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Even prying my mouth open takes an enormous amount of effort, which I’m not able to do. I’m not able to do anything but stand there and watch as Trine’s knees buckle.
There’s nothing any of us can do but watch.
I can tell because I know the exorcists would intervene if they could.
But no one can intervene. No one can do anything as Trine chokes on her own tongue and her skin turns white, the veins on her forehead popping as her coloring begins to turn blue.
Clara stands in front of her, her hand still on Trine’s shoulder as she slowly sinks to her knees. The flickering light overhead finally goes out, the only light I can see the one from the tiny slit in the double doors at the end of the corridor.
I can’t see Trine anymore, but I can hear her–and that muffled, choking sound sends a cold shiver down my spine.
I don’t need to see Trine to know that there are tears streaming down her face, to know that she’s not able to breathe, to know that this is going to kill her if no one does anything.
But we’re all powerless here. There’s nothing for us to do but stare and wait for Clara to kill Trine.
Then Trine’s eyes shoot open. I can see the white of them in the dark of the hallway. Somehow, she manages to open her mouth, and tries to get to her feet. Whatever Trine is doing seems to break the spell we’re all under because I suddenly feel like I can move again.
Now that I have to.
Misha reaches out and pushes Clara so that she isn’t touching Trine anymore, and the priest says a prayer under his breath as he approaches Clara. Rei kneels so that he’s face-to-face with Trine, asking her if she’s okay.
Clara is about to run away, but before she does, she looks into my eyes.
I can hear her voice as clearly as if she were speaking, but she isn’t. She is just thinking at me.
What are you doing with them?
My blood runs cold again. But before I can think of something to say–fuck, before I can think of anything—Clara bolts out the double doors, and as soon as she does, the light goes back on, blinding me completely.
REI
Trine coughs in front of me, her hands around her throat.
She still sounds breathless. Her eyes are brimming, black tears streaming down her face as she tries to catch her breath.
“It’s okay,” I say. “Just breathe through your nose. You’re probably panicking and that’s going to make your pulse race and your breathing shallow.”
Trine sets her gaze on mine, her eyes wide as she does. “Rei…”
“It’s okay,” I say again. I’ve gotten very good at sounding like things are okay when they aren’t through the years, but I’m almost certain she can hear the panic in my voice. How can she not, when it’s so obvious to me?
I hold out my hands so that I can help her sit down. She’s still on her knees. That can’t be comfortable. I want her to take deep breaths and calm down, so I sit cross-legged on the carpeted floor in the church and intertwine her fingers with mine.
“Keep looking at me,” I say. “Just take a nice, deep breath through your nose, then purse your lips and breathe out through your mouth for four seconds.”
She does as I tell her, her eyes still wide open as she stares at me. It looks unnatural. I can see the veins under her skin, the blood vessels in the white of her eyes that burst when she was choking.
When she does finally close her eyes, I watch as dark tears stain her pretty face.
“Are you hurt?” I ask her after a few seconds of watching her breathe.
“I don’t think so,” she says, sniffling. She’s a little hoarse, but she mostly sounds okay. “I was just scared.”
“She’s not here anymore,” Misha says. “But I think we should probably leave before she comes back. Just in case.”
“He’s right,” Luke says. “If she comes back, you might not be able to break out of it again. Whatever that was.”
“You need to switch locations,” Malon says, so quietly I can hardly hear him. “Clara knows where you’re staying at now.”
