Free Playing with Magic (Elemental Trilogy Book 2) by Ellie Potts Page A

part of the body you are hiding, you declare yourself, that you flee the body which you are occupying and from which we drive you with spiritual whips and invisible torments. I demand that you leave this body which has been cleansed by the Lord. Let it be enough for you that in earlier ages you dominated almost that entire world through your actions. Now once great and powerful, you have become nothing but a vengeful spirit, your arms weakening. Your punishment has been prefigured as of old, and through the power of all the saints, you are tormented, crushed, and sent down to eternal flames.  Depart, depart, Stefan you lurk, and nevermore seek out bodies dedicated to the goodness; let them be forbidden to you forever, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Father Ian repeated it two more times.  As soon as the holy water touched Stefan it evaporated, and the steam lingered above him in a thick mist.
    He turned to Pyrus. “Your turn, my dear.”
    She bowed her head and lit the black candles around the bed. While Father Ian was doing his little speech, she had burned basil on the charcoal. She grabbed the ashes and started sprinkling it around the bed. Stefan howled, and it sounded pain-stricken.
    “Hound of the Hill, return home!” She shouted, and brought out a small package of salt. She tossed a pinch of it at him. “Leave this creature of light and return to you darkness, to your prison, to your master.”
    “Send him our regard!” Aarawn shouted from the other room.
    A white light opened inside of Stefan. It shot out of his stomach. Pyrus shielded her eyes, and Father Ian held up his cross he wore around his neck.  It was then Autumn noticed the blood stained bandages around his wrists. Stigmata , she thought, bringing her attention back to Stefan. The light filled the room and then disappeared as if someone had blown it out like a candle.
    Autumn walked to the edge of the basil circle. “You can cross. It was simply for our protection,” Pyrus said. She went over to Stefan. He was breathing hard but fast asleep. His head was covered in sweat, and he looked as if he had just broken a fever, not been possessed by a hell hound. She picked up a dry cloth from the night stand and wiped off his forehead.
    Sleep well, Stefan. Someone has to , she thought.
     
    ****
    “It is a town with people!” Rowan shouted back to the others.
    “Maybe we shouldn’t stop,” Jaime said.
    A man dressed in ragged jeans and a torn shirt flagged them down. Rowan pulled over, and Drake rolled his window down.
    “Hello, good souls,” the man said. “I see you have a drivable vehicle. Where, may I ask, are you heading?” He leaned in a little to see the other faces peeking from the back. Drake moved his head away because the man stunk like road kill.
    “We’re heading to Florida,” River said over Drake’s shoulder.
    “Florida,” the man said.  He went still, as if thinking. “Would you all like to come be dinner guests? We don’t get many people for dinner.”
    “Sure, sounds good. We haven’t had a good meal since we left,” River said as Rowan elbowed him, frowning.
    So, yes, here was finally a living, uninfected person, but the world had changed. They couldn’t be sure of many people. A crazy army had swept through the mall they had lived in, breaking River’s arm but not killing anyone.  They had found the body of a young girl in the funhouse, which disturbed them, but otherwise their time in the mall had been fairly uneventful.  The people who had survived the infected without a safe house had to be a little off. Something about this man didn’t feel right to Rowan.
    “How many people do you have in here so we can prepare for you all?” the man asked. Rowan was getting a very creepy vibe from this man. Maybe it was the airy way he spoke, his torn clothes, and the sunken eyes. He just didn’t look healthy.
    “Six adults and two babies,” Drake said.
    “Babies, hmm,” the man said to