The Castrator by Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov (short books for teens txt) 📕

I SAW THE DARKNESS OF MADNESS, BUT NOT THE ONE EVERYONE WAS TALKING ABOUT, BUT THE OTHER ONE THAT SHOWED THE LACK OF A PATH.

APPARENTLY THE DEMON HAD A FIRM GRIP ON HIM AND WOULDN'T LET GO. HIS HANDS AND FEET MOVED QUICKLY, SURE SIGNS THAT HE HIMSELF WAS TRYING TO RID HIMSELF OF THE ACCURSED FOE. BUT

THEN THE STRANGER RESORTED TO A VERY STRANGE RITUAL TO DEAL WITH THE INSIDIOUS AND UNKNOWN POSSESSOR.

- "WE HAD MANAGED TO LEARN SOMETHING FROM HIM," I MURMURED, "I HOPE THIS WILL HELP SO THAT WE CAN FORCE HIM TO LEAVE THE VICTIM."

THE STRANGER REALIZED EXACTLY WHAT TYPE OF DEMON HE WAS DEALING WITH.

- "LOOK, I'M NOT GOING TO LIE TO YOU - IT'S GOING TO BE HARD," THE STRANGER GROANED. "I'M A HEALER, AND I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THE PLAGUE OF CONSCIOUSNESS IS LIKE THE PLAGUE OF SWINE - ONE COULD EASILY CATCH IT. SOMETIMES IT CAN EVEN BE A WHOLE LEGION OF DEMONS POSING AS A SINGLE ONE, WHICH CAN FURTHER CONFUSE US."

AFTER THE INSTRUCTIONS THUS SPOKEN, HE GOT DOWN TO THE HEALING PART IN EARNEST - THERE WASN'T MUCH TIME, AND IF ANYTHING WENT WRONG THE WHOLE POINT OF EVERYTHING EXPERIENCED SO FAR WAS LOST. THE STAKES WERE HUGE!

IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE DIEGO STARTED SPITTING BLOOD - THINGS WERE TAKING AN ALARMING TURN AND ANY HOPE OF SALVATION WAS DWINDLING.

THE HEALER DIDN'T GIVE UP AND DECIDED TO USE ANOTHER TACTIC - NOW THAT IT WAS AWARE OF THE DEMON'S MAKE-BELIEVE, IT DECIDED TO WEAKEN ITS GRIP BY REDUCING ITS CONCENTRATION BY DIVERTING IT AWAY FROM THE DIEGO'S WEAKNESSES, FROM WHICH IT DREW ENERGY FOR ITS SURVIVAL.

- THIS DEMON WAS NOT REAL, BUT A CONCEIVED FORM CREATED THROUGH MAGICAL RITUAL. I CAN SEE THE SIGNS OF THIS VERY CLEARLY - IT SEEMS KIND OF LAZY AND STIFF TO ME, AND NOT THAT DIVERSE.

I KNEW AN AWFUL LOT ABOUT DEMONIC CREATURES, BUT THIS STRUCK ME AS ODD, IF THE DEMON WAS INDEED ARTIFICIAL, THEN ALL MY ATTENTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT WAS POINTED IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. SUCH ARTIFICIAL CREATURES COULD BE CREATED IN A MORE VARIED WAY THAN VOODOO SORCERERS, EXORCISTS AND SO ON. OR PERHAPS THE SPIRIT ITSELF WAS CLEVERLY USING SOME MENTAL DISORDER OF THE DIEGO ITSELF - SUCH AS A SPLIT PERSONALITY, FOR EXAMPLE - TO DRINK FROM ITS ENERGY AND MANIPULATE IT.

WE DECIDED TO JOIN FORCES TO FIGHT THE DEMON AND LOOK AT WHICH CHAKRA HIS NEGATIVE INFLUENCE WAS DIRECTED AT - I KNOW SUCH AN APPROACH DIDN'T SHINE WITH ORIGINALITY, BUT AT THE MOMENT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO SAVE HIS LIFE.

