by Michael Todd
She looked out the window at the tall brownstone that was their destination. The windows were dark, and the atmosphere eerie. She really hoped it didn’t go the way that it had in the past because, she wasn’t in the mood for a fight.
The four of them got out of the car. Katie had her knives, and she was fine with those. Damian had his bible and his cross, and Isaac had what he wanted. Ella didn’t need a weapon, because Katie would make sure she got her out of there if things got hairy.
When they got up to the door, Isaac looked back at them and nodded. He opened it and they crept into the house as the lights inside began to flicker.
The demon already knew they were there, but they had to find the host before it found them. A sound from up the stairs to the right caught Damian’s attention, and he motioned for the others to follow behind him.
When they reached the second floor, they followed the groaning and screaming to a bedroom at the end of the hall on the righthand side. Inside was a woman somewhere in her forties, who had long red hair and was dressed in a long white nightgown.
The room was almost empty, not what Katie had expected from the expensive brownstone in that part of town. There was a bed and a night stand, but nothing else except a cross hanging lopsided on the adjacent wall.
The woman growled and groaned, her body twitching and writhing on the bed.
She looked as if she were in pain, which was not what Katie had expected at all. The four slowly moved closer, Damian providing instruction.
He walked over and pushed her head down on the bed, then pulled her eyelids back to reveal nothing but white. He turned to the other three and nodded.
“Katie, I want you to assist. Isaac, stand back with Ella. Watch, but don’t interfere unless I ask. If things get bad, take Ella and get out. Katie and I can handle it.”
“Got it,” Isaac agreed, pulling Ella over to the corner. He kept his hand on his weapon.
“Katie,” Damian turned to her, “I want you to hold her down and keep her down until I can latch onto this demon. I might need Pandora’s help.”
“Okay.” Katie nodded, feeling nervous for the first time in a while.
Don’t be nervous, Pandora told her. You’ve faced worse.
Easier said than done, Katie replied.
Katie walked over to the bed and looked at the woman, then pushed her shoulders down firmly, pressing her top half to the bed despite her writhing. Damian nodded and walked around the bed, pulling out his cross and opening his bible.
“Oratio ad Sancte Michaelem Archangelum in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritu sancto. Amen,” Damian chanted in Latin.
The woman strained against Katie’s hands and foam spewed from her mouth.
Katie gasped when her eyes shot open and there was a bright-red circle around her pupils. She looked straight up at Katie, and she could feel the stare burning into her soul. She closed her eyes for a moment, but when she opened them again the woman was still glaring up at her.
“Princeps gloriosissime caelestis exercitus, Sancte Michaelem Archangelum, da nobis aciem adversus principes potestates principes autem adversus mundi rectores tenebrarum harum, contra spiritualia nequitiae, in caelestibus,” Damian continued.
The woman screamed and her body went stiff, her eyes shining brightly in the dimly-lit room. She breathed heavily, looking at Katie with a malicious grin moving across her broken and chapped lips.
Katie began to sweat, her hands slipping down the woman’s shoulders to reveal deep lacerations to her skin, maybe a week old.
“Fuck you,” the demon growled. “I’ve heard about you two. Fuck you, Katie. Fuck you, Pandora, if that’s what you’re calling yourself now.”
Katie hissed, trying to hold it together as gray liquid oozed from the woman’s mouth and she laughed deeply in a voice not her own.
Take a deep breath, Pandora said. You are okay. This bastard is going to get what he has coming to him. I’m taking over.
No, Katie replied. Not in front of Isaac.
“Nos eiciam vos de nobis, quicumque haec legis, Et spiritus immundi, omnis satanica potestates. Omnes infernales impletis, improbis legionibus necnon sectarum numerum pervenitur.” Damian raised his hands and screamed, “We drive you from us, whoever you may be, unclean spirits, all satanic powers, all infernal invaders, all wicked legions, assemblies, and sects!”
At that moment the room began to shake around them as if it weren’t attached to the rest of the house. Damian pulled out his cross and held it in the air as he pressed his hand to the woman’s chest.
The woman spat and screamed.
Katie watched as the demon rose from her body, shrieking and scowling, its eyes as red as blood. Katie had never seen anything like it, and she never wanted to again. The demon howled as its spirit was sucked back down into hell, finally disappearing.
The woman laid still and Katie let go, backing up against the wall and shaking her head. It had terrified her in a way she didn’t understand.
It’s okay, Pandora whispered. Some of us are way more tortured than others. Take a deep breath.
Katie nodded and glanced at Ella, remembering that the girl was watching. Katie pulled her shirt straight and closed her eyes, swallowing hard and pushing away the tears that wanted to spring forth.
She looked at Damian, who nodded and smiled before sitting down on the edge of the bed to check on the woman. She was still alive, and from the looks of her pink cheeks she was going to be just fine.
“She will recover,” Damian whispered. “That was a scary one, I know.”
“He was so angry,” Katie whispered.
“Some of them are. I could tell this one had a very tortured soul. You did well, thank you.”
Katie nodded, having gained a whole new respect for Damian. This trip was definitely turning out a lot different than she had thought.
