Ten years earlier.
"I don't know when it started..."
Annabelle sat stiffly on her bed. Her eyes were glued to the wooden, white, oak door, focused on the copper knob.
The darkness in her room was almost tangible. Only a faint shed of light that gave structure to her cupboard, her desk and the tall white door. Or maybe it was her mind simply giving substance to the darkness.
From the corner of her eyes, she noted the window was closed. This time at least. Still, the branches outside cast shadows on the white silk.
"...I'm scared."
Snap!
She turned quickly back to the door. Her throat tightened, her body stiffened so that she could hear her very heart beat, and she held her breath.
A loud creaking stretched for a long time behind the door.
She waited. Nothing.
Tap! The window.
She turned quickly. The blanket in her hand gripped tightly, held over her in a fetal position.
A long shadow stretched unnaturally. It stretched from a branch long and thin to a hand... Or maybe a claw, bony and sharp.
Whispers.
Low-pitched, like birds chirping close to the ear. She had heard them before.
Bang!
The door shook. The knob rattled, shaking the whole frame, and a long screeching sound echoed on the window pane.
Annabelle had already ducked under the blanket, her hands clasped together. She closed her eyes tightly as the noises edged closer and closer to her. Her lips moved, mumbling the only words she knew in whispers.
"Go away... Please go away."
"I don't know when it started, but I'm scared. I'm scared because they always come."
***
Present day.
Among the scattered mess of books and scrolls, Annabelle sat. She blinked, eyes shut a second too long before she rubbed with the back of her hand and grimly turned her head to the side.
"No, I told you that won't work," she said.
Hands moved, flipping the pages of an ancient book. The old paper smells of a tinge of vinegar, alerting her. Before long, the book flew aside frantically and angrily, and Annabelle looked ahead.
"Shut up!" She snapped, pointing forward, "Let me think."
She paused. Turning to the door, she waited, her stomach churning and ears perked like a hound. After an eternity, a soft knock came, followed by Adam's voice.
"Mistress."
Relaxed, her eyes already leaving the scene, a speedy reply came.
"Now's not a good time."
Not a second had passed when she said this, when she looked up again and slowly turned to the door, her face turning white, and her palms slowly raised.
As the knob twisted slowly, the books around her scattered in a mess, and the window curtains shifted restlessly. The knob stopped ushering in a loud silence.
"Is it dangerous?" She asked in a whisper.
Her heart skipped a beat as the door was slowly pushed open. She stumbled back, falling in the mess of books, a magic circle already curved in the air around her palms.
Slow steps echoed in the room, stopping just in front of her, calmly a gaze met hers as a bead of sweat formed on her forehead.
"You," She said.
"Hello Annabelle," Cain spoke.
***
"Adam, explain this!" she demanded, her eyes glued to Cain.
"Miss..." Adam began, but Cain cut in.
"Adam, leave us please."
Adam's eyes dropped to the tiles as he slowly walked out, closing the door behind him.
Cain silently watched her. Before his gaze momentarily shifted behind her, then back to her.
"Put that down," he said, "I won't hurt you. Probably."
Reluctantly, her hand went down, still as stiff as stone.
He slowly dragged a chair, a long scraping sound tracing before he sat leaning forward.
"Sit," he said.
She pulled the dangling strap of her nightdress and obeyed.
"You're more docile than before," he said, watching.
Her jaw tightened, but no words escaped her lips.
Cain scanned the room. A glint of impress in his eyes.
"I doubt you found much," he said.
"I found enough," she replied quickly.
"Really?" He asked with lost interest. "All this is junk. Still, I didn't come here to talk about myself. I need a favour."
"A favour from your enemy?"
"You're not an enemy, you're just a child."
She gritted her teeth, her throat tightening, but her gaze remained down.
"It's strange, really," he said, leaning forward slowly and holding her chin. She tried to look away, but before she knew it, her gaze met his.
"Your resemblance to my sister is uncanny." He sat back and added, "Maybe that's why I want to bully you so much."
"What do you want?" She said impatiently.
"I want you to open a gate for me? To the underworld."
She froze. A chill runs over her. Then she noticed the serious expression on his face. Around them, the wind rustled on the curtains. Cain watched it for a second, then turned to her.
"You are serious," she said, eyes wide.
"I am."
