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“Get him out of here,” I whispered to the priest, gazing intently at Aaron.
No more taking any chances. This demon had proved to be the most powerful we’d come up against yet. There was no telling if the exorcism would have any effect on him. We needed to clear the room.
“Of course.” He struggled to his feet, the boy’s hand in his. “Come on, Aaron.”
I watched the little boy run after him with quiet mourning in my heart. What he saw today could never be erased. Most humans lived their lives totally clueless of the dark underbelly of Hell walking among them. And they were happy that way. Little Aaron now had a glimpse of that world and he’d always be left wondering. Afraid of the dark and afraid of the unknown. It was a grim outlook.
“You struggle in vain,” the demon cried, throwing his hands up in mock surrender as the warriors closed in on him. “For you shall all die by the darkness of the next eclipse. It has been written.”
“No one but me decides my fate,” Ashley shot back, wiping the wood splinters off her shoulder and tossing her head.
She reached for his arm and when he shied away, delivered a swift punch to the kidneys. He wilted and retched again, his eyes burning bright red as he glared up at her.
Reaching to my belt, I pulled a lengthy piece of rope off my back and tossed it her way. “Here, use this. It’s Luke’s newest invention.”
Our newest toy was a rope with silver fibers interwoven throughout the threads. Although no thicker than my pinky finger, a demon would have a hard time breaking free. It would come in handy as we hunted down the remaining demonic forces.
She tied his hands roughly behind his back and marched him to where Gabe sat rubbing his head, and pushed it to its knees. “I believe you weren’t finished.”
Gabe nodded gratefully to the rest of us, his gaze lingering especially long on mine. A small smile tugged at my lips as I waited for him to scan me over for injuries. Despite the fact that we’d been fighting together for over a year, he’d never lost that protective side of him. I felt grateful for it now more than ever.
“What are you going to do?”
The priest had reentered from a door on the altar without Aaron. He wrung his hands, his voice quivering. He eyed the smashed remains of his pulpit, no doubt wondering how he was going to explain that to his congregation.
“His last rites,” Gabe said in a low voice. He pulled a vile of yellow liquid from his pocket and uncorked it. “It’s very important we do this.”
“Last rites?” The priest’s jaw dropped. “But wait. We need to perform an exorcism. I have the tools right here.”
He held up his worn bible and the wooden box. At this distance, I could tell the box was very old, perhaps even from a different millennium. About the length of his forearm, it’d been worn throughout the ages. Unfamiliar faint symbols covered the lid and a latch in the shape of a jagged circle took up one side. Power emanated from the thing—dark and heavy.
“We’ll take that.” Raquel snatched the box from his hand and tucked it under her arm. “I think this is safer in the hands of the Nephilim.”
He opened his mouth to protest, but fell silent at the sight of Gabe rubbing droplets of the yellow liquid on the demon’s forehead and hands. The tangy scent of olive oil reached my nostrils. We’d been using it to anoint demons this summer.
It had been blessed and mixed with a concoction similar to the disgusting drink they’d forced on me when Gabe first brought me to the manor. Luke’s assistants had refined the formula to exorcise demons from the possessed. Sometimes, it worked. Sometimes, it didn’t. But the process was never pretty.
The demon hissed and squirmed as the skin where Gabe anointed began to sizzle. The priest fell back, his mouth open wide. With a silent prayer, he crossed himself, and snapped his jaw shut.
“May you find peace,” Gabe said, pressing the symbol of the cross into its forehead. “And may God have mercy on you.”
“Now, wait...” The priest lunged forward, his arms flailing. “Just you wait.”
“This is the hard part,” Gabe warned in a low voice. “We have to be ready.”
The demon glared at him, his eyes glowing. “You’ll be sorry, you...”
The vile stream of curses that flowed from his mouth were cut short when Gabe forced the rest of the liquid from the vile down the demon’s throat. He sputtered and cursed enough to make even the toughest of sailors blush. None of us stirred. We had become used to this. It was part of the job.
The demon opened its mouth in a silent scream, its jaw popping out of the socket and dropping down to his chest. Ashley let go of the ropes and backed away as it flopped and struggled. It was as if the two entities inside it were grappling for control. A battle of the utmost importance. Silently, I urged the human soul inside him to fight harder. To overcome his demon. To win.
Slowly, its face grew waxen and pale. The jerky movements of its body calmed. I squeezed my eyes shut, holding back the tears. He was losing the battle. I’d seen it a dozen times before. The demon was going to claim this body, dragging it to its grave. My heart broke for the man’s family.
“What’s happening?” The priest looked wildly at each of us.
No one responded.
“What’s happening?” he demanded again. “Can you save him?”
