Haunted Devotion

23.

Rome had a nice crisp smell of rain but warmth of the sun that made you not realize what awaited in the center of it.

The driver from HQ hands me a map to where I need to walk the rest of the way with two other cars arriving having to be Linus and Hunter. 

"This should be fun," I mumbled as Hunter struggled with a hiking backpack and Linus just approached me wanting to finish what we started back at the house with the whole journal page, I turned, starting to walk, leading them to the destination marked on the foldable map only focused on the job.

Hunter grunts in exhaustion as we hike up a mountain just to get to the Vatican itself.

"I should have packed more water," He groggily says with sweat beading down his temple and the sides of his chiseled features.

Linus enduring the hike just focuses on what's in front of him while having a satchel with something HQ might have given him for handling a code 6.

"Why would you even put yourself in this predicament without knowing the risks?"

I asked him while now beside him instead of leading squinting as sweat started to drip down from my forehead.

"You, I took it because of you."

Stopping him, I place my hand on his chest, "Why? I can handle it. I was trained. You aren't."

Linus moves my hand, "I know about the curse and you not having your anklet to prevent the curse from reaching you."

I stepped back alarmed on how he would even know that, "H-How?"

Hunter wipes his sweat off with the back of his hand hunching over to take a break from walking.

"This place better be around the corner," He heaves out hot.

Wanting to know more I go to ask again but Linus grabs the map taking the lead instead.

"It's up ahead!" Linus shouts out to Hunter who is now standing instead of bent down catching his breath.

Walking by Linus I snatch the map back heading to the entrance of the Vatican now not trusting him.

Our personal priest walks out disheveled with dark circles underneath his eyes.

"Good. Hurry in," He says to us three while patting down his sacred robe.

Smell of rotting meat, incense and candle wax hit all three of our faces with the priest scurrying right behind us.

"This is Bella, been trying to get the demon's name but no luck yet," The priest blesses himself then the rest of us as the young girl is bound to a wooden chair with thick climbing rope.

"Code 6 as we've been told, yeah?" Hunter says while taking off his hiking bookbag.

The priest clears his throat before saying, "Code 6 because both their names were spoken as I was trying to perform an exorcism," Looking at me and Linus he fixes his rosary around his neck. 

"My name?" I put my duffle bag on the floor next to Hunter's.

Bella wakes sniffing the air like she knew my scent, smiling with char green ooze staining her teeth, cracking her neck as her pupils were dilated with a slit making them look reptilian.

"Devlin...oh how your folks owe us...shame you couldn't join the hell party like they did," The girl voice contorts to a deep and groggily tone as the green char foams at the edges of her mouth.

The priest picks up his bible and starts saying the main verses in latin.

"And you," Bella twists her neck to Linus, "I will enjoy making your family my bitches," Laughing maniacally, the priest throws holy water on Bella, having it sizzle and her screeching with pain.

Hunter joins the priest getting out his travel sized bible, keeping a stern stance, not showing any fear.

"What do you expect me to say? For all I know they really aren't my family."

I answered back grabbing a chair and a cigarette sitting right in front of Bella.

"Rowen! Rowen that tricky slut had us take people just for her pleasure! We never had any fun, only her!"

Shrugging, lighting the cigarette, I leaned forward, "So why call me here?" Blowing smoke into her face she snarls angrily.

"She'll give us anything just to have you. She prays to us to devour any life you have around you. Smoke you out if you will."

The priest's eyes bug out knowing this was a trap and they all fell for it, even HQ.

"Then why him too? If it's just me you wanted," I put out my cigarette after a few puffs.

Bella smiles, "Double agents are fun to snitch on," Linus now splashes holy water on her, having her grunt in pain.

I turn my head to look at Linus, "I was right not to trust you the moment we met...what a joke," I stand now getting my relic out of my duffle bag now just wanting to save the real Bella trapped inside her own possessed mind.

"Remember demon's lie and prey on your deepest fears and secrets," The priest inquires while pressing his thumb to Bella's forehead saying the same verse as Hunter.

Scoffing, knowing he was trying to stand behind Linus, I opened my relic ready to do the Go back to hell spell only used for cases like these until the Vatican doors flied open showing a slender tall woman in a black dress cobwebbed to her feet.

"How are these evil entities entering the Vatican so freely?" Hunter asks the priest.

The priest looks to the slender woman then to Hunter, "It's being bended to their evil will," A few seconds later Bella snaps out the climbing rope and breaks the chair, grabbing a jagged piece, having it sharp enough to cut right through anything, even a neck since it's held up to mine having me grip my relic more.

"Do you know how difficult it was finding you? I had your estate but then you went ghost but now here you are..." The woman smiles happily while walking over but Bella presses the broken wood into my neck having her stop.

"You want her? Try and save her soul then."

How you would nail into a wall or ground is what exactly happened straight through the side of my neck but instead of feeling the pain, blood that wasn't mine trickled down having Nolan's hand being the one injured and not me at all.