Page 128 of The Haunting of Lockton
“Julian is more powerful than I thought,” Callum said. “His gift is truly remarkable, as is his willpower. I’ve seen instances such as this before, but this case is quite unique. Anyone else’s consciousness would’ve been consumed by now. He’s fighting hard to maintain control despite the strength of the other soul trying to take him over.”
“I… I’m not following.”
“In layman’s terms?” Callum glanced at the closed door before returning his blue eyes to me. “Your brother is possessed.”
“Possessed?” The word instantly conjured images from all the creepy movies I’d watched. “Like levitating off the bed, head spinning around, and puking up pea soup possessed?”
Callum pressed his lips together. “Not quite.”
“Then mind explaining?” I asked.
“I’ll take that drink now,” Callum told Paxton. “Tea, if you have it, but coffee is fine as well.”
“Um. Sure.” Paxton headed for the stairs.
I grumbled as we took them back down to the first floor and walked toward the kitchen. I wasn’t known for my patience. How could he drop a bomb like that and then have the audacity to talk about freaking tea?
“Is green tea okay?” Paxton asked as he rifled through a cabinet. “It’s all I have.”
“Yes, that’s perfect.” Callum took a seat at the table. “Thank you.”
Paxton filled a mug with water and stuck it in the microwave. Callum cringed a little. Once it beeped, Paxton placed a tea bag inside the mug for it to steep. Apparently, the way he made tea hurt Callum’s soul.
“Back to Julian,” I said. “He’s possessed? By, like, a demon?”
Callum accepted the mug from Paxton and shook his head at me. “You said when you encountered Owen Reilley in the solitary wing, Julian touched him and there was a bright light.”
“Yeah. So?”
“Well, first of all, the fact he even conjured that light is remarkable,” Callum said before taking a small sip. Another slight cringe from Mr. Tea Snob, but he kept any complaints to himself. “There are those who train for years and still never manage it. Light magic like Julian’s is rare. The ability to chase away darkness with a mere thought, as opposed to having to use a spell or wield a charm or talisman. Not even I can do it.”
“Light magic?” Paxton asked, sitting with us at the table.
“Protection magic, it can also be called. Magic of the purest quality.” Callum looked at me. “When Julian thought Owen was going to hurt you, he acted on impulse and grabbed him, infusing that magic directly and forcing Owen to flee. I think that’s when it happened.”
“When what happened?” I asked.
“The merge,” Callum said. “The physical contact gave Owen anin.”
I gaped. “Owen is possessing Julian?”
Callum nodded. “Ordinary ghosts don’t have the ability to possess the living on their own. In my experience, it’s only been wrathful spirits that have managed to do so. The anger upon their death left behind a sort of curse that, under the right circumstances, could allow them to take over the soul of someone among the living. Owen is angry, yes, but he’s not completely ruled by that anger. He still has awareness of who he is. Of who he was.”
“Then how did this happen?” Paxton asked.
“A combination of Julian being a medium and Owen being a witch,” Callum answered. “Mediums act as a sort of conduit for spirits. They can receive messages and pass them on. Theycan allow a spirit to possess them temporarily, such as during seances. When Julian touched Owen, Owen tapped into Julian’s spiritual power as a medium and latched on. He’s been feeding off that power ever since.”
“Is that why Jules has been so tired?” I took a small breath.
“Yes. And he’ll only get worse. Owen is draining him. Weakening him. Your brother has held on strong so far, but if we don’t act soon, Owen will fully possess him. When that happens, Julian will be a prisoner in his own body. He may be conscious for a while but would eventually wither away, his soul burned up by Owen’s. A body can’t house two souls forever.”
I felt sick. “What do we do? How can we help him? An exorcism?”
Callum stared at his tea. “A few years ago, I helped someone who was possessed by a wrathful spirit. This spirit created a curse with his dying breath that resulted in many other tragedies to follow. Everyone who moved into the mansion had that curse placed on them as well. It twisted their minds, turning those with weaker wills into murderers who slaughtered their entire families. Some took their own lives.”
“Redwood?” Paxton asked.
“Yes,” Callum answered. “When the spirit possessed Carter, the boy I helped, it tainted his soul. Darkened it. In order to separate that spirit from him, I needed the bones of the deceased so I could perform a summoning spell to pull him from Carter’s body and place him back in his own. What was left of it anyway. I then lifted the curse and set the soul free.”
