by Sara DeHaven
“No shit, Sherlock.” She felt weirdly amused. It had to be some kind of after reaction to such overwhelming stress. She bit her lip and shook her head, trying to ward off a building howl of hysterical hilarity, or outrage, or terror, she didn’t know which.
Daniel’s mouth crooked up on one side, an incipient smile, which wasn’t making it any easier for her to maintain her composure. “You know, I’m really trying to think of a way things could be worse, and it’s just not coming to me.”
Bree tried telling herself that black humor was an appropriate response to stress. She had to put a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle. Daniel’s eyes twinkled, and he compressed his lips, but a little snort came out of his nose.
A weird half moan emerged from Kevin, and Bree's teetering emotions veered sharply toward distress. The hysterical giggling fit that was just getting started petered out in a last gasp as Kevin began to rock side to side. Her hands dropped boneless to her sides as the Demonsense that she had managed to shove off to the back of her brain somewhere rushed through her. She was surprised at the grip of Daniel’s hand in hers, and even more surprised that she welcomed it in spite of the taint. He squeezed her hand and said quietly, “Don’t worry, he’ll be free soon. It should be a simple exorcism. I’m sure Javier and his team can handle it.”
Javier approached just then and said, “I can take primary, but my team doesn’t include an another Exorcist. This shouldn’t be too bad, but I’ll need a second. Thorvaldson, perhaps you…”
“Not Daniel, Javier,” Bree interrupted. “He’s still recovering from the knife wound, and he’s totally tapped out from the battle at my office.”
“Well, then, we’ll have to wait until I can get another Keeper in. I know you don’t do exorcisms anymore,” Javier responded as he slipped his cell phone out of a holster on his belt. "I doubt I'll be able to get one here before tomorrow, though." He wasn’t looking at her, and Bree had the feeling she was being dismissed.
Through the whole ride over, when she’d been crazy with worry for Hunter, a part of her wondered if it would come to this. She would have to decide if she was going to do an exorcism on Kevin, should he still be at the house. She’d hoped a Keeper could do it, that she wouldn’t be put in this position. She’d just turned down one Father Steuban had called her about, sure that even if she eventually went back, she wasn’t ready yet. Not after her failure with that boy Jeremy. She wanted time to see if the demon research caused the trauma of Seth’s death to reactivate. So far it had gone better than expected, but she still felt fragile, was still constantly braced for flashbacks and nightmares, whether they came or not.
Yet how could she hesitate when Kevin and Hunter’s safety was involved? Franchesca had told the demon he could feed on Kevin until he died. She knew enough demon lore to know that wasn’t something likely to happen quickly, but she would far rather be on the safe side. And maybe Kevin would know something about where they took Hunter. Even if he didn’t, the sooner that demon was exorcised, the less damage he would take from it. So really, there was no choice.
“I’ll do it,” she said firmly. “I haven’t done one for awhile, but this should be an easy one.” She watched with a grim amusement as a variety of emotions chased each other across Javier’s face. Now was the real test of whether he truly still blamed her for Seth’s death, whether his apology had meant anything.
“Bree, this wouldn’t be easy for you,” he finally said, not quite meeting her eyes. “Kevin is your friend, and you’ve had a traumatic experience tonight. Can you honestly say you are up to being second on an exorcism in these circumstances?”
Self-doubt started its tired old way through her thoughts. What if she wasn’t strong enough? What if that was why Seth had died? What if her reluctance to use power made her a danger to others? But she found that it was only a quiet voice, a retreating minor chord inside her. She had been strong tonight, in more ways than one. She could be strong again, in spite of the fear and pain she was feeling, in spite of the shaking in her stomach as she internally committed to doing it. She raised her chin, and looked Javier in the eye. “I’m aware my base energy is probably depleted from being beaten and scared out of my mind, but there’s nothing wrong with my will energy, and that’s what I’d need most to do the exorcism. Go ahead and read me if you want to confirm.”
To her annoyance, he looked at Daniel.
He nodded. “I think she can do it.”
Hah, she thought, look to the other man in the room to decide.
