The Possessed

by Kirk Kilgrave

  Intrigued by the wordplay, Eloise looked left and right as if she were a robot, accessing her hard drive. “It’s been around forever, right? Think old school. Maybe Greek or Roman.”

  Nona remained silent for a moment, and then a swift smile passed across her lips. “Pheurianis?”

  The demon raked its hands across the sides of its head, shot to its feet, spun towards Nona, and let out a screeching howl, as though a tempestuous frequency had scrambled its brains. “No, you shall not take me, you coward before truth, you blight of reality.”

  “Pheurianis!” Nona shouted with a determined glare. “Yes, I remember you! Return to the filth from which you sprang. Return to your false god. Relent to our savior, the Almighty, Jesus Christ. Relent to the true king. Relent to the one who is truth, who is faith, who is love.”

  The demon shifted towards Nona, but one look at the crucifix sent it to its knees again. “I shall not. This vessel belongs to us. We own it. You cannot force us to leave. We—”

  I found it odd that the demon spoke as if others had joined it inside Noelle’s body. I looked to Eloise. “Why is it—”

  “It’s speaking for all demons,” she said. “They’re always conspiring. The lower level demons often say ‘we’ or ‘us’ in hopes that Lucifer will notice its loyalty and save it. Satan rarely does.”

  Rarely? I didn’t want to contemplate the consequences of that possibility, so I returned to the idea that Nona faced off against a lower level demon, one who obviously didn’t have as much strength as its brethren, not unlike the angels in God’s domain.

  Nona, emboldened by the shriveling nemesis before her, stepped forward, Eloise matching her every step, keeping an eye on the demon and awaiting orders. “Pheurianis! Return to the darkness.”

  “No,” the demon squealed. “We will not leave. We belong. You are all filthy—”

  Nona sprinkled holy water on the demon’s head, eliciting a howl as steam rose from its outstretched mouth.

  For the briefest moment, I wanted to jump in front of…my sister to save her from getting burned, but a fraction of a second later I locked my feet in place. Noelle wasn’t suffering. How do you know? Because her skin was burning. No, it’s okay. The demon’s the one getting burned, not Noelle. I disassociated my thoughts and once again did my best to cut off my own feelings.

  “Pheurianis,” said Nona, “behold the power of creation’s one and only king. Behold the one who loves all, who sacrificed for all by dying for our sins, the one whose love will never shine on evil dissenters like you.”

  While fixing herself another stiff drink, my mother kept an eye on the proceedings with interest but not much concern. She stood in the threshold between the kitchen and family room and most likely had taken a few, heavy shots to dull whatever feelings she had only moments ago. She took a sip, chomped on an ice cube, and made her way over to the couch.

  I followed in complete shock. Perhaps my mother had spent so much time over the last two years drinking while watching television that she thought she now watched a show with live actors in her own family room.

  Nona approached the demon and stopped mere inches from it. She held the holy cross before its eyes. “Behold the true power of Jesus Christ. Set your eyes upon the nature of His love. Breathe His essence into your hateful soul.”

  The demon, with both knees collapsed and knocking against each other, lifted its hands to its head again but bent forward and angled it towards its toes, howling in agony for what seemed like forever.

  Then it stopped wheezing out its last consonant…and took in a hefty breath as though it hadn’t taken oxygen into its lungs for days. It lifted its head.

  For the first time in days, the air in the room didn’t feel as thick and heavy as it had before. I even found it a little easier to breathe.

  Far from showing the sarcastic, angry, or all around negative facial expressions of the past couple days, Noelle glanced around with red-rimmed eyes, wincing as she looked around with a disoriented expression. She looked up, spotted Nona, and drew backward. “Who are you?” She scurried backward and held out her arms to protect herself. “What are you doing in my house?” She turned to Eloise. “And you? What do you want? Are you robbing us, is that it? You’re here for money?”

  Noelle spun around and caught sight of Lilah and me. She gasped with relief and sprang to her feet, her eyes growing wide. “Lilah?” She rushed to our mother. “What’s going on? Who are these people? What do they want?” She threw an arm around our mother’s waist and leaned against her as though she didn’t have enough strength to stand upright. Noelle looked my way. “Did you bring them here? And how come I can’t remember seeing them walk in?”

