Page 47 of The Unseen
Lucas’s deep voice didn’t waiver. “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.”
More Latin followed. “ Gloria ria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen .”
The old iron bed began to hop up and down, making a loud, wheezing sound, sending fresh chills down Nicole’s spine.
The iron legs pounded on the floor and the wheezing noise grew louder.
Nicole’s heart raced. Her breath sawed in and out.
She kept her eyes fixed firmly on Lucas.
In the circle of light, he exuded calm, control, and strength.
Something shifted in the air. The moldy smell in the cabin disappeared beneath the foul odor of sulfur mixed with a repugnant smell that, at first, she couldn’t name. Burning flesh, she realized, the bile rising in her throat.
She swallowed, fought down the nausea. Nicole heard it then, a woman’s shrill voice, spouting a torrent of foul, disgusting language.
The demon Simone was there, not the beautiful woman in the painting, but a grotesque creature with empty eye sockets in a skull-like white face.
Her bony mouth opened, and a thin, serpentlike tongue slithered out.
Nicole trembled, locked down the scream that tried to escape her throat. Chills swept over her skin. Lucas’s voice seemed distant, coming from somewhere far away. She looked at the creature that was pure evil and feared she was going to faint.
Fighting down her panic, Nicole took a deep breath, clearing her mind, forcing herself to concentrate on the man standing in the circle of light. Lucas’s voice grew deeper, more intense.
“In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I command you, demon, to depart this place. St. Michael, the mighty Archangel, defend us in this battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke this demon, we humbly pray; and you, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into hell, Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.”
Lucas repeated the words in Latin, calling for St. Michael to help them. In the other room, she could hear the rain pounding against the tin roof, pouring in through the hole in the ceiling.
Nicole’s spine jerked upright at a noise in the distance that seemed to be rushing toward them, a sound like the wild beating of wings.
Adrenaline hit her as a black swarm of bats swooped into the room through the open bedroom door. Fighting to hold back a scream, she ducked and covered her head with her arms while the swarm circled the bedroom—once, twice—then flew back out the door.
Her heart fluttered as madly as the wings of the bats. A headache pounded behind her eyes.
“In the name of God, I cast thee out, unclean spirit, along with the wicked enemy, Satan, and every phantom and diabolical legion. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, depart and vanish from this house of God and all of its surroundings.”
Nicole focused on Lucas. She could feel the solid strength of him that continued unchanged. The candles behind him still burned, the heavy wooden crucifix still hung on the wall above the altar.
She could do this. She had to. Lucas was in danger. Her family was in danger. She rose from her chair and kept her attention on Lucas.
“Pay heed, Satan, you foe of the human race, you carrier of death, you robber of life. Thou are the root of all evil, the fomenter of vice, the seducer of men, the traitor of nations, the instigator of envy, the font of avarice, the source of discord, the exciter of sorrows. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, I command you to leave this place!”
The floor of the cabin began to violently shake beneath her feet. The walls seemed to expand, then contract; expand, then contract. A whimper slipped from her throat. Nicole gripped the back of the folding chair.
“St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in this battle, be our protector against the wickedness and snares of the devil. Great Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into hell, Satan and any of the evil spirits who prowl this place.”
Something was happening. She could feel the presence of someone else, someone entering the room from above. She watched in awe as a huge, winged warrior with long, gleaming blond hair floated down and hovered above the crucifix, a heavy golden sword in his hands.
“Archangel Michael, Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into hell, Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl the world seeking the ruin of souls.”
The demon Simone swelled to a being twice its size, and the next instant, the cabin exploded. Nicole screamed as Lucas tackled her to the floor and covered her body with his. Wood and glass rained down on them. Bits of metal and rusty nails fell like iron confetti.
The crackle of flames reached her as pieces of wood caught fire.
Unable to believe her eyes, staring over Lucas’s shoulder, she watched the massive sword in the warrior’s hands swing down, neatly severing the head of the demon, sending it flying.
A shriek that seemed to come from the very depths of hell shook the room, rattling the remnants of the tin ceiling.
In an instant, the demon vanished.
The huge golden-haired warrior disappeared.