Page 14 of Liberating Water

Lailah

I could seewhy Mr. Lacy wanted us to have a guide, because there is no way we would have found this specific lab tucked away. It was even in a separate wing with retinal scanners off the main lab section. Since we are in the Elementi database, we didn’t need to add our information and just needed the lab security cards to get in, but again—only if we found it.

“As you can see, this is the lab set aside to work on any and all Elementi-specific needs. We have been able to recreate the serum and combine it with the demon venom to see what the reaction will be,” Lewis explained, stepping over to a counter that had a large screen hanging on the wall.

He typed in the passcode, and information sprang onto the screen. If I had any clue as to what it said, I might have had more of a reaction, but as it stood, we all waited silently. Hudson stepped forward, adjusting his glasses as he scanned the information.

Hudson turned sharply on Lewis. “Are you sure? Can it be reversed?”

“No, it is permanent.”

“Um, anyone care to share with the rest of the group what we should be freaking out about?” Parker interjected.

They both looked back at us with grim looks on their faces. “This serum with the added venom turns them into the perfect host for a mid-level demon, but because they don’t need to fight the host, they don’t deteriorate the same way,” Lewis answered.

“You can’t tell that from computer scenarios,” Micah snapped. “This is all speculation—right?”

Lewis grabbed a remote and clicked the center button, and the sound of something being pulled back whirred behind us. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw a man strapped to a table, writhing and spitting as he yelled. The glass must have been soundproof, because I couldn’t hear a thing.

“Okay, a demon-possessed man behind curtain number one is something I would have expected from Jay’s dad, not yours, Hudson,” Parker stage whispered.

Registering what Parker just said, I gasped. “That man is possessed by a demon?”

“Yes, mademoiselle, we have a sacred circle around him to keep him from exiting the body, so he is trapped at the moment. There is nothing to fear from it,” Lewis informed me, misunderstanding my shock.

Anger spiked as I connected a few things. Marching up to Lewis, I got right in his face.

“Did you give him the serum and then let him get possessed before it was stolen, or did you summon a demon and trap him in that poor man’s body so you could study it?” I demanded.

Lewis looked at me without batting an eye. “Both, I guess you could say. He was one of our human test subjects, the only one to have been given the serum before it was taken. Once the serum was taken, we then suggested he read an incantation as a test to see how his recall skills were doing. It so happened that he managed to summon a demon and was possessed by it.”

“You are part of the Elementi! How could you have done that?! IT’S WRONG!” I yelled.

“That is where you are wrong. I am not part of the Elementi, just hired by them. We are not bound by the same rules as the inducted Elementi. They need us to work in the gray areas. If we do not, then we are left at a disadvantage when fighting the demons,” Lewis said to me, his face reserved and eyes dull.

I took a few steps back and scoffed. “You can’t even see how wrong this really is anymore, can you?”

Glancing at the others, I saw the same look of disgust on their faces. I let out a breath, relieved to know they didn’t agree with what was happening here.

“Open the room. I want to talk to the man-demon-thing,” I ordered, my hands clenched into fists.

“Mademoiselle, even if you remove the demon from the man now, he will be incredibly susceptible to having it happen again. His brain pattern has been imprinted with the demon venom, making him a beacon to any roving spirit,” Lewis challenged.

Jay stepped up next to me, glaring down at the man. “This is what you meant by permanent.”

“Yes. We also don’t know how much of the real him is left. Having a demon dwelling in you is sure to speed up the transformation.”

“This is nuts!” Brayden shouted as he started to pace the floor, running his hands through his hair.

“I did not want to show you for this reason, but your father insisted that I do,” grumbled Lewis. “You are all too young to see that this type of work is needed to keep us all safe.”

“Enough!” Hudson snapped, shocking us all. “Take us to a place that we can have a secure video call with the Elementi HQ at Ryevick.”

“Very well.” Lewis nodded and ushered us out of the room.

* * *

“Please tellme you didn’t know about this, Beth,” I said to the screen after we explained everything we knew thus far.