“You are not the first to approach me this morning concerned about the safety of your daughter’s soul,” he said as they descended. “Three brothers from the north came to see me as well.” The stairs opened up to a small room furnished with a simple wooden table and chairs. The room’s occupants—three men inscarlet robes—rose to their feet and turned to greet them as Lauriana and the archbishop entered.
“This,” Greatfather Tivrest said, indicating the older of the two, “is Father Lucial Bellamy, head of the Order of Adelis. And this”—he gestured to the younger, white-haired priest at his side—“is Father Nivane, one of the brothers in his service. And the father standing in the shadows over there is Father Brevard.” Father Brevard did not move from the shadows, nor remove the hood concealing his face.
Lauriana had never met any of the three men before, but even without the Greatfather’s mention of their Order, the first glimpse of their scarlet robes had told her who—or rather what—they were.
Exorcists.
Chapter Ten
“No.” Lauriana’s feet began to move of their own volition, backing away from the men in their bloodred robes.
“Father Bellamy heard of your daughter’s betrothal to the Tairen Soul,” the archbishop said. “He came here to Celieria City as soon as he received the news. He says her name is not unfamiliar to his Order.”
Lauriana’s frightened gaze darted from one priest to the other. “I—” Her throat tightened, choking off her voice. Her knees went weak, and she reached out to grab the wall for support.
“Here, come have a seat before you fall.” The archbishop put a supporting arm around her and led her to one of the empty wooden chairs. He pulled up a second, sat beside her, and patted her hand with a gentleness she hadn’t known he possessed. “This isn’t an interrogation, and I didn’t bring you down here to cast blame or frighten you. You came to me for help, and I’d like to provide it, if I can. But first, I need to know what happened in Hartslea all those years ago.” He bent forward, his blue eyes solemn, sincere, free of even the slightest hint of reproach. “Is it true your daughter was diagnosed as demon-possessed when she was a child?”
Lauriana swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes.” She forced herself to speak, telling him about the seizures and the doctors’ eventual diagnosis.
“So you sought assistance from the Order.”
She closed her eyes briefly in pained remembrance and nodded. It had been the hardest decision of her life. “I did. Sol didn’t wantme to, but I insisted. They came to our house with their prayer books and needles.... It was awful, what they did to her. She screamed and screamed.” She could still see little Ellie’s face contorted in agony, hear her shrieking and crying out for her mama and papa to save her, to make the pain go away.
“I know the rites can seem brutal,” Father Bellamy said softly, “but they are necessary. Demons do not easily release their prey.”
“But the exorcism wasn’t completed,” Greatfather Tivrest prompted.
She shook her head. “Sol couldn’t bear it. He stopped it and threw the priests out. We left Hartslea. We prayed and prayed, and eventually the episodes stopped on their own.”
“Did they?”
She couldn’t hold his too-knowing gaze. “For the most part. It’s been more than five years since she last had a seizure. She only gets an occasional nightmare now and again—at least until the Tairen Soul came to town.”
“Her nightmares have increased?” Father Nivane asked suddenly.
She cast a wary glance his way. “Yes.”
He exchanged glances with Father Bellamy. The older priest nodded. “Madame Baristani,” Father Bellamy said gently, “once a demon claims a soul, it does not leave until it’s driven out. It may lie dormant for a while, but it is still there.” He laid a hand on her shoulder. “You must authorize the completion of the exorcism.”
She lurched back, yanking her hand from the archbishop’s, then leapt to her feet and turned to face them. “No.” Her heart pounded against her ribs, and her lungs felt starved of breath. She began to back away, towards the stairs.
“My dear lady, your concern and deep love for your daughter is obvious. And it is obvious that your own love and dedication to the Bright Lord has been of invaluable assistance in keeping her on the Bright Path, but you cannot abandon her now, in her time of deepest need.”
“You don’t understand. My husband made me swear on the Book of Light that I would never turn Ellie back over to the exorcists. I can’t betray my solemn oath.”
“The Bright Lord would never ask you to keep an oath to surrender your child to evil,” the archbishop replied. “Your husband was wrong to demand you make such a vow. I grant you dispensation to do the right thing.”
Lauriana shook her head with frantic emphasis. “Sol would never forgive me. It would destroy our family.” Mild-mannered and loving though he was, Sol had a spine of tempered steel and an unswerving sense of honor and loyalty. He could forgive many things, but not a personal betrayal of the sort they were proposing. “Even if Sol did understand, the Fey wouldn’t. They’d kill anyone who touched her. The Tairen Soul won’t even let the queen’s Master of Graces hold her hand in dance lessons, for the Haven’s sake! They’d slaughter us all... these exorcists... you... me... maybe even my entire family.” She ran trembling fingers through her hair. “No, it’s madness even to contemplate such a thing.”
“Madame Baristani,” Father Nivane interjected, “would you change your mind if you knew we could conduct the exorcism without anyone knowing it ever happened?”
“How on earth could you promise that? She shares a bond with the Tairen Soul. He... senses things. And all the Fey can read minds. They’d know the instant you touched her.”
“No, they wouldn’t.” Eagerness lit the younger priest’s pale eyes. “We recently discovered a forgotten text in the Church archives that proves we can conduct the exorcism without the Fey’s knowledge. They could be standing right outside the door and not sense it.”
“Most victims of demon possession have no memory of the exorcism once it is complete,” Father Bellamy added. “The Fey would never know. Your family would be safe.”
The archbishop stood, adding his voice to theirs. “MadameBaristani... daughter... I know this is a difficult decision, but it’s the right thing to do for your child.”
