A nurse started a saline IV drip in her arm, and Lillian looked over at her own heart monitor. It was beeping steadily. She was going to live.
“You’ve got a good strong rhythm,” the nurse said in response to Lillian’s stern facial expression. “Caleb certainly saved your life,” the nurse added.
Lillian’s face reddened. She’d been so caught up in trying to understand the meaning behind her vision that she’d forgotten about Caleb. “Where is he?” Lillian asked the nurse. The woman smiled gently. “He’s sitting right out there in the hallway sweetie. You’ve been here over a day and a half and he’s been sitting right outside your door in the same chair the entire time.”
Lillian felt a wave of guilt. Caleb had saved her life and was obviously very concerned about her. Perhaps his admonishment earlier hadn’t been the nasty sexist remark she’d taken it for. Maybe he was just really worried about her. Lillian started going over things in her head. She thought about what she should say to Caleb. He was right—she’d almost gotten herself killed.
The door inched itself open slowly. Lillian had expected to see a doctor or a second nurse standing in front of her, but it was Caleb. He stood in front of her wearing a blank expression, as the nurse quickly disappeared from the room.
He was still covered in soot. It looked as though someone had tended to the cut on his face, and secretly she hoped it hadn’t been a young pretty female. Caleb licked his lips as he looked down at her. His eyes seemed ice cold, and yet somehow smoldering hot at the same time. Someone had given him a plain white t-shirt, it was stretched taught, barely containing his muscular frame. Lillian could clearly see the cut of his shoulders and chest through the soft material. Before Lillian could decide on how to best break the silence, Caleb spoke.
“You were right in what you said to me. I should have talked to you with more respect. I’m sorry about that…I was just…really affected by what happened to you.” Caleb looked down and started to stammer. Lillian wasn’t prepared for this. She had expected him to stand his ground—but now he was showing her a sensitive side, and she felt as though she were melting into the bed.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Caleb said as he rushed out of the room. A few moments later, he returned with a small brown teddy bear. He gently placed the bear into Lillian’s hand.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. It was all she could manage. Then, she remembered the dream. After a few moments, she asked Caleb to pull up a chair so that she could tell him the details. When she finished, he didn’t seem the least bit surprised.
“So I guess we’ve got two valuable pieces of information from your dream. We know that the name of the demon is Cerebus, and we know that we have to destroy its heart. I’m going to call my boss so that we can start putting a team together. You rest,” Caleb said as he sauntered out of the room with his cellphone already in his hand.
While Department 99 hadn’t expected that a case of a simple demonic possession would have turned into such a major ordeal, the agency was ready and capable of dealing with virtually anything. Caleb was tasked with putting together a team. He knew he needed to create the correct mixture of muscles and brainpower in order to defeat Cerebus. For that reason, Lillian was the very first person who came to mind. Anyway, the demon had already attacked her on a variety of occasions, which meant that she was already a part of this whether he liked it or not. Maybe they could use her as bait to lure the demon into acting out. Regardless, he would be able to keep an eye on her if she were nearby.
Caleb thought long and hard about the best and brightest within the agency. Agent Killian Marshall was out on assignment abroad, but there were a few other people that could certainly get the job done. Caleb smiled to himself. They were going to defeat this demon, and he was going to take pleasure in destroying something that had wreaked so much havoc, and had harmed so many innocent people. The demon deserved what was coming to it.
Two days later, Caleb’s group gathered in a meeting room inside Department 99 headquarters. Lillian was there, and she looked unbelievably beautiful. She had a few cracked ribs, but the doctor had given her clearance to join the team. She sat in a chair cross-legged and conversed with Caleb’s friend Rock. Across from the two of them, an older woman named Manuela was seated. She held a long line of beads in one hand and seemed to be chanting something in a foreign language. She spoke the same words over and over softly, as if in meditation. Next to her, a medium built man named Harold cleaned his gun. He kept an unlit cigarette behind his ear, and he seemed to be muttering some kind of tune to himself about a sailor and a cute girl. Beside him sat a woman named Bea, who was part vampire. Bea’s eyes glowed in the dimly lit room and Lillian couldn’t help but feel a little surge of jealousy at how beautiful the woman was. Caleb had also brought two interns on-board, Jordan and Valery. They talked together quietly, seeming excited about what might come next.
