I now brought those words to the forefront of my mind. Overall, I knew who I was, and I knew what I wanted. Lilah couldn’t take that from me. Experience had shown me that nothing I could say would change her mind, so I didn’t even try. Despite her unrelenting downbeat performance, I actually smiled at her. “You’re pretty long-winded today,” I said. “What’s the matter: are you cranky because its rerun season for all your reality TV shows?”
That made her arrogant smirk falter. “How dare you mock me.”
“Somebody has to,” I said. “Noelle kisses your ass so much I’m surprised she doesn’t wear brown lipstick every day.”
“You malicious gutter rat.”
“How would you know what a gutter rat looks like? You were born in the upper middle class, and you’ve stayed there until you gave up on life. I wonder what all your fellow professors would think of you lounging on the couch every day in your jogging pants, slugging cheap vodka and watching daytime soap operas.” Seeing her about to go off on me, I cut her off. “Then again, they might be impressed if you remembered every answer on Jeopardy.” I paused. “Do you watch Jeopardy?”
She drew in so much air through her nostrils that her chest rose.
“What’s the matter, Mom? Rat got your tongue?”
“I told you to…never call me that again.”
“What’re you going to do about it? Throw a vodka bottle at me?” I chuckled, animosity flowing through me. “Doubtful. It’s still half-full.” I turned around slowly, wondering if she’d indeed throw the bottle at me. When I finally rotated halfway around, Lilah stood five feet away from me. Startled, I leapt backward.
How had she hopped off the couch and hurried nearly ten feet in the span of a few seconds? While drunk?
She analyzed my face like someone who’d never seen me before, tilting her head from one side to the other. “How did this body produce such a vile creature?”
The air around me felt as if someone had drawn the blanket over my shoulders, only it felt dark and foreboding. And it stunk. Worse than roadkill. Sort of like the smell that accompanied Noelle...while the demon inhabited her body.
Oh shit!
Now unmoving and unblinking, the demon peered into my eyes the way a cop inspected a murder suspect’s gaze for any hint of a lie during an intense interrogation: repulsed and maybe even angry, but nonetheless intrigued.
My body stiffened and I tried to ignore the stench surrounding me. I couldn’t grasp a breath if I’d tried. Moments ago, I’d wondered why Lilah hurled such cruel insults at me, whereas she’d otherwise preferred to overlook my existence. It was obvious her temperament had clearly changed.
As though reading my thoughts, a slow, wicked smile spread across the demon’s face. “Goodnight, Jocelyn.” It turned around.
As much as I wanted to dart away from the demon, I was frozen in place, half-expecting it to spin around and rush me. Recalling how the demon had grabbed Nona’s throat and lifted her with ease broke my malaise. Without letting another second pass, I whirled around and jogged up the stairs.
Instead of hurrying into my room, I opened Noelle’s doorknob to find her in bed, reaching across the nightstand to turn off the lamplight. I closed her door. “Don’t,” I said, breathless.
My sister jolted at my unexpected arrival. “Aw, come on, I need sleep! Can’t I have some peace and quiet? Whatever you have to say can wait until tomorrow.”
And it came hurtling my way: how Eloise said tremendous darkness filled my home; how she and Nona left my home in a hurry after freeing the demon from my sister’s body; how my mother had said such disgusting things while Jake had visited; how Noelle had first smelled the disgusting scent in the house, but Lilah seemed oblivious to it, which made me presume that Lilah had gotten possessed before my sister.
I whipped out my phone and dialed Eloise’s number. “This can’t wait.”
Downstairs, the demon laughed, and its voice seemed to carry, winding around the couch and sifting up the steps so that it seemed to have emanated from right outside Noelle’s bedroom door.
A door that surely couldn’t keep out a demon with supernatural powers.
“Well?” asked Noelle. “What’s the emergency?”
I pressed a finger to my lips as the call ringed Eloise’s line. “You’re not the only one who was possessed by a demon.”
21
“Hi, Eloise, this is Jocelyn,” I said into my phone, leaving a voicemail. “I’m pretty sure Lilah is possessed by a demon. I know that sounds crazy, two demons attacking different people in the same home, but give me a call ASAP. I think the demon knows…that I know what it is.”
