Just on more time, I have to warn y'all there is a fairly gory scene in this chapter.

The Spirit

Death is something no one ever really thinks about. It certainly didn't occupy much space in Greta Hayes's mind. She, like most of us, acknowledge that someday she will die; after all what is the value of life if it doesn't end at some point? But the nature of death, how she'd die, where she went after, she never really bothered to think about it.

Greta believed in God. Her parents took her to church every Sunday and had the idea of Heaven and Hell pounded into her skull since she was a child, and she always believed that if she was a good girl, she'd go to Heaven at the end. Of course that was when she was little. The older Greta got the more she thought, the more she thought the more she began to doubt her beliefs. Not so much the existence of some kind of God; but Heaven and Hell, angels and demons: they quickly just became fairy tales people told to scare the gullible into accepting faith.

When Greta's parents died, she at the very least accepted the idea that there was some kind of afterlife, if only to comfort herself. She was able get through the grief by focusing on her school work and her chores around the family farm.

Greta's brother, Billy, on the other hand didn't take things as well. He was never the most out going people in the world, but after their parent's death he seemed to withdraw further into himself. He technically owned the farm now since he was the oldest Hayes, but that just seemed to depress him more.

"Come on lazy butt," Greta taunted as she ruffled her older brother's hair, "Do you really have time to sit around smoking? Speaking of which..." She takes the cigarette out of his mouth, "What have I told you about these things?"

Billy takes it back, "That they make me look cool and dangerous?"

"Oh yeah? And how cool will you look when you're forty and breathing through a hole in your neck?"

"Eh, who has time to think that far in the future?" Billy said flashing a charming grin.

Greta shakes her head and sits next to her brother, "Which brings us back to you sitting here wasting time."

"Greta," Billy began, finishing off his smoke and flicking the bud away, "Don't worry about it. I already did all the morning chores."

"Really?" She gave her brother an incredulous look. "Did you feed the chickens?"

"Nice and fat."

"Milk the cows?"

"It's in the fridge."

"Bail the hay?"

"And stacked it."

"Paint the fence?"

"No..." Billy looked at Greta confused, "But that was Jessie's job, not mine."

"Jessie's out sick today. I divided up his chores between everyone else, remember?"

"Oh, right..."

"Billy, is everything okay?" Greta asked, putting a concerned hand on Billy's arm, "You've been really forgetful lately."

The older Hayes runs a hand through his long brunette mane sighing heavily. "I don't know. I've just been having a hard time concentrating ever since..."

"...Mom and dad?" Billy just looked down. "I know how you feel, big brother. I'm honestly not totally sure what I'm doing here. I'm doing my best to keep this place running by thinking about what mom would do...But I'm only sixteen. Why do you think I keep asking the farmhands if I'm doing a good job?"

Billy shook his head, "No, that's not it. At least not all of it."

"So what is it?" Billy just keeps his head down, not looking at his sister. Greta sat with Billy for some time before clapping her hands together, "Alright big brother, what you need is to take your mind off things. I was gonna head into to town and pick up some things. Wanna come with?"

"I don't know, Greta."

"Well I do. So let's go!" The younger Hayes grabs her brother and drags him to the old Pickup parked near the main house.

Greta and Billy's hometown was like a lot of other small farming communities in the country. It only has a population of a thousand or so, the usual family owned shops and markets. It wasn't anything special but the people who lived there were happy.

Greta had to run errands for the most part. After picking up a few odds and ends for the farm, instead of heading back home, Greta stops in front of the local book store. "What are we doing here?" Billy asks.

"To buy a book?"

"I figured."

"So why'd you ask?" Greta asked with a smirk. Billy's unimpressed glare just made her start giggling. "Look, when I'm upset or depressed about something I like to read. It helps me take my mind off of things."

"And you think it'll help me?" Billy asked raising an eyebrow.

Greta shrugged, "I don't know, maybe. I mean it's either this or pot." When he seemed to actually consider the option, "You can't smoke pot, Billy!"

"Alright, alright." He chuckled lightly, "Fine. Let's try this. Who know, it might help." The two Hayes exit the truck and enter the small store. It was a quaint little neighborhood store with a relatively small selection, but what it did carry was pretty good. At least in Greta's opinion. The younger Hayes made a beeline for the romance section as always while Billy roamed through the store, looking for something that grabbed his attention.

He looked through the mystery section, fantasy, sci-fi, even joined his sister in romance for a minute or so. Just when he was about to give up and wait for Greta in the truck, Billy walked by the history section and caught sight of a book with a pentagram on the spine. Curious, he picked the book up and flipped through it for a minute. It turned out to be some kinda spell book, containing pages on how to perform numerous magical spells and rituals. And the way the author described the rituals and how they are performed made it all seem real.

Billy was so enraptured by the tome he failed to notice his sister walking up behind him. "Hey Billy."

