Part 66

"LITTLE PLAYTHING..." The demon's voice belched from Rinius's mouth riding a cloud of cinders. The dead man's throat was burning with every syllable. "...DID YOU THINK I HAD FORGOTTEN YOU?"

The boy's lips tightened, but he didn't reply. He took in the shape hovering before him. David's tongue darted between his lips as hatred gave way to calculation... if only for an instant.

"I AM NOT LONG FOR THIS SPHERE," The demon continued. "AND NEITHER ARE YOU. COME, PLAY-TH-ING...."

The words crackled as a portion of Rinius's skull collapsed.

"No." the boy replied.

"YOU WILL COME..." The demon swept forward.

Lowell watched. His eyes darted from demon and the child to the rest of the chamber, where flickering torches revealed those too wounded to make their escape. Only a handful now, with an almost-clear path to the exit.

He could get away... probably. If the demon remained focused on the child, he could make a dash for the exit. He'd make it out of here minus a few fingers, but still very much alive.

But that wasn't what Lowell intended.

"Its the Tribute!" Lowell shouted. He considered getting to his feet, but hesitated. He'd be too big of a target standing up. Instead, he spoke from the ground. "The Covenant's broken! We'll die without it, even if you don't kill us! But there's your Tribute, right there! M-make a new Covenant! A... A new deal! Just me! Forget the town! Just me!"

Rinius halted, but didn't take his glowing eyes from the boy. Someone in the room screamed, but Lowell didn't see where it came from. It didn't matter. THIS is what he wanted.... what he NEEDED.

"It's MY son! T-Take him! Take him and-"

"THE TRIBUTE HAS FLED THIS PLACE, FOOL!" The demon extended his remaining arm toward the boy. "AND THIS ONE IS ALREADY MINE!"

"F-fled? WHO!? Tell me who you want and I'll bring him! I'll bring-"

"No He's Not!"

A shape darted between the demon and the boy, flinging itself in front of the demon's gesture. The hood was still drawn, but the voice-

"No More!"

"RIETTA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

"It's broken!" Rietta screamed. "So just go and leave us alone! Just go!"

"Get BACK, woman! I can make a deal!" Said Lowell. "I can... I can give it what it wants!"

"No More Children! No More of MY CHILDREN!... OR ANYONE ELSE'S! Not This One! Not ANY of them! JUST GO!"

"THIS ONE IS MINE!"

"Take me instead!"

"THIS ONE-"

"TAKE ME INSTEAD!"

The floating corpse stared at Rietta while Lowell staggered to his feet.

"...Woman, You don't know what you're doing! I can-"

"DO IT!" She shrieked. She threw back her hood. "TAKE ME AND GO! FOREVER! NEVER COME BACK!"

The demon hung frozen in the air. Lowell saw it move... saw it trying to move forward... but something held it.

"MINE!!" The monster roared. Again, it tried to move, and again it appeared fixed in place by some invisible force. The remaining pieces of Rinius's body hissed and popped as the demon's power overwhelmed them. Flickering eyes sought the shape of the boy behind his mother. "THERE IS ESCAPE, BOY! NOT FROM ME." A line of flame ignited the back of the scorched robe. "I AM WITHIN YOU, PLAYTHING!" The extended arm crackled, then broke apart. The already dislocated jaw finally snapped off, but it turned to ash well before hitting the ground. "YOU WILL ALWAYSSsss be minnnnee..."

All of the power that had animated the dead priest vanished. Blackened bones and burnt clothing fell to the ground amid a cloud of dust.

At the front of the room, the pool of blackness that yawned across the wall wavered. The center sank inward as if being pulled from the side... pulled INTO the wall. The edges tried to hold, but with a rush of heat and the stench of brimstone, the portal swirled shut.

"Come back!" Lowell howled. "I can get who you want! Just tell me! Make a new Covenant! Just...." Realizing that he was shouting at no one, he turned his attention to Rietta. "WHAT DID YOU DO!"

Rietta ignored him. She turned to the boy behind her... the boy she'd shielded with her body, the boy she would have sacrificed herself for. Her son. The space of three steps separated them. She took those steps slowly as her husband raged. She didn't hear him. When she was close enough to her son, she stroked his cheek.

"David?" She said tentatively. "E-Eric?"

The boy's eyes were like frozen pools.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm-"

She grunted as the blades sank into her abdomen.