The Reaping: Language of the Liar

by Angella Graff

  Hugging her arms around her middle, she stepped forward and kept her voice low. “Something… something’s wrong. Really wrong. I’m freaking out.”

  His eyes went wide, then he held the door back, beckoning her inside. It was blazing hot from a floor heater and she stood in the stream of warm air, trying to chase the chill from her joints. Dash stared at her for a moment before closing the door, and when he turned back, his brows were furrowed.

  “Where’s your amulet?”

  Dorian blinked, then her eyes went wide when she realized what he was talking about. “It’s back at the church. In my room.” She let out a nervous laugh and rubbed at her wrists. “I mean it’s… this is…” She was paralyzed with a moment of self-doubt. What was she really doing here? Looking for validation that she wasn’t crazy? That she was one of the special people who was misunderstood? Chosen? That the thing in her head wasn’t an elaborate hallucination due to a malfunction in her medication?

  She felt foolish and took a step toward the door. “You know what, I’m sorry I woke you. I shouldn’t be here.” She reached for the doorknob, but was stopped by a firm hand closing over her wrist. When she turned, she met Dash’s concerned gaze head on.

  “What happened?”

  Pulling her hand away from him, she waved it in a dismissive gesture. “Oh nothing. It’s nothing. Seriously. Just a rough morning and I thought I heard…” She stopped and laughed again. “Really. It’s nothing. I’m just sleep deprived.”

  She started toward the door again, but Dash grabbed her shoulder. “The amulet was to protect you. To keep the demon from taking over your mind. Why didn’t you wear it?”

  “Because it’s a bunch of crap!” she shouted, then covered her mouth for a second. “Look, I can’t deal with another person trying to convince me that my problems aren’t my problems. They’re making me go back in. To the institution. Something happened last night, and I think I hurt a few people when I blacked out.”

  Rubbing his face, Dash let out a slow breath and looked over his shoulder when a door in the back of the apartment opened. Lennox appeared a second later, his hair messy, face splotchy and red, but his eyes went wide when he saw Dorian standing there.

  “What’s going on?”

  Dash shook his head, then turned his attention back to Dorian. “Just tell me what sent you running to our door, and then you can go.”

  “Scout’s honor?” she said, her tone mocking. In spite of her sarcasm, Dash nodded, and she let out a resigned sigh. “Last night I saw it. Him. Whatever. The demon you said is using my head. He said his name was Nic and he’s been around since I was born. He knew personal things about me, but then again if he’s a figment of my psychosis, of course he would know them. Anyway,” she waved her hand, “I went to see Father Stone, to get his opinion on the whole demon thing and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in the park.”

  “Last night?” Lennox asked.

  Dorian glanced down at her bare feet which were sore and aching. “This morning. I was out there doing God knows what for… for hours. When I called the Father, he told me they want me in for a month. Which is probably a good idea.”

  “Dorian,” Dash said in a soft tone.

  She shook her head, her hands clenching into fists. “No. Seriously, it’s the best thing I can do. They can fix my meds and if it works, I can go back to my life.”

  The two men exchanged looks before Lennox took a step closer to her. “Something else happened, didn’t it?”

  Dorian swallowed, looking anywhere but at the Exorcists. “I overheard something.” Though it went against her better judgment, she relayed the conversation. “When I blinked, they were normal again. Two people having coffee in the park. So it was probably just…” Dorian trailed off when she saw the blood drain from Lennox’s face, and he turned to look at Dash who seemed equally horrified.

  “I’ll get Markus on the phone. You deal with her.” Dash waved his hand at Dorian before hurrying down the hall and slamming the back bedroom door.

  Licking her lips, Dorian glanced at the front door, but knew escape was pointless. Even if she could slip out, Lennox would be after her. “I only told you because…”

  “Listen kiddo, I understand why you’re apprehensive and reluctant to believe. I get it. I meet unfortunate souls like you every week, and they’ve spent their entire lives hoping that whatever’s wrong with them can be cured. That it’s not them, it’s something else, something they can fight.”

