by Amy Braun
Max glanced at us when she was out of earshot. “She used to babysit me,” he said, rubbing at the lipstick on his cheek. “I almost got cavities from all the sugar she gave me.”
Dro laughed again, taking a tissue from the box at the table behind us. She dabbed it in the water of the plant vase next to the tissue box and walked up to Max.
“Here,” she said, “I can actually see what I’m doing.”
He grinned as she started wiping the lipstick away from him. “I wasn’t doing a good job?”
She shrugged. “You were kinda smearing it all over your face. That’s all.”
Max laughed, unable to take his eyes off my sister. She blushed and looked down. It only made him smile more. I rolled my eyes.
I glanced over their shoulders, seeing a car pull up to the sidewalk in front of the house. I drew myself up tall, my hand resting on my hatchet.
As a man and a woman got out of the car, I walked past Dro and Max, putting myself in front of them. The couple glanced at a piece of paper in their hand, the sign on the lawn, then back to the house. They kept their eyes on the house as they walked toward it. They were a few feet away from the porch when they noticed me. The cold look in my eyes made them stop.
“We’re looking for Manny Garcia,” the man said.
“Why?” I asked.
The man almost flinched. “We called him a few days ago for an appointment, but something’s come up. We need him now.”
Max jumped up beside me. He held out his hand and shook both of theirs. “Mr. and Mrs. Kenway, good to meet you.” I couldn’t tell if he was seeing anything with his gift, because his face was expressionless. “You guys can come in. Don’t mind her. She’s a grumpy intern.”
I gave Max a look so black that the smile dropped off his face.
“Let them pass, Con,” Dro whispered from behind me. Her voice was serious, and I looked over my shoulder at her. “They’re out of their minds with worry.”
I trusted my sister, but I made no effort to soften my expression. I pulled back into the house, hearing Max apologize and make excuses for my behavior. The couple walked inside, Mr. Kenway glancing at me with suspicion as they walked down the hall. His wife still hadn’t noticed me. She looked exhausted, her eyes puffy and ringed red, like she hadn’t been able to sleep after days of crying. Max led them into the living room, where I could hear Manny greeting them and offering what sounded like a condolence.
“They have a demon in their house,” Dro said.
I faced her. “How do you know?”
“I sensed it from Mrs. Kenway.” Dro looked at me with sad blue eyes. “It’s attacking their daughter. They don’t think she’s going to live.”
My hostility toward them lessened, if only a little. Demons had attacked us for years. I had enough scars to know exactly how horrible it was. I took a couple steps toward the doorway, leaning in so I could hear what was happening.
The couple was sitting with their backs to me, facing Manny across from his desk. Max stood at his father’s side, looking uncomfortable.
“We can’t keep waiting, Mr. Garcia,” said Mr. Kenway, his voice filled with desperation. “We need an exorcism today.”
“That’s a very tall order,” replied Manny. “It takes time to prepare for an exorcism. To know exactly what is possessing your daughter and how powerful it is–”
Mrs. Kenway burst into tears. Her husband put his arm around her back and tried to calm her down, but it wasn’t working. Exhaustion had finally broken her.
“Please,” she sobbed. “Please, we can’t keep watching her suffer like this. We’ll do anything, pay anything, just please help her. Save her.”
Manny said nothing, watching the woman cry. He looked away, his eyes finding his son. I remembered what Manny had told me earlier, how he would protect his family at any cost. Even from where I was standing, I saw the flicker of pain in Manny’s eyes. The look of a man who had lost someone he loved in a horrible way.
I started to understand why Manny’s wife wasn’t in the house anymore.
Manny inhaled slowly. “All right. I’ll perform one tonight.” He looked at them. “But I can make no promises. Even if I can get the demon out of your daughter, there’s a chance it will come back. Once someone has been possessed one time, it becomes easier for a new demon to find their body and take it over again.”
The woman kept crying. “She can’t keep living like this. She’s our baby girl.”
