive alcoholic. Your mother abandoned you as a baby. There was never enough money. You made terrible grades, earned the title as the biggest outcast, and dropped out of school at 15. Your arrest record is a mile long.
Then, a sympathetic social worker, who got sick of babying you, bribed Lou Pearlman to put you in the band Nsync. Nsync is probably the worst flop in music history. Oh, there are a few fans, but they hate you. Call you the ugliest one. Your 4 band mates despise you too. Poking fun at your existence is a favorite hobby. And why shouldn�t it be?�
Lance couldn�t cry anymore because his chest hurt too much. Instead, he retreated into himself. He saw himself spiraling downward into a black void. The Master chuckled as he drank in his despair.
Kujaur congratulated his Oscar worthy performance. Of course he�d just rattled off a whole crock of lies. The real Lance led a charmed life.
Yet, this is what the 2nd quarter of �the Process� consisted of. Once you stole the person�s identity, you also destroyed their self-esteem, making them feel unloved and potentially suicidal.
Lance chewed his lip as a terrifying thought came to mind: What is it like to die?
Kujaur lifted his chin. �Don�t you believe me?�
Lance mustered up courage to be defiant. �N-n-no.�
Kujaur shook his shoulders angrily. �I said nobody loves you! Not your parents, not your band mates, not the fans, not anybody!�
Lance crawled to the end of the bed in fright. Depression started to sink in heavily. Why should I stick around?
�There is no reason,� the Master chimed in, �You�re only wasting precious oxygen.�
Surely dying was more peaceful than living this nightmare.
�You wanna die,� Kujaur coaxed, �You know you wanna die.�
Lance looked up. His eyes remained blank, his body slumped in defeat.
Psychological breakdown, Kujaur thought excitedly as he ran his tongue over his fangs.
�Now,� he rose to the doors, �I want you to think about your miserable existence. Think up 3 good reasons for why I should allow you to live.�
�Remember,� the Master added, �We�ll be back.�
***
�AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! PAPA! PAPA!� Tara wailed.
Nalani slapped her. �Shut up Chrystalis! You helped Justin escape, didn�t you?�
Tara gagged. �No.�
Nalani seized her by the neck. �Don�t lie to me child! Nobody lies to me ever! For that, you�re going to the cellar!�
�NO!!� Tara shrieked. �DON�T MAKE ME GO DOWN THERE!�
The cellar was wet, dark, and cold. Rats slithered along the floor. They�d burrow in Tara�s hair, scratch her dress, prickle her skin�
Nalani threw open the cellar door, poised to kick her daughter down the steps.
Tara felt two strong hands grab her gently by the waist. Nalani felt a shoulder shove her down the steps. �Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!� she screamed when the door slammed.
The same hands that rescued Tara picked her up. She turned to thank her rescuer. When she saw his face, the love inside her exploded. 300 years of praying finally paid off. �PAPA!�
Kaden hugged her tightly, stroking her hair. �Shhh honey,� he whispered as he rocked her, �Shhh. I�m here now princess.�
Tara buried her face in his shirt. �Why did you leave me?�
Kaden kissed her nose and forehead. �Your mother tricked me into believing you were dead. But now that I found you, I�ll protect you. Come on sweetheart. We�re going home.�
Just then, the scent of charred wood floated behind them as the cellar door incinerated to a lump of ashes. Nalani�s eyes were glowing with fury.
Kaden hugged Tara tighter and dashed out of the kitchen.
Nalani was never far behind.
Lance stared at the wall in silent horror. Horror of the black mood that seeped over him. Horror over death. He seemed suddenly amazed at the number of methods used to die.
No! Don�t even dwell on that subject!
Lance shivered. His body grew colder. It�s too dark. The light has run away. Or maybe it was the manner in which the walls moved in his blurred eyes. The house is crying.
Kujaur�s message ran like a shrilly bell in his ears. �Nobody loves you, not your parents, not your band mates, not the fans, not anybody��
His felt numb, as if some force had separated his soul from his body. Why do I feel like I�m plunging into a pit of unspeakable terror?
Vision seemed to transform into black-and-white. He tried singing a little tune, a tune he vaguely recalled a woman singing to him when he was a child. Can�t be my mom. She abandoned me. I�m really that horrible.
He hopped up. �Mom! Mom!� He choked pitifully. It�s mother�s love that is supposed to comfort you during times of fear or sadness.
But Lance was devoid of any kind of faith in love. Apparently love wasn�t made for him. It was made for cats, dogs, kids, and other people, but not him.
Mom�
Lance wept quietly. Preparation for a pre-funeral. No one cares. No one cares.
A crazy urge surged through him. Lance wildly began scratching his wrists, sweating with effort. Pink marks formed, but no blood.
The room swayed. Lance pounded on the door. I�ve gotta get out of here! I�m going crazy! I�m being driven insane!
I�M GOING CRAZY! I�M BEING DRIVEN INSANE!
The only thing he�d succeeded in accomplishing during his wild fit of absolute hysteria was bruising his knuckles. Suddenly he started laughing hysterically for no reason. He couldn�t stop laughing.
Finally the black mood stopped him. Then he started screaming until his vocal cords ached.
Exhausted and full of painful agony, Lance curled into a ball on the floor, whimpering like a 6-year-old.
