Page 15 of Exorcise Me
“Hold her down,” Father Finnegan instructed, calm and authoritative.
The girl’s father and brother moved to restrain her, while her mother sobbed quietly in the corner. I stood beside Father Finnegan, prayer book open, holy water at the ready, trying to focus on the ritual and not on Lucien’s words echoing in my mind.
What if it’s just lonely? Curious? Even in love?
“Noah.” Father Finnegan’s sharp voice broke through my thoughts. “Begin the prayer.”
I cleared my throat and started the Latin incantation, the words thick and unfamiliar on my tongue. As I spoke, Sadie’s body went rigid, then began to thrash more violently. Her eyes rolled back, and for a moment I thought she was choking.
“Continue,” Father Finnegan urged.
I hesitated. “She’s not responding—she’s seizing!”
Father Finnegan didn’t look up. “The demon resists. Keep going.”
“She’s foaming at the mouth,” I said. “She needs a doctor!”
“The pain is the demon’s, not the girl’s,” he countered.
But what if it’s not?Lucien’s voice whispered in my mind.What if you’re causing real harm?
I watched as Sadie convulsed against her restraints, her breathing ragged, her pulse fluttering beneath pale skin. This wasn’t possession. It looked like a medical emergency.
“We need to stop,” I said, stepping back. “She needs medical attention, not an exorcism.”
Father Finnegan turned to me, his expression tight with disbelief. “The demon has gotten to you,” he said. “It’s clouding your judgment.”
“No one’s influencing me,” I insisted. “Look at her!”
“Noah—” Father Finnegan began, but I was already moving, pushing past the girl’s father to check her pulse, which was racing dangerously fast.
“Call an ambulance,” I ordered, loosening the restraints. “She’s having a seizure.”
To my relief, the mother immediately pulled out her phone, ignoring Father Finnegan’s protests. Sadie’s body continued to convulse, but less violently now that she wasn’t being restrained.
“You’re making a grave mistake,” Father Finnegan warned, his face flushed with anger. “The demon—”
“There is no demon!” I snapped, frustration boiling over. “There’s a sick girl who needs doctors, not prayers!”
The room fell silent except for Sadie’s labored breathing and her mother’s quiet voice giving their address to emergency services.
Father Finnegan looked at me with cold disappointment. “We will discuss this later,” he said, his voice dangerously calm. “For now, I will complete the ritual alone.”
“No, you won’t,” I stood between him and Sadie, surprising myself with my certainty. “You’ll wait for medical professionals to assess her condition.”
For a tense moment, I thought he might physically push me aside. Then the fight seemed to drain from him, replaced by a sadness that was somehow worse than his anger.
“What’s happened to you, Noah?” he asked quietly. “What have you allowed into your heart?”
I had no answer for him—at least, not one I was ready to give.
The ambulance arrived minutes later. The paramedics quickly determined Sadie was indeed having seizures, likely caused by an undiagnosed condition. They administered medication that calmed her convulsions almost immediately.
“Has she been taking any medications? Recreational drugs?” one paramedic asked the parents.
“No,” the father said firmly. “She’s a good girl.”
The paramedic nodded, noncommittal. “We’ll run tests at the hospital. There are many conditions that can cause seizures with behavioral changes.”
