Hades

26 See No Evil, Hear No Evil

AT first she looked like an ordinary woman, tense and wary of the strangers standing in her doorway, but a woman nonetheless. She was wearing a cotton chemise that reached her knees and would have been pretty had it not been torn, blackened, and stained with blood. Her long, dark hair was a tangled mess around her shoulders and she crouched by the grate of the fireplace grabbing fistfuls of soot and spilling it onto the bare boards. Her knees were scuffed and cut as if she had dragged herself across the floor. Had I been physically present my first instinct would’ve been to go to her aid, help her to her feet, and comfort her. Instead I looked to Ivy and Gabriel, but they didn’t move. I realized why when I focused on the eyes looking back at us and saw that they no longer belonged to Sister Mary Clare. The others saw it too, and Molly let out a stifled cry and edged behind Xavier, whose face reflected mixed emotions. His expression shifted from pity to disbelief to disgust and back again in a matter of seconds. This was something he’d never had to deal with before and he wasn’t sure what the appropriate response was.

The young nun, who couldn’t be more than twenty, was crouched on the floor, looking closer to an animal than any kind of human. Her face was twisted grotesquely, her eyes huge, black, and unblinking. Her lips were cracked and swollen and I could see the points where her teeth had pierced right through the flesh. A row of intricate symbols had been branded into the skin on her arms and legs. The room itself was in no better shape. The mattress and linen had been torn to shreds and scratches were gouged into the floor and ceiling. Words were scrawled on the walls in an ancient script I couldn’t decipher. I wondered for a moment how the walls had come to be smeared with coffee until I realized it wasn’t coffee, but blood. The demon cocked its head to one side like a curious dog, and its gaze lingered on the visitors. There was a long, deep silence, until the demon snarled again, gnashing its teeth. Its head darted rapidly from side to side, looking for a point of escape.

Ivy and Gabriel moved in tandem, ushering the others back and sweeping into the room. The demon’s eyes widened as it spat viciously at them. The saliva was tinged red from having bitten its tongue. I noticed that it didn’t need to blink and could focus with frightening precision. Ivy and Gabriel joined hands and the demon screamed as if this gesture alone caused intense pain.

“Your time on this earth is over.” Gabriel fixed his steellike gaze on the creature, his voice full of righteousness and authority. The demon stared for a moment before recognition dawned and its face cracked into a hideous smile. I saw that Sister Mary Clare’s teeth had been ground into uneven stumps.

“What are you going to do?” the demon jeered, its voice singularly high-pitched and scratchy. “Vanquish me with holy water and crucifixes?”

Ivy’s demeanor did not change. “Do you really think we need toys to destroy you?” she asked in a voice like water flowing over river stones. “The Holy Spirit is alive in us. It will soon fill this room. You will be cast back into the abyss from which you sprang.”

If the demon was alarmed, it didn’t show it. Instead, it deftly changed the subject. “I know who you are. One of your kind belongs to us now. The little one …”

Xavier looked as if he were about to step forward and take a swing at the creature, but Molly gripped his arm and with some effort, he turned his face away. “It knows our weaknesses,” I heard him murmur to himself like a mantra. “It plays on our weaknesses.” Xavier may not have had any direct experience with possession before, but he’d learned enough from Sunday School to know how the Devil worked.

“It’s funny you should mention that,” Gabriel said to the demon. “It’s exactly what we wanted to talk to you about.”

“You think I’m a whistleblower?” the demon hissed.

“You will be,” Ivy replied pleasantly.

The demon glanced over her shoulder and its eyes flashed. Suddenly, a blast of wind lifted Xavier off his feet and threw him against a wall. He slid onto the ground and to my horror an invisible force began to drag him across the floor.

“Stop it!” Molly screamed, reaching for him.

“Molly, no!” Xavier yelled and gritted his teeth as he was flung against the steel bed frame. “Stay there.”

“You threaten, I threaten,” the demon taunted as Xavier struggled against its hold.

“Enough.” Gabriel thrust his palm forward in a pushing motion and the demon cried out and seemed to crumple in pain. It was obvious whose power was dominant. “We’re not interested in playing games,” he said darkly. “We want to find a portal.”

“Are you out of your mind?” the demon growled. “Do you have a death wish?”

“We have come to reclaim our sister,” Ivy said. “And you will tell us how to find her.”

