Page 76 of Death Deals

“A cross won’t make a difference because it’s a representation of only one faction of religion,” Arianna told Kay. “The afterlife is much broader than that.”

Boy, did she have that right.

I picked up the gun, which felt loaded. “And this? What’s this for?”

“If things get out of hand,” Andre answered before Sean could.

“No. Well, no and yes. We don’t want it to come to that, but really, it helps to have something frequently used by the person under possession—something they’re attached to—so that they have an anchor to hold onto. Ideally, it’s supposed to help pull them out of the demon’s control.”

Worry wormed up my back. “Supposedto?”

He looked around nervously. “I’ve never done an exorcism without one. It’s the type of thing you don’t want to risk, right? So, I’ve always included it, to be on the safe side.” Pointing to Andre, he said, “Go ahead.”

Andre dumped the rest of the Holy Water over Cole’s head. He bucked against the chains, his skin now raw and covered in boils.

Sean raised his hand and began reading from the book in Latin. He began slowly, repeating the words over and over, but then, once he changed to the next part, his voice grew in volume and power.

The chains around Monnie shook, the rattling noise clashing against Sean’s chanting. He only read louder.

In the chair, Monnie started to growl, gaze whipping around the room. Andre poured more water on him and he cried out in pain. Cole’s skin sizzled, the stomach-turning stench of burnt hair filling the room, and steam rose from any part not covered with clothes.

Watching Monnie squirm should have brought me comfort, but it didn’t. Why? Because it was Cole I was staring at writhing in pain. I only saw him. He was still in there somewhere, feeling the pain just as intensely as Monnie, but unable to do anything about it.

Monnie continued to scream and roar and fight against what was happening. Eli manifested his spear again, just in case something went very wrong. Even Kay grabbed my arm, witnessing the scene too much for her. Every so often she’d close her eyes or squeeze me whenever she couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Fuuuuck—” The gruff voice coming from Cole’s body had lost Monnie’s accent. It was just his now—just Cole’s—and full of agony.

Sean continued to read the Bible out loud in Latin. Every word seemed to only intensify Cole’s pain, like he was being boiled from the inside out and we were just standing there watching it happen.

“It’s too much!” He shouted. His eyes squeezed shut. “I can’t—Ahhh!”

Could his demon blood be reacting badly to the exorcism, too? Were we only killing him in a different way? Slower and more painfully? It sure looked that way.

Cole strained against the chains, the veins in his neck bulging against the skin.

“Is it supposed to be like this?” I shouted to Eli as Cole’s screams echoed in the dark room, bouncing off every wall and sounding louder when they hit my ears again.

“It’s expected Monnie will fight it,” Eli said. Unlike me and Kay, he seemed unmoved by Cole’s torment. “Any demon would.”

Arianna came to my side. “Some people don’t survive exorcisms,” she said. “Even if Sean is a pro at it, there’s still a chance Cole won’t live through it. And since he’s a half-demon…”

She was guessing he wouldn’t, either.

“Jade!”

My name on his lips froze me in place. With eyes wide, their color switched from red to their normal blue, back and forth, as he continued to call for me. Sweat and Holy Water soaked his hair and dripped down the sides of his face.

“Jade! Please! I can’t—I can’t—Jade!”

I stepped forward, but Eli’s hand was quick to stop me. “It’s not him, Jade. Monnie’s using your empathy against you.”

That might be true, but hearing him call for me and knowing he was hurting so much… It was like an arrow to the chest. Complete torture. How could he stand there and not feel anything? It was gut-wrenching.

Cole continued to scream, alternating between my name and curses. Eventually, Kay darted to the elevator, unable to withstand anymore. Arianna followed her, more to make sure she wasn’t alone than anything else.

I watched them go.

“Maybe you should go upstairs with them,” Eli suggested.

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