All righty. One more chapter that kind of sets the scene, and then the next one will get back to what you've been waiting for. I just started a new job and have been a little distracted, but updates should be semi-regular. Thank you for your feedback!

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"It's just kind of sudden. Random. Are you sure you don't want me to go?"

"It'd be boring for you," Christine said, forcing herself to maintain eye contact. She kept blinking anyway. "Just me and an old family friend gabbing about stuff. Things about my father. I'll be back the same day."

"Well, I don't think that'd be boring." She didn't respond, focusing on a long piece of cheese that was dangling off her mall-sized slice of pizza. She and Raoul were having dinner the Wednesday before the weekend of her short trip. Christine had been pleasantly surprised by how quickly Madeleine had arranged the details by e-mail. With little evidence from books, no sign of Erik, and a lack of dreams in the last week—she only had Maddy to keep this whole mission on life support.

"Do you need a ride to and from the airport?"

"Um. Okay, thanks." She reluctantly accepted that offer, feeling guilty for using him as transportation. Still, Christine didn't want to explain why she was meeting with a relative of the man who had been the cause of his winter nightmare.

She'd found a cheap, non-refundable flight ticket online. At least that had only added another two hundred dollars to her credit card. It'd be a lot faster than a bus and stop Raoul from saying something along the lines of: "Do you know what kind of people ride those buses?"

He finally let the topic go and they talked about light-hearted things like a summer vacation in Hawaii.

After he drove her up to the front entrance of the airport that early Saturday afternoon, she leaned into kiss him. He gave her a quick peck on the lips that felt uncertain. "Be careful. Have fun," he said.

"I will, thanks! See you in a little bit!"

"Love you!"

"Love you, too!"

And then she was on her own, with only her purse and an overnight bag in case she ran into any problems coming home.

Waiting in the airport for her flight to Memphis, she nearly expected Erik to call and disrupt her trip again. That never happened. There seemed to literally be no way to draw him out. The flight was quiet, and she shared a row of three seats with only one person. They kept the middle seat between them empty and enjoyed the extra space. She drank a can of Sprite. The air was warmer and stickier down south as the city neared its storm season. Her blonde strands stuck to her cheeks. The sky was grey, and droplets of rain hit the windows.

There was something liberating about stepping off the plane by herself in a new state. Here she was on her own, free and alone. Christine checked her watch. Twenty minutes to go. They were meeting at the coffee shop in the ticket lobby. It took some time to navigate her way through the airport.

After ordering a caramel latte, she found a seat at a table away from the other customers. The cafe was still noisy as people chatted and someone constantly came over the intercom, announcing delays. Christine opened a green spiral notebook and glance down at her list of questions. Were any of them too personal?

Her stomach churned. She checked her watch again. Maddy was ten minutes late. Christine glanced at the other customers to make sure she hadn't missed her. Men in pressed business suits. A younger girl on a cell phone that looked distressed and kept gesturing into the air with her paper cup.

What if she didn't show? It'd always been a possibility. Lost money. Another dead end. No way to help him….

And then Christine saw her. Madeleine slowly approached the entrance, unable to see Christine sitting in the corner. They were nearly the same build, but Madeleine was maybe an inch or two taller. She was stylish, wearing a long black skirt that came down to her knees and a pair of black boots to match. A turquoise short-sleeved blouse that was looser up top and tightened toward the middle. Sunglasses on her head. Pearl earrings and a diamond wedding ring. A crimson purse that couldn't have been cheap. Her lips were pressed together as she looked around the coffee shop. She finally started to approach the girl on the phone.

Christine forced herself to stand. "Maddy?" she asked. Her mouth was parched.

Maddy turned, stared her up and down, and then nodded once. "Christine." She then approached the table as one might walk toward the electric chair.

"Did you want anything to drink?" Christine asked. She smoothed out her shirt, feeling self-conscious.

"No. I think I'm nervous enough without coffee." A pause. "Do they have alcohol?"

"Hehe. I don't think so. How was your flight?"

"It was nice," said Madeleine, still studying her. "No troubles. Yours?"

"It was good. It's been a while since I flew."

"It's getting worse every year. Security lines. No leg room."

Her head bobbed up and down. "Right."

Madeleine took a slow seat and placed her purse at her feet, then adjusted her skirt. "Well," she said, folding her hands on the table. "Well, you look nice. But I don't know what I was expecting. I saw your picture online. I don't mean to be rude-ish. I just, you know, I wasn't sure what I was going into."

