Home Sweet Home (mxm)

Chapter 19: What We Found

The exorcist's expression changed to one between understanding and awe as he reached forward, letting his hand hover over the item, but not touch it. Taylor tightened his hold on Caleb's hand as they watched. 

After a few moments with his eyes closed the exorcist retracted his hand and grasped the beads again, then started chanting. The same pressure began to build in the room. Without really thinking, Taylor stepped in front of Caleb's faded form, worried that if the ring didn't pass the test, it might go flying again. Of course, it would do far more damage to himself than Caleb, but his mind didn't even consider that fact. 

As the pressure began to get stifling, Taylor saw little zips of electricity begin to dance about on the little plastic item. He felt cold arms wrap around his right one as a pressure leaned against that side, but he didn't pay any mind to Caleb peaking around him as they both watched, transfixed. 

When the actual transition happened, it took less than the blink of an eye. One second Nikolai was there, and the next, Adoni was. Seeing his friend back in complete control was a huge relief. 

"It was a success," the exorcist said with a nod toward the little plastic ring. 

Caleb hurried forward after hearing those words and dropped to his knees before the tiny item. Even with most of his form invisible, Taylor could tell that he was a little nervous for his brother. He couldn't blame him. It was such an easy item to lose or destroy. He wasn't sure how Adon had gained so much trust from the banshee, but he admired both of them for coming to such a conclusion. 

Adon grasped the ring tightly in his hand as he stood up, a look of desperate relief on his tired face. With Nikolai's glamour gone it was easy to see just how exhausting it had been to deal with the banshee twenty-four seven. 

He seemed to think some things over silently for a few moments before walking over to the little metal clip holding his keys and sliding the ring back onto it. 

"I'm going to go wash up, then sleep," he said, the tone of his voice sounding dead tired, literally. 

Taylor nodded, unsurprised. The guy looked like he was about to fall over. Thankfully Caleb and Nikolai had helped bring his bed back upstairs previously. The frame had bent a bit with the fall, but it was still useable. Taylor watched him go, then turned back to the exorcist once the door to his bedroom had shut. 

"Now then, how can I help this little wraith, hmm?" the man questioned to himself. He rubbed at his jaw as he glanced at Caleb, who had found a seat on the floor in front of him. 

"Are you adamant about not directly possessing your friend? It wouldn't have to be permanent, but it might help you recover your form some." 

Caleb's outline wavered as he shook his head, making Taylor's heart hurt as he carefully sat down beside him and took his cold, translucent hand. 

"Well... there is one other way, but it would take a lot of trust on your part," he said to Taylor. 

He was surprised that he cared so much about Caleb after only having known him for a short time, and only his ghost, but he knew that he could trust the guy. 

"What is it?" 

The man pursed his lips and looked between them both, then began speaking. 

"I've never seen this method actually work, but I've heard stories... none of those have ever been between a human and a wraith, though. While wraiths are definitely considered the most powerful, there are limits to each supernatural form, as you have previous seen with the chalkboard example and banshees." 

Taylor leaned closer, wanting him to talk faster so that they could start already. He knew that Caleb was on borrowed time and fading more by the second. He didn't want to lose him by delaying something so important.