Mark of the Incubus Ch. 13 - Final

"Was on my way to the diner," Michelle said.

"Vesta killed Nolan," Agnes explained. She flashed back to the scene in her mind and it made her choke down a sob. Michelle paused on the line then sighed and said, "I'm sorry."

Michelle sounded more full of regret than usual. Something lay heavy in her voice that Agnes couldn't place but she was too full of rage to think about it further.

"Meet me at Vesta's house," Agnes said then she hung up the phone. James made the traffic lights all green so they didn't have to stop. He was too excited to see what happened next.

***

Michelle was there waiting by her truck. Agnes jumped out of her car, a woman on a mission then finally let her anger loose on the elegant mansion that Vesta called home. It was a fine Southern Plantation house. Agnes could feel the pain of the slaves that were forced to work the fields under the hot sun and the bite of the whip.

The double doors were white, fine carved oak. They were no match for Agnes as she blew the doors right off their hinges with her rage.

"VESTA!" Agnes cried out as she walked through the dust. James followed tranquilly behind Agnes and Michelle who eyed him with suspicion. James only flashed her a knowing smile.

Vesta soon came down stairs wearing nothing but a silk kimono robe with plum blossoms painted on it. Her blond hair was twisted into a towel.

"What the fuck did you do to my doors?" Vesta cried out. She was shrill when she was angry.

"Showering off the blood I see," Agnes accused a confused Vesta. "Couldn't stand the smell?"

"What the hell are you talking about, Milton," Vesta placed her hands on her hips looking imperious. It brought Agnes back to her high school days being mocked by this girl. Agnes's anger shook the house. The chandeliers shimmered like a wind chime.

"Stop that!" Vesta barked. "You'll bring the house down on all of us!"

"Your parents aren't home are they?" Michelle asked.

"They're out of town for the weekend," Vesta said.

"Good, no witnesses," Agnes said as she caught Vesta by the throat and squeezed so tight she thought Vesta's pretty blue eyes would pop out of their sockets.

Agnes could hear and feel the snake inside Vesta hissing in protest. Vesta sputtered out incoherent words until Agnes decided to let her go to hear what excuses she had for murder.

Vesta collapsed to the floor gasping for air like a fish dropped onto a fishing boat freshly caught. Her whole face was red and her eyes sparkled with tears. Finally she regained some composure indignantly she cried, "What is your deal!? Are you insane?"

"Why did you kill Nolan?" Agnes asked. "Hm? Was it because you were jealous?"

"Nolan Colt?" Vesta climbed to her feet. She was always the debutant. Even when the wind was knocked out of her Vesta always had a certain grace with excellent posture. "Why would I waste my time killing him?"

"You used Nolan's phone to text me then filmed a video of you murdering him," Agnes explained, her voice cracking with rage.

"I was home all day," Vesta defended herself.

"Liar," Agnes took up a Chinese vase then tried to hit Vesta with it but Vesta held up her hand stopping her with her power. Agnes felt her blood vessels popping under Vesta's control. Suddenly James did a flick of his wrist suspending Vesta into the air, releasing her hold on Agnes.

Agnes coughed catching her breath. She watched as Vesta's body contorted in the air like a puppet on strings. The serpent inside her was no longer under her command but under James's.

"What... is... happening...?" Vesta bit out.

"Did I forget to tell you that the snake familiar inside you is not always under your control?" Agnes cocked her head to the side as she pretended to admire the Chinese vase. "Silly me." Then she smashed it on the floor.

The towel on Vesta's head fell to the floor letting loose her wet golden tendrils. The veins on her neck popped out into view under the strain of James's demonic hold on her. James curled his fingers making Vesta curl backwards. Michelle winced as she heard some of Vesta's bones cracking.

"Keep this up and she won't ever walk again," Michelle said to Agnes.

Agnes shot Michelle a murderous glance that made her best friend flinch. She had never seen Agnes so angry before. The sight turned Michelle's blood cold.

"Now...," Agnes walked up to Vesta, coming face to upside down face with her high school tormentor. "Why did you kill Nolan?"

"I... didn't— Ah!" Vesta cried out, her face turning as red as a cherry as James twitched his fingers.

BANG! Suddenly Agnes heard someone fire off a gun. James caught the bullet just in time before it hit Agnes in the back. She turned to see Beau holding a shot gun at her. Michelle punched him in the face then wrestled the gun away from him. Beau lay on the floor, drooling on the black and white marble.

