The Rede Breaker

Chapter 25: The Lost Tereso

The last thing I remember is standing in my room, reading the incantation.

Suddenly, I am standing in the middle of a road in a decaying neighborhood. The concrete under my feet is unearthed and cracked. All the houses around me are rundown and covered in thick black ooze.

"Parker."

Anarch's voice echoes through the street.

The air around me becomes chilly and I shiver as my own breath becomes visible. The flickering of the streetlights is accompanied by a soft hiss. A black creature is dangling from the streetlight above me.

It looks like Anarch, though its body is more elongated like an animal. The creature proves its more animalistic nature as it pounces at me from its perch.

I roll across the hood of a yellow Nissan to avoid being tackled to the ground by the creature. My feet carry me as fast as possible towards a large red house with a burned lawn. I rush up the porch and throw myself through the front door, slamming it behind me.

The locks still work, surprisingly. After locking the door, I sprint up the stairs. The rickety planks cry underneath my feet as I reach the top of the stairs.

Without looking where I am going, I race forward. I run directly into a wall and a small picture frame crashes to the floor and shatters as a vicious growl comes from downstairs. A door is open on the right side of the hallway and I slip in and shut the door behind me.

I move to the window, hoping there is a trellis I can climb down. On the street below, a man wearing a red and white t-shirt is running as fast as he can through the middle of the street.

It is hard not to pound on the window and shout after him.

A figure stalks him. The man stops suddenly in the middle of the street. His eyes go completely white as does his hair. The figure, Anarch, circles him like a predator.

Anarch stops in front of the man as it plunges its claw through the man's chest. Blood bursts from the man's mouth as he convulses. I finally scream out, calling Anarch's attention. He slides the man from his claw before using the same claw to wave at me.

The creature from the street roars from the hallway. When I look to the door, I notice a disheveled man standing in the corner of the room.

The man's shoulder length golden hair is matted and unruly. A scant drip of blood falls from his nose as his piercing cerulean eyes glare at me, wide open in shock. A small amulet dangles from his neck. The familiar "T" with a snake curled around it glints in the moonlight.

"You're a Tereso?"

The man lunges forward, pushing a burned dresser in front of the door. The door shakes and rattles as the creature throws its weight against it. The man joins me at the window and his eyes raise in horror as he finds the corpse of Anarch's latest victim.

Anarch is nowhere to be found.

I am overwhelmed. My eyes snap shut as I silently run through all of the spells I know. I am shocked out of my meditation when the man reaches out and grabs my arm.

I stare at him in shock. The spell transported my physical body.

"You cannot escape me, Parker." Anarch's voice says in my head.

"He's coming." The unnamed Tereso says with a coarse voice. He has clearly not spoken in quite some time.

"Good."

The dresser slides away from the door as I gesture towards it. The demon blasts through the door and I whip my hand again, knocking it back through the door. My hand is stretched forward as I walk forward, muttering an incantation of fire.

The creature squeals in pain and cries out as it is reduced to cinders. The man scurries behind me, scrambling down the stairs. I call out to him but an excruciating pain hits me. It reduces me to one knee.

When the pain subsides, I am no longer in the house. I am standing in a clearing in the forest in the dead of night. A fire rages on ahead of me. It illuminates the path through the trees. I want to run in the opposite direction but something calls me towards it.

A group of robed figures are gathered around a goat beside the wildly burning bonfire as I reach the source of the light.

The goat bleats wildly as a lone figure steps forward with a huge dagger. I watch in silence as the figure slides the knife into the goat's throat, spraying blood into the door. The bonfire beside them explodes as a wave of wind blows past me. I am shocked as one of the robed figures' hoods falls, revealing Archer.

The pain returns as I fall to a heap on the ground, curling myself into a ball. I open my eyes again to find myself laying on the couch. Sierra calls my name as she enters the living room with Mori, who now has purple highlights in her hair.

"Hey! Are you playing with us?" Sierra asks.

My breath slows as I try to steady my breath. "What?"

"You weren't here when we came in. It's why we went upstairs. We thought you finally gave up and moved to Mexico." Mori says.

"I got up to use the bathroom." I lie.

"Right. So, we are going shopping. You want to come?" Mori asks. "We could make a day out of it. Since you're into the occult, we can go to Sanderson's Magic Emporium. It's a riot."

My first instinct is to steer the girls clear of the magic shop but Sierra is watching me expectantly. Anything in a magic shop could jog Sierra's memory. One small reminder of our previous life could undo the hardest spell I've ever cast.

When I put my feet down on the floor, I find my socks are dingy and soggy. Sierra and Mori pretend not to notice as I agree to go with them. I excuse myself to get changed.

I shut the door behind me and press my back against it. I feel as if I am having a panic attack as the images fly through my mind. The spell worked but at what cost? And what happened in the forest?

Archer has explaining to do.