Downstairs, the demon cackled again, its voice sounding like an ancient woman who had outlived the vocal cords she’d been born with.
I tensed at the interruption. It took a moment before I breathed heavily into the phone. “Anyway,” I continued, whispering now. “Please call me.” I disconnected the call.
“You want her to come back?” Noelle asked, pushing hands through her hair, pressing up against her cream-colored headboard. “Now?” She shook her head. “This is…” She wrapped her arms across her chest and gripped her upper arms tightly.
“It’s real,” I said in a low, gruff tone as I finished dialing another telephone number.
“Now who’re you calling? It better be the police. Maybe they’ll take you away. At least that way, I could get a good night of sleep.”
My sister was obviously delirious, having forgotten that a demon had possessed her. A lack of food and sleep for a few days would exhaust her, but I couldn’t determine how much effort she needed to stave off the demon. Put them all together, and that could explain her incoherence.
“Hey,” I said after hearing Jake’s voice on the other end. “I want to ask how things went with the Dean today, but I really need you here right now.”
“Yeah, I just got out of a marathon meeting with him. What’s wrong?” he asked in an urgent tone. “Are you okay? What happened?”
“I’m fine. But I might not be for long. Can you get over here?”
“Yeah, sure, I’ll be right there.”
“Oh, wait. Go to my church and stock up on holy water. And ask for a crucifix or a cross. If you see a priest there, ask him to bless it.”
There was a pause on the other line. “Is it a demon?”
“Yes. “
“Are you okay? Just tell me you’re okay.”
“Yeah, but I don’t know how long that’ll last.”
“You’re scaring me pretty bad here.”
“Get the holy water and crosses. Drive fast. See you soon.” I hung up.
“Whoa,” said Noelle, her eyes still sleepy, but her voice now wide awake. “You sold the hell out of that phone call.” She swung her legs out of bed, but when her feet landed on the floor her knees trembled, and she had trouble steadying them.
I rushed over, caught her before she let her face break her fall, and helped her back into bed.
She groaned. “It’s not normal to be this weak. I’m dying of hunger, but if I eat, I’ll puke, I just know it.” She placed a hand over her eyes like a visor. “Now I’m dizzy. Great!” She sniffled back tears.
I tugged her back into bed and covered her lower half with a blanket. “Try to relax.” I grabbed the glass of water on the nightstand and placed it near her lips.
“I don’t want to drink it. What if I puke?”
“Trust me,” I said in my calmest voice. “You’ll be fine. You need liquids. You’re probably dehydrated.” When Noelle swallowed some, I doled out a little more, but I wouldn’t let her suck down too much.
After my sister settled her head against the pillow, I contemplated the reasons Nona supplied regarding the unlikeliness of a demon possessing my mother. Her conjecture hinged on obsession with the otherworldly, which my mother had proven a willing participant. Still, Nona had made a convincing argument that no demon would want to inhabit Lilah’s body since she practically had cut of
f all ties to the outside world.
So had Nona lied? Or had she simply used faulty logic?
It didn’t matter. Only one thing mattered: I had to deal with a demon…that wanted to possess my body. That didn’t mean it wouldn’t harm me to achieve its objective, so I had to remain alert.
I stifled a yawn. I hadn’t slept in nearly two days. My neck ached. Thankfully, my eyelids weren’t threatening to falter, but I found it difficult to concentrate, to connect thoughts. I needed to focus.
Noelle inspected my gaze. “If a demon is inside Lilah, what do we do?” She wrapped the blanket around her tightly. “How do we get it out of her?”
“By forcing it to leave.” I didn’t want to give my sister a reason for alarm, so I stuck with the essentials. “It wanted to mess up our lives.”
“I’d say it did a pretty good job of that.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, “but a different demon is inside Lilah, so…”
“How dangerous do you think it is?” Noelle asked. She wiped the moisture from her eyes and pushed back the urge to cry. “I mean, it’s a demon, so it’s gotta be dangerous as fuck, but earlier the old Hispanic woman said they have different personalities, so maybe it’s meaner than the one that used my body?”
“That’s a good theory. Anything’s possible. I know you love Lilah, but even without that demon inside her, she needs help.”
“You love her, too.”
