Daemonium de inferos,
Ex quo te ire iubeo.
Terramque relinquit corpus.
Numquam reditus!
Eva knew enough Latin to know that her father was commanding this demon from Hell to leave this body and never to return. Roman kept reading this over and over again, as thunder came crashing from outside. Lightning electrocuted the skies above Ridgeview Academy, as the slumbering students slept, oblivious to the monumental battle that was taking place.
The demon kept twitching, at one point it even tried to bite Roman, but he was focused on reading the lines, as he knew that the flow of the spells mustn’t be broken, otherwise, it might not work.
A powerful gush of wind entered the room from nowhere, swirling around. Papers flew everywhere, Eva had to clutch at her backpack, as the gush pushed her backwards and pinned her against the wall. It did the same with the others. Roman glanced at them, just to make sure everyone was alright, all the while repeating the words. The demon kept hissing at him, his eyes glowing an even more fiery red by now, until finally, his back arched so much, that it looked like Rannulf’s spine would break. The weight of his body made the bed wobbly, threatening to break it down, as Roman stood by his side, one hand on the demon’s mouth, the other firmly holding the book.
Then, Rannulf’s mouth opened, and dark smoke arose from his depths, smelling of rotten flowers and dead bodies long forgotten. It rose high up in the air, then dispersed into nothingness. The body on the bed suddenly released, and was now, lying motionless.
Roman stopped reading. He lowered the book, but didn’t take his hand off of the mouth.
“Is it finished?” Eva asked.
“I don’t know,” her father replied, not taking his eyes of off the body, which now seemed like it was blissfully asleep.
Rannulf opened his eyes. He looked at everyone, then at his bound arms and legs. He tried to speak, but no sound came out.
“Give him some water,” Roman urged, and Frey offered the water that was left inside his bottle.
Rannulf gulped it down thirstily. He lowered his head back on the pillow, and looked at Roman.
“Is it finished?” he asked, repeating what Eva just asked, moments ago.
“What?” Roman pretended not to know.
Demons can be deceitful. They can lie. He knew not to trust it. Not yet.
“I feel liberated,” Rannulf managed to say in a whisper. “I thought the only way out was to die. But, it wouldn’t let me die, no matter how many times I tried.”
“Can we trust him?” Eva asked.
Roman remembered what Sorwyce told him. The only way to make sure that Xol’gorog was expelled from Rannulf’s body. He extracted his Katana. It still had the Hellhounds’ blood on it. He didn’t wipe it clean on purpose.
Rannulf watched him, as he pressed the bloody blade onto Rannulf’s bare stomach. The blood lay there. Nothing happened, even after a few seconds had passed.
“What does this mean?” Eva wondered.
“If he was still Xol’gorog, the Hellhounds’ blood would burn him. The blood from Hell is acid for demons.”
Everyone looked at the blood on Rannulf’s stomach. Nothing was happening. It was just blood.
“I’m glad we sorted that out,” Rannulf said, a little shyly, and everyone winced.
It wasn’t the Principal they knew. It didn’t even sound like him.
“Now, can we please untie me so I can go see if my parents are alright?” he asked.
The gang all waited for Roman’s okay to do so. As soon as he nodded, they rushed over to untie Rannulf. He sat down on the bed, rubbing his sore wrists.
“You have no idea how grateful I am to you, Roman,” Rannulf said.
“We have to go see Sorwyce,” Roman said, instead of a reply.