"Oh, don’t be afraid," Tom says. I watch him cock his head, his eyes narrowing, and Rei holds his hands in front of him.
"Stay down," Rei says. "Stay…"
Tom waives him off, getting to his feet as he does. He sways in place. He was always a skinny kid, but he looks incredibly frail when he stands, his gaze trained on me.
"Hi," I say, trying to meet his eyes despite how much I want to look away from him. "Hi, Tom, I came because…"
Misha turns to look at me, shaking his head as his eyes narrow. "We should leave," he says under his breath.
"No, stay," Tom says, walking slowly toward us. He looks like he’s about to crumble, like his knees can hardly hold him up, but he still walks toward me, his knees pointed toward each other. "That’s not why you’re here. You’re here to find answers, aren’t you, little girl?"
I try to swallow down the knot in my throat.
"I can give you answers," he says, baring his teeth at me. "Your father did think you were a disappointment when he died. A useless, worthless slut. He knew you’d never make anything of yourself, and now you’re here, thinking about falling to your knees and sucking the exorcist’s cock."
Misha grabs my wrist, pulling me away from Tom. I’m glued to the space under me, my feet unmoving despite my best efforts. Tom walks toward me clunkily, as if his joints don’t work yet.
He extends his hand until his fingers are only an inch away from my face, and I recoil away from his touch as I grimace. "Oh, don’t worry," Tom says, and he sounds both like the man speaking and like Tom, whose voice sounds like it’s about to break. It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever heard in my life, and the blood drains from my face as I watch him. "You’ve found your purpose in life. They’re going to train you to take them; all of them, all at once. And then, you’re going to get old and boring, and things are going to get complicated, and you’ll be right back to where you were before. Just a lonely girl trying to find a way to stave off your nightly cry with a quick, mediocre fuck. But that’s where useless cunts like you belong, isn’t it?"
"Stop," Rei says from behind him. "Stop talking to her."
Tom’s grin widens, and for a second, it looks like he has no teeth. "Aw," he says, mock tenderness in his voice. "He likes you. He doesn’t realize what you are. Fucking useless—"
"He told you to stop," Luke says. I didn’t notice him walking in, I didn’t hear his footsteps, and he sounds more bored than authoritative. But when Luke speaks, Tom straightens up, then slowly turns to face him.
"Father Salinas," Tom says, his words low, his voice full of menace. "We’ve been waiting for you."
Misha’s hand is still wrapped around my wrist, and his grip strengthens around me. I think he wants me to look at him, but I can’t. I can’t bring myself to tear my gaze away. I need to see this.
"I know," Luke says, a smile on his face as he crosses his arms over his chest, like this was some sort of fucking Western showdown. "We should get started. I’m so, so excited."
And I might be insane, but I really believe that he is.