Page 100 of Destined for Dreams
“I don’t expect you do, and I would never have wanted to put such a difficult task before your mother, but there is no choice in this instance. Now, before your mate can do her part, you must learn how to do yours.” The archangel looked up at the sky, uttering some sort of mystical words. A moment later, a human appeared before them in the garden. It growled, and its eyes glowed red. “This person is possessed.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Draw the demon essence out and destroy it,” his father said, as if it was that simple.
Bartol stared at the rabid man. “What if I lose control?”
“This one is too weak to trouble you all that much. Hardly consequential.”
“I am not!” the human snarled.
Reflexively, Bartol grabbed the man by the neck and pressed a hand to his chest. Tendrils of the demon’s essence were there, just under the skin. He pulled on the dark energy, letting it flow into his palm until nothing malevolent was left inside the human body. Then Bartol clenched his fist and crushed the demon’s soul. Power surged through him like a tidal wave, bringing him to his knees.
“Think of your mate,” his father’s stern voice said from somewhere far away.
Bartol did as the archangel instructed, envisioning Cori much the way he did in the cave while Caius was removing the demon’s mark from his flesh. She was there in her kitchen, making him a pot of stew. It brought peace and inner calm to him.
Raguel’s voice spoke once more, “Now release the energy.”
It was a struggle. Bartol didn’t want to let the energy go, but as he kept his mind on Cori, it helped him to focus. He pushed the remnant energy from him, allowing it to escape into the atmosphere in tiny, harmless molecules. As he came back to himself, he found the human man slumped on the ground, skin ashen from death. Bartol hadn’t saved his life, but at least his soul could move on now.
“Good, son.”
Bartol rose back to his feet. “I had no idea that was possible.”
“Yes, but unfortunately, that was an easy one.” Raguel’s features took on a grim expression. “You will need to practice a lot more if you are to survive the battle that lies ahead.”
“Does the process always kill the hosts?”
The archangel glanced down at the body, sorrow in his gaze. “More often than not it does. Demons destroy human minds and bodies quickly, so unless you find the person very soon after possession, their chances are not good.”
Bartol made a mental note to return the dead man’s body to his family. At the very least, he could give them closure. “Are there more possessed humans I can practice on?”
“Much more—particularly right now with a powerful demon on the rise.” His father stared up at the sky, and another human appeared, a young woman this time. “Do it again.”
Bartol leaped to the task, determined to learn and save Cori from facing incredible danger to save him. They spent the rest of the evening practicing.
