9:8
Jack raced toward the exploding cloud at full speed. The huge blasts of rippling color became brighter as he neared. He hit the outer energy and a biting charge filled his astral body. The pain clamped down and around him. The static was so intense he lost consciousness as his energy imploded into a small glowing sphere.
When his momentum came to an end, he was farther inside the cloud that he�d ever been. Astral lightning danced and snapped around him in growing flashes. It vibrated faster and faster. The white-hot bolts broke apart, creating tiny hair-like streaks. The jagged light was gaining in vibration and speed.
Then, it released.
The shot sounded a thunder that shook the sky. The astral energy blasted out of the cloud like a cannon ball. The blur was an ethereal comet ripping down to Earth. God�s aim had been true. Jack was headed straight for his mortal body, for Killien. The impact would announce the beginning of the final battle.
God and Lucifer.
Divine and evil.
Jack and Killien.
The dark messiah had attacked all of creation with a rage that had threatened to consume it. But the rage was no longer his alone. The creator had just entered the fray. Armageddon was on, and God had just opened fire.
9:9
Killien stepped up and hit Sally across the jaw with the butt of the pistol. She fell into the shadows screaming.
He walked slowly, �It looks like you�ve taken care of Grandma real good, don�t it Sal?�
He kneeled down to Linda, picked up her wrist and dropped it to the floor. It landed with a thud.
�I don�t think she�s goin� anywhere, do you?�
Sally crawled up into a dark corner. Killien smiled into her shadow.
�How did it feel, Sal, to take a life? Wasn�t it glorious?� he stood up, �Shooting someone isn�t as personal as I like to get�but, whatever it takes to get the job done, right?�
Sally didn�t say a word. Her panic would barely let her breathe. She pushed into the empty corner and stood up, scraping against the wall. She wanted to run but Killien was standing in the center of the room. There was nowhere to go. She had seen the spirit world that Jack had shown her. Death wasn�t the end. Being dead didn�t scare her as much as the way Killien intended to get her there. It was the pain that horrified Sally. She stepped up shaking, out of her black corner. If she was going to die, she wanted him to have a clear shot.
She managed a few wobbling words, �If you�re gonna kill me, then do it.�
He was surprised, �Brave little Sally. My oh my.�
Do it you bastard.
He lowered the pistol, �It�s not so easy Sal. Not by a long shot.�
He squatted and reached down, picking up the knife.
Standing he whispered, �Where would you like it Sal? Your choice.�
Outside crackling blast of thunder filled the sky. The surrounding area sizzled with static. They felt it in the house, the electric charge. Killien paused, cocking his head.
Jack blasted down from the sky, through the roof and into Killien. The two energies splashed together in a blinding astral collision. Searing pain thundered through the impact. It was a lifetime of agony in one, horrifying moment. The invisible explosion pounded the room with deafening static. The grinding sound was like bees buzzing over a loud speaker.
The static charge sent Sally flying backwards.
She hit the hard floor yelling, �Jack!� as she covered her ears.
The powers had separated into sloshing yellow-black pools. Jack�s mortal body was thrown to the floor limply. When the momentum subsided they were lazily drifting liquid, defying both gravity and time. The spiritual shrapnel floated in slow motion and to each, seemed to last forever. The color began to soften, finally, as the separated pools started to find each other.
When the last glowing peace joined with Jack he took on a human like shape once again. He looked down at Sally on the floor. He saw Killien�s energy still trying to gather itself. He dropped down into his body quickly. There wasn�t much time. His body jerked alive as he took control once again. He sat up with muscles aching. He could taste the blood in his mouth. The pressure behind his eyes was tremendous. It was the worst headache he�d ever had, but he couldn�t concern himself with that now.
Sally was behind him on the floor. She was dazed. Her skin was still tingling.
�Sally!�
She slowly got to her feet.
�Jack?�
�The ritual! Do it now!�
The book was lying on the floor. He scooped it up and opened the front door. Wind and snow blasted in, swirling around and through the huge entity trying to collect itself. It glowed brighter red with each hazy cloud that re-joined with it. Sally followed Jack outside. He dug deep in his pocket for the necklace. The purple velvet box fell into the snow when he pulled out the talisman. He stopped at the little tree in the middle of the front yard. Turning, he gave the necklace and book to Sally.
�Do it now, quickly. Just like we talked about in the car.�
She kneeled down onto the freezing snow. She was shivering as she flipped through the chapters. Pulling a silver Zippo lighter from her pocket, she clicked the flame alive. The pages illuminated with a dim, yellow glow. She bent down over the lighter to try to protect the flickering light from the storm�s howl. Jack ran around Sally and the tree, stopping about ten feet further in the yard. He turned and yelled to her.
�Say the last line when you see the impact!�
She squinted at him.
Impact? What impact?
