Possessed By You (Overworld Underground Book 1) (45 page)

If only I could wake him, he could escape himself.

A terrible scream filled the air, echoing across the chamber, and frightening the dickens out of me. I gasped, backpedaled, and nearly tripped over the hem of my robe.

The two Exorcists hauling the woman into the center slammed together and dropped like rag dolls. The female prisoner remained standing over the fallen bodies for a second, hands clenched, her face a rictus of animalistic joy, and leapt from the circle with incredible speed. The air whistled. Something clinked near the woman as she dived out of the way. I saw a silver dart land on the floor nearby, and ducked behind a nearby column, assuming it must contain a tranquilizer. It looked similar to the ones used by the Custodians. The last thing I needed was to be knocked out so close to my goal.

The woman laughed with glee, and raced around the room, searching for an exit. But the robed figures formed a tightening circle, preventing her from leaving.

"You have nowhere to go," shouted someone. "Step into the circle."

"Go to hell," the woman hissed, and charged toward the line of Exorcists.

Instead of plowing through them as I'd expected, she hit something invisible, and rebounded. With a curse, the woman ran for the church altar even though her path there was also blocked.

"Into the circle, and you'll come to no harm," the same voice shouted again with masculine authority.

Instead, the woman jumped atop the altar where a priest would usually stand, the only thing on her pretty face a serene smile. "I do not recognize your authority, you puny weak beings." She pressed her hands to the sides of her face. "Goodbye." With a jerk and sickening crunch, the woman somehow twisted her own head so hard, she broke her neck. The eyes went lifeless, and the head lolled at a grotesque angle before tumbling to the floor. A white vapor seeped through the skin of the corpse, swirling into a vortex. It darted around the circle, bouncing off the invisible barrier, zigzagging back and forth like a smoky meteor.

"No!" sobbed a woman.

"This is why you make certain the subject is sedated!" a man near the woman roared at the two Exorcists who'd removed the woman from the cage, even as they unsteadily climbed to their feet. "You killed this woman. You bear the shame and guilt for her needless death."

The two Exorcists dropped to their knees, heads bowed.

"Keep it trapped," the authoritarian voice said. "It cannot remain here for long without a body."

The smoke flew around its invisible cage, but already seemed to be losing cohesion. It began to fade ever so slowly.

Somehow, I found the presence of mind to act even while watching the debacle unfold, and inched my way to the front of the cage.

The man who'd yelled earlier paced before the disgraced pair who the demon-possessed woman had knocked silly. I could hear the angry tone of his voice, but not his words. Even so, it didn't matter to me now. There would be no ritual. The time I'd hoped to gain for saving Tyler had run out. As the attention of those in the room centered on the verbal thrashing and the fading demon, I decided there was no time like the present, and hurried toward the key. My knee banged against something hidden by shadow, and I flailed my arms to keep from sprawling on the floor. When I recovered, I froze in place with fear, waiting for the entire assembly of robed people to turn and stare at me.

But nobody seemed to have noticed, so intent were they upon watching the two unfortunate souls as the man berated them. Looking down, I saw the object which had nearly upended me was a plastic cooler filled with ice and a variety of bottled drinks. With my eyes so focused upon the key, I hadn't even seen it. I stepped around the infernal container, and slipped the key off the podium, letting the long sleeve of the robe drop down to conceal my hand.

I backed up toward the cage, feeling for the keyhole with my fingers, and fumbling the key until it slid into the lock. I gave it a slow twist. The lock made a faint click. Taking a furtive look around, I pulled the door open, and stepped inside.

"Tyler?" I said in a whisper. "Wake up!"

No response.

I glanced at his still form. He was drooling, and quite obviously nowhere near conscious. I took a step backward into the cage, shrouding myself in the shadows, and hoping no one turned to see the open cage door. Dropping to my knees behind Tyler, I slapped him on the face as hard as I could without making noise. He didn't so much as twitch. I wormed my arms under his armpits and pulled. It was like pulling a sack of lead bricks. I took a deep breath and tugged hard. The cot teetered on two legs. Cold sweat broke out on my forehead as I fought to keep it from falling over with what I imagined would be a spectacular crash. The metal legs settled back onto the floor, and I gulped in a breath.

