Possessed By You (Overworld Underground Book 1)

by John Corwin

  Oh, yes, against a bloody army of masked people?

  The knife would be useless against such odds even if I were a master of the martial arts. Sliding between the front seats, I checked the dash compartment and the center console for a gun. When I found nothing but a few discarded bits of gum wrappers, I checked under the seats. Still nothing. The rear of the vehicle housed duffel bags stuffed with the black hoodies the Exorcists wore, while another held a couple of white priest collars. Yet another bag contained a set of robes, like the cassocks priests might wear, and a single porcelain mask.

  Why did they have so many of the hoodies, and so few robes and masks, I wondered. Had they changed from the hoodies into robes for the church? Without a weapon, my only chance was to disguise myself. I stepped out of the vehicle and pulled on the robe. The huge thing draped over my frame like a curtain. It looked preposterous. Fear gripped my insides and urged me to forget the disguise and simply run in to save Tyler. Had I woken too late? Was he already gone?

  Fighting back tears and the desire to rush inside, I forced myself to examine the robe. A simple glance by another Exorcist at the ridiculously oversized robe would give me away immediately. I had no choice but to do this right, or try to sneak in and take my chances. Panicked breaths rose in my throat as I considered failing Tyler. I couldn't. I had to take the chance that whatever ritual they performed would take time. Considering that we were back in the city, it must have taken them the same hours-long drive it had taken me and Tyler to escape the opposite way. It meant I might had time to do this right.

  I took deep breaths to calm myself and pulled out the knife. Thanking God for the razor sharp edge, I quickly cut a few inches from the bottom of the material where it dragged the ground, so the hem hung down to cover my flats. Folding the extra cloth over to my side so the robes fit better, I used the sash to tie the excess material tight.

  The side mirror on the vehicle wasn't much help, but from what I could tell, the robes might pass muster now. The hood still looked a bit large, but when I put on the porcelain mask and drew it over my head, I looked every bit as creepy as the other Exorcists. I grabbed a hoodie just in case they were still wearing those instead and hurried across the parking lot toward a wooden door in the rear of the huge building.

  No one guarded the door, and it opened when I twisted the handle. I eased it open a crack to reveal a dim hallway. Chanting voices echoed from somewhere down the corridor. Slipping inside, and closing the door behind, I walked as fast as I dared, thanking the carpet beneath for muffling my footsteps. When I reached the end of the long hall, I found two doors. One hung open. Peering around the corner, I saw it led into the main sanctuary. The other led up a flight of stairs, possibly to the choir loft, I supposed.

  A wooden wall, perhaps five feet in length, blocked my view into the cavernous sanctuary, but it also protected me from the view of the occupants within. I crept along it to its end and peered around. My breath caught in my throat.

  The black-robed figures of the Exorcists formed a loose ring around a naked man in the center who hovered, quite literally, several feet off the floor. He screamed and writhed, shouting obscenities at the top of his lungs. A silver circle inlaid in the stone floor, perhaps fifty feet wide, lay between the Exorcists and the man. A ring of flickering candles atop silver candelabras surrounded the robed figures, casting frightening shadows on the floor. Two arches, one gray, the other a brilliant sapphire stood side by side in the circle—odd decorations for a cathedral.

  "Fuck you, filthy whores!" the man screamed from foam-flecked lips, his face red, skin blistered in spots. "I'll find your children and eat them raw." He made disgusting smacking sounds with his mouth, as though eating something, and then burst into maniacal laughter.

  One of the Exorcists stood atop an elevated platform outside the candles, his chanting voice rising higher and higher. The others raised their hands in V shapes above their heads, pressing their palms tight against that of their neighbors'. The man screamed as a red vapor poured from his nostrils and his mouth, stretching and pulling from inside like an adhesive ghostly material.

  The chanting Exorcist shouted something incomprehensible, and his comrades in the circle thundered the words in unison.

