The Reaping: Language of the Liar (25 page)

“Because I don’t trust him,” he spat.  He thumped his head back against the wall and shook it.  “The assholes from the Community found me when I was getting supplies for you.  They put tracking on me.  They didn’t realize who I was right away.  I always meant to… I was going to…”  He paused and tried to look at her, but couldn’t make eye contact.  “I was going to come back for you after they let you out.  I bribed Mrs. Browne to tell me what hospital you were in, but the Exorcists grabbed me before I had the chance to find you again.  I begged them to let me go, but they took me to London.”

“To your father?”

His smile was tight as he nodded.  “He expected some warm welcome, like I should give a shit.  Like I was supposed to be grateful for what they did.  Never mind he abandoned me to all of that.  Never mind he left me and my mom vulnerable to an attack without any way to protect ourselves from those monsters.”

Dorian felt her heart clench and she leaned forward a little.  “I get it.”

Grant’s face darkened, then he let out a small laugh.  “I guess you do, don’t you?”  He shifted and rubbed his face again, wincing at the chains.  “Are these necessary?”

Dorian nodded, her face falling into a frown.  “More than you know.  Whatever the hell has you, it’s powerful.”

“Fucking figures.”

Glancing over at the food, Dorian rose from the chair.  “You should eat something.  The demons try to keep you weak, so you can’t fight them when the time comes.”  She handed the plate over, and he dug in immediately, no regard for manners or pretenses.  “So Grant, do you know when it happened?  The possession?”

Mouth full of rice, he cracked the top of the water bottle as he gave her a shrug.  “Couple years ago, I think.  I thought it was just stress.  Dear old daddy had me working in the Community.  Working with the Notitia, manning the computer systems, shit like that.  I had no doorway so I had no magic to speak of.”

“Notitia?” Dorian asked.

“They’re the IT guys.  The ones who collect all the information about demons and their realms.  I was logging demon names and identities in the database with the IT guys one night and the next thing I knew, I was waking up near fucking Piccadilly Circus.  I thought maybe I got drunk and forgot, so I stopped worrying about it.  Six months later, though, it happened again.  I went to bed, woke up on the tube around nine the next morning.  I was wearing beach shorts and a tank top, and it was goddamn snowing outside.  Everyone was staring at me like I was a freak, and my dad noticed then.”

“What did he say?”

“He thought I was on drugs.  He started giving me random drug tests, making me check in for shit.”  Grant nearly licked the plate clean, handing it back to Dorian and she shoved it back on the desk.  “Everything was cool for a while, and I stopped thinking about it.  Then one day I went to bed, and the next thing I knew I was in the States.”

Dorian’s eyes flared wide.  “Seriously?”

Grant let out a laugh, scratching the back of his head.  “Seriously.  I woke up in goddamn California, on a beach in Santa Barbara.  Ton of cash in my pocket, keys to some Porsche in my hand.  When I checked the date, I realized I’d been gone two weeks.  No damn clue what happened.  I booked a flight home, but before I could get on my flight, it happened again.  This time I was out a week and ended up in El Paso.”

Dorian saw where this was going, and her head shook.  “Did you talk to the demon?  Did it ever reveal itself?”

Grant shook his head.  “It doesn’t work like that.  Far as I know, anyway.  If he’s talking to me, I don’t remember.  But it became obvious he was ducking the Community, and he was good at it.  Dad caught up with me last month, and it wasn’t until the demon grabbed me in front of him that he realized what the hell was going on.”

“He said you didn’t have a doorway.”

“Yeah.  Apparently my uncle did his thing and declared me safe. We see how fucking effective
that
is.”

“I guess each of us has our own margins of error,” Dorian said, and felt unsure of herself suddenly.  How large was her margin of error?

“Apparently.”  The word was angry, which she understood.  “So either way, they finally caught me, locked me up in these chains, and here we are.”

“Here we are,” she repeated.

Grant stared at her for a long time, the corner of his mouth twitching up, and for a second she saw that carefree teen just trying to make it in a decent foster home.  “Never thought I’d be seeing you again, though.  Ever.”

Dorian shook her head, a small smile twitching across her lips.  “Yeah.”  She bit back the truth, knowing that if she told him how his failed exorcism had affected the rest of her life, it would only make matters worse.  And the threat that he might die during his own was ever present and looming.

“I guess it’s nice to see a friendly face.  A real one.”