“Make me!” the demon spat.

“If you insist.” There was a sound like muffled fireworks and then streams of white light began to pour from Ivy’s fingertips. As she flexed and twisted her fingers the strands of light seemed to enter into the body of the demon like electric shocks. It let out a feral howl and clawed at its torso.

“Stop!” it screamed. “Stop! Stop!”

“Will you tell us what we seek to know?” Ivy asked. She turned her palm slowly from side to side so the beams of light twisted inside the demon and it shrieked even louder. Ivy was choosing her method carefully. I knew the Holy Light would sear the demon, but leave Sister Mary Clare’s body completely unharmed.

“Yes,” it screeched. “I’ll help you. Stop!”

Ivy snapped her hand into a fist and the light vanished. The demon collapsed on the floor exhausted.

“Easily convinced, aren’t they?” Gabriel muttered.

“No sense of loyalty,” my sister replied with disdain before rounding on the creature. “Where is the nearest portal?” she demanded.

“It doesn’t matter,” the demon croaked. “You’ll never get through it.”

“Answer the question,” Gabriel said. “How did you get here?”

“Why don’t you just send me back?” the demon tried to stall. “That’s what you’ve come to do, isn’t it? Are you really willing to let me fester inside this poor girl just to fulfill your own agenda?” It clicked its tongue as if to indicate disappointment. “Some angels.”

Gabriel made the Sign of the Cross very slowly and deliberately, and when he finished, he seemed to catch something in his hand. He drew back his arm and launched it at the demon. Although it was invisible, the thing collided with the demon with incredible force and it yelped, spraying foam from its mouth across the floor.

“There’s a place called Broken Hill down in Alabama,” it gasped. “There’s a train station there. Years ago there was a train wreck. Sixty people died. The closest portal is there.”

“Shouldn’t there be a portal in Venus Cove?” Xavier snapped. “The one Jake took Beth through?”

“Powerful demons can conjure portals at will,” Gabriel replied. “That one was only temporary to serve Jake’s purpose.”

Xavier glanced at the demon on the floor. “But how do we know it’s telling the truth?”

“If there was a train wreck in Broken Hill it could be true,” Ivy said. “Traumatic events causing loss of innocent lives can result in the formation of a portal.” She hesitated. “Still, it could be lying. Gabe, can you get inside its mind — see if it’s telling the truth?”

A look of repulsion crossed Gabriel’s face as he contemplated reaching inside the mind of such a creature. He’d told me once that a demon’s mind was thick and clogged with a sticky black substance like tar. That’s why exorcisms were so draining for the afflicted human beings. Once that stuff got inside of you, it stuck. It clung to you like glue, infecting you and spreading like a fungus until every inch of you belonged to them. Some humans didn’t survive the separation. It was like tearing apart two souls; only one half didn’t want to be separated. It was a vicious tug-of-war with the human body as the rope. I knew that once the demon had surrendered the information my siblings needed, they would have to tear it out of Sister Mary Clare. I didn’t want to watch, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn away. Gabriel closed his eyes and the demon clutched the sides of its head as if a sudden migraine had come on. A few moments later, my brother withdrew, disgust written all over his perfect features.

“It speaks the truth,” he said.

“So if we find the portal we’ll be able to get Beth back?” Xavier asked.

“If only it were that easy,” the demon cackled. “You’ll never get through it.”

“There is always a way,” said Ivy in a level voice.

“Oh, yes,” the demon snickered. “Though I wouldn’t try and trick your way in. You may find you’re not able to get out.”

“We don’t resort to tricks,” Gabriel said.

“You could always bargain her back,” the thing suggested, its lip curling maliciously as its empty, black eyes fell on Xavier. “Trade him for her. And you’d do it, wouldn’t you, boy? I can see it in your eyes. You’d sacrifice your soul to save her. It’s a high price to pay for something that isn’t even human. How do you know she even has a soul? She’s just like me — except working for a rival corporation.”

“I’d shut my mouth if I were you.” Xavier scraped his walnut-colored hair away from his face and I caught a flash of my promise ring on his hand. In his black T-shirt and jeans he didn’t look celestial like my brother and sister, but he looked tall and strong and thoroughly pissed off. I could tell he wanted to wipe the smirk off its face, but Xavier could never bring himself to hit a girl, even one who was possessed.

