But he doesn’t say anything. He just keeps looking at me, and I nod in encouragement.
“Okay, Keagan,” Calliope says. “Here we go. Wilder, I sense—” She sways slightly. “Something’s coming.”
Just a few seconds later, Keagan’s body twitches and tenses as dark gray smoke rises from his mouth, the force of it throwing his head back and holding him slightly suspended in the air. I tense, ready to jump in and help, but Calliope puts her hand on my arm. “Not yet,” she whispers. “There’s one more.”
She continues her chant, throwing her mixture towards Keagan. And sure enough, Keagan’s back arches even more as thick black smoke billows out of him.
“Now!” Calliope says.
I reach into the circle, careful to keep my feet on the outside, wrap my arms around Keagan’s waist, and yank him out of the circle.
As soon as he’s clear, the entities that were trapped inside of him shriek as they’re sucked down between the floorboards while Calliope continues chanting. Keagan slumps against me, breathing hard and clutching my shoulders. I wrap my arms around him and rub his back to soothe him while Calliope finishes closing the portal she opened.
Once she’s done, she smiles, but I see the concern lingering. “Those were doozies, but we got them out.”
“Now what?” I ask. “Can we do something to prevent it from happening again?”
“I have a protection spell. It’s really, really strong, so he might not feel well afterward for a little while, but once he rests for a few hours, he’ll start to feel normal again.” She turns her gaze to Keagan, though his face is still pressed against my chest. “Is that okay with you?”
Keagan nods. “Whatever you gotta do.” His voice is weak. “Just make it stop, please.”
“I’ll do my best.” She glances at me, mouthing the words,Hold on to him.
I wrap my arms around him even tighter, holding his head to my chest.
“Hold on, Keagan,” I whisper. “You’re gonna get through this just fine.”
He nods again, not lifting his head.
Calliope begins chanting, flicking liquid of some sort over Keagan. He flinches every time the liquid touches him, even though there’s not much of it, and stays pressed against me.
Calliope smears some of the liquid on the back of his neck, then asks me to lift his head. I do so, and she smears some of the liquid on his forehead in an intricate design.
After she says something else that I can’t decipher, Keagan gasps, his body tensing in my arms, his eyes wide as he gazes up at me. “What the fuck?”
“It’s okay,” Calliope says. “I told you it was strong, but it’s not doing anything to you except helping.”
He nods, but digs his fingers into me even harder, as if he’s afraid that he can’t support his own body. As he gazes at me, his eyes turn hazy. Light seems to pour out of him, and I hold on, watching it all happen, knowing Calliope is helping him, which, in the long run, helps me. The safer I can keep him, the more I can focus on getting rid of the Horror.
After a few more moments, Calliope is finished, and Keagan slumps in my arms again.
His eyes are closed now, and he looks like he’s fainted.
“Did he pass out?”
“It’s possible.” She touches his forehead, then his hands. “Oh, good. The defense is in place. I had to pull out one of my strongest spells. Those things inside of him were pretty powerful.”
“Damn.”
“Do you know how they got there?” she asks.
“Sort of. I told you before that he was told he attracts spirits, and they seem to have slipped in and attached themselves to him when they had a chance.”
Calliope shakes her head. “No, these weren’t what you described. These things had intent. They were holding on to him with everything they had.”
“Really? What do you suppose that means?”
“I don’t know.” She frowns. “I almost felt like they had a mission, like they purposely targeted him.”