Dorian sighed.  “That’s why he sent me up.  He knew you’d talk to me.”

“I know.”  He smiled when she looked a little surprised.  “I know how he works.  I don’t know him well, but he’s an easy man to figure out.  Always trying to manipulate the situation in his own best interests.  Right now he needs shit from me.  It must have been like winning the lottery, you plopping in his lap like that.”

It was funny how Grant managed to sum up exactly what bothered her about Markus.  “Is there anything you want me to keep from him?”

Grant’s brow furrowed in thought, then he shook his head.  “I guess I know what comes after this, and as much as I want to piss that old man off, he probably needs whatever you can give him.”

Dorian’s lips thinned into a smile.  “I guess so.”  With a sigh, she rose from the chair and shoved it back against the desk before heading to the door.  “Look, it should be over soon.  And I’ll come by if you want.  Later.”

Grant was slumped a little now, his eyes looking heavy, and he looked up at her.  For a second the demon face appeared, grinning its ugly fangs, yellow eyes flashing at her, and she stumbled back.  When she blinked, Grant was staring at her, his brow furrowed in concern.

“You okay?”

She shook her head, pressing her hand to her forehead.  “Yeah, just tired.  See you in a while.”  She let the door close hard.  When she felt a lock snick into place she jumped, but she saw Lennox standing there and she realized it was his spell.

“You look white as a sheet.”

She waved his concern away, feeling stronger now that she was out of the room.  “I’m fine.  Just a little freaked out still.”

Lennox came over and put his arm around her shoulders.  “Let’s go downstairs and debrief Markus, then see if we can get us home.”

Dorian let him lead her down the stairs where the others were waiting.  She resumed her seat at the small table and gave Markus the information he’d been waiting for.  She told the story exactly as Grant described it, leaving out very little detail other than her own run-in with him in the foster home.

When she was done, Markus was leaning on the counter, gripping the edge so tight his knuckles were pure white.  “And that’s it?”

Dorian nodded.  “That’s it.”

Markus shot his brother a dark look before shaking his head, bowing it toward the top of the counter.  “All that time.  I should have seen it.”

“It’s happened before,” Matias pointed out.  “There’s no telling when a door can open.  I can only do so much when I don’t have access…”

“I’m not blaming you,” Markus interrupted, speaking through clenched teeth.  “His mother though.”  He stopped, his voice getting choked.  “He saw her murdered?”

“Seems so.”  Dorian fell silent a moment, realizing that it wasn’t just Grant’s mother, but the woman Markus had been in love with years ago.  “He said he was sure that man was a demon.”

After a moment, Markus released the edge of the counter and took a step back.  “I’ll get some of our people on it.  We need to find her death certificate and where she died, and if there’s any record of this Andy person.  After that, Dorian, I need you to…”

“That would be a no,” Lennox said, stepping in front of Dorian’s eye line.  “I’m taking her home.  We’ve got to get the workers finished up, prepare Dash’s arrival, and get everything ready for the new Exorcist.  I don’t have time to be messing about with your kid.  Especially if you want me to knock this demon out of him.”

Dorian peered around Lennox to see Markus’ face grow red, but he didn’t argue.  “I’ll be calling in nine of the conclave.  I don’t believe this thing is as strong as hers was, but I don’t want to take any chances.  You get your new boy all squared away and come Friday, the place should be ready.”

“Friday?” Dorian asked, feeling surprised.  “You have to wait until Friday?”

“The spell will hold, lass.  I promise,” Lennox assured her, giving her arm a squeeze.

Although Lennox sounded sure of himself, Dorian felt fear in the pit of her stomach.  Lennox had underestimated a demon before, and far overestimated his own power.  If that thing got loose and the brothers weren’t expecting it, there would be trouble.  Serious trouble.

But she didn’t want to bring it up now.  As much as she wanted to stay and comfort Grant though all of this, she was desperate to get home.  Everything was coming to a head and she had to get back to training.  If she wanted even a prayer of helping Grant through this, she was going to have to throw all her efforts into controlling her powers.  No one said a word other than a terse goodbye as Lennox shepherded both Reapers out the door.  Dorian climbed into the back seat as Lennox started up the engine, and they began the drive back home.

Fifteen minutes down the road, Dorian leaned up between the seats.  “The demon knew who I was.”

Lennox glanced over at Dorian before locking his eyes on the road.  “What did it say?”

