Riley's Excellent and Not-at-all Fake Exorcism Service

Chapter 10

A Terrible, Horrible Place . . . New Jersey

"Daniel?" I called out into the dark mini-mansion. None of the lights were on when we arrived, but the door was left open. Which yeah, I could understand. Not like demons really had to worry about robbers or anything. "Daniel, where the hell are you?"

"Doesn't seem like anyone's home," Lawn said, stating the incredibly obvious.

"They are probably at the main mansion by now," Thomas hung a little way behind me. "There's less than an hour till midnight."

"Do demons, like, have to possess people at midnight?"

"Nah. It's more for theatrics."

"So why not like . . . three a.m.?" He tilted his head slightly, gazing at me curiously, as I tried to work out what my point was. "You know, the witching hour?"

"Well . . . They're demons, not witches."

"It's also referred to as the Devil's Hour," Lawn remarked, shaking his head. "Isn't it?"

"Trust me," said Thomas, chuckling. "The Devil isn't constricted to one hour a day; he's always working."

Lawn and I looked at each other.

"Anyway," Thomas said quickly, clearly, he had picked up on the tension. "Three a.m. is super late, and although we demons don't need sleep . . . we do like it."

Not that I wasn't completely fascinated by demons and their sleeping patterns, but saving Daniel was a little higher on my priority list, and I was running out of time. Without a word, I ran out of my in-law's house and darted down the street. The Beelze mansion was just down the block and I didn't really see the point of piling into the car again. I heard Lawn and Thomas following me, but I didn't stop until I was at the mansion's entrance.

Unlike my in-law's place, this one was fully illuminated. As we approached the door, I heard the voices of people partying within. And I hated it for happening, but all my gusto vanished as I reached for the door. Even with a bag full of holy water, even with a priest by my side, I had the sudden feeling this wasn't going to work out.

That was when Thomas reached out and touched my hand. Well, technically, it was the hand of some poor possessed guy I didn't even know. That made my stomach tighten into knots. I kind of felt like I had to poop.

"And, who said it was okay to touch my hand?" I went to give him a stern look, but that quickly dissipated when I saw the concern in his eyes.

How come demons can look like that? Totally not fair.

"I know I can't stop you from going inside, but can we talk for a moment?"

"Kind of in a hurry, you know?"

"I know . . ." He paused, looking at Lawn, who was hovering at the bottom of the stairs. "Can you plug your ears for like . . . one minute?"

"Um, I guess," Lawn complied.

"Think about what you're doing, Riley. Really think about it."

"You don't think I have?" I stood my ground firmly. "I know this is very dangerous. Trust me, I know. But I can't leave Daniel behind. We made promises to each other. I know our marriage hasn't been perfect, no one's is, but I do love him . . . and, he needs me."

"He might . . ." Thomas hesitated, glancing at the floor. "He might have chosen this, Riley. At least to some degree. I know his parents did – they wanted success. They wanted their family name to mean something. Maybe they didn't fully understand the repercussions of their choice. But they did choose it. Daniel might have chosen it, too."