Sorrow's Point (27 page)

Tor and I sat in the kitchen. She couldn’t stop moving around. When she’d got up and wiped the counter for the fourth time, I’d had enough.

“Stop,” I said. “You’re making me nervous.”

She sat down at the table. “I’m so sorry about Tabby.”

I nodded. “She’ll be okay. Will called us and told us she came to on the way to the hospital. If they don’t release her tonight, they will release her tomorrow.”

“I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt,” she said.

“It could be worse. At least she wasn’t seriously injured.”

Tor sighed. “She’s going to die, isn’t she?”

I grabbed Tor’s hand. “Stop talking about that. We know nothing. I’m doing what I can. If it doesn’t work, you can wait for the priest.”

Tor shook her head. “I don’t think she’ll last that long.”

“When is her next M.R.I?” I asked.

“I canceled it. I can’t risk anyone else getting hurt.”

I nodded. “Maybe it won’t be too much longer,” I said, hopefully.

“Maybe.”

###

A couple of hours later, Will came back with Tabby in tow.

I jumped up and hugged her. I couldn’t help myself.

Tabby coughed. “I need to breathe sometime.”

I let her loose and chuckled.

“She’s supposed to stay awake for the next twenty-four hours, just to make sure she’ll be okay,” Will said.

“That won’t be a problem,” I said. I pointed my finger at Tabby. “No more exorcism for you.”

Tabby jumped up, and we had to grab her because she almost fell.

“Dammit, Tabby,” I said. “You got hurt. Enough already.”

“But don’t you need witnesses?”

I put my hand on her shoulder. “I have the camera. All three of you can watch the feed. That’s three witnesses.”

“No more tonight,” she said.

“Of course not. I’m going to keep you up for twenty-four hours. Lucy can wait.”

Tabby looked me in the eyes. “I hope so.”

###

Tor made a pizza and we all hunkered down in the library for the night. We refilled the cooler with ice and drinks, readied the bucket and Tor filled our plates.

Tabby was sitting on her sofa.

“What do you think is going to happen tonight?” Tabby asked.

I scratched my head and finished chewing. “I don’t know.”

Will and Tor were listening, but they had sequestered themselves to the other side of the library playing chess. I looked over, even though they looked like they were playing, I could tell that they were listening to the conversation—no one had made a move.

“So, what are you going to do?” Tabby asked.

I shrugged. “The best I can I guess. I mean, it’s not like I can do anything else.”

“Well, tomorrow we’ll—“

“No,” I glared at Tabby. “You are not going back in with Lucy. I don’t care if I have to drag Will in there whining like a baby, you are not going back in.”

Tabby shook her head. “How else are you going to trap the demon, genius?”

She had a point. I was flying by the seat of my pants. The only thing I seemed to really know how to do was piss the demon off. I hadn’t gotten it to do anything, let alone tell us his name.

”I could always move the site of the exorcism,” I said. The energy in the room increased and seemed to crackle around us.

“What are you talking about?” Tabby asked.

“I could move the exorcism into the attic room.”

It seemed like time stopped. I could hear nothing, no wind outside, no ticking of the clock, I couldn’t even hear them breathe.

“What?” I asked.

Tabby stared at me. “That’s either the stupidest thing you’ve ever said, or you are a freaking genius.”

I sighed. “The way I figure it, if I manage to get it out of Lucy, then it will jump the ley line and get the Hell out of here.”

“What if Lucy brings other things in?”

“That hasn’t stopped her in her own room, I don’t see what difference that would make in the attic. Anyways, I can do the green bally thing.”

Tabby stared at me like there was something wrong with me. “What green bally thing?”

I pointed. “Up in Lucy’s room, the hooded thing. You didn’t see it?”

“Oh I saw the hooded thing alright. I saw you yell at it until it left. I saw no green bally thing.”

I scrunched down in my chair. “That must be my marker stuff.”

Tabby sighed at me. “I think you are losing your mind, I really do.”

I laughed. “Tabby, when was I ever sane?”

She smiled. “Good point.”

“The marker thing. Even I don’t know what it is exactly. Just that old guy—the one that probably shit in front of your car, talking about the things I’d been doing lately.”

She raised an eyebrow. “What things?”

“Seeing the colors of your magic.”

She stared at me. “Think we’ll ever wake up from this?”

