After Carlita had left, Ryan shoved Raj around for a good five minutes, ending each blow with an insult. Raj said nothing, only trying to cover his face. There was a moment where Ryan tore Raj's hands away and slapped him across the face. But soon Ryan grew tired of his non-active plaything and left to read on the couch.
Raj lay shivering on the ground. The beating may have been painful, but he still preferred it to being felt up by Ryan. The mere thought of it curdled his heart. But this, too, was nothing to the pain he felt when he thought of Lisa. Could she be dead already? No…impossible. Not Lisa.
Now that Carlita had left his body, he was slightly less worried about his family. Since they hadn't wronged her, they weren't in line with her warpath. And as long as Carlita intended to kill him, she couldn't use his body to manipulate his family. Then again, his death would absolutely flatten his family. Before, he had only thought about his family's bodily safety, but what about their emotional safety? He couldn't do that to his mom, not after everything she had done for him. His dad, too. And Anushka…she didn't express it often, but he knew she admired him. Despite everything, it was the thought of his family that at last drew a tear from Raj's eye. They would be so disappointed if he gave up on life. He had to go on living, for them.
Besides, if he could stay alive, maybe there was still time to save Lisa.
"Carlita?" he whispered as quietly as he could.
Ryan didn't look up.
But Carlita didn't appear. He should have known that trying to summon her wouldn't work anymore. She had grown far more powerful since he had last encountered her. That was back when Carlita could be summoned with a couple mosquito candles and some bath bombs.
Raj shifted position so he could look around the room. Could he just get up and rush Ryan? No…Raj's binds meant it would be more a bunny hop than a charge, and Ryan would take him out in an instant. Maybe he could face toward the wall and chew the sheets of his wrist. But that would take too long. He stared longingly at the heavy book in Ryan's hand, wishing he had it for himself so he could use it to clobber Ryan over the head. If only he could get over there somehow, and take it from him.
Then he had an idea that cause his heart to plunge directly into his stomach. A horrible, terrible idea, but one that might just work. There was no time to think it over, he just had to do it. He closed his eyes for a few moments to steady his breathing, then blinked them open.
Raj began to lift himself up into a seated position. Using the wall as a support, he managed to get all the way up into a standing position. He fixed a smile to his face.
This finally got Ryan's attention. His eyes flicked up from his book, and he looked quickly glance over Raj. "What are you doing?" he said sternly.
"It's me again," said Raj, with a cold but triumphant voice.
"Carlita?" said Ryan as his face broke into a smile and he lifted himself up from the sofa. "I didn't know you'd be back so soon! Is she dead?"
"Yes, she's dead," said Raj. "And I wanted to celebrate." He tried to take a step toward Ryan, but his ankle was held fast by the sheet. "Oh, right," he said while looking down at his feet.
"I'll get those off for you," said Ryan.
"Thank you," said Raj. Would Carlita say thank you? She wasn't exactly the most grateful person.
Ryan didn't seem to notice, however, as he soon produced a pair of scissors and began snipping away at the bed sheets. The bed sheets were thick, and the work was rather tough, but in a few minutes the sheets lied tattered on the floor.
"Do you want to know how she died?" said Raj as he laced his fingers behind Ryan's neck.
"Yes," said Ryan, completely entranced by what he thought was Carlita.
"She was just alone in her room. On a Friday night! Isn't that pathetic?" said Raj, hoping he wasn't laying it on too thick. "Anyway, once I possessed her I took the sheets from her bed and made a noose. I told her how much I hated her while I tied the noose onto the railing in her closet. Then I set up a chair, put the noose around her neck, and jumped."
The story disgusted Raj, but Ryan smiled.
"Wonderful," he said. "Genius."
"Now let's celebrate," said Raj. He tried to mimic Carlita's movements from before: he combed his fingers through Ryan's hair, while his other hand slid up Ryan's back. His heart began to thump powerfully. He willed it to calm down, but to no avail. Hopefully Ryan wouldn't be able to feel the thumping, as Carlita was not the type to get flustered.
But Ryan didn't seem to notice anything. He simply stared into Raj's eyes, but before he could get a good look, Raj kissed him. This kiss was rougher than the last one, which gave Raj more of an excuse to push Ryan toward the couch. Together, they collapsed onto the sofa, with Raj on top. He pulled his hand out from behind Ryan's back and trailed his fingers underneath the hem of Ryan's shirt, a trick he'd learned from Dakota. Ryan threw his arm over Raj's back and pulled him closer.
Then Raj felt a hard edge against his knee. There it was…the book he'd been aiming for. Ryan had left his heavy book on the couch, and now it was right within Raj's grasp. He slipped his hand out from underneath Ryan's shirt and deftly picked up the book. It was now or never.
