Free Death's Avatar (The Descent Series) by S.M. Reine

mattress.
    “Colder! Colder !” Her voice was
shrill, piercing.
    Lucinde's nails flashed. Elise raised her
arm in defense—but the little girl stopped short, swiping the hand
inches from Elise’s face. Lucinde’s wrist was roped to the corner
of the bed.
    Augustin hauled the exorcist to her feet,
dragging her away from Lucinde. She shook his elbow free of his
grip.
    “We told you to be careful,” he said, voice
rough. “She's not normal anymore.”
    Elise met the girl’s eyes. “Cold,” she
echoed.
    Marisa moved into the room, making soothing
noises. Lucinde screamed a long note with the tenor of a beast.
Augustin guided Elise out of the room and shut the door. Without
windows, the hallway was darker than Lucinde's bedroom, but it felt
much less oppressive.
    “We won't be held liable for our
daughter's—”
    “I'm not going to sue you for my wound, if
that's what you're getting at. I've had many injuries much worse
than this.”
    “Good.” His mouth twisted. “Good. What were
you doing in there?”
    “Testing her,” she said. “This is the
pendant of Saint Benedict. He's the patron saint of a lot of
things—nettle rash, servants who have broken stuff that belongs to
their masters. Spelunkers.”
    “Spelunkers?”
    “He’s also invoked during exorcisms. I
wanted to see if she would react to Latin because a lot of Greater
Demons don’t speak any living languages.”
    “She's been speaking English,” Augustin
said. “She keeps saying 'cold.'”
    “I saw that.”
    “So… what do you think?”
    “I can’t say if she's possessed,” Elise
said, touching the back of her hand to her mouth. It came away
bloody. “She's definitely got an attitude problem.”
    “She was never like this before,” Augustin
said.
    “I’m sure.” She headed down the stairs,
leaving Lucinde's screams behind her. “I’ll do some research. I've
seen my share of possessions and exorcisms, but never one as
spontaneous as this. You're sure nothing has been flying
around?”
    “Completely sure. We're not freaks .”
    “You don't have to be a freak to be targeted
by demons; just unlucky or stupid. Since you haven't summoned
anything, you could be the former.”
    “We're not stupid,” he said. Her eyes
narrowed.
    “Don't put words into my mouth.”
    Augustin puffed out his chest. “Can you
exorcise Lucinde or not?”
    “I could, if she's possessed,” Elise said.
“It definitely seems like a demon problem.”
    “Like in the Bible.”
    “Yes. ‘Like in the Bible.’ I'm going to
confer with James, after which he'll be in contact with you. What
would be the best number to reach you at?”
    “Marisa’s so-called high priest has it,”
Augustin said.
    “Okay. Keep Lucinde in her room for now. Try
to keep her eating and drinking water, because if she is possessed,
she'll resist it on her own,” Elise said. She touched her bleeding
lip. “You already know to keep your distance.”
    “Yes.”
    He opened the front door to let in the hot
summer air. The clouds had thickened since Elise’s arrival, and it
smelled like rain again. “You have my card. Call me when she gets
worse,” she said, stepping outside.
    Augustin was already closing the door. He
looked as inclined to give her a call as he was to offer a finger
to his daughter's mouth. “Right, thanks,” he said.
    Elise paused by the Ramirezes’ gate. She
glanced up at Lucinde’s window, half-covered in a heavy drape. As
she watched, a hand came up to jerk it closed.
    “You’re welcome,” she muttered. Elise turned
on her car, cranked the radio, and pulled out of the
cul-de-sac.
    In the bushes between the Ramirezes’ house
and their neighbor’s, an earless gray creature crouched in the
shadow of the tree watching Elise's car pull away. A small tongue
darted out of its mouth to lick its leathery lips.
    It blinked, dedicating Elise's face to
memory, and vanished.
Get DEATH’S HAND now!
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An excerpt from DREAMS OF GRAY by