Julia Lelieveld and the battle with the underworld
~18~

I took a seat on the comfortable couch in Hannah’s homely office. She sat down opposite me and smiled kindly. The sun shone seldom through the large glass wall on the garden side. I was happy that this was my last appointment for this year for now. It became increasingly difficult to schedule the appointments due to all the events with the circle and evil. And replaceing excuses was even harder, because Hannah and Dad didn’t know about it. Should I keep it a secret? Yes, I couldn’t help it. Firstly, they would think I was completely crazy and have me admitted immediately and secondly, it was for their own safety. That was the most important.

“How are you Julia?” Hannah asked sincerely. I had to admit, because of all the changes I was able to put everything in perspective a little better.

I nodded. “Okay, I’m starting to feel more and more at home.”

“You also look better than last time. Nice to hear.”

She seemed to think for a moment. “Is there anything you want to talk about yourself?”

But when she asked, the atmosphere completely changed. What happened? It seemed to be getting darker outside. I looked back at Hannah from the large glass wall. I was shocked by her view. Her eyes seemed to be spinning in her sockets. Her face was pale and dark circles under her eyes. I rushed over to her and called her name, but she didn’t respond. I darted back to my bag and grabbed my phone. I was about to call 911 when she suddenly looked up and smiled at me again. But this was different from before. This was not sincere. I sat down slowly and looked at her. She tilted her head a little and seemed to be observing me. Somehow I couldn’t say anything. She looked like herself again, but something wasn’t right. She looked like Hannah, but then she wasn’t.

“We’ll meet again there,” she said in a calm tone. But the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. This wasn’t Hannah. Somehow I recognized this way of talking. I recognized it from the roof. This was Evil. I tried to stay calm.

“Looks like that,” I drew.

“Oh come on, don’t be so depressed.”

“What do you want?” I asked hostilely.

“What do you think? I’m coming for you.”

“I’ve already told your helpers I’m not coming.”

“No, I understood that, so I thought I’d come and see you myself.”

“How did you get Hannah to consent?”

“Oh girl, don’t you know who I am? I am the Evil. I don’t need permission,” he said with a satisfied smile on Hannah’s face.

“The problem is I can’t kidnap you and bring you to the underworld. A practitioner can only enter it of his own volition.”

He crossed Hannah’s legs and brought his hand to his face and seemed to think for a moment.

“I’ve asked nicely, but you’re not listening. So I’ll have to force you.” He continued in a calm tone. My stomach contracted at these words.

“That’s not going to be fun for you,” he said quietly again.

I was nailed to the couch, unable to move.

“You know what, just because I like you. I think your rebelliousness is cute,” he said with a laugh.

“I’m giving you an ultimatum. I’ll give you until Friday to surrender voluntarily. You just have to say it and I hear you. If someone asks for access to the underworld, I hear it. Then I will guide you.”

Hannah’s eyes looked at me insistently. I wasn’t trying to release anything. He just wanted that.

“If I haven’t heard from you by Saturday, I’ll come and persuade you. And like I said, that’s not going to be fun for you. So the choice is yours.”

Hannah’s hands were now folded in her lap, as if the lesson was over and it was my turn. But I didn’t want him to see my emotions. As upset as I was, I didn’t want to show anything. Don’t show I was scared.

“No? Nothing? Will you make me wait until the end of the week? Also fine, I’ll see you soon anyway.” Hannah’s eyes winked for a moment and before I knew it she was rolling her eyes again. Shit. I rushed over to her and sat down in front of her. “Hannah?”

Startled, she opened her eyes and looked at me confused. “What happened?”

“You seemed to disappear for a moment. Are you okay?”

“Yes, I think so, maybe I should go see my husband.”

I nodded. “That seems sensible to me. Shall I give him a call? Maybe driving isn’t a good idea.”

Still confused, she nodded her head.

I took her phone from the desk and looked for the number of Eva and Bas’ father. I quickly pressed the green cone and the phone rang. Fortunately, he picked up quickly.

“Hannah? Everything okay?” He sounded concerned, probably not used to Hannah calling him.

“Mr. Rondebal? You speak with Julia. I had an appointment with Hannah, but she’s not feeling well. She seemed to pass out for a moment.”

“Julia? Is she approachable?”

“Yes, she responds well when I talk to her, but she wanted to come to you anyway, but I don’t think it would be wise for her to drive now.”

“I’ll be right there.”

“I’ll stay with her until you get there.”

“Thanks Julia, you’ll see me soon.”

I put the phone down and walked back to Hannah, afraid that she would have changed again and that Evil would be inside her again. Fortunately this was not the case.

“He is coming.”

“That’s good, thank you.” She looked at me with her loving look. She was herself again. I felt guilty. This happened because of me. It was my fault that Evil had used her.

I took her hand and felt it was clammy. Gosh, there really isn’t anything serious about her, is there? Could Evil really have done damage? I was really starting to worry now.

I took a glass of water from the table and handed it to her. She drank it down gratefully.

“Come and lie down on the couch for a while.”