“I know,” Manny said. “But I want you to know the risks.” He paused. “She won’t be the same after this.”
Mr. Kenway breathed heavily. “We’ll deal with it. Just help her.”
Manny nodded slowly. “Leave your address with me. I’ll be there at five o’clock tonight.”
Mr. Kenway reached forward and shook Manny’s hand. “Thank you, Mr. Garcia. Thank you.”
Manny smiled tightly. Max’s smile was a bit more appealing as he led them out of the living room toward the door. Dro and I moved out of their way. Dro kept her eyes averted. She didn’t like whatever her powers were making her see. Once they were out of the room, I started walking over to Manny.
“I’m coming with you tonight,” I said.
I could hear Dro’s rushed steps behind me. Manny sighed and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his forehead. “Constance, I don’t even know if it’s an actual possession or if their child is just mentally ill. Those two things often get confused with one another.”
“It’s a real demon,” I said. “Dro’s seen it.”
Manny looked at me, then at my sister. He knew about her powers now, and he was right in assuming that my sister didn’t lie.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Manny said. “Exorcisms are rituals that need powerful faith. You’ve made it clear that you have none. If anything, you could hinder the ritual.”
“Or I could save your life,” I said. “You said yourself that you don’t know what sort of demon it is. Are you taking that shotgun with you in case things literally go to Hell?”
Manny frowned, answering my question. I took another step forward. “I might not be a believer and I might not know a lot about demons, but I know I can kill them. I can stop them from hurting anyone else.”
“This girl is possessed, Constance. Her body is being used as a vessel. The only way you can kill the demon is by killing the girl, and I will not allow you to do that.”
He had me there. Almost.
“Fine. But you still need protection if this demon’s as bad as they’re making it out to be. If the girl loses it, no one else will have it in them to fight her off or keep her from killing you all. But I do, and I can.”
Honestly, I didn’t really care about the possessed girl. I’d never met her, didn’t have a reason to be attached. It was the demon I wanted to talk to. I wanted it to answer my questions. To tell me what my sister was, or if it at least knew why they were chasing her.
“Dad,” Max said quietly, now back in the room beside Dro. “Take Constance with you. This exorcism isn’t going to go well.”
Manny looked over my shoulder at his son. “You’ve seen the girl?”
“Yeah, from when I shook the father’s hand.” He winced a little. “It’s not pretty. People are gonna get hurt. Constance can keep you safe.”
Manny’s dark, wise eyes found mine again. “If I agree to this, you follow my rules. You don’t do anything without my say so.”
I gave him a wicked grin. “I’ve never been good at following the rules, Manny.”
He wasn’t entertained. “Constance–”
“Fine, I’ll be good. I’ll even leave my weapons here.”
I lied. I would leave most of my weapons here. I was taking my hatchet with me.
“I want to come too,” Dro said.
I turned to face her. I never went anywhere without Dro, but… “Are you sure you want to do that?”
She hesitated, but nodded. “Maybe if I’m there, we can get some answers from the demo
n. It might react if it sees me.”
“It might react badly,” Max pointed out.
He wasn’t wrong. The risk of Dro being seen and recognized by a demon was a risk we shouldn’t have been taking, but we couldn’t skip on a chance if one came up. If this demon was powerful enough to take over a human being, it might know something. I looked at Manny. It was ultimately his show, even if I wasn’t going to follow his rules.
“Andromeda, think this through,” Manny tried patiently. “Think about what it would mean. You might not like what the demon says to you, if it says anything at all. Are you prepared for that?”
A flicker of fear went through Dro’s eyes, but she pushed it away and nodded carefully. Manny didn’t push her, and even Max didn’t try to talk her out of it.
“Okay. Five o’clock it is.” He pressed his palms onto the top of the desk, then pushed himself up. “In the meantime, there’s something else we can try.”
