You left me no choice. I left your mind intact. When I leave, you will continue to be you.
“We’ll get you help, Paige.” Chief White peered over his shoulder again. The whites of his eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. “Okay? Just hold on.”
She wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold on. If the world had any justice, she’d be allowed a moment of weakness, a second to close her eyes and regroup. Not now. You need my body.
Yes, love. I do. I cannot stop her bodiless. I have no power without one.
You were a human. You were born. You’re not a demon, so how are you doing this?
I was human, Paige. His voice was like a soft, comforting blanket. The barrage of memories ceased.
So, you’re a demon now?
Yes.
Reality slipped, then righted itself. Was it the drug? Or something else?
“Paige,” the chief called, “what drug did they give you?”
She was just so tired. She wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and go to sleep. Sleep. Good . . . God. Sleep.
“Paige!”
You’ve gotta release, love.
She couldn’t. She’d already let the damned thing possess her. She couldn’t allow him to regain control, too.
Lucius rammed himself into her.
She heard a rib crack with the force. The lights blurred on either side of her. The shadows slithered into pointed, menacing shapes. Her stomach lurched into her throat. Too much. Too crazy. So much pain. Had to stop. Had . . . to . . . stop.
Give me control.
That command ripped through her mind.
“What drug are you on?”
“Mushrooms.” Her voice was a bare rasp. Ground and center. Damn it. She hugged herself tighter against her shivers.
“Talk to me,” he said, allowing for no other options in his tone. “How are you feeling?”
Paige, Lucius commanded.
She closed her eyes again. “Not good. Hurry. I need Grandma.”
You will release your control.
“No.” Paige gritted her teeth with the effort to hold him back. The muscles on her shoulder blades sent needles of pain coursing down her arms.
“Paige! Talk to me. How are you feeling?”
“Cold.” A violent shudder tore through her body.
Lucius punched with his will.
Her head hit the window.
“What did they do to you in there?”
She sobbed. She was out of strength and out of her league.
“Did they cut you?”
“Yes.”
“Badly?”
The onslaught continued inside her body, inside her soul. She held firm as best she could, not knowing exactly what she was doing.
She closed her eyes, resting for one . . . second.
Lucius.
Demon.
Her eyes opened, half by her control, half by his. She bit down hard, her jaw aching. She clenched her fingers around her arms, fighting to push him back, to maintain the upper hand.
“How bad are you hurt?”
She couldn’t answer him. Her body bled inside and out. A dizzy maelstrom overtook her mind.
Lucius was stronger.
“Paige.” The chief put the car in park. He twisted in his seat, tossing his seatbelt out of the way. His hand came towards her.
Paige jerked her body as far away from his hand as she could. “Stay back.”
That voice wasn’t hers. Deeper. Darker. Multi-tonal.
No.
Hysteria rose in her chest. She couldn’t let the demon in. She fought with everything she had.
She bared her teeth, releasing a demonic scream.
Shit.
Paige peered through eyes no longer her own. Her lips twisted into a sneer. Strength infused her body. Her body hurled out of the car and into the man before her.
The chief barely had time to raise his hands in front of him.
Paige watched helplessly as her colleague’s body was tossed across the parking lot to land in the grass in front of the building. Oh, God. Help me. Please.
“Back, demon,” Dexx yelled from the yard. He stepped toward her, wearing torn blue jeans and a ragged t-shirt, a wooden cross held out in front of him.
Her body chuckled. Lucius raised her hands in front of them. “A cross?”
Her voice, tainted by the demon’s soft accent.
Paige prepared herself for battle, digging deep in the emotions the demon had thrust at her. They could be used as power against him. She’d get her body back and send him packing.
Dexx advanced on them, his face serious as his other hand fumbled in the duffle bag slung over his shoulder. “Abeo inimicus.”
Lucius wrapped Paige around him like a shield.
