“Yes, Sam. I hear them. In fact, I hear all of them.”
“All of them?”
“They each speak, Sam. Some louder than others.”
“But...how?”
He looked at me, then at a book stacked on a nearby counter, and said, “As you know, these aren’t your average books. These books have been imbued with intent, some even written in blood.”
“So, you’re saying they’re...haunted?”
“Not quite, Sam. But energy is attracted to them. Sometimes dark energy, but usually, just an aspect of that energy.”
“Not the entire entity.”
“Right, Sam. Just like not all of you is contained within your physical vessel.”
“An aspect of me?”
“An idea of you, Sam. Your soul. Your real soul lies in the energetic world, observing all of this with interest.”
“So, who am I, then?”
“Think of yourself as a representative of who you really are.”
“Are you trying to hurt my brain?”
He laughed. “Some of this is not easy to understand. Much of it was never really meant to be understood, except by those who seek answers or...”
“By those of us who are forced to find answers.”
“Yes, Sam. For most of the world, the search for spiritual truth is a personal journey of their choosing. For you, your spiritual journey was thrust on you.”
“And by thrust,” I said, “you mean forced upon me, when I was attacked and turned into what I am now.”
“Your attack has left you seeking bigger answers, and has exposed you to the world of spirit. And often, the underbelly of the world of spirit. For there is darkness out there, Sam. Great darkness. Powerful darkness, as you are well aware.”
“I am the darkness,” I said.
He shook his head. “They might have made a very, very big mistake coming after you, Sam. They might have unleashed their own undoing.”
“I’m just a mom...”
“With a powerful bloodline.”
“Lucky me,” I said.
“Perhaps unlucky for them. They have taken a chance by making you one of their own.”
“Because they need me...”
“Yes, Sam. But the person they most need...is the very person who can destroy them.”
“You do realize that I’ll be picking up my kids in thirty minutes, right? I won’t be destroying anyone anytime soon.”
He laughed. “Let’s consider it a process.”
“Fine,” I said. “Back to the books. Are you saying they’re possessed?”
“In a way, yes.”
“Well, they’re possessed enough to beckon me.”
“I imagine they do, Sam.”
“Why?”
“Because the energy within some of them recognize the thing that is within you.”
“That thing being your mother,” I corrected.
“Was my mother,” he said. “She hasn’t been my mother for a very long time.”
I thought I detected a note.
“There is no note, Sam.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. I said, “Do you miss her?”
“It’s hard to miss a monster.”
Another note, whether he wanted to admit it or not. “Do you still love her?”
“Fine,” he said. “Yes, I love the memory of her, back when I was young, back when there was some semblance of good within her. Back before she was lured...”
“Don’t say it...”
“To the dark side.”
“You said it,” I said, and grinned.
He did, too, then sighed heavily. “Melodramatic, I know. But true. She was different back in the day. She was a real mother.”
“What turned her?”
“That’s a story best told another day, Sam.”
“Fine,” I said. “But I want to know. After all, your mother is very much a part of me now.”
He looked at me long and hard. “I know.”
“She wants me to let her out. She wants to talk to you. She wants to apologize for all that she’s done—”
“You can’t let her out, Sam. Ever. Remember that. The moment she gets out, you will no longer be able to control her. Ever.”
“What...what do you mean?” I asked, gasping slightly. His mother’s presence was strong in me, stronger than I had ever felt before. Pulsing at my temples. My head literally felt like it might explode.
“Think of it like a neural pathway. Once established, she will always be able to access it again and again.”
I took a deep breath, and, using all my willpower, pushed her back down, back into the mental box I envisioned her trapped inside. I even threw up another mental wall or two, sealing her in.
Once done, I opened my eyes, blinking hard. Even the muted light within the Occult Reading Room seemed too bright. I shied from it, turning my head. As I did so, I noticed the man who had been reading was gone. I blinked, sure I was seeing things...but there was no one there.
“You okay, Sam?”
“Your mom’s a bitch.”
“Tell me about it.”
“She...she almost got out,” I said. “I almost let her, just to release the pressure.”
He nodded and released my hand. “Maybe it was a bad idea bringing her around me.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, but I did push back my black hair. My forehead was sweating. My temples still throbbed.
“You’re right, of course,” he said after a moment. “I’m not just keeping an eye on her.”
I waited. My head still hurt, reminding me what a headache felt like, since I hadn’t had one in nearly nine years.
“She’s pivotal for stopping all of this,” said Maximus.
“All of what?”
“The infusion of dark masters into our world.”
“In the form of vampires and werewolves,” I said.
“Yes,” he said. “And others.”
“What others?”
“There’s more under the sun, or moon, than just vampires and werewolves, Sam. The dark masters take many forms.”
“Like the soul-jumping demon,” I said, remembering my memorable vacation on a small island in the Pacific Northwest.
“Right,” he said. “But that’s not important now.”
“Sure,” I said, still rubbing my head, and looking over at the now-empty reading chair. “Why worry about all sorts of monsters roaming our streets?”