Havoc of Souls Read online

  The rules were changing, and she couldn’t trust anything that she thought she knew. All she could do was watch the glow of the setting sun framed the dresser and plyboard, all her senses focused on the shifting light. Her eyes flicked nervously, and she bit on one fist in attempt to stifle any silent sobs as the room slowly darkened.

  Turning away from the balcony, she rubbed her arms and muttered to herself.

  “Going to be okay. It’s fine. They can’t get in here.”

  They couldn’t, but she couldn’t lie to herself that no one else could. If the ravagers were taking over the families, how much effort would it take for them to send people in to drag her out? Shivering as the gloom of night settled around her, Meredith snatched her bag off the floor, unzipped it, and dumped the contents on her bed. She dug through the pile with trembling fingers until she came across the blunt edge of a lighter.

  Picking it up, her fingers rubbing repeatedly over the surface in an attempt to self-soothe, Meredith rushed over to the table. With a shaky hand, she started lighting the pillar candles. The flame went out several times in the process, but finally she had them all lit. Hunched over the table, her weight on her hands flattened on the wooden surface, she stared at the winking lights.

  They didn’t provide much illumination, but it was enough. Enough to keep her from feeling like she was about to lose her mind. Enough so that the darkness was no longer creeping forward in its threat to swallow her whole.

  She could do this.

  But when she closed her eyes, she could feel his breath on her throat, and his inhuman face so close to her was all she could see in her mind.

  Someone screamed. A woman’s voice pleading from the street outside her balcony. Part of Meredith wanted to push back the plywood from her balcony door, convinced that maybe it was just people fighting. She’d heard enough of that in the first weeks, and even still did once in a while. They would argue and fight and then they’d go home before the last rays of the sun fell behind the mountains.

  It couldn’t quite be night yet... could it? How long did she sit there, crawling in panic through her own mind?

  She didn’t think it had been more than a moment, and yet...

  A shrill scream of terror broke through the air, followed by a roar and a piercing cry of pain. Meredith choked and then let out a low sob, her entire body shuddering violently. Her fingers twisted on the blanket she’d wrapped around her shoulders.

  She was wrong. She’d been so, so wrong.

  The cries outside grew louder and more desperate.

  Meredith clenched her fists to her ears and gritted her teeth, willing the terrible sound to go away. The taste of blood surprised her and she placed her fingers to her lips in surprise. Her tongue burned painfully. She’d bitten her tongue.

  Silence.

  Meredith crumpled to the floor and drew her legs up to her chest. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she leaned her head forward and rocked. The quiet sobs morphed into loud, wailing cries. All the stress of the last few weeks came to a head as she heard the last breaths of life from the woman outside.

  She hadn’t even tried to help.

  She hadn’t even pulled back the plywood to investigate.

  Like everyone else in the miserable town, she might as well have aided the ravager in killing the woman, whoever she was.

  Pushing to her feet, she stared at the dresser and the slab of the plywood. She paled as she heard the wet sound of flesh being torn and bones snapping. The woman was being eaten not even seconds after her pitiful cry. Self-loathing and hatred of the ravagers warred within Meredith’s belly.

  “Fuck!”

  She grabbed a delicate snow globe, a childhood treasure that she’d hauled with her to Ashton, and hurled it against the dresser. Glass shattered, soaking the drawers in water and glittery white beads. Screaming, she grabbed one thing after another, breaking everything she’d once treasured. What did they matter now? She was now livestock, to be bred and killed.

  She screamed until her voice went hoarse, until her body shook with exhaustion.

  Glass crunched beneath her shoes.

  Numbly she went to the broom closet, pulled out her broom and dustpan, and got to work sweeping up the glass and broken ceramics. A pink budvase the shape of a heart had shattered into cotton-candy-colored shards everywhere.

  Methodically, she cleaned up her mess, her mind in chaos, and emptied all those broken pieces of herself, of her past and her life from before the ravagers, all the little mementos from people who’d given a damn about her, into the wastebasket.

  She had no more energy to grieve. At the moment she couldn’t feel anything, and the emptiness was a relief to her over-exerted psyche.

  She put the broom away, slipped off her clothes, and climbed into bed.

  Waking to the sound of voices outside, Meredith rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, got out of bed, and stumbled over to the balcony. Putting her shoulder against the side of the dresser, she shoved it away from the door and pulled away the plywood, leaning it against the nearest wall. Stepping outside was like being born into horror.

  The street in front of her building was stained black with blood. It had splashed upon the walls and soaked through litter on the ground. A few stubborn blades of grass and pansies that had tried to grow in the cracks of the cement were macabre versions of their former selves, sagging under the weight of human gore.

  People were talking as they walked down the street, their voices excited and some sounding positively jovial as they stepped through the mess as if it were nothing. Thank the gods, there were no pieces of the body lying about, but Meredith almost wished that there were so the people would be unable to ignore what had happened.

  Instead they were talking of the promise of fresh food. The Kesslers were providing eggs, milk, a small quantity of fresh meat, and fruits and vegetables grown in the solar greenhouses that had once been property of the city.

  Meredith leaned forward, scowling in disbelief as she listened.