The older Hayes was so startled he dropped the book, "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Uh, sorry..." Billy picked the book back up and continued to read though it. "What are you reading?"

"I think it's about magic. Like, real magic."

Greta just scoffed, "Seriously? You believe in that stuff?"

"You don't?" Billy asked incredulously, "With people like Wonder Woman, and Captain Marvel, and Zatanna running around?"

"Oh please. Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel are probably just aliens like Superman."

"And Zatanna?" Billy asked closing the book.

"She's a stage magician." The younger Hayes exasperatedly said. "It's all just tricks, like Batman. Or do you think there really is a vampire beating up criminals in Gotham?"

Billy just rolled his eyes, "Well, whatever. You wanted me to find a book, and I found a book. Can we just go?"

"Fine..." Greta said with a sigh. She and Billy walked to the front of the store to make their final purchase. "Well I find something great today too."

"Let me see." Billy said, pulling Greta's book out of her hands against her protests. "'The Lion's Mistress'? If you keep reading these sappy romance novels your brain's gonna turn to mush."

Greta ripped the book out of her brother's hands, "Hey, don't give me crap about my reading choices Harry Potter."

The siblings playfully bickered until they got to the front desk. "Greta, another love story I presume?" The store owner, an elderly man named Oscar, said with a warm smile as he took Greta and Billy's books.

"You know it. And this is my brother Billy." She gestured to Billy standing next to her. Billy nodded, but said nothing.

"Good to meet you son." Oscar held his hand out and shook Billy's, then went about price checking the two books. "'The Lion's Mistress'. I've heard good things about this one. I'm sure you'll like it." He then took Billy's purchase and froze when he looked at the cover. "Son...Are you sure you want this book?" He asked an odd sort of barely restrained giddiness in his voice.

Billy and Greta glance at each other for a moment, "Uh, yeah...I guess?"

"Ah...good, good. I've been trying to unload this thing for a good while. I'll even give you a fair discount." Oscar said a bit too eagerly. Billy and Greta paid for their books and left the store feeling strangely off-center.

"Is that clerk guy usually like that?" Billy asked on the ride back to the farm.

"No," Greta answered, her brow furrowed in slight confusion, "There was definitely something about Oscar today. Maybe you shouldn't have bought that book."

Billy smirked, "So what, now you think the book is magic?"

"No, I don't think the book is magic." Greta scowled while keeping her eyes on the road, "I just...I don't know. I get this weird feeling from it, okay?"

"Hey, I get it." The older Hayes gently rubs on his little sister's shoulder. "Truth be told, I kinda get a weird feeling from this thing to. But what can I say: I'm curious."

"And things never go wrong because someone was curious." Greta muttered under her breath.

"Look, Greta, whether magic is real or not..."

"...Which it isn't."

"...What are the chances that I of all people could get it to work? My interest in this stuff is just...y'know...Academic."

"If you say so." The rest of the car ride was in silence, but Greta couldn't shake the sense of foreboding from the supposedly magical tome.

Over the next few weeks there had been a noticeable change in Billy's mood. He wasn't as forgetful, he actually did double his work load without being asked, and he often times finished his chores much faster than usual. Much of the melancholy that had been affecting him since their parents died seemed to dissipate.

But he was also more withdrawn than usual. He talked to Greta, but not for very long and never about anything of any real consequence. Most of the time when the work day was done he'd head straight to his room and lock the door behind him. Every once in a while when Greta walked by his room she'd hear Billy chanting something. He could be praying, but she couldn't hear all that well. He also went out most nights but refused to tell Greta where he was going. She was tempted to follow him more than once, but she wasn't about to invade her brother's privacy.

Despite his newly developed secrecy, Billy did seem happier so Greta didn't feel she had the right to complain. But the sense of unease she felt when Billy bought the magic book had never gone away. In fact it only seemed to get stronger as time passed. Eventually Greta did try to bring her concerns to Billy, but he just brushed them off and quickly changed the subject.

Billy's odd behavior continued for more than two months until he knocked on her door early in the morning. The incessant knocking forced Greta out of bed to face her strangely up-beat brother. "Billy? What are you doing, it's not even five yet." She groaned her eyes barely able to focus on the faint, blurry form of her brother.

"Sorry, little sis. I just had something to tell you and it couldn't wait. Believe it or not I actually learned something from that book I bought a while ago."

"You can't be serious." Greta said shaking her head with a tired smile.

"I know how you feel about this magic stuff. But there's something I want to show you and I could only do it today."

"Let me guess..." She said with a yawn, "...Because tonight is a full moon?"

Billy just rolled his eyes, "Laugh all you want. Just come to the barn around ten. Alright?"

Greta thought about it for a moment before shrugging, "Alright, sure. I can get a good laugh when nothing happens."