With one swift motion, he broke the kiss and brought the hard edge of the tome down onto Ryan's head. Ryan barely had time to register what happened before he hit him again. Repeatedly, he smashed the book down onto Ryan's head until he was out cold.
Raj leapt off of the sofa and threw the book from his grasp. He considered tying Ryan up, but there was no time. Besides, the binding was ruined now. Instead, he picked up his keys from where Carlita had left them in the bookcase and rushed out the door. He was down the stairs and in his car in a matter of seconds, and he was on the road in even less time. The car's clock told him that it was 11:40pm.
His first stop was Lisa's house. There was no time for courtesy, so he rang the doorbell until Lisa's bath robed parents came to the door. Her parents informed him that Colin had just picked her up to go to Raj's house. So she was alive! Thank God! He assured them that it was a mix-up, that he was sorry for disturbing them, and they told him that they hoped he and Lisa's last minute school project went well.
His next stop was his own house. As he pulled down his street, he saw Lisa, Selena, and Colin in a group on his lawn. Lisa was pacing back and forth while on the phone, with Selena following her, while Colin was staring into Raj's window, his palms cupped around his eyes.
Lisa saw him first. As he pulled up beside his house, she stopped and stared for a second, uncertain. Then when she saw him getting out of his car, she ran toward him and enveloped him in a hug. She was soon joined by Selena and Colin in a group hug. "Oh my God!" was all Lisa could say.
Selena let go first. "Give him some space! He probably doesn't know what's going on."
Lisa and Colin let go at Selena's prompting, though Colin kept a protective hand on Raj's shoulder. His shoulder ached. The beating he'd received began to kick in as adrenaline wore off, but he did his best to ignore the pain.
"Don't worry, Selena, I know what's going on," said Raj. He turned his attention to Lisa. "Lisa, did Carlita hurt you?"
"Don't worry about me," said Lisa, shaking her head. "Where have you been? Are you okay?"
"Where do I even start?" said Raj.
"We should start setting up now that Raj is here," said Selena.
"Oh, that's right," said Lisa. "We were going to conduct a séance so that we could hold Carlita here until her time is up. That way she can't hurt anyone."
"Good idea," said Raj.
"You can tell us what happened while we're setting up. Can you get the crown?" said Lisa, while Selena began lighting candles.
When Raj stepped toward his front door, Colin followed him. Colin began to speak, but Raj shushed him.
"I don't want to wake up my family," Raj whispered as he quietly turned his key in the lock.
"You're worried about waking up your family at a time like this?" Colin whispered back.
"Yes," said Raj. "I don't want them to worry."
"What about me?" Colin whispered as he followed Raj down the hallway. "I was worried!"
Raj didn't respond. He quietly opened the door to his room, and he instantly spotted the crown on his night stand. It was still there after everything that happened. Even in the darkness of his room, the crown glittered and cast off little specks of light. As he picked the crown up, he felt Colin grab lightly onto his arm.
"Raj," he whispered.
Raj turned around, and their eyes met. Neither of them spoke.
After a moment, Raj said, "Let's go," and brushed past Colin out of his room.
Once Raj's front door was securely locked behind him and Colin, he joined Lisa and Selena out on the lawn. Selena was focused on lighting incense, but Lisa was waiting out on the lawn with crossed arms.
"Raj," she said when she saw him, "You've got to tell us what happened."
"If everybody could just sit down on the ground with their hands joined, that would be great," said Selena. "That way we'll be ready to go when I have everything set up."
Colin grabbed Raj's left hand, while Lisa grabbed his right, then they sat down on the ground, leaving an empty space for Selena.
"Well, first of all," said Raj, "Have you tried calling Aiden?"
Lisa froze. "I was so worried about you that I totally forgot about Aiden!"
"Don't call him," said Raj. "He's not who you think he is."
Lisa stared at Raj. "What does that mean?"
"Well…okay, I'll get to that. This whole thing started because I did something incredibly stupid. I was feeling guilty, so I called Carlita. I just…I couldn't handle the thought of condemning her to Hell. She appeared, I tried to say sorry, and then she possessed me," Raj explained.
Lisa gasped, while Colin took a sharp breath through his nose.
"Um, she drove me out to some apartment complex in town. We went up to this particular apartment and she knocked on the door. Um…it was Aiden. That's not even his real name. It's Ryan. He was helping Carlita."
"What the hell?" Lisa said softly. "How?"
"I don't know," said Raj. "I don't know how they even would have met, or when. But it was him. I know it was him."
Lisa looked away, and balled her free hand into a fist. "That bastard," she said through her teeth. "That rat bastard."
"Um, guys?" said Selena. "I'm ready. Also, it's midnight right now, so that sounds like a good time to start."
"I'll tell you the rest later," said Raj as Selena joined the circle.
Selena hunkered down and closed her eyes. After a moment, they fluttered open again, and she said, "Carlita! Are you with us?"