She had expected to come to New York, maybe kill a couple of demons, train Ella a bit more, and then head back home. She hadn’t expected to witness something like what had just taken place. She wasn’t quite sure why it bothered her so much. She had seen demons eat people, after all, but this was different. This woman had reminded her of her mother, trying to fight off something that was stronger than her.
Pandora had been kind—talking her down during the whole thing—but part of her wondered if Pandora was capable of taking over someone’s body like that, forcing them to do and say horrible things.
She shook the thought from her head and walked over to Isaac and Ella. Isaac smiled at Katie and patted her on the shoulder, having seen the horror she had witnessed up close.
She turned to Ella, expecting her to be terrified, but instead she looked absolutely enthralled.
“That was fucking amazing!” Ella exclaimed. “Like, he just grabbed that demon out of her chest and bam!” She clapped her hands together. “It was gone. And the woman is going to be okay, which blows my damn mind.”
Ella had never seen something like that before, at least not in real life, and until that moment had not thought it might be real.
She had heard rumors of exorcisms, but she thought it was complete bullshit just like everything else that went along with religion; fairytales meant to scare children into their beds at night.
She could tell that everyone was afraid it was going to scare her off, but it did the opposite. It made her want to fight, to kick demon ass just like the rest of them did. It made her want to buckle down and get going, because there was no time to waste.
Did you see that? Ella asked Melneck. That was crazy!
Yes, yes. He yawned. To be honest, I found the whole thing quite boring. It looked like a poor remake of Amityville Horror. I’ve seen seventeenth-century plays with better sound effects and props.
Oh, stop showing off, she replied.
Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet, sweetheart. He chuckled. You have no idea what I can do.
“She will need watching.” Damian was talking to the New York team member. “At least unt
il she comes to—just to make sure that the demon didn’t do any real damage to her body. Those cuts look about a week old, so she must have been lurking around here possessed all this time.”
Isaac nodded. “No problem. I’ll call it in, and they will send someone over here to keep an eye on her.”
“Thank you.” Damian patted him on the shoulder.
Katie stood in the corner with Ella, not saying much as Damian covered the woman with blankets and wiped the drool and vomit off her. He bent to her side and said a prayer before Isaac walked back in holding his phone. Damian rose and looked at him.
“He will be here in ten minutes,” Isaac told the priest.
“Good, we can wait around that long,” he replied. “Then let’s go get some food.”
“Perfect,” Isaac agreed.
Katie was entranced watching the woman sleep, lying perfectly still in her bedroom. She had been a different person just minutes before, all because of that demon. It was still plaguing her, and she didn’t know why.
“Katie,” Ella called from the door a few minutes later. “You coming?”
“Yeah,” Katie said, shaking the thoughts and following her down to the SUV.
They all piled inside and headed over to a bar Damian knew. It wasn’t very crowded, or at least not as crowded as Katie thought it would be in a city like that. When they walked in, she realized that it seemed to be a hangout for people like them. Isaac smiled and waved at a few customers, and the four of them took a seat in a back table.
“This is one of my favorite bars,” Damian offered. “I have a favorite bar in twenty-one different cities.”
“A priest who drinks?” Ella whispered, leaning toward Katie but keeping her eyes on Damian.
“Apparently a lot of them do,” she whispered back.
The waitress brought menus out and handed them around. Ella looked up and down the menu, her mouth watering for some cheese fries and nachos. Melneck put a stop to that, though.
This food is disgusting. He sniffed. Made with canned things and weird packaged meats.
Ella laughed. It’s bar food.
Yes, well, that’s where it will stay, he replied. You need to focus on putting into your mouth the best and most wholesome food you can.
I am going to put cheese fries in it right now, Ella argued.
No, you are going to put a salad in it, no cheese, light vinaigrette dressing, Melneck replied.
Uh…hell, no, she snarled.
Don’t make me step on your intestines again, he threatened.
Fine, she growled, but I get to keep the cheese, and I get ranch dressing.
Light Ranch, he compromised. And the only reason I am giving in is because I don’t want you to make a scene.
Fine, Ella snapped, but you are a dick.
Katie sat quietly in the corner across the table, seeing that Ella was talking to her demon. She smiled, remembering when Derek had told her she had looked like she was talking to herself at the sex shop in Vegas. It felt like a million years ago.
Thank you for back there, Katie told Pandora.
Don’t mention it, she replied. So, what are we going to eat?
I was thinking a cheeseburger and cheese fries.
Whaaat? Pandora gasped. You want what I want? I am rubbing off on you.
You are literally inside me, Katie replied. There can’t be that much rubbing going on.
Pandora laughed. True.
So, have you ever been to New York City before? Katie asked.
Actually I have, Pandora replied. It was a long time ago, though—maybe 1844 or 1845. It looked much different then. I was dating this lovely guy; strange, but lovely. His name was Edgar. He had a brownstone over on 3rd Street. If I remember right, it was 85 West 3rd.
Katie laughed. You have a good memory.
