"Vampire blood makes humans stronger, heal faster. There are side effects, but being possessed by demons could have side effects, too." Lemuel's words were reverberating through Manfred's head now as he looked in the mirror, wiping the blood from his ear. It had been more than a week since he had invited six demonic spirits to hijack his body in an effort to defeat Colcannar. They had done it-the Midnighters had worked together and had defeated the evil, but at what cost?
One week earlier
Manfred knew things were going to suck the minute he started to conjure the demonic spirits. Their energies started to circle around him and this energy was different from your average dead ex-husbands energy. This energy hurt. As he watched the smoke circle him like vultures, his body felt like it was being ripped apart. He groaned and shuddered, and tried not to scream. In all his years of conjuring spirits, even when they had hijacked his body, he had never felt pain like this before. It was raw evil. He had to concentrate and the end goal. Save Fiji. Save Midnight. Save Creek. That thought was enough to get him to focus. He made his deal with the demons and tried to prepare himself for the first. 'What am I doing?' He thought to himself a bit too late as the first demonic spirit poured itself into him. If what he felt before was painful, this was agony. His muscles felt like they were pulled too tight, his bones felt like they were snapping. It's as if this spirit was too big for his body. And this was just the first.
Four evil spirits later, Manfred thought his body couldn't take anymore. If felt like it was going to shear in half. But he also felt a power like he had never felt before. The spirits all seemed to be talking to each other but he couldn't quite hear them. It was like they were just out of reach. Thankfully, that made it so that he still had control. He let the power take over him a little. Not enough to consume him, to run wild, but enough for the pain to ebb away. He stood up and stretched his body. The aches were starting to vanish. The power was starting to grow. He felt ready to kick some ass. "Best get to it." Lemuel said, as if he knew what Manfred was feeling. Manfred looked at Lemuel's cold blue eyes, unknowing that they were a stark contrast to his now fiery red eyes and growled. 'Where the hell did that come from?' Manfred thought to himself. And this time, the spirits answered him, in an unsettling cacophony of voices, "YOU PROMISED US FREEDOM IN EXCHANGE FOR A TASK. TAKE US TO THIS TASK, OR FORFEIT YOUR PLACE ON THIS EARTH." This was just about enough to make Manfred shit himself, but he regained his composure and started up the stairs to the main floor of the pawn shop. As he neared the door, the spirits started to become even more restless, as if they were beginning to figure out what they were up against. Manfred could feel the nauseating waves of evil coming from Witch Light Road that he knew had to be emanating from none other than Colcannar. As he stepped outside onto the street, even the spirits could feel it. This was going to be one hell of a battle.
Manfred bent over, trying to compose himself. He'd already exchanged blows with the demon, and was beginning to feel it, but he knew that he was going to go down long before Colcannar. Lem poked his head out from the pawn shop and again, as if he could read his thoughts ('Maybe he can' thought Manfred, as he never really asked what the extent of Lem's powers were), Lem said "You need more power!" And he was gone in the blink of an eye.
Lemuel opened the basement door, remembering a second too late that the not-currently-human-Rev was also down there. Lemuel fought him off, trying futilely to reason with the tiger, so that he could get to the small locked cabinet in the back of the room. Lem didn't bother with a key and ripped the lock from the door. He stood for a split second trying to consider what he was about to do. He knew that this was the most evil object in the entire shop. He hadn't even told Bobo what was in the cabinet when he had bought the place from him. He knew he had no choice. He swung the door open, grabbed the talisman and ran back up the stairs, locking the Rev up behind him. He ran out the door and handed it to Manfred. "This belonged to a man who thought he was the devil himself". Manfred took the item without looking and immediately regretted it. Now this was some serious shit. He didn't even have to do his usual spiel; it's like the energy was waiting for him. The smoke started to pour from the totem and barrel led into him. This spirit was different. This was a power way beyond the five he already had inside him. When he gathered himself back up, he glanced back at Lemuel who looked like he was the one seeing ghosts. Lemuel looked horrified. Manfred felt something hot and sticky start to flow down his face, but quickly realized he didn't care. The power inside him was incredible. He sauntered towards Colcannar and in a flash, he thought he saw Colcannar tremble. Even the five spirits from before seemed to yield to this last spirit. 'This is some really bad shit', Manfred thought, again, too late. Manfred took everything in him and unleashed it all. And Colcannar went down.
After watching Colcannar burst into ashes, Manfred commanded the spirits in him to vacate. And the leaving was just as bad as the entering. He fell to the ground and started heaving. It felt like his insides were pouring out of him. He tried to count as the spirits left him, but they were one big jumbled mess. After what felt like forever, the last visages began to leave him and simultaneously he felt a heat follow behind the spirits. He realized it was his own blood he was throwing up and started to choke. He tried to cough and clear his airway and when it was all finally out, the air in Texas had never tasted sweeter. Lem helped him to his feet. "You ok?" Lem asked, still looking a bit petrified. "I'm not sure." Manfred replied honestly. Could he really be ok after all that? But the thought was brushed away when images of Creek flooded his mind. He had to go check on her, make sure she was ok. Then he could see if he was ok. Although some deep part of him knew he would never be the same.
TBC