Vespa sat down on the opposite sofa. “I don’t know if I want to do this.”
Why was I not surprised? Just as we got everything ready and busted our asses, he was having second thoughts. Still, I wasn’t going to tell him one way or the other, but I was going to speak my mind. I didn’t go through this whole experience for nothing. “Listen, I understand you’re scared, and you have every right to be. But are you really going to be able to live like this the rest of your life?”
He looked down at the floor. “I don’t want to die.”
I wanted to tell him he should have thought of that before he dragged us all the way to Arizona, but I didn’t. Not wanting to die and not wanted to be possessed were two different things. “I don’t think anyone does. Not really. If you decide you totally don’t want to do this, I’ll understand. But really think about it before you make any decisions.”
He got up and went into his room. I looked at Tabby. She shrugged.
“Guess we might as well go to bed,” I said.
“Guess so.”
###
“Is it the demon?” Tabby asked once we were safely in the bedroom. Isaac jumped out of her arms and buried himself between the pillows.
I couldn’t blame the cat. “I don’t know. This demon isn’t like Asmodeus at all. He’s quiet almost. I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”
Tabby nodded. “Well, I did get both circles blessed with holy water.”
I took a deep breath. “And the rite?”
“I jotted down what I could from memory. I figured we could work on it.”
“Sounds good.” There wasn’t anything else to do.
Isaac meowed from the bed. I guess he agreed too.
###
A good sleep was something I didn’t get. As far as I knew, we had the rite as good as we could get it. We’d gone over it for a couple of hours, but I couldn’t see anything that we could add that would make it better. Hell, when we’d written the one I used with Lucy, it hadn’t been this much work. Of course, I think part of it was that we were willing to try anything. And, well, we’d been out of options.
This was different. Something about the whole mess left me with a bad feeling, and it wasn’t just the Devil’s warning. Part of it could have been the lies, but I had a feeling it was that I couldn’t get a handle on Vespa. One minute, he was this goofy kid, and the next, he was this weird demon. I wasn’t used to dealing with a living flip-coin. I’m not sure anyone could get used to that.
I watched the sun rise. Was it smart to start an exorcism on no sleep? Probably not, but Vespa was counting on me. That is, if he decided to go through with it. If he changed his mind, I’d go back to bed, get some sleep, and then book me and Tabby’s flight home. I’ll admit, I was kind of hoping for that option.
“Jimmy?” Tabby asked.
I looked over at her. “Yeah?”
She picked up her cell phone off the night stand and squinted at the screen. “What are you doing up?”
I shrugged. “I never went to sleep.”
She sat up in bed. “Guess we better hope today goes smoothly.”
“I think that’s something we better not count on. I swear, if Nick’s mother comes back, I might not be able to control myself.”
“You?” She uncovered her legs. “I’m going to get my shower.”
“You do that.” I rubbed my neck.
Almost as soon as she left the room, Doc popped in.
“Stuff startin,’ huh?” he asked.
I shrugged. Guess you could put it that way. “Vespa didn’t want to go through with it last night.”
Doc stroked his goatee for a minute. “I’m bettin’ that today will be different.”
I nodded. “Guess we’ll see. How’s Lucy?”
His face broke into a smile. “She’s okay. Tired of being in that car.”
It was so cute. He’d become the doting grandfather. “I bet. Hell, I’m tired of being here period.”
He laughed. “Well, sooner you get this done, the better.”
He didn’t have to tell me that. “Yeah, I know. Nick’s getting worse.”
Doc grunted.
“What?”
He waved me off. “Let me know if you need me. I’m going to go back to Miss Lucy.”
And then he disappeared.
One of these days I was going to make him stick around when all hell broke loose. “I need an easier job.”
###
After I got myself cleaned up, I got dressed in a nice shirt and some pants, dug out my purple stole, and put the bottle of holy water Tabby had prepared in my pocket. This was my uniform. Tabby grabbed the bag with the chain and the handcuffs as well as a few pieces of ribbon.
“Want to make your confession now?” she asked.
“Might as well. If Vespa has decided to go forward with the exorcism, I want to start right away.” I took a moment to bring all the things I’d done recently to the front of my mind. Then, I nodded at her.
“Okay. What would you like to confess?” She stood in front of me with one of her hips cocked out to the side.
I sat down on the bed. “I don’t like Vespa. I hope we can get this over and done with, and I don’t want to mark him. He’s a liar and a cheat, and if it were up to me, I might let the demon have him if it wasn’t for the fact that I didn’t want to be that type of person.”
“So, you’ll mark him if you have to?” She sat down beside me.
I nodded. I knew I’d been kidding myself. If it was my lot in life to be stuck with his ass, then I’d have to deal with it. But, so help me God, if he tried to hurt Lucy in any way, I’d figure out how to un-mark him. Or I could give him to the Devil. That might be fun.
“Okay. I think you’re ready,” she said.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Hell, I wasn’t even confident in myself. This had the makings of being a very bad day.
We got up and left the room. Isaac stayed behind in the bed. He was still asleep. Lucky shit. Tabby wrapped her ward strings wrapped around her wrist. I relaxed a little seeing them. At least Vespa wouldn’t be able to go everywhere we could. It was something small, but it was something for me to hold onto.
