DARE THE DEVIL

A magician's tale

Maddie swallowed hard and placed her hand on her neck. Where she had felt that touch. It was cold, stating the very thing she felt. It couldn’t have been her head. She had felt someone pull her up, someone touched her and held the back of her neck.

“Maddie…” Aziza’s voice suddenly rang in her head. She jerked, feeling even more shaken. Her heart skipped and began to beat louder.

“Maddie, are you alright?” Aziza’s voice came again.

“Jesus….Aziza…” She took a deep breath and relaxed her hands on her knees.

“Don’t do that again,” she entered, feeling relieved. But her heart was still racing and the very presence of that coldness on her skin made her uncomfortable.

“What happened?” Aziza ignored her and went straight to the point.

“What?” Maddie stood erect, wondering why Aziza would ask that. Her voice was no longer tired, she in fact sounded serious, cold, yet the worry within the darkness of her tone was ever present.

“Something happened? What happened?” she explained in detail. Maddie sighed and placed her hand on her arm, the very place she felt that touch. It was just as cold and the lingering feeling of those hands were still there. She looked around, hoping to pick up someone, anyone who could have helped her. Yet, no one looked a bit suspicious.

“I think I am beginning to hallucinate,” her thoughts came.

“Hallucinate?” Aziza picked it up and Maddie jerked.

“God, can you be less frightening in my own thoughts.” She frowned.

“Can your thoughts be less loud? I can hear you from a mile away,” Aziza retorted.

“Hey…what are you doing here?” Sloan’s voice suddenly came from behind. Maddie turned to her, needing to tell her what was going on only to fall against a grave look.

“What is it?” she furrowed her brows.

“Come see…” Sloan took her hand and pulled her along. Without protest, she followed but with Sloan’s touch, came a realisation. Where Sloan touched wasn’t cold. With her free hand, she touched the nape of her neck, her forehead, her other arm and realised those places were warm. Fear gnawed at her, pushing at a door that was willing to break and she gulped. With reluctance, she placed her hand at the back of her neck. Her heart fell at the coldness of that part of her skin. Almost immediately, a sharp gaze fell on her and the feeling of being watched followed. For a moment, she ignored it. Maddie and Sloan had been followed and watched by the New Orleans police department (NOPD) ever since they found out about their involvement with Ivy Sheridan, otherwise known as the red-haired Aziza. The hunters were also watching them. Even reporters and a lot more. So she was used to that feeling but this, this had something else. A coldness and darkness to it.

Sharply, Maddie turned her eyes to the direction it came from. But almost immediately, the feeling and cold gaze disappeared, leaving her bear and paranoid. Yet instincts told her it was far from what she thought.

“Aziza…” she called out with worry and bile rising from the dept of her.

“What is it?” Aziza responded immediately.

“I don’t think I am hallucinating,” she explained, though the other couldn’t understand.

“Where are you? I’m coming over,” Aziza came readily.

“No…you just woke up. You need all the strength you can get,” she answered.

“And a lot of people are watching us,” she added. It could be dangerous for Aziza to come out. Maddie knew that and she was not willing to risk it over what could be a paranoia.

For a moment, Aziza’s voice didn’t come back in her head and she thought that she got her message across. The next moment, Sloan let go of her hand when they arrived at a stand where an artist worked.

“Do you think Aziza is coming here?” she turned to Maddie, furrowing her brows in thoughts.

“No, she wouldn’t…” Maddie paused and her eyes widened.

“Why are you asking?” she could already tell what happened.

“She just asked me where we were.” Sloan answered. She could not understand why Aziza suddenly asked her that, and didn’t think twice before answering. Maddie sighed, feeling disturbed and annoyed.

“that sly wench,” she cursed.

“Don’t call me that,” Aziza’s voice came back in her head.

“Don’t come down here…it's crowded.”

“I won’t. I just want to be able to see you guys and make sure you are safe,” she added. Her words touched Maddie’s heart and a smile caressed her lips. She felt more relieved and turned to Sloan.

“Why are we here?”

“Oh yes…” Sloan suddenly turned to the artist.

“His drawings.” Maddie’s gaze followed hers and found that the artist was already finished. Not really interested, her gaze simply swiped through the drawing and through his portraits and sketches rather quickly. But her heart stopped at the sight of something dark and familiar and she went back to look at them slowly.

There were sketches of men with dark clothes and darkness surrounding them and two long protruding fangs. Cold crawled up her spine and images of a man with such teeth charging towards her in the woods resurfaced in her mind. The pain of his bite and the feel of blood and life leaving her body followed. Unconsciously, her hand went to the nape of her neck, the very place she was bitten.

“Those are vampires…” Sloan said aloud, pulling her out of her thoughts. People who took notice of the man’s drawing also started coming forth, like flies, being called by something very dirty and soon the stand was surrounded.

“Indeed…”the man responded and flashed Sloan a smile.

“Isn’t this copied from google? There are countless images of vampires out there…” a man from the crowd entered and the others agreed.