She took the brunt of Dexx’s command. It gripped her with a fury she simply could not fight off, pushing her away, forcing her to leave. Blackness called to her, beckoned, beseeched. When the power behind the command finally dispersed, she settled somewhere in the back of her own mind, exhausted.
The demon smiled. “Well, you’re a helpful sort of lad, aren’t you?”
Dexx glared at them. Not at them. At the demon hunkering inside her. “Impero cui en apollo Christo.”
“Absit.” Lucius’ will released like a whip. “Your grammar is abominable. Were you telling me to follow the orders of God, or give them to Him? I didn’t follow.”
Dexx winced, raising his eyebrow. “Latin was never my thing anyway. But I did get your attention, didn’t I?”
“Indeed you did.” Lucius flung Paige’s hands out and shouted, “Citivolus.”
Instead of flying through the air as he should have, Dexx staggered a step back. Paige sighed in relief, or she would have if her lungs were her own. The protective tattoos on Dexx’s arms worked even in this situation. Amazing. Perhaps she should let him give her some of those. If she ever got her body back. When she got her body back.
Lucius narrowed Paige’s eyes.
“Can Paige hear me?”
She pounded on the bars of her mind, knowing her yells were useless.
“Oh, she can hear you.”
“Good. Then listen.” He brought out a bottle, popped the top off, and flung it at her. “Push.”
The first drop hit them. Lucius screamed.
Dexx fell to his knees, clamping his hands over his ears.
Paige’s knees bent as the demon writhed in pain. Her body crumpled to the ground with a whimper. Her own pathetic whimper.
She wiggled her fingers, her toes, moved her foot.
Ear numbing silence filled the lawn
Dexx crawled to her. He grabbed her shoulder. “Paige?”
She blinked her eyes open. “Yeah. For now.”
BRIAN HOBBLED OVER to Dexx. “Tell me this isn’t—” He shook his head.
“Don’t know why you’d ask me to lie.” Dexx pulled Paige to her feet. Honestly, he had no idea what the captain had been about to say. Tell him this isn’t demons? Leprechauns? Halloween? Crazy? Insane? The man looked like he was about to freak. Dexx had to keep things together for everyone. “This mixture could wear off anytime. We need to get her inside.”
“Mixture of what?” Brian asked.
“Holy water and herbs.” Dexx headed for the front door. He stooped to retrieve his duffle bag on the way by. “Do you have a room without windows, scissors, or anything else this thing might be able to use?”
“Yeah.”
A car drove into the parking lot. The lights cut off and someone got out.
“Hey, Doc,” Brian hailed. “We need ya in here.”
“Which way?” Dexx crested the entry, holding Paige’s upper arm.
She stumbled and fell against the wall.
“Nope. Come on, Pea. We’re almost there.”
Brian led the way. “Here.” He opened a door and stepped inside.
Dexx entered the room, guiding Paige to a chair. He found an empty box in the hallway, then walked to the desk. Wi
th his arm, he pushed all the papers, the in-box, the phone, the stapler, everything except the monitor into the box. “Brian, take this and get it out of here. Paige, I need you to keep that thing in the back of you. You focus on me and what I’m doing. You got me?”
She closed her eyes and nodded, sinking into the stiff chair.
Dexx dumped the contents of his duffel onto the desk, removing the rope. “I’m really sorry I have to do this, Pea, but I can’t trust you won’t let that thing come back to the surface again. Okay? I’m trying to help you. Just remember that.”
“I don’t know what happened.”
He began tying her to the chair.
“What are you doing?” Brian blockaded the doorway with his body, keeping the doctor outside.
“Gonna try to expel this demon. I need to wait for Alma, though. Tru’s bringing her over.”
“Why do you need Alma?”
“All my exorcisms involve the host dying. Alma’s a witch, and a damn strong one. If anyone can help me get the demon out without killing Paige, it’s her.” He hoped. He dug out his rubber band bound papers and thumbed through them until he found the one he was after. Careful not to rip it, he removed it from the bundle and knelt on the floor. Time to trap this demon.