Christine half-smiled. "I was thinking the same thing about you. I mean, that you look very nice."

"Thank you." Another silence. Should someone make a comment about the weather? Finally, Madeleine said, with a slightly sharper tone, "Well, you were the one who wanted to see me. So I guess you should start the questions."

"Yes," said Christine. Now that this conversation was actually happening, it took her a moment to find her voice. She fumbled with the pages in her notebook. "Yes. And thank you so much for coming. Um, I guess I want to understand some basic, uh, things. You were Irene's niece?"

"Yes."

"I'm wondering how exactly you were related to Erik? I've worked out that you could be a cousin. Or an aunt. It'd help if I could get some things straight in my head."

"Yes," said Maddy in a softer voice. She licked her lips and looked at the table. "I guess you'd want to know that."

"You seem really uncomfortable," Christine gently continued. "Did he—" Sometimes she still didn't know if she wanted the answers to these questions. But it was too late now. "Did he do something to you?" Maddy didn't respond, her eyes still cast downward. "Like scare or hurt you?"

"Yes. It hurt like hell." Christine inwardly winced until Maddy continued, "But that part was to be expected. It was the afterwards that was…." She couldn't seem to find the word.

"I don't understand."

"Well." She spoke so slowly that Christine was about ready to fall out of her seat with anticipation. She practically mouthed, "I had hit." It was like she tried to say 'it' and 'him' at the same time.

"What?"

"In 1974, I gave birth."

"To Erik?"

"Yes."

Even though Christine had her suspicions, her heart still jumped into her throat. "Oh. Wow. Gosh," she murmured, releasing a shuddery breath. Goosebumps ran up and down her bare arms. She stared into Maddy's eyes then up and down her face, searching for some sign of…recognition, maybe? There was nothing, and that made it even stranger. How could these two people ever be connected? "Thank you for letting me know. That explains some things."

"Does it?"

"But you said you didn't know him?"

"I don't."

"You gave him to Irene to raise?"

"Yes. And before you think I'm a terrible person, let me start from the beginning. Let me—Wait." She pointed an index finger at Christine and squared her shoulders. "How do you know any of this first? Let's go back to you."

"All right." Christine had prepared for this question. There was no way she was going to tell Maddy most of the story; the poor woman was frightened enough. And Christine didn't want Maddy to fear her son even more; that situation was already sad enough. "I met Erik through a strange coincidence. I worked at the library at my university. He was there looking for books about his, um, condition. He's very talented. With music. And really, really smart. Did you know that?" Maddy blinked but didn't respond. "Anyway, he helped me with my singing and schoolwork. But, over time, I began to realize that everything wasn't completely normal about him." She wrung her hands. "I thought I was crazy at first. It frightened me. But, now that I've had time to think about everything, I want to help."

"Why?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Why do I want to help?"

"Mhm."

Christine looked up. There! Finally, she saw something familiar in Maddy's intense stare. Erik had that stare. It was a heck of a lot less intimidating coming from Maddy, but there it was! "I don't know," she finally responded. "Why does anyone help anyone? Because it's right, I guess. Because this shouldn't even be happening. Because he was my—Well, I hope he still is my friend."

Maddy became extra uncomfortable. She shifted and straightened her clothes again, clasped and unclasped her hands. "It's just hard for me to understand why a nice girl like you would be….Well, anyway. How much do you already know?"

"Not very much at all. I know he's well-traveled. I know he's smart. But that he's up against something that wants him to do bad things. I know he's trapped."

Again, Maddy squirmed. "Do you know about the birth? Do you know about that night?"

"No. Nothing."

"Oh. I was kind of hoping you did so that I didn't have to-" She placed her head into her hands and rubbed her temples. "I haven't talked about these things in a very long time. I spent years trying to get away from it. I have a very separate life from all of that."

"All I want to do is talk. And if there are some things that you don't want to tell me, that's fine."

"I've blocked some things. But I'll try. Let's start with something happier, okay?" Christine nodded. "So I was raised by my aunt. My mother, Angela, died giving birth to me." Christine flinched in recognition.

"She does not have to be like poor, stupid Angela—who thought she could escape our little arrangement."

