The Portal ~ Large Print (19 page)

V
ivian screeched to
a stop across the street from Saint Patrick’s Church. Two teenagers jumped back. She checked the clock. Eleven-forty-three a.m. She’d already wasted fifteen minutes in traffic just getting here.

She lifted Cody from the passenger seat into her lap. Though she’d only given him one pill, his body seemed too limp. Had it been too much? What if it wasn’t enough?

“Don’t worry.” She held his head against her shoulder and exited the car. “I promise, I’ll fix it.”

All around, skyscrapers loomed over the church. A chilled, salty-ocean wind stung her cheeks as she crossed the street and entered the building.

Inside, the cathedral’s one massive hall, its round columns and stained glass windows—even its pipe organ—reached a height of four stories. The sounds of city traffic beyond the walls disappeared, leaving an uncomfortable quiet.

Although there was no service, scattered parishioners sat in the pews. She raced down the center aisle. At the front, an Asian custodian used a thirty-foot pole to hang a flag above the granite altar.

“I need to speak with the head priest,” she said, unsure if that’s what he was called.

“He’s busy right now,” the man said in broken English. “Come back later.”

She opened the brass gate that separated the altar from the congregation and moved inside.

“You can’t come in here,” he said.

“I have to see the person in charge.”

“It’s okay, Hugh,” a voice called out to her left.

She turned. A forty-something man with short gray hair came out of a bordering room. He wore a standard black button up shirt with a Roman collar.

“I’m Father Adrian,” he said. “We’re going to start Mass soon, but you can stop by after if you’d like to discuss—”

“I need your help now,” she said. “My son’s possessed.”

“Okay.” He nodded slowly. Had it been a mistake to come here? No. This was her only chance to save Cody. She couldn’t blow it. “Please, just listen to what I have to say.”

Somebody coughed behind her. She turned to find a family gawking at them. The daughter held up her cell phone. Was she filming this? Vivian realized how she looked in her bloody jeans.

“Let’s step into the sacristy,” Father Adrian said.

She followed him into the room from which he’d just come. Gold chalices, robes, and books were stacked on a shelf against the far wall. He closed the door behind them and turned on a desk lamp.

“There isn’t much time,” she said. “I need to know if you can help us.”

“Tell me what’s going on.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. At least he was listening.

“My son isn’t himself anymore,” she said. “Something has taken his body. I thought all this time he was talking to an imaginary friend, but it’s not. And now it’s taken control of him.”

“I have to ask.” He folded his arms. “Have you had anything to drink today? Any medication?”

“I’m sober, and I’m not crazy.”

“Okay. When did you first see this change in him?”

“Last night.”

“And where is his father?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” she asked.

“Please don’t take offense. Sometimes children from broken homes act out in strange ways.”

Cody stirred, and she froze. Was he waking up? She couldn’t let that happen here. At least if they were still on the road, she could pretend that they hadn’t strayed from the plan. He settled back down.

“Listen, either you can help me,” she said. “Or I have to go.”

“No, please stay. I’m listening. Just let me look at him.”

She gently moved Cody from her shoulder and cradled him in her arms.

“Something’s wrong.” Father Adrian put his hand over Cody’s forehead.

“What do you think I’ve been trying to tell you?”

“No.” He hurried over and picked up his phone from the desk. “He looks really sick. We have to get him to a doctor.”

“We can’t.” She looked down at Cody’s ghost pale skin. At the curls clinging to his forehead. “We have to get this thing out of him first.”

“Listen to me. Demons don’t exist.” He punched in some numbers. “Nobody sleeps like that. When was the last time he’s eaten?”

“You don’t understand,” she said. “I gave him a pill so he could sleep.”

“Excuse me.” He glared at her. “What did you give him?”

Her chest felt empty. This was her last option. Her only chance to stop Mister Vincent.

“What did you give him?” Father Adrian demanded.

“I’m sorry.” She took a step back. “But there’s nothing you can do for us.”

“No. Wait.” He moved over to her. “We can help him.”

“Any moment now, my son will wake up. God help us then.”

“Don’t say that, Mommy.” Cody stared up at her. She nearly dropped him. “You’ve been telling our secrets.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I haven’t said a word.”

“You know I can’t let him leave now.” He reached out and grasped the man’s hand. Father Adrian recoiled, as if in pain.

“A church, Vivian?” Cody appeared oblivious to the priest now. “That was your great plan?”

Was this it? Would she end up like Erika? She grabbed his cheeks.

“I know that you’re in there, baby,” she said. “I love you.”

“If you don’t put me down now, I’ll tear Cody Town from your son. I’ll leave him to be devoured.”

She immediately set him on the floor, and his legs wobbled. The drugs were still working.

“Please don’t hurt him,” she said.

“I’ll deal with you later.”

A loud clatter. Then the lights dimmed. She looked up to see Father Adrian knock a lamp from the desk. Shadows rolled across the walls as the priest clutched his hands to his head. Seconds later, he raced past them into the main hallway.

“We’d better go.” Cody held out his hand. “I think that man’s a cutter.”

“What?” she asked. “What are you talking about?”

A woman’s scream echoed into the room. Seconds later, a man’s yell chilled Vivian’s blood. It was beginning.

V
ivian ran out
of the sacristy to the altar. Dozens of screaming people bottlenecked at the front door. In the commotion, she couldn’t see Father Adrian. Every chandelier shut off at once. She looked down at Cody.

