Chapter 4: Winter, 1797
The sound of creaking floorboards. The screams of a badly disfigured puppet. There were hundreds of hideously misshapen dolls running at me; their black eyes filled with bloodlust. Before they could tear me apart, I jolted awake. Quickly scanning the room, I realized I was alone. There were no mutilated dolls or disfigured puppet.
"Just a nightmare," I said. "Another sleepless night." I thought I would have gotten use to them by now but they continued to haunt me.
The events of that night were not what they seemed. It's been over three decades, but it felt like it was yesterday. Henry and I had been escorting Juniper and her siblings back to their home after their father's funeral. The cellar door was open; however, Juniper was dismissive about it. Something didn't seem right about this so I decided to investigate. What I found down there was grisly: Jenni's body in the cellar, a claw hammer embedded in her head. Someone had murdered her while we were at the Rosenthal funeral. Who would kill an innocent girl?
I found her sister in the corner curled up and shaking. I carried her out of the cellar away from the carnage. I informed Henry of the situation. He told me that he was going to alert Mary Borne. He borrowed a horse from the barn and hastily rode away with the girl. I walked calmly into the house and went to check on Juniper. Her sister told me she was already asleep.
Henry came back with some constables and Mrs. Borne. She was heartbroken upon seeing her daughter. Jenni's body was taken back into Norwich for burial preparation. Mary, Henry and I had decided not to inform Juniper immediately as we feared telling her would cause her to go mad.
A few days later Henry and I showed up at the Rosenthal homestead per Juniper's request. When we walked inside, we were surprised to see Jenni. She didn't look any different compared to when she was alive. She had placed a finger over her lips as Juniper was packing up for our ritual. She had told us we were about to unlock the Helm as it was time.
Shortly after we completed the ceremony, Tucker attacked us. At that time, I didn't know it was him. Maybe things would have gone differently if I knew this information. It was apparent Juniper was the intended target as the black fog he released only surrounded her. It nearly killed her. She has asked me to fill in the pieces as she only remembered fragments.
Before Tucker tried to kill us, he had placed a charm on the Rosenthal house. To cause confusion and panic. He made us think there were hundreds of broken dolls chasing us, but it was not real. The ghost of Jenni Borne became corrupt by His influence, and there was nothing we could do to bring her back. Henry meant well, but he did more harm than good. By recreating her murder, he made sure Jenni's soul would be attached to this house forever. There are times I can still sense her presence.
I came to own the house a few months after the attack. Juniper didn't feel safe living there and stayed with relatives in Norwich. None of her siblings were old enough to take ownership of the deed. I made an arrangement with Juniper's brother Jerome that when he turned 18 or got married, I would sign the deed back over to him. When the time came, he stated he was no longer interested in owning the house as he had made a name for himself as a blacksmith in Thamesville. He made me proprietor to the house.
There was plenty of work before my family and I could settle there. It needed to be completely reconstructed and with stronger materials. When my brother Cyrus came to help, it was shocking to see the house hadn't fallen into disrepair years before as there was so much rotten wood. It took us two years to finish, but I was happy with the final result.
After what happened, I don't sleep much. Because of this, I resigned as Norwich's medic. Instead, my time has been devoted to studying the rune stones and all occult tomes available. I noticed that the voices from under the house have been intensifying. There's something below the earth…something awful. It's growing stronger, and time was running out to keep Him sealed.
In a desperate attempt to delay the inevitable, I bought a talisman in town today: an amulet. I had read they were a way to ward off evil. But it was only temporary. The shop keeper was surprised when I purchased it. He probably thinks me as superstitious. But he doesn't live in this house. He doesn't hear the terrifying voices that come from below. When I started hearing these voices, my hallucinations amplified. I needed to try anything to alleviate the circumstances.
When I arrived home, my son-in-law informed me of a collapse while building the new cellar. Thirteen workers died in the accident. My nephew Daniel and Henry's son Oliver were two of the casualties. When their bodies were recovered, all of the victims' eyes were wide open. It was concerning to say in the least. No one else seemed to notice. But I had a hunch it had something to do with what was going on underground. I wonder if they saw IT.