Lilah had let me down so many times and in so many ways that it hurt to admit that, although I expected otherwise. But once I had that epiphany in the church, I began to cling to the tiniest thread of hope that my mother would look at me with acceptance in her eyes, the way she had when I was a small child. “I may love her, but I sure don’t like her.”
Since the moment I’d stepped into Noelle’s bedroom, I’d split glances between my sister and her bedroom door, fearing that the demon would burst in and come after me. Then I realized that after Pheurianis had left Noelle’s body, the tension in the air had dropped, making it easier to breathe, and the air had warmed up a bit, but it still felt stuffy.
Maybe that’s why Nona and Eloise bolted. They were unprepared to deal with a demon as strong as the one who inhabited Lilah’s body. Everything had happened so quickly over the last two days, however, that my nerves were shot, which made it difficult for me to go into shock or faint or do whatever happened to someone who got overloaded with too much emotional stress in such a short period of time.
“You spent some time with the demon inside Lilah the last couple days, so do you remember anything she might have said or done, anything that might tell us what to expect from her?”
“No. I’m sorry.” She smacked her leg, upset with herself for failing to help me. “I’m so tired, but I can’t sleep.”
“I know it’s selfish to say this, but part of me is glad you’re keeping me company,” I admitted. “Otherwise, I’d probably be talking to myself and wake you up anyway.”
Outside, a car door slammed.
I whirled around, peeked through Noelle’s curtains, and saw Jake racing away from his car and toward our house carrying a small, black flask in one hand and a cross in the other. I should have asked for a Bible. How could I have forgotten? If I planned to perform an exorcism, I needed a Bible. What a monumental blunder. How could I fight the forces of darkness if I couldn’t concentrate coherently enough to follow the instructions Nona had given me?
“Boyfriend?” my sister asked, her eyes gleaming if only for a couple of seconds before they turned practically lifeless again.
I opened the window and snapped my fingers to get his attention.
He looked up. An uncertain smile hovered on his lips. He raised both hands. “I got them blessed by Father Demetrius.”
I didn’t want to think of the irony behind that statement. Father Demetrius had refused to visit because he’d lost his faith, so blessing a cross and water might not yield the power I’d hoped it might since he’d anointed those objects without absolute conviction. That notion dashed my hopes a little, so I redirected my thoughts to avoid allowing negativity to creep into my mindset.
“Give me a minute,” I whispered to him. Then I closed the window. Based on our last meeting, I figured the demon knew I was aware that it had taken control of Lilah, and I suspected it might harm Jake since he might attempt to protect me.
I glanced around Noelle’s room. “I’m going downstairs. Do you have anything I can protect myself with?”
“The lamp? But then I couldn’t see.” She took inventory of her room. “The glass of water. My shoes. No. Sorry.”
I nodded. “I’m going downstairs to let Jake in.” I flipped my phone to her. “If you hear any commotion, and I mean some horrible shrieking or anything, call the cops.”
“Could they help with the demon?”
“They could shoot it, but the demon might have enough supernatural strength to ignore bullet wounds. It could even leave Lilah’s body, leaving her trapped in a body that might die.”
“So that’s a ‘negative’ on calling the cops. Got it!” Wide-eyed but still unwilling to leave the bed, Noelle stretched. “Even with all of this going on, I still feel like I’m about to pass out.”
“Get some sleep,” I said. “I’ll take care of this.” After seeing what Nona endured with Pheurianis, I was shocked to realize that I actually meant it. I darted to the door and pulled it open. I’d expected to find Lilah standing inches away from me, but the hallway was empty. Releasing a pent up breath, I left the door open, tiptoed out of the room, and made my way to the staircase.
“Hello, Jake,” said the demon downstairs. “How nice of you to drop by again. Please join us.”
“Us,” I muttered. Pheurianis had spoken in the plural tense as well. But fearing that it might try to harm Jake, I crept down the stairs as quickly as possible without making a sound.
Jake entered the house.
“Oh, you brought gifts? What have we here? Possibly a canteen of holy water. How very thoughtful! You cut such a dashing figure, young man. And what else have we…oh, a cross! Intriguing. I’ve never considered those items as tools of seduction. Bonus points! You are positively kinky. A nice touch! After all, alcohol or drugs wouldn’t work to get my dear daughter to loosen up to join you in bed. That child is so primed for rutting that you would have done well to bring a baseball bat to keep her off you. No matter.”