Javier put his phone away, walked over to her and put a hand on her neck. The stiff expression he always got when he focused on reading appeared. She opened to the reading, and after a moment, his face relaxed. “Actually, your base energy isn’t so bad, all things considered. And your will energy is strong.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “But will you truly let me lead? Will you do as I say if things don’t go easily?”
Bree tried to arrange her features in a non-uppity woman fashion. It hurt, but she thought she managed it. “Yes, I'll let you lead. I know you’re more experienced at exorcisms. I’d be a fool not to let you take primary.”
“All right then, let’s get moving on this,” he said decisively. He sent one of his Keepers out to the car to get his exorcism kit, and Daniel helped him move the chairs back against the wall to give them more room to move. Kevin was still rocking and he was breathing in little pants. Bree ran to the restroom for a pit stop. She caught sight of herself bathroom mirror. The left half of her face was throbbing and swollen, and she thought she was getting a black eye. She was tempted to lift up her dress and check out how bad the bruising might be on her torso, but decided it would only depress her to know.
She went into the kitchen, got a drink of water, and sat out of sight of the others for a moment so she could meditate. With an effort, she gradually slowed her breathing and focused on calming her energy. Then she began to pray.
When she came back out into the living room, Daniel pulled her aside.
"I'm going outside to act as lookout. With the taint on board, I'd be a liability during the exorcism."
Bree had a pang of feeling abandoned, but quickly pushed it aside. "I know."
He raised a hand and gently touched her face with his fingertips. "I should be able to do a little healing on this once my taint is cleared and I have a chance to recharge."
There was an electric moment when his dark eyes caught on hers, and they both went still. He whispered, "You can do this."
Bree nodded and stepped back, breaking the moment. Daniel patted her shoulder, then turned and left the house with the other female Keeper, the short one wearing a black dress, probably called away by Javier from something a lot more fun.
Javier was kneeling on the floor across from Kevin, lips moving silently in prayer. One of his Keepers, the red-headed guy with the receding hairline and ponytail, was moving around the room, arms raised in a warding. He nodded at her as he went by.
Javier opened his eyes and stood up, brushing dust off the seat of his pants. “Daniel said you got the demon’s name. That will help greatly. I believe the demon's been replenished somewhat from this focused feeding, but I suspect it took a great deal of energy to overcome a Warder of Kevin’s skill, especially enough to make him give up his son. It’s likely still weak.”
“That’s what you think,” Kevin’s voice rang out. Bree jumped in surprise, then chastised herself for reacting. She couldn't let the demon see that it was getting to her. She turned deliberately to face him. There was a smile on Kevin’s round face, but it wasn’t Kevin’s smile. She found herself smiling back, a fierce, challenging smile, but she said nothing. It was up to Javier to choose when and how to engage with the demon. So much of exorcism was about that, about the interaction with the demon. Power imbued sacred objects helped, prayer helped, as did warding spells, and Demonsense that allowed the Exorcist to feel the shape of the demon’s energy and apply pressure to it. But it was the conversation with the demon, the Exorcist’s int
uition about what to say, reading the ebbs and flows of the demon’s response through Demonsense that was at the heart of a successful exorcism.
Javier came to stand beside her, and the second Keeper who had been in the room, a clean-cut younger guy with a lantern jaw, friendly blue eyes, and a thick body builder’s neck moved to stand beside Javier.
“This is Caleb Lane. Caleb, this is Bree Jenkins,” Javier introduced them. “Lane is in charge of keeping Kevin under control physically during the exorcism.”
Lane held up a coil of rope in illustration, and he and Javier proceeded to tie Kevin up. Kevin struggled initially, but the fight went out of him quickly. Clearly, the demon hadn't fully recharged in his feed from Kevin.
A warm roll of energy moved across Bree's senses as the other Keeper finished warding the room. Lane positioned himself next to Kevin, who rocked slightly and smiled, but said nothing further. Javier knelt behind a black leather satchel from which he withdrew a crucifix, a rosary, a Bible, a small corked bottle of holy water, one of wine and some salt, which he arranged on the coffee table in front of the couch.
