DEVOUR

Swaying to a carefully selected mix of songs from Toni Braxton, Kenny G, Sade and The Isley Brothers, Camryn Lewis strolled through the mansion, holding a glass of cabernet she had purchased at a local farmer's market. She turned it up loud on the home audio system, the mellow music filling the house with the vibe of a downtown jazz bistro.

If she hadn't gone to Yale for archaeology, one might think that she would have been a disc jockey. However, Camryn was distinctly familiar with quality, soulful music. Her pride sprang from that one category of entertainment. The iPhone vibrating in her back pocket snapped her out of her reverie as she was refilling her glass. Her former colleague, Malcolm Gladwell, appeared on the caller ID.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Things are happening," Malcolm said in a rush of words. "Weird things, Cam. It started a week ago when we met at that old souvenir shop on Clark Street."

"Are you okay, Malcolm?" Camryn asked.

Malcolm paused a beat, then said, "I think I'm starting to see things. Hear things. I think I'm losing my mind. Do you still have that medallion I bought you from that store?"

"Yes," Camryn answered as she walked into the kitchen, placing her glass down on the granite island countertop. "Is that what this is about? I thought you said it made a nifty collection piece."

"It's cursed," Malcolm said frantically. "After I touched it, I felt something wrong about it. Like an unwanted energy attached itself to me. You have to destroy it." 

"Malcolm?" Camryn said with a note of panic. "Malcolm, you sound hysterical right now. Do you want me to get an Uber to come see you?"

Malcolm sighed. "That might make things worse, Cam. You have to destroy that medallion. Immediately, you understand?"

"Okay, fine," she said. "If you want, I'll toss it in my fireplace for kicks. Will that make you happy?"

"Camryn," Malcolm said, "If you don't destroy it now, you might never have the chance to later, but----" He paused. "Jesus, I feel the darkness again. Please, Cam you gotta destroy it!" He hung up abruptly.

"Malcolm?" she asked, her stomach muscles beginning to tighten.

Slipping the phone back into her pocket, she grabbed her glass of wine and took a quick gulp. So much for enjoying my tunes, she thought. She walked over to the silverware drawer closest to the sink and opened it, retrieving a ruby gem fastened to a fine length of gold chain. As far as her expertise went, she had never encountered cursed pieces of jewelry. Especially from a souvenir store.

Something moved behind her---swift, skittering. Camryn turned. Nothing. Not a thing in sight. She felt a slight chill move up her spine. "Oh, come on," she said. "I'm not going to let Malcolm pull me into a fit of paranoia. I'm a big girl with plenty of arsenal to spare."

Enough arsenal to repel unseen forces? she thought as she was about to exit the kitchen. Another sound made her gaze move falteringly about the kitchen again for further inspection. Everything looked normal. Clutching the ruby and the gold chain, she hastily backpedaled out of the kitchen through a swinging door that led into the foyer.

She stood in silence for a long time, listening for anymore unusual sounds as she glared at the crack under the swinging door. As she willed herself to keep it together, she heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom on the second floor.

Warily she took to the stairs to her right. Steam began to waft heavily from the bath room as she approached the door. Inside, the tub was near to overflowing, not with clear scalding water, but a deep green liquid. She quickly turned off the faucet and gazed in disgust at the fluid within her luxurious bathtub. Then, something made her turn her head toward the mirror above the sink.

A single word etched into the condensation on the glass read DEVOUR. Camryn blinked as though she'd been struck by a hand to the face. She straightened herself slowly, feeling a sudden flicker of fear. As she was about to reach for her phone to dial Malcolm, an invisible force shoved the cellular device into the tub, disappearing within the green substance. Then, the liquid began to froth and boil like a witch's cauldron over a stoking fire.

Camryn stood there facing the tub, close to tears, until the door slammed shut behind her. She snatched at the handle, yanking it down with a ferocity she did not know she had, so hard it should have broken off.

"You can't escape your fate, Camryn," she heard a sweet voice say calmly.

She turned around, but could not find the source of the voice anywhere. The voice came again with a dark, sadistic chuckle that reverberated in the room, sending even more chills escalating up her spine.

"What do you want from me!" Camryn yelled. 

Phantom hands fell on her shoulders; she tried to fight, but there was nothing solid to land a punch against, and she was dragged, flailing and kicking, toward the churning green substance in the tub.

Panic rising through her system, Camryn screamed helplessly as she felt her knees buckle to the tub, her head slowly being craned into the murky liquid.

"Help! God, please, help!" she shouted, her voice high and shaking.

"It's okay, dear," the eerie voice spoke again. "Let us devour you." 

"I don't want to die!" Camryn pleaded. "Please, spare me!"

But the force refused to relent.

Tears streaked Camryn's face. It had come to pass as her old colleague Malcolm had warned that it would---that it would be too late to do the right thing. Destroy the medallion. A terrible desperation filled her, remembering what she had to do. She quickly in a last ditch effort, had brushed aside the confusion, horror, fear, and despair, and flung the gold chain with the ruby attached to it, into the tub of green death. A brilliant red light simmered within the substance, and a green spray geysered skyward. Camryn was released from her impending doom.