Symbol of Evil

Boze and Bridget stood on the front porch of an old, haunted-looking farmhouse after a long hike through the woods. They were exhausted. Together, they had defeated Adam, one of the Big Seven, in a Shadow Game and cleansed Bridget of a strange evil magic.

As they stood in silence, Boze leaned over and gently kissed Bridget.

The strange new symbol on Bridget's belly suddenly began to glow beneath her shirt. A flood of unfamiliar thoughts and emotions rushed into her mind, leaving her dizzy.

She quickly pulled away.

I'm sorry," Bridget said, avoiding Boze's eyes. "I'm really tired. I just want to get cleaned up and take a nap."

Without waiting for a response, she hurried inside and headed straight for the bathroom.

Boze watched her go but didn't think much of it. Assuming she was simply exhausted, he sat down at the kitchen table, opened his laptop, and began sorting through his notes from the day's adventure.

Upstairs, Bridget locked the bathroom door behind her. She slowly sank onto the floor as tears streamed down her face.

"What is happening to me?" she whispered.

Her thoughts felt tangled, as if they no longer completely belonged to her. She lifted her shirt and stared at the glowing symbol on her stomach.

"Could this... be connected to this symbol?" she wondered aloud. "I wish I knew what it meant."

As if responding to her question, a strange book suddenly shimmered into existence beside her.

Bridget gasped.

The ancient-looking book opened by itself. Its pages turned one after another until they stopped on a single page covered in mysterious symbols.

Curious, Bridget reached out and traced a finger across the markings.

To her astonishment, the symbols made perfect sense. They weren't just symbols anymore—they were words.

She read the page once.

Then again.

The color drained from her face.

"No..." she whispered.

Her horrified expression deepened as she remembered Boze staring at the symbol on her stomach back in the woods after the cleansing.

"Oh my gosh..."

She looked back at the page, her hands beginning to shake.

"This can't be right."

Her breathing quickened.

"What do I do? What am I supposed to do?"

Downstairs, the front door suddenly swung open.

After spending the entire day searching for them, Rain and Delilah finally returned.

Delilah carried the ridiculous monkey and tiger costumes once worn by two members of the Big Seven before they lost a duel and were banished to the Umbral Realm. She dropped the costumes onto the kitchen counter with an irritated huff.

"Where the freak have you been?" Rain shouted the moment she spotted Boze sitting at the table.

Boze looked up from his laptop in surprise.

"We've spent all freaking day looking for you and Bridget," Delilah said, planting her hands firmly on her hips. "You two disappear into the woods without a word, and we've been worried sick."

Before Boze could answer, a muffled sound echoed faintly from upstairs.

It almost sounded like someone crying.

Boze immediately pushed back his chair, concern spreading across his face.

"I'm going to check on Bridget," he said, starting toward the stairs.

Before he could take another step, Delilah placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait."

She closed her eyes for a brief moment. A strange energy pulsed through the farmhouse, and her expression became serious.

"I can feel something," she said quietly. "I'll check on Bridget. It may just be a girl thing."

Without waiting for an answer, Delilah hurried upstairs.

Boze and Rain exchanged confused glances.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Rain asked.

Boze simply shrugged, his worry only growing.

Delilah stopped outside the bathroom door.

"Bridget!" she called, knocking firmly. "Are you okay?"

There was a long silence before Bridget's trembling voice answered.

"Go away... I can't come out."

Delilah frowned.

"Bridget, open this freaking door!"

She pounded harder against the wood.

Inside the bathroom, Bridget remained curled up on the floor. Tears continued to stream down her face as the glowing symbol on her stomach pulsed beneath her shirt. The mysterious book lay open beside her.

"I can't..." Bridget whispered, barely loud enough to hear.

Outside, Delilah's patience disappeared.

"Bridget!”

She closed her eyes.

A brilliant light erupted around her, filling the hallway. As the light faded, her body transformed into a living black silhouette, her features becoming nothing more than a dark outline.

Without slowing, Delilah stepped forward.

Her shadow-like form passed effortlessly through the locked bathroom door.

Delilah sat down on the bathroom floor beside Bridget.

"Bridget... what is going on?" she asked gently.

Bridget hugged her knees to her chest as tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

"I... I can't come out," she whispered.

"Why not?"

Bridget slowly lifted her shirt just enough for Delilah to see the glowing symbol on her stomach.

"I can't be around men until this symbol disappears."

Delilah's eyes widened.

