WICKHAM

Just at the edge of her vision, she could see that Laura was now on her feet, tugging at the skewer as blood ran freely from her hand. Then there was a second blow from Laura’s well-aimed kick. It dislocated Georgina’s jaw and loosened several teeth. Laura turned and limped toward the outer office, but Georgina, with all her remaining strength, threw herself forward, grabbing Laura around the ankles. “Die, you harlot, you subservient of the light, my master informs me that many will rejoice at your passing.” The voice was deep guttural and male, “Didst you think you could defeat me? I have walked this land for a thousand years, in many guises from law bringer to leper, from woman to child. I am all things. I am the nightmares that crawl into your dreams. I am the pain born of your suffering. Time to die. It is time to redeem your soul and to live in the fiery house of my master.” Another blow from Laura connected again with Georgina’s lower jaw, this time shattering it in three places. A scream of anguish rent the air. “This cannot be so, it will not come to be, I am immortal. Only the light is pure enough to return me from whence I came.” Georgina released her grip from Laura and moved her hands toward her jaw. In the meantime, Laura having broken free, grabbed for the handle of the door with her good hand. Then she turned back to face her adversary. “Did you really think you are unknown to us, did you not learn your lesson on that rocky Cornish coast? You tasted defeat then, and we will defeat you again. For now, you are exposed to us, and we know your weaknesses. And in defeating you, we will lift the curse that has plagued us for many years. Your mistake lay in your arrogance and your inability to countenance defeat.” Laura slammed the door, then quickly moved toward the desk. She put her back and all her strength into moving it against the only exit from the inner office. The desk was quickly followed by an upended chair, and then her voice was suddenly raised against the roar of the flames. “Rot in hell.” She limped out through the door and began to make her way down the stairs toward freedom. Back in the room, the demon drew on all its reserves of strength, but it had failed to consider the fragility of the host in which it was now trapped. For in addition to a broken jaw, Georgina had fractured her leg in the fall. The demon continued to scream. “This is not how it is meant to end. I call upon those who dwell within the darkness to aid me in this my final battle.” There was no response; the flames had now taken hold. Off in the distance, the demon could hear the sound of sirens. Rescue was so near and yet so far away. The demon now trapped within Georgina began to crawl toward the door; it took every ounce of its strength. But it realised that finally the battle was drawing to a close as it lay defeated by weakness and powerless to escape. Georgina now lay curled up in a ball, having tried in vain to force a way through the door; flames began to lick at her clothing, wisps of smoke appearing in her hair, and then the screams began. “Master, I beg your forgiveness, for I have committed the cardinal sin of arrogance and denial. I have let my anger and thirst for revenge, blind my reasoning and shackle my thoughts.” The flesh on the back of Georgina’s legs began to bubble, her skirt bursting into a halo of blue flame. And then in a moment of supreme effort, the fiery form raised itself and stood arms outstretched as if in supplication. By now the flames had taken hold, and Georgina was almost unrecognisable as her flesh was devoured. “Take heed, for in these final moments, I do decree that all who do dwell in the house of Crawford shall this day forward be cursed. For like Nathanial before you, and Mary and the infant child Rebecca, your name will be reviled. And the curse of whispers will one day be your undoing. Brothers, sisters, where are you? I come to you now cleansed by the purity of flame.” There was one last scream from the blackened torso. “Revenge for all those that were and all those yet to come. These fools lose, even as they win, for we were, and we are strong. For this earthly place, this shadowy realm is our legacy, and the five become four.” The body of Georgina fell to the ground and was consumed.