The Dearg

Two representatives from the Tower of Merlin stepped out of a glowing, blue portal onto the driveway of a coastal Irish farm.

A ghastly whistle of ocean wind whipped up the seaside cliffs and sent a sharp chill through the air. The murky sky and violent ocean waves suggested an ugly storm was on its way.

The farm itself was a sore sight. Weathered stone and old, dried-out wood. It looked livable and maintained otherwise, but it’s age betrayed its appearance.

One of the representatives took a final drag of her cigarette and sighed.

“Well this place is depressing as fuck.” Emelia stated, flicking the cigarette butt to the ground.

Grinding the last burning embers into the dirt with her boot, she reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a second. Emelia’s partner shot her a concerned look. 

“What?” Emelia asked irritated by the expression. The cigarette stuck out of her lips patiently waiting to be lit.

“You smoke too much.” The partner said judgingly. “You’re going to develop cancer.”

“Oh sod off Trinity.” Emelia rolled her eyes and flipped on her lighter. “It’s nothing a basic recovery spell can’t cure.”

Her pale skin illuminated against the flickering flame as she breathed the cigarette to life. 

Emelia winked at Trinity playfull, “Plus, with workers comp from The Tower, I won’t have to pay a dime.” 

“That defeats the purpose of worker’s compensation, don’t you think?” Trinity asked with a disappointed sigh, placing a hand on her hip and pinching her brow with the other. 

“Hey, we’re part of the system so we might as well use it.” Emelia replied coyly. “We’re more like bloody janitors than detectives. They got messes that need cleaning up, we clean it up, and they pay us shite for it.”

“Whatever. Let’s just get this job done.” Trinity sighed again and started walking towards the front door of the house. 

Emelia followed shortly after with a faint trail of smoke rising from her cigarette.

Gravel crunched under their boots as they approached the house. The backs of their long, black overcoats flapped in the wind. The white Tower of Merlin symbol painted on them crinkled and creased with each passing gust.

“So, what kind of mess are we cleaning up this time?” Emelia asked.

“Guess we’ll know when we see it.” Trinity replied with a neutral shrug. “The Tower intercepted a 9-1-1 call from this location and classified it as a Potential Paranormal Threat – Level C. We’re to go in and assess the situation.”

“That’s all they gave us to work with?” Emelia groaned. Today was already turning out to be a shitty assignment. “Gods this is going to suck.” 

The house’s large, white frame connected to a tall spire of the same color. Together, they sat poised as if overlooking the gray ocean waves like a pair of silent guardians. The building’s structure looked very old, probably early 18th century, but it was surprisingly unweathered.

Emelia’s gaze drifted out onto the murky, gray horizon. The smell of a looming storm lingered and wafted up the seaside cliffs, mixing with the salty air. It was going to rain soon.

Lost in her thoughts, Emelia walked right into Trinity’s outstretched arm, bringing her to an abrupt halt. Emelia’s cigarette flew from her mouth and fell into a puddle.

“What the hell Trin? What was that for–” 

Emelia exclaimed, but her voice trailed off when she noticed Trinity pointing at the front door. It was ajar. A bloody handprint dragged across its frame leading into the house.

Trinity quickly turned around and waved a glowing hand in the air. 

“Cast: Wide Silent Net. Trap all whispers and sounds inside this bounded field.” She chanted frantically as an invisible magical field enveloped the surrounding area.

“Fuck.” Emelia spat and immediately jumped on the offense with her own spell. “Unholy Manifest: Hellblaze Sword.”

A thick blue flame ignited and engulfed her hand. It extended outward to a sharp, burning point like a sword made out of fire.

“Going in on three.” Emelia said sternly with stone-cold conviction. She crouched down and prepared to spring into action, “One…two...”

“Emelia, wait! We need to call this in first!” Trinity shouted in hushed tones. She reached out to try and grab her partner before she could enter the house. 

“Three.” Emelia ducked under Trinity’s hand and kicked the door open wide. She leapt inside and planted her feet, ready to strike anything that moved with her flaming sword.

A trail of blood dragged across the floor into the next room, but there were no signs of life or movement in the house.

After a few more seconds of silence, Emelia called back over her shoulder, “Clear.” 

Trinity carefully crept into the foyer behind her. Emelia quietly moved over into the entryway to the next room and stopped dead in her tracks.

“One of these days, you’re going to get us both killed.” Trinity scolded, eyeing the trail of blood on the floor with caution.

“No need to whisper.” Emelia said with her voice at normal speaking volume. “Pretty sure everyone here is already dead.”

Trinity looked over Emelia’s shoulder into the living room and gasped. A dozen bloody corpses were strewn all over the floor. Their forms were twisted and mangled as if something had broken and shredded their limbs in a frenzy. Blood stained practically every surface.

"I count 4 bodies in this room. Looks like there's at least four more bedrooms in the back." Emelia stated through the tension of the scene before them.

Trinity waved another glowing hand out in front of her. Her eyes began to light up with the same luminescent blue. “Cast: Area Scan. Biological trace and identification.” 

A grid of blue lines moved through the house like a printing device scanning a document. When it was finished, Trinity’s expression was a mixture of relieved and devastated.

“None of these bodies are witches, nor do they have any trace connection to any known or registered magical bloodlines.” She stated matter-of-factly. “This was a mortal home.”

“Then these mortals all died horribly.” Emelia said with sorrow while taking in the carnage. “This mess looks sloppy and quick.”

“Look, all of their hearts are missing.” Trinity said, kneeling next to one of the female corpses. “The chest cavity on this one was ripped right open.”

She pulled out a pair of shimmering, enchanted gloves and began inspecting the body further. Opening the mouth, she noted a thick, black-ish hue to the tongue and gums. A gut-wrenching stench of charcoal and brimstone escaped the corpse’s lips. Trinity quickly turned away in disgust. 