“He knew who I was, called me Nic’s little bitch.  Said I was beautiful and loyal.  And powerful.” She paused as Briar shifted over to look at her better.  “He told me… he told me that my doorway would be ripped open and an army of demons would take me.”  She didn’t realize her voice was shaking until Briar reached out to touch her hand.

“He’s a liar.  They’re all liars,” Lennox spat.

Dorian shook her head.  “Not all of them.  Not all the time.  That’s why they’re so dangerous.  You can’t tell the lies from the truth.”  There was a pause, and then she leaned forward.  “I think I should talk to him again.  The demon.”

Lennox swerved a little, almost running into the ditch, and he quickly pulled the car back onto the road, glancing at her through the mirror.  “Are you out of your mind?”

“No,” Dorian said, her voice sounding stronger.  “You couldn’t hear him, but I could.  Which means I can get information out of him.”

“We don’t need information,” Lennox retorted.  “We need to cast him out and shut that lad’s door.”

Dorian let out a puff of air, her head resting on the seat.  “I know that’s how you did it before, but something’s changing.  Something changed with me, and that’s not enough anymore.  If what we overheard was true, if they’re finding a way to rip open every door in every human…”

“There’s no way.”  Lennox’s tone was dark, booking no argument.

Dorian shook her head again.  “Really?  So do you think Matias was wrong when he read Grant?  You think it was a mistake?”

Lennox let out a puff of air and sat further back in his seat.  “I don’t know what it is.”

Briar let out a small laugh, breaking her silence.  “Neither do I.  And Dorian’s right.  We don’t know what it is, and don’t you think we should?”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Morning came, and with it Dashiell.  He arrived in a flurry of medic vans and spellcasters who were warding the place.  Briar explained it was precautions to have stronger wards.  If demons found out an Exorcist was injured, they were often a target.  Even with powerful magic users in the house.

Dorian didn’t care much, she was distracted by the meeting with Grant, and frustrated by Lennox’s absolute refusal to let her talk to the demon again.  They had three days until the other Exorcists arrived, and only a handful of hours before their new housemate came in, and they were ordered to focus on the tasks at hand.

It would take some practice to get the new Exorcist’s magic aligned with Lennox and perform effectively, and Dorian had to practice her own magic.  She was getting better at control, but it still burst out at random intervals and it was far stronger than anything anyone had seen before.  They were doing their best to keep it under wraps, but it wouldn’t be long before nine Exorcists in the community got a glimpse at what she was capable of.

That made everyone nervous.  Especially Dorian.  If one of them was in league with the demons, the demons would soon know how strong her powers were.  And more importantly, how out of control she was with them.

“I think just walking in there and exorcising him is stupid,” Dorian said as she paced around one of the heavy bags hung in the basement.  Briar insisted she work on her physical fitness since spells wouldn’t save her ass all the time.  She threw out a few punches, her bandaged hands making hard contact with the stiff leather.

“Elbows higher,” Briar corrected as she watched from her perch on the far table.  She was sitting in the center, legs crossed under her, eyes narrow in the dim light.  “And I agree with you.  You know I do.  But Lennox isn’t going to budge.”

Dorian threw a few more punches, then leveled a few kicks toward the bottom of the bag, feeling the sting on her shins.  “And he’s the authority on this?” Dorian challenged.  She stopped, swiping the back of her hand across her sweating forehead.  “You have to follow his orders?”

“Is that an honest question?”

Dorian leaned against the heavy bag and crossed her arms.  “Yeah, it is.  I get the Community has a sort of hierarchy, even if I don’t totally get how it works, but it doesn’t mean they always know what’s best.  And Lennox knows something messed up is going on around here, but he doesn’t want to admit it.”

“He doesn’t want you to get hurt,” Briar corrected.

Dorian let out a laugh, her eyes rolling a little.  “Right.  Well considering the Reaper statistics, he doesn’t have much of a choice.  I get it.  I’m the messed up kid with no control over her power, and PTSD symptoms up the ass, but I can hold my own.  They’re going to have to bring that demon out before they exorcise Grant, so why not let me talk to him first?”

“And you expect to find out what?” Briar challenged.  She hopped off the table and walked to the fridge for a couple bottles of water.  Tossing one to Dorian, she cracked the top on hers and took a long drink before she spoke again.  “What do you think you’re going to accomplish with this plan?”