Madeleine told Christine of a happy childhood in the countryside with her aunt. She even took out some black and white photographs, one of them having a picnic beneath a tree and one with Maddy sitting on Irene's lap in a 1960's living room. Christine easily recognized them from the thing's memories. Maddy went on a little too long, obviously reluctant to go to the bad parts. Finally, her expression grew grim, and she said, "But there was always something else there with us."

"Something supernatural?"

"Yes. But it was very subtle back then. Barely there. When I was really young, it was like an imaginary friend." She folded her arms against her chest as though it were cold. "Sometimes it would just say harmless things like, 'You look pretty today, Maddy!' or 'Can I have a picnic with you?'" Christine felt a chill run through her. "And then sometimes it would say things that just weren't right. When I was about seven, I was having a tea party with my dolls. And this voice in my head whispered, 'Such lovely babies, little Madeleine. Someday you will give me a real one.'" She closed her eyes. "Irene assumed I stopped playing with dolls because I was growing up."

"That's horrifying," said Christine.

"But you aren't looking at me like I'm a few cherries short of a fruit salad."

"Like I told you on the phone, I've seen some things I'll never forget. I've heard that voice."

Maddy softly continued, "As I got older, I kind of learned to ignore it. But it was always there, and I think Irene could feel it, too. If a pot fell out of the cabinet or a door slammed, we would joke about it being the ghost. And yet it didn't really affect anything until - Ugh! This is so embarrassing to talk about. I know it'll sound like I was just another hormonal teenager during the times of free love and all that."

"It's all right," said Christine. "I'm not judging anyone."

"It was my first semester of college, and I was at one of my first real parties. I met this boy." She ran a hand through her curly bangs. "He was smart and good-looking, interesting to talk to. One thing led to another. The thing is, I barely remember it. Not because I was drunk or high. But it was like I didn't have complete control of myself. And I wasn't normally like that. My husband laughs at me because I'm so structured." She paused, her index finger leaning against her jaw. "I remember the awkward next morning. We both stared at each other like we couldn't believe it had even happened. We said goodbye. And I got pregnant right away. God, I still remember the look of disappointment on Irene's face."

While Maddy obviously felt humiliated by the whole ordeal, Christine was only pondering the fact that Erik had a biological mother and father.

After taking a deep breath and glancing to the side for several unnerving seconds, Maddy told Christine about her pregnancy, about always feeling like she was under the thing's protection. And then she arrived at the night of Erik's birth. Her face became white as she offered her memories- helplessly lying on the kitchen floor as shadows swirled over her. The lights went off. Irene at first believed the baby to be dead. The thing told Madeleine she was no longer needed. Christine could practically hear the screams and feel the evil in the air. "So," Maddy whispered. "You can see why I had to leave. You can see why I never went back."

"I do see," she murmured. "And I'm so sorry." Christine could also see how clearly Erik was doomed from birth. It was really a wonder that there was any humanity remaining at all. "Do you know what happened afterwards? Irene was with Erik for some time, right?"

"I didn't want to know. I begged her to come with me, but she refused. So I left by myself. And I never asked what was happening. I could hear the exhaustion in her voice. But…." She shook her head. "Irene nearly died, you know? I mean, before her time. She was nearly killed."

"How?"

"Her house caught fire. The place where I grew up burned to the ground. And I know it wasn't an accident."

Christine remembered the burning cabin. "Did—did Irene say how it happened?"

"Not in detail. But, whatever happened, that horrible thing was finally gone after that night. She came to live with me. And we were finally alone." She described a bit of their lives afterwards, her marriage and their happy time in Florida. "And that was that. We were finally free."

"Yes, you definitely were..."

Is there else anything you want to know?"

"Well." Christine glanced at the notes she had taken during their meeting. "This may seem like a weird question. But did you ever see a picture of your father?"

"A few times. There was an old photograph of my parents on their wedding day; it was lost in the fire. His name was Jeffrey. I don't know much about him except that Irene said he seemed nice enough. And that he, well, killed himself. I don't know the reason. My family tree has a lot of weird branches."

"Do you think you resembled him at all?"

"It's been so long since I saw that picture. But I guess a little bit. Why?"

"I'm just making sure I understand how everyone's related." Christine didn't want to admit to Maddy that she'd actually wondered if Maddy was the offspring of the thing. "What happened to Erik's father?"

