“It’ll be okay,” Atlas whispers, more to himself than anyone else, and Julian falls to his knees behind him, holding him close.
“Itwillbe okay,” he reassures my brother.
So we wait those long five minutes, with Madam Lu staring holes into my face and Julian comforting my brother.
Just as I should be, if he would only let metouchhim.
And as the priest shows up, Julian fetches him and brings him to this small, back room.
“I knew it,” the older man hisses, staring down at me from the doorway.
It’s the priest from the grocery store. The one who tried to convert me to his church.
“Reverend Clark,” Madam Lu says. “I could sense something dark attached to him. I figured you’d be able to help.”
The older man’s blue eyes narrow. “Notattached to, Louisa, but inside.”
“Inside?!” Atlas nearly screeches, jumping to his feet.
Something grows cold inside of me.
“Yes, son, inside,” the reverend confirms. “I saw you not long ago, Atticus. Do you remember that?’
Slowly, I nod.
“And do you know what I sensed in you?” He does not wait for a response. “I could senseitinside of you. In the same way I can feel the presence of our Lord in the air that surrounds us, when I saw you, I could feel it, dormant inside of you.”
“Is it another incubus?” Julian asks from where he stands next to the man.
“I know it’s evil,” Reverend Clark offers. “I know it craves nutrients and is using this boy as a vessel for it.”
I resist the urge to correct him, to say that I’m aman,not a boy, and instead ask, “What does it want? What are the nutrients it’s searching for?”
“I don’t know,” he admits. “Tell me everything from the beginning.”
So I do. I start with Atty’s being cursed, how I tried to save him, and end with the videos my new camera captured.
“You’re saying that you’ve begun leaving your room at night, but have no memory of it?” Madam Lu asks.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Atlas demands. “We could have helped you!”
“I just learned about it today,” I answer defensively.
Not that I intended to mention it to him.
“That’s when it feeds,” the reverend concludes. “Are there any signs of where you go? Faint memories or feelings?”
“No, sir.”
He takes a deep breath, eyes flickering between all of us. “I need to look into this. I may have handled a few similar cases, but this feels more… devious. Is there a way to keep Atticus from straying at night until I figure it out?”
The room is silent, and I fear for a moment that there isn’t a solution. But then I see the small, satisfied smile take shape on my sweet, precious little brother’s face.
“Oh,” he starts, a hint of glee in his tone. “I knowjustwhat to do.”
Oh, fuck.
