Page 39 of The Sinner and the Scholar
“If we know the demon’s true name, we will have more control.”
Prue lashes out again, this time at herself. She pulls at her clothes, rips her hair, rolls around on the floor, and hits herself. That’s when I see the mark of Lilith on her shoulder. Cold fills me. It’s in the same spot mine was. Did it jump from me to her?
As if sensing my attention, as if she revealed that mark on purpose, she looks at me and hisses, “Shame, shame, little Sinner.”
Oh, God. I drop into a crouch, about to be sick. Is this my fault? My eyes dart over the scratched wooden floor as I think. What if that dream was real? What if that evilthingtried to get into me, but Wesley’s charm protected me… and the demon shifted to the next vulnerable host—Prue.
That symbol appeared and then disappeared. Maybe it was jumping between all of us, testing our weaknesses. Maybe I brought it home.
“Thea?” Wesley lowers to my level.
“This is my fault,” I whisper. “That symbol was on me.”
When he doesn’t answer, I glance up. His eyes are full of apprehension.
“I suspected,” he admits. “The crows at your window were a harbinger.”
He reaches out as if to console me but clenches his fingers and frowns at Prue.
The other Sinners stand around the circle, each watching, no one genuinely believing we can save our friend, but everyone hoping.
“There has to be a way,” I whisper to Wesley. “We need to get that thing out of her so she can live.” In peace. Safe.
He grows quiet. Too quiet.
“What is it?” I push. When he doesn’t respond, I grab him by the shoulders and bring us to our feet. “Wesley, I’ll do whatever you tell me this time. I swear. No more monkey business.”
Gazes have turned our way, but I don’t give a shit. I mean it. No more dismissing his help. I know how to kill a man fifty ways, but I have no idea how to exorcise a demon. Sinners have tried to use our own techniques, but they’re not working. I can finally see why the Rev allowed Team Saint here. They have experience.
These women are all I have. I will never give up on family.
“The mark usually tells us who is doing the possessing. But Lilith wouldn’t do the dirty work when she could send minions. The other day in the archives, you said I had Lilith’s mark wrong.”
“There are those other bits, see?” I point to Prue’s exposed shoulder.
Wesley studies the mark as best he can while Prue is moving. With each passing second, he grows more agitated.
“Wes,” I prompt. “What is it?”
“The mark you carved had offshoots, remember? The four horsemen, perhaps. This mark only has one offshoot—pestilence. Maybe the demons are the horses they ride. Or maybe these pestilence-affiliated demons herald the horseman.”
He’s right. The mark I had was different. The same, but different. Mine had all the offshoots. Maybe it was just a warning—a harbinger like the crows. Maybe it was something the gospel gave to me. Knowing I might not have passed it on to Prue makes me feel slightly better. And more determined.
“So, how do we find the demon’s true name?”
“We can work through the lower demon circles affiliated with pestilence. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
“Like Vepar,” I say. “You said that earlier mark on the severed hand was related to pestilence. One of his soldiers.”
Wesley flinches at the demon’s name but nods.
“How can we eliminate it without harming Prue?”
“There might be someone who knows.” Wesley scratches his rumpled hair. “But, bloody hell, it’s risky.”
“What is it?” Raven steps closer. The others also overhear.
When Wesley hesitates, I point to Father Angelotti. “He’s getting tired, and he won’t last. And then what? Killing her will only free the demon, not send it back to hell.”