  Dorian put her hand to her forehead and took in a shaking breath. “I don’t have it in me to believe in anything anymore.”

  Lennox took another step toward her and placed a hand on her shoulder. For whatever reason, in that moment, it was the most comforting thing anyone could have done, and she almost sobbed. “I know you don’t. And if what you said is true, I don’t have time to ease you into belief. I also can’t let you walk away. Whatever has its claws in you is strong, lass, and it can’t be allowed to walk free in your head.”

  Every fiber of her being was torn in half. Part of her wanting to believe what he was saying, and the other part wanting to run away to a land where drugs would make all the bad things go away. “So what, you’re going to exorcise me?”

  “Eventually.” His tone was pointed, matter-of-fact, and it sent chills down her spine. “But there’s something you need to see first.”

  Before Lennox could go on, Dash came back in the room, more color in his face. “Got the lads on it. They’ll be doing a sweep this week, and Markus said he’ll report back his findings. We still on for this afternoon?”

  Dorian took a step back, Lennox’s hand still clamped down to her skin. “This afternoon?”

  “Not you, love,” Dash said. “But we were gonna come by and swoop you up for a little outing.”

  “An exorcism,” Lennox clarified. “We’ve got a kid on our radar, showing strong signs that he’s at risk for a full-on possession. We like to catch them early, manage the doorways before they become possessed.” He shrugged, finally dropping his hand away from her. “We’d like you to tag along.”

  Dorian hesitated. She knew Father Stone would be waiting for her, as well as Maria. She was due for intake and they wouldn’t wait long. But something was nagging at her to stay, to see if they really could prove once and for all everything they were saying was true. Nic told her they could show her the truth, wanted her to read between the lines. And maybe she should. Maybe she should give them a shot, see if they really could prove it was real.

  She looked down at what she was wearing and her face scrunched up. “I’m not sure I should be wandering around like this.”

  “Briar’s got something,” Lennox said with a shrug. When Dorian gave him a confused frown, he said, “She’s the house Reaper.”

  Letting out a frustrated sigh, Dorian felt like she was sitting in the middle of a foreign movie without subtitles. “House Reaper?”

  “I swear we’ll explain anything and everything this afternoon,” Dash said. “For now, just know she’s one of the good guys, on our team, and she’s got some stuff you can borrow. She’ll be around in a while to help us out.”

  Deciding she would just go along with the entire circus, Dorian let Lennox pull her to the second room down the hall. She expected some kind of guest room, but instead she found herself standing in a make-shift office. There were shelves upon shelves of old tomes, the smell musty like ancient parchment. There were symbols painted all over the walls in red and white ink, and a desk stood in the corner covered in jars of bizarre-looking liquids, powders, and crushed herbs. In the far corner was a couch with a wardrobe bag sitting half-open. She could see a variety of t-shirts, leggings, and a couple pairs of jeans bundled up together.

  “She’s about your size, I think. She won’t mind. She just keeps stuff here in case any of our jobs get messy.” Lennox leaned on the door and gave Dorian a once-over. “I’ll put some coffee on and send Dash out for some breakfast, okay? Food and caffeine will help y
ou feel better.”

  Without waiting for a response, Lennox slammed the door and left her alone. The moment the door was shut, she let out a shuddering sigh and put her hand to her mouth. How had she gotten herself back into this mess with these two lunatics who should rightfully be locked up by her side?

  Wandering around, she stared with wide eyes at all the symbols. None of them made any sense to her, but they were similar to what Lennox had drawn on her wrists. When she got close to them, she felt a strange sensation, like she was running her hand through a current of electricity. It was unnerving, and she stepped over to the bookshelves, keeping a few feet away from the walls. Peering at the books, she realized most of them were written in Latin, a lot like the books the Father kept in his study.

  Whatever these guys thought they were doing, they were serious about it.

  Her hand trailed over some of the jars on the desk, toying with a couple of the amulets until one of them gave her a violent shock. She let out a gasp, jumping back, and shoved the tip of her finger in her mouth. “The hell?”