When we got downstairs, Nick was sitting in the middle of the floor with his legs crossed.
“Everything okay?” I asked. This wasn’t exactly how I expected to find him.
He looked up at me. His eyes were bloodshot and slightly glowing. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“You aren’t the only one,” I said. “Have you made a decision?” I needed to know now.
He took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. “If I want to live, I have to get this thing out of me.”
“Basement it is, then,” Tabby said.
Nick smiled. “Can I get something to eat?”
Him and his stomach. “Exorcism, like magic, is best done on an empty stomach. We do this in shifts almost.”
He stared at me. “So, I won’t be able to eat until it’s all over?”
I laughed. He never listened to me. “No. You won’t be able to eat until we’re done with the first session.”
“Oh. Okay,” he said.
He got up off the floor and led us back down to the basement. I let Tabby go ahead of me. She nonchalantly slipped the ward string over the door knob to the basement. I was so damn lucky to have her. If need be, we could run. I hadn’t even had that with Lucy.
Vespa sat down in the center of the room. I grabbed the hasp and tested it. Tabby handed me the chain. I looped it through the hasp. After I got the handcuffs attached, Vespa allowed me to cuff him.
“You comfortable?” I asked him.
“I guess. This is so weird.”
I didn’t bother mentioning how much weirder it was to conjure a demon, but whatever. I stepped back toward the other side of the room.
I nodded to Tabby. She pulled out a piece of chalk. After she’d drawn a circle around us, she set down a small bottle of the holy water, a small packet of
sand, a candle, and a feather.
“Hail to the guardians of the watchtowers,” she said. “North, South, East, and West. Hear my call. Bless this circle and keep us safe within it. Bless Nick for the trial he’s about to endure. Keep your eyes open and watch out for those that wish us harm.” She folded her hands in front of her and touched her nose with her middle fingers. “So mote it be.”
She dropped her hands.
Suddenly, I felt a zing pass through my body. I could feel power radiating off the circle. It almost had a rainbow cast coming off it. “Damn girl.”
She blushed.
I looked over at Vespa. His eyes were full-on glowing now.
“Most impressive display of power,” he said.
I nodded. Yeah, sure, demonpoo. I really rely on your impression. He was right though, but I wasn’t about to let him know that. “Yup. Tabby’s special.”
The lighting dimmed a little. It was time.
“Wretched thing from the dark, state your purpose,” I said.
It laughed. “I am here to help. Nicholas Vespa invited me.”
Thunder crackled throughout the room. Guess he was trying to show his power or something. It was going to take more than a thunderstorm to do that. Besides, what was he trying to help? Help what? Kill us all? “Well, Vespa does not like your agreement.”
The demon laughed again. His laugh was starting to resemble the laugh Lucy had when she was possessed. Kind of choppy and wrong. “So often, they think that they can just use us—make us do their bidding. Instead, we take over the host. Change it. Mold it into something better.”
The only thing I’d seen a demon do with a body was destroy it. Either his view of better was different, or there was something else wrong here. “Isn’t it limiting to reside in a human body?”
“At first, but once the changes begin, it is perfect.”
I blinked. Again, that explained nothing. Okay. Time to start with the real stuff. “What is your name?”
It laughed. “You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?”
Thunder sounded across the walls again. This time, I felt the ground shake just a little. Still, compared with a soul sucker, this was child’s play. I shrugged. “Can’t blame me for trying.”
The demon nodded. “How much longer are you going to continue this charade?”
“It will take as long as it takes. I am in no hurry.” And I wasn’t. I was in this for the whole thing, even if it did take years. Right now, we were going on for about five minutes. It was going to take a hell of a lot more than that.
Suddenly, I heard what sounded like Lucy crying. I waited. Then, just as suddenly as it started, it stopped.
“You’ll have to do better than that,” I said. This demon was a lightweight compared to Asmodeus. I knew Lucy was safe. I guess if I hadn’t already experienced that trick, it would have shocked me more. But, as it was, I just wanted to get this over with.
It grinned. “Oh, I plan to.”
I steadied myself. The floor rumbled. Enough chit chat. “Begone creature of hate. Begone creature of lies. Go back to your world.”
It laughed again. Vespa threw his arms out as far as they would go against the chains, and the fake stone cracked within the grout seams. Pieces of the fake stone started to rain down.
Something was wrong. Nothing I was doing was affecting him in any way. It was like my words had no power. There was none of the magic that coursed through me when I’d exorcised Lucy. Either my powers had been snatched away from me, or Vespa wasn’t what he was supposed to be.
I looked down at the rest of what Tabby and I had written. Shit. Vespa, for all of his meanderings, wasn’t a child of God. Not really. Him inviting the demon in had created a grey area. I had to change him back.
“Vespa, listen to me. Renounce it.”
The demon laughed again. He pulled at the chains. They began stretching. I was in such deep shit.
“Renounce your contract. Own up to what you’ve done. Confess!”
I saw a ripple move through the circle and fade on Vespa. My powers were still there, but I was no longer the super man’s krypton. This was not good.
