Page 9 of The Other Side

“No…anything but that,” he protested.

“Well then, I guess youdon’tneed to speak with your wife,” I hissed as Bastien began to growl. “Pity.” I shrugged, slamming the book shut. The man wrung his hat in his hands.

“Wait,” he exhaled. My body turned as I watched him hesitate, rotating the simple band from his finger before placing it into my palm with regret. “Wonderful!” I clutched my hand shut. “Now, let’s bring your wife’s soul back.”

Darkness began to cloud the room as a storm of power took over. Magic grew within my body as I lifted my walking stick and swayed my hands. Burgundy fire and smoke waved through the room as lightning cracked and shadow-like creatures danced along the walls, their unnatural noises filling our ears as a wind began to pick up, frightening the man.

“I call upon the other side and demand the return of the soul of this man’s wife.” I stared up at him, conducting the magic and power within my grasp. “Careful, my shadowy friends might bite.” An evil grin overcame me as the man swallowed hard. “Come to me!” I slammed my walking stick into the floor, and an electric blue crack formed, splitting the wooden boards. Hellfire peeked through as darkness crawled from the broken veil. A single shadow wriggled from the split and formed the silhouette of a woman, taking her place between us.

“I can’t be,” the man breathed in disbelief. The woman’s shadow-like soul turned to face the man.

“Speak, shadow,” I commanded, watching as it flinched at my command.. The shadow woman stood before us, the room trembling in a storm of fire and darkness as my magic tried to control the crack within the veil.

“Jacob,” her soft, altered voice spoke, echoing as his eyes ignited with longing and a spark of life. The woman reached her arm out, the man doing the same as they nearly touched.

“Marie? Marie, is that really you?” The man stopped, unsure of how to embrace his wife’s soul, tears falling from his eyes as he smiled with joy. “Marie, I-I’ve missed you so much.”

The woman opened her mouth to speak, but no words or sounds came out.

“Marie?” The shadow clutched its neck, clawing at it in a panicked silence. The man’s eyes moved to me. “What’s happening?”

This is new.

“I said speak!” Once again, I slammed the walking stick into the floorboards of my shop, a wave of shadow magic rolling from the impact. The woman remained silent. Thunder boomed within the shop as more shadow creatures began to seep through the crack, snarling and growling as they pranced throughout the room.

This isn’t right. Something is wrong.

Blue hellfire raged. Branching from the cracked veil, reaching higher and higher as it poured from the other side and began to consume the room. The woman reached for her husband one last time before a monstrous shadow arm ruptured from the floor and grabbed her, trying to pull her back down into the depths of the Underworld. She opened her mouth to scream, nothing escaping it as the most unnatural and sinister growl erupted from beneath us, shaking the floorboard as they rattled and trembled.

“Marie!” The man shouted.

What magic is this?

I tried to use my power to contain the insanity, but it was no use. Whatever new force this was, it was stronger than me.

The man fell back, watching in horror as a second shadow arm burst from the crack, clutching the woman’s soul. It forcefully dragged her through the fiery sliver into the hellfire, closing the veil as it disappeared. The other menacing shadowscontinued to ensue chaos, roaming freely throughout my store. Their disobedience infuriated me. I spun my walking stick once more and slammed it into the floor as I grit my teeth.

“Enough!” My voice vibrated the entire room. “Listen, all of you! Return to your home at once! Return to the other side!” The shadows whimpered at my magic, shrieking as they seemingly evaporated into thin air.

The room instantly calmed as the dark clouds disappeared and warm light returned, everything falling back into place and resuming its natural state. I exhaled, wiped my sweating forehead and adjusted my posture, unsure of what the hell just happened.

“Forgive me. It seems something has unsettled the other side.” The bell above the store door jingled, immediately followed by a voice.

“Indeed.” My body fell cold at the familiar voice.

The room became dead silent, broken only by the sound of a finger snapping as the man before me was set ablaze in blue fire. No—hellfire.

Cypress.

Within seconds, the man’s body had dissolved, leaving nothing but a single black shadow hovering in the air. His soul. Just past the shadow was a woman, slender and pale. Her appearance took me back. She sounded like Cypress but looked nothing like the goddess of death. Instead, this woman wore a mask of fire, burning blue in the shape of a skull, hiding her face. Her grinning parted, and her mouth stretched unnaturally, her tongue falling free. She began to inhale, her eyes rolling as she consumed the man’s soul. It was the most disturbing thing I had ever witnessed. The woman closed her eyes, licking her lips as she moaned faintly, seeming to savor the taste.

“What a delicious little soul,” she cooed, turning away as she spoke. “Though it could use a little more flavor. Frightened soulsare quite a treat, but helpless ones are absolutely marvelous.” The woman closed her eyes again, reminiscing the horrific thing.

She sounds like Cypress, but can it be her? After all these years?

Her head snapped towards me, her eyes wide, the cloudy color instantly recognizable. My body became rigid as the color drained from my face.

It was her.

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