Possessed By You (Overworld Underground Book 1) (46 page)

"No!" I screamed, trying to leap to my feet only to have my bonds jerk me back down into the seat.

Green vapor formed on Tyler's skin, lifting slowly like morning mist. He arched, as though a spear had struck him between the shoulder blades. His mouth went wide and another cry of pain tore from his hoarse throat. The vapor lifted slowly, inexorably free of his body over the course of countless minutes until his cries of agony abruptly cut off. Tyler went limp, arms and legs dangling.

His true form hung in the air, smoky at first, but gathering solidity until, aside from the color, it looked nearly human. He bore no semblance to the horrific phallic demon I'd seen earlier, but beautiful. Like an emerald statue carved in the likeness of a god—long lean legs, a muscular torso joined to arms rippling with muscle, and a strong-jawed face with full lips and big soulful eyes. He looked a great deal like his earthly body, but ethereal, green, and glowing.

I heard gasps behind me and felt my own breath catch in my throat.

A crystalline tear dropped from Tyler's eye, rolled down his cheek, and dropped from his chin, vaporizing into mist before it hit the ground. He held out his hand as though reaching for me.

The chanting Exorcists pressed their hands to one another's, and the leader on the raised platform shouted the same words I'd heard earlier before slashing the air with his hand. The portal in the arch opened, washing the sanctuary in unearthly blue light, like the sun dancing on azure water just on the other side. The leader cried out another word, and Tyler's ethereal form drifted toward it.

"Emily!" Tyler cried out, his voice filled with so much sorrow and longing I felt my body go weak.

"Tyler!" I strained at my bonds, thinking I would cast myself into the portal if it meant I could stay with him. "I love you!"

His mouth opened, but no words came out.

The moment seemed to stretch into eternity as he hung suspended between this world and his. Something growled, and the very air seemed to reverberate with the noise. Tyler looked toward the portal as another roar echoed from the other side. Was something waiting for him there? The Exorcists seemed unconcerned, but fear etched Tyler's face. He looked back at me, and the fear seemed to melt from his features, replaced by what seemed acceptance.

"For what it's worth, Em, I do love you." He blew me a kiss. Smiled. "I'll miss you."

The air suddenly exploded into white brilliance, blinding me. Shouts and cries echoed through the chamber. I blinked white spots danced in my eyes until they adjusted to the dim candlelight once again. The Exorcists still stood, palms joined. Inside the circle, only Tyler's body remained. The portal was gone.

All remaining strength fled from me and I sagged, wishing to God I could just faint and get it over with. But that mercy was denied to me. I was beyond sadness. Beyond the utter tearing grief I should have felt at that moment. I was...empty.

I hardly noticed time passing, or the robed figures clearing out the sanctuary. One of them put Tyler's body on a gurney and slipped a body bag around it. I heard someone crying. Someone in unbearable pain. Someone who had lost everything. I didn't know who that person was. I didn't want to know them. I wanted to be someone else, anyone else, if only that person in such agony wasn't me.

Tears filled the world, and then merciful darkness followed.

"Wake up, child."

I opened my eyes to a figure with a blurry halo above its head. I blinked. The moisture in my eyes cleared, and the halo of light vanished with it.

"I see now why you loved him," said the voice again. It was a calm voice. A voice that gave me great peace. It was a voice that had calmed me countless times. From the time I'd skinned my knee while learning to ride a bike, to the time Peter had broken my heart, my body, and left me feeling worthless, battered, and hopeless.

The robed figure slid back the hood, and pulled off the mask. My father looked down at me, pain filling his eyes.

"Daddy?" Agony and betrayal gave a ragged edge to my words. I sounded like the little girl from long ago.

"Yes, sweetie. It's me."

I tried to speak, but dry sobs wracked my body. My hands, free somehow, formed fists and I beat him on the chest, pounding him as I screamed with rage. "How could you do this to me? Who the fuck are you?"

Someone grabbed my arms and jerked them down. Dad looked behind me. I turned and looked into the face of my mother. Her eyes were tight, but betrayed little in the way of emotion.