�I�wanna�die�� he quivered raspily, �I�wanna�die��
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Justin pinned Chris to the ground, forcibly twisting his arm.
�Yeeooww! You�re breaking my arm!�
�That�s cuz I can�t reach your neck!�
Sparrow could tell JC was itching to intervene, but to do so during the climax of the fight was inevitably dangerous.
�You are more than likely gonna get stabbed. That won�t help Lance any.�
JC shook his head. �If I don�t put an end to this, they�ll finish each other off.�
Chris raised his knife high in the air. Justin cringed, for the first time realizing he might perish.
JC, unable to practice any more stupid self-control, dove towards them.
Chris paused and with difficulty, JC yanked the knife away, kicking it to Sparrow.
�Stop it! Stop it! Stop it both of you! This is completely, totally, irrationally nuts! We�re best friends! Wait, we�re more than that! We�re brothers! Remember all the good memories?! Don�t chunk it all!� JC yelled. He continued babbling, for he feared if he quit, the fight would resume.
He received two very peculiar glances.
�Allow me to elaborate on the subject,� Sparrow offered diplomatically, �My ex-partner Nalani placed a spell of hatred over your hearts. Now�� she instructed as if talking to kindergarteners, �I ask you to be still for five seconds.�
She shut her eyes.
�Remove the hatred which has clouded thou minds,
And love though hidden be willing to find,
Remember original emotions from thy�s past,
And peace among harmony be willing to last.�
A sweet smelling gust of wind blew by. Justin and Chris crumpled to the ground. JC quickly became alarmed.
Sparrow sighed. �The counter spell I cast has drained their strength. They�ll need time to recover.�
�Time is a luxury we don�t own!�
�Too bad so sad. Quit your whining and help me lift them.�
JC and Sparrow drug two half-sick bodies into the closest room, which happened to be a porcelain bathroom. Sparrow locked the door. �Using my powers I can put a mental barrier over the bathroom.�
JC tugged her sleeve anxiously. �Hurry! We need to locate Joey and that guy he knocked unconscious.�
�Michael? Yes. Joey? Bad idea. Joey is currently a messenger boy for Gandor.�
Chapter Forty-Four
Lance rocked himself back and forth, shaking uncontrollably with eyes wider than golf balls. He was murmuring gibberish only he seemed to comprehend.
Kujaur shook the Master�s hand. �Congratulations. The 2nd quarter of �the Process� is complete.�
�We�ve eliminated his will to survive.�
�And ruined him psychologically. He won�t be mentally capable to resist the remainder of �the Process�,� the Kujaur agreed.
Kujaur put his arm around Lance. Lance�s glazed eyes looked right past him.
�Hush, hush Lance,� he coaxed, �You will be going from this house shortly.�
Lance whimpered as the Master tied his hands behind his back. The ropes cut into his flesh.
�Here we go,� he laughed evilly.
***
JC fidgeted outside the bathroom door. Sparrow had left to retrieve Michael. That was thirty minutes ago. What was taking so long?
From down the hall, footsteps rumbled up the staircase. Joey and two robed men appeared. �There he is!�
JC�s leg muscles mushed into jelly. The shorter demon stepped forward.
�Ah JC,� he greeted, �As Sparrow informed you, I�m Gandor.�
Stay away from Gandor. Especially him.
�But relax,� the tall one chuckled, �You shall not worry about Sparrow bothering you any longer. Gandor and I intercepted her and�took care of some unfinished business.�
JC exhaled deeply. �No.� Sparrow had almost gained friendship.
Gandor and Devon circled him. Joey smirked.
�Joey how could you?� JC mumbled.
Gandor clapped his hands. JC became suspicious of the strange glimmer in his eyes.
�Pal, Lance is not the only one with past relations to Celtic River. I too once belonged with Kaden to the Celtic River society. Like Nalani, I found life around these parts to be monotonous. The Master converted me, and I�m the culprit who turned in the society members.�
Anger bubbled inside JC�s stomach. How did the thirst for ultimate power blot people�s judgments in such an awful way?
Devon smiled. �Gandor�s son fled from home after the conversion. You are one of the many generations of offspring.�
WHAT? I�M DISTANTLY RELATED TO GANDOR?!
�Fine reasoning,� he replied, �But we haven�t searched for you in order to present a history lesson. In case you haven�t noticed, demons only act congenial when necessities need to be met.�
JC�s heart leaped to his throat. �What necessities?�
�It isn�t fair,� Devon responded, �The Master always wins favor with Kujaur because he credits himself with possessing Whispers. Actually he had a little help.�
Gandor huffed, �By me! I was a senior partner in the enterprise, but once the work was completed the Master lied about my involvement! Kujaur accuses me of being full of sour grapes, so no one believes my story!�
�Calm down!� Devon scolded, �Look, Gandor craves revenge. Unfortunately he cannot carry it out alone. We need your involvement. Don�t understand? To put it simply, the Master is the designated receiver of Lance�s body and soul. We plan to change that. JC, whether you like it or not, you are going to assist Gandor in stealing Lance for himself.�
JC�s knees buckled. �No! Never! I�ll die myself before I hurt Lance!�
Gandor whipped out a gun. �You�ve come to the right place�� He growled.
Devon restrained his arm. �Wait a minute��
�NO!� JC hollered.
Gandor pulled the trigger.
JC screamed.
The gun fired directly at his chest.
BOOM!