  It hurt that she questioned our mother, a woman who was too drunk to know that an exorcism had just taken place, but I tried not to judge Noelle. I started toward her and put my hands up to show I meant no harm. “It’s okay. You’re okay now.”

  Without waiting for an explanation, Noelle whirled around to keep her eyes on Nona and Eloise.

  Nona permitted a slight smile and lowered the rosary and holy water. She looked to Eloise, who allowed a giant grin to touch her eyes, and then met my gaze. A second later, however, her smile faltered ever so slightly. Although she didn’t move her head, she swept the room with her gaze, breathing heavily as though awaiting something unexpected to intrude on what should be a victory lap for having forced the demon out of my sister’s body.

  I understood her wariness, but I placed my full attention on my sister. “It’s real, right?” I asked Nona. “She’s back?”

  Nona released the slightest smile and resumed her investigatory search around the house for reasons only she knew. “The heaviness lifted because the demon left this house.”

  “The temperature is on the rise, too,” said Eloise with a grin. “And it doesn’t smell as bad as before either.”

  Noelle was back! That’s all that mattered. I’d gotten my sister back. I came up behind her and clutched her arms while looking up at Nona.

  “Jocelyn?” my sister asked, no longer disoriented but still confused. “What’s going on?” She seemed to relax a little but still gestured to Nona and Eloise, only her arm fell to the side a second later, as though even lifting it had exhausted her. “What’s going on?”

  “They helped you,” I said. “Everything’s all right now.” I threw my arms around her and held her in a tight embrace, even if she didn’t return my affection: she was probably too confused to do much of anything. Thankfully, I didn’t sense anything strange about my sister.

  Far from the drawn-out exorcisms that Nona had mentioned earlier, this one must have counted as the quickest one in history. I glanced at my watch. No more than ten minutes had passed. That seemed odd. Not exactly staged but still like a Hollywood production.

  Did that explain why Nona scanned our surroundings? Did she suspect something unnatural had occurred? Despite sensing otherwise, it made me second-guess whether the demon had truly departed. Frightened by the possibility, I drew back and directed my gaze at Nona. “It’s gone, right?”

  Without looking my way, she nodded, stopped scrutinizing the family room, and met my gaze with an impassive one of her own. “Yes. It’s gone.”

  “Is it normal for her to forget what happened?” I asked.

  “It’s neither normal nor unexpected,” Nona replied. “Some don’t remember a thing. Others recall some of what happened. A small number remember everything. It depends on the demon: its intelligence, its personality, and its strength.”

  “Personality?” I asked, recalling that she referred to it earlier. “Demons have personalities?”

  “Each one is different. Their proclivities for evil are also distinct. Every demon is drawn to the seven deadly sins, and each has varying levels of intensity based on the hierarchy in Lucifer’s kingdom. The demon I just rid from your sister’s body was the lowest form of scum in Satan’s army. Even other demons despise it for being so weak-willed and stupid. That’s
the reason it left Noelle’s body so quickly. It was afraid of feeling the pain of a long exorcism. So it fled.”

  “But I thought it wanted me?” I said. “Was it overreaching? Did it also give up because I found my faith? Is that why it hasn’t tried to get inside me?”

  Nona gave a quick nod. Her eyelids were half-closed, and her voice cracked as though her mouth had forgotten what it tasted like to swallow water. “I needed to end it as soon as possible.”

  Eloise motioned to her partner. “Every exorcism takes a toll on the mind, the heart, and the soul. At Nona’s age, having traveled from downstate with very little sleep, she’s exhausted.”

  I felt guilty for asking so much of someone who’d done so much for me, but I was glad that I didn’t have to handle the exorcism. It felt like I’d need to witness one before performing one. Thankfully, I wouldn’t have to deal with that in the future.

  Noelle stared at Nona as if a lunatic roamed our family room. “Jocelyn, what’s all this talk about demons? “Seriously, what the fuck is going on?”