###

A couple of hours later, Tor was sitting with Tabby. They were looking over some catalog.

Will had made a fire earlier and the light from the flames danced over the leather bound books in the shelves around the room. It made the library look cozy, sort of.

I was standing next to one of the windows, looking out over the grounds.

Will walked up beside me. “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing. Just looking.”

“You know what you were talking about earlier?”

I looked at him. “I was talking about a lot of things.”

He held his chin, then let his hand drop. “No, about moving Lucy.”

“Okay.”

“Do you think it would work?”

I placed a hand on the window and peered out into the darkness. “I don’t know.”

“Do you just want to try the attic, or do you want to be in that room?”

It was a good question. It would either work because it’s a crazy assed idea or it would be the death of me. “If we’re going to do this, we might as well really do this. Yes, I would want to be in the room.”

Will nodded. “We can move the camera easy. Lucy is going to be the hardest to move.”

I turned back to Will. “I don’t know about that. I think whatever is inside Lucy came in through that room. I think if it thinks it will have the advantage, it will go willingly.”

“And if it does have the advantage?” Will asked.

I looked him in the eye. “Then one of us will probably die. This thing is violent. Look what it’s done to all of us.”

Will sighed and sat back on his heels.

“I promised you I would do everything I could for your daughter. If it takes my death to save her, so be it.”

“What if it kills you, and Lucy is still possessed?”

It wasn’t something I wanted to think about, but Will was right. I could croak and it would all be for nothing. It was a risk I was going to have to take. This had gone too far.  “Then call the church. Tell them. Tell them that they have to bring Lucy to the front of the line.”

“Would they do that?”

I shrugged. “I really don’t know.”

###

Will and Tor went to sleep sometime before eleven. Tabby and I sat on her sofa, reading. I looked up now and again to make sure she was still awake. So far, there had been no problems with Tabby. She seemed okay, and I was thankful for that.

Finally, Tabby caught me peering at her. She was peeping out over the top of her book. “Are you really going to do it?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I think it’s reached the point of no return. Even if I quit now, the demon knows us and would try to come after us someday.”

“How are you going to do the ritual this time? Are you still going to use the Roman Ritual?” she asked.

I shook my head. “It doesn’t seem to be working too well for me. I can’t do parts of it and I just don’t feel right wearing the vestments. You kind of need those to do it the Catholic way.”

“Why don’t you feel comfortable?” she asked.

“Once you give up the priesthood, you can’t wear the uniform. Think about a cop who is no longer a cop, they can’t wear the uniform, it’s against the law, considered impersonating a police officer.”

Tabby paused for a moment. “Well, maybe you need a different ritual.”

I laughed. “And where am I going to find that?”

She smiled. “You don’t have to. We’re going to write one.”

I sat up, my book dropped to my lap. “We are?”

She set her book down on the table and dug in her bag. She came up with a notebook and pen.

“To do magic you don’t need a special outfit,” she said. “A lot of people work skyclad.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Is that what I think it is?”

Tabby smiled.

“I am not doing an exorcism nude.”

She laughed. “I don’t expect you to. Clean clothes will do.”

“Alright, what else?”

“Evidence of the four corners. North, south, east, and west. Earth, air, fire and water.”

“I don’t know about this.”

She snorted. “It’s better than your plan of winging it.”

I felt sheepish as Hell. She’d nailed me. I had nothing left. I was intending to just yell at the demon. “Okay, I’ll trust you.”

###

When it was my turn to sleep, it didn’t take long to crash. I was too tired.

The dream began as a scene. I was in the kitchen of Blackmoor. The cabinets were wooden with criss-crossed slats over the glass so you could see the china inside. The table was a large rectangular wooden thing that stretched the length of the kitchen. There was no center island. A baby sat in an old fashioned wooden high chair. A pretty brunette was running around the kitchen, fixing something. She stopped, almost like she sensed me.

Suddenly, she turned around. Both of her eyes were blackened. She was as thin as a corpse and the severe black dress she wore did nothing to take away that impression.

She held her hand to her lips. “Shhh. It will hear you.”

She looked around wildly, then walked towards me. Her walk was in fits and starts—almost like she would appear at different points as she moved forward. She pointed towards the ceiling.

“Don’t take her there.”

“Why?” I asked.