She nodded. “I’m suddenly so very tired,” she said.

I supported her to the couch and gently let her lie. She immediately closed her eyes. Her breathing slowly up and down. I think she was already asleep. Could Evil have used all her energy, that’s why she was so tired?

I sat like that for a while, next to her on the couch, holding her hand. At one point I heard the door of the waiting room open and immediately followed by the door of the office. Eva and Bas’ father looked around the office and stopped at the sight of Hannah on the couch. I immediately made room for him and he rushed over to her. He checked her pulse and breathing.

“I think she’s asleep, she said she was very tired.”

He nodded. “I think you’re right,” he said, concerned.

“Are you going to investigate her further?”

“Yes, I’m taking her to the hospital. What happened?”

I had a hard time telling him the truth. “It seemed as if she had passed out for a moment. She rolled her eyes and I couldn’t make contact with her, but she quickly came to. She didn’t even know what had happened.”

He looked at me suspiciously and then nodded again. “Thank you for calling me and taking care of her.”

I nodded.

“Would you like to get her bag? That’s where the keys are. Then you can close the door behind us and I’ll take her to the hospital.”

I obeyed and took the bag with the keys. Meanwhile, Eva and Bas’ father had woken Hannah. Dazed, she walked to his car, leaning on her husband. I locked the office door and put Hannah’s bag in the car.

“Get well soon.”

“Thank you.” And he rushed in the car on the way to the hospital.

I was sick of it. From what had happened to Hannah, I felt so incredibly guilty. And Evil was also gnawing at the back of my mind, what was I supposed to do with this? He wanted me in the underworld. Well that was the last place I wanted to be, but if I didn’t listen, he’d force me. In a way I wouldn’t like. What did he mean by that? Did I have to wait for that? And unintentionally endanger myself and others? Or should I give in and go with him anyway?

I looked around confused, what should I do? I was closest to Renzo. I grabbed my bike and cycled to the shopping street. It was busy for a weekday. Probably many people were already doing Christmas shopping. I parked my bicycle next to the gray door and rang the bell. No answer. Shit, he wasn’t home.

Disappointed, I got back on my bike. Then to Rob, because I had to talk about it. After fifteen minutes I arrived at Rob’s old house. Because of the tall trees behind Rob’s house, the sun no longer had the chance to shine on his house. It looked a bit grim. I understood why kids thought this was a haunted house. His car was not in the driveway. Would he still be at school? I looked at my watch, it was already almost half past five. I walked out onto the porch and knocked with the old-fashioned rose-shaped knocker. No answer. I did it again, this time harder. Still nothing.

I sighed. Slowly I walked back down the porch towards my bike and at that exact moment I saw Rob’s old car drive up.

Fortunately, he was there.

Rob parked his car next to the house and walked questioningly towards me.

“Julia, is something wrong?”

I nodded. “We have to talk.”

He looked at me for a moment and walked past me and unlocked the door and held it open for me. I stepped into the main hall and waited a moment for Rob to close the door and lead me into the kitchen. He pointed to the large wooden table in the old-fashioned kitchen. I sat down and waited.

He grabbed us a drink and sat down opposite me.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“I had an appointment with Hannah this afternoon and at the beginning of our session something happened. She changed.”

I looked at Rob and he looked at me uncomprehendingly.

“Evil has visited me through Hannah.”

Rob’s eyes widened.

“What do you say? Has Evil visited you again?”

I nodded. “He tried to persuade me to go with him to the underworld.”

“And what did you answer?” he asked.

How could he ask that? “No, of course.”

Rob nodded. “He probably didn’t like that.”

I shook my head. “No indeed. He gave me an ultimatum. I have until Friday to decide. If he hasn’t heard from me by Saturday, he will personally persuade me to go.” I looked uncertainly at Rob.

He brought his eyebrows together. “This is serious,” he finally said.

“I’m afraid so. He said it wasn’t going to be fun, that he would somehow force me to come along.”

I couldn’t contain my emotions anymore, a few tears ran down my cheeks from my eyes. “What if he does something to you? What if I endanger others?”

Rob seemed to think about this and then nodded. “There’s a chance others might be in danger, but we don’t want you to go to the underworld, Julia. I’ve never heard of anyone coming out alive and then the Elders are right. As dangerous as it can get, you’re not going to surrender.”

He looked at me intently. I sighed, what am I supposed to do with this? I’d rather give my own life than endanger anyone’s.

“Hey, we’ll replace a solution. We are strong as a circle, your powers are growing and we can handle it. We must try.”

“I’m just really scared that it won’t end well and I’ll end up in the underworld.”

He shook his head. “No, we’ll just take care of that, we can’t give up. He is a master of deception and manipulation, we cannot give in until we have fought for it. Clear?”

“I think so,” I said uncertainty.

“Julia, don’t do stupid things. Don’t answer his question, please.”

I nodded. “Okay, we’ll wait until Saturday.” And as I said that I felt a sick feeling in my stomach.

“Good, now go home, because it’s getting dark already.”

“Thanks Rob, see you tomorrow.”