  I turned to my sister. “I don’t know how to tell you this without sounding like a crazy person, but you were possessed by a demon.” I’d doubt me if I were her. I could show her the video of her slapping Jake, but it didn’t feel like the right moment to do so now. Otherwise, I couldn’t think of any other piece of evidence to prove the truth.

  “A demon?” My sister turned to our mother. “I told you not to give her too much to drink. She can’t handle the alcohol or she’ll go mental.”

  “Rest assured,” said Lilah. “Your precious sister hasn’t joined me in a toast after this ‘demon’ departed your body.” A smile hovered on her lips.

  “This isn’t a joke,” I told Noelle, prepared to land my hands on her shoulders. “Lilah and I haven’t done anything. You see—”

  My sister knocked my hands aside. “You’re right, this isn’t funny. Tell the truth. What’s going on?”

  “Do you remember talking with my boyfriend?”

  “Yes,” said Noelle, cringing. “It seems a little familiar.” She shook her head as though doing so might set her memories on the right path to let her recall the conversation. “But I only remember lingering words or phrases. How bizarre!”

  It was deeply disturbing to know the intimate conversation I’d had with her last night was with a demon, not my sister.

  Noelle placed a hand against her abdomen. “I’m starving, but I feel nauseous. This is so weird!” She turned to me. “Are you really going with these two being demon-hunters or whatever? Because that’s really lame.” She turned to Nona and Eloise. “They’re not lovers, are they? Not that I’m judging.”

  I couldn’t have expected her to understand if she had such a hazy memory of what occurred while the demon pushed her thoughts and emotions to the back of her mind. “They’re friends,” I said. When I looked Nona’s way, I saw her take in a heap of air, let it out, and say, “It seems we’re done here.” She turned to Eloise. “Ready?”

  Eloise gave a puzzled nod. “Yes,” she said, trying to sound emphatic as she followed Nona toward the front door.

  I couldn’t understand why they decided to leave so soon. It’s not as if I expected them to toast a job well done, but it would have been helpful if Nona had attempted to explain to my sister why she’d visited and what she’d just accomplished. They acted like pest exterminators who had completed one job and were determined to move on to the next one.

  “Hey,” I said, starting toward them. I turned back to my sister and Lilah, who watched me with querulous eyes. “Back in a minute.” Then I followed my newfound friends out the door and shut it behind me. “What’s going on? I thought you’d be happy.”

  Nona and Eloise didn’t acknowledge me. They kept walking toward the street.

  “Hey, what gives?” I shouted, aggravated by their standoffish behavior. “You had a major breakthrough back there. After seeing all of that go down, I’m not sure I could have done any of that. Thank you so much!”

  They acted as if I’d not spoken.

  “And now you’re leaving without even saying goodbye? Why? Was it something I said? Please, just tell me what’s wrong.” Agonized by their disregard, I darted out in front of them and spun around to face them, outstretching both hands to keep them from leaving. “Why are you ignoring me?” I looked at Nona. “Helping us out means everything to me. Is it because I doubted you before? I’m sorry, okay. You were awesome in there. I can’t ever repay you for—”

  Nona waved me off and yawned as though she’d just awoken from a fitful sleep, not achieved one of the greatest accomplishments in the supernatural world. “I’d like you to monitor your mother.”

  “Why? She’s a harmless and grumpy drunk. Besides, she told me Noelle was the one who first started working with the Ouija board.”

  “She lied to you,” said Eloise. “Noelle may have been curious about the other side, which played a part in her getting possessed, but Lilah desperately wanted to contact the other side.”

  “Well, yeah, I told you already that. She misses my dad, so it’s natural that she’d want to—”

  “No,” said Nona. “It’s not ordinary for those who’ve lost a loved one to use a Ouija board to contact them. Yes, some take that route, but it’s unnerving that Lilah would try to reach out two years after her husband died.” She pressed a knuckled fist to her eyes to stave off sleep.

  “How do you know all that?”

  “Because a low-level demon possessed Noelle. If your sister were obsessed with meeting your father, a more powerful demon would have responded to her interest. That didn’t happen. She got Pheurianis.”

  “So why hasn’t a demon possessed my mother?”

