Carnal Sin

portal-out of the trap or the demon would be able to move freely back and forth. Out of the trap, it would be unstoppable, but its lust for Grant-its craving for his soul-would keep the damned creature occupied. And she also needed to get Grant out of harm’s way before Lust finished with him.

Wendy rushed toward her as she moved to the trap. At the same time, from the corner of her eye she saw Rafe, an odd look on his face, jump up from behind the first pew and run up the aisle, leaping up the five stairs to the altar with one stride.

No! No! She pictured the demon throwing him across the church, just as had happened to Peter, her first love. The lover she’d killed when a demon possessed her seven years ago. She would not lose Rafe that way. She wouldn’t lose Rafe!

But he didn’t even acknowledge or look at her. He was focused solely on Grant. What was wrong with him?

In Moira’s hesitation, Wendy hit her hard in the lower back. The excruciating pain brought her to her knees.

“I will not let you ruin this for me!”

“The demon”-Moira took a deep breath, blinking back tears while pushing the pain from intolerable to barely manageable-“will kill you.”

“You know nothing about the underworld!”

“I know more than you.”

Moira pulled the gun from her waistband and rolled over. Wendy held a knife above her chest. Moira lowered the barrel and shot Wendy in first one calf, then the other. She didn’t want to kill anyone, but she had to get Wendy out of the picture.

Wendy collapsed with a scream, a hand on each calf. One of the bullets had skimmed her, but the other went in deep.

“You fucking bitch!”

The gunfire halted Rafe just as he was about to foolishly leap into the circle. He looked at Moira, as if seeing her for the first time.

“Moira!”

Whatever had gotten into him was gone. Thank God. She didn’t have time to ask him what his plan had been, because it simply couldn’t have been smart. Not if it involved rushing a demon. Moira raced to his side. “Are you okay? What were you doing?”

He said, “Julie took-I’ll explain later, okay?” He glanced at the demon who was sliding up and down Grant’s agonized body. “Did you see how the demon used the chalice?”

“Hell, yeah. We need to melt it immediately. We can’t use it as a trap. I have no idea how to contain the demon and it broke the spell Wendy had bound it with.”

“Then what are we going to trap the demon with?”

Anything holy and pure would slow it down.

Suddenly, Moira had a thought. “I know. The baptismal font.”

“This isn’t a Catholic church.”

“But it was. Jackson is one of us; he’s going to keep tradition. In fact, Jackson kept everything in the original church, except the crucifix. The font has a cover. It’s in the sanctuary. Do you have holy water?”

“About a quart.”

“I need it.”

He handed her a large water bottle. “What’s your plan?”

“I’m kind of making it up as I go along. Do you have a better idea?”

“No.” Rafe kissed her quickly. “Be careful.”

“You, too.”

But she wasn’t taking any chances. She took her dagger and cut her arm an inch, wincing at the sting of the blade as it reopened the wound Nicole had inflicted.

He stared at her. “What are you doing?”

“Rico wanted my blood, so there must be something to it-like when we slowed down the demon Envy.” She rubbed her blood on Rafe’s arm. “Sorry, this is kinda sick, but I can’t think of anything else.”

A scream from the spirit trap had them jumping. Julie was regaining consciousness, and slowly rose from the ground.

“No!” Rafe shouted. “Julie, what are you doing?”

Moira ran to the sanctuary. The font was portable, but damn heavy. She was surprised to find Nina hiding in the corner.

“Nina!”

“Rafe told me to hide in here.”

“I need your help moving this.”

“Why?”

“Questions later.”

Together, they slid the baptismal font along the floor. When they reached the doorway, Moira told her, “Now, go back to hiding.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to try and trap that demon in here. But I have to force it out of its corporeal form to do it.” She bit her lip and glanced over at the spirit trap. Julie was stumbling, much like Nadine had after the demon left her body. Rafe was trying to help Julie, but she was shaking her head and fighting him.

In the trap, Lust was touching Grant. His face, his hair, his chest. One hand went down to his erect penis and squeezed until Grant screamed.

The chalice was next to Grant. Moira needed to get it out, but to do so she had to trick the demon.

She swiped her finger over her still-bleeding cut and made the sign of the cross on Nina’s forehead.

“I’m Jewish,” Nina said.

“Good.”

“But I don’t believe that-”

“I don’t care. Do you believe in God?”

“Of course, but-”

“Do you believe in demons?”

Nina frowned, glancing over at the trap. “Today I do.”

“Then push this font directly under the cross, take off the lid, and pour this holy water into the bowl.” She handed Nina Rafe’s container of holy water. “Then hide.”

“You’ll save George’s soul, right?” she asked quietly.

That had been the last thing on Moira’s mind but she remembered her promise. “I’ll try.”

Rafe watched as Julie’s astral self fully reclaimed her body. She stumbled for a moment, weak on all accounts. When the demon first touched Grant, Julie had surprised Rafe and took over his consciousness. He’d fought her the entire time she had control, but she’d panicked. Now, she had little strength left.

“Julie!” he yelled. “Get out of there! Please!”

Julie ignored him. She staggered into the circle and grabbed the demon by its neck, trying to pull it off Grant’s body. “Leave him! Take my soul instead!”

Julie had no strength to move the demon. Lust slowly, sensually, rose from Grant’s trembling body and turned to face the witch, bemused.

“You,” it said. “Where were you?”

Julie took a step aside, not answering the demon, looking only at Grant.

To distract the demon from Julie, Rafe crossed himself and began the Lord’s Prayer.

The demon growled, then said, “Oh, you again.”

Rafe felt his body twist as the demon pushed him with its will. He shouted a prayer he’d never heard before. It came from deep in his memory, a place he couldn’t access when he wanted to, a place that opened for him only when he wasn’t trying.

He didn’t dwell long on the situation; it had disturbed him since the Seven Deadly Sins had been released in