Page 52 of Deadly Blooms (Psychic Unraveled #1)

THE SECOND EXORCISM OF GRAHAM LOCKE

Maggie

When I reached the top of the stairs, the change hit me like a wave. The attic—once hollow and cold—was now wrapped in warmth. Not just from the candles or potion fumes, but from something deeper.

I could feel them here. Katie, Derek… the aunts… even Uncle Silas. Their energy lingered. Safe. Soft. Steady.

The only other time I’d felt something like it was when I thought about Annie—and everything she’d done to keep me from falling apart.

Smoky, resinous air clung to the attic—frankincense and cedar curling through the beams.

They’d dragged Graham to the center of the room, still bound at the wrists with Derek’s belt. A circle of salt, flickering candles, and jagged quartz towers framed him.

Sweat poured from his body, glistening as it traced slow, deliberate paths to the floor. He was unresponsive—locked in some internal war—but his body wasn’t still. Muscles tensed. Jaw clenched.

They’d split open his shirt, and an ashen pentacle marked his chest like a brand. Whatever was summoned wasn’t finished with him—yet.

The aunts clung to each other and their obsidian amulets as they sat on the couch, focusing on Graham and the Latin incantation they murmured in eerie unison, again and again…

Derek looked the most visibly shaken. His hands shook, sweat beading on his brow, rolling in slow rivulets down the side of his face.

Graham wouldn’t admit they were buddies, but their matching tattoos and special pact said otherwise.

Still… the way Derek moved now—focused, quiet, reverent—made me wonder if I’d missed something. Men were weird.

He knelt beside the circle, drawing protective runes into the floorboards with a white piece of chalk, checking the salt line, ensuring it remained intact.

“Come on, dude. Don’t let it win,” he whispered.

Katie held Nox Animae in one hand, whispering a quiet chant, while sprinkling a vial of some liquid onto Graham.

A small chuckle left Derek’s lips. “You know, he’s got the trauma and the jawline. He thinks the rules don’t apply to him, and he disappears for a few hours, only to return covered in blood, acting like nothing’s wrong. All he needs now is a little mask with pointy ears.”

A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth, but the word trauma echoed in my mind, and led me back to their pact.

Of course, he had trauma—we all did. But something about the way Derek said it… made me think Graham’s was a special kind of trauma. Not just the heavy kind, the kind that hollowed you out from the inside, eating away at everything giving you hope, until all that was left was the grit.

Suddenly, Graham’s body twitched—barely. A ripple under his ribs. Then again. His breaths became shallow—uneven. Then a low wretch came rattling out, but nothing came.

“Shit—” Derek lunged forward, rolling Graham onto his side.

My pulse thundered. He was unconscious, but his body still fought that monster.

Weak coughing came next, before his stomach seized and ectoplasm mixed with vomit poured from his mouth.

“Do we have a plan?” I asked, grimacing at the sight.

“Yes, but you’re not going to like it.” The way he said it didn’t exactly exude confidence—and I didn’t like that.

“What do you mean?”

“Mags, you have to perform the exorcism.” Katie insisted, flinging some more liquid onto Graham’s body.

“What?! No! I’ve never—” I shot to my feet.

“It’s the only way, dear.” Ruby broke their chant, while Clover continued. “You have slept with the beast inside him, you have the strongest connection to it, and to Graham.”

I let my body fall to the floor, my heart pounding like a war drum under my skin. I stared at him, watching his chest rise and fall as he fought to survive.

Graham’s face twisted, his brows pinching in discomfort, tears leaking from his clenched eyes like he was having a nightmare that we couldn’t wake him from.

I had to do something, even if I didn’t know how. I couldn’t let Graham continue to suffer like this. After all, it was my fault he was here. It was my fault he was possessed.

I placed my hands on my knees and lowered my head, attempting to summon the only courage I had left.

My gaze lifted to Katie. “What do I need to do?” I exhaled.

“This is the part you’re not going to like,” she said.

Like I enjoyed the thought of my first exorcism being the man I was starting to fall for? Talk about trust.

“You have to be in the spirit realm with Graham and whoever or whatever is possessing him.”

I stared at her—not blinking.

“You’ll need to take my potion, Graham too, that way the spirits can separate and we can banish the evil with no risk to Graham’s soul.” She splashed another dash of liquid onto his body, causing him to wince.

“What is that?” I motioned to the vial.

“Holy water,” she said, another sprinkle landing on Graham’s face. “As long as we keep his physical body protected, the entity won’t be able to reenter once you are in the spirit realm.”

