by Dakota Brown
Darius, as if sensing my unease, glanced at me and winked.
I shook my head and flipped him off.
He chuckled. Deputy McClellan ignored us.
This room looked like a typical interrogation room, concrete floor, paint chipping on the cinderblock walls. Normally there would be a table and a couple of chairs, but this room was empty other than the man tried to a chair in the middle of a chalk drawn circle. Out of habit, I inspected Darius' containment spells and found them adequate. Though if what he said was true, the demon would probably have respected a lesser containment. Still, better safe than sorry with these things.
The man's eyes tracked me, but they were human eyes, human anger, a hint of human fear.
I studied the bound man. He was white, younger than me by a few years, and had a scar on his cheek. His dark hair was matted to his head with sweat, and his gray T-shirt was stained at the armpits and a damp spot went down his chest. I approved of the torn jeans, but they were dirty. He wasn't wearing boots or socks. Handcuffs secured his hands to the chair, and leg cuffs did the same to his legs. I could see where his skin had chafed a little.
I held out my hand and Darius slapped a bottle into it. He knew what I wanted. It was even, conveniently, in a squeeze bottle. A bit more respectful than the honey bear bottles I'd used to use for holding holy water, but still...
Flipping up the cap, I saw the guy's eyes widen. Obviously, this wasn't new to him. I squirted him with the blessed water and he screamed, back arching as he tried to come away from the chair.
I intoned the first few phrases of the exorcism.
"You'll not have the demon, he's mine!"
"Mate, you're one fucked up S.O.B."
He laughed at me.
"Yeah, never thought I'd say this, but I actually want to talk to the demon." I stepped over the containment circle and punched the asshole in the face.
The punch wouldn't necessarily have done it, but his head jerked back into the solid chair, and I suspected the demon helped because the man's eyes rolled back in his head.
I shook out my fist and hoped I wasn't going to get in trouble for torturing a prisoner.
"So, now I'd like to talk to the demon inside this asshat's body," I said, hoping the demon would reply.
"Please, please, please get me out," the demon hissed through the unconscious man's teeth.
"You're stuck? The exorcism didn't work?"
"Yes, stuck."
"How?"
The demon rolled the guys eyes and he tried to speak but couldn't.
"Interesting."
I stepped back out of the circle and glanced at Darius. "Got some incense?"
"I have a smudge stick," he offered and pulled a bundle of sage out of his pocket.
"Have to do." I took it and pulled out a lighter.
Everyone watched as I lit the bundle and let it start smoking. Once it was smoldering appropriately, I stepped over the binding circle again, watching as the smoke hit the edge of the spell and spread out, skirting the edges. The fresh smoke that burned inside the circle acted normally.
I waved it around the guy and spoke the words of a reveal spell.
The smoke circled around the man as I smudged him before settling against his chest. There, I saw something I hadn't noticed before. A charm on a necklace.
"Well, that's new." I reached out and grabbed the charm, jerking it from around the man's neck, just as he woke back up.
He howled in rage as the chain snapped.
I stepped back and ran smack into the containment spell. My heart sank and my blood ran cold. Shit...that's not how it was supposed to work. Among other things, the creature should not have been able to get through my personal wards without my permission.
Oh, thank the void, a voice sounded in my head. That man is vile.
"What the fuck." I squirmed as the demon slid into me, slipping around under my skin, settling in, but not taking control.
"Chris!" Darius exclaimed.
"Give it back," the prisoner snarled at me. "It's mine. I earned it."
"No, mate, my demon now. Why don't you go fuck yourself?"
The prisoner went crazy, screaming curses and fighting against his restraints until his wrists went bloody, then he kept fighting.
"Darius, think you're going to have to let me out, and get him taken care of. I've, uh, got the demon now."
"I can see that," he replied, not breaking the circle.
"No, really, like, the demon isn't in control." I held up the charm I had clenched in my fist. "I think we need to exorcise this."
"We need to sedate the prisoner," the deputy said. I hadn't noticed the other person who had joined us. In fact, I was having a hard time focusing on anything except the hunger coursing through me. I'd just eaten, so I knew it must have been the demon's. I almost felt sorry for it.
I tried not to double over and clutch my stomach. That would not be a good way to convince Darius I was okay.
The circle broke and I stumbled backward.
Darius caught me as I crashed to the ground. He ran his thumb across my brow in the sign of the cross. I could feel the holy water burn my skin, but it was mild, more irritating than painful.
I hissed anyway. "Darius, just, give me a minute, hmm?"
"Chris, the longer it's in you..."
"Mate, it's in the charm. It's projecting through me because I'm in possession of the charm."
"Are you sure?" His concerned face blocked out the harsh florescent light from the bulbs in the ceiling.
"Pretty sure."
He leaned back and helped me sit up.
"Look, let me take it back to my place. I've got a permanent circle in the basement. I'll see if I can cast it out of the charm and send it on its merry way back to hell."
"I'm going with you."
"Yeah, sure, whatever." I tried, again, not to hunch as pain rippled through me in an expression of the demon's hunger.
Deputy McClellan stared at me, eyes wide when I finally stood up with Darius' help.