It seems the families that have history with this house each lost someone today. Henry and Juniper would visit me often, as if drawn to this place. Over the generations, we've grown close despite the stories of what has happened. After Jenni died, we became friends with her brother Martin and his family. Sadly, he was another victim along with Juniper's cousin Jedidiah. Martin's daughter Stacey had been at the house when we were informed. She was devastated and rushed home to notify her family.
A few days later, we were gathered for a mass funeral for the dead workers. Not our first funeral and something tells me it wouldn't be the last. It was hard losing loved ones, but no one had it as hard as Stacey did. Her mother Emilia hung herself shortly after being told her husband was dead. As Stacey walked to the cemetery, she was accompanied by her three younger siblings. I saw Mrs. Smythe ask her something in a hushed whisper.
"She's killed herself! That's why she isn't here!" It fell silent as everyone turned to see who said such a ghastly comment. Stacey ran out the cemetery, tears in her eyes as she rushed past me.
"Someone should really go check on her," Hazel tugged at my sleeve. "No one should have to be alone to cry. It's so sad."
I knelt down, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You're right, my dear. But she's been through a lot and needs to allow herself to grieve in her own way. I'll go check on her in a few moments. Does that sound good?"
My daughter flashed a smile and hugged me. In the corner of my eye, I saw Juniper walking our way. She looked worn-down. "Here we are again."
I chuckled darkly. "I couldn't agree with you more. How's Henry been with all of this? I haven't been able to check in on him or his family due to everything going on at once."
"He's been coping as best as he can. I can't imagine losing a child and a grandchild. I mean, his health has already been on the decline, but this couldn't have made anything easier," whispered Juniper.
My eyes widened at her comment. "David's oldest was killed too? Shit, I did not know. How awful." To lose one of your children AND a grandchild? The very thought of losing a child was unbearable. It wasn't as though it was uncommon, but it still wasn't easy to deal with when it happened.
Stacey came to rejoin her siblings about 10 minutes later. They made their way to the front of the crowd and stood next to Hazel and I. My daughter reached out to give Stacey's hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance. A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips at this simple gesture. Roughly 10 people down from us, Henry was staring down in the grave his son was being lowered into. He looked defeated and broken. We exchanged a nod of acknowledgment before he turned his attention back to the grave.
The rest of the day went by in a blur. We have never lost so many people in one day. It definitely shook the town, and there was an uneasy feeling that lingered. How the accident occurred is still a mystery, and those who had been investigating were getting frustrated with the lack of clues or information. There were no one around who saw it happen and anyone who was there were all buried six feet under. I had invited the Porter family and Juniper to the house. Hazel wanted me to invite the Borne's, but they left shortly after the service concluded.
"She must have gone home to take care of her siblings. She'll probably come over tomorrow to help your sister and the baby," I said.
Hazel's eyes lit up. "I hope so!" She hugged me and ran to the carriage. Our housemaid, Matilda, helped her climb up. She gave a small wave and flashed me a rueful smile.
The woman has been such a blessing. Poor girl had been close to death's door when I found her. "Been in the country but a few months now. I had heard there were opportunities here in Norwich, so I came here straightaway." She had told me she was grateful to me for giving her a chance. She also said it was good, honest work that left her feeling accomplished at the end of the day.
"Hope all went fine at the service. Well…I mean as fine as something like this could go. It's a horrible tragedy," Matilda said as I stepped into the carriage.
"I couldn't agree more, dear. How's the new farmhand been? He's getting things figured out, I assume?" I asked her.
"He's already finished feeding the livestock and was in the process of collecting wood to get a fire going before you got home," Matilda replied.
Daniel had been my farmhand. A couple days after the accident, I had been recommended a fellow by the name of Tucker Clarke. Turns out he was new to Norwich and skilled at what he did. He seemed eager when I asked him if he wanted the job. When he said he couldn't start until today, I said it was fine with me as long as he arrived bright and early. I had asked him why he seemed fervent to work for me as it was our first time meeting.
