“God doesn’t exist here.”
“God exists everywhere. Hugo, Callum, are you ready?” Michelle asked.
I watched as they began the opening of the exorcism. I’d seen a couple but sensed this was different. Callie moved closer to them, and I kept pace with her. When the three priests began praying, Connor, Jack, and Callie added their voices.
The demon screamed and cursed them. And it was a tortured noise. The sounds the demon emitted made my skin crawl, but Callie wasn’t fazed.
She kept going, strong in her belief and faith that they were doing what was right. Callie didn’t even blink and flicked her Holy Water around when it was time. I’d love to say the exorcism went easily, but it didn’t. This might have been the weaker demon, but it was still strong. It took three hours to banish its filthy ass, finally.
Callum and Hugo sank onto the floor. Callum had a cut across his forehead that a flying rock had caused, and Hugo had a bruise on his cheek. Michelle’s arms had been scratched, and Jack was now doctoring them.
“That was the weaker one?” Levi’s voice broke the silence.
“Yeah,” Connor replied.
“God help you with the other one,” Levi said.
“Thanks!” Connor quipped, a little amused.
“I need to bless this place, ensure that the second can’t use this again. The well of evil coming from Luz’s cell is strong. A blessing will begin to remove that,” Callum said, getting to his feet.
“No offence, Father Callum,” Madi stated over the two-way, “but won’t there be a lot of evil in a place like this?”
“Yes, Madi, there will be. But I think it was Luz’s leftover energy that allowed the demons to break through. If we dispel that, it will weaken the second demon slightly,” Callum explained.
“Ah, okay,” Madi said, and the radio fell quiet.
It took another hour before Callum, Hugo, and Michelle were happy to move on. By now, it was approaching the early hours of the morning.
“Do you all want to get some rest?” I suggested.
Head shakes met me in reply. “We all slept on the flights over here, Sunny, thank you,” Michelle said.
“We are strong at the moment, which will worry the second demon. He’ll do everything possible to try and regain the upper hand. With his power source dimmed, he’ll be on the back foot. Naturally, there are other sources, but that one was his initial one, which strengthened him.”
“Where to, Connor?” Hugo asked as we headed back into the hub.
Connor spun around, his eyes closed as he sought the demon. “There, he’s faint, he’s hiding his presence, but I sense him.”
“Fuck,” I moaned. Cellblock blasted eight!
No sooner had we entered than we were under attack. The cameras were still filming here, so those in the command centre had a good view of what was happening.
The cell doors opened and slammed shut at random. Screams and shrieks assaulted our ears, and the lights flickered on and off. It was a frightening display of power, and I think I wasthe only one fuckin’ terrified. Callie, Jack, and Connor looked interested from their point of view while the exorcists got ready for a fight.
“We banish you from the mortal realm, unclean spirit, child of Satan,” Callum roared.
“In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” Michelle began saying the Lord’s Prayer. Hugo sprinkled Holy Water and began chanting in Latin. Callum joined him, and then Michelle, once she had finished her prayer.
“It burns!” a male voice howled.
“Shit,” I muttered. A scream sounded right by my ear, and then everything fell silent. I frowned. Had it been banished already?
“I watched you sleep,” an insidious voice whispered closely by my ear.
Rage rose inside me, and I wanted to strangle the creature who’d invaded Callie’s privacy. A red mist descended, and I glared at everyone around me. They should have kept Callie safe.
“Sunny! No! Your anger will feed it!” Callie shrieked and slammed her cross into my head. My thoughts cleared, and I stared at Callie in shock.
