Chapter Seven.
Callum
Carefully, I salted three circles around the mausoleum. We were an hour from nightfall, and with daylight was the best time to prepare. The demon wouldn’t be able to manifest outside yet. Well, the Headless Horseman hadn’t been reported as being seen during the day, so I prayed I was correct.
Sunny was digging a fourth circle, an inch deep into the ground, so even if the demon breached these three, he wouldn’t break the extra one.
Callie and Chey were checking the equipment I’d brought. Everybody was nervous, including me. I’d done countless exorcisms and blessings, but this one felt different. Then again, they all were unique. No two were the same.
This demon was about to give me a run for my money.
“Ready?” I asked. Chey looked as if she was prepared to bolt, while Celt wore a disbelieving look.
As if Celt couldn’t quite grasp that he was really doing this.
Sunny was resigned and determined. A man with a good heart, even if he didn’t express himself properly.
Callie was a mixture of emotions: determination, excitement, and faith.
But she remained calm despite those feelings, which only deepened the conundrum that was Callie.
Reverently, I put on my purple prayer stole and kissed my Bible. “God protect us and give me the strength to finish this task.”
Callie met my eyes. “Ready, Callum?”
“As best as I can be,” I replied. “Callie, if this goes awry, call Hugo and get him and Michelle here ASAP and keep everyone away until they arrive. Contact my church for support, too.”
“Nothing will go wrong, Callum, because I have faith in you,” Callie responded with feeling. Bolstered by her belief, I smiled. Callie was a special woman indeed.
“Let’s start,” Sunny said with a nod.
“Child of Satan, who hides in a place of rest for humanity, I command you to show yourself,” I called.
I began chanting, and the doors flew open. The creature emerged with Lavender behind it. Lavender crouched low to the ground and hissed. The minion charged, and I stepped forward as it bounced back as the salt lines kicked in. It roared as Lavender looked concerned.
“Let us out!” she howled.
“In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I order you to leave. You have no place here on Earth,” I shouted.
And the battle began. When I paused for a drink, Callie stepped up and continued the prayers.
The minion was fading faster than Lavender, who wavered between threats and seduction.
In an act of desperation to break the circles, Lavender, after five hours, shoved the minion into the salt line.
This time, I shot forward and placed my crucifix on its forehead as it fell to its knees.
It screamed as Callie threw Holy Water over it, and my cross burned it.
Without warning, the creature began shuddering, and clearly, Sunny grasped what would happen as he grabbed Callie and swung her away. He bent over, covering and protecting her as the minion exploded.
“Huh,” Celt said.
“What?” Sunny commanded.
“Well… I thought there would have been flying chunks of flesh,” Celt replied.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Sunny exclaimed incredulously.
“Let me leave,” Lavender demanded as she crouched low. She looked poised to pounce, and I was ready.
“I’ll send you back to hell,” I promised and started my prayers again.
Lavender stamped her feet, screamed, and howled.
She tried flirting with Celt and Sunny, but they resisted her efforts.
Lavender even stripped naked and undulated against the ground.
Disgustingly, she touched herself and made crude comments as she did everything possible to escape me.
After another four hours, I was tiring, and Lavender realised that.
“Take a rest for half an hour,” Callie ordered and took over my role.
I grabbed a sandwich as I watched Lavender keep trying. We still had several hours of darkness left, but this was bad. We needed to destroy them. After a cup of coffee, I joined Callie, and we both raised our voices as Lavender screamed in pain.
Finally, the doors slammed open, and the demon emerged.
Yes! At last.
He snatched Lavender up, and in a slick move, broke her neck. He crawled over Lavender’s corpse in a dark mist, and before my eyes, her body disappeared, absorbed by him.
“Give me your name!” I thundered.
The demon laughed. “My name is Callum. I’m everything you wish to be.”
He took the form of a human male, all shining darkness and naked. Chey averted her eyes, but Callie held steady. The demon howled and palmed his manhood. Neither Callie nor I flinched.
The demon was trying to unsettle us and distract our focus. If he succeeded, he would break free and flee. Determined, I doubled down on my efforts, my faith in God leading the way. This monster had no right to be on this plane.
“I command you to give me your name,” I roared.
“Go fuck yourself,” the demon jeered. “Take a good look.” He motioned towards his cock, and I ignored him.
“You first,” I replied, and the demon showed surprise.
“Want me? Come and get me,” he taunted.