"Somethin' 'bout this house just kinda spoke to me. It's like I've been here before. I know it sounds uneducated of me, but it's the truth. Swear on me mom and dad's plots." He ran his hand through his hair, embarrassed. "I do all I can 'round the place. But I should warn you: my right hand has always been a little bit off, but I get by okay." I informed him that it wouldn't be an issue as long as he was able to keep up.
"That is mighty thoughtful of him. I'll have him stay the night tonight. Heard there was a nasty storm coming and don't want nothing to happen to him."
Matilda smiled at my comment. "Dr. Sterling, how considerate of you! But then again, you're the most compassionate person I've had the pleasure of meeting. There should be more than enough food for an extra mouth at the table."
We arrived home as the snow started to fall. It was no surprise that Juniper was already here. She was helping Margaret getting dinner ready.
"You don't need to do that Juniper! You're my guest. Besides, it's been a long day. I'll have Matilda fetch you some tea." I tried ushering her into the sitting room, but she pulled away and continued to chop vegetables.
"I don't mind Ellis. It's a needed distraction," she replied. "Let me do this." She smiled at me, but I could tell it was forced. I decided to drop the subject and gave Margaret a hug.
"Where's your brother? He was supposed to be assisting Tucker," I inquired. I hadn't seen my son Jasper since Hazel and I left for the memorial services.
Margaret shrugged. "I'm not sure where he is, Father. Probably off galivanting with his friends getting drunk off of absinthe."
Before I could scold her, there was a knock at the door. When I went to open it, I saw Henry standing there. He still looked somber, but appeared to have gained some color back in his face. He hurriedly made his way to the fire.
"Thank you, Ellis. David insisted I shouldn't have travelled due to the pending storm, but he doesn't understand. I needed to come here. I can't explain why, but I just needed to come here."
"Don't be too harsh on him. He worries about you and just wants to make sure you're using your head. But you've always marched to the beat of your drum, haven't you?"
I heard a chuckle from the sitting room entryway. "You've always been a stubborn old mule." Juniper winked at him as she sat next to me. "It might sound ridiculous, but I also feel that we all need to be here tonight. I even have the family sickle just in case." She laughed humorlessly. "Can never be too sure with this place."
"Would have to agree with you," said Henry. "Something tells me we're not done with tragedy and mourning for today. On my way here, I saw a strange glow coming from where the Hanging Tree is."
This caught my attention. Before going to bed last night, I saw a bright light from the same area, but wrote it off as fatigue. But now that Henry saw something, this might be worth investigating.
"I didn't think too much of it," Henry continued, "until I heard a strange tittering. When I got closer, the glow disappeared. Granted I was curious, but thought better. The snow was starting to pick up anyway."
"Now that you mention it, I saw a light coming from that area last night. But didn't think much of it as I've been exhausted lately what with repairing the barn, finalizing burial preparations for Daniel and assisting with my granddaughter. But now that you've seen something, this could be worth checking out."
"I just hope it's not a trap," commented Juniper. "I wouldn't want to have another incident like what happened in the woods all those years ago." I saw her clutch her knapsack closer. Dropping my voice to a hushed whisper, I asked if she had the Helm with her. She nodded, and I felt a chill run through my body. I started to shake despite standing next to the fire.
"We will discuss this in a more private setting," I turned my eyes toward Matilda, who was refilling our tea cups. "First, let me check on Hazel."
I made my way upstairs to my daughter's room. Turns out the poor girl was worn out for the day as I found her asleep with her back pressed against the bedframe. I gently picked her up and laid her in bed. Making my way back downstairs, Matilda informed me that Stacey was at the door and it seemed urgent.
"I'm so sorry Dr. Sterling," Stacey sobbed as I ushered her in. "But I couldn't keep this secret any longer. It's eating away at me, and I felt it was the right thing to do." I heard her gasp fearfully as she stared in the corner behind me.
"Stacey, what is it? You look as if you've seen a ghost." I turned around to see what could have scared her, but didn't see anything. I dismissed her odd behavior as exhaustion and led her into the dining room. "I'll have Matilda fetch you some tea to help warm you up. I'll be right back."
When I entered the sitting room, Henry and Juniper were staring at me with troubled expressions. "The Borne girl is here, isn't she?" Henry asked.