"Ha ha. Funny." Billy turned to walk down the hall back to his room, "And wear something nice."

Greta sighed contently as she leaned against the doorframe. Whatever Billy had planned for tonight, maybe they'll have an opportunity to actually talk. She was still worried about him and this could be the best chance to understand the changes in Billy. She glanced at the alarm clock near her bed. It was only a few minute until she usually got up. She shrugged and shuffled towards the bathroom to start her day.

The day passed like any other. Nothing that would suggest anything special or unusual was going on. That night Greta did as her brother asked and dressed in one of her best dresses along with a pendent her parents gave her on her last birthday. It was getting colder so she added a light-blue shawl and head towards the barn.

Greta entered the barn just as Billy asked her to, and was shocked and horrified to see two of the farmhands lying on the floor in pools of their own blood. Greta felt the instant urge to throw up after seeing her friends slaughtered. She was so scared she couldn't even scream right away. Not until she backed into a solid body which held her down with one strong arm. Greta screamed and thrashed until her captor pressed a chloroform dowsed rag onto her nose and mouth. Greta was only able to struggle for a few more seconds before she passed out.

She wasn't sure how long she was asleep, but eventually Greta woke up to the sound of Billy saying something in a language she didn't understand. Once she was a little more aware of her surroundings she also realized she was tied to the floor of the barn with her arms and legs stretched into a cross. She was lying in the middle of a pentagram that she hoped was made with red paint.

"Oh, you're awake." Billy walked into Greta's line of sight holding the spell book.

"B-Billy? W-what's going on? What are you doing?"

"I told you Greta," He said with an inappropriately kind smile. "I wanted to show you something. You see, this book has taught me so much in such a short time. You were wrong, by the way. Magic is very real." As he said this, Billy levitated a small knife on a table into his hand.

Greta followed the knife through the air with her eyes in awe and fear. "Wha...?H-how?"

"It wasn't easy, but I had help. Turns out there was more to Oscar than a simple small business owner. He's studied magic for decades, but he was getting older. He put this book on the shelves hoping someone would come along and continue his studies."

"What are you gonna do? Why am I tied up like this?"

Billy opened the book and flipped through a few pages, "Magic isn't the easiest thing in the world to learn. It takes years to master certain spells, but I have learned to achieve small feats. There is, however, a way to obtain unimaginable power. And all I need to do is sacrifice my closest loved one."

Greta's eyes widened in horrified shock, "Billy, you can't be serious."

"I'm afraid I am, Greta. I was lost after mom and dad died. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life; I just knew I didn't want to spend the rest of it on this farm." Billy kneeled down next to Greta. "But when I found this book; I found my destiny. I know who I am, and who I'm supposed to serve. And I owe it all to you." He stood, re-opened the book, and began reading from it while circling Greta.

Whatever language he was speaking Greta didn't understand a word of it. As he read, the pentagram began to glow. After finishing the incantation, Billy stood over Greta with the knife in his hand. "Only one thing left. Just know I truly do love you Greta." He kneels down again and raises the knife high.

"Billy, please! Don't! Please!"

Billy plunges the knife into Greta's chest. She screams and pleads for Billy to stop as he craves the knife through her sternum. Blood gushes from the young girl's chest as her brother apathetically opens her up. After the most excruciating pain imaginable, Greta stops screaming and her head lulled back; the lights leaving her eyes.

Once her chest was opened enough, Billy reached in and tore out Greta's still beating heart. "By blood the old bond is severed. By blood the new bond is formed." He gathers blood from his sister's heart on his finger and draws a sigil on his forehead. The blood burns its way into his flesh, but he endures it knowing the payoff will be worth the pain.

When the pain passes, Billy stands up and flexes his blood soaked hands. He walks over to a post and punches through it with ease. Chuckling to himself, Billy continues to test his new found strength by tossing a broken down hatchback through the barn wall.

"It worked! Just like he said!" Billy throws his arms into the air laughing in triumph. He was now that much closer to fulfilling his destiny. He returns to Greta's lifeless body and reverently closes her eyes. "Thank you, Greta."

Billy wrapped Greta's body up in a blanket before setting the barn and their house on fire. Once the last vestiges of Billy's old life were reduced to cinders, he buried Greta in the ashes of their home.

After the impromptu burial, he bleeds a chicken into a brass goblet. He said a brief Latin phrase causing ripples in the blood. "Master, I've completed the ritual."

A deep, booming voice came from the goblet in response, "And you completed the ritual fully? Even burning your sister's body?"

Billy hesitated for only a second, "Yes master. Of course."

If Trigon noticed the hesitation, he didn't make it known to his disciple, "Very good, Billy. From now on my strength will be your strength; and you will be my herald. You will paint this world in blood in the name of Trigon!"

"Of course, master."

"Very well. Then I have a mission for you Billy."