***
Dro had been upset that I had told Manny about her powers instead of her giving her own descriptions, but Manny was more than happy to have her repeat them in more detail. My sister described how she sensed emotions, had a little bit of precognition, could heal physical wounds, and had horrifically detailed nightmares that ended with her bursting into flames, destroying everything around her.
Manny sat across from Dro as she sat on the couch, pale hands clasped in her lap. I was sitting by her side, Max on the other corner of the couch.
“And most of these gifts, they started before you first encountered the demons?” Manny asked. “When you were feeling scared or angry for yourself or for Constance?”
She nodded. “I learned how to heal and read people when I was nervous, but I can’t control the fire or the nightmares.” She took a deep breath. “Whenever I have one of them, it feels like someone is reaching inside my brain, ripping it apart to let something else in. I try to fight it, but I’m not strong enough.”
She’d never told me that. It kind of upset me, but what would I have been able to do? I couldn’t protect her from her mind. If there had been a way for me to get inside her head and fight whatever was hurting her in there, I would have done it without hesitation.
But I couldn’t do that. I was a human. The only special things about me were my quick reflexes and the refusal to back down from anyone.
Dro glanced at me as if she’d read my mind. She took my hand in hers. “I didn’t want to tell you, Connie,” she said quietly. “I knew how it would make you feel.”
I looked at our hands. Her pale skin against my gold tone. I smiled thinly at her. “It’s okay, little sister.”
It wasn’t, but Dro and I knew that. We just didn’t want to hear it.
“How would you feel about hypnotism, Andromeda?” Manny asked.
We both looked over at him.
“What good do you think that would do?” she asked.
“It might allow us to see if a demon is taking control of your subconscious mind and forcing it to react while you are asleep. These fires you cause, a demon attack usually follows, correct?”
My heart beat a little bit faster. “You think they might be a signal to other demons? Letting them know where we are?”
“It’s possible you’re a victim of distant-possession. That’s what Higher demons use to control their underlings,” Manny answered.
“Does that mean that I’m a demon?” Dro asked in a fast breath.
Manny hesitated, but Max answered.
“No, there’s no way,” the young man said. “I would have felt it on you. Plus, you didn’t react when you went to the church, sage doesn’t repel you, and all the religious stuff doesn’t work on you. If you were a demon, you would hate all that crap.”
She looked at them with uncertainty. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” she said quietly.
“I’ve done it with some of my clients before, Andromeda. Nothing has ever gone wrong.”
“But I’m not like them,” she pointed out. “What if I hurt you guys?”
Manny paused, but he controlled any nervousness. “Your sister will be right beside you. If Max sees danger, he’ll tell me and I’ll wake you up. I won’t push further than you can go, Andromeda. You’ll be safe.”
Dro bit her lower lip, looking at me for guidance. This wasn’t my decision. It was her mind, her choice. Manny’s idea interested me, and he was right about us watching over her, but in the end it was up to Dro. If she was too afraid, then we weren’t going to do it.
“It’s your call, little sister,” I said.
Dro’s eyes were pleading, but she quickly saw that I wouldn’t answer for her. I was as overprotective as a big sister could get, but Dro was still her own woman. She took a deep breath and looked at Manny.
“Okay, I’ll do it. But if I do anything crazy, anything at all, promise you’ll stop me. Don’t let me hurt anyone.”
“We won’t,” Manny promised. “Now, lie down on the couch as comfortably as you can.”
As Dro shifted her body horizontally, Max and I shifted on the couch. I sat down with my knees close to her head. Max came off his side of the couch, knelt by Dro’s head, and fluffed the pillows for her head to rest on. Dro smiled at him.
“Thanks, Max,” she said.
He bowed low. “A beautiful princess should be comfortable when she sleeps.”
Dro blushed. I choked back a groan. “Settle down, children,” I said. “We’re trying to do hypnosis, here.”
“Thank you, Constance,” Manny said. He moved his chair closer to the couch. “All right, Andromeda. Whenever you’re ready, I want you to take a deep breath and close your eyes.”
She nodded, inhaling deeply and closing her eyes.
