True Spirit - Book Eight of the Connor True Series
True Spirit
By Andy Morris
Copyright 2014 Andy Morris
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ISBN 9781311898401
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True Spirit
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True Spirit
Connor stepped back a pace as Abiku flowed down from the bed with a cat-like grace. Connor looked around his room desperately searching for something he could use as a weapon but there was nothing that would inflict any harm; just books on computer programming; DVD’s of Maximum Impact performances; programs from Sheffield United’s recent matches. Instead he turned inwards and opened his psychic doorway onto the future. If he could see what Abiku would do before she did it he would have at least some chance to getting out of this. But instead of opening onto the future his door was already ajar, exposing his vulnerable mind to the other world. In the eerie pale light from that terrible realm Connor could see shadows moving. Silhouettes dancing like Chinese theatre puppets. It wasn’t just one but several - dozens in fact.
Abiku was not alone. More creatures from the Afterlife were coming for him.
Gritting his teeth Connor backed away further until he came up against the wall. The horde of black nightmare shapes were creeping closer and he would soon feel them squirming through his head like maggots burrowing through a corpse as they crossed over into the real world, into his bedroom to tear him apart and feast upon his soul.
Abiku swayed towards him her clawed hands reaching out, her eyes burning with dark magic. Connors limbs felt heavy and clumsy, weighed down by the horror of what was coming for him. With nowhere else to go he raised his fists in a fighting stance. The futility of the act was irrelevant: He had decided some time ago that he would not submit to the demon easily but he couldn’t help wishing that the fight would not last long because he knew his suffering would be eternal.
The insurgent creatures drifted closer as if in slow motion while Abiku reared up before him, her hands reaching out to draw him to her in an unholy embrace. There was no where he could go.
Then the first of the phantom intruders emerged through the doorway. It was a blur, a lightening flash of dull colour. It materialised before him from nowhere. The new intruder didn’t stop, didn’t pause, it just hurtled silently forwards across the darkened bedroom straight towards the demon.
A second figure appeared, then a third, a fourth then there were a dozen. More appeared and quickly the room was filled with the dull faded images of beings that weren’t meant to be here. Beings that were once people but who had passed over. Ghosts continued to flicker into existence and rush at Abiku. As Connor’s wits slowly came back to him he saw the familiar black bladed weapons in their hands. They held them aloft as they continued to spread into his room and swamp the greater demon. Dozens and dozens of revenants spilled through his psychic doorway to attack the demon. Abiku was driven back away from Connor towards the bedroom window.
Someone was shouting in his ear and Connor turned to face Captain Blake’s stony expression.
“Connor! Get out of here” he bellowed the order. “We’ll hold it off but you’ve got to move. Now!” It was enough to snap Connor’s mind back to attention.
This had been the plan Captain Blake had envisioned several months ago: After Connor returned the Captain back to the Afterlife they would wait until Abiku came. Then Connor would open his doorway and the Captain and his community of wanderers - that’s how Connor thought of them - would distract the demon so he could get away. It would be immortal suicide. The others were dead already but there was little chance they would get away from Abiku. Abiku was a greater demon and although the dead had learned how to fight lesser demons, they stood little chance against a being of Abiku’s monstrous power. They were giving their immortal souls for a chance of peace.
If Connor got away from the demon and lived beyond this night then the survivors of those who helped him would be returned to Earth. He would bring them back as ghosts in the same way he had brought Captain Blake over here. That was the promise the Captain had made to the others and here they were. It was inevitable that one day they would be taken by a demon to suffer an eternity of pain and torment inside their bellies so why wait? Why not do it on their own terms with a chance of eternal peace on Earth. They may not be able to interact with their loved ones but they would not be hunted. They would not exist in a state of continuous fear, waiting for the next demon encounter. The waiting and running was hell and this was a way out into salvation.
“Get up” Captain Blake hauled on Connor’s arm, his incorporeal hands trying to grip his forearm.
Connor obeyed and struggled to his feet. All around him were shouts of anger and screams of utter terror as one by one the souls of his saviours were devoured by the laughing demon. Abiku was enjoying this feast.
Connor crouched down and ran to his bed. Laura was semi-conscious, mumbling and groping about with her hands. He wasted no time half lifting and half dragging her to her feet.
“Come on, we’ve got to get out of here, Babe” Connor hissed urgently. She murmured his name and her head lolled onto his chest as he took her arm over his shoulder and half walked half carried her towards the bedroom door. By the time they got to the landing she was able to take her own weight but she relied on him for balance. At the top of the stairs he paused. Behind him the frantic shouts and strangled cries weren’t as loud as they had been. His rescuers were falling quickly.
Somehow Connor managed to get Laura downstairs. He got to the bottom and glanced up as he saw a movement. At the top of the stairs was a young man dressed in a white medical coat that looked a little too big for him, as if he was dressing up, pretending to be a doctor. He didn’t look old enough to shave let alone old enough to be practicing medicine. He hovered at the top of the stairs and looked down at Connor like like a frightened child who had lost his mother. He held a blade in his hand which trembled noticeably. His eyes met Connors and for a moment Connor got the impression the dead doctor was about to follow him down the stairs. Then the young man turned back to the bedroom and was gone. Connor wouldn’t have blamed him for running out on the fight, it was a hopeless cause and he was doing nothing less than running away either. He consciously pushed down the reminder that these deceased people were giving their immortal souls so he could get away.
Don’t go there man. All you’ve got to do is just dance Laura out of here. So let’s go Connor. Come on!
But that moment of contact with the young ghost had left Connor shaken. He looked down at Laura. She was stirring, coming to but she was still very woozy. She wouldn’t be able to get very far outside. They probably wouldn’t even make it to the end of the driveway before Abiku caught up with them. No, they couldn’t run.
Instead, the only option left that Conor could see was to hide. The lights were off downstairs and they had descended into a pool of blackness. He didn’t know if Abiku could see them in the dark but or not but it was best not to find out.
Groping around blindly, still holding Laura Connor guided her into the lounge. He laid her down as gently as he could but also as quickly as he could behind the red leather sofa. The curtains over the windows were drawn and so no light from outside penetrated the
room.
There was a sound on the stairs. A creaking of floorboards and Connor dropped behind his top-of-the-range gaming chair opposite the sofa. He became aware that the cries and screams from upstairs had gone quiet just as he sensed a presence entering the living room. Connor tensed, unable to breathe as Abiku stalked into the lounge. He couldn’t see her but he could feel her - A deep blackness against the darkened walls. A prowling menace that was hunting the prized living soul she was chasing. She grew closer and Connor could feel the threat moving right in front of him. Suddenly, something made Connor spring backwards. As he did so he felt the long claw of the demon slash out of the shadows, narrowly missing him and sending the chair toppling over. He rolled backwards, trying to find his feet. He could feel Abiku smiling as she knew her cornered prey had nowhere to go. Connor backed away, felt the wall to his right and used it to stand up. The darkness was clearing, or his eyes were beginning to get used to the lack of light. Or maybe Abiku was no longer producing the cloak of darkness that demons used to disorientate and confuse their victims. He could make out the nightmare creature before him, silently creeping closer. Connor took another long step backwards, into the dining