Juniper stood up quickly. "Something is definitely going on. No responsible girl such as herself would leave her siblings in the dead of night unless it was something serious." She rushed to Stacey and started talking in lowered voices.
Matilda informed me she was done with her tasks. I told her she was welcome to stay in the guest quarters for the night. "No sense in trying to risk your life in this storm."
She smiled at me, thanking me for the offer. "Dr. Sterling, I wanted to let you know something. I'm sure it's nothing, but I haven't seen Tucker leave the barn in some time. He had mentioned he needed to check on the animals before coming in. But it shouldn't take this long, right?"
I did take note of Tucker's absence. Even with his lame hand, he should have been done by now. Strangely enough, my son was absent from dinner, and he was never late for a meal. I reassured Matilda that I would go check on them and made sure they got food. She yawned and made her way upstairs to get ready for bed.
After giving Henry a short summary of the situation, we headed outside to the barn. The large doors were slightly open which wasn't unusual. The horses seemed to be fine as they whinnied at my appearance. I should have been able to see or at least hear Tucker, but it was too quiet.
"Hey Tucker, you in here?" I called out. No response. I shined my lantern around to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. I saw something move in a pile of straw to my right. When I directed my light that way, I could see it was Jasper trying to hide. "Jasper, what are you doing?"
"Father?" He slowly rose from the straw. He was drenched in sweat and was shaking violently. "Some-something a-a-attacked Tucker. I-I'm s-s-sorry I w-was a c-c-coward!" He stuttered as he glanced around the room.
I gripped his shoulders. "What are you talking about? Where's Tucker?" I heard him gulp as he stared intensely at something from behind me. When I turned to see what he was looking at, there wasn't anything there.
"What is it? Answer me boy!" Jasper started shaking again as he slowly pointed his finger toward the hayloft. When I looked up, I saw a gruesome scene. Hanging up there with his throat slit open and his arms missing was my farmhand.
"What the hell?" I heard Henry mutter as he turned his attention to my son. "Why were you hiding, boy? That seems awfully suspicious…"
I was incredulous. "How dare you accuse my son! Can't you see the poor boy is frightened?" I could feel the anger welling up inside me. Who did Henry Porter think he was making such an allegation?
"Come on Ellis. There was no one else out here! Let me guess…Mr. Clarke cut off his own arms, slit his throat and managed to hang himself?" Henry scoffed.
"B-but it wasn't m-me! I-It was s-some sort of c-creature!" Jasper cried. "It was m-maybe three feet tall. S-short and s-scaley." He took a deep breath, trying to compose himself. "Its claws were long, its eyes glowed red. But its laugh was disturbing. It still sends chills through my body."
I was in astonishment. This sounded insane and while my son was not the most well-behaved young man, one trait I admired about him was that he didn't lie. It was as though he had the inability to lie about anything.
"No such creature like that exists!" Henry snapped at him. "Stop lying boy and tell us what happened!"
"But Mr. Porter, I am telling the truth! It looked like a troll or a small gremlin. I swear to you that's what killed Mr. Clarke!" Jasper turned to me, his eyes pleading. "I know it sounds crazy, but Father…I didn't kill Mr. Clarke. That thing popped into here with its unsettling laugh and attacked Tucker."
As he was speaking, I took note of his appearance. He didn't have any blood splattered on him or his clothing. He appeared to have his dagger in its sheath. There were even a few scratches on his arms as if trying to fight off an attack. If he were guilty, he would have tried to hide his soiled clothes; his dagger would have been out and stained. There were other factors to consider, but I knew my son was telling the truth. The air was suddenly filled with a high-pitched giggle. It almost sounded like a small child's laughter. I looked around the barn, I couldn't find the source. My skin started to crawl.
"Show yourself! We're not interested in playing games!" Henry yelled, drawing his pistol. There was another short snicker before a faint popping sound was heard. I watched Henry make his way to the ladder leading to the hay loft.
