I nodded. “It says he’s going to visit again next Tuesday night…,” I started. Taking another deep breath, I began to feel dizzy. “Based on the fact that it’s dated with today’s date, do you think it’s safe to assume he means this coming Tuesday? April 22?”
“I believe in instances such as this one, it is always better to assume the worst and plan accordingly,” Christopher answered. I figured that was a yes. Christopher chewed his lip. “We must act quickly, then,” he concluded.
At that moment, Lovie returned from the bathroom and faced us both with a worried expression. “This demon is growin’ stronger,” she announced. “I can feel its energy pulsin’ throughout this house. I’m havin’ a difficult time keepin’ my psychic walls up.”
“If you need to take a break, Lovie, go outside,” Christopher answered matter-of-factly.
I faced him and from the corner of my eye, caught Lovie shaking her head. My heartbeat started to pound again. “Can you tell if Drake is still here?” I demanded. “Is he still with us?”
Christopher closed his eyes, and moments later they started to twitch like he was in REM sleep. When he reopened them, he eyed me and simply nodded. But his expression didn’t bring me any sort of comfort. “He is waning rapidly.”
“Then we have to get on with it!” I announced, throwing my hands in the air like we’d spent too much time gabbing when we should have been focusing on Drake. “Whatever we have to do to keep him safe, we need to do it now!”
Lovie glanced at Christopher with a dubious look on her face. “Have you explained to her,” she started, but Christopher’s crisp shake of his head interrupted her.
“I have not,” he answered as they both turned their eyes from each other to me.
“Explained what to me?” I demanded.
Christopher arched one eyebrow, which lent him a serious expression. “Explained what is involved to save your friend from this entity.”
“I don’t care!” I rebutted. “Whatever it’s going to take, we need to do it and we need to start now!”
Christopher cleared his throat as Lovie frowned. “In order to save him, you must make a very personal sacrifice,” he said.
I shook my head in wonder, because I had no clue what he was talking about. “A personal sacrifice? What does that mean? Like donate some blood?” For some reason, the image of a ritual involving a few drops of my blood was playing through my mind.
“Blood is not enough,” Christopher said between tight lips. “You must share your body with him.”
“Huh?” I managed, thinking this was sounding like we were delving into some weird ghost-sex area that I found not only uncomfortable but also unfeasible—at least, as far as I knew.
“You gotta allow his spirit to possess you!” Lovie exclaimed impatiently. She sounded both frustrated and amused as she shook her head at Christopher.
“Possess me?” I repeated, thinking maybe I should have read the fine print before I signed myself up for saving Drake’s soul.
“It wouldn’t be like The Exorcist,” Christopher said. Waving a hand at me, he implied that I was overreacting. “You both would simply share the same body.”
“Share my body?” I repeated again, thinking the idea sounded completely unattractive.
“It’s not as bad as you’re thinking,” Christopher continued. “My domicile has been shared with many spirits over the years.”
I supposed “sharing a domicile” was the euphemism for demonic possession. Although it didn’t exactly surprise me to learn Christopher had been possessed; based on his career as a warlock, it sort of seemed par for the course. I also had to wonder if he was possessed now, because the way he dressed and spoke seemed anachronistic, to say the least. As far as my willingness to allow myself to be possessed, now that was an altogether different subject.
“Yer soul would have priority ova yer body,” Lovie interjected. “It wouldn’t be as though the foreign spirit could control you.”
“Oh, yes, of course,” Christopher agreed. “All it really means for you is having an extra voice in your head.” I wasn’t exactly happy with the current voices I heard in my head.
“An’ you would also share his power,” Lovie added. “That could be a big benefit when dealin’ with the spiritual world.” She started to nod as if she were in the midst of convincing herself. “The other thin’ ta consider is that this spirit, Drake, has been protectin’ you from the malevolence o’ this house all along.”
Christopher nodded. “True, Lovie, true.”
“What’s the importance of that?” I asked, shrugging.
“His power must be strong, considerin’ how long he fended off the entity’s advances. If you allow him ta join you, he can continue protectin’ you, only now he’ll pull more strength from yer life energy, which will make his own power that much stronger,” Lovie answered.
Hmm, I couldn’t say it sounded too bad especially when I remembered when the entity had attacked me. If not for Drake, I probably would have become a member of the spirit world myself. So there were some pros to this possession thing buried in the cons. “The entity already attacked me but Drake was able to fend it off,” I said before taking a deep breath.
“It already gone after you?” Lovie repeated, eyeing me spearingly.
I simply nodded as she turned her attention to Christopher and both her eyebrows shot toward the ceiling. Christopher returned her knowing expression before resting his eyes on mine. He then closed his eyes and reached out to me, touching my arm. He was quiet for about seven seconds as he nodded and his eyelids started twitching again. When he opened his eyes, his mouth was caught in a straight white line. “Were it not for Drake, you would not be standing here now,” he said with certainty in his tone. Then he turned toward Lovie. “This possession needs to take place for her own protection. The entity is increasingly gaining strength and dominion over her and this house. If we do not buttress her defensive aura with Drake’s strength, this malevolence will most definitely be able to claim her.”
Lovie just nodded before they both faced me. “Is possession the only way to ensure that Drake doesn’t get killed, for lack of a better word, by this demon?” I asked, setting my own needs aside for the moment.
Both of them nodded. I felt a little sick as I quickly weighed my options. Drake was losing his battle with the demon. Even worse, if it did eliminate him, it would come after me. And apparently according to Christopher, the only thing standing between this demon and me at the moment was Drake. If his power could be enhanced by my life energy and he could better protect me, then why wouldn’t I agree to it? And, really, how bad could possession be?
Famous last words.
I took a deep breath and then exhaled it. “Okay, what do we need to do?”
15
Christopher inhaled deeply and then exhaled before he faced Lovie, his expression hard. “Are you ready for this, Lovie? I, for one, certainly did not prepare myself for a possession when I received her phone call.” He glanced back at me with a raised brow like it was my fault I hadn’t warned him that he might be possessing me with Drake’s soul. Then he returned his attention to Lovie.
She quietly nodded. “I attempt ta prepare mahself for all varieties o’ unexpected situations.”
“Do we have everything we require?” Christopher continued as he tapped his fingers against his other arm and glanced around himself as if expecting to find a list of useful items for possession on the walls of the guest bedroom.
Lovie nodded again. “I believe so.”
Christopher chewed his lower lip. “Did you bring Raven or Claude?” he asked, before cracking his knuckles. “I really hope you brought Raven.”