“Hit a nerve, have we?” the demon crooned.

I thought Xavier might snap, but instead, his tense posture relaxed and he leaned against the wall, surveying the creature coolly.

“I feel sorry for you,” he said slowly. “I guess you wouldn’t know what it’s like to be loved or wanted by anybody. You’re right, though; Beth isn’t human, because humans have a soul that they struggle all the time to stay in touch with. Every day is a battle for them to listen to their conscience and do the right thing. If you knew Beth at all you’d know that she doesn’t have a soul, she’s all soul. She’s filled with it, more than any human possibly could be. You wouldn’t know that because emptiness and hatred is all you’ve ever known. But that won’t win out in the end — you’ll see.”

“You’re very cocky for a mere human,” the demon replied. “How do you know fate won’t tempt your soul to become as black and twisted as mine?”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Ivy said with a smile. “His soul is already marked as one of ours. Xavier’s got a reserved seat in Heaven.”

“Now, if you don’t mind,” my brother cut in smoothly. “We’re done making small talk.”

The demon seemed to know what was coming and leapt up, arching its back like a cat and hissing furiously. Molly, who was hovering in the doorway, ducked as if she expected objects to begin flying around the room.

“Is this the part where you start chanting in Latin?” she asked tremulously.

Gabriel’s gaze flickered toward her. “Get under the bed, Molly. You don’t need to witness this.”

“It’s okay,” Molly shook her head. “I’ve seen The Exorcist.” My brother gave a humorless laugh. “This is a little different,” he said. “Humans need prayers and rituals to send a demon back to Hell. But we’re stronger than that.”

He held out his hand and Ivy entwined her dainty, peachcolored fingers with his. At exactly the same moment their wings opened, spanning the width of the room and casting long shadows on the walls. The others watched in astonishment as light began to blaze from their outstretched wings to form a cloud around them. Their bodies seemed to hum and vibrate and then ever so slightly levitate off the ground. Then Gabriel spoke.

“In the name of Christ Our Lord and all that is Holy, I command you be gone. Return this earthly body to the hands of God and slither back into the pit of fire where you belong.”

The demon’s head began thrashing back and forth like a whip, as though it were having some sort of seizure. The cloud of muted, golden light crept forward, beautiful to the human eye, but a mark of death for any agent of darkness. The demon tried to dart past my siblings, but the light was like a force field keeping it back. It struggled violently, but to no avail. The misty cloud had almost reached it and I watched the demon throw itself to the floor. As the light surrounded it, descending like a fog, Sister Mary Clare’s body began to emit smoke from her nose and a sizzling sound like meat on a barbeque filled the air. Molly’s jaw dropped in horror and she backed away from the scene before her, covering her ears against the demon’s strangled screams. Xavier too went pale and swallowed hard, watching with a pained expression. The body on the ground had gone rigid, its torso lurching upward in shuddering convulsions. I saw a bulge appear in Sister Mary Clare’s abdomen, it seemed to be shifting upward, through her chest, like a hideous tubershaped growth. Xavier winced as the sharp crack of a snapping rib was heard amid the grunts and gasps. The bulge distorted the woman’s throat until suddenly her mouth flew open and she began to choke and gurgle. My siblings concentrated harder, their light constricting around the nun’s throat and sure enough, a steaming, thick black substance came pouring through her open mouth and flopped onto the floor like a dead fish.

Ivy dropped her hand, retracted her wings, and sank to her knees in exhaustion while Gabriel knelt beside the body on the floor. Free at last from the poisonous creature that had been holding her hostage, Sister Mary Clare looked very different. The vicious expression was replaced by one of liberation, despite the pain she must have been in. Her face was still bruised and battered, but as her eyelids fluttered open I caught sight of a pair of pale blue eyes. The young woman seemed to sigh in relief and her head lolled to one side. Gabriel looked concerned and bent low over her, his fingers pressed lightly against her neck, searching for a pulse.

He looked up at Ivy. “It’s not good.”

