“A lot of stuffdidhappen,” Cutter said, then held up his hands. “Not saying that means Lilith’s in Stuart. Just trying to get clarity.”
“I understand that,” Eric said. “But again, holy water. Plus, the ceremony allowed the stone table to be a conduit for Lilith to get into Allie. Lilith could enter Allie—and a High Demon could enter me—because of … well, because of what Father Donnelly and my parents did when I was a child. But that makes Allie and me unique.”
“I thought demons could enter any dead person whose soul didn’t fight to keep them out,” Laura said. “That’s how you’ve always explained it. That demons want to live in this world. To enjoy the pleasures of being mortal. And when someone dies, there’s a short opportunity for them to slip in. The person’s soul can fight to keep them out, but only the faithful usually win that fight.”
“Gold star,” I said. “That’s exactly right.”
“But those folks are dead,” Mindy said. “Stuart’s alive.”
“We’ve seen High Demons in humans,” Allie reminded me. “Goramesh, remember? I mean, I didn’t know it at the time, but you told me, and—”
“That’s because Judge Larson consented. He allowed the demon to basically time-share. We’re talking aboutpushinginto a body. That’s a lot harder for regular demons. And impossible—or at least pretty much impossible—for High Demons because they’re hard to contain in the flesh.”
“But Eric and Allie could host one,” Eliza added, “because Eric’s parents basically shoved a demon inside of him, and since he’s Allie’s father, that made her different, too.”
“That’s the theory,” I said. The truth was, I didn’t want to think about this. As much as we knew, evenForzadidn’t know everything. Maybe there was a way Lilith could be in Stuart despite the holy water not burning him.
“Could be just a piece of her,” Eddie said, his caterpillar eyes drawing together as he seemingly read my mind. “That boy might have a piece of that bitch demon shoved inside him somewhere.”
“But the holy water,” Laura said as I shook my head vigorously.
“No. No, I don’t believe it.” I felt tears start to fill my eyes. Ididn’tbelieve it. I’d never even heard of that. Demons didn’t break up into pieces. Did they?
I wanted to ask Eddie—maybe High Demons could—but right then I couldn’t stand the thought of anything but hope in my head.
I was just about to tell Eddie that when Timmy came to me and held out a Chips Ahoy bag. “Momma want a cookie?”
I laughed, the sound more like a sob, then pulled him into my lap. “Yeah. Momma would love a cookie.”
I drew him close, hugging him tight as the room fell silent, Eddie’s dark suggestion hanging over all of us.
“Here’s the thing,” Eric finally said. “At the end of the day, we can’t really know anything for certain. All we know is what’s in the records that have been kept over centuries. Things the Churches and demonologists and Demon Hunters have learned over the years and put down to paper. But the demons never gave us a manual.”
“So everything we think we know could be wrong,” Jared said, coming over to take the cookie that Timmy was holding out to him.
“Lilith isn’t in Stuart,” Allie said, lifting her chin. “I told you I felt her go. Daddy did, too, right?” She looked at Eric, and he nodded. “And holy water doesn’t bother him. So it’s all okay. We just have to wait for him to get better. And he—he warned me to be careful, so I will.”
I knew that she was still worried that she was the thing others need to be careful of, and I was proud of her for not raising that again. For understanding we all needed to find some calm.
“So I guess we should start looking for a hospice,” Laura said. “I can help. Or you can call Coastal Mists. They’re demon-free these days.”
“Harumph.” That from Eddie. Coastal Mists could have been personally blessed by the Pope himself, and Eddie still wouldn’t trust the place. Honestly, I’m not sure I could either.
“I can’t put him in one of those places. They’re depressing. And dangerous.” Any place where people die regularly—nursing homes, hospices, hospitals—are regular stomping grounds for incorporeal demons looking for a home. The last thing I wanted was a pissed-off Lilith to order a newly-corporeal demon to take out my husband for spite. And that, I realized, was a very likely scenario.
“True enough,” Eric said when I told the gang my fears.
“Why not here?” Allie asked. “And we hire one of those home health care nurses?”
“Not a bad idea,” I agreed. Except for the wholewhere will the money for this nurse come frompart of the equation. My salary fromForzahasn’t exactly put me on theFortune 500list, and Stuart’s income dropped considerably when he and his friend Bernie decided to go into the real estate business. He assured me that would change once they had more traction, but meanwhile things had been tight.
I didn’t bother telling any of that to Allie, though. She hardly needed to know that lately our contributions to her college fund have been on the scrimpy side. A fact that I justified because we were paying for things like the mortgage and food. And because I wasn’t entirely sure my daughter was going to go to college, as much as I wanted her to. She had a path now, albeit a dangerous one.
Mostly I didn’t say any of that because her words had given me an idea.Why not here? Well,heremight not be possible, buttherecould work out just fine. “The school,” I said to the group. “What if we put Stuart in a room at the academy?”
For a moment, no one said anything. Then Eric nodded. “That’s actually brilliant. Plus,Forzashould cover the bills, just like they’re paying for the conversion into a school and all our teaching salaries.”
“That’s right,” Laura said. “Stuart’s in a coma from fighting a demon.”
