BLACK HOST (PART 2)

“I was diagnosed with Cancer. Stage 2.” After the revelation brought by Alejandro in the seance, Salome invited Eddie for a cup of tea which the priest gladly take. He could use a little bit of chitchat knowing how nerve-wracking the message he got from the land of the dead.

“My doctor told me that there is something off with it. It progress too rapidly for cancer and immune to anything that counters it: chemo, alternative medicine, and even operation. They removed a damn tumor right in my brain and guess what? It grows again after a month.”

“So what does your cancer have to do with Alejandro’s message?” Salome locks her eyes with Eddie as her curiosity continues to escalate regarding her new client.

“It clarifies a lot. I suspect my cancer is done with a taint of dark arts. With Alejandro’s frequent haunting, I thought he is the one behind it.” Eddie confessed as he continues to drink his coffee.

“But now I know who is the real culprit.”

“Fatima Mcgillis?”

“Close but not her. It was her mother who witnessed how her daughter was ripped apart by the demon Eddie and I summoned.” The priest stares blankly at the empty cup he is holding as he recalls that among the parents who were also there in the party turned slaughterhouse, Fatima’s mother who later she finds out to be a gypsy shaman that goes by the name of Feliz Mcgillis is the only one that the demon didn’t touch. Perhaps she has a ward or something.

Before he and Eddie escape, he remembers Feliz gave them a poisonous stare despite the tears on them. Then the gypsy did something on his hand like those Mudras used by Buddhists to meditate and tap on their subconscious.

But he swears to god that the Mudras done by Felize has a malignant quality on them especially the last one when she forms his hands like a claw that crushing something on its baleful nails.

“Alejandro wants me to do the kill or else Feliz’s hex will not be removed or worse she decides to start spiking it with god knows what kind of complications to make my body a living hell.”

“Then what are you waiting for? Do what thou wilt isn’t it? Save your ass from the gypsy. As simple as that.” Salome utter but Eddie responded by slamming his cup on the table and his brows knitted like a furious bull.

“I will never do the Mass of St. Secaire for god sake! I am not a magician anymore! I am a priest. If its the will of God that I will die by the hands of the gypsy then so be it.” Eddie spitted with his voice quivering in anger.

“You are missing the point here Eddie. Don’t waste what Alejandro’s done for you. A dead soul reaching out to someone from the mortal plane is putting himself at risk of being caught by the Reapers. Re-consider your decision I suggest.”

Eddie bid farewell to Salome with heavy thoughts that made him feel as if he is underneath the weight of the sea. He is lying if he told himself he is not afraid to die especially if the cause is something from a gypsy that knows how to inflict the direst pain with their unorthodox magic.

Then there is Alejandro who risks his soul just to give an unsolicited help that will save his life. The reapers will not be happy if they learn that a soul like Alejandro who dabbles in dark arts has bypassed the gate between the dead and the living.

Of course, it was also one big lie if he told himself that his feelings for Alejandro never fade away after all these years. The bitterness and anger were still there but along them was the yearning and memory they share with one another in and out of the pentacle.

It was the closest thing that Eddie can describe as love although it is the kind that bears both boon and bane.

“Curse you Alejandro…” He whispers softly as he looks outside the bus’s window. A minute after his ride starts moving, Eddie felt a drilling pain inside his head. The intensity is beyond any words. He tries to look for his bottle of medication on his bag but the pain pushes further and deeper that can’t even move with such torment.

Upon looking once more at the window, he saw his reflection and nearly fell on the floor. Feliz has already started to pull her strings and begin her diabolic revenge against the remaining magician who drags her daughter to hell.

Blood is pouring like an unhinged flood from Eddie’s eyes, ears, and mouth. It was the prologue for what horror is about to come on him.

to be continued...