"Forgot about Vesta's bitch," Michelle shrugged as she emptied the shot gun of its remaining shells. Agnes turned her attention back to Vesta who was crying hard.

"Either we can do this the hard way or the easy way though keep in mind both ways suck for you," Agnes took hold of Vesta's wet hair, threatening to pull them out from their roots.

"I swear I didn't," Vesta wept. The Mean Girl gave way to the insecure girl hiding in the closet all her life. The sight made Agnes's heart twinge with sympathy but the memory of finding Nolan's corpse, the video of Vesta smiling as she fucked then murdered him brought on a new wave of rage.

Agnes's whole body hardened itself for what it had to do next. Agnes turned to James who watched her curiously. When she nodded he smiled then took his other hand drawing a serpentine pattern in the air.

The snake inside Vesta dug out of its host, eating its way through her flesh as Vesta's screams filled the whole house. Blood dripped onto the perfect marble floor. Agnes watched as her bully was eaten alive from the inside out, gurgling blood until finally she was silent, a rag doll puppet hanging in the air.

Michelle stood wide eyed at the dead body that James dropped to the floor, blood pooling around the fresh corpse. Then she turned to her best friend. She hardly recognized her. Michelle suddenly began thinking, What have I done?

The snake familiar slithered back to its true master. James rested his hand on the marble floor then allowed the sleek creature to slither up his sleeve then disappear to some unknown place. James shot Michelle a cruel smile. She only glared back hating him but hating herself more...

***

Agnes practically tore the house apart. She couldn't find Nolan's cell phone that would prove Vesta did it.

"FUCK!" Agnes threw Vesta's expensive stiletto heel at her mirror, breaking it in the process. "Where is that God damn thing?"

"I checked everywhere," Michelle panted from running all around the house. "Maybe she tossed it. Vesta isn't... wasn't dumb."

Agnes sat on Vesta's bed. It was like a much finer bed than Agnes's. A gossamer net surrounded it like a veil protecting a sleeping princess. James motioned for Michelle to leave. She looked to Agnes but Agnes didn't bother to look up.

Michelle left them to go down stairs. She was half way down the stairs when something vibrated in her pocket. The police were still looking for it. They had been calling Nolan's cell phone all day but Michelle hadn't had a chance to get rid of it.

A part of her couldn't. The guilt was too strong. She would get caught if she didn't throw the phone into the quarry but that old Christian guilt that her grandmother beat into her since she was a child. God punishes the wicked. No one escapes their sins.

Agnes sat on Vesta's bed staring at nothing. She could feel the life inside her more. If it was Nolan's it's all she had left of him. Her baby brother was dying in the hospital and the boy who loved her was dead. It was all because of her. You're an evil girl, Agnes.

That voice was sounding less and less like Mary and more like Agnes every time. Kick a dog long enough and it will start to believe it deserves it. Nothing else existed except James's touch. He rubbed her back, the heat of his palm dispelling the evil thoughts. He was a drug that she couldn't quit.

James didn't say a word. He kissed her head as he drew her into his evil embrace that gave Agnes such comfort. The demons of her soul bowed to the one who kissed her lips. Agnes lay back letting James shower her body with hot sensual kisses. She wrapped her arms around him, tearing off his pastor collar and ripping his shirt open to run her nails down his firm pecs and ab muscles.

Agnes spread her legs feeling James's maleness pressed hard against her wanton sex. Once he was inside her the world melted away. Once more Agnes was no longer a physical entity but a raw nerve of passion. She could forget about her troubles and many sins for only a few moments.

***

James said he would handle the bodies. Agnes didn't want to know what he planned to do. Agnes and Michelle went to the hospital after getting a call from the doctor that Charlie didn't have much time left. It was time to say goodbye. On the way Agnes told Michelle that she was pregnant. Michelle sat stunned. Then her olive green eyes lit up.

"I think I know of a way to help Charlie," Michelle beamed. "A spell I discovered on some witch website."

"Is it legit?" Agnes couldn't allow herself to hope but ever since that masturbation summoning ritual she couldn't doubt Michelle on spell authenticity.

***

It was a reincarnation spell. They had to do it before Charlie died and his soul vanished into the mystical ether, the spell said. They would transfer Charlie's soul into Agnes's fetus. It was just a clump of cells right now so no fear for it having a soul to override.