  “You’ll see, Mark. This will be the turnaround of things,” a woman said with a tired, hopeful smile she looked over at a shaggy-haired bearded man at her side. He muttered an unintelligible reply. He didn’t look quite so convinced, but he relaxed as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

  Meredith wanted to scream. You’re all idiots!

  Everyone was accepting the Kessler family’s offer at face value. The generosity of the human spirit, one man said with a broad grin. What a crock. The Kesslers gave with one hand and made strange, unreasonable demands with the other. That made no one stop and think?

  A teenage boy, half-dragged by his family, shook his head in protest.

  “I don’t want to go,” he hissed. “Something isn’t right about this.”

  Bingo, Meredith thought, mentally applauding the young man for showing a shred of common sense. The girl clutching his arm nodded her head in agreement, but their family paid them no mind. His father slapped him on the back and laughed.

  “Don’t look so glum. It’s about time someone does something to get things on track again.”

  “But why do we all have to go?” the girl protested.

  “Because they said so. We all have to do our part if things are going to get better,” the father said gruffly, scratching at his beard. “Working and making babies is the lot in life right now, so you might as well get used to the idea.”

  “I don’t want to be with some stranger. He could be disgusting!”

  “Hush,” her mother said in a rush, glancing around as if she were terrified that someone would hear her daughter’s anger over the situation. “I’m sure they will pair you with a nice man. The most important thing is that there will be plenty of decent, fresh food for you to eat. No more canned meat and fruit, or powdered milk from what I’ve heard.”

  The girl sneered. Her eyes slid up and met Meredith’s gaze. A thin hand shot out and pointed at Meredith.

  “Why isn’t she going then?”
>
  Eyes turned up and looked at her, many of them flaring with anger as people began to mutter amongst themselves. It escalated into threatening shouts and curses.

  “Get your hoity-toity ass down here before we drag you down,” one snarled threateningly from where he stood nearest to the steps. His clothes hung off his frame as if he hadn’t eaten in some time, and his face was flushed with indignation. “We aren’t going to have you breaking the rules and making the rest of us look bad. If you don’t come down, we’re coming in after you. Right?” he shouted back to the rest of the crowd.

  A roar of agreement answered him, and Meredith felt the blood leave her face as a crowd of men and women began to advance toward the door of her building.

  Her eyes scanned that crowd and met the chilly gaze of Jason Kessler at the rear. His lips curled in a fierce, taunting smile. There was no escape.

  “All right!” she snapped. “Hold your asses, I’m coming down.”

  Stomping through the house, she threw on her jacket and left her room, slamming the door behind her. She didn’t bother to lock it. She didn’t have anything of value left to steal, and with the Kesslers giving out food to their flock she doubted there would be anyone eager to root through her meager supplies. There was no running away. Might as well get it over with.

  The moment she stepped out of the building, brutal hands grabbed her and shoved her forward to the front of the horde. Horde was an apt description for them. They milled about, eagerly following orders, shouting as if it had some meaning, as if they had any control. It was laughable.

  Meredith yearned to disappear when she saw the building that the Kessler family had taken over looming up ahead. She didn’t even look to see where Jason was in the crowd. No doubt he’d followed behind the entire way. She didn’t want to know.

  Everyone fell silent as George Kessler, the head of the Kessler family, stepped out on a makeshift stage and walked over to a podium. He leaned forward against it and folded his hands, bestowing everyone with what she presumed was supposed to be a grandfatherly smile. George’s gray hair was tidy, a flush of good health in his cheeks.

  Meredith narrowed her eyes critically.

  His sons stood around him in a loose semi-circle. She noticed right away that out of the five men standing on the stage, only two looked human. Three of his sons, Anthony, Jason and Xavier, had all the markings of possession. Marcus, the eldest, was fully human and watching the proceedings with a bored look on his face. She wondered why he didn’t end up possessed. He was the successor... unless they wanted a human front man.

  She nibbled on her lip as the elder Kessler continued to talk of all the benefits that would come with the new order.

  New Order. The words said it all.

  The crowd cheered when he paused for it and booed and hissed at the appropriate times when he spoke of outsiders who would disturb the peace the people of Ashton were trying to build in this new world.

  She had to hand it to him. He knew how to work a crowd. The typical political spiel, her attention began to drift—until a young man in a loose white suit was brought up onto the stage by Marcus.

  The man was handsome. A slight Asian cast to his features with dark hair and eyes and a lean, toned frame, he was hard to miss. She did, however, almost miss the statement made by the elder Kessler. He thumped his fist on the podium for emphasis.

  “We need to stand against the outside world together. Our benefactor doesn’t wish to see any more pain among the people of Ashton. A cooperation between species is necessary for the good of both of us. Outsiders, like this gentleman here, would disrupt what fragile peace we might be able to find.”

  He adopted a pained, sympathetic face at the shock that rippled through the crowd.

  “Aren’t we tired of living in fear?”

  The crowd murmured in assent.

  “Aren’t we tired of going hungry and watching our once-great civilization slowly becoming reduced to rubble and ash?”

  The return was more enthusiastic this time.

  He swept his arms open wide and smiled gregariously down at everyone.

