Babysitting the Fire Priestess

Chapter 16

I brought Mandy to my brother's apartment. The apartment that he used to trapped me into agreeing into this case. Atleast, I'm confident that we're safe here, for now. Before coming here, I called my brother for a heads up. He then visited us and we discussed a plan.

I'm sitting on the couch while watching news in the TV. The big fire was all over the news today. The fire department can't find any cause of the explosion nor fire. If only they know the truth.

I turned off the TV and went inside the bedroom where Mandy is sleeping. She still hasn't woken up. The fire she created must have drained all her energy. She looked so peaceful in her sleep with her mouth slightly open as she breaths. Then I noticed her mother's diary on the side table. I can't help but to get intrigued. I lifted the notebook and feel the velvety cover.

Should I open it?

Should I read it?

It feels wrong. I would be invading Mandy's privacy or something.

But then, no one will know, right?

I glanced back towards Mandy and she's still sleeping soundly.

She wouldn't know.

Temptation got better of me.

I started flipping the pages. I noticed that Mandy put a bookmark somewhere in the middle of the notebook. This must have been the last part she read. But then, my brows creased when I saw that the page she put bookmark on was gone. She or someone tore it off. If Mandy did it, what must have been her reason? Is she hiding something?

I looked at her then remember our conversation in the car while driving to her dad's hideout. That moment I felt like she's hiding something from me, like she's omitting something.

"What are you hiding Mandy?" I whispered.

Then, I proceed to read the next page. I quietly got out from the bedroom and sat on the couch.

August 30, 1997

I sneaked inside the cave alone. It was so dark and I only got one flashlight. I just hope the battery won't die. I am somewhere below the Mt. Fuji, in the Aokigahara forest where people committed suicide. This was supposed to creep me out but I'm not. I'm fascinated with the supernatural and everything unexplainable. My mission tonight was more important than ghosts. I need to stop the ritual. The clan was getting worse. I heard they’re going to sacrifice an infant. Who would do that? They were all crazy! Crazy for power and money. Those were the only two things that matter to them. They don’t have any regards with life. The child was a daughter of one of the Ashitara members. Rumor has it that this woman was r***d by an Akuma, a fire spirit. It was said that if someone sees one, it will bring misfortune, famine and bad luck to that person and his or her family. That must be the reason why they were using the child as a sacrificial lamb.  This was such a crazy family tradition and I’m tired of it.

I kept on walking until I saw candles being lighted. There were a lot of candles everywhere but I can’t see anyone. I came early, I guessed. It was just a normal cave with musty smell in it. I can see big rocks, like limestone that formed in different shapes. Some of those rocks looked scary and creepy. Then, I heard footsteps, like a lot of footsteps. I immediately hid behind the biggest limestone I’ve seen in that place. I can see people rushing inside the cave. They were wearing black robes and Shinto mask. I counted them. They were like around 20 people, more or less. I wondered which of them are my parents. The last two people were dragging a woman. She has gagged in her mouth. She’s crying and had bruises all over her body. The last person that came in was carrying a baby. The woman was doing her best to fight the two people holding her but both her hands at her back so she can’t do much. The baby was crying loudly and it echoed all over the cave. They pushed the woman in to the center of the cave wherein candles were arranged in a circle. I noticed the person in front was holding a book. I can’t clearly see what’s written on the cover. Then the person carrying the baby stepped forward. Other members followed and started forming a circle around the woman. They started chanting words that I can’t comprehend. It’s not Japanese, it sounded like a fusion between Latin and Sumerian. Another person stepped forward, bringing a sharp dagger. I gasped but immediately covered my mouth with my hand. The person holding the dagger came to the circle and grabbed the poor woman. I wanted to scream and stop them but they were too many!

 Then I remember that I brought a gun with me. I quietly opened my bag and pulled out my gun. I put on a suppressor. The person holding the dagger was pointing it to the woman’s throat. I finally stepped out and shouted Stop! I pointed the gun at the person holding the dagger. One of the members gasped and took off his/her mask. It was my mom. She said what I was doing. She looked so angry and embarrassed at the same time. I almost rolled my eyes at her. I told them to stay back or I’ll shoot the guy. They didn’t move but the guy that I’m pointing my gun at was unnerved. I pulled the trigger when he started slitting the throat of the woman. I shot him three times but nothing happened. I shot him again and again until the bullets were out. I cursed loudly.

The woman is now dead and her blood was spilled all over the circle. The guy that I shot was still standing like nothing happened and just started advancing at me. By that moment, it hit me that this guy advancing towards me, was no human at all. I staggered back until my back touched the limestone I once hid. I thought I’m going to die at that moment. Then I heard the screams of the other clan members echoing around the cave. They guy advancing at me stopped on his tracks in confusion. I was also confused. I looked around and saw that all of the clan members, except the guy that’s holding the baby, were engulfed in flames. I don’t understand.

How did they catch a flame? Maybe from the candles?

They were rolling on the ground but it seems like the flames were not dying. They were shouting for help, obviously calling out the guy in front of me who’s very confused which one should he help first.  He got destructed from what’s happening so I decided to take that opportunity to help my mom and dad. It was hard for me to identify them with the mask on. The guy holding the baby was standing in the middle of chaos, completely unharmed. He took off his mask and he looked so confuse. I decided to approach him and ask him to hand me the baby, nicely. Another scream erupted from the group. I turned towards it and saw that the guy who tried to kill me awhile ago was now engulfed in flames. I cursed loudly; I don’t have any idea where were these flames coming from. The guy holding the baby and I looked at each other. I asked him to hand me the baby. Ultimately realizing that the ritual is not happening and killing the baby will be useless, he handed it to me.