  With a final scream, the man slumped as the red mist sprang from his body, forming the horrific shape of a creature that resembled something like a deformed elephant with a giant phallus-shaped nose, sickly green veins pulsing along its length. An orifice at the end of the phallus gaped open wide enough to consume a man whole, revealing shiny metallic shards lining the pink flesh inside. A roar blasted from the maw, and the creature blurred toward the ring of Exorcists. Inches away, it slammed against an invisible barrier with an echoing boom.

  The chanter raised a fist. Shouted another word that my mind couldn't grasp, and made a vertical slashing motion with his hand. The air between the columns of the sapphire arch sliced open directly behind the demon, and bluish light spilled across the sanctuary. The creature went mad, hurling itself against the unseen walls of its prison, desperately trying to escape from the glowing portal. I shuddered at the thought of where that portal must lead. Slowly, inexorably, the opening sucked the demon's smoky essence inside. With a final, echoing howl, the last tendril vanished inside, and the portal closed with a slight pop.

  The people in the circle drooped. The chanter dropped into a nearby seat as though exhausted.

  My heart raced, and I felt sweat trickling down my back. I couldn't imagine how the Exorcists felt after such an endeavor, and didn't want to. Were all demons like that? Did Tyler look like a monstrous phallus?

  No, he's different!

  He had to be. He'd shown me his true self, hadn't he? Or was it all a lie? Doubt sank its wicked fangs into my chest. I stiffened my back and gripped the soft fabric of the robes to strengthen my resolve and drive away the uncertainty tearing at me. Either I trusted Tyler, or I didn't. If what he'd shown me was his true self, I had nothing to fear—well, aside from a room full of people wearing robes and frightening masks and, of course, demons.

  Strange sensations drifted from the Exorcists gathered in the room. I saw images of mist glowing with power and flickers of the white orb I'd noticed when near George Walker. I felt the touch of static electricity on my skin. Supernatural auras seemed quite common among these people. So shocked had I been after the train wreck I hadn't even noticed. I closed myself off, ignoring the mingled sensations the best I could, lest they distract me from my goal.

  I noticed several other robed figures standing in various locations around the church and a group of them sitting in the pews, the dead eyes of their porcelain masks watching the proceedings dispassionately, even though their heads bobbed as if they were carrying on animated discussions behind their facades. As I peered closer, I realized many of them had a red diagonal slash across the front of their masks from the top corner to the bottom. While the slash obviously indicated something about them, I had no idea what it might mean.

  The ring of tall candelabras provided the only flickering light in the place, their glow barely reaching the arched ceiling high above. The length of the cavernous sanctuary receded into the dark. By hugging the wall to my right, I could make it into that darkness and watch from there, I realized. The loose knots of other Exorcists throughout the chamber might camouflage me. Taking a deep breath, I made my way further inside using the shadows along the wall.

  As I rounded a stone column, a porcelain face appeared in the gloom. I stifled a scream. Whoever hid behind the mask said nothing however, and walked past me, the susurrus of his robes the only sound as he continued toward a group of his ilk sitting in the pews a few rows away.

  When I recovered from the shock, I made my way closer to the center of the room and examined the layout. The partition wall hiding the door I'd entered by lay to my left and formed a semicircle around the sanctuary. To its right was another hallway that hopefully led to the rear exit. The Exorcists had apparently moved the
priest's pulpit and table, which usually resided in the front area, and stacked them against the partition wall to my left, leaving little room between them and the ring of candles. The wall opposite looked clear of obstructions.

  Two of the Exorcists who'd been in the ritual stooped to pick up the body of the purged man, placing him on a stretcher while a third examined the still figure. Behind them, I spotted something gleaming dully in the candlelight just behind where they'd stacked the pulpit and table. Something metallic with bars. A cage.

  Stilling the gasp rising in my throat at this sudden sign of hope, I stayed in the shadows, walking down the row between two pews, noticing more cliques of robed figures nearby. My heart pounded in my chest as I skirted past them, trying to keep my pace even and casual despite the fear fluttering in my stomach.