I told my son to watch guard over his sisters and Matilda. I didn't know what we were up against, but I wasn't about to put my family further into harm's way. As he ran to the house as I went after Henry. Once I reached him, I saw it. Written in fresh blood on the wall next to Tucker's hanging body was the message:
The collapse in the cellar was no accident. Some sort of creature lives hidden in the eaves. This is bad enough, but worse, there is someone in alliance with it.
Henry was shaking. One look at his face told anyone that he was enraged. "My son…my grandson." He said with a low growl, his teeth clenched. He finally turned his gaze to me and I could see the fury in his eyes. "They were murdered. They were MURDERED! When I find out who did this…" He swiftly made his way to the ladder and climbed down.
"Henry! Stop!" I hurried after him. "We don't even know who or what we're looking for!" Henry always had a bit of a temper, and I understood the feeling he was having. I was feeling a bit enraged myself, but we needed to approach this rationally. "Henry! I know you're angry, but not is now the time to lose our temper. We need to develop a plan to – "
A female scream from inside the house cut me off. Henry and I took one look at each other. We had heard this scream before many years ago.
"Juniper." We raced into the house. There was a second female scream. It was distinctly different than the first. But this wasn't a scream of pain; it was out of terror.
"What the fuck?" I heard Henry gasp. Lying in a pool of blood in the middle of the room was Juniper's mutilated body. Standing near the body and holding Juniper's sickle was Stacey. Her dress was coated in blood. Her expression was a mixture of terror and disbelief.
"Juniper? Oh my God!" The sickle fell from her hands as they flew to her mouth. Stacey started to tremble violently as she backed away from the scene in front on her. "No, no, no, no, no!"
A disturbing giggle filled the room, followed by the same pop sound I heard in the barn. A short, ugly creature stood next to Stacey. It looked just like the thing Jasper had described to me. It had a large grin on its face, its eyes taking a couple seconds to glance at each of us before settling Stacey.
"What is the meaning of this? Who are you?" I questioned.
The creature giggled again. "I am Crebraal, and I am here to make your life a living hell." Its voice was raspy and deep. "Sometimes, you take a gamble to try and better your situation. Ms. Borne was desperate and has signed a contract with me in order to make her life less painful to endure." Stacey looked remorseful, refusing to look at Henry or me. "Sometimes, we have to do horrible things to accomplish bigger ambitions. Sometimes, blood needs to be spilled."
Even though we didn't see her commit this heinous crime, it seemed that Stacey is colluding with this otherworldly being. But we need proof. This is a place of laws after all. It just wouldn't be right to hang someone without first proving them guilty. We will need to gather evidence and then we can deliver justice. We would need to be careful when looking for evidence. I really didn't want to believe that Stacey could have done something so gruesome. However, she was next to Juniper's body and covered in her blood. She was holding that bloody sickle. That alone screamed her guilt.
"I had lost hope and was despondent. Father dying in that accident…Mother killing herself. It was too much." Stacey stopped to wipe her tears away and composed herself. "But I met Crebraal the day of the funerals. It saw me crying and said to not be afraid. That it could help me with all of my troubles. As long as I made a deal with it, it would do anything I asked. True to its word, it turned out to be very helpful. It was do the chores I couldn't get to, find lost items and make us delicious bowls of soup. I really didn't think there'd be a price."
"Of course, nothing comes for free, my dear," Crebraal laughed.
"Gradually, it started making demands of its own. I must be rid of it!" Stacey screamed. "I get it. If I was in your position, I would scream murderer. But I swear on the graves of my parents that I am not responsible. I did not kill Juniper!"
Crebraal laughed at her. "All your begging and pleading is for nothing. I intend to collect on what is rightfully mine." It pulled out a small bottle with shining blue liquid. "May as well give yourself up. Unless you want something to happen to those brats." It then turned its attention to me. "You know she's guilty of murder. She's the one covered in blood. She's the one holding the murder weapon. Just allow me to take her off your hands and you'll never see me again."
Henry scoffed. "I don't believe your claim for a second. The girl can't even handle cutting her finger. She wouldn't be capable of murdering someone, let alone so gruesomely."
The thing chuckled again before disappearing. "Fine, we'll play it your way. But I must tend to another matter. I'll be back for the girl in two hours. Keep me waiting and there will a consequence to pay."