He saw the confusion in her face, �Don�t worry, You�ll know.�
�Oh God, Jack. I don�t know, I��
�I trust you Sally. Just do it.�
He looked behind him into the swirling sky, �I�ll be right back.�
Right back? Right�Oh shit!
She knew what had happened moments before, the last time he said that. She flipped to the back of the book. Running her finger down the page, she found it.
Killien�s energy screamed and snapped with fiery rage. He blasted out into the yard. He looked down at her. He knew what she was doing.
I should have killed you when I had the chance.
She couldn�t see or hear him. She began the ritual, raising the stone bird up to the tree, calling out the first magical words.
�See flothica dose can day!�
The blood in the vial glowed red-hot and swam in violent circles. The etheric energy expanded out in a great yellow light and washed over the whole tree. The edge of the energy went up Sally�s arms and over her face. She could feel it pushing at her soul, as well as the astral matter in the tree. Her spirit was just outside of her flesh, vibrating. It was far enough out that she could see the astral realm, and the physical one with her mortal eyes, at the same time. She could see him. Killien�s huge cloud was staring at her, boiling.
Fuck!
She tried to sound out the next line. Her words wobbled in icy cold terror. �Wha�Whatha��
Keep it together, Sally. She thought to herself, You can be scared later.
Killien approached her.
He has no power over you. Do what you�re here to do.
He hovered down close to her shivering body. She shrieked, jumping backward and fell into the snowdrift behind her when he screamed in her face. The rasping howl echoed over the yard and across the street. He looked over and saw Jack�s body lying in the snow.
His face whipped around toward her, seething, Be right back, sweets.
She saw him go to the body.
Oh, shit!
She had to hurry. Pulling herself up onto her knees, Sally continued the ritual where she had left off. With the next line spoken, the white glow inside the three pushed up and out, into the air above. Her eyes scanned over the last words in the ritual. Killien stood up in Jack�s body, smiling at her. She could see the dense red energy popping at the edges.
He walked to her with powerful, dark purpose, �Alright you little whore, you�ve been a thorn in my side long enough. Time to die.�
His fists were clenched.
Her scream, �Nooo!�
He stomped over to the kneeling woman and kicked her in the chest. The bottom of the hard-soled boot felt like a brick striking Sally�s sternum. With the air knocked out of her all she could manage was laying on her side, heaving to fill her lungs. The bitter, icy snow soaked into her clothes as she struggled.
He stood over her, watching her push up onto her knees. Grabbing a handful of Sally�s hair, he pulled her up. The panic in her face pleased him as his hands wrapped around her neck. With wide eyes she scratched and kicked at him. It felt like a vise around her throat. Her vision was blurring. She dug her fingernails into his forearms, pulling against the thick grip. Jack�s fingers only got tighter around her throat.
Can�t breathe�
The world tunneled in around her until all she could see was his face. Blood stood in his eyelids, running down over the clammy, pale cheeks. His cracked lips were smiling at her, exposing the darkened gums and red stained teeth. Thick veins sat pumping, just underneath the skin on his face. Sally stared into Killien�s bleeding eyes. A snapping energy illuminated the devil�s face. The glow made the pale skin bright red, while the pouring blood was flowing black as oil.
Sally�s strength fell away from her. Her arms dropped limply to her sides. Her suffocation was nearly finished. She could only stare blankly at death as it squeezed her life away. The end of the black tunnel was fading. Only a small light remained.
It was not the crimson blur of Killien�s spirit. This light was blue. It was getting bigger. A ripping vibration came with it.
He could feel it too. He turned his head to look.
Over his shoulder, in the sky.
A comet.
A rocket.
Jack.
Killien only caught the slightest glimpse of the approaching light before the ethereal bullet struck. The ball of astral lightning ripped through Killien like a shotgun blast, ripping him into glowing shrapnel. Sally fell off her knees backwards into the shimmering snow. She gasped for air.
�Jack!�
She couldn�t see him. He was gone.
Got to finish it.
She crawled over to the book and wiped the snow off the page. Breathing heavily to catch her breath, she forced out the final words. The nearby floating strips of energy glowed brightly. They cycled closer and closer, burning white hot. An enormous crackling streak of lightning exploded into the tree. The remaining nearby pieces of ethereal mass sucked into the center of it.
The light faded and the dark shadow of night once again dominated the yard. Sally felt her spirit settling back in as her astral vision disappeared. She went to Jack�s body. It was motionless.
�Please Jack, come back.�
Her tears ran unnoticed down her numb cheeks, �Please.�
She went back over to the necklace.
I�ve got to find him.
She pulled it up out of the drift.
A voice behind her.
�Sally?�
His eyes were open. He rolled over spitting blood out of his mouth.
�Jack!�
The power locked inside the little tree raged against its new prison. It was now blind to the mundane world. The terrible pressure inside the thin branches vibrated. Killien was screaming in pain.
copyright �2002 Brian Holtz
All rights reserved