  Another group of Exorcists strode down the center aisle, appearing from the darkness like shades as the group which had just completed the ritual vanished from the flickering candlelight into the pitch. Judging from the way they'd drooped after the ritual, I assumed they had to keep a fresh rotation.

  It took me a couple of minutes to traverse the perimeter of the sanctuary and reach the right-hand partition wall. I hugged the wall, following the curve and staying at the fringe of flickering candlelight. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness beyond the candles, my shin hit something. I stumbled, barely catching myself by throwing my hands forward. One hand braced on rough nylon. The other found warm flesh.

  I stifled a yelp of surprise, gritting my teeth, praying nobody noticed my blunder. The mask had skewed sideways, blinding me. I pushed myself up, and adjusted it. Candlelight danced off the face of a slumbering man. At least I assumed he was asleep and not dead since his skin was still warm. As I glanced around, I saw rows of cots around me. Nearly everyone one had an occupant, one of them the man they'd just exorcised.

  It had to be the recovery area after the demons were purged, I thought. My heart caught in my throat as I spotted a familiar head of hair. I peered closer, my chest tight with anxiety. But it wasn't Tyler, just some anonymous man. I pressed my lips tight to hold back a shuddering sigh of relief.

  The cage remained far enough away I couldn't see if it held any prisoners. It left me no choice but to venture further toward the back of the semicircle where the candlelight cast monstrous shadows on the choir loft and pipe organ. Maintaining a steady pace so it might look to the casual observer as though I had full authority to be traipsing about the front of the sanctuary, I swallowed the knot of fear in my throat and followed the curve of the wall while shadows played around me like something out of a nightmare.

  It wasn't until I drew within a few paces of the cage that I could make out slumbering forms inside. I took a quick look around and was just about to step closer when two figures appeared from the shadows beyond the candles. I froze as a frightened squeak escaped my mouth. But the pair stopped outside the cage door without giving me a second glance. Though my bladder desperately wanted to betray me, I took a step toward the cage, wishing I could take off the bloody mask for a better look at the people inside. It was soon obvious that one of the silhouettes had large breasts. A flicker of candlelight revealed a masculine hand on the other. Despite the presence of the two Exorcists, I said a quick prayer, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.

  "Montjoy said it will be a good alliance," said the man as his words grew into clarity. "I have my doubts."

  "She is powerful," said a female voice. "She could make our order great again."

  "Perhaps." The man paused. "I know I will not be the one to say no to Daelissa."

  "A wise decision."

  The man's hood turned to face a cage. "The female next," he said. "Very nasty case."

  "Is her mind intact?" asked the female.

  The large figure shrugged. "At this point, it's anyone's guess."

  "And the male?"

  "Seems to be in excellent condition. But there's a problem."

  "And that is?" the female asked, leaning toward the bars.

  The male held out one of the strange phones to her, its display glowing. "The owner is dead."

  The woman took the phone with a gloved hand and peered at it, the light from the screen casting eerie shadows on her porcelain mask. "Already dead before possession. I don't recall such a case before." She looked at the man. "The body will be empty. Will it die?"

  He shrugged. "Nobody knows."

  She glanced at the cage again. "Shame. He's beautiful."

  The man grunted. "If you say so."

  I was close enough to see the faces inside the cage. Tyler's face looked so innocent as he slumbered. I wanted to kiss him, to feel his warmth against me. And these people were going to take him away from me. Tears burned against the backs of my eyes while terror and anger twisted my insides. I felt powerless to do anything. I had no weapons, no one to help me.

  Worst of all, I had no hope.

  Chapter 41

  The only thing in my favor was time. They planned to exorcise the woman first. How much time this would grant me, I had no idea. The ritual might take minutes or an hour. Judging from the number of people on the cots, it couldn't take too long, unless I'd been out for much longer than I thought. It appeared as though the Exorcists rounded up the possessed and took care of several at once, like supernatural dogcatchers.