Michelle brought white candles and Agnes brought something that was precious to Charlie. A wish bone from a Thanksgiving that felt like centuries ago when Charlie came out to Agnes. They didn't break the wish bone promising to do it when their dreams came true.

They closed the door in Charlie's room. He looked so helpless with a tube stuffed into his esophagus to help him breathe and other wires hooked up to the machines to check his weakening vitals. Agnes almost cried but she was going to save him.

They had three white candles. Agnes took a pin then pricked Charlie's thumb dripping the crimson droplets onto the wish bone. Then they rested the third candle on his body. Michelle and Agnes took the remaining two white candles and lit them. Then they each took hold of his hand.

Michelle spoke the Latin words and Agnes joined in. The air in the room shifted as the third candle lit up from their magic.

"That means his soul is in the bone now," Michelle explained.

"But the monitor is still beeping," Agnes said.

"His body's alive but his soul is gone," Michelle assured her. "Without the soul the body won't last long. We just need to crush up the bone and then you have to consume it. After that his soul will transfer into the fetus."

Suddenly just as Michelle predicted the machines flatlined. A doctor and a few nurses rushed in acting on instinct whenever they hear that fatal sound but this time they didn't try to revive him. Agnes held onto the blood stained wishbone with a death grip so afraid that she would drop it.

***

Agnes crushed up the bone then poured the dust into the small paper cup of water from the water cooler. Michelle watched as her best friend swallowed Charlie's soul. Agnes could feel her brother's soul like a warm little sun filling her up.

She placed her hand on her womb actually feeling its heart beat with her own. Agnes couldn't help but cry with happiness. At least one thing went right today.

"Agnes," Michelle looked grave. "Do you still have that locket I gave you?"

Agnes had completely forgot about that thing but she carried it with her. She pulled it out of her pocket. It was so ordinary. Michelle took it from her then said, "I have to do something with it first to make sure it works."

Michelle went into the bathroom. After making sure no one else was there she coughed up her snake familiar. She needed something of the demon's to make the trap work. The serpent was a servant of James, a part of him. Hopefully it worked. Michelle took out her car keys then cut into the snake's sleek black body. It cried out in pain but Michelle ignored its suffering.

She bled the creature inside the locket. The blood steamed and the locket glowed as Michelle uttered some Enochian words. Only words of the angels were strong enough to bind a demon.

***

Agnes had to pee. Being pregnant made her want to pee a lot. What would it be like when she got fatter? She didn't intend to walk in on Michelle but she froze when she saw the snake familiar in her hands then watched with shock to see the snake slithering back into Michelle's mouth.

Then a cell phone buzzed. Michelle took it out of her pocket and Agnes recognized it. It was Nolan's.

"It was you...," Agnes gasped.

Michelle spun around in horror to find her best friend staring at her with such shock and disgust.

***

Agnes dragged Michelle to an abandoned room in the hospital. There were no words to describe the hurt and betrayal Agnes was feeling right now. Her best friend had been lying to her this entire time.

"So that extra presence I felt in New Orleans at the casino was you?!" Agnes growled. How could she had been so stupid. "This whole time. This whole TIME! You've been lying to me!"

Michelle didn't say anything. She was a little girl with her hand caught in the cookie jar. In a rage Agnes shoved Michelle into the wall, pinning her with her telekinetic powers. The wall fractured from the impact of her psychic force.

A voice in the back of Agnes's mind gnawed at her, a cold worm digging into dead flesh telling her to kill Michelle then and there.

"When did it start?" Agnes said through gritted teeth.

"A day after you told me," Michelle managed to speak. "James came to me and gave me the snake familiar after..."

Agnes didn't want to hear that part.

"Look in my mind...," Michelle pleaded. "You should be able to now. I've been concealing it with magic James gave me."

"I should just kill you now," Agnes felt hot tears stream down her cheek. She could hear the serpent inside Michelle now. She could feel it flex as if it were a part of Agnes herself. Her heart began to hurt as Michelle said, "I deserve it..."

Agnes burrowed into Michelle's mind, sifting through every dirty secret she ever kept from everyone. Then she found the biggest secret of all. Agnes released Michelle from the shock of her discovery.

James placed a hex on Charlie if Michelle ever spoke of her involvement.

"So now you know," Michelle sobbed a bitter laugh. "You going to kill me? Go ahead. I deserve it."

"First your relationship with Vesta now James," Agnes spoke in disbelief. "Were we ever really friends?"

