Haunted Devotion

33.

Linus–Nolan gets hit with a chilled breeze waiting with Gerald for Devlin's return from her case.

"It shouldn't have taken this long," Gerald says, checking his wristwatch.

Both men start to get anxious and Gerald calls Yerlin to see if Devlin called in to say she finished the cleanse.

"No, I haven't heard from her all day, HQ has been down so I couldn't send out any cases at all."

Gerald holds his head, "What do you mean? She received a text from you with coordinates and a case. How—" Hanging up he rushes to his phone as he has everything mirrored from Devlin's phone to his about the locations she gets sent, checking exactly where she was heading.

"Come on," He tells Linus—Nolan, while having to use Linus' motorcycle.

"Is she alright?" Linus—Nolan asks while holding onto Gerald as he speeds off.

Gerald stays silent, scared for Devlin and her well being.

Twenty minutes and Gerald gets to the same cemetery only seeing a body lying on the dirt covered ground.

Nolan knows right away something is terribly off and feels in his gut that the body was Devlin.

"N-No..." He runs over seeing Devlin's face drained of all color and the deep riveting cut marked into her neck, "No!" Nolan cries out holding Devlin's body in his arms cradling her.

Gerald's face stiffens with grief looking at his daughter's now dead body, "She...she did this. That bitch!" Gerald screams out not keeping his composure.

Nolan moves Devlin's hair out of her face, cupping the side, talking to her.

"I'm going to find a way. I'm going to bring you back."

Gerald listens and could only think of Devlin's relic, the one she always carries with her inside the car.

"A spell! There's a spell!" Hurriedly speeding through the book, Gerald shows Linus—Nolan.

"But her soul she needs her soul," They say as one.

Gerald points to a small wording beside it, "It can be done," Having him read  a bit of it, they nod pulling themselves together.

"Also," Gerald looks to them, "I know it's the two of you in there. I've known since you came back that morning."

Nolan is surprised but focuses on getting Devlin back, getting what is needed then reciting the words.

The atmosphere turned brisk as he finished the last line hearing crows in the distance.

"It had to have worked, right?" He asks Gerald who is waiting for Devlin to move, talk, something.

The mark on Devlin's neck seals up but leaves a bit of a scar and her color returns but who she once was doesn't.

"Love," Nolan looks to her in distraught.

Devlin stiffens just waking up not knowing what happened, it was like everything was wiped clean but not the faces and names of Nolan and Linus.

"What's going on? Why am I here? And who is that?" She looks to Gerald.

Nolan, looks, "Your father, Gerald."

Gerald already knows the side effects of the spell knowing that Devlin's memory is only set to remember the ones she truly loves, which was Nolan and Linus, so bearing a half smile he nods, "It's true I am." Devlin touches her neck as it feels restricted while she speaks. "I need water," She says, trying to clear her throat only by coughing and seeing a spot of blood in her palm. Both men helped her up by taking her to the car but Gerald returned on the motorcycle.

"Drive her back safely. Alright?" Gerald says to Nolan.

Nolan nods having her buckled in and driven to the house but sitting inside the car for a bit not rushing her to get out.

"How are you truly feeling? Anything hurt?"

Devlin shook her head, "I'm fine," Unbuckling her seatbelt she leaned over hugging him, taking in his scent, "Where were you...?" She whispered in his shoulder. Nolan stiffens as she says that, guilt washing over. "She killed me and you didn't save me..." Moving away she looked to him but what he saw wasn't the warmth she once had, quite the opposite. "We thought—" Devlin placed her finger on his lips to shut him up, shaking her head slow.

Looking back to see if anyone was near or around to see them, she slides onto Nolan holding his face.

"Want to make it up to me?" She says with almost pouty innocent lips and puppy dog eyes.

Linus takes control holding her waist but Nolan tries to stop him as he knows this isn't Devlin.

"For once use your actual head and not the other one," Nolan says to him mentally.

Knowing he was probably right he moved Devlin off them, "Go inside and get some sleep. Yerlin and the HQ will want to ask questions about what happened tomorrow morning."

Devlin doesn't say anything, getting out, making her way inside the house, into her room.

Nolan walks in a little after shaking his head at Linus who is in heat but can't put out the fire like he wants to.

"She might've been ready but she isn't okay. Her neck literally patched itself up and she was coughing up blood you horny dog," Nolan says talking to Linus mentally again.

Gerald washes his hands at the sink making Devlin some tea and soup to help with her throat.

"Devlin isn't Devlin is she," Nolan asks.

Sighing, holding the edges of the countertop, Gerald looks to Linus–Nolan with defeat in his eyes.

"It's the residue of what was left of Devlin's souls, yes, is it actually Devlin's soul? No. It's the counterpart that we call inhumane."

With a blank expression fusing with anger, Nolan–Linus tilts their head to Gerald ready to say some foul things on how they were manipulated into bringing back whatever was possessing Devlin's shell of a body.

And for what?

"To have her here. Isn't that what you wanted? What we all wanted?" Gerald says almost reading their minds.

"She doesn't have humanity? Is that where this is heading? For god's sake Gerald!"

Gerald gets the kettle as the top whistles, pouring the steamy hot water in a mug with a tea bag.

"We'll just have to work with what we got until I can bloody kill Rowen and get Dev's soul back."

Linus–Nolan holds their head watching as Gerald brings Devlin the tea while still waiting on the soup to be done.