17

Five feet past where Dora’s bumper ended, the speckled white sidewalk gave way to raw earth. The grass was worn down by years of feet running toward the bathroom. What remained was suppressed by winter’s approach. Into that cold ground, I etched a large circle with my chaos blade, then added a triangle within it, but touching at three points. At each junction, I placed an ebon candle.

Along one arm of the triangle lay the spear replica. Another arm held both my lighter and chaos blade. The base of the triangle, facing southwest, had the Necronomicon laid out upon it, open to the page I had referenced earlier. Once, it had been a spooky bedtime story for a pair of intellectuals to play with, look down upon. I tried not to think about what it meant to me now: it was both my only hope in the growing storm and the symbol of my own damnation.

After my preparations were made, I stripped down to bare skin before stepping into the center of the circle. The chill air tore into my skin, but I had a pretty hardy dose of righteous anger burning within my chest. I knelt in prayer and waited for night to come.

“Do you really think God is listening? Do you have any idea the lengths HE went to in chasing my kind out of this universe?”

Ignoring him proved easier than I thought. Just knowing that voice wasn’t really a part of me made it possible.

“But I am a part of you, Colin.”

The first snowflakes began to fall against the backdrop of a reddish purple sunset. I picked up the lighter and lit the candles in clockwise fashion, then tossed the lighter clear of the circle proper.

“Not to criticize, but that was our fire source. And you don’t control the ground here: no exploding candle tricks.”

“Nervous?”

“Curious. Even knowing you killed Sarai, suicide doesn’t suit you.”

“You killed Sarai, Yog Soggoth, not me. And, yes, I have a plan…but it may be better for you to kill us both now. Because once I finish this wendigo, I’m coming for you. Now that I know what you are and how you got here, I will find a way to get rid of you.”

“Fair enough…but I think you may find you had a lot more say in the matter of my coming than you think.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Not just anyone could have called me, no matter how much virgin’s blood they had on their lips.”

“You’re lying,” I told him.

“Maybe. But how would you know? You still can’t remember what happened, can you?”

“Do you want to get on with my plan or do you think you can trick me into forgiving you?”

“Give me the plan. Forgiveness is overrated.”

“Take me through to the Shadowlands.”

“WHAT?”

“You heard me. This thing has been living in the Shadowlands for centuries, ever since the War of the Twins. Its essence, its reality, is there. We could kill it a hundred times in the material world and it would keep coming back. I have to fight it in its world.”

“And the circle is to keep our body safe from the dark energies of the realm beyond…not bad,” he allowed.

“Will you take me through or do I have to do it myself?”

“Taking you is a bad idea. Getting back would be rough. But we can split the difference.”

My vision of reality began to crack, as if a second world was being overlaid atop the first. A gray sea of trees crashed down upon the mud and buildings that had previously owned the scenery. The circle of dirt blazed to light with a dancing orange brilliance. The inner triangle was obscured by a dark purple mist spilling forth from the Necronomicon.

“Shadow sight…all the benefits of being there without actually having to cross over.”

“But can I kill it?”

“As much as you ever could…but be careful. The Faceless trained it to be a killing machine, remember? Mad spirits taught it to eat both body and soul.”

“And when did you become an expert on the Faceless?”

“When the Eye of Winter speaks, I listen. And if I am more than just your subconscious, don’t you think I might know a few things about ancient cults?”

“What do you know that you’re not telling me?” I wondered.

“I thought we were going our separate ways after this battle. No reason to talk about the Faceless if we’re not going to work together to take them down.”

“Are you why they’re trying to kill me?”

“I give you shadow sight and you suddenly start getting smarter. That’s why we made our pact in the first place. We can stop them, Colin. We can end the Faceless.”

“But only if we stay together?”

“Like I said, you’re getting smarter.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Tell you what. Watch how this goes down, then let me know. You want me gone, I’ll leave.”