Michelle glared at Agnes, "I was your only friend! I was the only person you could trust until that demon showed up and turned you into a selfish bitch!"

Agnes felt the sting of Michelle's words. They had a grain of truth. But still...

"Why did you kill Nolan?"

"I didn't want to...," Michelle sobbed, tears wetting her cheeks. "I just wanted to get rid of Vesta. I did that for all of us she was trying to leech off of you like James. I couldn't let her take you too!"

Agnes's face crumpled into sadness.

"It doesn't matter anymore," Michelle sighed as she collapsed onto a hospital bed suddenly feeling tired. "You found out so the hex on Charlie is null and void. I'll turn myself in."

"You can't," Agnes sniffed.

"My grandmother beat the fear of God into me," Michelle laughed wryly. "I have to be punished."

Agnes sat next to Michelle staring at the bland tile floor.

"We both have sinned and need to be punished," Agnes sighed. "One day... But maybe until then we can repent for what we did to others... to each other."

Agnes's hand took Michelle's and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Michelle rested her head onto Agnes's shoulder. They sat there silently knowing that after today they would probably never see each other again.

***

Michelle heaved her bag into the truck. Night was falling fast, covering the world in darkness.

"I should stay and help you with James at least," Michelle said.

"Go to New Orleans and get that thing exorcised," Agnes said. "Otherwise James will hunt you down and kill you. Hell he may make me do it for him and I can't say I wouldn't be tempted."

Michelle bit her lower lip as her soft green eyes began to look rheumy. Agnes gave her best friend a bear hug. A goodbye that didn't need words.

"Good luck," Michelle whispered as she kissed Agnes's cheek. Agnes watched as Michelle drove off into the night. The dust kicking up in her wake passing the "You are now leaving Paradise Falls" sign, leaving this God forsaken town behind forever.

Agnes took out the now enchanted locket. Now for the real challenge.

***

Agnes went home to an empty house. Empty except for the ghosts that haunted it. The ghosts of her past that would haunt her forever. Her mark burned to tell her that James was near.

"So Michelle is gone," James asked. He sat at the dining table flipping through a magazine of InStyle.

"Left town," Agnes said trying to remain calm.

"I can feel her slipping further away," James sighed. "If you think exorcising my familiar will be easy think again. My familiars are like an STD, almost impossible to get rid of."

"Michelle may surprise you," Agnes sat down opposite James, keeping her distance.

"Like she surprised you?" James cocked a curious eyebrow, his whiskey colored eyes glinting.

Agnes sat silently for a moment.

"I should send you away," Agnes grumbled.

"But you won't," James tossed the magazine aside.

"No," Agnes shrugged. "Because you were right. If Nolan had asked me get rid of you, strip me of my power I would have said no."

James threw up his hands and smiled, "See? That's why I love you, Agnes, we're always on the same page. You know I make your life better."

"But here's the thing...," Agnes stood up turning her attention out the window. "I'm done with you trying to control everything in my life. I'm about to become a mother."

James felt a presence from behind him. He felt the familiar before he felt Louis grab hold of him. The snake slithered from Louis's mouth then extended its length wrapping itself around him, binding him.

"What the—?"

"You remember my brother," Agnes turned around taking out the enchanted locket.

James smirked. "You think you can hold me? The familiar is mine!"

"Yes only you or anyone of your demon blood can control it," Agnes nodded, her indigo eyes cool and calculating.

Realization dawned on James's face. For the first time Agnes saw fear in the demon's sexy eyes.

"Yes, James, you are the father of this baby," Agnes said. "Michelle and I did a paternity spell to make sure this would all work. And since I imprinted Charlie's soul into the fetus he is controlling the serpent that is binding you. Michelle also enchanted this locket with the blood of your familiar."

James struggled but it was no use. He laughed wickedly, "You were nothing without me! A pathetic bitch throwing herself at every cock that paid her the slightest attention!" Agnes only stared at him, unaffected by his insults. "You can't hold me forever, Agnes."

"Probably not," Agnes shook her head. "But it's better than having you run around wreaking havoc. I need some stability for my brother as he grows up."

Agnes opened the locket. James cried out as he was sucked into the locket. It clasped shut then jiggled as the demon inside tried to break free. But eventually the locket settled. It glowed angrily. Agnes held it in her hand feeling the fire within searing her flesh. She captured her demon. Now she was in control...