In the middle of the circle of chairs, there was a small ancient looking cabinet. None of them seemed particularly amused by the cabinet—but soon Caleb was going to debrief them all on the plan. They would have to execute this operation flawlessly if everyone was to survive. They were fighting a very dangerous entity. Caleb shifted his glance over to Lillian again. She was beautiful, undeniably sexy, and seemed at ease. One of her legs was crossed over the other and she rocked her leg back and forth seductively. For a moment, Caleb feared that she might be flirting with Rock—but then she looked over at him and winked. He felt his face redden a bit. She was toying with him, and he wanted nothing more than to take her upstairs right now and give her a taste of her own medicine. For a moment, Caleb indulged himself in the fantasy. He imagined himself lifting her up pressed against the wall and pushing her panties to one side with his thumb. He shook the image out of his head.
Caleb coughed and gestured to everyone. Immediately the room fell silent. He took a seat next to Lillian in the circle of chairs that had been set up, and began to speak. “I’m sure all of you know by now that I’ve been assigned the task of setting up a demon hunting cadre. If you’re here, it’s because you have something that we need. We’re dealing with a particularly nasty demon, and I’m going to need your very best if we’re going to take this thing down.” When Caleb mentioned that he’d picked the best both Jordan and Valery smiled at each other pridefully. They were overly ambitious and were thinking about the glory associated with this particular mission, and not the danger that they would face. The interns were inexperienced, but they did have a lot to offer as far as their fresh perspectives. Plus, Department 99 didn’t offer interns life insurance, which made them a low-cost alternative.
Rock grunted. Caleb nodded in his direction. He and Rock were old friends and he was one of the few men that Caleb trusted with his own life. “Rock, you’re going to be assigned to Lillian’s protection detail. She’s made the most contact with the demon, but it seems to be particularly hostile towards her. We need to keep her alive so that we can communicate with the other entities that surround the demon. I’ll need you with her 24 hours a day—even during down time.” Rock nodded. Everyone in the room now looked at Lillian, and she didn’t appreciate their glares. Couldn’t Caleb have told Rock privately that this was the plan? Was it really necessary to let the entire team know that the demon seemed to have a hard-on for causing her pain?
“Does anyone know what this thing is in front of you?” Caleb asked, while kicking the little cabinet lightly with his foot. Jordan looked down and put on a pair of thick-rimmed glasses.
“It appears to be some kind of 17th century relic with Hebrew carvings on it,” Jordan offered. Not to be outdone, Valery slid forward and took a closer look.
“It’s covered in the different Hebrew names for God,” Valery said.
“Very good,” Caleb answered.
“I know what it is,” Manuela said softly. Caleb had almost forgotten that she was there. She was such a quiet and strange woman. “It’s a container for the demon. You want us to capture it,” the wor
ds squeaked out of Manuela’s mouth. Jordan ad Valery looked at each other and smiled, while Harold’s expression turned angry.
“I thought this thing was a dangerous demon. Why does Department 99 want to put it in a box? Why not just cast it out?” Harold asked, his face reddening.
“If we cast it out, you all know that it’s just a matter of time before it finds its way back. And you also know that it will wreak all kinds of havoc in the meantime.” Caleb said smartly. He was right. The only certain way of ridding themselves from the demon for good was to make sure that it was either destroyed or completely contained.
Bea sniffed the air for a moment. Her vampire senses had caught the strong smell of fear. There was no doubt about the fact that it was emanating from Harold. He was visibly shaking with terror. Silently, Bea hoped that Caleb hadn’t made a mistake in adding Harold to the team. Harold had a reputation for drawing his weapon too quickly.
“Manuela, what can you sense about this relic and about the demon?” Caleb asked her. Manuela took a deep sigh and hesitated for a moment. She seemed to make contact with the quiet in the room, and seemed to distance herself from the rest of them for a few minutes. She pulled at her string of beads and made a connection with something inwardly, and then slowly opened her eyelids and began to speak.
