Will couldn’t breathe. Cade was up there with Jena, and Will could hear her scream, could hear dull thuds like she was being hit, but he knew that he had to find the watch and destroy it.
He dropped to his knees in the grass, running his hands over the ground until they met the hard metal of the casing. He grabbed the watch, stood, and turned to the barn, running as fast as he could. The sounds of Jena’s cries faded behind him, and not knowing whether it was because Cade had killed her or because Cade was coming after him made his heart pound even faster. He would never forgive himself for leaving her like that, but he’d promised.
She’d made him.
He reached the barn and put the watch down on the anvil. It was such a small thing to carry something so dark and twisted, something that could affect generations of a family. He reached for the sledgehammer and raised it as high as he could, bringing it down on the watch. It landed squarely, but when he lifted the hammer, he could see that he’d only managed to crack the glass. He raised and swung again, this time giving it all he had, but still the glass held.
‘Will!’ Cade roared at him, and Will glanced over his shoulder to see the other man charging towards him, dressed in only his boxers. And blood. Jena’s blood.
Will wouldn’t let this all be in vain.
He swung again, putting all his focus into the watch, and this time he heard the shatter of glass. Before he’d even had a chance to move the hammer a thick, black mist poured out from under it.
He dropped the hammer and scrambled backwards at the same time as Cade screamed. Will spun to see the other man on his knees, the black stuff oozing through the air, slick like oil as it poured into Cade’s open mouth.
Will froze.
This wasn’t what they’d expected to happen. He didn’t know what to do.
‘Help me,’ Cade croaked, clasping his throat. Will took a tentative step forward. Cade’s eyes rolled back in his head and Will moved faster, rushing towards him, but he didn’t want to touch the black stuff, didn’t want to be infected with ….
Will stopped, backed up a few steps. Cade’s head turned towards him; his eyes were pitch black. A grin spread across his face as he got to his feet. His steps were faltering to begin with, but then as the entity gained full control of Cade he broke into a sprint.
‘No,’ Will said, shaking his head. He turned away, ran as fast as he could, but Cade was on him in moments, tackling him to the ground.
‘You set me free. For that, I’ll let you live, but I’m not going to let you get away pain-free. And I’ve got work to do.’
Cade’s breath was foul; Will gagged and tried to roll away but Cade punched him in the side of the head. His vision swam and he didn’t know what to do; even unpossessed Cade had enough strength to kill him. But he had to fight back, just like Jena had.
He balled his hand into a fist and swung it at Cade, but it was like punching a sandbag. Cade didn’t budge, and pain shot through Will’s hand and down his arm.
‘Don’t,’ Cade said. He punched Will again, and then again, using both fists now. Will felt his rib crack and he cried out with the pain of it. Oh god, it hurt. Was this how Jena had felt?
Was she even still alive?
Will wanted to curl into a ball but he forced himself to open his eyes, to look at Cade and try to dodge the blows, try to hit back. The other man was unstoppable, and all he wanted was Will’s blood. Cade laughed as he punched Will in the face again, knocking him unconscious.
***
When he came to, the sky had darkened and the sun was sitting low on the horizon, its orange rays tingeing the clouds. He could hear magpies screeching near the house and realised the birds had roused him. He pushed himself up from the ground, ignoring the dark patches of what must be his blood. His head spun and he leaned forward, trying not to vomit, the sting in his ribs – in every inch of his chest and head – a reminder of the beating Cade had given him.
No, not Cade. The entity possessing him. By destroying the watch, they must have freed the spirit to fully inhabit Cade, which meant … there was only one way forward, and it meant Cade would die.
They’d been so naïve.
Will forced himself to stand, leaning against the barn wall until the spinning stopped. And then he hobbled towards the house. He couldn’t move quickly and he couldn’t breathe deeply, but he kept moving all the same. It seemed to take an age, his mind constantly going over what he might find when he made it to the house – was Jena dead or alive? Was Rose safe? He paused at the stairs leading to the front door, almost turned away. He didn’t want to go in, couldn’t bear seeing the damage.
But he had to.
The door was open and the house was dark.
‘Jena?’ he called up the stairs. He glanced down the hall and could see the shattered remains of Rose’s door. There was no chance she’d made it through this, not with Cade so powerful, but there was a chance Jena might have.
He grabbed the railing and pulled himself up the stairs. He fell to his knees at the top, gasping for air, hot tears slipping down his cheeks. He’d failed. Again. Even if he’d done the task set for him, they were beaten and Cade was fully possessed, the spirit given free rein of the world. It was all worse than it had been, and he might be the only one alive in this house.
He lay down, hopelessness settling in his broken bones.
‘Will?’
He could breathe again.
‘Jena! You’re alive.’ He wiped the tears off his face, tried to pull himself to sitting.
‘I almost wish I wasn’t. Everything hurts.’ She came onto the landing, leaning against the wall to hold herself up. Her face was covered in blood, one of her eyes swollen almost shut. ‘You look like shit, but then I guess I do too.’ She laughed, though it was half sob.
‘Yeah, you’ve seen better days.’
She started down the landing, letting herself slip to the ground when she reached the top of the stairs. ‘Gran? Cade? Did you smash the watch?’
‘Jena ….’
‘He took it, didn’t he? That’s why you’re all beaten up. Gran—’ The word stuck in her throat and her face crumpled.
‘I smashed the watch, but it let the spirit out. It went into Cade. I think … I don’t think we can save him now. I’m so sorry.’ Will eased himself down a step, turning slightly away. ‘The door to Rose’s room is smashed ….’
Jena pushed herself upright, grabbing hold of the railing, her fingers white with the force of her grip. ‘I have to see.’
‘No, Jena. Just, let me go in first.’
‘No, she’s my grandmother. She needs me.’ Jena took the stairs two at a time, surprising Will with her speed. He winced as he started after her, but she was through the door and into the room before he made the bottom of the stairs.