Hello, strangers. I'm back from the half-dead. Jacek was kind enough to post the last time, and even though I haven't had the balls to read it yet, I'm very grateful. I'm just not ready to learn more about Jeremy yet.

Our family is so fucked up, isn't it?

I had a talk with my Dad. A very unpleasant one. Jacek had tied him to a chair down in the basement and gagged him, and he was still sitting there, staring ahead with steely malice in his eyes when the miller, my brother and I made our way down the stairs to him. Jacek stepped forward and removed the rolled up piece of wool he'd stuffed down my father's throat.

"Gross, you got my sock all wet," he commented, unrolling the saliva-drenched article of clothing before tossing it aside. "Ah, was time I washed it anyway."

"Son of a bitch," Dad spat, breathing heavily.

"Hey come on, don't drag my mom into this. So, I think your kids got some questions for you?" He motioned for us to step forward. "I'm just here to help them out in case you're gonna try and be stubborn.”

"You're Hettmann's boy," Maxwell muttered. "Your father was just as much of a bastard as you."

"Sure," Jacek said, not batting an eye.

"Stop it, Dad. Just tell me what your game is and we won't have to hurt you. Seeing as being civil is obviously not an option with you."

"I'm not afraid of you," my father growled back.

"Your second-born thought that, too," Jacek answered. "Hour later, I had him wishing he was just a twitch in your nuts again. Just letting you know considering you're putting forth a challenge here."

It seemed to take my father all of his willpower to pull himself together—he squared his shoulders, inhaling deeply and then sagged back in his chair, eyes closed. Despite his reluctance, he spoke. "When I was a young man, I used to talk to an angel," he said in a low, brittle voice. "He told me what I would become. A modern knight of faith. Started when I was in my teens and lasted all the way up until I moved here with Ania. He never came to visit me in these woods. Unholy ground. No matter how hard I tried to reach out to him afterwards, he simply wouldn't show. Sometimes, I'd get far away to contact him. I'd drive for hours, but he never came back, even when I had my mind screaming for him. This place took everything from me that made me special. I would have become a great man, and your freakshow robbed me of that."

"Then why the fuck did you marry Mom in the first place?" I snapped.

"Because of you." A thin, sardonic smile tugged on his lips. "Hadn't planned for Fiona fucking Novak. The princess. You were an accident. Just one slip-up and there I was, stuck with you. Had to play Baby Daddy in the middle of a haunted forest. A shotgun wedding is what it was. Your grandparents would have hunted me down if I hadn't made an honest woman of your mother."

"And that’s my fault?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing, bewilderment turning my voice shrill and squeaky. "You knocked up a girl and then decided to be a dick about having to step up? And I'm to blame for you not keeping it in your pants?"

"Great knight of faith you are," Casimir snorted. "Can't even put a condom on right."

I threw him a sidelong glance. "Now that’s ironic."

"Hey shut up, I'm trying to support you here."

“Right, I’m sorry.”

Maxwell regarded us with scornful eyes. "I can't believe you two are my children. Casimir, you just had to throw your life away, too, didn't you? Follow your sister into this hellhole… Ain't no holy light reaching you here, son. If you wind up here, that's it for you. You're lost. Just like Ania, just like Fiona. You're gonna die because you came here, and it's not going to be a peaceful, dignified death."

Cas flinched visibly, but collected himself almost right away. There was something in his eyes, though, something that hadn’t been there before.

"Cas? Do you—" I began, but he cut me off.

"Later, Fi."

Heart pounding, I turned back to my father. "So. You hate me, you hate the woods, you hated mom—"

"I didn't hate your mother. She was a misguided little thing. She needed me. Felt good to be needed. But she pushed away any good sense I tried to instill in her."

"Ania never needed you for shit," Jacek remarked. Throwing me an apologetic look, he added, "Sorry for butting in, gorgeous, but this pissstain is talking out of his ass. I knew Ania. She was like my godmom or something. He didn't let her see me for a long time, but we were close enough." Returning his attention to Maxwell, he continued, "She didn't need anyone. Yes, she was a cold woman from what I've heard, and not always fair, but damn if she wasn't independent. 'S what my old man used to say about her, too. Can't judge her as a mother, but I know she always held her own."

"My wife is none of your business, kid," Maxwell grunted.

"Kid? For fuck's sake, I'm pushing forty. You'll just say anything you can to justify not listening to anyone else, won't you?" Jacek gave a bitter laugh.