"It's impossible. You can't just open gates to the underworld."
"You can. Nothing will go wrong... if you do as I say, that is."
Annabelle noted Cain's eyes moving past her. Her heart leapt as he rose and walked to the window. Tall it was, clear as day, staring down at the street. The silk curtains hung lazily, swaying effortlessly to the breeze.
Cain stepped forward, and as he did, he noticed the edges clouded over. He raised his palm about to touch when...
"I refuse," she said suddenly.
He halted, his eyes shifting to hers before he turned in her direction.
"Let's talk about Adam then," he said.
Her eyes darted to the ground, face winced with guilt.
"Smart boy, naive and young," Cain said. "You took advantage of him..."
"I protected him from monsters like you," she hissed "You have no idea what it's like to be afraid."
A memory flashed in her mind. She recalled praying under her blankets as unnatural voices echoed around her. The corner of her eyes saw the shadows stretch, and the room growing smaller.
"No idea at all... It's not the same when you know the Boogie Man is real. It's not fun, as others laugh at that ridiculous thought, yet every night they,... They come to your room... It's not the same."
She hadn't noticed; her hands had balled into a fist, eyes wet as she watched his never-changing gaze.
"I protected him," she said, almost in a whisper.
"But Adam wasn't scared, was he?" Asked Cain.
She looked up, squeezing the silk of her dress in her hand.
"He wasn't," she said, "he was curious."
A long silence engulfed the duo. Her shaking body eventually settled, calm.
"So what now?" She asked.
"I'll show you how to kill the monsters," Cain said, "and you won't be scared. But if you refuse me, I'll take Adam with me."
Annabelle turned to her side, her eyes dull and empty. For a brief moment, she spoke.
"I never really had a choice?"
"You never did."
Annabelle sighed in resignation.
"Still..." Cain began, tilting his head slightly, "I'm surprised."
Annabelle stared blankly at him.
"By what?" She asked curiously.
"Annabelle..." Cain begun.
His eyes narrowed past her unblinking. His lips parted slightly, a flicker of hesitation traced.
"...Why did you let a devil in?"
***
Adam silently planted candles around the circle. From time to time, he threw glances at Annabelle, and an uncomfortable silence fell between them.
Her knees were numb. Hands, dusty with chalk, moved to finish the artwork. Rising, the intricate details of symbols and runes stared back momentarily, gripping her heart.
Still, something about it made her spine rigid and fingers curl. Her eyes eventually met Adams', but defiantly wandered away, leaving him dejected.
In a corner, Cain sat silently, nose buried in a book. Hesitantly, Annabelle turned to him.
"It looks simple," she said.
Briefly, he glanced down at the circle.
"It's not," he replied.
Rising slowly, he placed it on his book on his chair and moved around the circle. Candles, symbols, runes... Good.
"We can begin now," he said.
On a table, he pulled off a thick cover, revealing a cage. Inside a fairly young timber rattlesnake coiled up, its black tongue flicking from time to time.
"Do you like snakes, Annabelle?" He asked.
She paused. Eyes glued on his hands as he gently picked the creature.
"I don't hate them," she replied eventually.
"Good," he said.
His eyes glowed red as he watched the creature. In that second, the snake's eyes flickered red too.
"Snakes are a sign of rebirth," Cain explained, setting the snake down, and it started slithering towards Annabelle, "new life and healing."
Annabelle took a step back as the snake advanced. Adam watched it, a mixture of fear and worry engulfing him.
"Don't be scared," Cain said.
Its movements were unnaturally slow. The candles around her lit one by one as the bulbs flickered and shut off. Soon, only a luminous glow covered them.
It stopped just paces from her.
"Is this the ritual?" She asked.
"Yes," Cain replied.
He crouched down to a bag beside him and fished out two blood bags, a golden cup and a knife.
He sliced one blood bag with the knife and emptied it into the cup. A thick smell of Iron filled the room as the red, viscous liquid flowed into the cup. He did the same to the other.
Holding the cup and knife, he walked to the centre of the circle. Annabelle looked up at him as he extended the cup.
"This blood becomes the bridge to the other world," he said, extending it to her.
Taking it, her hands tremble slightly as her heart races. She could almost see her reflection in it.
"Drink," he said.
Her eyes widened as she looked up at him.