Given both she and Javier were from a Catholic background, they'd made similar choices in equipment, but Bree tended to keep things a little simpler. Each Exorcist had to start with what was known as useful equipment and spells, then feel their way to what worked best for them. What mattered most was the emotional resonance and focus the equipment, and the exorcism ritual itself, brought to the Exorcist. Their ultimate purpose was to provide a framework for raising and manipulating magical energy to get a demon to safely leave its host.
As second, her responsibility was as support for the primary, and as a failsafe if Javier was incapacitated or killed. And while this looked to be a simpler than usual exorcism, there were never any guarantees of safety. Bree forced herself to look at Kevin and focus on slowing her breath. She gradually moved into that state of alert but calm readiness that she needed to do the working.
Javier straightened, crucifix around his neck, rosary wrapped around his wrist, and Bible in his hands. He regarded her seriously for a moment, and with a sudden stab of pain, she realized they were both thinking about Seth. Her eyes started to tear up, but with another good, deep breath, she brought her emotions back under control. He gave her a little nod of understanding, and turned to face Kevin.
“Holy Father,” he prayed, holding the Bible aloft in front of him, “please bless this working. You are our rock and our guide, our comfort and our savior. Bless our brother Kevin, who is taken by a demon unwilling.”
A sputtering of laughter came from Kevin and built as Javier continued praying. Bree could perceive the warding all around her, providing a sense of safety at her back. Lane was sweating a little, but looked calm and ready.
“Holy Father, help us to return this demon to Hell, to its natural home,” Javier continued a little more loudly as Kevin’s laughter grew.
“My natural home. My natural home is here, you fucking wet-back son of whore,” the demon snarled out in mid laugh. “Here in this human’s mind. This is my natural food!”
Javier didn’t modulate his volume further. He was speaking loud enough to sound confident and commanding, but trying to out-shout the demon at this point was a mistake. This was the part Bree had always found trickiest as primary, staying in control and knowing when to start the fight.
Bree began praying a quiet Hail Mary, and walked slowly in a circle around the couch where Kevin sat. She was helping consecrate the space with prayer while keeping a careful eye on both Javier and Kevin, and she tuned more closely into her Demonsense. It was running all along her nerves with wrongness, but it was clear as a bell and easy to read. They were fortunate they were already at the stage where the demon wasn’t trying to hide, and having its name made it much more likely they would succeed without incident.
As she moved past Kevin, his hand suddenly snaked out and ran up her leg, up under her dress. He couldn't grope very far up given the ropes confining his upper arms to his chest. Lane lunged for him and dragged him back, but rather than intimidating her, it made her laugh. “You’d have a lot more luck feeling up Javier if you wanted a reaction,” she couldn’t resist saying. Javier shot her a reproving look, but the demon growled, and she felt a certain satisfaction at scoring a point.
Javier took a turn moving around the circle with his Bible, then with the holy water. Lane had a good grip on Kevin now, who was watching the proceedings but didn't react much. Bree began to feel a little uneasy. The demon should be escalating by now. She could sense the magic building as Javier cast power into the prayer.
Kevin’s eyes closed, and Bree felt a surge in her Demonsense. She heard Javier falter slightly in the midst of his prayer as he felt it too. She braced herself for howling, cursing, and for the terrible smell that was usually a part of the next phase.
Kevin surged up, turned violently in Lane’s grip, and sank his teeth into Lane’s cheek. Lane roared in surprise and anger, and just as suddenly, Kevin released him. His body stiffened in Lane’s grasp, back arching, then started to convulse. Before Bree could do more than move toward Kevin, Lane dropped him onto the coffee table. The open bottle of sanctified wine spilled out onto the table as Kevin crashed into it. Lane’s hand went to his bleeding cheek. Why the hell had he dropped Kevin? Kevin was still shaking like the demon was leaving, or had left, but Bree could feel it clearly in the room. Javier had made it over to Kevin. He had one hand on Kevin’s head and said tersely, “Bree, the name!”
“Tirakku,” she replied breathlessly.
“Tirakku, I send you forth in the name of God the Father!” Javier shouted forcefully. “You have no right to our brother Kevin. His soul is his own!”