"Not to filth like you. Only clever thing my daughter ever did was reject you."

"So you knew about us?" I asked incredulously.

"I'm not stupid, Fiona. Only Ania never allowed me to confront you. Besides, when one day you stop sneaking out and suddenly start wearing wedding gowns, demonic magic is a sound conclusion."

I took a deep breath. "Okay, hold it. All that good stuff aside, why would you try and take me out after all these years? If this is about the Evening Redness, why get it now? Did you only learn of it recently? And how did you find out; who told you?"

A beatific smile suddenly bloomed on my father's face. "The angel came back to me. He told me to find the sleeper, and to offer it to him. The world can then finally submit to order."

“Say, what’d he look like? Your angel?” Jacek chimed in, a strange, meaningful undertone in his voice.

Dad let out a soft, near reverent sigh. “He’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. He’s all in white; he’s… not old, but not wholly youthful. His hair is like fresh-fallen snow, and his eyes… his eyes hold the wisdom of centuries.”

Something about this response seemed to take the miller aback. “But he had, like, a human form? He looked like a guy?”

My father nodded, still gazing emptily into the distance.

I cleared my throat. "Why didn't they want it before? I mean, seeing as God's all-knowing, the angels must have been aware of the Evening Redness."

"They didn't need it. But now, there's a power struggle going on. It's not just chaos against order anymore. A bunch of other wannabe deities are trying to make a comeback, out there looking for acolytes," Maxwell explained impatiently.

I threw Jacek a brief glance. He had gone very quiet beside me. "That much is true," he hurried to confirm. "Nick is concerned about it as well. It took him some effort to rise to power. It's not just anyone who can decide over the fate of human souls. He doesn't want to lose his position."

"So what's new? Who's trying to topple the existing forces?"

"Oh, a bunch of guys. I hear Loki is back. Doing considerably well for himself, the old fox. May be a serious contender." The miller shrugged, brows furrowed despite the lightness of his tone.

"Not with the sleeper in the Lord's hands," Maxwell gritted out.

"Or in Nick's," Jacek added. "But I'll admit that I've no idea how such a great shift in power would translate to our lives. I don't want the forest to be wiped out, much as I like the idea of eternal darkness and a world in sin."

"I need to protect my land," I told him. "I can't have anything happening to the forest people. I know they're safe with things the way they are, so I need it to stay this way. Nobody is getting the sleeper." I tilted my head at my former lover ever so slightly, and he mirrored the movement. "Is that okay with you? Can you accept that?"

"Yeah. Yeah, of course I can. I'm not gonna work against you," he said softly.

"Fiona, you don't know what you're doing," Dad pressed out, sounding like he could barely contain himself. "Give the sleeper to me!"

I ignored the demand, locking eyes with him in what I hoped came off as an indifferent, cold stare. "My soul. For how long have you had it?"

"When the angel reappeared, I asked him about it. He told me how to find it, how to trap it. He assured me it would work on the Evening Redness as well."

I sincerely doubted one could simply trap a being of this power and size. It wasn't the same as a little white rabbit. "My head hurts," I muttered. "Let's take this upstairs, boys. I need a break."

We left Maxwell down in the basement. Casimir and I sat down on the living room couch while Jacek went out onto the porch for a smoke.

"So… down there," I began with a nervous chuckle.

My brother was staring at the black, silent tv screen, avoiding my gaze. I scooted closer to him, one of my arms snaking around his midriff. "I got that wrong, right? You just startled 'cause Dad was being a dick."

He didn't respond. The tip of his tongue moved to moisten his dry lips.

"Casimir, I'm reading too much into that, aren't I?" I asked, trying to mask the desperation creeping into my voice.

"Remember how I talked to Jacek alone, before he first left after coming back?" he finally spoke.

"Yeah?"

"Wanted him to stay. Still need him to stay. You gotta have someone. Just in case."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on, Fi. You know, don't you?" He turned to face me. His eyes were glistening. "Look. I'm not gonna drop dead tomorrow or anything. I'm taking my meds, and I'm gonna live just as long as you. I'm… sick. But it's not a death sentence. I can go on for a long time. If I watch myself, I'll be fine. Well, not fine fine. It's not gonna be the same again, ever. But all things considered, I—I’ve got hope. This whole cynical thing, that's just the fear. I haven't gotten over that yet."

I swallowed hard. "What is it?"