“Go back to hell,” I bellowed, and the demon laughed. I concentrated hard, pouring my faith into this. Sunrise wasn’t far off. And I couldn’t continue the exorcism during the day; too many witnesses.
The demon lashed out in return, and Sunny flew through the air and hit a gravestone with a loud crack. Sunny groaned once and fell still. Celt immediately snatched Chey and Callie up and began to haul them away.
“Celt! Stop! This is what it wants!” Callie yelled. She struggled against him, but Celt wasn’t backing down.
“Callie, I won’t let you get hurt or let anything happen to the baby,” Celt said grimly.
“Listen to me, it can’t cross a circle. Pour salt around you, and it won’t be able to touch you,” Callie argued.
“Not a chance in hell. We’re stopping this and getting you to safety,” Celt retorted darkly.
“Do that, and the demon will escape. It could attack a child,” Callie spat. Celt wavered, and I sensed him submit. Callie immediately began creating salt circles and shoved Chey into one. She handed Chey two bottles of Holy Water.
“Flick that at him while reciting the Lord’s Prayer. Keep repeating it, okay?” Callie ordered.
Celt was kneeling, checking on Sunny, and I saw the throw had knocked him out cold. Callie rushed around Sunny, making another protective barrier, and then knelt by her husband. She checked his pulse, and Celt gripped her shoulder.
“Sunny’s fine; look, he’s coming around. Chey can sit with him,” Celt said.
“No. We need you both to help. Move to the other circle and copy what Chey is doing. Take these bottles and also some salt. It’s blessed so that it will burn him like water. We have to stop him. Celt, demons like these, they harm kids and get off on it,” Callie explained.
Celt looked torn but got to his feet. He moved into a circle, checked where Chey was in the prayer, and then joined in.
“Sunny,” Callie said, shaking him gently.
“Babe, I’m okay.”
“You’re dazed. You hit your head.”
“Yup, but I’m fine,” Sunny replied.
Callie cupped his cheek. “Honey, we have to finish this exorcism. I need to leave you to help Callum.”
“Go, get rid of that fuck, but stay near Celt,” Sunny muttered as he rubbed his forehead.
The demon turned to Callie and focused on her stomach. “New life,” it growled out.
I immediately drew her into my protective circle and placed my personal cross around her neck. The high priest had blessed it in my order, and the protection was strong. Callie leaned over my arm and began reading the prayers at my side.
The demon recoiled and morphed into the Horseman. It was now hiding its true shape, which meant it was weakening.
“Your name!” I roared. “In the name of God, I command you to give me your name!”
The demon writhed and tried to flee into the mausoleum, but Chey threw an entire bottle of Holy Water over it. The demon flinched back and swept an arm out. It was trying to launch us into the air again, but the salt protected us.
“Gonna rip into the soft flesh of your belly and eat that babe inside you alive,” it threatened Callie. Callie ignored it and kept chanting, holding up her own cross and grasping the one around her neck.
The demon tried to escape our prayers as its body twisted and flickered between forms.
“Your name!” I bellowed as the sun started to rise.
“Furcas!” it shouted.
Finally! After nearly ten hours of work, we had him.
“Who?” Callie asked.
“Furcas is a knight of Hell. He is often depicted as an old man with long white hair and beard, riding a horse while holding a sharp weapon. The Headless Horseman suits him,” I explained.
“Let’s get shot of his ass,” Callie muttered.
I nodded.
Reverently, I began reciting the binding and deliverance prayers even as Furcas continued to fight. But he was no match for faith and my God. Furcas disappeared with a loud pop half an hour later. The sun was high as I sank to the ground.
“That wasn’t as bad as I thought,” I lied and closed my eyes.
“Come on, Callum, let’s get some rest. You’ve earned it,” Celt said, helping me back to my feet.
“The job’s not over yet,” I replied and braced myself.
“What? Furcas is gone.” Chey yawned.
“I need to bless this area and ensure he can’t return. And please don’t say his name, Chey, it gives him power. The demon is banished but not dead,” I explained.
Chey snapped her mouth shut and nodded. I offered her a smile because she hadn’t known and then got back to work.
Michelle
Thirty hours—that’s how long we’d been here, battling.
Hugo had taken over for a few hours, letting me rest, but the demon was so damn strong.
Maybe the strongest I’d ever encountered.
This had to be one of the higher demons; there was no doubt in my mind.
It had let loose in the kitchen with a fury we’d not experienced before.
Sharp knives had been a major concern and worry as they flew through the air at us.