  “For the opposite reason, Pheurianis wanted to claim you. Yes, demons seek out easy targets, but alcohol has so severely limited your mother’s usefulness that she stays in the house all day, every day. Demons want to corrupt and destroy. They want to occupy those strong of mind and faith. They get extra special joy from destroying the goodness in this world. Your mother has no connection to anyone except you and Noelle. Pheurianis wouldn’t have been able to cause much damage.”

  It made sense, so I trusted her.

  “Look after your mother,” Nona said. “Don’t let her use another Ouija board. I’ll contact you tomorrow.”

  I found their immediate dismissal odd and disconcerting. “All right.” I wanted to ask why they’d rushed from my house, but I suspected it had to do with Nona’s need for rest, and who could blame her, after the busy day she’d had?

  As the older woman walked, she slumped as though she’d have a difficult time lifting her arms above her waist. Her eyelids were half-closed.

  For the second time since this morning, I realized how little sleep I’d had over the last couple days, but the turn of events over the last two days made me ignore that fact, so I could understand why Nona had no interest in sticking around or chatting. Plus, her age probably made it that much more strenuous for her to remain upright for much longer. I now felt like I’d taken advantage of her, and I didn’t want to hold her up any longer.

  When Eloise reached the passenger door, Nona got inside. Eloise looked at me over the roof of the car. “We’ll be in touch soon.” Moments later, she jumped behind the wheel and pulled away from the curb.

  I got an uneasy feeling that they’d abandoned me and that both Nona and Eloise knew something they didn’t want to share. That idea got under my skin, but now that Nona had vanquished the demon, I wanted to work on restoring my relationship with my sister.

  But still, if I’d reached an explanation for why Nona left so quickly, why did I still feel so unnerved at their quick exit?

  20

  When I re-entered the house, Noelle started toward me as though once more using all her energy to accomplish the task. She still looked at me as if certain I belonged in a padded cell.

  “You don’t really think I was possessed, do you?” she asked.

&n
bsp; “Yes. You weren’t in control of your thoughts or actions.”

  “So,” said Lilah, who had returned to the couch, drink in hand. “Maybe she’s just under the weather. That could explain—”

  “No, mother. A demon possessed her. You were too wasted and distracted by a sitcom to see Noelle pick up a woman off the floor with one hand.”

  “Why not pretend she did so with her pinkie?” asked Lilah with a smile. “Because, if it was, I’d find that just as likely, but otherwise—”

  “This isn’t a game,” I said, unable to hide my indignation. I turned back to Noelle. “Thank God, you’re back though.”

  “Just in time to cook dinner, too!” said Lilah. She set her full attention on the television and hearing a joke, she erupted with laughter.

  Doing my best to ignore her, I said to my sister, “Did you want a demon to possess you?”

  Noelle rolled her eyes as though I’d displayed delusions of grandeur. “I wouldn’t do that, okay? Do you have any idea how stupid you sound?” She pulled the smartphone out of the front pocket of her jeans and tapped the screen a few times. “What? It’s not Sunday. It’s Friday. Dammit. My phone’s broken.”

  I watched as a plethora of expressions gripped Noelle, first displaying amazement, followed by surprise, and finally shock. “You don’t remember much from the past couple days?”

  She whipped her head in my direction as though about to call me out for lying, only to have her angry disposition twist into confusion. “Well, no.” She lowered her gaze, concentrating. “Not really.” A look of fright took hold of her. This time, she turned to me for answers as she reached out, grasped my shoulders, and pulled me closer to her. “What happened to me?”

  I didn’t say a word.

  “It can’t be true,” Noelle said. She turned away from me and stared at the ground as she hobbled toward the kitchen. “Possessed?” She scoffed, bolstered by a hidden shot of energy. “Fucking ridiculous!” But when she reached the refrigerator and pulled out a liter of lemonade and set it on the counter, followed by the bottle of vodka she’d purchased a couple of days ago, she stared at the concoction she planned to make with a frown. “Looking at this makes me want to vomit. Do you think…Nah, it can’t be.” But once more, she paused to consider whatever had snagged hold of her attention.