Unclean Spirit (22 page)

We adjure you, diabolical legions, by the living God, by the true God, by the holy God; stop deceiving human creatures and pouring out to them the poison of eternal damnation.

              The squealing ceased. The basement temperature returned to normal. Penelope returned to her mistress. Paul's body crumpled to the floor. Lukas regained consciousness. 

              The flames and attending pain that had enveloped Tamara's hand vanished, as did the cacophony of animal noises, as soon as Paul's face had disappeared from the fireplace. Amazingly, Saul could find no evidence that fire had ever been anywhere near Tamara's body.

CHAPTER NINETY-ONE

              Paul's body remained motionless on the basement floor. Lukas rubbed his chest. Penelope sat calmly, but alertly, at Starr's side. 

              "Pastor Duncan, are you okay?" Starr asked. 

              "I've been better, but I guess I'll live. Sure hurts to breathe, though." 

              "It would be best if we could get you out of this cellar," Mag told Lukas. "You need medical attention and you certainly don't need to suffer another blow from the Demonic. Problem is, though, the steps have been destroyed and the windows are too small. Maybe we could..." 

              Lukas stopped Mag midsentence. "I appreciate the concern, but I'm not going anywhere. That thing tried to kill me and I'm not about to let that attempt go unchallenged. 

              "I'm in this fight, until the end." 

              "I think we all are," Vincent declared. 

              "I can't stand this!" Tamara could no longer abide her feeling of powerlessness. "I need to be with my husband and daughter, despite what Mr.Palmary believes. Don't even try to stop me. I'm going to them!" 

              "Tam, please, don't!" 

              "Patsy, I have to," whereupon Tamara made her way to the kitchen. 

              "Well, she-it! If the mizzus goes, so do I." Charlie followed Tamara to the kitchen. 

              "Well, as they say, if you can't fight 'em, join 'em!" And Saul, Marybeth, and Patsy followed in Charlie's wake.

CHAPTER NINETY-TWO

              "Oh, God, here we go again!" Starr exclaimed as the temperature in the basement dropped, Penelope's hackles rose, and Paul's body began to slither across the floor like a viper. 

              Vincent was quick to respond. 

We drive you from us, whoever you may be, unclean spirits, all satanic powers, all infernal invaders, all wicked legions. In the Name and power of our Lord Jesus Christ, may you be snatched away. 

              But Paul's body continued to propel itself slowly across the floor, moving ever closer toward Starr. 

May you be driven from the Church of God and from the souls made to the image and likeness of God and redeemed by the Precious Blood of the Divine Lamb. 

              As he prayed, Vincent moistened the pathway to Starr with Holy water. This action not only repelled Paul's body, it also prompted a torrent of hail from the basement ceiling. 

              "Here, Mag, encircle us with this," Vincent instructed as he handed Mag a large container of salt. And as Vincent continued to pray, Mag poured salt around the now huddled together group that was comprised of Starr, Lukas, Vincent, Penelope, and himself. 

              Paul's body stood upright.

              "
You think that will stop Us for long? What stupid fools you are!" 

             
But the onslaught of hail ceased. 

              "Starr, we're coming down!" Tamara called from the kitchen. 

             
"Oh,goodie! Company."

CHAPTER NINETY-THREE

              "Mom! Stop! The stairs are gone," Starr called up to her mother. 

              "What's she mean the stairs is gone?" Charlie asked as he aimed a flashlight into the basement. 

              "Oh, the stairs is gone." Charlie adhered to the principle that seeing is believing. 

              "Starr, what's going on down there? Are you alright? Is Dad okay?" Tamara took the flashlight from Charlie in an attempt to illuminate more of the cellar but the lamp was unable to pierce the blackness to be found at the cellar's floor. 

              "I can't see anything! Starr?" 

              "Mom, we're here...all of us." Starr waved her flashlight so her mother could at least see something. 

              "Okay, I see your light. 

              "Where is your Dad?" 

              Starr looked to Vincent; she had no idea what to tell her mother. 

              "Mrs. Forsythe, Vincent Palmary speaking. Your husband is alive but his soul is absent his body and his body has taken a terrible beating. I don't know if he, if any of us, will survive this night. 

              "Doctor, are you there?" 

              "I'm here. What do you need me to do?" 

              Vincent replied, "I fear that Pastor Duncan has been badly injured. He was struck quite intensely in the chest. He's conscious now but is having some difficulty breathing. If you could figure out a way to get down here?" 

              "Of course, I..." but Saul's response was interrupted. 

              "
It
won't let you in the basement, Dr. Feener. Don't even try to go down there.
It
will kill you!" Hillie Perkins, visible to everyone who was gathered in the kitchen, hovered in the doorless opening to the cellar. 

              Tamara, although staggered by what Vincent had said, was the first to react to Hillie's assertion.

              "I don't know who, or what, you are, but we must get into that basement." 

              Hillie did not repond to Tamara. She spoke again to Saul. 

              "I can't stay here. I have to leave. Don't try to fight
It
. You can't win." 

              And just as quickly as she had appeared, Hillie disappeared from sight. 

              "Saul? Where are you? Are you still up there?" A  worried Mag called up. 

