"What do you mean she's possessed?"
Ari stared from Charlie to Ceph. Outside the passenger window, the street was dark with rain and littered with pine needles. Beads of water coated the windshield, distorting the road ahead of them.
"I'm not one hundred percent sure," Ceph said, "but there have been too many checkered flags."
"He means red." Charlie cranked the heater up and made a face at Sam in the rear view mirror.
"I thought we took care of this," Ari said. "The night we summoned that demon-"
"Ari!" Charlie buried her face in her hands. "They weren't supposed to know."
"Oops."
"You summoned a demon?" Sam squeezed his eyes shut. "When?"
Ari threw an apologetic glance Charlie's way. "Three days ago," she said. "The night we all showed up in the Darklands."
"Why?" Ceph barely kept himself from shouting. "Why would you do that?"
"I've been searching the house from top to bottom and still haven't found the Nanorian." Ari whirled around in her seat. "What have you been doing?"
"But now you've made things worse," Ceph ground out. "You and Charlie... that's why you wanted me to leave that night."
"I didn't think you would approve," Ari said. "Judging by your reaction, I'd say I was right."
Sam scrubbed his hand over his face. "At least now we know she's possessed."
Ceph leaned forward and put both hands on Charlie's headrest. "Did you happen to find out what type of demon it was?"
Charlie slid down in her seat. "It said it was a Prince."
"For the love of..." Ceph cleared his throat. "Earlier, Mai seemed interested in what we planned to do tonight, but when Charlie told her we were going to the old Catholic cemetery, she said she wasn't feeling well."
This is all my fault. This is all my fault. Ari calmed her breathing and said, "Maybe she felt iffy about going grave digging in an abandoned bone yard."
"It's not the part about digging up a grave," Ceph replied. "It's the fact that this particular cemetery is surrounded by an iron fence."
"What does that-"
Sam gave a short laugh. "Don't you remember what I said the night Miss Devolin cast Tale of a Tree?"
Ari thought for a moment. "The Ills are immune to iron and holy water."
"Right, but they're the exception," Sam explained. "Every other demon is repelled by iron or a splash of eu de holy. Since Mai is possessed, she won't be able to pass through the cemetery gates."
"This type of situation will require subtlety," said Ceph. "We don't want the demon to know what we're up to. It might hurt her." He pulled a small vial of crystal-clear liquid from inside his cardigan. "This is holy water. It will render the demon powerless. Our best bet is to trick Mai into drinking it."
Charlie sat up in her seat again. "You keep a bottle of holy water on you?"
"You never know when you'll need it." He glared from Charlie to Ari. "Like now."
This is all my fault. This is all my fault. "What do we do afterwards?" Ari asked. "How do we get the demon out of her without hurting her?"
"We exorcise it," Ceph said. "Charlie will trap Mai, and I'll use a Lumic exorcism."
"You want me to help?" Charlie propped her elbow on the armrest. "I guess this whole situation is my fault."
Ari grimaced. "No, it's mine."
"It's both of your faults." Ceph touched the hilt of his knife. "Charlie will draw a Devil's Knot on the floor with this. Devil's Knots don't need memories when drawn with an angel's blade. Under a bathroom carpet is our best bet. The holy water will make Mai sick; she'll run to the bathroom and be trapped."
"One more question." Ari held up a trembling finger. "How do we keep the demon from possessing one of us?"
Ceph reached into his cardigan again and pulled out two more vials of holy water.
"What kind of cardigan is that?" Charlie exclaimed.
Ceph didn't answer. "Drink one of these, and the demon won't be able to possess you for at least a few hours. That should give us plenty of time."
"It won't make me sick, will it?" said Charlie.
"Of course not." Ceph handed her a vial. "But it may not taste very nice."
"What about you and Sam?" In the rearview mirror, Sam smiled wanly. Ari blushed and looked away. Why am I blushing? She forced her head up and glared at him, but he had turned to frown out the window.
"Demons can't possess celestial beings," Ceph said. "They also can't possess ghosts: only living bodies."