"Yes, master. But if I'm to be your herald, I will not longer be Billy Hayes. From this point on I am Harm."

Trigon chuckled darkly, "Very well, Harm. You will find my daughter, Raven. And you will bring her to my side. Even if you must force her to do so."

"Yes, Master. Where can I find her?"

"My seers have told me she will be found in the city of New York."

"Yes master, I will leave immediately."

"Hold, Harm..." Harm stopped in the middle of getting up, "Before you can find my daughter, you will need something..."

The Midway City Museum was home to many interesting artifacts from around the world. Pottery from Greece, conopic jars from Egypt, statues from Italy; a whole array of historic knowledge for the young and old alike to enjoy. And most of the security guards keeping the place safe at two in the mourning don't really care. Guarding a museum in the middle of the night is probably one of the cushiest security jobs you could get. Who tries to rob a museum?

A guard makes his rounds walks through the new Demonology Exhibit, thoroughly creeped out by the stuff on display. Taking a passing glance at some weird statue, he suddenly heard something like a feint voice. At first it was hard to understand and he just chalked it up to the air conditioning, but eventually it became clear, Run. Get away.

The guard quickly turned to look around the room, but didn't see anything. It's not safe here. Run, please.

"Ah great. Now I'm hearing voices. Just like Aunt Juju."

You have to run. Go. Now. Please.

The guard slowly backed out of the exhibit, looking around and hoping the voice he's hearing isn't just in his head. "Okay, just get out of here, and book an appointment with a therapist."

"Oh I wouldn't bother." Before the guard could react, Harm snaps his neck from behind. He steps over the guard's body and makes his way to a display case with a sword resting inside.

In the monitoring room, another guard is playing Hearthstone on his iPad instead of paying attention to the wall of security monitors. Someone's in the museum. The sudden voice caused the guard to topple over in his chair. Someone's in the museum. In the Demonology Exhibit. The guard looks around for a moment then turns to the monitors to see the Demonology Exhibit empty.

"Uh, t-there's no one in there?" The guard said, not totally sure who or what he's talking to.

It's a trick. Call the police, now!

"S-sure...Alright...But, uh what are you, exactly?"

A secret. Call the police.

The guard looked around one more time while reaching for the phone, "Okay, okay, I uh...Think I'll just send some guys down there first. And check things out?"

No! Too dangerous. Call the police before it's to late!

"O-okay?" Not sure what's been talking to him, the guard decided to trust he isn't nuts and calls the police like the voice told him.

Harm smashes the display case holding the sword Trigon told him about. With the Sword of Sameal, Harm's power would increase even further. There would be no stopping him with it.

He grabbed the sword and drew it from its sheath. He examined the blade; it was a three and a half foot Viking style long sword with glowing runes etched into the obsidian blade. He swings in experimentally a few times before sheathing it and walking out of the museum.

Harm was only half-way down the museum steps when a squad of police cars parked in front of him. One of the officers stepped out with a bullhorn, "Son, we got a call about a break in here. Know anything about that?" Harm just smirked and drew his sword again. More of the cops step out and trained their hand guns on Harm. "Alright, drop the sword, and put your hands in the air!"

"Well I did want to try this puppy out. So I don't think I will." Harm reared back and swung, sending a wave of flaming energy towards the cops. He blew up one of the cars, and the others opened fire on the mad swordsman. Harm deflected all the bullets with the sword and jumped in the air, covering several feet and planting the sword into the ground as he landed in front of another cop car. Energy swelled beneath the ground before erupting in a column of fire, engulfing both the car and the officers.

Harm ran towards the remaining police car, dodging or deflecting more gun fire, and sliced through the cops and the car in one swing.

"A rather successful test I'd say." He claimed calmly while wiping the blade on the sleeve of his coat. Harm sheathed his sword and slung it over his shoulder. He smiled wickedly, surveying the destruction he caused, then walked off in to the night.

When Harm had left the scene, Greta walked through the destroyed cars and dead bodies. She still wore the same dress she died in but they were absent of any color. She had underestimated Harm. She didn't think he could do this much damage, or that the sword could make him this much stronger.

More squad cars converged on the area and set up a crime scene; apparently one of the police officers managed to call for back up during the attack. While blocking off the street, Greta over heard one of the cops asking another, "Just what the hell happened here?"

I failed. Greta walked through the crime scene invisible to all around her in the same direction as Harm. She needed to keep an eye on him.

And there you have it, the goriest chapter in the story. It shouldn't be to surprising that Secret is in this story considering Harm was in Bart's dark future. I'm not sure why I had Billy and Greta living on a farm before the shit goes down. I just put it in. And I always planned for Harm to be a major villain in this story and having him make a pact with Trigon just seemed to make sense to me.

Raven didn't appear at the end of this one, and I'll explain why later.

Up next: The Warrior.