“Katie, you know I’ve never done anything like this before, I don’t even know what to do… or say.”

“It will be alright, child,” Clover said, Ruby taking over her place in the chant.

“The potion given to Graham differs from yours, we concocted it with the ability to weaken the malevolent spirit. We will give it to Graham once you are on the other side. If you act quickly, it should send the spirit back to where it came from.”

Clover’s eyes pierced mine, “You must remember… should you hesitate, it can destroy you.”

Oh, god.

“Ladies, is there anything I can do?” Uncle Silas leaned in, voice flooded with urgency.

“You can disappear,” Ruby spat, “just like you always did when trouble came round.”

“No!” Katie jumped to his defense. “Aunt Ruby, Silas may be the only one who can protect Maggie. He has access to the spirit realm in ways we don’t. He can help her.”

“Fine, but I don’t like it,” she mumbled. “Send Tophie and Chester in as backup.”

Uncle Silas nodded in understanding.

“You’re going to send the cats as my protection?” I gasped. “I don’t know how I feel about that.”

Katie shifted, “Mags, remember. Cats are the guardians of the spirit realm. They have powers on the other side.”

My nerves took over, hands trembling, stomach going sour.

“Once you are in the spirit realm,” she continued, “you will need to wait for us to give Graham the potion, and for him and the spirit to join you. The spirit will be bound, but should anything go wrong, keep your defenses up.”

I swallowed, my stomach coiling into knots, “I don’t know any defenses.” I breathed.

“We need you to say this incantation, first in English, then repeat it in Latin until the spirit is banished.” Katie handed me a sheet of paper.

“Look. I really don’t know any Latin… only my bad love spell. I?—”

“You’ll be fine,” she said, calm and confident. “We’ve charmed this copy to follow you into the spirit realm, when we place the book into the circle, you’ll see it, and you can read from it if you need.”

I glanced down at the paper. Katie or the aunts really should have been the ones performing the exorcism.

“Repeat after me,” Katie gripped the book tightly in her hands as she spoke. “Cast out the wicked from time and space…”

I repeated the words.

Graham stirred after every syllable.

“…bring Graham’s spirit to its rightful place.”

“Got it?” She looked at me in a way that made sure I knew I could do this. And what was more, were those eyes filled with a light that let me know she knew I could, as well.

I nodded.

“I think so.” I said quietly.

A last glance at Graham, and a quick pass over the spell, and I faked the confidence to step into the circle.

I sat beside him, my breath coming out all shaky and faltering. I had to remind myself to breathe.

Graham struggled inside, he looked as if he should just wake up and be fine, but deep down I knew he wouldn’t be unless we did something.

“Okay, give me the potion.” I laid down beside him, telling myself I’d be ready for whatever happened next, even if it was a lie.

The aunts continued to chant quietly in the background. It helped calm my nerves which were on the verge of fraying completely.

Katie set the book at Graham’s feet. “I’m going to douse you with holy water now, it shouldn’t burn you like it does Graham.”

She chanted something under her breath, flicking droplets onto my skin, before reaching into her pocket and pulling out the vial she used during the séances.

“You ready?” She asked, unscrewing the lid.

Uncle Silas and the cats stepped inside the salt circle.

Derek and the aunts gathered around, clasping hands.

My heart took off, rattling in my ribcage. My emotions boiling to the surface, the fear pricking at my skin.

I swallowed, took a deep breath, and nodded.

Katie held the dropper to my lips. Two bitter drops hit my tongue, as sharp as the regret that stabbed inside.

The room tilted, slow at first—then faster, until a blinding light cracked through my vision and swallowed me whole. Then—blackness.

Silence.

Then—Graham. Staggered breaths. Pain-laced groans clawing through the quiet.

When I opened my eyes, Katie, Derek, and the aunts were gone. The only things I could see were in the circle.

I swallowed hard and searched the emptiness. It was the kind that made you feel like you could fall forever from its disorienting depth.

When I stood, it was effortless—like gravity forgot I even existed. I held out my hand. Translucent. Ghostlike. Just like Katie had been.

It was the strangest feeling to look down and see my body lying lifeless beside Graham’s while my spirit stood.

His short, quick breaths intensified in speed. The urgency amplified by his face in agony.

I needed to get this over with.

“I can’t see anyone.”I said, searching the darkness.

Four strange glowing orbs floated just outside the circle.

“What are those glowing lights?”