Charlie forced a smile and clapped Ari on the shoulder. "Look at it this way: maybe now we can find out where the Ills took your dad."
"Maybe." Ari took a deep breath and clutched her pendant. "I just don't want anyone to get hurt."
"No one will," Ceph promised. "Not as long as I'm around."
Beside him, Sam closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Ari imagined he was making an effort to keep his comments to himself.
"Let's get this show on the road." Charlie turned the key in the ignition. Nothing happened. "Hold on. Old Red can be stubborn sometimes." She pumped the gas and tried again. The car sputtered to life.
The drive to Mai's house didn't take long, but it was more than enough time for Ari's skin to prickle with sweat.
"Here." Ceph handed her a vial of holy water. She downed it and forced back a gag.
Charlie parked the car in front of a large antebellum-style house surrounded by pine trees and leafless oaks. The porch was dark red concrete, crowded with empty planters and wicker patio furniture. Ari dried her palms on her jeans, unbuckled her seatbelt, and stepped out onto the sidewalk.
Charlie drank her vial before getting out. "That wasn't so bad. It tasted like lukewarm pickle juice."
Ari wished hers had tasted like pickle juice. At least she wouldn't feel the need to devour a roll of breath mints.
Ceph turned toward Sam. "It might be best if you go invisible."
"Why?" Ari asked. "You promised we'd all be safe."
"And we will. I want him to keep an eye on things, make sure there are no unforeseen surprises."
"You want me to be a spy?" Sam said.
"Exactly."
"All right." He shrugged. "I just hope there are no nude old men running around in there." He grimaced and faded from sight.
"Come on." Charlie led them down the sidewalk. The only sounds were their shoes scraping over the concrete and Sam whistling dixie somewhere on Ari's right.
They all stood behind Charlie as she rang the doorbell. A deep gonging sound reverberated from inside the house.
"Sam," Ceph whispered.
The air grew warmer as Sam left them on the porch. Ari sucked in a breath in an attempt to calm her nerves. She hoped Sam would hurry back.
A moment later, the door opened to reveal a surly looking woman. She was thin as a rake, with a severe face and sharply arched eyebrows. A cascade of tiny braids fell past her shoulders.
"You again," she grumbled.
Charlie smiled. "Hi, Miss Taurean."
The woman cut her eyes toward Ari. "And who is she?"
"This is Ari Jones. She's a new addition to Uncertain. Ari, meet Taurean Williams."
"What kind of Shade are you?" Taurean asked.
Charlie grabbed Ari's left hand and thrust it forward. "Do you see any Marks?"
Taurean frowned. "Not a good judge of character, I see." She stepped back to allow them inside. "Mai's upstairs."
The inside of the house blended pale pinks with burnished golds. A mirrored hall bench dominated the entryway. Ari turned away as she passed it. She could imagine the sleeplessness of her eyes, the shadowing of worry and nightmares she couldn't remember. It was easier if she didn't look. She focused instead on the sound of her feet clomping over the hardwood floor.
Taurean stood by the door, arms crossed, watching them until they were out of sight.
"What did she mean, not a good judge of character?" Ari said as she, Charlie, and Ceph climbed the stairs.
"She thinks I'm 'noisy and rude.'" Charlie scoffed at the molded ceiling. "Can you believe that?"
Ari grinned and clasped her fingers around the scar on her wrist. "I noticed she didn't have any Marks."
Charlie flipped her curls over her shoulder. "Of course not. Taurean is Mai's aunt."
"What about Mai's parents?"
"They died in a car accident when she was six."
"Oh." Ari's heart clenched. Mai had said she was afraid of icy roads.
At the top of the stairs, Charlie turned right. The hallway gleamed with polished hardwood and silver wallpaper. A black-framed painting of a dogwood tree hung over a side table.
Ari clutched her pendant in her hand. "How do Shades keep the world from finding out about them?"
"Outside of this town, we're the stuff of fairy tales." Charlie raised her Marked hand. "It's like I said at Mardi Gras, most people think these are scars. There are people who know parts of the story, but they can't expose the truth without the entire book."