When I got the baby in my arms, I smiled when I saw that it’s a girl. The guy started to back away but then his feet were on fire. I’m confused right now. I can’t see any candle near him or one of the torched clan members. It’s like the fire came from nowhere. He was now engulfed in fire from head to toe. I looked down to the baby that I’m holding. The baby opened her eyes and I was utterly shocked when her irises turned red, like fiery red. I gasped loudly and almost dropped her to the ground. The rumors were true. This baby girl was a child of a fire spirit! She’s the reason why everyone in this cave except me was engulfed in flames. She’s a fire starter and in some way she saved my life.  It’s time for me to save hers. She started crying and I hushed her. I started walking out from the cave when someone grabbed my ankle. I looked down and saw that it’s my mom. Her face was burned badly, I almost didn’t recognize her. It hurt me looking at her like that. I told her how sorry I am but she only said that she no longer have a daughter. Until her last breath, she despised me for what I’ve done. She had been so hard on me from the very beginning. I doubt it if she really loved me as her child and not just an heir. I looked at the child that I’m holding right now. I will treat her as mine and she will never know what happened tonight. She will never know that she’s a child of a fire spirit.

I quickly closed the notebook after reading that entry. I’m stunned and I don’t know what to think. Mandy was never cursed. What happened to the Ashitara clan wasn’t a suicide after all. Mandy was the reason why all of them were burned alive. Her mom made her think that it was a suicide. I wonder how she will react to this entry when she reads it. I doubt her gift can be avoided or stopped. She’s born this way.

“Ryan?”

I stood up when I heard Mandy calling for me. I don’t want her to know that I’ve read the diary but I don’t want to lie to her. I need to tell her. I went inside the bedroom and saw her sitting on the bed. She looked up to me and I swear her irises turned to fiery red in a f lash but then went back to normal.

Did just that happen or I am just imagining it knowing now her true nature.

“How are you?” I asked her.

She rubbed her eyes and I can tell that she’s still tired and sleepy.

“I’m still grieving and angry” she said.

“You set a house on fire, single handedly” I pointed out.

“I did and no regrets”

“It’s all over news” I told her.

She noticed the notebook that I’m holding and her brows creased.

“You might want to explain why that notebook is in your hands Ryan” she said to me.

I sighed before answering her.

“I read it, okay? I got curious and sorry” I told her.

She rolled her eyes at me.

“Okay, what did you learn?” she asked me.

I sat next to her on the bed before answering her question.

“The Ashitara clan didn’t kill themselves by setting their house on fire. Your mom broke into a ritual to stop it. Then…”

“Then what? Stop hanging!” she scolded me.

“You were supposed to be the sacrificial lamb for the ritual. Your biological mom was a member of the Ashitara clan and they, they killed her as part of the ritual. Your adoptive mom saved you or you know, you also did”

“W-what do you mean I also did?” she asked me, confused.

“Mandy, you were the one who set the whole clan on fire” I said gently.

“Are you crazy? I was like a baby by the time, right? How?” she asked again, frustration was on her face right now.

I shut my eyes close before answering her.

“You were not cursed. You’re a child of a fire spirit. An Akuma, that’s what your mom mentioned in her diary. I think its part of the Japanese myth or folklore. How did you do it? I don’t know. It just said in the diary that your eyes turned to fiery red while you’re burning those assholes. You were just a baby Mandy, you didn’t know what you were doing. You didn’t have control over your powers” I said.

She’s dumbfounded. She just stared at me.

“Mandy?” I asked her.

“So, I’m just half human then and half monster” she said after a few moments of shock.

“What? No, you’re not a monster”

“Then what am I Ryan? My father is a fire f*****g spirit! I don’t even know that kind of s**t exists!” she shouted to my face and stood up.

“This is all f****d up! Why am I even in this situation!” she said while walking around the bedroom.

I’m sitting on the bed while following her movements.

“Please Mandy, calm down. I don’t want you to burn this place, not again” I said.

“How would I calm down Ryan?! I don’t even know what I really am!” she growled at me.

My heart started to beat fast when I see that her irises were turning fiery red. I know this time I’m not just imagining it.

I stood up and held both my hands in the air to calm her down.

“Relax Mandy, breath” I said.

“I can’t relax!”

“You’re doing it again! Look at the mirror, your eyes has changed color” I said.

She grabbed the mirror on the side table and checked her eyes.

“Holy s**t!” she exclaimed.

“Okay chill, breath in and breath out” I told her.

I guided her to sit again on the bed to make her relax.

“Breath with me. Inhale, exhale” I told her and she did.

We’re both doing it for a couple of minutes until her eyes turned to normal.

I sighed in relief.

“I don’t want to burn this place down” she said, calmly this time.

“I realized something after reading that journal entry” I said to her.

She just looked at me.

“Maybe the Red Fox was after you not just because of the hidden wealth of your adoptive mom but because they want to finish that ritual. I have a good feeling that not everyone from the Ashitara clan died that night. Your adoptive mom mentioned a guy who can’t be killed. A guy who she shot a lot of times but didn’t die. It wasn’t mentioned in her diary that she saw that guy dead. I have a hunched that that guy is part of the Red Fox and might be the one leading it. I don’t know. There’s only one way to find out” I said.

“I know and one thing’s for sure. I’m gonna have my revenge. They took a lot from me” she said and clenched her fists.

“Mandy, just breath” I reminded her again.