My sister floated across to join him and together they began to work on Sister Mary Clare. Gabriel seemed to be healing the physical wounds while Ivy went deeper, trying to reach Mary Clare’s soul and restore it to health and to God. I couldn’t imagine the state her soul must be in after sharing a body with a demon for months. It would be shredded almost beyond recognition, but if anyone could help her, it was a seraphim. I watched as Gabriel touched her cheeks and the bruising and swelling began to subside. His fingers traced across her lips and they were whole once again. Sister Faith hurried to bring a wet cloth and gingerly wiped away the dried blood that caked her lips and chin. When Gabriel moved his hands, I saw that Sister Mary Clare’s teeth had been restored as well. My brother had left her with no physical reminder of the torment she’d endured. Although her body was returned to full health, her chest was still. Ivy remained hunched over her, eyes tightly shut. My sister’s body trembled with the effort and Gabriel put his hands on her shoulders to steady her. Bringing a soul back from the brink of death was tiring work even for an angel as strong as Ivy and I could see that Sister Mary Clare was almost beyond help. A soul, once taken by Death, was almost impossible to get back. The soul belonged to him until it was claimed by either Heaven or Hell. If no one wanted it, it was tossed into Limbo like garbage.

I knew Ivy had to travel down the tunnel of Sister Mary Clare’s subconscious and coax her back before she slipped away forever. I imagined her mind was like a mess of crawling vermin, contaminated by the evil that had inhabited her body for so long. Death was close, anybody could see that. She was probably teetering on the edge, unwilling to return to life lest it be full of the agony she remembered. The tunnel of death sucks the life out of you, it wants you to give in. It wants you to surrender. Of course, the darkness could never touch my sister, but it could still deplete her strength and being inside Sister Mary Clare’s infected mind was bound to take its toll.

Eventually, after what seemed like forever, Ivy released the nun’s hand and watched as her eyes blinked and then opened. She immediately took a deep, gasping breath like someone who had been held underwater too long.

“Oh praise the Lord!” Sister Faith cried. “Thank you, bless you.” She seized Mary Clare in a tight hug as the bewildered woman sat up and looked around in confusion. I saw her properly then and realized just how young she was — no more than early twenties with a clear face and a sprinkling of freckles across her nose.

“What … what happened?” she stammered. Her hand reached up to touch her knotted hair, which was caked with blood. Sister Faith’s mouth fell open.

“She doesn’t remember?”

“She’s in shock,” replied Gabriel. “Over the next few days it will come back to her through flashes and nightmares. She will need your support.”

“Of course.” Sister Faith nodded frantically. “Whatever she needs.”

“Right now she needs a shower,” my brother said. “And then you should get her into bed.” He looked around the trashed room. “Is there somewhere she can stay while this mess gets cleaned up?”

“Yes, yes,” Sister Faith was muttering to herself. “I’ll have Adele set up a bed.” She looked at Gabriel and Ivy. “I don’t know how to thank you,” she said, her eyes welling up again. “I thought we had lost her forever, but you have given us our sister back and reaffirmed our faith like I never expected in this lifetime. You have our unending gratitude.”

Gabriel only smiled. “It was our pleasure,” he said simply. “Now take care of your sister. We will see ourselves out.”

Sister Faith gave my siblings one final look of rapture and then hurried the frail Mary Clare out of the room. I heard her calling through the house to the others. I wondered if they would believe the story of the mysterious visitors and the heavenly retribution they’d delivered.

When they were gone, Ivy, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, let out a soft sigh and seemed to sway for a moment on her feet.

“Easy there,” Xavier said, taking a step toward her. “Are you okay?”

With a resounding swish Gabriel’s wings retracted, folding behind his muscular back. He wrapped a strong arm around Ivy’s waist to support her and she leaned against his shoulder, regathering her strength.

A moment later her wings also retracted, but I could see the effort it cost her. She took a deep breath and gave Xavier a faint smile.

“I’m just drained,” she said. “I’ll be fine in a minute.”

Gabriel began to usher the little party toward the door. “Come,” he said. “Our business here is finished, we should leave.”

Outside on the porch, Gabriel caught sight of Molly. Clearly, the full impact of what she’d witnessed had just hit her. She clutched the porch post, her hands shaking. She looked as if she could hardly support her own weight and took one wobbly step forward, stretching out her hands to regain her balance. Gabriel slipped an arm around her waist to help her down the steps, and when they reached the bottom, he wordlessly sank down beside her as she knelt on the ground and threw up into the flower beds. One hand still on her shoulder, he gently lifted her hair away from her face and held it back — not speaking, just patiently waiting for her to finish.