  Deciding it was best not to mess around with stuff she didn’t understand, she went to the wardrobe bag and pulled a couple things out. It was clear this Briar person was similar to her in size, a little wider in the hips, but she had a black pair of leggings with decent stretch, and a grey t-shirt which fit comfortably. There were rows of boots shoved along the walls, all a size too large, but with a pair of socks, Dorian made them work.

  She felt a little better being dressed, and hurried to tuck her nightclothes into the corner before reaching for the door. Just as her hand closed around the knob, she heard her name being whispered. There was no mistaking the voice, and she scrubbed her wrists on her thighs in a vain attempt to get rid of whatever was left of the symbols. She couldn’t take it anymore, she just wanted it to stop.

  Turning her head, her vision swam a little, and there was a pressure in her temples. The symbols on the walls began to shimmer, and as she stared at them through her fuzzy vision, they began to make sense. Like a language embedded in her brain lying dormant. They were protection symbols, keeping the demons at bay.

  As she clung to the door, she could feel him fighting to get back in, but the Exorcists had the place well prepared. Nic couldn’t touch her here. This was sacred ground, and she was protected.

  It felt like an eternity passed, but eventually the pressure in her head went away and though a wave of exhaustion hit her, she was able to walk out upright and completely herself. She stepped into the hall, took a few breaths, then headed toward the kitchen where she could hear Lennox humming to himself.

  “You okay, lass? You seem a bit peaky.” Lennox was at the counter putting scoops of coffee into a filter.

  “Yeah I just um…” She rubbed at her wrists again, and his eyes widened with realization.

  “He can’t get to you here.”

  “Yeah, I figured that out. The symbols are something like a warding spell.” She wasn’t sure where those words were coming from, and by Lennox’s expression, it was obvious he hadn’t expected her to know, either.

  “Aye, right in one.” He regarded her another minute before pulling out a couple mugs from the cabinet. “It might mean his next attack is more vicious though, so your best bet is to get that amulet from your quarters. The spell on it won’t hold him off for long, but it’ll buy you some time. Hopefully enough to carry through to your exorcism.”

  Dorian nodded, not wanting to explain that getting to the amulet was going to be tricky. If she went home, she’d have to convince Father Stone she wasn’t crazy and that wouldn’t be easy, not after what she’d done.

  Lennox was getting cream and sugar ready when the door opened, and Dash walked in with a paper sack full of fresh bagels and cream cheese, setting them on the table next to her. Giving her a once over, he nodded. “You look better. Clothes help?”

  “Yeah.” She stood up when he offered her the food, and after a few moments they were all sitting with breakfast and coffee spread out in front of them. “So is there anything I need to know before we walk into this exorcism thing? Is it going to be like the movies?”

  The pair chuckled and Lennox shook his head. “No. You have to think of what we do as a sort of science. We may use religious symbols and things traditionally associated with mysticism, but we’re not dealing with some evil spiritual entity. Demons are like aliens. They live in separate dimensions and they use humans to cross over.”

  Dorian frowned as she chewed her bagel. “So possessions are…”

  “No,” Lennox cut in. “Not possessions. Demons can use the human mind like a highway to cross over to other dimensions. When they possess people, it’s because they want to be in our realm for whatever reason.”

  “And their reasons are usually sketchy at best,” Dash added. “Normally it’s just recon stuff, the lesser demons keeping tabs on what the humans are doing, but sometimes they’re after more.”

  The thought gave Dorian a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she tried to wash it away with several swallows of the hot coffee. “But the guy in my head…”

  “I’ve got one of the lads researching him,” Dash said. “Nic isn’t a lot to go on, but we have a pretty big demon database and he’ll send over some potentials once he gets a decent list.”

  Her eyes went wide as she sat back in her chair. “You want me to ID him? Like in a demon line-up or something?”