“Water.” Paige leaned her head back, licking dry lips. “I’m so thirsty.”
“She’s coming down off the drug.” The doctor disappeared down the hall. “Be right back.”
Dexx had designed this trap, using a mash-up of anything he could get his hands on; every culture, every myth, every legend. He traced it out with chalk and laid a circle of salt around it. It worked. He knew it worked. He’d test-driven it way too many times.
“Dexx.” Paige’s red-rimmed eyes sought out his gaze. “I really fucked up, didn’t I?”
He didn’t want to look at her, didn’t want to see her this way, knowing this might be the last time. The last time they talked. The last time they saw each other. She had a demon inside her, and he only knew of one way that ended. Badly with a side dish of dead. “Yeah, Pea. You kinda did. But we’re gonna get you out of this. Okay?”
“Yeah. Please do.”
“Is he using your gifts?”
“No.” Her head dipped then swung back up like a kid fighting a nap.
“That’s one point for the home team.”
“You were shot.”
It still hurt, but only when he thought about it. “Yeah. Nicked some fat. Nothing much. Doesn’t aim well for a serial killer.”
Paige let out a dry chuckle. “Does it hurt?”
“Nah. Barely stings.” So he lied. Big deal.
“Your water,” the doctor said, coming into the room with a glass.
Dexx stopped him before he got too close. He flicked his gaze meaningfully at the salt circle on the floor. “Don’t break it.”
The doctor glared at him before kneeling in front of Paige. “Is this all necessary?” he asked, helping her drink. She choked, so he set the glass down, opening his bag. He pulled out a pair of blue, Latex gloves and slipped them on with well-practiced ease. “I think she’ll be fine now. The drug seems to be pretty much out of her system.”
“Yes, it’s necessary,” Dexx said. “And let’s hope to God she’s coming down. What the hell did they give her?”
“A hallucinogen, I’d wager from her reaction. I need more water.” The doctor gestured at Brian to fulfill his request. “In a bowl. And a rag. Can we please untie this woman?”
“No.” Dexx’s tone left no wiggle room. The man didn’t need to know what they were dealing with, but he did need to understand the gravity of their situation. “We cannot. Just do what you have to and get out of here.”
The older, balding man twisted around toward Dexx. He must have seen something that stopped the words that obviously wanted to come out. He turned back to Paige. He pulled back her torn shirt and fingered the wounds on her chest. “They’re not deep. That’s good at least.”
Dexx swallowed. Symbols. The assholes had carved symbols into her skin. Magickal symbols didn’t simply scar the flesh. The magick burned to the bone.
The doctor inspected the wounds on her forearms. “Neither are these.”
“Deep enough to scar.” To her bone. Something in Dexx’s mind saw through the blood drying on Paige’s chest, saw the symbol carved directly over her heart. His rising rage froze in absolutely terror. Cold bum rushed him, starting at his and traveling to his feet. “Fuck.”
“She’ll heal,” the doctor reassured.
Dexx stormed across the room, throwing the book on the table. It sailed off and hit the floor. “Shit.” He knew that mark. An open door. An open fucking door to the demon world on a demon summoner. On his goddamned friend! He punched the wall beside him. “Fuck!”
“What’s going on?” Paige asked, her voice shaking. “What’s wrong?”
Dexx had to keep a cool head. They were fucked. The home team was fucking fucked, but he couldn’t let Paige see that. He braided his fingers over his head and forced a smile. “Nothing. I need you to remain calm. Any chink in that steel armor of yours, and your demon friend’s going to get out.”
She visibly fought to control her fear. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”
He clenched his jaw. Hard. They had a whole mess of bad. Bad topped with bad. First her gift and now the symbols? And there was no way of getting rid of those. The bad one covered her chest, her heart chakra, her power. The others? Small, riddling her arms, her shoulders. Whoever had masterminded this either didn’t think she’d survive this nightmare, or was planning to use her again another time with another demon. He quirked his lips shoving shields over his expression. “Seen worse.”