What the…? Horrified, but unsure how to approach the demon because I feared how it might respond, I actually took the stairs at a slower clip in hopes the additional seconds would give me an idea how to deal with it.
“Come now,” said the demon, opening the door wider and slipping an arm under Jake’s to usher him into the house. “You’re beyond the age of blushing, so relinquish the act of innocence. You wish to taste what’s between Jocelyn’s legs, but…” She wagged a finger at him. “I won’t have any of that in my home unless…you permit me to watch.” A devilish grin split her lips.
Jake, eyes wide as all color left his face, took baby steps as though someone had secured fifty-pound weights around his ankles.
“No need to act so surprised. I’m not a shriveled old hag. Plus, I’m not immune to the charms of pornography.” She pressed a finger into his chest a couple of times. “Now don’t worry, I won’t rate your performance. But after you finish her off, I’d be delighted to give you some pointers for next time. After all, I want you to show my daughter a good time. Every woman deserves to climax as frequently as a man.”
“Ma’am?” asked Jake, his voice trembling as he stopped beside her. “Is Jocelyn home?”
“The first time is not always a pleasant memory,” the demon continued. “I still remember mine: Robbie Thompson. Sixth grade. His schlong was long like a pencil, but a man needs some girth, am I right?” The demon elbowed him in the ribs as if he were a longtime friend. “Unless you’ve got a major winner between your legs. If not, it may have been wise to bring a baseball bat. You could have warmed h
er up for the main event. It would certainly stretch her wide.” It nodded. “Rest assured I wholeheartedly approve of your plans and methods.” She stepped aside and extended an arm toward the couch. “Please join us.”
I reached the bottom of the staircase, and Jake’s petrified eyes met mine.
“Ah, here she comes,” said the demon, only now turning to meet my gaze. “Jake has arrived to pop your cherry!” Grinning, she tented her hands against her lips. “Such a resourceful young man. Would it be terribly inappropriate if I pulled up a chair for a front row seat? I do love first-rate entertainment. If you’d prefer, I could record the festivities for posterity’s sake.”
Hearing the demon’s voice and seeing its face lit up with excitement while those hideous words tumbled from its mouth left me speechless. Even from twenty feet away, I felt the change in the air again, a thickening, a tightening.
“Oh,” said the demon, reaching over and wrapping an arm around me, only to pull me against its side. “Don’t be shy. Every girl needs a first time. Granted, you’re arriving at this milestone quite a bit later than many females, but I’m more than happy that Jake will be fitting himself inside you tonight.”
I shuddered at being this close to an evil imposter, not to mention one that could possibly crush my chest with a firm tug of her arm.
“She’s shivering,” said the demon with a proud grin she set on Jake. “How adorable. Don’t worry, your mother is here to guide you through the twists and turns of one of life’s greatest adventures.”
I wanted to shove it away and flee the wretched smell that encapsulated it, but…had it overpowered the stench of my mother’s liquor-scented breath? As much as I hated to do so, I got even closer, shrinking from the abhorrent scent, but I didn’t catch the faintest whiff of alcohol.
Since my mother had been addicted to alcohol, I suspected that the demon had been enduring the effects of withdrawal. Of course, the demon had supernatural abilities, so I shouldn’t have been astounded that it had enough willpower to withstand the effects.
The demon released me and gave Jake a toothy grin. “Would you like a drink? No, disregard that question. Your bewildered expression tells me you demand a drink. Very well.” She turned to me. “Jocelyn, will you entertain our guest?” She started toward the kitchen, but then stopped and swirled back to me with a wicked gleam in her eye. “I know you’re in heat, but try to keep your paws off him for the time being. It speaks ill of a lady to ravage a man. We must let him come to you, otherwise, he won’t feel like he’s conquered you. Besides, if we expect him to plant his seed inside you tonight, we’ll need his loins in prime condition to pump out as much sperm as possible.” She raised a finger as though warning me. “Now listen to your mother!” Then she offered me a demented grin, one lacking every emotion but still managing to remain fixed in place like a creepy doll.
The Possessed Page 20