The Possession-Draft 1

Chapter 2

Noc stepped through the portal first. It was raining here as well, and a thick fog had settled over the woods near the rancher-style house nestled next to the quiet road. Candlelight was visible through the rain pattered windows, and wind chimes made soft music in the wind. He turned and beckoned to Dracul, who came through the portal next.

As they made their way to the back porch the dark green door swung open, and a distinctive set of horns appeared. Iblis stepped out, his pawed feet landing silently on the wood of the porch as he ran out towards Dracul and Noc. He stopped, his orange eyes studying them both before looking at Kira's body, which had been wrapped in a raincoat.

Dracul tried to speak, "Chimney...it was him...he-he...", before bursting into tears

Noc looked at Iblis with a cold, stern expression, "And I killed him in turn. Is there anything you can do for her?"

Iblis placed his hands on Kira's head gently, closing his eyes, his eyebrows knitting together in concentration. He gasped and pulled his hands back, blinking in shock, "Bring her inside..."

They hurried into the house. To Dracul, it felt so strange to be holding onto Kira's cold body while in a place of warmth and life. Part of him kept expecting her to wake up as if she had just fallen into a deep sleep.

They passed through the kitchen, with its pale yellow walls adorned with art made by Amira and Kenith, Marc and Iblis's children. Pictures of the family both in their true forms and their human forms were sprinkled throughout the house, and Noc looked upon them wistfully. When they reached the dining room Iblis gestured to the massive dark oak table at its center. It was large enough to seat twelve people and was quite familiar to Noc at this point. He had been patched up a number of times on it now, and his hand ghosted along the deep grain of the warm wood as if he wanted to ground himself.

Dracul gingerly placed Kira on the table and stood back, rubbing his hands over his face, "Is there anything you can do?"

Iblis was sorting through a bookcase stuffed with tomes and jars of various herbs, "I don't know", he looked over at them with an expression of empathy, "but I promise you I will do whatever I can."

Marc entered the room, having heard the deep rumble of their voices from the bedroom. He was wearing his bathrobe, and was putting his glasses on over his matte black eyes when he caught sight of Kira on the table, "Oh god...what happened?"

Noc crossed his arms over his chest, "Chim happened..."

Marc looked stunned, sure he never got along with Chim; they were opposites in every way, but he had never imagined that he would kill the one being he allowed to see under his shell. It hurt his heart to see, and he took a spot next to the table, looking down with a heavy sigh. He looked at Iblis, who was pulling a large black book from the shelf, "Honey...?"

"I have to try Marc, Lilith's Book is the most likely to have the answer."

Iblis plopped the book down on the edge of the table, flipping through it, its pages as black as its cover. The writing within it was made with vibrant gold ink and shone brightly in the light of the candles. He stopped at reaching a page about halfway through. On the pages were images of a woman, her arms uplifted, and 10 colorful orbs crowning her head.

Noc, Dracul, and Marc all watched as he busied himself with mixing various powders into a bowl, before lighting a match and setting them ablaze, a thick white smoke rising into the air. Iblis rocked his head back as a violet flame ignited above his head and his eyes turned the same shade as he began to chant.

Noc turned to Marc, "Should we-I mean are we supposed to do anything?"

Marc shrugged, "He'll tell us if he does, I just let him do his thing and stay out of the way until otherwise asked. I can tell you that right now he's talking to his spirits."