Something was wrong. She knew it. Demons were nothing if not predictable. She knew this was supposed to be an easier exorcism, but it was happening too quickly. She cast a look at the red-haired Keeper holding the wards, but he looked calm, and she could feel the wards were in place. She kept one eye on Javier and Kevin and approached Lane, who had an old-fashioned cloth handkerchief out and was pressing it to the side of his face. “Does something seem odd about this?” she whispered to him.
“I’m not sure,” he whispered back, “but somehow I don’t like it.” He went around the back of the couch then moved to kneel behind Javier. He put his hand on Javier’s shoulder, then glanced back up at Bree.
Her insides went cold. The demon was looking out at her through Lane’s eyes.
“Javier!” she shouted in warning, but it was too late. Lane reached into Javier’s shirt, got hold of the chain of his crucifix, and began strangling him with it. Javier was off balance and taken by surprise. Bree was across the room and almost on Lane when she remembered herself. This demon could move quickly and easily through touch. He must have bit Lane to get an emotional reaction started, as negative emotions made it easier to invade a host. But that meant…
Before she could complete the thought, Lane started convulsing. The demon had jumped to Javier! And apart from Daniel, Javier was the strongest powered Bree knew. He was tired, but not drained as Kevin had been. The demon should not have been able to enter an Exorcist as experienced and well prepared as Javier. Before she could even begin to think what to do next, Javier raised his arms, and a pressure built against her ears as Javier pushed against the wards.
“Hold the wards!” she shrieked in panic at the red-haired Warder. “Javier is possessed!”
The pressure built, and her ears popped as the wards blew. The Warder flew through the air and slammed violently against the wall, then collapsed onto the floor.
Bree dove for the Bible and bottle of holy water as Javier turned to face her. To her dismay, the top was off and the bottle was empty. All she had was the Bible, the salt and the remnants of magical energy built earlier in the ritual working. And no back up. The other Keeper was down from the wards blowing, Lane and Kevin were down. She scrambled to her feet as Javier stalked toward her. He was breathing in hard,
loud huffs.
She held up the Bible in front of her and tried to gather the rattled scraps of her Demonsense around her. “By this Holy Word, I command you! By the will of God, I command you!” she tried, but Javier slapped the Bible out of her hand. Where was Daniel? Where were the other two Keepers?
She knew she was about to die. How fitting that it be Javier who did it. She doubted he’d ever truly forgiven her. And the demon could work with that. If only she had approached him before, sincerely tried to work it out with him. But he was so damned stiff-necked! She was going to die because of it.
“You want to kill me, don't you Javier?" she burst out.
Javier stopped short with his hands hovering over her. Before she could stop and think too much about what she was doing, what she was risking, she continued. “You never did forgive me for Seth's death. But it was as much your fault as mine."
Javier’s face was working, and he was breathing even harder. But he was fighting now. Somehow, she’d opened an emotional pathway that gave him room to fight.
“He just wasn’t good enough in your eyes if he wasn’t using his power,” she continued relentlessly. “You're the one who sent jobs his way. You wanted him to be part of the club, some kind of honorary Keeper. But that wasn’t what made him special, it never was! It was his heart! His heart, and his music!”
Slowly, Javier’s hands descended, but they were shaking now. She took a careful step back. “You pretended to forgive me, because you thought God wanted that of you. But you never did. And that’s the weakness the demon is using in you. You don’t forgive! You are not a forgiving man.”
Javier gave a wordless roar and clutched his head. Bree backed up against the coffee table, and with a quick motion, she turned, slammed her hands down into the blessed red wine pooled there, the slapped them down on Javier’s chest.
“By the holy blood of the Savior, I command you Tirakku! Leave this host! By the mercy of Mother Mary, leave him!” She threw every ounce of power she had into gathering the energy of the prayers in the space around her and flung her Demonsense into Javier, felt the energy signature of the demon, attuned, and shoved against it, shoving it out. She felt it surging out of Javier in an almost blinding, horribly hot rush. The back of her mind gibbered that she was going to burn up in it, but she kept her hands in demonic energy, dragged it to the floor, and with a final prayer, sent it into the earth. All that remained was the lingering, demonic stench of sulphur on the air.