We decided it would be best to clean up and move Juniper's body into the cold cellar. It would be all right down there until we had time to get her prepped and buried. I didn't think I would have to be doing this again, but life can be pretty macabre and cruel. When we were finished, Henry saw the satchel that contained the Helm. He carefully picked it up and placed it inside his own. We would figure out what to do with it later. We had more pressing issues at the moment.
"Before I knew what had happened to her," Stacey spoke softly, staring at the spot Juniper's body had been moments ago. "That thing was making a commotion in the kitchen. It was trying to break that amulet of yours, Ellis. But it didn't have much success. Crebraal became enraged and popped away. I wonder why it was trying to break a piece of jewelry. It doesn't make sense."
"It was a purchase from a few days ago. I read that certain types of relics help ward off evil. The nightmares have been getting worse. Even Hazel has started complaining about hearing voices. It's one thing to mess with my head, but it's another thing to mess with my daughter's."
An idea crossed my mind. I wonder if I could use the Helm to help provide some guidance as to what we needed to do with Crebraal. But the idea quickly flitted as we didn't have a member of the Rosenthal family here to help unlock its magical properties. I did remember that specific detail about needing one member of each family to be present. However, I had another thought.
"Henry. I think we need to use the Helm and ask for its guidance regarding this imp situation." He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. "Yes, I know we don't have a member of the Rosenthal family here, but if memory serves me well, it never said that we all needed to be alive to consult it." Henry and Stacey's eyes widened at what I was about to suggest.
"Ellis! That's so immoral!" Stacey retorted.
"I didn't say it would be pleasant, but we're running out of options here!" I know it wasn't ideal. I was disgusted with the notion. But like I said, we were running out of choices.
"I don't see why it wouldn't work…as morbid as it sounds, anything is worth a shot." Henry stood up, making his way back to the cellar. "Are you two coming? Like you said, Ellis…we need to try anything to destroy that bastard."
Turning to Stacey, I could see she was disgusted, but proceeded to follow me as I ventured into the cellar. Pulling a small table near Juniper's body, Henry carefully drew the fragment of armor from its sheath and set it down. Taking out my hunting knife, I cut my finger slightly. A small drop of blood surfaced, and I went to lightly press on my family's crest in the center. The Helm flickered a flash of scarlet light, and I could see my crest appear in one of the empty notches that encompassed the center.
"It did work…" Henry whispered in awe. "As long as we have a member of each family here, it doesn't matter if they're alive or not. Our future relatives may need to take this into consideration for future usages."
"If it really comes to that. I hope we never have to use this relic again. I have a bad feeling about it," Stacey commented.
Without warning, I saw one of my tomes materialize into my thoughts. It was one of the few I hadn't fully studied. Was this the work of the Helm? I was going to take that chance.
"I believe the Helm has provided me counsel in what we need to do next," I spoke.
We said the closing prayer and meticulously laid the Helm back into the protective casing. Henry placed it back in his satchel as we went back upstairs. I pulled the book from my vision off the shelf and started flipping pages.
"There had to be a reason why this book appeared in my mind. What is it I'm looking for?" I said quietly.
I paused when I heard an unusual sound coming from the kitchen. I asked Henry to check it out. A few minutes later, he came back into the room, the amulet in his hand. "Found this lying on the floor. Felt it was a good idea to bring it here in case we may need it." He placed it on my desk.
As I was about to flip to the next page, the word 'imp' caught my attention. "I think I found what we're looking for." I pointed to my find: The Imprisonment Spell. It dealt specifically with ridding kitsunes, dark elves, selkies and imps. We may have finally had a stroke of luck.
"In order to successfully complete this spell, we needed to have two items that are heirlooms of the prey, a small vial of their blood and a small vial of the creature's lifeforce. We would also need something called The Talisman of Chaos in our possession."
It seemed too good to be true: The Talisman of Chaos in the book looked just like the amulet sitting on my desk. "This would need to be completed within 20 hours of signing the contract with the entity in question. It says here the imp can't do anything to its prey until that time comes."