  “We can have all these things. Peace is the way.”

  “Peace is the way,” the crowd answered. It started small but gained in strength and volume as they shouted it, waving their hands in the air.

  Meredith’s eyes roved over them in open horror. They were buying into it!

  Kessler raised his hands for silence and the noise died down. His smile was triumphant, but it was nothing compared to the toothy grins of his three sons standing to the side of him. Their eyes glinted with an indescribable emotion that unsettled her.

  “The rules,” he boomed, “protect us all. We follow them and then will help provide for us and ensure our safety. The ravagers of Ashton are from this point on our allies... and we in turn must protect them from those who come into our town seeking to harm them.” He smiled at the crowd and gestured to the young man held so tightly by Marcus. “You see this stranger here? He walked right up to my home and offered to exorcise the spirits who live among us. To destroy our allies who would protect us from other ravagers who might try to enter our city.”

  His words were met with an angry shout as people hurled insults at the stranger standing stoically, his dark eyes glittering in defiance at them. His eyes shifted to the sky and Meredith looked up and gaped.

  How had none of them noticed that the sun was going down?

  It was nearing dark and George was still talking like he didn’t have a care in the world. A few of the people began to shift nervously, but no one dared to leave.

  “As a sign of favor, the ravagers will give us this night. Have no fear; they won’t attack you. In return we must deal with this trespasser.” His lips pinched together in a moue of regret. “It is a shame since I had wanted to move on to other important things, such as the repopulation programs I have been speaking of with our benefactor, but that will have to wait for another day. Today, this man who would have destroyed our new friends will be reutilized to their service.”

  The shadows lengthened and a low hiss came from a dark area from the side of the house. Meredith stood up straight, her back stiffening with caution. The leaves crunched and the sound morphed into what almost sounded like a chuckle.

  Then it came.

  Unlike many of the other ravagers, its body was mostly serpentine, with only two powerful limbs at the pelvis. The rest of the torso looked humanoid, but its gut seemed to collapse with every breath in a reptilian fashion. Short, sharp horns reminiscent of thorns, hooked out in various places on its body, growing larger at the head to form a sort of natural bony crown. Its glowing gaze zeroed in on the young man, who now was beginning to struggle, a terrified expression on his face.

  She gave him a pitying glance.

  He shouted to the crowd, jerking against his captors’ grip.

  “Please, do not allow this! Give me my tools and I can help you. You do not need to be used by these creatures. I am an exorcist; I am here to help!”

  Meredith stepped forward. She couldn’t stand by, paralyzed by fear. Not again.

  An arm like a hard band circled around her, halting her movement.

  She froze. She hadn’t even seen Jason leave the stage, but now he was behind her. Xavier and Anthony were also notably absent. Breath fanned her skin as he nuzzled her hair.

  “You won’t be interfering this time, stubborn woman.” He made a sound of disapproval but giggled suddenly. “Anthony was quite upset when I arranged to keep you.” He tapped a fingernail that had morphed into a claw against her collar bone. “He wanted to eat you.” Jason snapped his teeth centimeters from her neck. “Said you’d evaded him and insulted him on the hunt. But you see... I like you.”

  “Lucky me,” she whispered as she watched the serpentine ravager slide up within inches of the exorcist, her eyes watering from the pinch of pain as the claws dug into her skin.

  “You are very lucky,” he agreed. “Watch close, because this
will be you soon. You will be a host for one of our females. A mate for me. Don’t worry—you will still be there inside, sharing space with her even as you share your memories and watch her act out your life through her eyes. You will be like a dream, but she will absorb parts of you in order to fit your body for a time. In a way, it will be an honor for you, because you will be bonded to her spirit and live forever with a powerful female.”

  “And if I refuse?”

  “I tried to warn you before. There is no refusal. That fool on the stage, do you think he has any choice? Since he has been captured and stripped of all his protections, he is as vulnerable as you. Unlike you, he is being joined to one of our common warriors.”

  Meredith shivered as the thing crept closer, its claws reaching forward to rend the white cloth away from his body.

  “What are you?” she whimpered.

  Lips caressed the skin of her neck.

  “We are that which has been bred to feed, to exist at the conclusion of life. We are the hounds of the abyss, gnawing on the remains that fall off souls as they travel through the worlds to the halls of the dead.”

  “You... you don’t look like hounds.”

  He giggled and nipped her playfully.

  “A poetic name. The Rasne people depicted us as wolfmen rising from crematory urns. Symbolic, I suppose, since I don’t think even one of us truly has that appearance. But they were right about one thing: we do love to feed, and humanity provides us with so many opportunities. We have been called many things, but my favorite will continue to be ‘wulkwos.’ The Rasne at least respected us.”

  The man on the stage threw his head back, his muscles straining against Marcus, as he screamed. The ravager, or wulkwos, had slit him from collar to groin, and was steadily digging his claws into human flesh, separating muscle as the ravager seeped in. A thick barb hung between the creature’s legs that hadn’t been there before, betraying his eagerness and excitement. He growled and groaned with pleasure, loud to her ears over the screams of the exorcist as it burrowed in, its hips thrusting forward as it pushed inside of him.