“His name is Cerebus and he’s protected by a group of four spirits. He lies to them, and he’s convinced them that by following him they will be able to return to their old physical forms. One is named Cain, and he refers to himself as the destroyer. There is another one there named Ries; she mistakenly believes herself to be a god, but she is actually a human soul that was been blinded by her own rage. One is called Onus, and there’s someone there named Chachi. I can’t really see much about him.”
When Lillian heard Manuela say the name Chachi, her stomach turned sour. Now there was no doubt that Chachi was involved in this, but why? Lillian turned to Manuela, who still seemed to be lost in prayer.
“How did Chachi fall in with this group?” Lillian asked. Manuela went into some kind of trance.
“There was a cult of people who worshipped the cat. They kidnapped Lillian because they had hoped to draw the demon out and put him into her body so that they could destroy him.” So, bizarrely enough she and her kidnappers had actually been fighting on the same side—against Cerebus. Yet, the cat cult was going about it in a particularly insidious way that involved human sacrifice in the killing fields.
Manuela paused for a moment and drew in a deep breath. “Chachi first made contact with Onus as a child, after he accidentally killed a boy out on the playground. Onus is the slayer of children.” Manuela’s voice was slow and even. Her eyes stared off into nothingness.
This information was somewhat useful. It at least helped to explain why the demonic possession of children had played such a big role in the case. Perhaps when Chachi had accidentally murdered the child, Onus had come to him. Maybe that was when he’d given himself over to the darkness.
Lillian studied Caleb’s expression. His face was so serious. He was obviously intent on solving this case and ending all of the misery that the demon had inflicted thus far. Lillian couldn’t help but admire his resolve, as well as other things. She remembered the hard feel of his muscular body against hers and the way he had kissed her— so desperate, so pure, after they had managed to escape the burning room. Lillian knew that were it not for Caleb, she would most certainly be dead.
Bea looked over at Lillian and smiled. Lillian got the eerie feeling that Bea had just read her thoughts and she didn’t like it. Her last ghost hunting expedition had ended in disaster, and Lillian silently hoped that Caleb had managed to pick a strong group of people this time. The last thing she needed to deal with was a creepy vampire, invading her mind.
Harold leaned back in his chair and sighed. Then, he slowly started to pick his nose while staring at Lillian. Something seemed a bit off about him. Harold then flicked his booger across the room and looked at Caleb again.
“So what did you need a sharp shooter like myself for?” Harold asked.
Caleb sighed. “If we can manage to get some of these spirits back into their physical form, you might be able to shoot them—but you’ll probably only get one chance, so I needed someone that wouldn’t miss.” Caleb winked. Harold seemed satisfied by Caleb’s answer. Rock grumbled and shifted in his chair for a moment. His large muscles moved with him, and the small chair beneath him looked as if it might collapse under the weight of his hefty frame. Caleb and Rock were sharing the same thought. They both knew that it was highly unlikely that everyone on the team would survive.
Here they were, all filing back into Finn’s house, the young boy who had enjoyed the misfortune of a demonic possession and had managed to kill off most of the team that had preceded them. Lillian would never be able to forget the images of what Finn had done. On the outside, he looked like a small innocent child dressed in Superman pajamas, but he was a conduit for the demonic realm and was capable of tremendous destruction. Just the sight of him made her feel sick.
This time around, Caleb had taken extra precautions. Both of Finn’s parents and his sisters had been sent away to an undisclosed location. Caleb wanted to be sure that the demon wouldn’t be able to bring them into the equation again. They were going to do this by the book, and would make sure to leave no loopholes this time.
Department 99 had outfitted each member of the cadre with armor and weaponry. Some of the weapons were religious relics that would harm the demon, and others were just blades forged with holy water and various other materials of significance. As they prepared to fight, Manuela walked about the house, sealing every doorframe and windowsill with salt. They wanted to be sure that when they were finally forced to do battle with the demon, they didn’t want it to be able to call for help. The special salt was infused with holy water and oils, and this way, additional demons would not be able to cross into the home in order to wreak more havoc. Finn also would not be able to leave.