A cold draft drifted past Ari, and her heart leaped. She looked at Ceph. His head tilted to the side, as though someone were whispering in his ear.
He looked up and nodded. "The Gulf of Mexico is clear."
Charlie shook her head. "Don't I need something?"
Ceph drew his knife from inside his cardigan, and she slipped it into her jacket.
"Here we go." Charlie stopped in front of a door at the end of the hall and knocked.
"Come in," Mai called.
Charlie opened the door. Ari and Ceph followed behind her.
Mai's room rioted with color. Tubes of oil paints and brushes in decorative rice pots lined the desk. Batik wall hangings of pink and white lotus blossoms draped the walls, golden elephants crowded a turquoise dresser, and strings of multicolored lanterns stretched across the ceiling.
"What are you guys doing here?" Mai sat cross-legged at the foot of her bed. Her topknot wobbled as she flipped through a magazine.
"We wanted to check on you," Charlie replied. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm still dizzy." Mai flung the magazine aside and hugged a silk throw pillow. "You didn't have to drive over here."
"It's fine. Your house was on the way." Charlie sat on the edge of the bed and snatched a pair of clippers from Mai's nightstand. "I was hoping you'd be feeling better," she said as she trimmed her nails. "I really wanted you to go."
"So I can play the victim like last time?" Mai laughed. "No thanks."
"What makes you think tonight won't go smoothly?" Ceph asked. "We're digging up a grave in an abandoned cemetery. Piece of cookie cake."
"Digging up a grave? You say that like you do it every other weekend." Mai shook her head. "Maybe a cemetery is fun for you guys. It's not for me."
Charlie stood up, dropped the clippers on the floor, and grabbed her stomach. "Bathroom!" She half-ran out of the room and slammed the door behind her.
She's gone to carve the Devil's Knot. Ari twisted her pendant between her hands. So far, so good. Now for the holy water...
Ari nearly jumped out of her skin when a disembodied voice whispered in her ear.
"On the nightstand."
Fighting back a shiver, Ari looked at Mai's nightstand and saw a cup of tea sitting on a saucer. Was she still drinking it? As if in reply, Mai picked it up and took a sip.
One glance at Ceph, and Ari knew Sam had drawn his attention to the cup too. He reached into his cardigan.
"So, Mai," Ari began. "I never got to thank you for coming to the Darklands with me the other night. I know it didn't turn out well-"
"Didn't turn out well?" Mai laughed again. "That's an understatement."
"I want to apologize for that. I'm just glad you're all right."
Behind them, Ceph emptied the vial of holy water into Mai's tea.
"Apology accepted." Mai's eyes narrowed as she stared at Ari. "Charlie told me that daeva wanted half of the Eden map. What was on it anyway?"
"Nothing really." Ari stuffed her trembling hands in her pockets. "I don't know what was on Mikhail's half. Probably the Nightmare Forest. Mine showed Snowdrift Plains and the White Mountains. Oh, and Lethe Wood."
"Hm. Why are you guys digging up Sam's grave?"
At that moment, Charlie burst back into the room. "Ready?"
Behind Ari, Ceph mumbled, "Yes."
"Are you sure you don't want to go?" Charlie zipped up her leather jacket with a flourish. "Could be fun."
"Like I said," Mai replied, "I'm not feeling well." She picked up the cup of tea and took a sip.
Ari held her breath.
Almost instantly, Mai's face turned pale. She jumped up from her bed and ran to the bathroom across the hall. A retching noise sliced through the silence, followed by a muffled cry of outrage. Ari's stomach flipped over on itself.
"Come on." Charlie's voice betrayed no emotion.
The three of them stood close together in the hallway as Charlie pushed open the bathroom door.
The first thing Ari saw was a puddle of tea and holy water glistening on the floor. The second was Mai kneeling in front of it.
She looked up at them from her position on the bathroom rug. A harsh smile spread across her face. "Bravo. Took you guys long enough."
