Darkest Hour by Rob Cornell

guide her over and she took a seat. She gave Lockman a look, raising her eyebrows.
    He shrugged. They were both in the hands of the doctor and the father. They would have to trust the two men knew what they were doing. Which was a trick, since Lockman didn’t trust they knew much of anything. Especially after seeing Jessie give them a lesson in vampire lore. Or was it Gabriel that had actually given the lesson? In either case, Gabriel proved to know a hell of a lot about the supernatural. In any other case, Lockman would have considered keeping him around to pump for intel they could use against the vamps.
    But this was Jessie they were talking about. Lockman didn’t give a damn what Gabriel knew. He wanted him out of his daughter.
    Father Caruthers took up a post beside the recliner. “Try to relax.”
    “If you knew the litany of things getting shouted at me in my own head, you wouldn’t have even bothered suggesting such a thing.”
    “I’m sorry. This will just go a lot smoother if you let me do the work.”
    “I’m committed. Do what you have to do. Just get it over with.”
    Lockman couldn’t hold back his curiosity. “What’s he saying now?”
    Jess scrunched up her face. “Nothing that makes sense. Something about a hundred year reign of darkness.”
    Why did he bother asking? Gabriel was obviously trying to scare them out of going through with the…procedure. That made Lockman all the more certain of their path.
    So long, you son of a bitch.
    The father rested a hand on Jessie’s forehead. “Close your eyes and take deep, even breaths. Try to imagine your muscles turning to warm putty.”
    Jessie closed her eyes, but her face looked pinched, not the least bit relaxed.
    “If you feel like drifting off to sleep, go ahead.”
    Eyes still closed, Jessie quirked up one eyebrow. “You’re kidding, right?”
    Caruthers scowled. If Lockman could have read his mind at that moment, he guessed the father’s thoughts weren’t the most priestly. The father managed to hold back his ire, though. He sighed heavily and said, “Just try your best. And don’t speak.”
    Jess harrumphed, but left it at that.
    Dr. Truman looked from Jessie to Caruthers like a sugar-stoked six year-old checking out the presents under the Christmas tree. He rubbed his hands together. “Shall I get the holy water?”
    “Holy water?” Lockman asked. “Come on. I thought you said this was like an exorcism. We’re not casting out Satan here.”
    “No,” Jessie said, voice guttural. “Much worse than that.”
    The father and doc exchanged worried looks.
    “No,” Caruthers said slowly. “But as we’ve said, the process is similar enough. The trappings don’t matter. Only the intention. And I intend to rid your daughter of the monster possessing her.”
    Jessie opened her eyes. In her typical voice, she said, “I wouldn’t go as far as possessed. More like occupied.”
    “Please. Do not talk. Keep your eyes closed.”
    She rolled her eyes before closing them again.
    Truman looked at Caruthers expectantly. Caruthers gave him a nod and Truman shot over to the lone bookcase. The shelves only came to his waist. An ornate golden chalice sat on top of the shelf next to a glass decanter half filled with water. Truman poured some of the water into the chalice and then carried the chalice to the father.
    Caruthers took the gold cup in both his hands. He muttered something, eyes closed. A prayer, Lockman figured. Then the father dipped the tips of his fingers of one hand into the water. With his wet thumb he drew a cross on Jessie’s forehead.
    Jessie bucked in the chair. The skin on her forehead turned bright red, as if sun burnt. A strange contrast to otherwise gray pallor. For an instant, that patch of skin looked human again.
    The red faded quickly however. In its place, a darker, bruise-like color remained in the shape of the cross Caruthers had drawn.
    Lockman didn’t know if that reaction was because of her vampirism or part