Even if I removed him from the cot, dragging him out was not an option. If only I could wake him up! I drew in a sharp breath as I realized one possible way to accomplish such a thing. Sneaking back out to the cooler, I grabbed two cold bottles of water and went back to Tyler.

"The council will now decide on your fates," the Exorcist boomed, his voice echoing eerily throughout the cavernous sanctuary. "Will the members please step into the circle?"

I felt time slipping away far too quickly, and twisted off the lid of one bottle. Without hesitation, I dumped the freezing cold contents on Tyler's face. The water plastered his hair back, some of it filling his mouth. He choked, sputtered, and coughed. I pressed my hands over his mouth to keep the noise down. Water sprayed between my fingers. He drew in a breath. Groaned.

"Tyler?" I hissed. "Please wake up!"

He coughed water into my mask.

Stifling a curse, I dumped the other bottle on his face. This time, he jerked upright, his eyes flying open, fists clenching at thin air as though fighting off an invisible enemy.

"Tyler, it's me," I hissed, desperate to keep him from making noise.

He flicked his head my way, spraying water like a wet dog. When his eyes settled on me, they filled with such relief I nearly wept.

I put a finger to my lips as he opened his mouth to speak, and then pointed at the figures outside. His mouth snapped shut as his gaze took in the room. I pointed toward the exit that lay behind the partition past the cots. Tyler nodded. Slid his feet off the cot, and stood—or tried to. As he put weight on his legs, his knees buckled and he fell to the stone floor. Tyler gritted his teeth, wiped the wet hair from his face with a hand, and tried to stand again. His legs wobbled, but held. I braced a shoulder under his arm and moved toward the cage door.

I felt Tyler's warm breath on my neck as he leaned in and whispered, "Thank you, Emily."

Tears sprang into my eyes, blurring my vision. I fought them off before they compromised the rescue, tilting up the mask to wipe my face. I wanted to hug and kiss him, but now was most definitely not the time.

The Exorcists had formed a tight circle around the two people the man had been yelling at earlier, and were murmuring among themselves. I took a quick glance around, but the light from the candles in the center of the room made me night blind to whoever remained outside the glow. I would have to retrace my path all the way back around the cots to the opposite wall with Tyler limping at my side. I prayed we could make it without raising an alarm.

The exit was tantalizingly close—only ten feet away or so past the partition wall that hid the door leading outside. But with the pulpit and table stacked in the way, jutting out from the wall by several feet, the detour would take us perilously close to the candles and into easy view of everyone.

We had no choice but to go to the opposite side, and hope none of the council members decided to look behind them within the next several minutes.

Wishing to God I could use the bathroom before attempting our escape, I led Tyler toward the cage door. We left the cage, and I directed him to the right so we could circle behind it. As we passed a cot, the man on it groaned, and his eyelids fluttered open. My body screamed with tension as I waited for the man to sit up and go mental once he realized where he was. Instead, he mumbled something about fried eggs and fell back to sleep.

I felt Tyler release a breath of air. My own body sagged with relief. We continued onward, Tyler stumbling at my side in a painfully slow pace. But there was nothing more we could do to speed things up unless Tyler's legs decided to cooperate. We finally reached the opposite wall and made our way along it. The end of the partition would be the most dangerous, I realized, because it was close enough to the candles that anyone sitting on this side of the sanctuary would only have to glance our way to realize a prison break was in progress.

My stomach tensed to the point of pain, and my breaths came in flutters. This was it. Make it or break it. We reached the end of the partition. Steered around it. My back tingled as though dozens of eyes were suddenly watching it. And then we stepped into the shelter of the partition, hidden from any eyes in the sanctuary. Nobody yelled. No footfalls ran our way. We'd made it!

A breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding shuddered out of me. Tyler kissed my hooded head.

"Almost there, baby," he said, the grogginess in his voice unable to hide the hope.

We made our way down the corridor, took a left, and reached the hallway through which I'd entered. My heart lifted the moment I saw the door at the end. We were going to make it. We had to.