Maddy shrugged. "Last I heard, he was happily married with a couple of kids. And he won't ever find out about all this." She eyed Christine. "You understand, right? What would I say? I didn't tell you that I got pregnant after our bizarre rendezvous forty years ago. Not only that, I gave birth to a demon. But don't worry—that part wasn't your fault." She grimaced. "Yes, that would go over well."

Christine shifted. "Of course I won't try to find him or tell him. I understand. But, Maddy, I think you should know that—" Christine smiled and leaned forward. "You didn't give birth to a demon. You gave birth to a baby, and a demon attached itself to him. They're separate beings—"

"Stop." Maddy put up a hand.

"But it's the truth. You should know. He's not it. He's—"

"Stop it!"

"I thought you'd feel better knowing that Erik's-"

"Stop! Stop!" Maddy cried out, raising both hands and turning her head. "If you keep saying that, I'm done talking to you, understand? I will leave."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, leaning back in retreat. "I'm sorry."

Christine finally understood. She had thought that Maddy felt guilty because of the belief that she'd given birth to an actual demon and released an evil upon the world. But now Christine grasped the truth.

It was easier for Madeleine to think of Erik as a demon. If Maddy could convince herself that she had simply escaped a monster, she could handle the past. And the guilt. But for her to acknowledge that she had abandoned a human child to a demon - she couldn't face that. That was too much pain. And that was why Maddy didn't ask more about Erik. That was why she didn't want to know how he was doing.

Christine withdrew. And stopped trying to make things right. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "All right. Let's go back to something else. Um. Do you know any more about Angela?"

Maddy's arms finally settled back down on the table. She took a breath and shook her head. "No. Irene wasn't all that close with her in the end. From what I understand, few people were close with her during the last years of her life. I don't think my mother was completely mentally stable. Although after everything that's happened, who knows what she was up against?"

"Have you ever heard of Lillian?"

"Lillian who?"

Christine shrugged. "All I have is Lillian."

"Hm. No. That name doesn't ring any - Well, wait." She squinted. "Something about it sounds a little familiar. Why?"

"I'm not sure yet. Just trying to connect some dots."

"Well, I'll let you know if I remember—Oh. Now I do." Christine eagerly leaned in, heart pounding with anticipation. "Maybe. It's still not really much."

"Please."

"Well, one time Irene took me to visit Angela's grave. I was only about nine. I remember skipping around the cemetery. And Irene scolding me, saying I wasn't being very respectful of the dead. Of course, I didn't listen to her. And then I fell into the mud. I looked down to see what I'd tripped on. And there was this little stone. Like a poor man's grave. You could barely read the writing on it. But it wasn't all that old."

"What'd it say?"

"It just said: Here lies Lillian. May one of us finally know peace." Maddy paused. "It's probably not important, right? Anyway, that's all I remember."

But it was important. Lillian was buried near Angela. They had probably met. Had Alexander found them? Or had Lillian tricked her? Did that mean the whole ritual wasn't always binding? Oh, if only….

Maddy was staring at her, waiting. She'd have to think about this later. "How about Reverend Mansart? Is he still alive?"

"I doubt it, but it wouldn't be impossible. He'd be eighty-five. Ninety. No idea where he went."

"Right. And no one else was ever involved?"

"Not that I know of." They both sat in silence for a moment, glancing at the other customers. Maddy finally asked, "Is there anything else?"

Christine's stomach churned nervously. "There is one more thing. But it's more for me."

"Yes?"

"I think that about twenty years ago, my mother tried to talk to you. About some of these things. I mean, she got in trouble for it."

"What?" Maddy's mouth fell open. "I thought you looked a little familiar. Oh my God! You're her daughter?!"

"Yes. And it's all right. I understand that whatever happened, you know, it was hard for everyone."

"What happened to your mother?" asked Maddy, drawing back.

"She died. About ten years ago. But—"

"I'm sorry. How?"

"I still don't know everything. Except that she wasn't well in a lot of ways. She died in an institution."

"Oh, no! She appeared at the house one day and started to follow us whenever we went outside. And she started asking where he was. Over and over. I was terrified that she might have something to do with that-that thing. My husband doesn't know about any of this. He just thought she was an unstable homeless person, and I let him call the police. I didn't know what to do."

"I understand why. It must have been really upsetting."

"But, Christine, I visited her once before they took her away." Christine sharply glanced up. "I told the police that I wanted to make sure I didn't know her. I didn't tell Peter I went. Or Irene."

