How to Change Your Stars

Chapter Fourteen ~ Demon-Marked Girl

"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."