He said goodbye and I got on my bike home with an uneasy feeling.

When I came in, Dad was sitting at the kitchen table. Alone, without papers. That was weird. He looked up and had an apologetic look. What was going on here?

“Hi Dad.”

“Hi sweetie, come sit with me, we need to talk.”

I looked at him questioningly. That was new to me. Could it have something to do with the circle? Would he have found out somehow?

I carefully sat down next to him and looked at him.

He sighed deeply.

“Julia, remember that case I was working on last year. About that girl from your school? That her killer was never found?”

I nodded. I knew that very well. The whole school was upset. A girl two grades higher than me was found murdered in the park. It was a big question mark. Dad then worked on it day and night, but to no avail. The killer was never caught. From then on, everyone stayed away from the park.

My father continued.

“Well, a witness has come forward. A reliable one. And they’re going to reopen the case. And because I was leading the investigation at the time and therefore know all the ins and outs, they would like me to deal with this case again.”

I looked at him questioningly. “You mean you’re going back to work at the old station?”

He seemed to think for a moment. “Yes that’s what I mean.”

“But what about your work here?”

“It’s only temporary, until hopefully the matter is resolved. I can get rid of my current case and restart my work at the old station.”

“But a case like that could take months and maybe longer,” I said alarmingly.

He nodded. “To be fair, then it would very well be possible.”

“How’s it supposed to be here? Where are you going to live? Where am I in all this picture?”

I was really starting to worry now. Two months ago I really wasn’t ready to move, but now I wouldn’t want to go back. There was so much going on right now. My powers, the circle, Renzo. At this point I belonged here.

“I wanted to talk to you about that. I understand I can’t ask you to move again. I’m not doing that to you. But could you come with me temporarily? I am being offered a rental house where I can live temporarily. You could go back to your old school?”

Seeing my gaze, he quickly moved on.

“You could also choose to stay here. I know you’re not an adult yet, but you act like one. You are almost seventeen and you already run the whole household. You take care of the groceries and the food. I know you could handle living here alone. But would you want that? I try to come back in between. But please let’s be honest with each other. I know I promised you I’d work less as soon as we moved in here. That I would be home more often, but we both know this isn’t the case. I work almost more than at the old station. And it hurts me so much that I haven’t kept my promise. So I’m not going to promise that I’ll be back often, because I know how it goes. I’m going to be completely absorbed in work again. That I can’t just drive back and forth. So you have to think about it carefully. If you choose to stay here, you won’t see me very often, no matter how much it hurts me. I think you should be able to make the choice yourself. And if you choose to stay here, I’ll ask someone to look after you while I’m gone.”

At least he was honest with me. But I found it quite intense that his decision had already been made to go back. Without any consultation. He had already decided to go back, with or without me. I knew he had everything about that case still in his head, but he could also hand it over. Or possibly provide advice remotely. But he took the work with both hands, without even deliberating. Because he said I was mature enough to stay alone. He still looked at me questioningly. “Julia, say something please.”

Now I was the one who sighed. I felt passed over by my own father. It made me sad. “At least you’re honest.”

He nodded.

“But what I don’t understand is how you made the decision to go back without even talking to me about it?”

I looked at him hurtfully.

“We’re talking about it now, aren’t we?”

“Yes Dad, we’re talking about you leaving. And whether I want to come or stay here. We’re not talking about whether you should leave? Can’t you just stay here?”

He thought about this and finally he looked at me with pain.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. How selfish of me to agree to the transfer right away.”

So my feeling was justified. He had already agreed and arranged everything.

“When are you leaving?” I asked him a little distance.

“Can I conclude from this that you’re not coming with me?” he asked sadly.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know.”

He nodded. “I’m leaving on Saturday.”

“Saturday already? Then you miss the prom.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I need to know tomorrow if you’re coming, then I can still arrange everything with the school.”

I looked at him in disbelief. “Tomorrow? Who are you going to ask to look after me if I stay here?”

“I’m not sure, maybe Hannah? Or do you know someone?”

He looked at me questioningly. Hannah could do well, but since I’m more and more with the circle now and Hannah doesn’t know anything about it, that doesn’t seem useful to me. The only person who could cover for me regarding the circle is Rob. I should ask him.

“Maybe, but I’ll have to think about it, you’ll hear from me tomorrow.” And with those words I got up and walked out of the kitchen to my room. He had hurt me and he could feel it for a moment. With each step I climbed the stairs, more and more tears appeared in my eyes.

The following days passed in a blur. I became more and more concerned about Saturday, the day of the prom and the day of the ultimatum. Dad was busy handing over his work and packing his things. In the end I made sure that Rob is my point of contact when daddy is not around. The gnawing feeling was getting worse, Renzo was worried about me, but I couldn’t help it. I think Evil will keep his promises, he made that clear in Hanna’s office.

To my surprise, Saturday passed peacefully. In the morning my father had left for our old town and in the afternoon I went to get ready for the ball. I managed to put my mind to something else, because if something happened, it would have happened, wouldn’t it?