The Price of Possession by Dakota Brown (universal ebook reader txt) 📗

I studied the bound man. He was white, younger than meby a few years, and had a scar on his cheek. His dark hair was matted to hishead with sweat, and his gray T-shirt was stained at the armpits and a dampspot went down his chest. I approved of the torn jeans, but they were dirty. Hewasn't wearing boots or socks. Handcuffs secured his hands to the chair, andleg cuffs did the same to his legs. I could see where his skin had chafed alittle.

I held out my hand and Darius slapped a bottle intoit. He knew what I wanted. It was even, conveniently, in a squeeze bottle. Abit more respectful than the honey bear bottles I'd used to use for holdingholy water, but still...

Flipping up the cap, I saw the guy's eyes widen.Obviously, this wasn't new to him. I squirted him with the blessed water and hescreamed, back arching as he tried to come away from the chair.

I intoned the first few phrases of the exorcism.

"You'll not have the demon, he's mine!"

"Mate, you're one fucked up S.O.B."

He laughed at me.

"Yeah, never thought I'd say this, but I actuallywant to talk to the demon." I stepped over the containment circle andpunched the asshole in the face.

The punch wouldn't necessarily have done it, but hishead jerked back into the solid chair, and I suspected the demon helped becausethe man's eyes rolled back in his head.

I shook out my fist and hoped I wasn't going to get introuble for torturing a prisoner.

"So, now I'd like to talk to the demon insidethis asshat's body," I said, hoping the demon would reply.

"Please, please, please get me out," thedemon hissed through the unconscious man's teeth.

"You're stuck? The exorcism didn't work?"

"Yes, stuck."

"How?"

The demon rolled the guys eyes and he tried to speakbut couldn't.

"Interesting."

I stepped back out of the circle and glanced atDarius. "Got some incense?"

"I have a smudge stick," he offered andpulled a bundle of sage out of his pocket.

"Have to do." I took it and pulled out alighter.

Everyone watched as I lit the bundle and let it startsmoking. Once it was smoldering appropriately, I stepped over the bindingcircle again, watching as the smoke hit the edge of the spell and spread out,skirting the edges. The fresh smoke that burned inside the circle actednormally.

I waved it around the guy and spoke the words of areveal spell.

The smoke circled around the man as I smudged himbefore settling against his chest. There, I saw something I hadn't noticed before.A charm on a necklace.

"Well, that's new." I reached out andgrabbed the charm, jerking it from around the man's neck, just as he woke backup.

He howled in rage as the chain snapped.

I stepped back and ran smack into the containmentspell. My heart sank and my blood ran cold. Shit...that's not how it wassupposed to work. Among other things, the creature should not have been able toget through my personal wards without my permission.

Oh, thank the void, a voice sounded in my head. That man is vile.

"What the fuck." I squirmed as the demonslid into me, slipping around under my skin, settling in, but not takingcontrol.

"Chris!" Darius exclaimed.

"Give it back," the prisoner snarled at me. "It'smine. I earned it."

"No, mate, my demon now. Why don't you go fuckyourself?"

The prisoner went crazy, screaming curses and fightingagainst his restraints until his wrists went bloody, then he kept fighting.

"Darius, think you're going to have to let meout, and get him taken care of. I've, uh, got the demon now."

"I can see that," he replied, not breakingthe circle.

"No, really, like, the demon isn't in control."I held up the charm I had clenched in my fist. "I think we need toexorcise this."

"We need to sedate the prisoner," the deputysaid. I hadn't noticed the other person who had joined us. In fact, I washaving a hard time focusing on anything except the hunger coursing through me.I'd just eaten, so I knew it must have been the demon's. I almost felt sorryfor it.

I tried not to double over and clutch my stomach. Thatwould not be a good way to convince Darius I was okay.

The circle broke and I stumbled backward.

Darius caught me as I crashed to the ground. He ranhis thumb across my brow in the sign of the cross. I could feel the holy waterburn my skin, but it was mild, more irritating than painful.

I hissed anyway. "Darius, just, give me a minute,hmm?"

"Chris, the longer it's in you..."

"Mate, it's in the charm. It's projecting throughme because I'm in possession of the charm."

"Are you sure?" His concerned face blockedout the harsh florescent light from the bulbs in the ceiling.

"Pretty sure."

He leaned back and helped me sit up.

"Look, let me take it back to my place. I've gota permanent circle in the basement. I'll see if I can cast it out of the charmand send it on its merry way back to hell."

"I'm going with you."

"Yeah, sure, whatever." I tried, again, notto hunch as pain rippled through me in an expression of the demon's hunger.

Deputy McClellan stared at me, eyes wide when Ifinally stood up with Darius' help.

"We'll take this part of it from here, Deputy,"Darius said.

"Thank you, Father. Ms. Price. I'll show you out."

I nodded, distracted, trying to walk normally as Ifollowed the Deputy and Darius out of the Sheriff's office. I barely evennoticed the heat when I got into the car. The steering wheel probably burned myhands, but it was all I could do to focus on the road and follow my friend backto my house. I probably wouldn't have made it in the state I was in if I hadn'tbeen following Darius.

Still, we finally pulled onto my family's land. Itwasn't much, just a few acres and a fairly nice adobe house. I'd grown up here,and now it was home again since I was the only Price left to claim it.

I parked, managed to remember to turn the car off, andfumbled with my keys.

Darius picked me and the keys up from the ground andcarried me to my house.

"Chris, are you sure you're okay?"

"No, mate.