"What?"

Bridget reached over and picked up the strange book that had mysteriously appeared beside her.

"It just... appeared," she said, her voice shaking. "It opened by itself. I touched the symbols, and somehow I could read them."

She held the book out.

"I don't want to read it again."

Delilah carefully accepted the ancient book. At first, the pages were covered only in strange, unreadable symbols.

Then she placed two fingers against the page.

The symbols shimmered.

One by one, they transformed into words she could understand.

As Delilah read, her expression slowly changed from curiosity to disbelief.

"No way..." she muttered.

She reread the passage, hoping she had misunderstood it.

Instead, every word confirmed the same unsettling truth.

As Delilah read, her expression slowly changed from curiosity to disbelief.

"No way..." she muttered.

Delilah slowly lowered the book and looked back at Bridget, whose tear-filled eyes silently searched her face for hope.

Downstairs, Rain and Boze were looking through a mysterious website that Bridget had revealed just before the evil magic drove her into the woods.

A strange feeling suddenly washed over Rain.

"I'm going to check on Delilah and Bridget," she said.

She hurried toward the bathroom. Even before she reached it, something inside her told her the door was locked.

Closing her eyes, Rain called upon her shadow powers. Her body dissolved into shadow, allowing her to pass effortlessly through the locked door.

Inside, Delilah sat on the floor with her arms wrapped around Bridget, who was crying uncontrollably.

"What's wrong?" Rain asked softly.

Wanting to keep the situation private, Delilah silently handed Rain the strange book, hoping she could read it.

Rain ran her fingers across the page. As the words revealed themselves, the color drained from her face. A look of horror crossed her features.

Bridget wiped at her tears.

"Maybe I should just go ahead and do it... and get it over with," she whispered.

Rain read the page again before quietly sitting beside Bridget and placing an arm around her shoulders.

Rain had been an orphan. The last family she had lived with had taken her to church every Sunday, and some of those lessons had stayed with her.

"No," Rain said gently. "That isn't the answer."

She looked into Bridget's tear-filled eyes.

"Tell me how you received the symbol."

Bridget took a shaky breath.

"Boze was trying to research the Big Seven, but he wasn't finding anything. I decided to help him using my magic."

Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks.

"When he finally found the page, the room started filling with anger and hatred directed toward Matthew and the Big Seven."

She paused, struggling to continue.

"Then he saw a picture of my father, and it filled him with frustration."

Rain and Delilah exchanged worried glances.

"The room became saturated with evil. Because it was my magic that had uncovered the page, the darkness overwhelmed me."

Bridget's voice trembled as she described her duel with Adam and the kiss they had shared in the strange magical rain.

When she finished, silence settled over the room.

Delilah and Rain exchanged another uneasy look. They couldn't shake the fear that some of the dark magic still lingered within Bridget, waiting for another opportunity to take control.

A strange feeling came over Rain. She remembered something she had learned at the church she attended while living with her previous foster parents.

Maybe this will work, she thought.

She took Bridget's hand.

"Delilah, take Bridget's other hand. Everyone, close your eyes," Rain said.

Delilah took Bridget's hand, and all three girls closed their eyes.

A brilliant light engulfed them. Strange glowing symbols flowed from Rain's chest—symbols that formed an ancient prayer rising from the depths of her heart.

As the sacred symbols continued to stream outward, a swirling black cloud emerged from Bridget's body. It writhed in the air before ascending toward the sky. Moments later, it was banished to the Umbral Realm.

The radiant light slowly ascended back into the heavens, and silence filled the room.

Bridget lifted her shirt and looked at the mark on her stomach. The dark symbol was gone. In its place was a new symbol—a heart with the names Boze and Bridget written across the center.

For the first time that day, Bridget's mind felt completely clear.

"Hopefully that was the last of the evil magic," Bridget said with a relieved smile.

The three girls walked back into the kitchen.

Boze was still sitting at the table with his laptop, researching the Big Seven.

"Baby, you've done enough research on the Big Seven for today," Bridget said, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek.

"I agree," Rain said. "Let's take a break from the Big Seven."

Boze smiled and closed his laptop.

"I'm getting hungry," he said.

Bridget opened the freezer and found several different kinds of frozen pizzas.

"Who wants pizza?" she asked.

Everyone immediately raised a hand.

After deciding which toppings each person wanted, Bridget pulled the pizzas from the freezer and began preheating the oven. For the moment, the danger was over, and the house felt peaceful once again.