"We'll take this part of it from here, Deputy," Darius said.
"Thank you, Father. Ms. Price. I'll show you out."
I nodded, distracted, trying to walk normally as I followed the Deputy and Darius out of the Sheriff's office. I barely even noticed the heat when I got into the car. The steering wheel probably burned my hands, but it was all I could do to focus on the road and follow my friend back to my house. I probably wouldn't have made it in the state I was in if I hadn't been following Darius.
Still, we finally pulled onto my family's land. It wasn't much, just a few acres and a fairly nice adobe house. I'd grown up here, and now it was home again since I was the only Price left to claim it.
I parked, managed to remember to turn the car off, and fumbled with my keys.
Darius picked me and the keys up from the ground and carried me to my house.
"Chris, are you sure you're okay?"
"No, mate. I'm fucking famished." I blinked a few times. "No, the demon is famished. I'll be fine once I can set this thing down."
"Why wasn't the prisoner affected like this?"
Drugs, the demon supplied.
"Probably high," I muttered. "What do you eat, anyway?" I asked aloud.
Energy. I'm doing my best not to harm you.
"Great."
"What did it say?"
"It feeds off energy. It's doing its best not to hurt me, but I don't think it can help whatever it's doing to me."
No.
Somehow, we were already in my basement. Darius carried me to the center, and I dropped the charm on the workbench. Though he'd never been down here before, Darius knew what to look for and backed me out of the circle that was permanently inlaid into the concrete floor with a band of silver. That had cost me a small fortune, but after the mistakes of my past, I had dished out the money to craft a solid containment for my workspace.
The crippling pain cramping my stomach eased and I heaved a relieved sigh.
/> "Thanks."
"Of course, Chris. Can you still hear the demon?"
I waited for a few moments for it to talk to me, before shaking my head. "No."
"Good. So, how do we cast a demon out of a charm?"
"Fuck if I know."
"Got any resources that might tell us?"
I shook my head. "I got out, Darius. I have a few things to put up wards, because I'm not a total idiot, but I got rid of the rest."
He stared at me. "Seriously?"
"Well, I mean, I know where it's at. But it's not accessible for a reason."
Darius ran his hand over his short hair and sighed. "That was smart, but also inconvenient."
"Why don't you try a normal exorcism. If it doesn't work, I'll put some thought into it. The charm is safe here, anyway."
Clearly unhappy with my suggestion, he still agreed. Yet again anointing me with holy water and the cross on my forehead. This time there was no unpleasant tingle.
He studied me and I nodded. No demon.
"Okay."
Darius performed the rite, but with no body, and no real resistance, we couldn't tell if it had been successful.
Sighing, I stepped into the circle and clutched the charm.
Hunger washed over me again, and I doubled over.
Must destroy the charm. Bound.
The demon's voice had faded, but it was still there.
"Nope, he's bound. We gotta release the binding somehow," I stated through gritted teeth. I dropped the charm back on the table, almost able to feel the energy drain this time since I was looking for it.
Since I didn't have the charm in my hand, I managed to get out of the circle without Darius breaking it. That was a good sign.
"It's getting late," I declared. "I'm going to eat again, and then pass out on my face. Unless you're staying, you might want to head back to your church and, I don't know, meditate on the problem or something. I'll see if I can find something to help tomorrow."
I knew just the spell, but Darius didn't need to know what I was up to. This particular spell typically found me all sorts of trouble along with the answers I sought. He might have had an idea of what I was up to by the long look he gave me, but ultimately, he gave in to my plan. I walked him to the door.
"I'll check in with you tomorrow."
"Sure, Darius. See you then."
"Be careful, Chris."
I didn't bother to reply. We both knew I didn't know how to be careful. Not really, or I wouldn't have gone with him today.
Darius walked to his car, a distinct, probably guilty, hunch to his shoulders. We locked gazes for a moment when he turned to look at the house again, before he got in his car and drove away, leaving me alone with a bound demon in my basement. Kind of like last time.
Fortunately, this time, I really did think the demon wasn't out to hurt us. That would certainly be a first for me.
My stomach growled and I headed for the kitchen.
Chapter 2
Price
My senses full of the scent of old books and heavy incense, I followed the magical tug on my chest as the spell I'd cast at home led me to what I needed most at the moment. Hopefully, whatever it was, was actually the way to release the demon from the charm and not some other thing. I'd focused my intent as clearly as I could manage, and though I often had mixed results with this spell, I felt pretty good about this casting.
The pull had taken me from my house to the downtown tourist district. I wandered past the artsy stores until the tug led me to, I shit you not, the metaphysical store. The froufrou one I'd never been in. What the hell?
I almost didn't go in, but the pull from the spell was pretty clear so I pushed open the door and tried not to wince as the nearly physical wall of incense aroma hit me.
Still, even though my senses should have been overwhelmed, I could smell the original scent that had clouded my nose the whole way here. Musty books and heavy, spicy incense.
I barely looked around at the crystals, rocks, candles, dream catchers, and other things that littered the shelves. The pull still tugged at me until I ended up at the counter, staring at the man who until I'd walked up to him had been reading a book. He had bronzed skin, liquid brown eyes I could get lost in, and medium length wavy black hair that just begged me to run my fingers through it.