"Stacey, do you happen to have anything that would be considered an heirloom?" Henry asked. "If so, would you happen to know where those items are located?"
"I know Dad has this map that my Grandpa Borne had designed. I couldn't tell you what its specificity is, but Dad kept it safeguarded and wouldn't allow any of his children to look at or touch it. I happen to have it on me. I was going to ask my cousin Andrew and see if he had any information about it. Turns out he's away for a few weeks." She carefully pulled it from her knapsack and handed it to Henry.
"This is a good start. This would definitely be classified as a family heirloom. Do you happen to know of anything else?"
She shook her head. "I can't think of anything. However, I did find a pair of silver bells on my way here. When I examined them, I noticed my family insignia. It had the initials "T.B." on them. I'm not sure who that is. Maybe it's someone from my family lineage? It wouldn't hurt to consider this as an "valuable" item." Stacey pulled them from her bag and handed them to him.
For the next step, I asked Henry to keep Stacey distracted while I took some blood out of her arm. It went smoother than I thought. We only had one step left.
"We will need to get some of that bastard's blood as well." Henry smirked as I could see he was formulating a plan.
Crebraal popped back into the room when the two hours had passed. It had the vial of blue liquid out and was watching the three of us carefully. "Have you decided to cooperate? Stacey Borne is better off in my possession than she is being here. Or does it have to get complicated? You won't like it if things got complicated, Ellis Sterling and Henry Porter."
Henry got down on his knees and drew his dagger from its sheath. "Does it have to be Stacey? Wouldn't any blood be acceptable?" He slid the blade smoothly across his forearm. "What if I choose to take her place? Would that pose a problem for you?" A thin line of blood surfaced from the wound.
The imp took its full attention to Henry and what he was doing. It licked its lips as it walked closer to him. Quietly, Stacey placed the map and silver bells on the floor in front of her. I handed her the vial containing her blood. She popped open the cork and made a small "x" next to each item. The imp swiped its claw over Henry's wound and sampled it.
"Humans are such intriguing creatures. Noble as your intentions are, your lifeblood just isn't acceptable enough –"
Henry grabbed one of its arms and made a significant gash with his dagger. The creature screamed as lavender fluid gushed out. While Crebraal was distracted with tending to the injury, Henry collected enough to fill the vial I gave him, secured the top, and rolled it to Stacey. She opened it and made a second "x" over the first one. As soon as it bubbled, I handed Stacey the amulet and the inscription she needed to read.
"Aura of Soulpower! Hellfire rupture! Disrupt this wrath upon Terra! Please grant me clarity from this madness! This destructive execration! Retribution of fear! Cast Crebraal back into fire and brimstone!"
There was a gold beam that took aim toward the imp. Strange smoke billowed out of the talisman and engulfed Crebraal. Pitiful screams filled the house as it transforms to smoke itself and was sucked into the talisman. It is gone now. I could see Stacey staring into the amulet.
"I see a strange sight. It appears reality is started to weaken. There are duplicates of us inside the amulet". She stared in fearful awe while explaining to us what she was seeing. "But things are slightly different. I can make out that instead of Juniper dying, it was Henry. I turn it over to see the same scene, except it was my body lying there. One can almost see into other worlds, as if through an alternate looking glass. A looking glass fractured and nearly ready to shatter."
I quickly wrote the incantation that ended the imp onto a piece of scrap paper. I handed it to Stacey. "This may be useful in the future. I feel it is best if you take possession of this amulet. Store it somewhere safe, but not anywhere you sleep."
She looked at me confused. "Why should I be the one to keep it? If anything, shouldn't I be the person to keep it away from?"
I shook my head. "You are the only one to hold power over that creature. Henry and I are getting older. We won't be around much longer. I don't wish for you to have this burden. But if we were to try and destroy it or bury it…nothing good would come from that as it could do more harm."
Stacey nodded. She understood what needed to be done, but still appeared defeated. I knew deep down things were going to get harder before they got better. We were far from being done with whatever was going on here. But as long as we maintain our sanity and continue to make progress, we would be able to prevent more tragedy and chaos. For the first time in a long time, I felt a wave of hope run though me.
