Page 227 of Mayhem and Minnie

Now that Pandora’s box has been opened, the least I can do is try to make my mother see that Cara could be in danger. Julien might be her son, but she would never allow him to endanger another woman.

Her expression morphs to one of shock, then disappointment before she finally whispers, “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Minnie replies. “Cara is terrified of him and with good reason.”

I pinch Minnie. She really has no tact, does she? I still don’t understand why she had to break it to my mother so directly. She should have let me do it, and not at her birthday party, for God’s sake.

“Minnie. Perhaps we should let my mother talk to him first,” I murmur in a low voice.

She shakes her head.

“There’s no time. We need to act fast.”

“What are you talking about?”

She takes a deep breath as she pulls me aside so Giles and Mother don’t hear as.

“Your brother is possessed by a demon, Marlowe.”

“What?”

She nods grimly.

“I could sense something was off at first, but I couldn’t tell exactly what since I’m trying not to use my powers too much. But once you said this was odd for him, I decided to try something.”

“The champagne?” I ask. She did something to it, didn’t she?

“Yes. I chanted a mantra to bless the champagne so it acts as a demon repellent. You could say it works the same way as holy water works for the church. They’re essentially results of the same process.”

“So you dumped holy champagne on him?” I chuckle.

“It’s not a laughing matter, Marlowe. This is serious. You saw how it burned him. That’s a telltale of a demon. And if this has been going on for more than four months, it’s very possible the demon has already consumed his soul and is looking for the next victim.”

“Back up a little and make me understand how this works,” I say, still not convinced.

“Remember there are two types of demons. This is the second type. Originally, it was a corrupt soul that’s now controlled by the Sons of Tenebreis for the sole reason of harvesting the power of more souls. He’s likely a low-level demon since only those can possess bodies while they consume the original soul. But that doesn’t make him any less dangerous. In fact…” She trails off as she glances back at Julien.

He turns to us at the exact time, an odd glint in his eyes. Somehow, Cara is not with him, and immediately, red flags go off in my head.

“If he’s already consumed your brother’s soul, then he’s already looking to harvest more souls. He can do it slowly, by possessing another body. Or he can do it fast.” A troubled expression crosses her face. “And the fast way is murder.”

“What are you saying? That he’s going to kill Cara?”

“Cara and anyone else who stands in its way. A low-level demon needs around one hundred souls to advance to the next level. And who knows how many other souls he’s consumed in the past. He could be close to ascending.”

She seems genuinely troubled by this notion, but I still cannot wrap my mind around Julien being possessed by a demon. I mean, sure, he’s an asshole. But maybe he just takes after our father instead.

“Really, Minnie?” I raise a brow. “Are you sure it wasn’t a fluke? Or I don’t know… Maybe my brother is just an abusive bastard.”

“The mantra always works,” she adds with a shake of her head.

“You only got a few drops on his skin. You can’t be sure it was the holy champagne that hurt him or if he was already hurt,” I point out. “Maybe Cara fought back.”

“But—”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you. But we have to be sure.”

“So what do we do then? We can’t just let him be, regardless if he’s a demon or just an abusive piece of shit.” She sighs.

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