Page 76 of Soulmarked

Static crackled, then Sean's voice came through, tight with concentration: “North and west are charged. Lex has south. Get ready, this is going to get messy.”

An understatement if I'd ever heard one. Above us, through gaps in the crumbling ceiling, I could see the asylum transforming. Reality bent around the building like heat waves off asphalt, but wrong, twisting in ways that hurt to look at directly.

“In position,” Sean's voice came again. “Starting the ritual.”

The marks I'd drawn flared brighter, power flowing between them like liquid lightning. Sean's voice echoed through the tunnels, the ritual beginning with quiet intensity.

“Incipit ritus sanctus,” Sean intoned, his voice carrying through the ancient tunnels. The holy rite begins.

The tunnel walls themselves seemed to vibrate, centuries-old symbols awakening to his call. Through the gaps above, I could see black smoke beginning to pour from the scientists' mouths—not normal smoke, but something that moved with terrible purpose.

“Per virtutem lucis et lineam terrae, expello tenebras.” By the power of light and the line of earth, I cast out darkness.

Sean's voice grew stronger with each word, carrying harmonics that made my mark burn with answering cold fire. The smoke-like entities writhed as they were torn free, trying to maintain their hold on human flesh. Each extraction looked agonizing, the hosts' bodies arching impossibly as the things inside them were forcibly evicted.

“In nomine antiquorum et potentiae sacrae,” he continued, blood now trickling from his nose as he channeled more power than any human should. In the name of the ancients and sacred power.

The very air around us seemed to thicken and pulse with each phrase, the tunnel system's ancient design amplifying every syllable. The walls glowed with patterns that had waited centuries to be awakened, and I could feel the mark on my chest responding, resonating with whatever power Sean was channeling.

“Per sanctum cruorem et ignem aeternum, impero vobis!” Sean's voice thundered through the tunnels as he reached the ritual's crescendo. By holy blood and eternal fire, I command you!

The remaining demons screamed as they were banished, the sound carrying frequencies that made reality itself shudder. Black smoke poured from every possessed scientist, swirling in violent vortexes before being pulled downward through the very stone beneath our feet.

“Claudo portam, sigillo viam.” I close the gate, I seal the way.

With these final words, Sean completed the ritual, the power surging through the tunnel system in a wave that made the air shimmer and crack. I felt it pass through me like a physical force, the mark on my chest pulsing in response as if recognizing the ancient power being wielded.

But one remained untouched.

The blue-eyed demon watched the chaos with something like amusement, completely unaffected by Sean's ritual. Her smile was wrong in ways that had nothing to do with facial muscles, and when she spoke, her voice carried centuries of malice.

“Did you think mere exorcism rites could touch me, little hunter?”

Sean staggered slightly, blood streaming from his nose as he tried to focus the remaining energy of the ritual toward her. His face had gone pale with exertion, but his eyes burned with stubborn determination.

The demons around us screamed as they were banished, the sound carrying frequencies that made reality itself shudder. But the blue-eyed thing just laughed, untouched by the power that had expelled the others.

“Your borrowed power is nothing,” she said, her form beginning to shift in ways that defied physics. “I am older than your rituals, older than the very concept of exorcism.”

The temperature dropped suddenly, frost crystallizing on the tunnel walls. I could feel the mark on my chest respond to her presence, growing colder with each word she spoke.

“Sean!” I shouted, seeing him falter as the entity's power pressed against his ritual. “We need to move! Now!”

He was already backing toward the maintenance shaft we'd spotted earlier, his voice never faltering in the ritual even as blood streamed from his nose. “Claudo portam, sigillo viam!”

The entity's laughter followed us as we retreated, echoing wrongly in the tunnel acoustics. The other scientists lay unconscious where they'd fallen, freed from possession but changed in ways we couldn't yet assess.

We found the maintenance shaft. Lex was already there, covering our retreat with weapons that probably wouldn't do much against what was following us.

“Skye!” I tried the comms again. “If you can hear us, we need extraction. South side of the building, utility access point.”

Only static answered. Whatever power that thing was putting out, it was blocking all communication.

“Options?” Lex asked as we climbed, trying to ignore the sounds of pursuit below.

“We need bigger guns,” Sean said, his voice rough from the ritual. “That thing down there? It's not just some demon. It's something older. Something nastier.”

“Wonderful.” I helped him up the last few rungs, pretending not to notice how his hands shook from channeling that much power. “Any other good news?”

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