Yeah, well, Edgar was too much fun to forget. She chuckled. We would drink and laugh, and drink more, and have sex, and then laugh more. He was the closest thing to a friend I’d had in a long time at that point. We met in the city at a party. He hated parties; liked to be alone in his room. He was one of those starving artist types. I think he was a writer. Yes, a writer. We had a lot of fun together, seeing the sights during the day and just sitting around talking all night long. I swear he never slept, except for when he would pass out after all the wine I would feed him. He always tried to keep up with me, the silly thing, not realizing I metabolized alcohol much differently than he did.
It sounds like you really liked him.
As much as a demon can like a human, I suppose, she said. He definitely liked me. Wrote some stories with me in them. At the time, though, no one really cared who he was. He had big eyes and dark hair, and never really came out of that brownstone. I guess he was the epitome of becoming famous after death.
Why do you say that? Katie asked.
I remember seeing one of his stories last time I was up here, she said. It was in the seventies, and I wandered into a bookstore and saw his picture on the wall. I asked the clerk, and she looked shocked that I didn’t know he was famous. She pulled out what was apparently his most famous work—The Raven, or something like that. Turns out he was very well known.
Wait… Katie tried to keep a straight face. You were dating Edgar Allen Poe?
Mmmhmm, Pandora agreed as the waitress came back with the food.
That is insane, Katie replied.
It was fun, she said. Oooh, look…they put bacon on the fries!
Just which Seventies was Pandora talking about?
Chapter Sixteen
Korbin stood next to Calvin on the roof of the building looking over the scene. There was still some debris, but they had managed to clean it up pretty well since the whole event happened.
Calvin was motionless, obviously nervous about what was going on, but Korbin had managed to calm himself before the sun came up. He knew he was in a position where he didn’t have to really explain himself, but he would be as hospitable as possible.
“There they are,” Calvin said, looking off in the distance.
Over the horizon from the north came three military helicopters choppering in. It looked like a scene from a movie, sand blowing around as they landed in the clearing below them. The pilots switched off the engines and Korbin turned to Calvin with a strained smile on his face.
“You ready to go greet our guests?” he asked through clenched teeth.
“Never been less ready to do something,” Calvin answered.
“We’ll be fine.” Korbin laughed, slapped him on the shoulder, and turned for the door. “Come on, let’s get this over with, I’m tired of all the suspense.”
They headed down through the building and out the front doors to greet the guests exiting the helicopters.
First was a woman dressed in Army Blues with a colonel’s insignia on the shoulders. She had ribbons pinned in rows on the front of her coat, and her beret was slightly tipped to the side. Behind her was a general wearing Blues as well, with even more ribbons and stars on the shoulders of his jacket. He was an older man with white hair and a weathered face, while she was younger, her dark hair pulled back perfectly at the nape of her neck.
“Korbin,” the general said. “I’m General Aaron Brushwood, and this is Colonel Karen Jehovivich. It’s good to finally meet you.”
“You as well,” he said, shaking their hands. “And this is my Team Lead Two, Calvin Turnbuckle.”
“Nice to meet you,” the general replied, shaking Calvin’s hand.
The general and colonel were not only new to the teams, but new to their positions. Korbin led the two inside the building, where it was a lot less noisy. The general took off his cover and placed it under his arm, looking around the entry.
“I am aware that in the past, relationships between the military teams and your own have been strained, to say the least,” the general admitted. “I hope that can change between us.”
“As do I,” Korbin replied carefully. “I do have to ask why you decided to come her
e now.”
“Well, I heard through the grapevine that there had been a major incursion here, and I would like to understand what happened,” he explained. “The more knowledge I have on what your teams do, the better we can all work together.”
“Okay,” Korbin replied. “And what are you looking to learn, exactly?”
“Well, first, why you were targeted out of everyone, including the military teams. It just seemed strange that your base would have been the bullseye,” he said. “I’m interested to know what you did about it, and I’d like to know if we are sure that none of them got away?”
Korbin just stood there a moment, trying to parse what the general was asking. It almost sounded like he was questioning Korbin’s competency in his own house. He didn’t appreciate being questioned. He had put his life on the line for their country both before and since he had joined the teams.
He had seen more combat than most soldiers would see in their entire careers, and he had more than proved himself to be a competent leader.
Calvin cleared his throat, feeling the tension.
“General, with all due respect, you question me as if I were a student.” Korbin’s eyes narrowed. “I sent the military the necessary documents, including the after-action report that we all agreed five years ago would be part of us operating a private mercenary squad to fight the demons. There was more than enough information in those documents to answer any and all questions without you having to fly out here like this. I am, as it were, not under your command.”
“Very true, Korbin,” the general agreed, playing nice. “You are not under my command; you are a private citizen. However, I am standing on US soil, and there are foreigners—aliens if you will—who are attacking people on my watch. Can you understand why I would want to see the place for myself? And questions may arise. I am not the firing squad. I am just here to get to the bottom of things.”
“There is nothing more to tell you beyond what was in that statement, sir,” Korbin replied. “This is actually not US government land. It is private land, bought and paid for by myself and our higher-ups; also documented with the government. We have gone through this time and time again, which was why we had the Senate hearing just five years ago—to determine the rules and regulations under which the teams operate.”