  Two more robed figures glided in from the gloom like wraiths, opened the cage, and hefted the still figure of the woman off the cot inside while their companion locked the cage behind them and laid the key atop a nearby podium. I stared at the key, my mind working furiously. Somehow, I had to sneak behind the cage, snatch the key, and drag Tyler out—all without the others noticing. Even though the candlelight was weaker here, there was no way I'd escape notice. My only hope was to wait for the ritual to begin, and hope it might prove enough of a distraction for me to free Tyler.

  If only I could wake him, he could escape himself.

  A terrible scream filled the air, echoing across the chamber, and frightening the dickens out of me. I gasped, backpedaled, and nearly tripped over the hem of my robe.

  The two Exorcists hauling the woman into the center slammed together and dropped like rag dolls. The female prisoner remained standing over the fallen bodies for a second, hands clenched, her face a rictus of animalistic joy, and leapt from the circle with incredible speed. The air whistled. Something clinked near the woman as she dived out of the way. I saw a silver dart land on the floor nearby, and ducked behind a nearby column, assuming it must contain a tranquilizer. It looked similar to the ones used by the Custodians. The last thing I needed was to be knocked out so close to my goal.

  The woman laughed with glee, and raced around the room, searching for an exit. But the robed figures formed a tightening circle, preventing her from leaving.

  "You have nowhere to go," shouted someone. "Step into the circle."

  "Go to hell," the woman hissed, and charged toward the line of Exorcists.

  Instead of plowing through them as I'd expected, she hit something invisible, and rebounded. With a curse, the woman ran for the church altar even though her path there was also blocked.

  "Into the circle, and you'll come to no harm," the same voice shouted again with masculine authority.

  Instead, the woman jumped atop the altar where a priest would usually stand, the only thing on her pretty face a serene smile. "I do not recognize your authority, you puny weak beings." She pressed her hands to the sides of her face. "Goodbye." With a jerk and sickening crunch, the woman somehow twisted her own head so hard, she broke her neck. The eyes went lifeless, and the head lolled at a grotesque angle before tumbling to the floor. A white vapor seeped through the skin of the corpse, swirling into a vortex. It darted around the circle, bouncing off the invisible barrier, zigzagging back and forth like a smoky meteor.

  "No!" sobbed a woman.

  "This is why you make certain the subject is sedated!" a man near the woman roared at the two Exorcists who'd removed the
woman from the cage, even as they unsteadily climbed to their feet. "You killed this woman. You bear the shame and guilt for her needless death."

  The two Exorcists dropped to their knees, heads bowed.

  "Keep it trapped," the authoritarian voice said. "It cannot remain here for long without a body."

  The smoke flew around its invisible cage, but already seemed to be losing cohesion. It began to fade ever so slowly.

  Somehow, I found the presence of mind to act even while watching the debacle unfold, and inched my way to the front of the cage.

  The man who'd yelled earlier paced before the disgraced pair who the demon-possessed woman had knocked silly. I could hear the angry tone of his voice, but not his words. Even so, it didn't matter to me now. There would be no ritual. The time I'd hoped to gain for saving Tyler had run out. As the attention of those in the room centered on the verbal thrashing and the fading demon, I decided there was no time like the present, and hurried toward the key. My knee banged against something hidden by shadow, and I flailed my arms to keep from sprawling on the floor. When I recovered, I froze in place with fear, waiting for the entire assembly of robed people to turn and stare at me.

  But nobody seemed to have noticed, so intent were they upon watching the two unfortunate souls as the man berated them. Looking down, I saw the object which had nearly upended me was a plastic cooler filled with ice and a variety of bottled drinks. With my eyes so focused upon the key, I hadn't even seen it. I stepped around the infernal container, and slipped the key off the podium, letting the long sleeve of the robe drop down to conceal my hand.

  I backed up toward the cage, feeling for the keyhole with my fingers, and fumbling the key until it slid into the lock. I gave it a slow twist. The lock made a faint click. Taking a furtive look around, I pulled the door open, and stepped inside.