“Information, which we’re sorely lacking.  I get why you guys aren’t telling Markus about my powers.  In fact, I appreciate it.  And I also get why you didn’t tell him I could hear the demon speaking to me, because we both know he would have locked me in the room and had me playing good-cop-bad-cop with it all night.”

“And then some,” Briar remarked as she leaned back against the table.

“But what if we don’t tell him.  What if I go there and pretend like I just want to spend some time with Grant?  There’s a spell, isn’t there?  To push the wards back and draw the demon out for a short period of time?”

“Yes,” she said slowly.

“I can use that, then reset the wards, and no one will be the wiser.”

Briar’s head was shaking back and forth.  “You might be powerful, but you’re not invincible.  That thing could knock our ass out easily and escape.”

Dorian worried her bottom lip between her teeth.  “Maybe, but I don’t think it will.  I know it sounds crazy, or maybe I’m overestimating my abilities, but I think I could hold it there.  At least long enough to get some answers first.  We’d be stupid not to at least give it a try.”

Briar let out a frustrated laugh and threw her hands up.  “Lennox is not going to go along with this.”

“Which is why we don’t tell him,” Dorian said, her voice firm.  “He’ll be busy getting Dash settled in.  You and I both know between the two of us, we can throw the monster back in the cage when I’m done.  He doesn’t need to know.”

“Unless it turns to shit.”  But by the tone in her voice, Dorian could hear Briar giving in.  With a breath, Briar set the bottle down and crossed the room.  “Do you really think you can get information from him?  Actual information?”

“I think I’m going to get a needle of truth in a haystack of lies,” Dorian replied with a shrug.  “But it’s better than the giant haystack of nothing we have right now.”

Briar’s face was pinched and she let out a tiny sigh.  “We have a database.”

“Yeah.  And how much good has that done?  Especially when none of them want to believe the demons actually could rip open every human on this planet and possess us all.”

A visible shudder went through Briar’s body and it was obvious she was remembering the pain of her own possession.  Dorian had to figure no matter how many years passed after the exorcism, a Reaper would never forget what they went through.

After a long pause, Briar finally turned and spread her hands in surrender.  “Fine.  When do you want to go?”

***

Dorian worked on spells in the basement for hours.  She didn’t stop until she had a modicum of control over where the magic went, and had even begun to regulate how much power went out with each spell.  She could light candles without burning them down, and could float them in the air without sending them flying straight into the wall.

The other spells, the more important ones she could use against demons, there was no way to practice.  She’d have to tap into her new training as best she could when they finally saw Grant.

A few hours into her study, she heard a commotion upstairs.  It either meant Dash was home, or the new Exorcist had arrived.  Either way, Dorian couldn’t be bothered with niceties just yet.  Briar was in on her little mission now, and she knew the sooner the better.  They had only a handful of days before Markus gathered Exorcists from around the globe to free his son from the demon.  Dorian wasn’t sure when she’d get another chance like this to question the monsters, so she had to jump on it while she could.

As she was cleaning up, a knock interrupted her and she turned as the door opened and heavy feet sounded on the stairs.  Lennox came in, looking around the room with an impressed expression.

“I can feel the echoes of your spells.  Much better.”

Dorian shrugged as she shoved the last of the candles into the duffle bag.  “Yeah.  It’s getting easier to control the more I do it.”

Lennox shuffled his feet a little as she finished up.  “Dash is in his room now.  Getting set up.  He was hoping you might come say hi.”

Dorian felt a familiar rush of guilt mixed with excitement, and she took a breath to control her emotions.  It was not the time to lose grip on herself, to give in to the feelings of remorse about what happened to Dash.  In fact, the best thing she could do for him was uncover this mystery.  There would be no undoing his injury, but at least she could find some answers.

“Yeah.  Tell him I’ll be up in a few.  Is the new one here yet?”

Lennox shook his head.  “Markus texted about half an hour ago.  His flight touched down and he has to go through debrief, so he’ll be by right around supper.”

Dorian turned.  “Debrief?  What’s that about?”

“There’s a process the Exorcists have to go through.  Precautions, tests, it’s to ensure the safety of everyone in the house before he’s allowed over.”  Lennox helped her zip up the last of the spell supplies and he tossed the bag up on one of the basement shelves.

“And Markus is going to oversee that?”  She followed Lennox up the stairs and into the kitchen where Briar was leaning against the counter.