THE HEALER AGREED TO TRY THIS AND FOUND THAT THE DEMON'S INFLUENCE WAS ON THE FIRST CHAKRA ASSOCIATED WITH SURVIVAL - FEAR, WHICH IN TURN WAS LATCHING ONTO AND CHANNELING THE ENERGY TO OTHER HIGHER LEVEL CHAKRAS - THAT IS, THE DIEGO WOULD SUFFER BOTH FROM THE CORRESPONDING EMOTIONS CHARACTERISTIC OF THOSE CHAKRAS, BUT ALSO FROM SOMETHING MUCH WORSE - HE COULD BE PHYSICALLY AFFECTED IN A VARIETY OF BODY PARTS.

- "I AM WRITING A GREAT RIDDLE," THE HEALER BEGAN IN A TREMBLING VOICE, "WHOEVER CREATED THIS EXTRAORDINARY CONCEIVED FORM WAS A GENIUS, BECAUSE IT COEXISTS WITH THE TRUE DEMON AND EVEN HELPS IT TO MANIPULATE THE MIND OF THE VICTIM. BUT THE IDEA HERE IS MUCH DEEPER - IT WAS TO UNDERMINE THE IDENTITY OF THE CHAKRA, AND MOST OF ALL, THE DIEGO ITSELF. I KNOW IT SOUNDS CONFUSED TO YOU, BUT THE DEMON'S DESIRE TO SURVIVE IS LINKED TO THE ANCIENT, FUNDAMENTAL INSTINCT TO SURVIVE, I.E. THE DEMON'S FEAR ALSO BECOMES THE FEAR OF THE DIEGO ITSELF, AND EVEN, AS TRITE AS IT SOUNDS, THE DIEGO ITSELF WOULD PROBABLY FIGHT MUCH HARDER THAN ITS MALEVOLENT POSSESSOR FOR ITS SURVIVAL, BECAUSE IF IT PERISHED, THE DIEGO ITSELF WOULD PERISH. AND THAT CREATES A RATHER SPECIFIC SITUATION, SINCE WHEN HE FEELS THREATENED HE WILL DOMINATE ALL OTHER FUNCTIONS OF THE VICTIM'S MIND."

IT SOUNDED LOGICAL, BUT ALSO DAMN SAD - WE WERE IN A CIRCLE OF SOME HELLISH DOOM, AND IT WAS GETTING SMALLER AND SMALLER.

ME, ARLO AND ZONARA GASPED WHEN WE HEARD THIS. NOT THAT IT WASN'T THEORETICALLY POSSIBLE, BUT SUCH A SUPREME SYMBIOSIS BETWEEN A REAL DEMON AND A CONCEIVED FORM WAS IMPRESSIVE. IT LEFT OPEN THE QUESTION OF WHO COULD DO SOMETHING SO ORIGINAL?

BUT THEN SOMETHING SO BRUTAL OCCURRED TO ME THAT I DIDN'T EVEN WANT IT TO CROSS MY MIND. AND IF IT WAS TRUE THE PICTURE WAS ALMOST STARTING TO BECOME CLEAR TO ME FOR THE FIRST TIME - LET'S BE PRECISE THIS ABOVE AND BELOW CAST A PALL OVER AT LEAST HALF OF IT. IF THE TWO DIEGANS, WHO WERE TWINS BY FATE, WERE ADOPTED, WITH ONE OF THEM SUBSEQUENTLY DISOWNED BY THE GREEDY BREEDER, WASN'T IT POSSIBLE TO CREATE A BOND RIGHT BETWEEN THEM AND THE DEMONIC VISITORS THEMSELVES, AND IF THAT DEMON WAS FEEDING OFF THE DIEGO ITSELF AND HAD TAKEN ALMOST COMPLETE CONTROL OF ITS BODY, WHERE WAS THE BODY OF THE OTHER DIEGO - OR PARVENU JAKE?

BECAUSE IN THAT CASE IT RAISED A HUGE QUESTION MARK THAT COULD HAVE PROVED FATAL FOR ALL OF US.

I REMEMBERED FELISTER'S PROFOUND THOUGHT-WHOEVER FOUND MY INHERITANCE WOULD ...

- "I SCENT," CONTINUED THE HEALER, "THAT HIS SUFFERING HAS BEEN VERY CAREFULLY PLANNED, AND THERE IS A STRONG PROBABILITY THAT HE WILL DIE. BUT THERE ARE STILL SOME THINGS TO DO TO GET RID OF HIM."