As Manuela went about her work sealing the home, Rock searched the home for weapons. He wanted to make sure there were no knives or guns present. The family had a few small tools, but that was about it.
As the group prepared for battle, Bea took on a different role. She went from room to room, and sniffed around for bloodstains that smelled of fear. The vast majority of blood that had been spilled inside the house was in Finn’s bedroom, but there was also a significant amount inside the upstairs attic. Demons were fed by fear, and Cerebus would choose one of these two places to launch his attack because in these locations he would be the strongest. After Bea shared her findings with the team, Manuela placed extra salt in these locations, as well as a few more relics.
While everyone else moved around, Lillian watched Caleb. She hoped that after all of this was over, they might have a chance to take whatever this thing was between them and turn it into a real relationship. There was no doubt that her body longed for his touch, and wanted to simply be near him. There was something inside of her that always seemed to pull her back to Caleb. She desired him in a way that she had never felt before. For the past two days, she hadn’t been able to stop daydreaming about Caleb taking her in his arms again and kissing her just as he had done after he’d carried her out of the flaming room. Caleb was cool and collected under pressure, but what really struck her was the amount of compassion within him. He seemed genuinely concerned for Finn’s fate, and was dead set on destroying the demon, Cerebus. His level of intensity and focus was admirable.
Caleb caught Lillian’s glance across the room. He had made sure to give the impression that the was not concerned, but deep inside he was worried for her. For whatever reason, the demon seemed fixated on Lillian and had launched all kinds of attacks on her. Caleb was sure that another attack would come later that evening, and he felt uneasy. He sighed deeply. He had assigned Rock to her—and he knew that the burly muscular man would keep her safe at virtually any cost. Caleb would do the same. It
would be so easy to take her into his arms and to just walk away with her. A part of him wanted to flee his life in Department 99. Yes, they were agents sworn to protect the public—but they were also humans, and they needed a break. Working for Department 99 just meant a lifetime of moving from one catastrophe to the next, and suddenly Caleb found himself fantasizing about life with Lillian outside of this world. Perhaps they could build a little cabin out in the woods somewhere. Maybe he’d get her pregnant, and she’d give birth to a few little shifter children, that might even also be blessed with her good looks. Maybe after this was over, they could find a way to be happy together in the long run.
Caleb glanced at Finn, suddenly remembering why they were there. Finn was spinning in circles, laughing, and playing with some kind of invisible playmate. Finn picked up a little ball from the floor and tossed it up in the air. The ball stuck there for a moment and then tossed itself back down to Finn, who laughed and giggled.
The demon had to know that they were about to attack—but it wanted them to know that it wasn’t concerned. Instead, it was biding its time playing catch with Finn.
In part, Lillian wanted to stop Finn from playing with the demon—yet, the damage had already been done. His soul was already in peril, and a simple game of catch wasn’t going to change that. Nonetheless, it disturbed Lillian so see Finn so engrossed in play with the entity.
After about an hour, the team was ready for battle. Everyone knew their responsibilities, and they had all agreed to watch each other’s backs. Manuela had researched the demon Cerebus, and had shared her findings with the group. He was one of the original fallen angels, and was thus one of the most dangerous they would ever encounter. Yet, all of them were willing to put their lives on the line in order to save Finn and to stop the madness that the demon was causing. After all, they were all Department 99 agents, and were no strangers to danger.
At the last minute, Caleb decided that they should do battle with the spirit in the living room—the place farthest away from where the strongest fear signatures were located in the house. Manuela poured a small circle of salt in the middle of the room, and then put a larger circle of salt around the inner one. She’d left a small gap in each circle, intentionally not closing either one all of the way. Without warning, Bea grabbed a hold of Finn by the shoulder and tossed him into the innermost circle. Then, Manuela quickly poured salt down at the gaps—completely enclosing the boy in the two circles. The demon must have expected them to do this, because Finn simply sat down and started to suck his thumb. He did not even try to get out of the two circles.
Bears of Burden: HUTCH Page 60