"Can we… not? Name it? I don't feel like I can talk about it that way yet. So… clinical. I dunno." He grimaced, looking distinctly uneasy. "Whenever I think about it, I'm constantly switching between jumping into a panic or downplaying it entirely, and like, neither of those are good. I suppose I'm just really, really confused. I know I'll be okay eventually, but right now, I don't want to think about it until I've reached a point where I can deal with it level-headedly. That's why I came here, I guess."

"Alright," I said slowly. "And… physically, how do you feel?"

"Normal. The first couple weeks were like a really long flu, that's… that's why I went to get checked in the first place. Now, I've mostly recovered. I'm still a little more fatigued, though. Not as energetic anymore, but that could also be the stress. Got nightsweats occasionally, but not like I used to."

I reached up to massage my temples. "Okay. Okay, so if—if you need something, anything, don't ever hesitate to ask. And please take care of yourself. Don't overdo it. I've literally no medical knowledge but the second you start feeling off, let me know." Noticing how frantic I sounded, I willed my heart to stop racing. "Casimir, I love you more than anything else in this world. When you're ready to talk more, I'll be here."

Cas looked up to meet my gaze, wiping the corners of his eyes with his thumb. "I know.”

I got up, patting down my white tulle skirt. "I really don’t wanna go now, but I need to deal with the sleeper."

"Course, the eldritch horror in our backyard.” Cas snorted.

"I've got an idea. It's a reach, but maybe it'll get me places. Could you stay here, watch Dad?"

"Sure. And I know I don't need to tell you, but… be careful."

"I will."

Out on the porch, the air was chilly and fresh. Icicles had formed on the edge of the roof, hanging down like blades gleaming in the cold sunlight. Jacek was leaning against one of the wooden pillars, cigarette in mouth. His arm stretched up, he was fingering the tip of the icicle right above his head, and I was momentarily distracted by the view of this shirt riding up beneath his open jacket. His eyes flicked down to me, and he dropped his hand, smiling sheepishly.

"So, you… talked to Cas?" he inquired.

"M-hm. He’d already hinted at something there before. Still, it's… you know." It was harder to speak against the lump in my throat.

"Yeah."

"Imma try and focus for now. Evening Redness. That sleeping thing. I think I wanna try and talk to it."

Jacek frowned. "I'd tell you that sounds dangerous as fuck, but I'm sure you're well aware."

"Acutely aware. I think I'll ask the Bannik for help again. I know it didn't go well the last time, but now that I'm actively looking to contact the sleeper, I reckon it's exactly what I need."

"Fair enough. Want me to—?"

"Want to come with?" I asked at the same time.

Hettmann grinned. "Definitely."

We started marching up to the sauna, falling into step beside one another. His shoulder kept brushing against mine, but neither of us moved aside. "Where were you?" I asked, breaking the silence. "Nick. What’d he do to you?"

"He locked me into one of my apartments. I was grounded, basically. No cell phone service, no internet. He made it feel like it lasted a whole month. It's easy dishing out shitty punishments when you can literally create pocket dimensions in which time and space works the way you want."

"Fuck. That sounds awful."

"It's not the first time he's hurt me. Or imprisoned me. He's done worse to others. Not always a breeze dealing with the guy, but I'm used to it." He shrugged.

"Are you mad at me?"

"What? No!" He let out a perplexed snort of laughter. "Why would I be? I-I'm not like that anymore, I've dealt with my anger issues."

I swallowed thickly. "For what it's worth, I really regret not telling you about my missing soul back when we were… you know. If I had… I mean, we could have talked it out, right? And you would have sent Licorice after it for me."

"Guess so."

"Wish I'd trusted you."

"Wish I hadn't pressured you. Got that from my father, I think. In hindsight, my folks were kinda fucked up as well."

"You wanna talk about that sometime?" I offered.

"I'd be glad to. When this is all over. But for now, I really don't want to steal your focus. We have more important things to do right now," he reminded me, voice gentle and perhaps a touch wistful.

I agreed, albeit with a heavy heart. Knocking on the door of the sauna, we waited, exchanging an awkward smile in silence. When the old spirit answered, I told him about my idea. Disappointingly, he seemed rather uneasy about it.

"Seeing as you nearly shook the entity awake the last time, that does sound like an awful plan," he gibbered.

"But I need to communicate with it somehow. And if it stays asleep, that's not going to happen. I have to… I don't know, negotiate with it or warn it or something."

