For I Have Sinned

6

I looked at the demon as it held the man tight, it's con-caved head held just above his. It's tongue slipped out between its teeth, flicking the air. The beast hissed at us, and a low gurgling sound came from deep with in its throat. The priest set the book on the desk off the to side as he grabbed the lavender cloth, draping it around the back of neck. Kissing the back before he did as he held his eyes at the beast.
I stood to the side, watching as he brought out the bottle, setting it next to his bible. He looked over to me briefly as he pulled the cross out from his bag. Father Barnes pulled some rope out, already separated into sections, I felt my brows pinch together. I wasn't sure what the rope was for, what he intended on using it for. Didn't he know that thing could slip out of those binds?
"Sparrow, can I trust you to do as I ask without question?" Father Barnes looked directly into my eyes as he questioned me. Slowly I nodded unsure of what I could do to help. He tossed me two sections of rope, and nodded towards the man whose back arched up from the mattress. "Tie his wrists and ankles to the bed."
I did as instructed, the demon's head whipped toward me, it's talons still dug into the either side of the man's head. The blackened charred head tilted as I tied down the the wrist of the human it refused to relinquish its hold on. The smell of rot, and sulfur poured from it. Quickly I moved away and bound the ankle to the bed before moving back to where I had started.
Father Barnes went back to the bag and pulled multiple white candles out, setting them around the room, lighting them as he went. Once finished he went to the desk, and pulled the Bible up from it, giving me a look. His blue eyes locked onto mine, and with out another word to me he opened the book.
"Exorcizo te, omnis spiritus immunde, in nomine Dei." Father Barnes spoke, his voice level and full of conviction as he drew a cross in the air. I could see why the shadows bent away from him much like they did from light, they were scared of him. I had never known that the shadow creatures feared the living but it was in that moment I knew they did. "Patris omnipotentis, et in noimine Jesu."
The creature growled as he drew a second cross in the air before them. The foul stench in the air grew thick and I could most taste it as the priest continued his speech. He lick his thumb as he spoke, his hand went through the demon as he touched the man's ears, his words thick with concentration as he licked his thumb  again and swiped the man's nose. How could his hand pass through the demon when I had known them to be solid, I had felt one wraps it's taloned cold fingers around my ankle at the last place, leaving my flesh blackened.
It was an odd thing to watch, the way he worked about the man. Speaking in the language that he was, the power that he exuded was captivating. He had done this before, I could tell by the sureness of which he spoke. He never rushed his words as he spoke, and never seemed to give the beast a second thought as he walked before it. Even when it attempted to lunge, snapping it's maw at him, shrieking and wailing.
He grabbed some white cloth from the bag he had brought, placing over the man's head. He looked down as the beast let out shriek that sound hallow and metallic, the sound sent a shiver deep through my body. One that made made my skin heat, and the racing heartbeat slow back down.
"Accipe vestem candidam, quam perferas immaculatam ante tribunal Domini nostri Jesus Christi, ut habeas vitam aeterna." Father Barnes spoke, suddenly he was flung across the room, his body colliding into the wall. I watched as the demon pulled its nails from the man's temples.
"A long way from home, little bird." It's voice was a raspy breath, low, deep and condemning. Slowly it slunk off the bed, it's body bending with steep drop. It back legs bent backward, and slowly began to crawl across the floor to me.
~~
"A diu modo in domum suam, avis paulum." The demon spoke through Alec's vocal cords, sounding a mix of a raspy breath and growl. Bucky stared ahead in horror as Alec's mouth opened and he saw the beast crawl its way out. It took form, something Bucky had never seen in his life, demons had never been solid. He tried to push himself up but it was as if he was made entirely of lead and the floor was a magnet.
Slowly it made it's way to Sparrow, Bucky continued to try and push himself to his feet as she raised her hand toward it, her posture was straight. The fear from her eye was gone, repulsed by it, as she looked down toward the demon that slowly made his way toward her. Her face was lax, as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Accipe lampadem ardentem, et irreprehensibilis custodi Baptismum tuum: serva Dei mandata, ut, cum Dominus venerit ad nuptias, possis occurrere ei una cum omnibus Sanctis in aula caelesti, et vivas in saecula saeculorum. Amen." As she spoke her voice was calm and serene. Bucky watched in confusion as the demon's pace faltered, a whining hiss escaped the beast maw. "Vade in pace, et Dominus sit tecum."
The demon slowly turned to smoke as it desperately tried to claw it's way toward her, its's body becoming wisps before it dissipated. Bucky looked up from the floor where the thing had dissolved up to Sparrow. She blinked a couple of times, her face scrunching up in confusion. Sparrow's legs buckling as she fell to the floor.
    Bucky finally pushed himself up the rest way and rushed to her, kneeling down next to her. Her eyes looked up to him, uncertainty etched across her face. Only a priest could perform an exorcism, and yet here she was having had finished what he had started.
   "How did you know the rest of the rite?" Bucky asked, slowly helping her back to her feet.
    "I don't know Father Barnes." She replied weakly, she looked paler then when she had started out the day. "Can we go back to the church? I need to sleep I think."