her voice cracked. “Wendy is crazy, this makes no sense, don’t let her-”
“Crazy?” Wendy frowned, but her bright eyes betrayed her good humor. “That hurts. I don’t think I
Pam and Nicole each grabbed one of Julie’s arms. They half dragged her to the spirit trap, and holding her still for the demon to inspect.
Like a deer trapped in headlights, Julie froze, enraptured by the woman’s-the
This wasn’t a demon inside a human body. This was a demon incarnate, in full human shape.
The demon spoke, her voice deep and seductive. “Julie,” she cooed, “you should be afraid. Very afraid.”
Julie knew she was dead, no matter what happened, but if she was to have any chance at survival, she couldn’t let this demon touch her soul.
The guilt for all the men she’d participated in killing weighed heavily on her heart. She’d never considered that what she was doing was all that wrong until she saw what had happened to Nadine. The horrible way she’d died. Julie had tried to help her friend but couldn’t, and now she didn’t know how to save herself. Grant would die. There was no way Julie would be able to save him trapped in her own body with this vile creature!
She didn’t have time to think, and only one idea came to mind. Astral projection-temporarily removing her spirit from her body.
As the demon reached out for her, her spirit leapt silently from her body. She’d never been able to shift directly to the astral plane without a calming and purification ritual, but she’d been practicing, and had gotten faster and better and could survive longer on the astral plane-the invisible layer that enveloped this world, separating the living from the underworld and the heavens.
Her body collapsed between Pam and Nicole.
“She fainted,” Pam said.
“Too bad. I wanted to watch her soul being shredded, the traitorous bitch.” To the demon, Wendy said, “She’s yours.”
As a spirit, Julie watched from outside the house. Her unconscious body was drawn into the spirit trap by the demon’s psychic power, no hands touching her. She was placed next to Ike. He tried to stand, but couldn’t, and again lay still.
The demon lay on top of Julie’s body. For a brief moment, Julie thought the demon was having sex with her. But the house shook, and the demon turned to a thick, dark gray cloud that wrapped itself around Julie’s body. Ike screamed, unable to move, and Julie’s body rose from the floor. She smiled.
“I like this body,” the demon said. “It’s very comfortable.” She stripped and lay down on top of Ike.
“No, please,” Ike begged, his voice rough.
“Now I can finish what I started,” the demon in Julie’s body said as she kissed him.
Julie watched in horror as the demon raped Ike even as he screamed, even as he begged Wendy to help him. But Wendy just watched, a half-smile on her face.
The evil bitch. How could she be so cruel to Ike? Someone she’d known for years? What had happened to Wendy that made her so vicious?
Julie couldn’t stop the attack. She couldn’t stop the demon from sucking Ike’s soul out of his body. Julie watched in horror as the demon drew out a visible soul, a smoky gray mist, from Ike’s mouth. The creature breathed deeply, draining Ike’s life, an expression of ecstasy on her face as if on the brink of orgasm. Her entire body darkened and shimmered for a moment, then went back to looking like Julie, except for the darkly glowing aura surrounding her.
“I am satisfied,” it said. “Release me, and I will finish.”
Julie didn’t wait around for the demon to be let out of the trap. She didn’t know whether it would be able to see her or not, or what it would do to her if it did. Julie flew away, her spirit soaring over the valley, over the highways, but she didn’t know where to go.
All she knew was that she didn’t have much time. The longest she’d been without her body was half a day. She didn’t know if she’d survive beyond that.
And she didn’t know what would happen to her afterward.
There was only one person she could ask for help, and she didn’t know how to do it without a body.
But dammit, she’d find Moira O’Donnell.
TWENTY-THREE
Rafe stood outside the police station to talk to Anthony on his cell. He didn’t want anyone listening in on his conversation, though any eavesdropper would be more confused than worried.
It took him ten minutes to explain to Anthony what had happened since they’d arrived in Los Angeles yesterday morning. He concluded, “So you can see that we’re at an impasse. When we tried to exorcise the demon last night, it didn’t work.”
Anthony said, “But you said the demon left its victim.”
“Yes, but it happened fast, as if it was the demon’s will. Since we’re dealing with one of the Seven Deadly Sins, we know they have far greater powers-as fallen angels-than most demons.”
“You’re certain?”
“Yes.”
“What does Jackson Moreno think? He’s very knowledgeable.”
“According to both Jackson and the witch who’s trying to save her boyfriend, when the ritual is complete, the psychic leash is supposed to snap the succubus back into the chalice. The completion of the spell then sends it back to Hell. But Moira thinks because we’re dealing with the demon Lust, it’s too powerful to send back through a traditional exorcism. We’d hoped to trap it in the chalice, then melt the thing down, hoping that would incapacitate the creature.
“We’re nearly out of time. The cop on the case has a demon mark. Jackson has the chalice in his vault, and we need to know what to do. If we destroy the chalice, will that free the demon, or will it force the demon back where it came from?”
When Rafe was done explaining their situation, Anthony was so quiet that he wondered whether the international cell phone call had been dropped.
When at last he spoke, his voice was tentative. “This is just a theory based on what I know of how demons are summoned and sent back. Occult rituals are in balance-meaning they need to come full circle or there’s the potential for chaos. So a demon summoned through a physical vessel-such as a human body or an inanimate object like the chalice-must return the same way. That is their doorway.”
Rafe frowned. “But when the Seven Deadly Sins were released, they came through Abby Weatherby. She’s dead. They can’t return through her.”
“Correct. Because Fiona aims to change the balance of power. But she had Lily there. Lily is the other piece of the puzzle, the balancing
“Is that what Dr. Lieber told you? But won’t it kill her?”
Anthony said, “The theory of balance isn’t new, and I believe we can send them back through the portal opened on the cliffs in Santa Louisa. But it’s not going to be easy, and we still have a lot to learn. Dr. Lieber’s papers are a mess, and-”
“Ask him. He can tell us right now if he knows.”
“Dr. Lieber is dead. He died in his sleep before I arrived.”
“In his sleep? He has information for you, but suddenly he drops dead?”
“Rafe, we’ll talk about Dr. Lieber’s death and what it means when I return to Santa Louisa.” He paused, and Rafe wondered if Anthony didn’t feel he could speak freely. The idea that someone at St. Michael’s couldn’t be trusted sent dark chills down Rafe’s spine. St. Michael’s had always been their sanctuary.
