For the next twenty minutes, Lou and Stella revealed facts about Jared's initial issues at home. They briefly mentioned the psychologist and the banging on the floor. Dave and Walter mentioned a detail here and there, as if stressing a point that Lou or Stella failed to emphasize or share. Then Father O'Leary's involvement unfolded at a quick pace, like peeling layers of flesh until the bone was exposed.
Conner listened, his stomach churning with revulsion that burned like a poison. His heart ached with each hammering beat. His mind reeled at the sheer horror of the images painted by Father O'Leary's words. Jared's animalistic behavior—snapping his teeth, growling, and pouncing like a wolf—terrified Conner. Those beastly actions were not Jared. It was absolute confirmation to Conner that his friend had indeed suffered possession by a demon.
During the last three nights of the exorcism, Father O'Leary had been assisted by Father Bersani. Five intense sessions ensued, where Jared urinated, spit, slapped, and kicked. At one point he'd levitated as if an unseen entity had lifted his body, then tossed him to the floor. Eventually he had to be restrained, seated on the foot of the bed with his wrists tied to the bedposts. This is when the demon started to speak fluently in Spanish from time to time.
"Su muerte sólomente restrasará mi despertar," Dave said. "'His death will only delay my awakening.'"
Conner drew in a sharp breath. "So the demon didn't kill Jared?"
"I think," Lou said, "the demon anticipated what was to come."
"Jared didn't die because of the demon?" Trevor asked.
Stella gingerly shook her head. "This is the point where we believe you should watch the last of Father O'Leary's footage."
Paralyzed by the thought of hearing another horrifying detail, Conner realized he'd been holding his breath. He looked from the table to Trevor and Adam. Trevor sat with tensed shoulders and a pained expression. Adam appeared stunned, as if he didn't know what to say.
"All right," Conner said. "Let's watch the footage."
TWENTY-FOUR
Walter connected the video camera to the television. Once the TV was powered on and the screen came to life, Father O'Leary appeared in a paused frame. Kind, blue eyes shone with a brightness that seemed illuminated from somewhere within him. Silver hair. Rosy cheeks. Thin, slightly parted lips, seemingly frozen mid-sentence.
The priest looked familiar. Obviously, Conner had seen him around Newman. He couldn't determine the time or place, but he knew they'd crossed paths at some point.
Father O'Leary was seated in an armchair near the coffee table. It was surreal knowing the priest had been in the same room hours earlier, sharing the story of Jared's torment and death.
Conner sat with Trevor and Adam on the sofa. Lou and the others stood behind them, out of sight as if upholding a respectful distance.
For a moment, Conner expected some sort of spoken introduction to the footage. But the video started with Father O'Leary speaking the clipped ending of a word. He looked relaxed, speaking directly to the camera.
"Of course, we invoked the name of Jesus Christ. And we prayed to Saint Michael. The days of prayers appeared to be weakening the demon's strength. Jared had started to regain more verbal and physical control of himself. There were even times that we were able to speak to him without the demon's intrusion. Jared prayed with us, but he seemed less resilient, as if the possession was taking its toll on him.
"Personally, I don't believe he was surrendering to the demon. I think he was exhausted by the torment. He'd become more fearful, and he spoke openly of his fear of the demon. And it was at this time that Father Bersani and I were able to extract information that confirmed some of our suspicions."
Father O'Leary glanced down at a notebook in his hands. When he looked at the camera again, he appeared more solemn.
"Jared began to weep. He'd suffered great sorrow, and the anguish on his face was of such spiritual and personal pain that it brought tears to my eyes. He spoke of the demon's goal to overwhelm him so that it could live once again on the earthly plane. It had been summoned by man, and it intended to torture man.
"Father Bersani informed Jared that God would save him from the demon's grip. That he'd be safe and no longer a prisoner of the demon's control and torment. He would return to his normal life again. But Jared shook his head and sobbed, saying 'no' over and over.
"Then Jared told us . . ."
Father O'Leary lifted the notebook and read directly from the page.
"The demon wants to bring pain and suffering to man. It wants to kill me and claim my soul. Then it will torture the ones I love because it knows about them. It knows what we did. And it wants to hurt them just like it's hurting me.
"We asked who he was referring to. He named three people. Trevor, Conner, and Adam."
Hearing their names sent a jolt of fear through Conner's body. He jerked his head to the side to shake the chill from his neck. He was so intently focused on what Father O'Leary was saying, he didn't realize that he'd been crying until he felt a warm tear roll down his cheek.
The priest continued, "Again, we told him that God would save him. And in doing so, God would save his friends from the demon. But Jared insisted that the demon was too strong. Of course we corrected him by saying that the power of God is stronger than any and every demon, even Satan himself. But Jared said the demon would make his friends suffer and that Father Bersani and I would have to perform exorcisms until we were too exhausted to live.
"He suddenly became very quiet, as if he'd detected something in the room with us. Then he looked behind himself and
