Bahmet’s presence rose like smoke from a fire.“And if he does not. If he goes against his promise?”
“He is yours to do with as you wish.”
It was an odd feeling, to sense a demon prickle with relief at the words of a mortal, but that was exactly what it felt like. And, for the sake of my plan, it was what Bahmet needed to hear.
Lifting the curse was simple in the end. Bahmet did most of the work. Inside of Tomin Hopkin, spread like a web throughout his body, soul and mind, was a rot. A decay of shadow. Dark magic. The once-strong strands that couldn’t be broken, fell away. They crumpled and broke, webs coming apart until there wasn’t an ounce of darkness inside of him left.
I stumbled backwards, glad that the stump caught my hips to stop me from falling. Something cold fell from my nose. I lifted a hand to the sensation, only for the tips of my fingers to come back red.
“A great power takes a great toll,” Tomin said, standing straight, not an ounce of sadness on his face. No doubt he could feel the change in himself, the freedom from power… “I thank you, Hector. We both know I have not deserved this, and yet you’ve gone out of your way to give it to me.”
There was no point fighting my weakness. I fell to my knees, knowing I’d end up on them eventually. “My end of the bargain is complete. Now, crown me. Prove yourself worthy of the freedom I’ve awarded you. Accept me as the victor, so we can both move on with our lives.”
Tomin gritted his teeth, stifling his smile as he focused back on the crown. Two steps and it was in his hands, nails tinkering over the metal as he regarded its deadly beauty. His shadow fell over me, bathing me in a cold chill.
“Your heart is kind, Hector Briar,” Tomin said as he gazed down at me. “It’s no wonder my son has found something inside of you. It was the same with Eleanor. She… trapped me with one look, forever tangling me in a web of her own making. Then she left me, as you will no doubt leave my son, and the effects linger. I hope you are prepared to break his heart one day.”
“Respectfully,” I said, glad the adrenaline was returning to my once numb body, “I’m not going to take romantic advice from a man who burned his lover to death. I hope you understand.”
“I do,” Tomin said, lifting the crown up. “Now, shall we get this over with?”
“Yes,” I replied, closing my eyes. “I would very much like that?—”
The crown whistled through the air, cutting me off. I watched in the reflection of Tomin’s shadow as he spun the crown upside down, and plunged it into my back. Hard and heavy, the force should’ve been strong enough to knock the wind out of my lungs. But as the pointed tips of the crown connected with me, I felt nothing but the tickle of butterfly wings.
Tomin gasped. Bahmet screamed.
“What have you done!” Bahmet filled every inch of my consciousness with his cry.
I didn’t bother replying. Instead, I looked up to find Tomin grasping helplessly with his back. Eyes wide, blood spewing from his mouth and nose, he tried everything in his power to reach for the wounds that no doubt cut into flesh behind him.
He fell forwards, as I stood up.
It was my turn to stand over him, gazing down as Tomin gasped like a fish out of water, a puddle of blood spreading beneath the side of his face.
“I trusted you to do the right thing,” I said, breathless from adrenaline. “But as I knew would be the case, you couldn’t do the right thing even when the time called for it. If you had, your future would’ve been a lot different.”
Since his back was on display, I could see the six deep gashes between his ripped shirt. Blood pumped out, thick and black. No doubt he’d pierced a lung or two, when his intention was to have me be the one bleeding out on the floor. Whereas my back barely tingled.
“You can thank your son for this,” I said, kneeling down and sticking my hand in his pocket. I withdrew the note, just as he had earlier. Except, I didn’t show him the side which had my writing on. I turned it over, held the paper up to the light streaming in between the trees, and allowed it to reveal another mark that I felt.
Invisible lines, only visible beneath the sun, showed a symbol. It was one of runes joined together, a sigil of protection that was my one and only insurance. The same markings that Arwyn had painted upon my skin before The Burning. The marks that stopped me from being hurt, instead transferring over my fate onto another.
“Witchcraft really is adevilishthing,” I said, screwing up the paper into a ball and throwing it down onto Tomin’s suffering body. His breathing had slowed, his eyes fluttering closed. All the while his mouth was moving, harsh sounds leaving blood-stained lips. I didn’t even bother to work out what he was saying. It was useless after all. His words no longer mattered, because he was dying.
“I gave you the chance to be a better man,” I called down to him as I turned my back and faced away. “But you decided that your hate was more important than the chance to learn how to put it aside.”
Bahmet was battling inside of me, but his once demanding nature was no more than an annoying itch in the back of my throat. “And for you, Bahmet. Lord of Tricks. I worked you out too. Just as Hekate figured it out and banished you, I too cast youout.”
I pictured the symbols for each element. I connected myself to old magic, turning my back on the unwanted power this demon could gift me. I wanted nothing of it. And Bahmet, no longer held up in strength by his secret tether to Tomin’s immortality, was weak enough that he couldn’t refuse me.
“Out,” I commanded again, willing myself with the fresh spring air that was Hekate’s magic. It was a tidal wave, a broken dam of water, that flushed out the evil with ease.
“You need me,” Bahmet cried as shadow peeled from my skin, and gathered into a form in front of me. “The world needs my power to save them. You said as much…”
Itwas no longer in the shape of a man. Bahmet was small, no higher than my shins. A goat, a proper goat with red eyes, and curled horns. No different to Emon, or Caym. No different to what a familiarshouldbe.
“Witches will not look towards the likes of you again,” I said, ready to kick the living shit out of this bastard for everything it had put witches through. Bahmet was no different to Tomin. They had been, after all, joined.
