Page 32 of Demonic Delights

“By siring a son, Sangrel would achieve his permanent presence in a human body with none of those limitations. A human body with no human soul. A pure demonic power. Do you see why we must stop him at any cost?”

I avoid replying to that by asking, “What exactly do you mean by ‘whatever parts of the human soul that are corruptible by his influence’?”

To keep my hands busy, I set to wrapping the tea bag string around the mug handle before worrying the label, folding its edges into triangles.

“For the possession to work, there has to be something in the human that can be tempted by the demon’s goal. No matter how small, there must have been a part of Andrew Wilson that wanted to kill all those people.”

“Who would’ve thought?” I shake my head incredulously.

“The overall strength and integrity of a person’s character play a role, too. Let me be blunt, Silas is an easy target.” Her lips curl with undisguised distaste. “The fusion won’t take long, especially if his eyes are already changing. Unless driven out immediately, Sangrel will take over, and then it will no longer be possible to save Silas.”

She inhales deeply, and something whistles at the back of her nose.

“The important thing is that there is still time,” she continues. “Exorcisms are only fatal to the possessed person if the fusion of their soul with the demon has progressed too far. When the demon cannot just be driven out of the body but must be ripped violently from the soul, that’s when the host cannot survive. They can be very safe if performed early enough in the possession process.”

I nod, wrapping my hands around my mug to warm them up, realising only now how chilly it is in the room.

“What happens if the demon isn’t exorcised? Does he just stay indefinitely?” I enquire.

“No. The demon leaves once the dictate of the possession is fulfilled.”

I mull her words over while she drinks her tea with audible gulps.

“What if the demon can’t fulfil the possession purpose for whatever reason? Can he leave? Or does he need to get himself exorcised?”

I try hard not to focus too much on the minuscule droplets of milky liquid caught up in the fine hairs above her upper lip, giving her a faint moustache.

“The demon would never get himself exorcised voluntarily. Exorcisms are agonising for him and weaken his power. If he can’t fulfil his dictate, he will either stay and keep trying until the host dies of natural causes, or he may retreat through a portal such as the one used to possess in the first place.”

“The mirror,” I whisper, more to myself than for her benefit.

“Yes. Mirrors are very common as portals because they serve so naturally as doors to the Underworld. They often allow for glimpses into the plane beyond our world, revealing that which connects us to it. Some say that they show our truer form than mirrors that haven’t been cursed.”

Silence stretches between us for the duration of a few wild heartbeats hammering in my ears.

“Mrs Stubbs,” I address her, hesitating. “I’m seeing moments ...” I trail off.

“What moments?” she prompts me, her attention perking up.

“Moments of tenderness.”

Like rose blooms amidst tangles of thorns.

“Moments like Silas and I haven’t shared in years,” I elaborate, seeing her confused expression.

She regards me with a renewed interest, and I feel myself blush and go from tenuous affection straight back to disdain for her.

“What I want to know is ... is that Silas or is that the demon?” I hate her for hearing me ask this.

She licks some of her milk moustache away. “Hard to tell. The demon cannot do more than harness what is already in the host human’s soul. In doing so, he may greatly amplify it, overshadowing all else. He may conquer fears that had until then stood in the way. But without a seed already present, the demon could never make a rosebush bloom.”

I flinch as she vaguely echoes my earlier thoughts.

“But on the other hand, the demon is in full control while active in the host ...” she trails off, casting me a puzzling look.

“Meaning everything in those moments is the demon’s will,” I hop on her train of thought, letting it carry me where she did not dare go.

“It doesn’t matter,” she says, squaring her shoulders. “We must act fast and find somebody reliable who’ll believe us and perform the exorcism correctly. Until then, you mustn’t give Sangrel any reason to suspect that you know about his presence and ...”