"Hello," he said and something like a middle eastern accent washed over me.
I managed to snap out of my flat-out stare as the spell released me.
"Hi," I managed, feeling more than a bit flustered. I hid my embarrassment behind sass. "Got any good books?"
He arched his eyebrows before he curled his lips. "A few. What do you need?"
"Um." I glanced over at the store's copious book collection and sighed. It was all new age stuff. That was all well and good, but they likely didn't have what I needed there. Why had the spell brought me here? "Something to release bindings?"
"Perhaps you should find an exorcist. I hear the local catholic church has one." He sounded bored.
"I am an exorcist," I snapped before I could stop myself. "I can get a demon out of a person, but I don't know how to get one out of a charm that it's bound to." That was more than I had wanted to say. Damn it.
The renewed interest in the man's eyes made me squirm a little on the inside. He had a way of looking straight through you that I didn't see much anymore.
Without a word, the guy turned and went into the back of his store.
Wondering if I'd pissed him off, or if I should run, I edged back from the counter until I was at the book rack. Maybe there was something here.
"Does the demon wish to be released from the charm?"
"Fuck, mate," I exclaimed as I jumped out of my skin. I hadn't heard him return or come up behind me.
Amusement glinted in his eyes when I turned to glare.
"Yes, it would very much like to go home. Complicated, long story." I hoped he wouldn't ask. I was honestly shocked he seemed to believe me about the demon. Most people didn't.
"Do you have holy water?"
"Yeah." Darius had left that and the sage with me.
"Sage?"
I nodded.
"A focus crystal?"
"No."
He held out his hands, as if he had anticipated that. In each palm was a crystal, the left a smokey quartz, the right citrine.
I chose the citrine. No idea why.
He set the quartz back on the display and gestured for me to follow him back to the counter. I did, trying not to notice how fluidly he moved, like a dancer maybe. Not to mention the way his wavy hair brushed the collar of his T-shirt or the way his jeans fit his ass. No, I was definitely not staring at his ass. What the hell was wrong with me? I was not looking for any sort of relationship, not even a one-night hook up. Well, he was easy on the eyes. I shrugged and wondered how much the damn crystal was going to cost me, or why I needed it.
The guy pushed a leather-bound book across the counter. It was open, the pages handwritten and yellowed with age, but reasonably well preserved.
I studied the words on the page, grateful they were in Latin, and grateful I could read it.
My new shopkeeper friend watched, not saying anything, as I read through the instructions.
"Huh, okay. So, how much is this going to cost me?" And I wasn't completely worried about the monetary cost. Someone who actually had real magical texts might not even deal in currency.
"The book is a loan. The crystal is ten dollars."
"You're really going to trust me with this?" I raised my eyebrows.
He lifted one shoulder in a lazy shrug. "I can find the book if I need to track it down."
"Oh." Maybe it was blood marked? What was a guy who had a blood marked book doing working in a new age store? I wasn't sure if I wanted to know or not.
"Tell me, do you roleplay?"
I stared at the shopkeeper, my brain trying to make the switch from Latin incantations to questions about roleplaying.
"Like,
whips and chains? Kinda personal for someone you just met, don't you think?"
He chuckled. "Tabletop."
I tilted my head.
"With dice?" His amused smile pissed me off.
"Oh, that kind of roleplaying. No, gave that up ages ago." Duh, I thought to myself. He meant gaming. I had skipped straight from the role players are nerds phase straight into the full on occultist phase, and missed the pretending phase.
"Pity." He shrugged.
"Right. Um, why? Kinda out of the blue, you know."
"I'm looking for a new group, and it struck me that a real exorcist might be fun to play with."
His tone was a bit more suggestive than I had anticipated and instead of irritating me, it sent tremors of need down my spine. Fuck that. "I am a real exorcist," I bit back. I tried to stay chill. I wasn't sure it worked.
"Of course."
I glared at him. "There might be a local group around here somewhere."
He didn't reply.
Vaguely irritated, and not sure why, I paid for the crystal. I thanked him for the book and headed back to my car. The entire drive back to the house, I had the nagging suspicion I'd missed something I needed in the store. Still, the spell was reasonable, and it actually shouldn't be too hard to accomplish my goals.
Those thoughts occupied me on my on my drive back to my house. I made a cup of coffee once I was inside and studied the ritual. It was straightforward and I likely had a copy of a similar ritual in one of my books. Still, I didn't have my books and I did have...I hadn't gotten his name. Huh.
Well, time to go release a demon. I took a beeswax taper from my drawer, grabbed the book and the crystal, and went down into my basement.
Though I wasn't real keen on the idea, I had to cross the barrier to set up the spell. I left the book on the table by the door, took a deep breath and crossed into the protective circle.
It was a risk every time I crossed the barrier, but the demon was currently bound, and I'd be out before I invoked the spell.
The top of my work bench was slate, and I quickly but carefully drew the proscribed sigils around the charm to direct and contain the energy. I set the crystal, lit the candle and the sage bundle and, after one more look to make sure I'd gotten it right, stepped back out of the circle.