A shudder curled down Ari's spine. Where once Mai's voice had hummed like honeyed sunshine, it now simmered with the bruised tones of an out-of-control fire.
Charlie pulled Ceph's knife from the waistband of her jeans. "First rule of being a Texan: don't ever say 'you guys.' If you hurt Mai-" She fell silent as Ceph put his hand on her shoulder.
Mai laughed. "She's still in here, you know. Crying. Curled up in the corner like the weak and frightened animal she is."
"That's enough." Ceph took his knife back from Charlie. "All we want to hear from you are answers."
"Why would I tell you anything?" Mai smiled. "It won't be nearly as fun if you know what's coming."
"You will tell me," Ceph answered, "or I'll kill you." He turned and locked the bathroom door.
"Or?" Mai wagged a finger at him as though he were an errant child. "Thou shalt not lie."
At that moment, the temperature in the bathroom dropped. Ari watched as ice crystals clouded the Venetian mirror over the sink. Seconds later, Sam materialized beside it.
"Miss Williams is still downstairs," he said. "Although I think we should hurry this along; she glanced at her watch far more than was necessary. Either she has short-term memory loss, or she's getting impatient for us to leave."
"Aunt Taurean." Mai trailed her finger along the edge of the Devil's Knot. "Now there's a lovely piece of work."
"Shut up." Charlie swiveled to face Ceph. "It won't tell us anything. Just exorcise it and kill it."
"Calm down, little witch. I may not answer your questions, but that doesn't mean I won't give you a hint."
"It doesn't mean you won't lie to us either," Charlie replied. "Don't forget I've got demon blood too; I can think like you. Cleverness won't work."
"Does this sound like a lie? 'And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.'"
Sam said, "If I'm not mistaken, that's a verse from the book of Mark."
"A Bible verse." Ari's tone was incredulous. "Quoted at us by a demon."
"It doesn't mean anything." Charlie grabbed Ceph by the arm and hauled him forward. "Just exorcise the damn thing."
Mai smiled, and Ari imagined she could see the demon underneath, like a double reflection in a fun-house mirror.
"You can get rid of me, but you can't stop us all. The world is full of monsters; everyone has one buried inside. All it takes is the right trigger to release it." Her eyes sparked as she flicked her wrist toward the light fixture above their heads. The bulbs grew brighter and brighter until they were too brilliant to look at. Glass exploded in all directions, raining down like fragments of ice.
Everyone covered their heads.
"I thought the demon couldn't hurt us." Charlie pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and pointed the camera light at Ceph. "You told us the holy water would render it powerless."
"Well..." Ceph looked apologetic. Blood dripped from a cut above his eyebrow. "The demon is powerless, but Mai isn't. It's using her daeva abilities." He turned back toward Mai. "I'm going to give you one last chance. Where is Ari's father?"
Mai looked at Ceph. Her face broke into an ugly sneer. "Go to hell."
"You first." Ceph used his knife to trace a sigil through the air. The blade flashed gold as his voice echoed off the bathroom walls. "Mikmah de vaoan, od telokh. Mikmah, de ageobofal ar dluga toglo a talho."
Mai closed her eyes and tilted her head back, letting Ceph's words wash over her. "You can't keep them all safe, little Irin," she whispered. "For we are many."
"Who's Ira?" asked Charlie.
Mai's next words were cut off as a low growl issued from her throat. Red splotches marred her cheeks, as if she'd ran a marathon. She pitched forward on the black-and-white rug.
"Mai?" Charlie moved toward her, but Ceph pushed her back.
Charlie shone her camera light on Mai's slumped body. Her shoulders shook as something rose from her like a shadow.
Ceph raised his knife and made another sigil in the air.
The shadow twisted violently. A bright light singed holes through it until there was nothing left.
Charlie pushed past Ceph, and this time he let her. She kneeled down. Her hand touched Mai's shoulder. "Mai?"
Mai groaned and sat up. She moved jerkily, as though she'd forgotten how to control her own body. Her eyes fell on Charlie.