“This can’t be said to be an honest or talented work.” Another entered. Maddie breathed a deep breath, reminding herself that they were simply drawings. Humans didn’t believe in things like that, it was impossible. They were believed to be folktales, stories to scare children at night and nothing more. She once believed that.

“Come on, let's go, there is nothing extraordinary about the drawings,” she took Sloan’s hands and turned to leave.

“No, wait…” Sloan pulled her back. She had brought her there for something after all.

“Look,” she pointed at a different drawing. Maddie followed her gaze and it fell on a different drawing. Again, they were drawings of vampires in long black cloaks. There was absolutely nothing special about it. She looked away, resisting the urge to give Sloan a glare when she of all people knew what she had been through in the hands of those blood suckers.

“Look closer,” Sloan’s gaze met hers and the grave look in them was even more pronounced. With her words came the pleading in her eyes. Reluctantly, Maddie turned back to the sketch.

There were vampires standing in a straight line, all in black cloaks, all looking like lords, like kings, like predators before their prey. Her heart fell and a familiar feeling overwhelmed her, pulling her to look closer. She moved her gaze to the next sketch to find those same vampires, but this time, there was a car and three women. They were facing the vampires head on. But two of them were very scared and hid behind one, scared for their lives. Her heart skipped at the reminder. The very day they found out that Aziza was Ivy and Ivy was Aziza. The scenario was just like it had happened to them. A different drawing was a girl being bitten by a vampire while her friend watched at the side with a horrified look in her eyes. It was just a sketch, yet the message and vividness in each pencil stroke was so real. In that sketch,. No one was there to help, nothing aside from trees.

“The woods,” her thoughts whispered, with images of that very moment hitting her.

Goosebumps crawled up her spine and she turned to sloan.

“It’s a coincidence,” her eyes spoke. Sloan understood and pointed at a different sketch. This had colours, unlike the others that were simply drawings, vivid beautiful drawings with pencils, leaving it in simple black and white. This had colours. In a house, almost like a cottage. Two women were held by vampires, a few were on the floor and one stood at the side. Something slowly gripped her heart at the sight of this familiar picture. With it came the images of past events that transpired. Events no one should know of, not to speak about picturing. It was like, he who drew the portrait was right there when it happened.

“No,” her thought pushed at her, and she looked away from it. She turned back to Sloan and took her hand.

“lets go…” her words were harsh, yet fear and confusion danced in her tone and shook with it.

“But look at it again,” Sloan protested.

“This is a beautiful idea. Anyone in the world can come up with it. It's nothing,” she tried to sound calm. But her heart was beginning to race and her voice turned hoarse with a foreboding feeling.

“You missed something,” Sloan responded and turned her gaze back to the last portrait she was looking at. With annoyance, she turned to it, knowing she had looked at it as much as she could. But no, she had not.

There was something she truly missed. A woman, whose face could not be seen, yet her black leather pants and jacket glistened through the portrait and her red long hair shone brighter than anything as she stood like a saviour for the girls. She gasped.

“History does tell us that supernatural beings exist in our world. You know…” a voice rose high, gaining the attention of the crowded. More people had gathered and the artist seemed to have turned to a magician with a black and purple cloak and hat on his head.

“Boo….” People yelled while others clapped.

“It’s a story that is being hidden from us. Told as myths and folktales whereas it happened.” His voice grew louder and his words more powerful as it hit everyone who listened.

“ Archives locked away, history thrown away, stories of war, blood, dominance and freedom ignored,” the magician continued, his eyes moving from one person to another with his cloak sweeping the wind in powerful strokes and dust.

“Go read, go find out. It's there in our libraries, eating away in dust, and dirt. But I know the truth.”

“Even one walks amongst us.” He threw something on the floor. Purple smoke suddenly rose, wowing everyone. And taking the attention and focus of everything.

“We know her. She is no android, no alien, no cyborg and definitely not an AI. You’ve seen her fangs, heard stories of her speed, the claw marks on her victims.” the purple smoke became thick, covering the magician that no one could see a thing but his voice rose. Maddie immediately gripped Sloan’s hand, seeing the need to leave, the need to be wary..

“Stories of her sharp claws, her invincibility. Why doubt ye? Why? Why doubt when one walks amongst us.” The magician suddenly came out from the smoke and with a wave of his cloak with his hand, covered his face. Leaving only his eyes and shushing the entire crowd.

“I know. I have seen them.” His voice turned hush, pulling everyone’s heart. Then his eyes turned to Maddie and Sloan and he started towards them. Sloan gripped Maddie’s hand tighter and chagrin rose from within. His eyes were bright and serious. It never left their face till he was in front of them.

“I know you have too,” his words fell and his eyes glowed purple. With a snap, the purple smoke rose again and he disappeared leaving everyone else clapping and cheering. Except two…

“Maddie, Sloan…” Aziza called. Panic and chaos ringing in her voice.

“Get out of there, now.”