"You too!" I squirmed, desperately trying to break her hold, but I was spent emotionally and physically. I didn't want to live anymore. My parents had betrayed me, and this earth had nothing more of value to make life worthwhile.

"We don't have time for this, Emily," Mum said, authority ringing in her voice. "Now listen to me."

"Fuck you!"

She released my arms and stars blinded me as she delivered a ringing slap to my face. "Listen to me, young lady."

"What do you want?" My voice came out raw and hoarse.

"Your father and I have done something horrible to you, we know that, darling." She pressed a hand to my cheek, taking some of the sting away. "But we had no choice. We are bound by duty deeper than you know."

"Just go away." I staggered to my feet, and pushed away my father's hand as he reached for me. Aware as I was of the auras around some of the Exorcists, I noted with some odd relief I felt no such paranormal signs from my parents. "Go away and never come back." I saw the gurney and the body bag with Tyler inside it still sitting in the ring of candles. Other than the three of us, the church seemed empty. A raw sob tore from my body at the sight of the body bag. I ran toward it. Ripped down the zipper.

Tyler was still warm. Breath still came from his body, weak and shallow. The body was still alive. But I knew without asking that the man I loved was no longer inside. He was gone, banished back to the hell he'd grown up in. It might take him months to return. Years, if his enemies on the other side captured him. Even worse, he might never escape and return.

All the love I'd known in this world was gone.

Tyler was here no more. My parents had betrayed me, forsaken my love and trust. It was over. My life, my love. I wanted nothing more to do with it. With a cry of despair, I lay atop Tyler's body and tried to forget all that had been, all that was, and what could have been, my future, now a bleak wasteland of pain.

A hand touched my shoulder. I spun, throwing it off, and looked into my father's eyes. "What part of go away didn't you understand?" I spat.

"Honey, we love you. Just hear us out, please."

"I don't want to hear your lies, you crazy religious nuts!"

His jaw tightened. "I think maybe you do, and that you'd better or by God I'll throw you over my knee and spank you like you were a little girl again."

I felt my eyes go wide. How dare he expect me to listen to them after what they'd done!

Dad opened his hand, and the candlelight danced off a red gem in his palm. "This is a soulstone, Emily. When your mother and I met Tyler, we knew what he truly was. At first, we thought he was just like every other demon we've seen—ruthless, uncaring, and selfish. But the way Tyler carried himself gave us doubts. The organization already knew about him from another source, and we'd only just received word they intended to capture him. Our agents, posing as police officers, put a tracker on his vehicle when you tried to escape."

"We tried to get you to come with us before they went after him," my mother said. "We were frightened you might be killed."

"And you nearly were." Dad's voice broke. "If not for
him.
" He motioned toward Tyler's still form.

"He saved you from the train, daughter." Mum came to stand next to Dad. "He could have saved himself, but he chose to come back for you."

"I couldn't reach you in time to save you," Dad said, his face tightening in pain.

"It was you I saw falling down the hill," I said.

He nodded. "I fell. I was beside myself with agony because I knew I couldn't save you. But Tyler came out of nowhere and did it even though it meant we would catch him."

"It decided the matter for me." Mom looked at Dad. "For us. With demons, you can never trust their words, only their actions. Tyler committed a selfless act by saving you. He has earned redemption."

"Decided what?" I said, looking at the light glinting from the red gem. The closer I looked, the more it seemed the light came from within it, not the candles around us.

"We decided to save him. To give him a chance." For the first time in years, I saw my mother's eyes light with something like wonder. "I've never seen his like. His true form was...remarkable."

"He's not at all what I expected," Dad said. "And so, daughter, we give you his life. All we ask is that you be careful." He handed me the gem. "I set this soulstone next to him before we started the ritual. It drew in his essence instead of the portal."

I looked at the red gem. "Tyler is in there? He's alive, and I can have him back?" My knees went weak, and I almost collapsed in a heap. "Did it cause the blinding light?" I said.

"Yes."

I felt my brow crease. "Didn't the other Exorcists suspect something?"