Tyler's limping gait picked up speed as we headed toward the exit. I wanted to run screaming from this place and never look back. My heart seemed to pound faster with every step we took. And finally, we were there. I resisted the urge to throw it open, instead easing the door open to take a peek.

The handle abruptly flew from my grasp, causing me to stumble forward and into the night. The mask pressed hard against my face, the edges digging into the skin painfully as I collided with something.

I barely kept my feet when I rebounded with Tyler pulling me off balance. I looked up and stifled a scream. A robed figure towered over me. The black eyes of a porcelain mask stared back.

Chapter 42

"What the hell?" a male voice said a split second before hands clamped around my arms.

I reflexively thrust my knee toward what I hoped was the groin. The man twisted, and my knee missed his vitals. Two more Exorcists appeared. Tyler struggled upright, but in his drugged state, the men overpowered him with ease, twisting his arms behind him and cuffing them with plastic bands.

I shouted curses at my captor, twisted and kicked. He held me at arms' length, his thick meaty hands squeezing painfully around mine. We were caught. There was no escape. Without warning, the energy seemed to drain from my body and I fell to my knees, sobbing, the hope I'd felt only seconds before evaporating like a dream.

The Exorcists dragged us back down the hall and into the sanctuary where a group of their frantic comrades met us, apparently having just realized Tyler was gone.

"We found them escaping out the back," said the man holding me. He jerked down my hood and pulled off the mask.

"You've gotta be kidding me," another male voice said. "How'd she get out of the car?"

"Doesn't matter," a woman said. "We will finish this now."

"He's awake!" someone else said.

"We subdued him," my captor said. "He's still too sedated to overpower anyone."

"Then get him into the circle," the woman said. "Now!"

"What about her?" the man asked.

"Let her watch. Maybe when she sees what this thing really looks like she won't be so eager to protect it."

"Are you out of your mind?" The man's grip tightened on my arm. "We can't just let her watch. What if—"

"Do you really think I'd let her go without a memory block?" the woman said. "I'm not an idiot."

"No, but why let her watch? You know that the more she sees, the harder it is to block."

"Stop the bickering and get the subject into the circle," said a deep male voice. "Fasten the woman to a bench."

That seemed to settle things. The man directed me to a pew, pushed me down on it roughly, and bound my hands with a plastic band before taking another one and looping it through the metal armrest. I didn't bother testing my restraints. Tears welled in my eyes, blinding me, and rolling down my cheeks. Sobs tore from my throat.

I wanted to beg and plead with these people, but I already knew it was as useless to do so now as when they first caught us.

Through blurry eyes, I watched as they dragged Tyler into the silver circle. They cut his bonds and dropped him in a heap. He struggled to push himself up, but only managed to rise to his knees. He swayed, eyelids fluttering, his face as forlorn and hopeless as mine probably looked. Our eyes met, and in a moment of perfect clarity, I saw a tear glisten in the candlelight before running down his cheek.

Tyler sagged to the side, barely catching himself before falling over. When he righted himself, I noticed a reddish sparkle on the floor next to him, but whatever reflected the light was too small for me to make out.

The Exorcists formed the circle and began to chant. The words sounded like no language I'd ever heard. One of them held a scroll in their hands with strange symbols written on it. As they chanted, the symbols began to glow one at a time with an unearthly bluish light.

I felt my mouth drop open. Was this some sort of magic?

Impossible!

Then again, how could I doubt another strange thing on this earth, knowing what I knew about Tyler, and having seen a demon exorcised right before my very eyes? My mind still didn't seem willing to accept any of it, and I felt a wave of dizziness pass over me.

"Emily," Tyler said, his voice calm, but filled with sadness.

"Tyler!" I shouted back, my throat raw. "Oh, God, Tyler!" More tears came, running hot down my face. "Please, no," I sobbed. "Please. He's not evil."

None of the Exorcists took notice of me as they raised their hands into Vs above their heads. Tyler rose from the floor, looking at first as though he was standing on his own power. But then his feet lifted from the floor, dangling. He gritted his teeth, eyes clenched shut as though in incredible pain and the muscles in his neck went taut. Some invisible force seemed to fling his arms wide, and a long, agonized cry tore from his throat.