“DeLuca residence.” I didn’t recognize the voice. Not really surprising. It sounded like a kid, and several of Bruno’s siblings had been breeding like bunnies. I’m not sure how he can even keep track of them all.
I didn’t bother with greetings. If I started in on the niceties and checking on all the family I could be talking for a week. “I need Matty’s direct number. It’s an emergency.”
“Hang on. He’s right here.” By the muffled sound of what followed, the kid had put his hand over the speaker. It didn’t make a difference to vampire hearing. “Uncle Matty, it’s for you. She says it’s an emergency.”
He took the phone. “Hello?”
“Matty? It’s me.”
“Celia . . . look, I’m really sorry, but—”
I interrupted him before he could say more. I didn’t want to talk about Bruno. I couldn’t even afford to think about him right now. There was no time and I couldn’t afford the distraction. “Matty, this isn’t about Bruno. It’s about the demon, the one you helped banish in the stadium parking lot. He’s back and he’s actively trying to get into this dimension.”
Matty didn’t swear, but I could tell he wanted to. He gave a sharp intake of breath and there was the sound of a door being firmly closed. “Tell me.”
I did. Even talking as quickly as I could, it took a few minutes to cover it all. But he was a good listener and smart. He let me get it all out before he started asking questions.
“So one of the summoners is dead, but there’s at least one more out there.”
That pretty well summed it up. Someone was still pulling the strings and my money was on Ren. A family that summons together and all that. “Yes.”
“And he’s targeted you specifically? Spoke directly into your mind?”
“Yes.”
“All right. When you were hurt last time, when the demon actually touched you, what did the priests at the hospital do?”
“They cleaned the wounds with holy water and blessed me. Why?”
He swore again. “They didn’t do a full exorcism?”
“No. I wasn’t possessed. They didn’t think it was necessary.”
Matteo gave out a growl that would do Kevin proud in wolf form. “Is that what they said?”
“Yes.”
“So they didn’t do an exorcism.”
Now I let out an exasperated breath and stopped pacing around the room. “Didn’t I just say that? I think I’d remember an exorcism, Matty. They’re supposed to be pretty intense.”
He swore some more. I was pretty sure a few of the words weren’t approved by the order. “All right. I can’t be sure without looking for myself, but I’m guessing that what we have here is a breach. Working with demons stains the soul. The more you do it, the more of a tie you have with them. Eventually they can and do use the summoner himself as a doorway to get into our reality. Being injured the way you were marked you—creating a link between you and the demon. Killing the first summoner closed one door.”
“But—”
“But you’ve been marked. If there’s another summoner, that person can bring him over and he can use the mark to home right in on you.”
It was my turn to swear. I wasn’t precisely surprised, but I’d hoped for better news. “Is there any way to
Silence dragged on for what seemed like an eternity. “Maybe,” he admitted. “If you were human, I’d suggest a full exorcism. But with you being part vampire—”
He didn’t have to finish. I knew the answer. “It could kill me.”
“Yeah.”
I didn’t even hesitate. Better to die clean than risk eternity with a demon. “How long would it take you?”
“Let me get in touch with a few people. In the meantime, get to a church—”
I interrupted him. “Can’t. We’re going after the other summoner. Is there anything we can do for now? Some sort of ‘patch’?”
“You need a priest.” His voice was hard, unyielding. “You’ll be slaughtered without one. And if you die now, with the demon having marked you—”
I shuddered. I couldn’t help it. The problem was there weren’t any priests on Serenity. Ren had fetched the one this afternoon from freaking Italy. Then again, knowing what I did now, that could’ve been a stalling tactic. But even if there was a local church, they certainly hadn’t ever needed one of the militant orders. No monsters. Not until now.
“I’ll catch the next plane.”
I shook my head while everyone in the room stared at me. The sirens’ expressions made me think they were eavesdropping through my own mind. Creede was probably listening in with magic. “There’s not enough time.”
“Make time, Celia. I’m serious. People will die, but that’s nothing compared to what will happen to you.”
Pale and trembling, Okalani began tugging at my sleeve. They’d brought her to the infirmary to be checked for shock. She’d come up clean, but she and her mother hadn’t left yet.
“Hang on, Matty.” I covered the receiver. “Yes, Okalani?”
“I can bring him here. I just need to see where he is.” She was scared enough that I could see white all around the pupils of her eyes. But she was determined, too, and smart. I hadn’t even thought about what she was proposing. Good kid.
It seemed like the longest few minutes of my life, waiting for Okalani to reappear. Hiwahiwa had come back with my food.
I felt the familiar lurch and Okalani and Matty were in front of me.
A Catholic priest from the Order of St. Michael, Matty is one of God’s own warriors. He’d be impressive under any circumstances—the DeLuca boys aren’t small and Matty works out hard. He was even more impressive than usual at that moment, having come prepared. He was carrying a black bag that looked like a doctor’s bag; a large water cannon filled with what was probably a quart of holy water; a silver tube on a sling that I knew from past experience held communion wafers; and a sawed-off shotgun whose shells were undoubtedly filled with silver shot. Even the queen raised her eyebrows before putting one hand to her chest and bowing her head in a gesture of respect.
Matty opened the black bag, pulled out a small jar of oil, and stepped in front of me.
“All right. This is a short-term solution only. As soon as this is all over, you and I are going to the nearest church and doing the full exorcism. Understood?”
He sounded so much like his uncle Sal it was uncanny. Absolute authority.
“Yes, sir.”
“All right.” He took a deep breath, made the sign of the cross, and began murmuring a prayer in Latin. I felt movement in the air; it coalesced into heat. He poured a tiny amount of oil onto his fingers and anointed my head with the sign of the cross.
It burned. I screamed and dropped to my knees, blinded and gasping with pain, my eyes streaming tears. Seconds later, I could see again. People began to rush to my side, but Matty held out his hand for them to stop. His cross was glowing with a white light so bright it was like a tiny dwarf star.
Everyone stood still, but it was obvious they didn’t like it. He continued to chant and I screamed as fast as I could draw breath. For long seconds I thought I might die, almost hoped I would, just to end the agony. And then, as abruptly as if a switch had been hit, it was over.
“You okay?” Creede was on his knees beside me instantly. He gently smoothed my hair back from my face and looked down at me with worried eyes. I was still too shaken to speak easily, but I nodded and managed to gasp out the word, “Peachy.”
Matty snorted while Okalani gave a nervous giggle. But Creede just looked at me. After a long moment when he did nothing but clench and unclench one fist, he shook his head and pulled back. “I think this is a bad idea. You