"You can't be serious," she said.
His silence affirmed it.
"What about iron toxicity... And it's human..."
"Drink." Cain cut in coldly.
Annabelle's eyes darted to Adam pleadingly. Adam's heart sank, and he took a step forward instinctively.
"Lord Cain," he spoke, "I'll do it in her stead... Please don't do this."
As he spoke, a blade manifested in his hand.
"You asked me to be your teacher", Cain spoke, "All I ask from you is trust. Annabelle will be fine, if she does ask, I ask."
Annabelle froze. Her eyes landed on the cup once again, a nauseating feeling engulfing her. She turned to Adam with a flimsy smile.
"If I do this," Annabelle spoke, "promise me you will be bound to Adam, a favour of his choosing."
"No," Cain replied, his voice cold as ice.
The room fell silent. Adam's eyes widened, and his grip on his blade tightened. A gentle wind strayed, shaking the curtains.
Right then... Around them, a burst from all directions, as the glass window shattered, and the books flew around in a frenzy. Cain's eyes remained glued to Annabelle.
"Enough, both of you!" Annabelle shouted, "he can kill you both in an instant... It's not worth it."
"Anny," Adam protested, stepping forward.
"Enough!" Annabelle repeated.
As she did, chains broke from the ground, gripping Adam in place. Hands, feet and torso pinned to the floor.
"Anny," he said, "I'm sorry."
Annabelle ignored him, her weary eyes on Cains
"Good girl," Cain said, "now drink. I won't ask again."
Pushing back the nausea, she placed the cup to her lips. The strong scent of blood hit her nose and soon her tongue and throat. She closed her eyes, pushing away the feelings as some cold drops stained her dress.
Done, she dropped the cup and knelt. Her hands were on her stomach and mouth, and her head seemed to spin.
"Now for one final act," Cain spoke.
The snake wrapped itself on Annabelles hand. It's a cold body slithering slowly up her hand. Forgetting the nausea, she frightfully watched it slide up her neck and press through her lips.
Soon she could feel it slide through her throat. Choking sounds filled the room as Annabelle frantically held her neck. Her body twisted and twitched unnaturally as the creature forced its way to her belly, and for a moment she could feel it squirm around.
Cain watched with an inscrutable face. As she twitched, he held the knife over his chest and slowly drove it down, twisting it as blood seeped, drenching his clothes. With his hands, he pulled, stretching his chest apart, exposing a beating heart.
He pulled it out. The heart beat on even as it was placed beside Annabelle.
"Elegant lady, true and just," Cain spoke an incantation, "I plead an audience as your Angel."
The circle went red, and Annabelle's body arched up. Her eyes rolled up as she struggled to breathe, then... She stopped. Eyes shut, still as stone.
The body then rose. As though held by a puppet string, it stood eyes lazily up to the dark sky outside.
"Mistress Annabelle..." Adam spoke, his voice desperate, "Anny."
She neither replied nor reacted. Her eyes remained glued to the sky. Her hands and feet had blackened like the bottom of a soot stove.
On her bare skin, the golden glow exposed her veins like burning cracks in her body. Around her, black smoke gyrated upwards with distant echoes of screams.
Her body straightened naturally. As her eyes, now black as the night, opened. She crouched, picking the beating heart in her palm.
A silence was ushered in. Everyone held their breath, like their eyes were witnessing something not meant to be. Something disturbing, but pleasant as well.
Just paces from her, her eyes landed on Cain, who knelt. His chest opened, muscles already closing, a new heart formed.
"Cain," she spoke, her voice smooth as silk.
"Mistress," he said, raising, "you look as elegant as ever."
Her eyes, dark as the night, with no trace of white, looked at him. Her lips curled into a smile. Then the heater on her palm.
She brought it closer to her nose, taking in the scent.
"I hunger," she said.
"My queen," he spoke with a slight bow, " You need no permission to feed."
She remained quite briefly.
Then.
Her mouth opened wide, tearing on the sides. She fit the heart into her mouth and bit it down. The heart momentarily formed a bulge in her throat before it went down her belly.
Adam looked away, his stomach curling.
Satisfied, she looked up at Cain. The edges of her mouth stitched back together, settling into a smile.
"You were good," she said softly, "you kept your promise. You let me walk in your world."