“He should be.  He and Matias are the only Praetoriani in the region.”  Lennox glanced down the small corridor where Dash’s room was set up.

“Is that going to be at the safe house?”  When Lennox frowned at her, she shrugged.  “Just wanted to make sure Grant is going to be safe and guarded.”

“He won’t be left alone, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Dorian nodded, then caught Briar’s eye who was staring at her with a mixture of apprehension and frustration.  “Let me go get cleaned up.  Tell Dash I’ll be down in a few?”  Without waiting for Lennox to respond, she headed for the stairs, smiling a little when she heard footsteps echoing her own.

Sliding into her room, she left the door cracked, and shut it when Briar stepped in.  “What are you up to?” her mentor asked.

Dorian shrugged.  “Was I being obvious?”

“Girl, you might as well have been wearing a giant sign that said, ‘Breaking into Safe house tonight.’  There’s no way we’re going to get in there by ourselves.”

“We have to try.  I can’t do it with Markus staring over my shoulder, and you know even if he thinks I’m just there to visit with Grant, he’s going to be listening in.”

Briar’s face fell a little, telling Dorian she was right.  “You realize we have to do this fast, don’t you?  There’s no time for idle chit-chat.  If—and it’s a big goddamn
if
—we can make it through the front doors, we’ve got ten minutes max before someone figures you out.”

“That’s plenty of time.”  Dorian’s voice was more confident than she felt, but that was okay.  If she had Briar with her, and a handful of spells, she was pretty sure she could make some headway with the demon inside her old friend.  “You gather up the spells, and write down what I need to know.  I’ll head down and visit with Dash for a bit, and we’ll try to head out right when the new guy’s plane is scheduled to land.  I’ll tell Lennox we’re going out for a drink.”

Briar’s lips thinned, her eyes narrow, but she nodded.  “I still think this is reckless.”

“Yeah, and you kind of like it,” Dorian replied with a wink.  She smirked when Briar couldn’t suppress her smile, and she reached for the door.  “I’ll meet you at the front door in fifteen.”

***

The visit with Dash went as well as could be expected, and to Dorian’s great relief, Lennox was too caught up in being reunited with his boyfriend to ask a lot of questions.  He didn’t bat an eye when Dorian said she was heading out for the evening, and would be back before the new Exorcist got in.

He even offered information about the flight and the length of debriefing without hesitation.  “Aye, couple hours at least.”  He was nuzzled next to Dash on the bed, his eyes half-lidded.  “You’ve got time to get a few drinks in you.”

Dorian smiled, trying to look casual, but there was a strange glint in Dash’s eye that told her he wasn’t buying it.  Not totally.  She begged whatever God might be listening to give her a pass.  They just needed a little bit of time.  “Can we catch up later?” Dorian offered as she stood up from her chair.

Dash frowned, but glanced over at Lennox before nodding.  “Absolutely, love.  In fact, maybe you and I might have a long chat just the two of us after everyone gets settled.  I want to hear the unabridged version of your…
excitement
.”

Dorian’s heart sped up, but it was clear he wasn’t going to sell her out.  Not yet.  She tried her best to convey her thanks with a look, and was rewarded with a nod from her injured friend.  “I swear I’ll give you all the dirty details the moment I get back.”  She leaned in for a quick hug, then slipped out the door to find Briar waiting for her, leaning against the open garage door.

“Well, let’s do this.”  Briar had a bag slung over the back of her shoulder, and she led the way through the garage and into the driveway where the car was parked.

Dorian slipped into the passenger seat, and Briar slammed her door, her face drawn and nervous.  Turning the car on, she reached for the GPS and scrolled through the history, letting out a small puff of air when the coordinates for the safe house popped up on the screen.

“That is lucky as hell,” Briar muttered under her breath.  She hit the navigate button and sped on down the road.

The pair were uncharacteristically quiet as they made the drive.  The tension in the car was palpable and Dorian spent the entire time focusing on her breathing.  She listened to the quiet hum of her powers, feeling it speeding through her limbs, along her veins, and swirling around in the center of her chest.  If she could feel it, she could focus it, and she would need that focus when she confronted the demon.  It would be chaos, she had no doubt about that, and this was the ultimate test to see if she could manage herself.  If she couldn’t do this, there was no way she could trust herself during an exorcism.

As Briar pulled onto the dirt road, she slowed the car down and turned to Dorian.  “You really
really
sure you want to do this?”