Gast: Volume 1: Dead to rights. (Gothic Horror) (Completed)

Chapter 20 - The Stand (Edited)

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"Hell is Empty, All The Devils Are Here." William Shakespeare

Clara watched the sunset from her porch, the bucket of blood now lay empty; the ritual finished. Now came the hard part, she had to summon Rose, lure her, trap her; and banish her soul from the mortal plane.

She knew this time was different, Rose unlike her sister had not reclaimed her corpse and was thus incorporeal, she was weak but that did not make her any less of a threat, she remembered the chaos her sister wrought before she possessed a vessel.

The issue was Clara's age, she did not know if the mark would work but she had to try, if she was right Rose would reclaim her corpse any time now and then the bodies would begin to pile up. She would save Adam till last; just like her sister did for her.

Clara felt eyes on her and shivered, she thought she was being paranoid but the sensation only worsened, until she had to glance upwards.

Sat on the telephone wire, they watched and waited the very sight of them made her blood run cold, a Murder of crows; they were motionless and disturbed her. Nevertheless, Clara hissed at them and made the banishment of evil gesture.

Then she heard it, an unholy laugh, the murder of crows cawed in unison, they flapped their wings to threaten, it unsettled her, however, their amber eye's terrified her.

"Come and face me... I'll be waiting right here for you." Clara cursed.

The Murder of crows laughed once more before they took flight and scattered in every direction.

"That's what I thought!"

Clara laughed as she walked back inside the house and shut the door behind her. She sighed, for one brief moment she feared the Crows would descend and peck her to pieces; Clara pushed away from the thought with a shudder and paused.

She heard the tap that came from her living room window.

Clara stormed into the room; her eye's wandered to the carpet and the concealed ritual. Was it time? Clara remembered her mother's warning.

"The Devil Knocks thrice and with him lurks Death."

"Who's there?" Clara shouted.

Tap, Tap, Tap.

Clara followed the noise, her heart pounded in her chest.

Tap, Tap, Tap.

Clara gasped as she spotted the culprit, or more specifically culprits.

The Murder of crows sat on her window ledge; they all watched her with avid interest.

"Shoo!" Clara hissed and banged the window.

The crows stared, unfazed and once more she heard thrice taps. Clara noted that the crow in the very center of the throng was solely responsible.

The other crow's watched silent, she noticed with horror that they did not look at her but in-fact behind her.

Clara spun on her feet as the Gast approached, she screamed with rage at the sight of her visitor, the crows laughed in response.

"You!"

Clara pointed a shaken hand and the visitor smiled. The windows blew out; glass shards imploded into the room, Clara curled herself into a protective ball and gasped.

The glass shards were immobile and dangled in the air as if time had stopped. Clara looked at the shattered remnants where the window used to be and saw not a single crow.

The intruder stepped forward and grinned.

Clara watched her feet with a snide smile, just one more step.

The Gast stopped, looked down at the floor and screamed in rage. She had stepped into the trap.

Clara glared, her eyes burnt with rage.

"Where is she?" Clara screamed.

Emily grinned, her eyes amber, she began to laugh; as she laughed the room began to tremor.

Clara walked close enough to touch Emily.

"You thought this would stop me! I, who banished my own flesh and blood sister! Now, my daughter, you come to me and expect me to flounder..." Clara sighed.

"You really don't know me as well as you think..." Clara turned her back on her daughter and walked to the kitchen counter.

Emily narrowed her eyes.

Clara retrieved a knife, looked Emily in the eye's and began to carve open the old mark of the eye.

"Now tell me, where is Rose?"

Emily glared at the mark with rage.

Clara sighed. "Oh make no mistake you will tell me!"

Clara placed her hand on Emily's forehead; Emily screamed in agony, the sound was just as hurtful for Clara.

Clara removed her hand, Emily hissed, her amber eye's glowed brighter.

"Where is she?" Clara screamed.

Emily pointed at Clara's heart and smiled with a sneer.

Clara laughed.

"You threaten me? You are trapped and I have this."

Clara looked at the mark and smiled, she felt its power, and she could feel the light of heaven warm her old bones. Clara knew not to push herself; instead, she used the mark sparingly.

Emily sneered in rage until Clara stepped forward, then she smiled.

Clara remembered the immobile glass shards and ducked as they flew right past her. A second later and she would have been decapitated; she pulled herself to her feet and gasped.

Emily was gone; the evil eye she had painted on the floor had been defaced by the glass fragments.

Clara felt the mark on her hand began to pulsate and knew she was behind her, she spun on her feet, held the mark outright and stared at nothing.

She frowned just before Emily's incorporeal hand burst out from her chest, it clasped around her heart and began to squeeze.

Clara screamed Emily laughed.

Clara felt her heart hammer in her chest, her arm began to tingle and she knew what was about to happen a heart attack. She remembered Emily as a child and pushed the pain in her chest to the back of her mind if it was to be her last moments; then she would spend this time to release Emily from this darkness.

Clara sighed and turned to face Emily; Emily's eyes went wide with surprise but before she could react Clara clamped her marked hand over Emily's face.

Emily screamed with rage but Clara held on tight, both mother and daughter held onto one another, one determined to murder, the other to absolve.

Both held on till the last second, Emily was engulfed by white light at the same moment Clara fell face forward into the carpet.

Clara lay on the carpet, her breath rapid, her heart contracted, she reached out to the table that held her phone and sighed.

She lowered her head as her vision began to contort, that was when she heard it, someone had tipped the table over, the phone clanged to the floor, the cord mere millimeters from her grasp, Clara extended her fingers as best as she could and felt the cord graze her fingers.

She saw a glowing white woman kneel before her and smelt her mother's scent.

"Not today Clara..."