Hold Me Closer, Necromancer - Lish McBride [75]
“Does it always flash like that?” This time I did take a small step back.
“Yes, though this circle was a trifle enthusiastic. A lot of old blood can do that sometimes. That’s why most practitioners have a permanent circle. Enough power in one place can leave a memory.” He straightened his shoulders. “Now that I’m in the circle, and it’s been invoked with blood and my will, I’m protected.” Douglas closed his eyes, mumbling softly to himself.
The temperature in the room dropped some more, and I had to wrap my arms around myself. I couldn’t help but wonder, if he was protected inside the circle, shouldn’t I be in it, too? Would it actually be safer to be closer to Douglas? I moved toward it, but Douglas waved me off without even opening his eyes. I frowned. My understanding had been that the inside of the circle was good and the outside bad. I kept thinking of the phrase “bite-sized” and hoping that Douglas was summoning something that wouldn’t want to eat my face.
Douglas stopped mumbling, and his eyes snapped back open. They had become a solid icy blue. He looked creepy as hell. He shouted a final word. I tried to hear what it was, but I couldn’t make it out.
Ghostly forms began to crawl out of the floor and float through the walls. I could see faces, clothes. People of various ages, various shapes. The single unifier seemed to be a violent death. Their throats were slashed, or they were sliced open like gutted fish. Some of them had what appeared to be burn marks; others had cuts all over their bodies. Most of the wounds could have been made with Douglas’s knife.
I counted ten people in all. And they were headed my way, all of them moving to avoid the circle. I couldn’t tell if they were afraid of it or of Douglas. I backed up until I smacked into the cage and couldn’t go any farther. Douglas watched, eyes still that eerie blue, his face otherwise expressionless. He made no move to help me. I felt a small hand touch mine. I grabbed on to Brid’s hand without looking back at her. It made me feel a little bit better.
The spirits converged, then crowded onto me in one solid mass. Some people say that ghosts aren’t real, that they can’t hurt you. Those people are wrong.
The spirits poured into me, hands grabbing, slicing, hurting. The pain drove me screaming to my knees. I dropped Brid’s hand on the way down. I shut my eyes and tried to curl up into a ball. I don’t know how long I screamed or huddled there on the floor. All I know is that when Douglas finally called them off and the pain stopped, I couldn’t get up. I could only lie there, gasping, my face wet with sweat and tears, my whole body a constant tremor. I watched helplessly as Douglas walked through the circle, breaking it. He took his time getting over to me. His black dress shoes held a beatific shine, even after all he’d just done. I could see a small spot of blood on them.
“You have blood on your shoe,” I said through chattering teeth.
Douglas absently wiped his shoe on my jeans. He leaned down so I could see his face. His eyes were back to a chilly brown. “I think you’ve learned enough for tonight.”
I didn’t say anything.
He straightened. “Get up.”
At that moment, I would have loved nothing more than to stay curled up on that floor forever. Instead, I pulled myself up slowly and got back into the cage. Odd how earlier all I wanted was to get out of that cage, and now I couldn’t wait to climb back in. Any Douglas-free place looked good to me. I crawled to the other side of it and collapsed. Brid came over and put my head in her lap.
Douglas left without a word.
“Why didn’t they come after me?” she asked. She sounded mildly curious, but the tightness in her muscles told me she was angry.
“Because it was my lesson,” I said with