“What did you do to him?” she demanded.

“You might want to keep it down.” His eyes seemed to shine in the darkness. “They won’t attack me once they’ve turned, but you’re a bright little flower, aren’t you?”

“Shut up.” She couldn’t take that voice coming from her baby anymore. “Just shut your mouth.”

“I’m not the one who needs to quit drawing attention to themselves.”

“Please don’t,” a woman yelled in the main hall, followed by a cry of pain that was cut short.

She picked up Cody and crept across the carpet. Dim light filtered through rows of stained-glass windows above. A squishing noise filled her ears as she stepped.

“Careful.” Cody pointed down.

The custodian lay on the floor in a pool of blood, clutching his neck. He stopped shaking. Then his muscles relaxed.

Directly ahead, the exit seemed miles away. Parishioners rushed outside, until she couldn’t see anyone else in the church. She stepped around the corpse, and then over to the brass gate.

Maybe fifty feet down the center aisle, a man knelt between her and the light of the front door. It had to be the priest. He hummed over the sounds of ripping cloth.

“Move slowly,” the voice inside Cody whispered. “He might not even notice you.”

She gently opened the gate to the altar. Just as she stepped through, it slipped from her sweaty fingers. The metal bars clanged shut.

Father Adrian spun and faced her. Beside him, she could barely see a woman lying on her back.

“There you are.” He sat poised. “Come here. I’ve found the problem.”

“You’d better talk to him,” the voice inside Cody said. “You don’t want to rile that man.”

“What problem did you find?” She tried to sound calm.

“I can save these people. I can finally save them.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” she said.

“Come here. I’ll show you.”

His reached inside the stomach cavity of the woman lying beside him and began a sawing motion.

“She’s still alive,” she told Cody. “Stop this. I’ll take you anywhere.”

“It’s beyond anyone’s control now,” he said. “Even mine.”

“I always knew that men were flawed by design,” Father Adrian said over his shoulder. “But I never understood why.” He yanked a handful of flesh free from the woman. Her muffled scream sounded as if the air had been stolen from her lungs. “It’s this organ right here that’s the problem. All this time, it’s been in front of me.”

Vivian darted along the first pew.

“Where are you going?” he shouted from behind.

The aisle ended with a huge crucifix. She turned right. A loud thumping sound gained on them. Glancing back, she saw the priest leap over seats to get to her.

“You’re not clean,” he shouted. “Don’t you go outside.”

She reached the back wall just as the man cleared the last bench. He landed between her and the door. His deep breaths sounded angry.

“Please just listen to me.” She set Cody on the floor.

“I need to fix these people.” He pointed a sharp object at her. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m here to help you.” She struggled to catch her breath. “That’s all.”

“Why did you run?” he demanded.

“I just wanted to find people for you to fix.”

For a second, he studied her.

“That’s good thinking,” he said as if nothing had happened. “It’s too big a task for one man. Of course, you know I’m going to have to clean you first.”

“Not yet.” She stepped back.

He lunged at her and snatched her shirt. Shadows whirled around. Her head smacked the carpet. She looked up to find him sitting on top of her. He pulled up her shirt, exposing her stomach.

“I didn’t want this.” Cody stood over her. The priest seemed oblivious to him. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“This might sting a bit.” The man brought the knife down.

“Stop,” she shouted. “You’re making a mistake.”

“What?”

“Not yet…” What could she say? “You can’t fix me yet.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked with an earnest look on his face.

“You can’t fix me because you’re still broken,” she said.

“Jesus Christ our savior has allowed me to see. He will guide my hand.”

“You’re wrong. You’re just like the rest of us.” She pointed to his chest. “Look.”

He lifted his shirt.

“My God.” He removed his glasses and wiped his forehead with his sleeve. “We’re going to have to take care of this right now.”

He stood and helped her up.

“Not bad.” Cody began clapping.

“I might need your help to get all of it.” Father Adrian unbuttoned his shirt. “I don’t want it growing back.”

“I’ll make sure.” Her heart pounded. They walked to the center aisle, and he sat down.

In the candlelight, she could see the blade in his hand was a box cutter. He began carving into his own stomach, and she turned away.

Jarod had been a bastard from the start, but this man had been decent. It had only taken one touch from Mister Vincent to drive him insane. Erika, too.

The priest moaned. In her peripheral view, she could see him wrestling deeper and deeper into his own stomach until he finally slumped over. She turned to Cody.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked.

“Your kind has been alone, unsupervised for too long now, like a festering sore,” he said matter-of-factly. “I’ve got to clean the infection before I can make way for the others.”

“You want to kill everyone?” She didn’t even see how that was possible, even for him.

“Don’t you worry,” he said. “I’m sure that we’ll find some use for you. Maybe a handful of others.”

“A use?” She stood in a daze. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“We’d better go now.” Cody held out his hand. She pulled hers back.

“I choose who to turn, and I like you firing on all six.” He walked over to her and forced her to take his hand.

The front doors to the church sat wide open. Nothing stood between Mister Vincent and that meeting now. When he was finished with Jarod’s family, he’d unleash his hell on San Francisco. Then what? New York. Then Tokyo? No matter what, she couldn’t let that happen. Tears filled her eyes as she thought of what that might mean.