Few days later

The call came in at two in the morning.

Alistair’s voice over the intercom was clipped, the kind of clipped that meant no one was going back to sleep. "Ashen Dawn. Briefing room. Ten minutes."

Cora was first, because she never really slept anyway. She found Lucian already in the hallway, pulling on his jacket. Mason followed, his gauntlets already strapped on. Sera came last, her crossbow in one hand, a travel mug of coffee in the other. Derek stumbled out of his room with his staff dragging behind him, Dr. Blackwood’s voice muttering something about the inconsiderate hours of the living.

The briefing room was cold. Alistair stood at the head of the table, a tablet in his hand. His face was grey with fatigue, but his eyes were sharp.

"Village called Harrowfield. Two hours east. A child—eight years old, boy—started speaking in voices three days ago. His parents thought it was illness. Yesterday, he threw a man across the room."

Mason frowned. "Threw a man?"

"Across the room. The man weighed two hundred pounds." Alistair set down the tablet. "Local hunters confirmed possession. They requested backup."

Cora leaned forward. "What kind of possession?"

"The kind that doesn’t wait for an exorcism."

Lucian stood by the window, looking out at the dark. "Why us?"

"Because you’re closest. And because after the neutral town, the Council wants you in the field. They want to see what you can do." Alistair’s voice was flat. "This isn’t a test. But it’s also not a coincidence."

No one argued.

The van left within the hour.

---

An hour later

Harrowfield was the kind of village that maps forgot.

The roads narrowed to gravel, then to dirt, then to nothing. Trees pressed close on both sides, their branches scraping the van’s roof. The driver killed the engine at the edge of town and pointed down a muddy lane.

"House is at the end. You’ll hear him before you see him."

They walked.

The house was small, wooden, with a sagging porch and windows that glowed with weak candlelight. A woman stood in the doorway, her hands twisted in her apron. A man behind her, his face carved with worry.

"You’re the hunters?" the woman asked.

"Yes," Cora said.

"Thank God." She stepped aside. "He’s in the back room. We can’t... we can’t go in there anymore."

The man’s voice was rough. "He threw me through the wall. Not at me. Through me." He touched his ribs. "I don’t know how he’s still alive."

Lucian walked past them, down the narrow hallway, to the door at the end. He didn’t knock. He pushed it open.

---

The boy sat in the corner of the room, knees to his chest, arms wrapped around his legs.

He looked eight. Brown hair, pale skin, bare feet. A child. Just a child.

But his eyes were wrong.

Not the color. The light behind them. Something old. Something patient.

"Hello," the boy said. His voice was soft, almost kind. "You’re early."

Cora moved to Lucian’s side. "Step away from him."

"No." The boy smiled. His teeth were normal. His smile was not. "I like it here. It’s warm."

Lucian raised a hand, stopping Cora. He studied the boy’s face, the way the shadows moved around him, the way the air in the room seemed to thicken near the walls.

"The demon is merged," he said. "Not possessing. Merged."

Derek’s voice came from behind him. "Is that... is that worse?"

"Full possession, you can exorcise. The demon is a passenger. A parasite." Lucian’s eyes didn’t leave the boy. "Merge means they’re becoming one. There’s no separating them cleanly."

The boy tilted his head. "You’re smart. I like smart people."

Cora’s hand went to her sword. "What do you want?"

"Want?" The boy laughed. It was a child’s laugh, high and sweet, but wrong. "I want to live. This body is dying, but I’m keeping it alive. Without me, he’s dead. With me, he’s... more."

Mason stepped into the doorway. "You’re lying."

"Am I?" The boy spread his arms. "Look at me. I’m not hurting anyone. I’m just sitting here. Your people came to my house. Your people pointed weapons at me. I haven’t hurt anyone who didn’t come to hurt me first."

Sera raised her crossbow. "The man you threw across the room?"

"Was going to shoot me. I saw the gun." The boy’s eyes flickered. "I don’t want to die. Neither does the boy. We’re the same now."

Lucian stepped forward.

The boy’s eyes tracked him. "You’re different. You’re not like the others."

"I know."

"The thing inside you—"

"Is none of your business."

The boy’s smile faded. For a moment, the child’s face was just a child’s face. Frightened. Alone. Then the old thing behind his eyes returned.

"You can’t save him."

"Maybe not." Lucian crouched. "But I can send you somewhere you can’t hurt anyone else."

The boy stared at him. "You think you’re strong enough?"

Lucian didn’t answer. He didn’t need to.

---

Outside, the parents waited.

Cora closed the door behind them. "What’s the plan?"

"Containment first." Lucian pulled out his phone. "I need to contact Alistair. This isn’t a normal exorcism."

Mason leaned against the wall. "The boy is still in there?"

"For now."

"And if the demon won’t leave?"

Lucian looked at the door. "Then we have a different problem."

Sera lowered her crossbow. "What kind of different?"

"The kind that doesn’t have a good answer."

Derek’s hands were shaking. "We just got back from the neutral town. We just found out about the blood moon. And now this?"

"Now this," Cora said. "The world doesn’t stop because we’re tired."

The boy’s laughter drifted through the closed door. Soft. Patient.

Lucian typed a message to Alistair.

Harrowfield. Child possessed. Full merger. Requesting exorcist backup.

Three dots appeared. Then: No backup available. You’re it.

Lucian put the phone away.

"He’s not coming."

"Then we do it ourselves," Cora said.

The boy laughed again.

And the night grew colder.