The demon clucked his tongue. “Clever. Too bad, I have him right where I want him.”
I pulled myself together. Dwelling on what wasn’t working wasn’t going to help anyone. “What is your name?”
The demon shifted and wrapped part of the chain around Vespa’s neck. The chain bit into the skin. “Why, Nicholas of course.”
“What are you doing?” I asked. I didn’t like this. At all. No way was I going to end up with another soul to care for. This had to stop.
He cinched the chain together. Vespa’s face began to grow red. And still, the demon was smiling. “What would you do to save his soul?”
Dammit. He had me. I would have taken Lucy’s place if that had been what I needed to do to save her, but I wouldn’t take Nick’s place. Not for anything in the world. The demon wanted a lot more than Nick’s soul. He wanted me. “I am doing what I was sent here to do for his soul.”
The demon twitched his finger toward me, and I felt myself draw toward the edge of the circle. The force had me pressed against the edge of the circle like someone was pushing my body into a pane of glass. I silently prayed for Tabby’s magic to hold.
“Will you mark him?” it asked. His eyes were glowing with an almost neon-yellow light, and they were fixed on me.
“If it comes to that, yes.” I’d made my peace with the idea. If I did have to keep him, maybe I could teach him to be a better person.
It grinned. The demon twitched his finger again, and Tabby’s circle started to bend. My head felt like a cinderblock was pressing it into the surface.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Tabby get up. Just when she was about to put her hands on me, she stopped.
“There’s something here, Jimmy,” she said. “There’s like a barrier over you.”
I turned back toward the monster. The grin had never left its face. “Will you take his place?”
The force pressing me into the circle got stronger. I felt my eyes starting to bulge from my head. Suddenly, the pressure was gone, and I was flying across the room. The only thing that stopped me was the opposite wall. I landed on the floor in a heap. It took me a minute to get my bearings straight. I could hear Tabby screaming.
I forced myself upright, my back screaming. The demon had Tabby held aloft with some sort of invisible power. It was arching her back so far I was afraid it was going to snap her in half.
The demon turned his head toward me. “Again, I must ask. Will you take his place?”
Before I could even say no, the air stilled.
Oh shit. I knew what this was. It was just like it had happened in the car. Big bad was here, and I didn’t know why.
###
I looked at Tabby. She looked back at me. She was standing a couple of feet away from Vespa. Vespa, in the center of the room, was frozen. Tabby and I were normal. We could move.
“Is this what happened before?” she asked.
“Uh huh.” I kept looking around the room, but I didn’t see anything. Not yet.
And then the Devil walked through the wall. This time, he was dressed in a long black robe that was embroidered with a silver edging along the hem. While his hair was still shoulder length, red highlights seemed to dance within it. His eyes seemed to flash with red light whenever he passed the candelabras. He didn’t bother to hide his fangs when he flashed a smile at me.
He walked over near to where Vespa was frozen and looked at Tabby. “What a powerful witch.”
I glanced from the Devil to Tabby. Her eyes were huge.
“Thank you,” she said.
I looked back over at the Devil.
He smiled. “It is beginning to look like I need to reassert dominance over my subjects.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. This did not sound good. If the Devil was losing his grip on Hell, we were all fucked.
&
nbsp; “They have forgotten the things I am truly capable of. No matter. So,” he looked at Tabby, “Tabitha, did you like your gift?”
She blinked. “It is very beautiful, but I don’t know what it does. It isn’t like any wand I’ve ever held.”
He put his hands together. His fingernails were long and so transparent they almost looked like glass. “It is a fleshing wand. Most useful.”
I looked at Tabby out of the corner of my eye. She was just standing there.
“I’ll let you research it. They are very rare.”
Why did I have a feeling that we’d be looking at a lot of woodcuts? Gruesome ones.
“Thank you,” she said.
He nodded, then turned his attention back to me. “So, what do you want to do with this one?”
I stammered. “My plan is to get him unpossessed and then go on my way.”
He shook his head. “Tsk tsk. Sadly, I can’t allow that to happen. You see, things are not what they seem.”
I’d suspected as much, but I was still confused. Then, I realized I’d never done any of the tests, never saw if he spoke in tongues or could find lost objects. “He isn’t possessed, is he?”
The devil chuckled. “I knew you were smart enough to figure it out.”
I sat down in the circle. Tabby followed suit.
I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. The demon did want me, but not in the way I assumed. “He can’t be exorcised if he was never possessed.”
“Quite correct.”
“So, how is he demonic?” Tabby asked.
The Devil grinned. “A triviality, I assure you. He is my son.”
I blinked. Oh, Jesus. We’d been staying with the Antichrist. My bowels would have let loose if there had been anything in them.
The Devil started laughing. “You should see the look on your face. Completely priceless.”
“So, he is the Antichrist?” I asked.
He pursed his eyebrows together. “My word, no. I have many children. The Antichrist you speak of is a myth of sorts. Keep in mind, your book isn’t whole.”
He was right, actually. Sometime in the fourteenth century, I think it was, the Catholic Church voted on what books were worthy of being in the Bible. Revelation only made it in by one vote. “So, either there is no Antichrist, or all of your children are Antichrists?”