She watched him for a long moment.
The chief set the bowl of water down on the floor beside the doctor.
“Liar.” But something shifted in her expression. Calm resignation.
Fear was a demon’s way in, so . . . yay. Go, team, go.
Fuck.
The doctor dressed her wounds with quick efficiency.
Dexx needed help. He needed a witch who had seen more shit than he’d lived through. He needed someone who understood the arcane, the occult, the angels, and the demons. He needed someone who could scare the pants off the boogieman. “Where the hell is Alma?”
“Here,” the old woman’s cantankerous voice called from the front door. “What happened?”
Brian disappeared and came back with Alma and Tru in tow.
“Dear God,” she muttered. “Girl, what have you done?”
“Grandma.” Tears studded Paige’s eyes. “I need you.”
“You,” Dexx barked, pointing at Paige. “Stay strong. No tears. No fears. Nothing. You stay with me in the here and now, is that understood?”
Paige’s emotions slid behind a wobbly wall. “Yeah.”
“Nothing major,” the doctor said, putting his bag back together. Dexx helped him over the salt line. “A few cuts. Nothing too deep or spectacular. What a sick bastard.”
“If you only knew,” Dexx said under his breath.
“If you need anything,” the doctor said to Brian on his way out.
“Will do, Doc. Drive safe. Say hi to your wife for me.”
The doctor glanced at Paige one last time before leaving. “Yeah.”
That left a very silent room filled with people more than a little on edge.
“So are we going to exorcise this thing, or what?” Alma asked.
Dexx shook his head, biting his lips. “We need help on this one. You, sure, but maybe more. I don’t know.”
“What do you mean?” Her worried gaze settled on Paige.
Dexx stepped into the salt circle and peeled away the bandage on Paige’s chest. “This.”
“I can’t see it.” Paige pulled her chin down. “The bandage is in the way.”
“It’s fine.”
“Obviously not. I need to see.”
Alma craned her neck to peer over his shoulder without enterin
g the ethereal cage. A startled breath whistled through her teeth. “Damn it.”
“Grandma. Will someone tell me what’s wrong?”
“You mean besides the demon residing inside your head?” Dexx pressed the medical tape back onto her skin.
Alma hit his arm lightly. “Hush your mouth, cub.”
“I can’t believe this is really happening.” Brian remained at the door, almost as if coming closer might contaminate him. “Exorcism. For real?”
“’Fraid so. Alma, we need a priest.”
She widened her hands. “Father Gregory is in Dallas.”
“Too far way.”
“There is a priest.” Brian took a small step into the room. “At a neighboring parish. I’m guessing he would probably know about exorcisms and the like.”
Dexx frowned at Alma. “Using a different priest is a bad idea. They have to petition the Church. We don’t have time for that.”
“We’re in Louisiana.” Brian raised his eyebrows, his expression tight. “There’s a lot that goes on here the Church doesn’t know about.”
“Point. Before we truss her up like a goose, can you get your priest on the phone and find out if he’s any good at this kind of thing?”
Brian disappeared down the hall.
Alma pressed her fingers against her eyelid. “Ah, sweetie.”
Paige’s head wobbled. “I know who the third person is.”
“Way to hold the punchline, Pea.” Dexx motioned for her to hurry up. “Who is it?”
“Sven. Seven Tails Sven.”
“A demon. A lot of good a court of law’s going to do them.” That answered so many of his questions. A demon, especially that one judging by the relief of Paige and Balnore when they realized the trapped demon was Lucius, was bad news. The symbols. The sacrifices. The brands. Everything rang with clarity.
Alma chucked her chin in agreement. “How did the demon get in?”
“Drug, mostly. I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t.” Paige let out a sobbing breath. “I was so scared. And then he used my memories against me.”
No one asked what memories. Everyone knew.
Alma glared at him.
Paige looked away.
Dexx ground his teeth. This was a mess.
And now he had to somehow fix it.
Before the demon did it for him.
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