IN THE STATE THAT DIEGO WAS IN, IT WAS DOWNRIGHT COUNTERPRODUCTIVE TO MOVE HIM, AND WE HAD TO DECIDE HOW TO FIGHT OFF THIS STUBBORN DEMONIC TYRANT, WHO WAS CLEARLY GOING TO PROVE PIVOTAL IN SOLVING THE MYSTERY OF FELISTER'S LEGACY.

THE SNOW CONTINUED TO FALL IN SHREDS, AND I HAD TURNED OFF THE PICKUP'S HEADLIGHTS AND PARKED IT IN A WAY THAT MADE IT BARELY VISIBLE TO THE FLICKERING FIRE IN THE CEMETERY PARK.

ZONER AND ARLO WERE ALL FULLY CONCENTRATED ON ASSISTING THE HEALER. I ALSO HOPED I COULD BE OF SOME USE TO HIM AND MY ENERGY WOULD ADD UP AS WELL.

IF IT HAD BEEN WARM, OR IF IT HAD BEEN DAY, THERE WOULD STILL BE SOME FORM OF LIFE HERE, BUT THE FREEZING NIGHT ONLY SHOWED THE UTTER HOPELESSNESS OF OUR ENDEAVOR.

AND YET THE HEALER WOULD NOT GIVE UP AND WOULD TRY ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING.

AFTER A FEW MORE FRUITLESS ATTEMPTS, WE DECIDED TO JOIN FORCES TO BEAT THE DEMON.

I FIGURED, THOUGH, THAT SOME PROPER LATIN INCANTATION WOULD DO A PRETTY GOOD JOB AND WE COULD GET HIM TO LOOSEN HIS GRIP AND THUS BETTER DEFEAT HIM. IT WAS KNOWN THAT LATIN WAS CONSIDERED JUST ABOUT THE MOST PERFECT LANGUAGE BECAUSE OF A NUMBER OF FEATURES IT POSSESSED, AND THERE WAS TOO MUCH MYSTICISM IN IT, AND BESIDES IT WAS A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE, AND THAT FACT MADE IT IDEAL FOR THE PURPOSE WE WERE AFTER. THE INCANTATION WAS VERY LONG INDEED, AND QUITE COMPLICATED:

- CRUX SACRA SIT MIHI LUX! NUNQUAM DRACO SIT MIHI DUX. VADE RETRO SATANA! NUNQUAMSUADE MIHI VANA! SUNT MALA QUAE LIBAS. IPSE VENENA BIBAS[4]!

THESE HOLY WORDS SEEMED TO HAVE SOME EFFECT ON THE DEMON, AND I BEGAN TO REPEAT THEM IN A LILTING TONE-YES, THIS INCANTATION WAS ONLY TO BE UTTERED BY A PRIEST, BUT I STILL HOPED IT WOULD WORK.

SUDDENLY I HEARD A VOICE IN MY EARS - "OKAY, I'LL LEAVE, BUT DIEGO HIMSELF WILL REVEAL THE TRUTH TO YOU, AND YOU MIGHT NOT LIKE IT! SO BE MAD AT YOURSELF!"

KNOWING THE LIES OF THE DEMONS, THERE WAS NO NEED FOR HIM TO TELL ME ALL THIS. BUT TO OUR AMAZEMENT, HE DID LEAVE DIEGO - WELL, NOT QUITE RIGHT AWAY. IT TOOK A FEW MINUTES, BUT HE LEFT ANYWAY.

WHETHER OR NOT, STRANGE AS IT SOUNDED, DIEGO HADN'T CLUNG TO THE DEMON HIMSELF TO KEEP HIM AND HIMSELF FROM SEEING THE TRUTH - SURELY THE SYMBIOSIS BETWEEN THEM WAS MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL. BUT HAD THE ARTIFICIAL DEMON STILL REMAINED? I ASKED THE SHAMAN TO CHECK IT OUT, AND HE SAID HE STILL FELT SOME INFLUENCE OF THE CONCEIVED FORM ON DIEGO.

HE SLOWLY OPENED HIS EYES, AND I SAW ALL HIS PAIN AND EXHAUSTION - FOR HIM, THE JOURNEY WAS OVER ANYWAY. THE DEMON WAS JUST HELPING HIM LIVE, OR RATHER EXIST, CONSIDERING THIS TO BE LIFE - FOR A VERY SHORT TIME.