Dad shook his head. "No. Some exorcisms cause backfire from the rift to Haedaemos, especially with more powerful demons. The flash wouldn't be unexpected, especially since the group tonight contained several new recruits who wouldn't know any better." He pulled out a silvery chain with a pendant at the end that looked a lot like the unfamiliar characters I'd seen written on the scroll. "This will keep him hidden from our instruments so long as he wears it."

"But don't they know who he is?" I said. "He's a well-known businessman. The minute he appears in public again, they'll know something's not right, especially if I'm with him."

Dad shook his head. "Your mother works in intelligence gathering for the organization. She'll alter his records to remove all records of his possession. And for most of those here tonight, if they see him again, they'll assume he's like any other person we've successfully exorcised."

"We're supposed to be administering a memory block to you at this very moment," Mum said. "So it's very important you never mention any of this to anyone. Are we clear?"

Somewhere my body found more moisture, and tears welled in my eyes. "Yes, Mum." The hatred and pain and betrayal vanished, and I gripped her in a tight hug.

Her arms went around me, and she kissed my cheek. "There, there, Emily."

Dad's big hand squeezed my shoulder. "Everything will be all right, kiddo."

I laughed and threw myself into his arms.

Mum and Dad put Tyler and me in the back of the last remaining SUV in the parking lot, and whisked us back to Tyler's penthouse. Using Tyler's body to get us past the biometric security and into the garage, we went in the back. Despite Dad's assurances the place wasn't being watched, my heart raced as we entered the penthouse.

It was empty.

Dad laid Tyler on the couch, stripped the shirt off my love's body, and laid the gem atop his bare skin. Mom laid a hand over the gem, and spoke an unfamiliar word that sounded as though it belonged to the same strange language the Exorcists had used in their chant.

The gem glowed a dull red. Mom watched for a moment. Nodded. "It will take several hours, but the process has started." She flicked her gaze to Dad. "We absolutely must go now, or the others will wonder."

"Do the others know I'm your daughter?" I asked.

Dad shook his head. "We've done our best to keep you hidden from this part of our lives, Emily. That's why we don't see much of you."

"But didn't the other Exorcists see you at the restaurant with me and Tyler?" I said. "Won't they know?"

"We were supposed to be there spying on Tyler," Dad said. "Unfortunately, we had no idea they planned to go ahead with his capture so soon."

"There are elements inside the Exorcists." Mom's eyes narrowed. "Dangerous, radical elements that concern us greatly. They wish to form an alliance with someone truly evil." Her mouth formed a firm line. "You must always remain a secret."

My heart seemed to stop at their casual mention of these dangerous elements. "Why are you still with them then? I don't want anything to happen to you."

Mom shook her head. "No. The organization has done too much good to leave it to the rats now." She took my hand and squeezed it. "There's too much evil in the world already, love. Too bloody much, and I won't abandon the good people fighting the good fight."

"She's right, kiddo." Dad placed a hand on Mom's shoulder. "Don't worry about us. We've been doing this a long time."

"Which is why we need to go now, Patrick." Mom kissed me on both cheeks and gave me a brisk hug. "Remember what we said, and you'll be okay."

Dad squeezed me in a bear hug, kissed me on the top of my head. "Be good, sweetie." He held me at arms' length and smiled. "And be happy." He kissed me on the forehead.

I nodded, my emotions a confusing mix of happiness, worry, and a note of regret, that there was this huge part of my parents' life that I knew almost nothing about. "I love you," I said, and watched them until the lift doors closed shut.

I raced back to Tyler's side. A tendril of green mist seeped from the gem and into his body. I sat by his side, waiting, watching, and waiting some more. When hunger rumbled in my stomach, I fixed a meager meal and ate it by his side. Night came, and still I waited. His pulse grew stronger, and his breathing deeper with every hour, but he seemed no closer to waking up than before.

My parents must have recovered my purse because I found it on the table nearby. Tapping in my passcode, I saw several texts from George Walker.

The company you keep has put you in grave danger. Come to us. We will help.

The Custodians seemed powerful. Perhaps my parents were right about the pendant they'd given me protecting Tyler, but extra insurance wouldn't help. I called George.

"Miss Glass, why didn't you answer my messages?" His voice sounded calm, but tense.