“Well that’s fucking gross.” Emelia said, covering her nose with her free hand. 

“Demonic residue.” Trinity said plugging her nose as well. “And it stinks like a wish demon.”

“Do you really think a simple wish demon could do...all this?” Emelia asked, motioning around at the stained-red living room. Even the Christmas tree had blood spatter all over it.

Trinity stood up and raised a finger to her lips, visibly trying to piece together the current situation in her head.

“For wish demons, the binding context of the contract is literally the verbal extent of the wish.” Trinity explained. “If the wish was vague enough...or, more specifically, spoken aloud vaguely enough...the demon would have complete autonomy.”

Trinity motioned at the horrific scene before them, “So to answer your question, yes it could do all this, and more.” 

“We’re also still discovering new species of demons all the time.” She affirmed. “Whatever did this could be something entirely unknown, even to The Tower.”

“Oh, fuck.” Emelia said dumbfounded. Her eyes grew wide from the realization.

“Yes, do you see? This is why we follow protocol in these situations.” Trinity snapped at her partner.

A creaky floorboard to their right made both detectives jump and turn towards the sound. Emelia raised her sword and was about to swing, but Trinity caught her arm. 

“Wait, Em. Look!” She said.

A teenage boy, no older than fifteen, slowly entered the room. His eyes were glazed over and his expression completely disoriented. His skin sat pale as a ghost against the bright red blood that stained his clothes.

“Have...have you seen...my brother? Have you seen Peter?” He mumbled in a daze before falling limp to the ground.

“Don’t let his head hit the floor!” Trinity shouted, scrambling towards him.

Just in the nick of time, Emelia caught the boy and laid him down gently.

“Boy. Hey boy! Stay with me!” Emelia said gently, cradling his head. “Can you tell us your name?”

“Thomas...my name is Thomas.” The boy said, coming to his senses.

“We need to move him off scene. Quickly!” Trinity exclaimed with an urgent strain on her voice.

The sound of something scraping against paint echoed from one of the hallways nearby. A set of long, razor-sharp claws clasped the edge of the entry frame leading into the living room.

“My my my.” A wicked voice called out from the shadows. “What a treat this turned out to be.” 

A dark silhouette appeared in the hallway. 

“And it appears I’ve caught two of The Tower’s birds in my net.” It cooed with ravenous hunger. “Witch’s hearts do taste the best.”

The figure stepped into the light to reveal two, sickening horns sprouting from its forehead. A wispy tail swayed back and forth at the demon’s rear. Its black, beady eyes were like two deep obsidian crystals, penetrating everything in the room with their dark gaze. The demon’s nimble frame had strong, well-defined muscles. They rippled and flexed beneath its gray skin as it walked. Though its face appeared in the form of a young boy, this creature was clearly something far more sinister.

Emelia made an uneasy grin and gripped her flaming sword tighter, “Oh look Trin, the job came to us.”

Thomas gasped, recognizing the beast, “Peter? Peter what happened to you?”

“Wait, you know this thing?” Emelia asked Thomas without taking her eyes off the creature.

“Your brother is gone.” The demon smiled as wet blood dripped from its lips. “Only I remain.”

Trinity stepped back cautiously. “That’s a Dearg – a type of blood demon native to Ireland. Em, whatever you do, don’t let it taste your blood.”

“I thought you said this thing was a wish demon?!” Emelia asked confused.

“It is. But it draws its powers from the life force of its victims – from their blood!” Trinity explained.

The demon’s eyes flicked to Trinity and it licked its lips, “You’re an intelligent one. I’ll bet you taste delicious.”

It lunged with lightning-fast speed and swiped a deadly claw at her neck. Just as fast, Emelia’s sword intercepted the beast’s abdomen and she sent him crashing back into the far wall at the other end of the room.

After a few seconds, the Dearg picked itself back up out of the rubble and dusted off its shoulders.

“What is this thing made of? Adamant?” Emelia shouted in frustration. “That blow didn’t even break its skin.”

Trinity looked the demon up and down. A regretful shroud washed over her face, “They like to possess children, but it looks completely fused with the host. That child it’s wearing may be beyond saving.”

“Makes our job a bit easier then.” Emelia said bluntly, preparing to strike.

“No, you can’t!” Thomas pleaded, crying. “Please, you have to save him. He’s my brother, you have to!”

The Dearg laughed. Its sickening bellows sent an unnerving chill down their spines.

“What do you mean, Thomas? It’s a tad too late to change your mind.” The demon taunted. “After all, it was you who wished to be an only child. So I made you the only living member of your entire family.”

“You bastard.” Emelia hissed through clenched teeth.

“I’m truly sorry about this, Thomas, but you’re in the way.” Trinity said. With a swift, strong jab to the gut and a brief chant, Trinity knocked Thomas unconscious and spirited his body away with a relocation spell.

She stood and clenched her fists. The air surrounding her began to frost.

“You’ll pay for what you did to this family.” Trinity addressed the Dearg coldly.

The demon smiled and flashed its hundreds of needle-like teeth. A deep red that they could only assume was mortal human blood stained every jagged tooth in its mouth. The creature flexed its claws and purred.

Emelia stretched out her arms and legs in a cocky manner, “I’ll take him head on. You back me up with supporting fire.”

“Right.” Trinity affirmed. Responding to her summons, sharp, cone-shaped icicles materialized in the air. They turned their sharp ends and pointed directly at the Dearg.

“Alright then, let’s get to work!” Emelia shouted excitedly and lunged at the demon. Her fiery sword swung through the air like a blazing tongue of lava and ember.

The Dearg's smile vanished as it whispered, “Ars Gehenna Goliatha.”

© James Schleisman December 2019 All Rights Reserved