              Saul's mind was racing. As far as he was concerned, Hillie had died secondary to his ineptitude; why in the world would she be trying to protect him now? Maybe she wasn't trying to help him but, rather, hinder him in order to avenge her own death. Saul simply didn't know which possibility to believe. 

              "Saul?" Mag's voice, again. 

              "I'm here, Mag." Saul had made his decision. "I will be down there as soon as possible." 

              “And I'll be with him," Tamara chimed in. 

              "You both heard what that little girl, whoever she was, said," Marybeth addressed Tamara and Saul, "how can you even think of going down there now?" 

              "How can we not?" Tamara rebutted.

CHAPTER NINETY-FOUR

              "These windows is too narrow. Ain't nobody squeezing through 'em," Charlie announced to the group that had gathered outside in the rain. 

              Cooter, who had slinked to Charlie's side when his master had appeared, barked in an attempt to get Charlie's attention. 

              "Good, then that's settled!" Marybeth was relieved. 

              "There's got to be a way in!" Tamara was determined. 

              "Charlie, isn't there another entrance to the cellar?" Saul asked. "You know, like steps that are covered by a top-opening door or something?" 

              "Ya mean like in an ol’ timey bomb shelter? No sir, nothin' like that. 

              "Cooter, cut it out!" Charlie shouted as the dog began digging in the mud by the basement wall. 

              "Best I can figer is we could lower ya down through the cellar door on a rope, Doc. That might work. 

              "Cooter! What the hell is wrong with ya?" Charlie was covered in the mud that Cooter's frenzied digging had shot through the air. 

              "Let him be, Charlie. I think he's trying to tell us something. Maybe he knows a way in." Tamara was anxious to see what, if anything, the dog knew. 

              All was quiet inside the basement. Paul's body stood perfectly still, eyes closed and mouth shut. Starr, Penelope, Mag, Vincent, and Lukas sat clustered together within the ring of salt. Everyone looked to Vincent for guidance. 

              "The blessed salt will hold
It
at bay for awhile. But we are dealing with something extraordinarily strong," Vincent said as he scratched at the hives that covered his body. "
It
will do
Its
best to wear us down, so I suggest that we all take this opportunity to rest." 

              "Starr, why don't you try to get some sleep? I'll stand guard," Mag suggested. 

              "I want to sleep, need to sleep, but I can't. That's my father over there," Starr said as she gestured toward Paul's body, he needs for me to be awake and alert. 

              "Why is this happening to him? What have any of us ever done to deserve this? Please tell me it's all just a terrible nightmare!" 

              Mag took Starr's hand. "It is a nightmare, but not the kind you mean. We have heard and seen things here that humans were not meant to be aware of. Why your father? Why us? I don't know. What I do know, however, is that we are all in this together and that any hope of deliverance and survival lies in our combined ability to remain steadfast in our stance against the Demonic." 

              Starr made as face at Mag as though to say, "Give me a break!" 

              Mag laughed a little. "I did sound a bit like an occult Hallmark card, didn't I? Sorry." 

              Starr squeezed Mag's hand. "I know you don't have the answers I'm looking for, but I am so grateful that you and Pastor Duncan and Mr. Palmary are here. I can't even imagine what might have happened by now if all of you had chosen to stay in your nice warm beds. 

              "Thank you." 

              Mag nodded in acknowledgement of Starr's gratitude. 

              "Well, I'll be buggy-whipped!" Charlie stood in awe of Cooter, whose furious digging had unearthed a steep, but short, set of steps that apparently lead to the cellar. "Didn't never know them was there! 

              "Damn. Cooter, yer one smart critter!" 

              And if dogs are capable of smiling, Cooter sure was. 

              "Looks like we've got our work cut out for us," Saul noted as he scrutinized Cooter's handiwork. “I best get some more flashlights from my truck.” 

              No one in the basement was aware of Starr's clammy skin and unfocused gaze. No one in the basement was aware of the deep growl that Penelope held in her throat. No one in the basement heard or saw what Starr and Penelope did.   

              "Your father, my brother, will be lost soon. His body has been weakened and his soul is barely visible to me now. If you don't intercede the Demonic will claim him for
It's
own. 

              "I'm here with Paul and have been all along, but my power to help him is limited. Tap into your strength, Starr. Use the gift God has given you." And with that instruction, Matthew's countenance faded from view.

              "Starr?"

              "What? What did you say?"

              "I was asking you if that faucet over there works.

              "Are you alright?" Mag inquired.

              "Sorry, just zoned-out for a moment. And, yes, the faucet works."

              "Good, I'm going to get some water for all of us while things are quiet and Vincent and the Pastor are napping."

              "Okay, good idea." But Starr's thoughts were not on Mag or water. According to Matthew, her father was dying--physically and spiritually. How was she supposed to use her "gift" to save him?

              "Oh, Pen," Starr whispered to her friend, "what are we going to do?" 

              Penelope rubbed her face against Starr's cheek. 

              Mag wasn't about to step outside the circle of salt without some form of protection, so he took Vincent's rosary beads with him on his journey to the basement's sink. 

             
"Taking a little trip, are we?"
A voice muttered in Mag's ear. 

              Mag immediately spun around and found himself face-to-face with Paul Forsythe.