A tear streaked down Raven’s face. “I love you. Please don’t let this happen.”
Her response was almost drowned out by the sound of boots on the floor. The black robe restraining her pulled her away, almost violently, and pushed her against a pillar.
A procession of eleven priests led by a man in the vestments of a cardinal marched past her toward the altar.
The cardinal turned to face Raven and Father Kavanaugh. “Keep her quiet or take her away.”
The priest hesitated, his gaze moving between William and Raven, who was crying.
“Father Kavanaugh,” the cardinal snapped.
Shaken from his musings, Father bowed. He stood next to Raven, giving her a conflicted look. “I’ve never seen that before.”
“Seen what?”
“A demon professing his love in a house of God.”
Father’s ruminations were interrupted by the cardinal, who held up a large crucifix, addressing the black robes who flanked the prostrate Prince. “Bring him here.”
The cardinal pointed to a spot on the floor, and no less than ten black robes did his bidding.
William was placed face down in front of the altar, shackled. Eleven priests, robed in white, arranged themselves around him in a semi-circle.
He turned his head to the left, shifting until he could see Raven’s face.
“Sarah,” he mouthed, his gray eyes intense.
Raven nodded.
“What’s he saying?” Father spoke in her ear.
“He’s saying he’s sorry,” she lied, wiping away tears.
The cardinal made the sign of the cross and took holy water, sprinkling it over William, over himself, and over everyone standing nearby.
William hissed as the water made contact with his body, but the water didn’t burn him.
The cardinal knelt and began to recite the Litany of the Saints, in Italian. Everyone except Raven and William participated in the responses.
Then Raven noticed William’s lips moving.
“Brother Thomas, pray for me. Pray for my woman, whom I love.” Raven wasn’t sure she’d read William’s lips correctly, but she knew the name of his teacher. It made sense he’d beg his teacher for help.
“Brother Thomas, they betrayed us. Please help William.” Raven’s own lips began to move as desperate supplication bubbled up from her heart.
She didn’t question her words, or censure herself for addressing a dead man. She was desperate. Adding her voice to William’s only seemed right.
William’s body convulsed. The chains wrenched and clanged against the floor.
The cardinal raised his voice so he could be heard.
William’s lips continued to move, “Have mercy on me.”
“It isn’t possible,” Father Kavanaugh muttered. He’d stopped participating in the responses, focusing his attention on the fallen Prince.
“What isn’t possible?” Raven’s gaze swung from William to the priest.
William’s voice lifted still higher, speaking in Latin, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.”
“What isn’t possible?” Raven pinched Father’s arm.
The priest’s blue eyes moved to hers, and he tugged at his white beard. “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
“I told you he was different from the others.” Raven swiped at her tears. “Let him go before it’s too late.”
“I can’t do that.” Father wore a look of uncertainty as he re-joined the other priests in their responses.
Once the litany was finished, the cardinal turned to William and addressed a few words to the demon, asking for its name.
William groaned, and his body curled in on itself. He seemed wracked with pain and began to cry out.
Raven moved toward him with speed she didn’t know she possessed. She stumbled and crawled, the skirt of her yellow sundress dragging across the stone floor.
He turned his head to look at her.
“William, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
“I—” He closed his eyes and made an agonized noise as his body convulsed.
The cathedral echoed with his cries as the large assembly of priests and black robes fell silent.
“I’m here,” Raven’s voice cracked. “I’m not leaving you, William. I’m right here.”
He struggled to make eye contact. “I pledge myself to you.”
His shackles clanked as he moved his hands in her direction, his fingers questing hers.
“I pledge myself to you, too. Forever.” Raven reached across the floor, but before she could touch him two black robes grabbed her and pulled her away.
Out of nothing, a breath of air materialized and swirled around the Prince. In the whisper of the breeze, a voice said its name, Despair.
William’s eyes were shut, his body seizing.
“No!” Raven cried, even as she was dragged across the floor. “William, no!”
Father Kavanaugh pushed the black robes aside and freed Raven. But he wouldn’t let her return to William’s side.
“The demon is there,” Father explained. “Stay back.”
He stood in front of her protectively.
“He doesn’t have a demon.” Raven tried to move around the priest, but the black robes stood on either side, poised to intervene.
The cardinal placed his hand on William’s head and recited another prayer before reading a text from one of the Gospels.
William’s body continued to seize. The color of his skin changed and deepened, and sweat appeared on his brow. The mysterious breeze swirled above him, a private whirlwind, the voice growing louder and more ominous. “Despair.”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
Raven rubbed her bare arms against the cold. Panic filled her, along with a feeling of defeat. The situation was hopeless. They were torturing William, and she couldn’t free him.
She felt short of breath, as if the figures guarding her were pressing closer. All her striving, all her words, had come to naught. The person she loved most in the world suffered in front of her, and she could do nothing.
The cardinal prayed, making the sign of the cross over himself and over William. He took the stole he was wearing from his shoulders and placed it on William’s back.
Then, in a loud voice that rang out in the great cathedral, the cardinal addressed the demon Despair and commanded it to come out.
The breeze swirled into a whirlwind, spinning and gusting furiously. The voice shrieked and cursed.
All of a sudden, the whirlwind ascended toward the dome and vanished.
William remained perfectly still, prostrate before the altar, face down.
The cardinal touched William’s head, making the sign of the cross as he continued his prayers. He addressed the demon once again, commanding it to leave.
A strange white mist appeared over the Prince’s body, like a fog descending in night air. The mist shimmered and vibrated, then it too vanished.
“It’s finished,” the cardinal announced.
As the feeling of dread lifted from Raven’s body, like a heavy coat being removed, her legs buckled. Father caught her before she fell to the floor.
The cardinal prayed a final prayer. Kneeling beside William’s body, he placed his hand on his head. “You have been healed. Arise.”
William didn’t move.
The cardinal bowed very low, examining William’s face.
The cardinal lifted his head immediately. “Medic!”
One of the black robes ran to his side and fell on his knees. He rolled William to his back, the shackles and chains crashing against the floor.
William’s head lolled, his eyes closed.
The medic lowered his ear to William’s chest. “No heartbeat.”
He began doing chest compressions.
“What’s wrong?” Raven pushed against Father’s arms, finding her feet once again.
“Sometimes the demon tries to destroy its host as it leaves.” Father joined the others standing around William. He added his voice to their prayers.
Raven stumbled toward them, startled that the black robes moved aside for her.
She watched as the medic continued performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, moving from time to time to exhale air into William’s mouth.