“Now sigh it out.”
Dro’s chest began to lower as she exhaled.
“Relax yourself. Imagine a warm light starting at the top of your head. Feel it move down your body. Feel how warm and safe you are. Take another deep breath, then let it out.”
Manny’s voice was so reassuring and calm even I was starting to relax. Dro inhaled and exhaled again, falling into the rhythm of sleep.
“That warm light is filling your chest, moving down your arms and legs to your fingers and your toes. You are safe in your light. You have no cares or worries here. You are safe, and you can sleep in peace. When I clap my hands, you will wake up. Do you understand, Andromeda?”
“Yes,” she said in a very sleepy voice.
“Good. Take another deep breath, and sigh it out.”
She did as he told her.
“Now Andromeda, do you know where you are?”
“Manny Garcia’s house,” she slurred.
“Do you know who is with you?”
“Constance, Max, and Manny.”
“Do you know what you are?”
“A monster,” Dro said without hesitation.
Manny glanced at me. I said nothing, but frustration built in my chest. I hated when Dro thought of herself as something she wasn’t.
“Why do you say that?”
“I’ve killed people. Lots of people. Burned them to ash. Erased them from the earth.”
Manny paused. “Why did you kill them?”
“He told me to.”
My heart skipped a beat. I forced myself not to move.
“Who told you, Andromeda?”
“Don’t know his name. He’s a shadow in my mind. He wants me to kill them all. First he hurts me, then he shows me what to do.”
Didn’t matter that she didn’t know his name. I would find this man. I would kill him. No one hurt my sister without being punished by me.
“What does he want you to do, Andromeda?”
“Wants me to kill them. Wants them to burn.” Her hands slowly formed into fists.
“Who?” She didn’t answer Manny. “Andromeda, who does he want you to kill?”
“I don’t like it at first,” she mumbled. “Know it’s wrong. They don’t deserve it. But it feels good. Having blood on
my hands. Smelling fear. Tasting skin in my teeth.”
Max let in a shocked breath across from me. Manny looked too nervous to continue. My heart beat frantically in my chest. Were these the thoughts the man was putting in Dro’s head? I couldn’t imagine these were hers. My sister was better than that. So much better.
But you don’t know what she is. Deep down, she might be a demon.
I told that stupid part of my head to shut the fuck up, focusing on Manny and what he was asking my sister. He was going to have to wrap this up, and fast.
“Andromeda, who does he want you to kill?” Manny tried.
The smell of burning fabric hit my nose. My eyes flicked down. Tiny white flames were starting to curl around Dro’s fingertips.
“Dad,” Max said, getting his father’s attention.
“They’re all going to burn,” Dro said. Her voice was still sleepy, but there was a dark, terrifying edge to it. “They’ll scream for mercy while the flames dance around them. Those who resist will be brought to their knees. It will be his. It was always going to be his–”
Manny clapped his hands loudly. Dro didn’t wake up. The fire started growing in her hands, snaring around her wrists. Max shot to his feet and backed up. Manny stood up from his chair, swearing in Spanish. Dro was going to explode. We would never get away in time.
So I pulled the trigger on a bad memory.
I grabbed Dro’s shoulders, digging my nails in hard enough to leave marks under her shirt.
“Remember Owl Creek, Andromeda,” I shouted.
Her body shook and her eyes snapped open. No matter how relaxed she had been, the memory of Owl Creek would always wake her up. She would be tense and alert, and filled with fear. The fire in her hands vanished when her ice blue eyes met my dark brown ones. I relaxed my grip on her and sat back. She sat up and saw Max and Manny standing far away, looking scared. Dro looked at the burn marks on the couch. Her eyes found mine again, widening in terror.
“Did I hurt anyone, Connie? Who did I hurt?”
I knelt next to her, putting my hand on the back of her head. “You didn’t hurt anyone, little sister. You just burned the couch. We’re okay.”
“What happened? What did I say?”
I took my hand back. “You don’t remember?”