FELISTER WAS RIGHT - HIS LEGACY WAS FULL OF MUCH, MUCH, TOO MUCH SADNESS AND UTTER HOPELESSNESS. WHAT I WAS BEGINNING TO REALISE BETTER AND BETTER, WITH EACH STEP OF DISCOVERING THE TRUTH, WAS JUST HOW ALONE THE MAN REALLY WAS IN LIFE.

DURING THE WHOLE RITUAL OF RELEASING DIEGO FROM THE DEMON - BOTH ARLO AND ZONARA WERE FORMALLY PRESENT, LIKE EMPLOYEES WHO WERE ON THE JOB. THE UNKNOWN HEALER, AFTER THE ENTIRE RITUAL WAS COMPLETED, STATED:

- I CAN DO NO MORE THAN THIS. HE WOULD FOREVER BE SCARRED BY HIS ENCOUNTER WITH THE DEMON FOR THE SIMPLE REASON THAT A SMALL PART OF THE NEGATIVE ESSENCE WOULD REMAIN WITH HIM - AT LEAST UNTIL THE MOMENT OF HIS DEATH. ONLY THEN WILL THE DEMON LEAVE HIM FOREVER.

DIEGO ACCEPTED THE NEWS CALMLY - ALBEIT WITH A PALE FACE, WHICH WAS QUITE HAGGARD FROM ALL THE PURIFICATION RITUALS. I HAD TO REPEAT THE MAGIC FORMULA IN LATIN REPEATEDLY TO GET RID OF HIM. I REPEATED IT A WHOLE SEVENTY-TWO TIMES - NOT THAT I WAS LOOKING FOR SPECIAL SYMBOLISM, ANYWAY, BUT THE NUMBER OF DEMONS IN SOLOMON'S LITTLE KEY WAS SEVENTY-TWO - AND DECIDED THAT NUMBER WASN'T BAD AT ALL. WELL, MAYBE WE WASTED A LITTLE EXTRA TIME, BUT IT WAS STILL A BENEFIT, PLUS DIEGO WOULD HAVE APPRECIATED THE REST OF HIS LIFE A LOT BETTER.

 

[1] The belief is of the Dagara tribe, which is an ethnic group in West Africa -Ghana and Burkina Faso.

[2] The hexafoil is a traditional motif from Gothic architecture that depicts a six-petalled lily.

[3] This rule is laid out in Corey Ten Boom's book "Defeated Enemies" in Chapter Six, Demon Load and Demon Possession.

[4] Let the holy cross be my light! May the dragon never be my guide. Go Satan! Never tempt me with your vanity. What you offer me is evil. Drink the poison yourself!

FEDERAL AGENTS

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: FEDERAL AGENTS

 

WE DECIDED TO DRIVE HIM TO ASHGROVE, WHICH WAS PRACTICALLY AN UNINCORPORATED COMMUNITY, TOO, SINCE THE DISTANCE WAS ONLY FOUR OR FIVE MILES IN A NORTHWESTERLY DIRECTION. THE SNOWSTORM SEEMED TO HAVE ABATED, BUT THE SITUATION REMAINED AS DIRE AS EVER. THE SNOW DRIFTS WERE BLOWN BY THE WIND ALONG THE ROAD AND FORMED PECULIAR WALLS OVER A FOOT AND A HALF HIGH, BUT WE WERE STILL ABLE TO SEE SOME TREES IN THE DISTANCE. IT WAS AS IF I WAS IN SOME EMPTY SPACE THAT SEEMED ENDLESS AT FIRST GLANCE, BUT IN FACT BY DESIGN IT WASN'T EXACTLY, AND I WAS COMPLETELY ALONE IN SOME FLAT SCENARIO UNFOLDING... MAYBE I WASN'T ON MY OWN. OR?

ARLO AND ZONARA STEPPED INTO THE ROLE OF NAVIGATOR AND PILOT - AS IF WE WERE AT SOME SORT OF OFF-ROAD RACE:

- "NO, NOT HERE. A LITTLE FURTHER ON," ZONARA CALLED SOMEWHAT ABRUPTLY, "WE NEED TO GET TO ASHGROVE ON ROAD THREE, WHICH