  “Books only, love.” Lennox smirked a little as he finished his drink, then looked over at the clock. “We have to get going on our prep. Dorian, why don’t you kip on the couch for a bit? You’re going to need the rest for later. It’s a non-possession exorcism, but for someone like you, it can be a bit trying.”

  She rubbed her face and realized in spite of the coffee and food, she was exhausted and a nap sounded like heaven. She wondered for a moment, as she wandered into the living room, why they were so sure she wouldn’t leave. Maybe it was obvious she was all in at this point. There was no turning back and even if these two guys were completely crazy, there was too much circumstantial evidence for her to doubt some of it wasn’t real.

  Of course this could be one giant, elaborate hallucination she was having. Maybe she was strapped to a bed in the state hospital being pumped full of drugs. At this point, anything was possible, but for the moment she was content to lay down, curl up under an afghan reeking of sage, and let herself drift off to sleep.

  Chapter Eleven

  She woke to the feeling of someone pressing something around her wrist, and when her eyes adjusted to the light in the room, she looked down to see slender fingers adjusting a clasp to a silver bracelet. Blinking up, she saw Lennox leaning over her, and he gave her a tense smile as she sat up.

  “What are you doing?” The bracelet had a faint, burning sensation, almost like an electric current which set her nerves on edge.

  “You’re going to need that.” He straightened up and extended his hand to help her off the couch. “And you’re going to need food.”

  Suppressing a huge yawn, Dorian rubbed at her eyes and stretched her back. “Food? We just ate like…” Her eyes found the clock on the wall and they widened in surprise. It was past two in the afternoon. She’d slept for half the day and hadn’t realized it. “Oh my God.”

  Lennox let out a small laugh and nodded to some Chinese take-out containers sitting on the table. “Dash grabbed lunch before he and Briar went out for supplies.”

  A faint rumble in her stomach reminded her she probably should eat before their little field trip, and she didn’t protest when Lennox handed her a paper plate and some paper-wrapped chopsticks. She helped herself to some noodles, rice, and chicken from the boxes, then lowered herself into a chair.

  “How do you feel?” Lennox grabbed a couple cans of soda from the fridge, setting one next to her before popping the tab on his.

  Taking a breath through her nose, Dorian finished the bite she was chewing as she assessed herself. She actually fel
t rested. More so than she could remember in a long time. She was still a little sore, but the pressing fatigue from her weeks of insomnia was almost gone, and she didn’t have her usual sense of running a marathon in her sleep. “Okay, actually.”

  “It’s the protection spells. Keeps the demons away while you sleep.” His tone was matter of fact, but it still set her back on edge a bit.

  “So this exorcism thing, is it dangerous?”

  Lennox’s eyebrows went up a fraction. “Dangerous to the person, or to you?”

  Biting down on her bottom lip, she shrugged one shoulder up and down. “I don’t know. Both, I guess. I mean, I’m going to have to go through one, right?”

  His face fell a little as he lowered himself in the chair across from her, and put his elbow on the table. “Exorcisms are never easy. We have to manipulate a lot of energy to touch the doorways to other dimensions. It takes a toll on the person being exorcised, on the Exorcists themselves, and anyone else in the room. Which is why we usually keep the team down to well-trained members of our Community. However, the one we have today should be relatively easy, at least as far as our job goes.”

  “Meaning I should be safe?”

  Lennox nodded, twirling the soda can between his hands. “Yes, you should be safe. We’ll have you loaded with protection spells and amulets. The most difficult part for you is what you’re going to see. The first time experiencing something like this can be unnerving.”

  Dorian pushed the food around her plate with the chopsticks, her head propped up against her hand. “And this kid? Does he know what’s happening to him?”

  Lennox made sure he held her gaze before answering. “Yes, Dorian. He knows. His mother is the one who called us. He’s been suffering terrible nightmares lately, and we think he’s close to a full-on possession.”

  Shaking her head, she fought back the return of her headache. It was too much information all at once, and it was throwing her off. Her mind was still fighting against the idea that demon possessions could be real, and she wasn’t sure how witnessing the exorcism could change things. “What happens after he’s exorcised?”