Charlie sighed in relief. "I'm so glad you're-"
The sound of Mai's hand slapping Charlie across the face bounced off the bathroom walls. Ari's pulse roared in her ears. Had Ceph's exorcism not worked?
"Three days!" Mai said. "That thing possessed me for three days, and you couldn't...you didn't even..."
"I'm sorry." Charlie tried to grab Mai's hand, but she jerked it away.
"It thought such horrible things."
"What kinds of horrible things?" Ceph asked.
Judging from the look Mai gave him, she would have slapped him too if he'd been close enough.
"Do you really need to ask her that right now?" Ari said.
"Of course I do. The demon may have let something slip. Mai, you need to tell us everything, even the tiniest detail."
"It spoke to me once." Mai looked at them over Charlie's head. "It said something was coming. The rest of the time it kept repeating that Bible verse, over and over. I saw mostly images. Flashes of its thoughts. None of them made any sense."
"What were its thoughts?" Ceph pressed.
Mai sighed into her hands. "I don't know. Red. A lot of it. A dark room with a man. I think it was a prison. That was it. The rest of the time it was either repeating that Bible verse or thinking about strawberry cake."
Sam quirked an eyebrow. "Strawberry cake?"
"Yeah, with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. It was obsessed. Ate it every day." She patted her stomach. "I probably gained ten pounds."
"At least it wasn't obsessed with eating something unpleasant," Sam said. "Like deep fried grasshoppers."
Now it was Mai's turn to quirk an eyebrow. Ari frowned. Everyone could arch an eyebrow except her?
"Watch it," Mai said. "My mother was Thai. Deep fried grasshoppers were one of her specialties."
"Really?" Sam looked intrigued. "How do they taste?"
Mai opened her mouth to reply and snapped it shut at the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. "My aunt," she whispered. She gripped the side of the tub and pushed herself to her feet. Charlie stood too, arm outstretched, ready to catch Mai if she fell.
There was a knock on Mai's bedroom door. "Mai? It's late. I told you no friends after eleven."
"Good luck." Sam waved and faded into the trembling dark.
"Just a minute! I'm in the bathroom." Mai motioned for everyone to hide in the shower. "Charlie, turn off your camera light." After they'd all piled in, she closed the curtain and went to unlock the door.
They could hear her and her aunt talking in the hall.
"I really hope that's your knife on my butt," Charlie whispered to Ceph.
"Sorry," he mumbled and turned to the side.
"Ow," Ari whisper-shouted. "You stepped on my foot. Stop. Moving. Around."
"I can't help it," Charlie replied. "I'm claustrophobic." A second later, she elbowed Ari in the stomach. "Sorry. My leg is starting to cramp."
"How long do we have to stay in here?" Ceph asked.
The bathroom door opened again. They all held their breath. Slow footsteps crossed the tiled floor. A pause.
The shower curtain ripped back to reveal an unamused-looking Taurean. "Get out."
They piled out of the bathtub as quickly as they could. Mai stood in the doorway, her eyes crinkling with silent laughter. "I'll walk them out."
Once they were downstairs, she said, "If y'all hadn't been whispering the entire time, she wouldn't have heard you."
Charlie pointed her finger at Ceph. "He started it." She twined a curl around her finger. "Anyway, I guess this means you can't come with us."
"Even if it didn't I still wouldn't come."
"Why not?"
"Charlie..." Mai exhaled a sharp breath. "I was possessed by a demon for three days. If you don't mind, I'd like to lay off the adventuring for a little while."
Charlie fiddled with the zipper on her jacket, her eyes on the floor. "It happened when I screwed up that summoning, didn't it?"
Mai grabbed Charlie's elbow. "Look, I'm sorry for slapping you back there. It's just-"
"You don't have to apologize. We've been friends since we were kids. I should be able to tell when you aren't you. Are you sure you won't come with us?"
"Someone has to clean up all that glass." She picked a shard out of Charlie's curls. "Look in the garage before you leave. There's a shovel beside the lawnmower. And one more thing." She looked around at them all. "Be careful."