Free Desire: #4 Brightest Kind of Darkness by P.T. Michelle

what I did or even how I did it. I just really wanted that demon out of David.”
    Ethan looks thoughtful. “Every demon I’ve expelled with my sword bursts out of the person’s body in a pale yellow mist. That’s been true whether it was an Inferi or a Furia. The fact that you saw a flash of light shoot out of him instead of yellow mist has to mean something else.”
    “I have no idea what it means.” I run my teeth across my bottom lip, then stop when the slight flexing of my neck muscles pulls on my wound.
    “Unless…” He tilts his head.
    “Unless what?”
    Stepping into the hallway, Ethan sniffs toward the kitchen. “I can’t smell even the smallest trace of the demon. It’s like it was never here.”
    I follow him into the hall. “What are you thinking?”
    “Are you sure you’re not an angel?”
    I spread my hands wide. “I think that’s something Michael would’ve mentioned. Why?”
    Ethan rubs his jaw. “If that was a Furia demon—”
    “It was.”
    “How do you know?”
    “Drake’s soul took over David’s body,” I say.
    Guilt scrolls across Ethan’s face. I know he’s thinking about the fact he’s the one who created the Furia inside David. Then hope brightens his eyes. “I wonder if…you just freed Drake’s soul from Lucifer’s influence.”
    “You think his soul’s no longer Furia?” I nod, thinking it through. “That would explain me seeing something different leave his body, and it would also explain why you can’t smell anything. Both you and Houdini have always been able to in the past.”
    He nods, smiling broadly. “There has definitely got to be some angel in you.”
    I snort and shake my head. “I’m just glad Mr. Dixon’s okay. Do you think he bought the sleep-walking story?”
    “What choice does he have? It’s either that or think he’s gone crazy. For his own peace of mind, I hope he does believe it.” Lifting his chin toward the front door, Ethan continues, “Once I leave, put the mistletoe up over all the entrances to your house. Hanging them in the doorways will add a layer of protection against demons. Unfortunately there isn’t a permanent way to safe-guard your house against them, but the mistletoe should last for a few days until it dries out.”
    Houdini whimpering and pawing at his ear snags my attention. “What’s wrong, boy?” When he licks his paw, I notice the blood on it. “What happened?” I step close and squat to lift his paw so I can check for an injury.
    “It’s his ear,” Ethan says, touching Houdini’s floppy right ear.
    I glance up at the wound along the tip and frown. “It’s sliced open. Poor guy.”
    Once I return from the bathroom with a clean alcohol swab for Houdini, Ethan’s face is stony, his tone laced with anger. “It looks like someone took a pair of scissors and snipped the edge of his ear.”
    His vivid imagery makes my stomach twinge. “Can you hold his collar while I clean his wound? This is going to hurt.”
    After I clean the wound and rig the bandage into a butterfly-type suture to hopefully help the cut heal back together, I stand and glance into the kitchen. “I’d better get that glass cleaned up before Mom gets home.”
    As I turn to walk away, Ethan reaches for my hand. Threading our fingers together, he says, “I’m sorry about earlier in the car.” He swallows. “I just don’t know what to think about all this Corvus stuff.”
    He won’t even use the term “Master Corvus.” I squeeze his hand. “I know. You haven’t mentioned the scariest part. The thought that you might have to fight Lucifer worries me more than anything.”
    He shrugs. “That’s only if it’s true. I’m still in the ‘I don’t believe it’ camp.”
    I wish it wasn’t true, but no amount of wishing or ignoring can change reality. “Stubborn,” I say, sighing heavily. “Go pick up your brother. Come by later and we’ll go over Freddie’s book.”
    Ethan nods, then turns to retrieve my zip-up hoodie from