"The Devil will come for it soon. If Fiona doesn't rouse the sleeper, then he will. He wants to consume it, which is most likely going to give him power over these woods. You don’t want that," Jacek added gravely.

The Bannik shook his head. "I'm satisfied with my current warden." He threw me a benevolent smile. "And I've no doubt that once the Beast is in power, he would devour the rest of us as well. Either that or enslave us. Both prospects are equally unpleasant to me. I see why you'd want this, heiress. But I fear I truly cannot help you. This is no matter of clairvoyance or divination. What happened before was an accident."

"It worked, though! Just let me stick my head in that bucket again and bring Arkadiusz' spirit out!" I paused. Another weird sentence to say aloud. "Doesn't matter if it wasn't the intended effect the first time."

"You're aware that it still can and will make you lose your mind if you aren't careful?"

"I guess. I just need to—"

"I may have a better idea. Do you remember when you came to the sauna some nights ago? There was a lady here; a red-haired fairy. Find her, and she will give you what you need. She sells concoctions that allow communication on different planes of existence."

I rubbed my head in thought. "Huh." I didn't doubt it. The woman had indeed kind of given me drug dealer vibes. "Fair enough. Where can I find her?"

"That might be a touch problematic. I will of course let her know that you are looking for her, but I do not know when she will come to visit me again. It may be a few days 'til I next see her."

My shoulders sagged. "But I need to talk to her as soon as possible!"

"I know not the fairies usual haunts. This is all I can do for you. But fear not, her visits have always been quite frequent."

I palmed my forehead. "Okay, well, please, please tell her it's urgent. Thank you for everything."

On that rather frustrating note, we parted ways. We spent some time searching the woods for any sign of the folk, but our efforts remained unrewarded. Eventually, we gave up and turned in for the night. I asked Jacek if there was any way he could delay the coming of Nick, but he was understandably uncertain.

"Best to just hope he has something else on his plate at the moment. If I bring you up again, he might end up doing the exact opposite; drop by early out of pure spite."

I got that, and thus settled on waiting back home. It was all we could think to do. It was weird, though, sitting in the living room together with Cas napping on the couch beside us. Part of me wanted to talk about Jacek and myself in a “where do we go from here?”-kind of way; but that was a conversation I truly did not want to rush. Like he’d said, with everything going on, it would be more sensible to wait. We chatted about some lighter stuff, and then ended up turning on the television. There was a rerun of an old horror movie which we tuned into. I hadn't taken the time to really get into a movie for a while, so I didn't recognize it until Jacek spoke up.

"That's Eight Legged Freaks."

I let out a quiet laugh. "Holy shit, you're right! We watched that together, remember?"

"I remember you being squeamish," he teased, scooting a little closer to me.

"I was not!" I pointedly turned my head away.

"You were! You were making all those little noises, like a guinea pig. It was adorable." He gave me a smug grin. "Ain't no shame it it. I'm just saying; I can't believe that with everything you've always had going on around you, you still got scared from a comedy."

"A horror comedy," I corrected. "With spiders."

He laughed out loud, only stifling it when his eyes briefly fell on the sleeping form of my brother. "Fiona Novak. Seduces forest monsters but gets scared of spiders on tv." His voice had lost its mocking edge, suddenly sounding warm and deeply sentimental. His gaze kept flickering to and away from me, his fingers nimbly pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket only to play with it in his lap.

"Try: Jacek Hettmann; works for the Devil but can't look me in the eyes without turning scarlet," I returned, moving closer to him.

"Yeah, well." He exhaled shakily, hands stilling. "Harsh. True. I do not know how to come back from that."

"You don't have to."

He smiled, tentatively raising his arm and slowly inching it into my direction.

"It's okay, you can hug me," I encouraged with a smirk.

"Oh, you're just gonna make fun of me, aren't you?" he grunted, arm coming closer.

"Always. Go on, do it. Just bring it in."

He groaned, snatching me by the shoulders and quickly but gently pulling me to his chest. I pressed my nose into the crook of his neck before sinking down to rest my head in his lap, leaning against his belly. "Damn, but you are smug about this," he muttered fondly.

"Count on it." I was actually beginning to relax a little bit when a blood-curdling scream rang out from the basement.

I sat up so quickly that I accidentally bumped the top of my head against Jacek’s chin. Cas jerked up from his pillow, blinking and wiping drool from the corner of his mouth. For a second, we all merely stared at one another in shock. Then, we sprang to our feet, rushing for the stairway to the basement just as another cry erupted from behind the door. I grabbed the handle, ready to tear it open, only to find that it wouldn’t budge.

