Chapter IV: Demons

"You just had to give him that jawbone!" yelled Daciana in frustration as she paced about their shared bedroom. She picked up a pillow and punched it ineffectively, then threw it back on the couch.

"I thought he would like it," replied Ilinca as she reclined on their bed.

"Of course he would like it," said Daciana. "It is all he needs to bring Mirela back from her grave, and then to put us in ours!"

"It is not all he needs. He needs the girl from the village. So, if we kill her then all is well. Renfield says she is pretty. It will be fun."

"Yes, but we cannot kill her, can we Ilinca? Dodrescu would know it was us! Then it would be us who would be dead. Or worse."

"Maybe," said Ilinca. "But I still think we can kill her." she lay back on the bed with a dreamy smile.

"No, we can't," said Daciana firmly, ever the pragmatist.

The two sisters were quiet for some time, as each was lost within her own thoughts. "Why did we not perform this ritual with Anna?" Ilinca eventually asked.

Anna. Neither of the sisters had spoken the name in so long. Even though Anna occupied Daciana's almost every waking thought, she would not have had the courage to say her name out loud, fearing she might lose her mind once more. The fact that Ilinca could so casually say it angered Daciana, and she lashed out.

"Are you asking why did we not open a portal to Hell, possibly releasing an army of Satan to march forth upon the Earth? Is this what you are asking?"

"Yes," replied Ilinca matter-of-factly, rolling over to support herself on one elbow as she watched Daciana. "For Anna."

Ilinca's straightforward reply unnerved Daciana. Why hadn't she done this for Anna? She reflected for a while before answering.

"Dodrescu is strong," she said eventually. "He may be able to fight the Hell spawn back long enough to close the portal. You and I alone could never have done so. Even Dodrescu may not be enough, and this ritual may mean the death of us all. But for An... for our sister, yes, I should have tried, and I understand what drives Dodrescu. In truth, I was afraid. I lacked the courage even to try. Afraid of..." Afraid of losing both sisters, were the words she could not say.

"You have never been afraid of anything," scoffed Ilinca, unaware of her sister's inner torment. "So why don't we do it now?"

Daciana laughed softly. "It has been much more than three days since..." Again Daciana could not say the name, could not complete the thought, and so continued with another. "And besides, we would need a relic, but have neither tooth nor bone."

Ilinca thought hard, not something she was accustomed to doing. "I am thinking," she said slowly, "that the three days is only needed to unite this world with a recently deceased, to open the Hell Gate. Dodrescu will do that with Mirela. Then we could call Anna over from the other side. Then this girl could be her vessel."

"Call her together with Mirela?" said Daciana, considering the idea. "It might be possible, there is no way to be sure. But it doesn't matter, as we do not have a relic."

While Daciana had been speaking, Ilinca had been working at the clasp of the pendant hanging from her necklace. "I have a lock of her hair," she said as she finally opened the tiny locket.

Daciana stared at the strands of golden hair Ilinca held out to her, tied with a piece of red ribbon. She stared in wonder. Then, she smiled...

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A/N:  A short chapter, but one of my favorites! I just love these girls. Ilinca plots evil with such childlike innocence. And Daciana will always be the frustrated, practical older sister!