"What'd she say?" Christine whispered. "What'd she want?"

"She asked where the—" Maddy visibly swallowed. "Where he was. I told her that I didn't know. I didn't! I asked her what she wanted and why she was harassing us, but all she would say is that no one would let her do her job. She said that she might be able to put an end to it. But that the longer this went on, the less inner strength she'd have to make the better choice. Something strange like that. Does that make any sense to you?"

"No," said Christine. "Not at all."

"Me neither. I tried to get more out of her, but she pretty much ignored me at that point. I didn't want to deal with it anymore. I left. But I didn't mean to ruin her life."

"You didn't," said Christine as she wrote down her mother's words. "My dad was the one who made sure she stayed locked up. He didn't understand."

"And I still don't understand! Is that how you got involved? Your mother? Did she tell you things?"

"No. I barely remember her."

Maddy's forehead crinkled. "It can't just be a coincidence that you're both involved."

Christine crossed and uncrossed her legs. She hesitantly replied, "I told you I was an uninteresting college student. And I am…for the most part. But, lately, I've discovered that I might be a little not normal sometimes. And I think my mother was, too." She cast a quick glance toward Maddy to make sure she wasn't about to run away. "But I promise that I'm not a bad kind of not normal. All I want to do is get rid of that thing."

"No, I've been in the room with evil," murmured Maddy. "I've felt evil. I know you're not evil." She sighed. "Still, I want it all to go away. I don't want to involve myself."

"I understand." After a second, she asked, "Why'd you agree to come today? You didn't have to."

"Oh. Well, there were lots of reasons. Curiosity, I guess. And then I didn't want you to come down there and start asking questions. Not with Peter there. And then. Um. Irene."

"Irene?"

Maddy glanced off to the side for a moment. "My husband has a brother. And he had two boys. So I got to be an aunt to them." For the first time since Christine had seen her, Maddy's face genuinely lit up. "They're growing up now, out of college and getting married. They're good boys. Anyway, they used to come over when they were little. Family gatherings and holidays. Irene would be with us sometimes, especially at Christmas." She quickly pulled a tissue from her purse and dabbed at her eyes. "Sorry. It's just…. Well, Irene would always watch them play with this sad look on her face. And I knew what she was thinking about. I never had the courage to say anything to her. Even to comfort her. And then at the end of her life she finally asked what had happened to…. She wanted him to know she was sorry. And then she was gone."

"I see."

"So. I guess I thought coming today was a way to—" She spread out her hands.

"Resolve things a little bit?" Christine offered.

"Yes. I guess so. It's always been there. Too horrible to think about or forget."

Christine brushed a single tear off her cheek. "It is."

"What are you going to do now?" Maddy asked.

"I don't know yet. Right now, I just want answers. And you've given me some. Thank you."

"It probably wasn't that much help—"

"But it was." She took a shuddery breath. "I've seen a lot of terrible things in the last months. Sometimes I just want to forget it all, too. To give up and go back to normal. But finally, through you, I've gotten to know the…the human side of all of it. It makes things so much clearer."

"Good." Christine started to look down, but Maddy suddenly grabbed her lower arm. Christine started as Maddy lowered her voice and spoke almost harshly, "Listen to me, though. It almost killed Irene. All because she wanted to help. And I know you want to help. You seem very sweet. And you're very young. But you have to know what you're dealing with. So you be very, very careful, okay?"

After overcoming her surprise, she replied, "I will. I've seen what it can do."

Maddy nodded and exhaled, finally releasing her arm. "You won't contact me again?"

"Not if you don't want me to."

"That's probably for the best. I mean, if I can answer more questions, I will. But that's all I'll do."

"I know. Thank you."

"Well, I guess I'll head off. I wonder how bad the food around here is." She slowly began to stand and pick up her purse with a shaking hand. Her face was still pale, and she looked a little older than she had hours ago.

Christine stood as well. "Thank you again for coming." She held out a hand.

Maddy took her hand and squeezed it once. "You're welcome. You take care." She started to leave. Christine sat back down. Then Maddy paused and, without turning around, asked, "Um, are you going to tell…that Irene said she was sorry?"

"Do you want me to?"

Christine could barely hear her reply. "Yes."

"Then I will tell him."

Maddy nodded. With a deep breath, she threw her shoulders back and joined the throngs of ordinary people.

Christine sat there for some time afterwards, staring into her empty paper cup.