“It’s jammed!” I yelled out, jiggling at it in desperation.

“Don’t think so!” Jacek shouted, pressing himself up to the door as I stepped aside. “Open up!” he barked. “I know you’re down there! Open the fuck up!”

“We tied Dad up though,” Casimir supplied.

“I’m not talking to him,” he muttered curtly as he started banging against the wood with both fists and raised his voice again. “Open the damn door! Open it! Don’t you fucking dare—!” He kicked the frame in sheer frustration. “Fuck!”

The noises grew louder and more unsettling. I thought I could hear the chair falling over as my father’s screams turned increasingly desperate. His voice was all gurgly and weird, but he seemed to be begging for forgiveness. Not mercy, forgiveness. “I’m sorry!” he kept on wailing, over and over again. “I did what I could, I swear I tried—!”

My heart was pounding like a sledgehammer. “Dad?” I bellowed, spittle flying from my mouth. “DAD!” I tried the door handle again, shaking it furiously.

Another cry of agony. Then, everything fell silent. The door suddenly gave in to my demanding tugs and I staggered back as it swung open. The three of us descended the stairs in a hurry, Cas hastily flicking on the lightswitch. The bulb that came fizzling to life revealed a gruesome sight. My father, still tied to the chair that was lying on the floor on its side, had fallen limp. Blood had pooled beneath his body, the source of which being a hole in his stomach that was leaking red everywhere, soaking his shirt and freely running down. As my gaze traveled up his broken frame, it stopped once more at his throat. It was wide open. There’s no other way to describe it. It hadn’t been slit or cut; it had been torn out.

I doubled over and threw up. A bit of my vomit dripped into and mixed with the puddle of blood. I couldn’t look away, despite it making me feel dizzy. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Casimir cover his face with his palms, knees trembling but not quite buckling, like he was fighting it. Jacek was grimacing, his mouth moving as though he was saying something, probably cursing, but I couldn’t hear a word. There was this ringing in my ears, like I’d stood too close to a gun being fired. I swayed on my feet, then caught myself.

Don’t pass out.

For fuck’s sake, do not pass out again.

I looked over at my brother to see him walking towards me with his arms outstretched, almost in slow motion at first, before suddenly being upon me in a heartbeat, wrapping his whole body around me.

We’re okay.

We’re staying awake.

Yeah.

No matter how often we’re gonna be beaten unconscious, how much sick shit we have to see, we’re gonna bounce back.

It’ll be okay.

I held onto my brother like my life depended on it, feeling like I could hear his pulse thrushing. He pulled back only to lock eyes with me, then cupped my cheeks on either side and pushed my forehead up to his, hard. When we eventually parted, we were breathing heavily, my own teary expression reflected in his.

“Let’s cry about this later,” Cas breathed, voice cracking. “When we’ve got the time.”

I nodded emphatically. “Okay.” Wiping the wetness from my puffy cheeks, I rolled my lips together, squaring my shoulders.

Cas cracked his neck and knuckles, stretching his arms. “I feel like doing some yoga right now, just to wind down, you know.” Filling the air with words, terrified of silence.

“You two… Shit, I am so sorry,” Jacek began, voice faltering. “I don’t know what to say.”

“We wouldn’t have let him live anyway, would we?” my brother wondered aloud, tone soft and pensive.

“I’m not sure,” I replied haltingly. “I don’t think so.”

“What the hell happened here? You know something, don’t you?” Cas asked the dark miller who had folded his hands on the back of his neck, looking at the basement ceiling with a lost, shaken expression. His entire body was tense and cramped, muscles straining against the sleeves of his black shirt.

“I thought I knew,” he pressed out. “Guess I was right. I fucked up; I should have told you as soon as I suspected, but I didn’t—I thought I’d just deal with it on my own, I didn’t want you to lose focus, I didn’t wanna put more on your plate… I cannot fucking believe this…” He took a few deep breaths, steadying himself. “Damn, Fiona. I’m so, so sorry.”

“So tell me now,” I prompted gently.

“The being that used to come and talk to your father… That wasn’t an angel.”

X

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Part 14

Part 15

Part 16

Part 17

Part 18

Part 19

Part 20

Part 21

Part 22

Part 23

Part 24

Part 25

Part 27