Again, Renault removed the bar and unlocked the door. The girl sat closer to the right rear corner, hands clasped about the chain between her ankles. She stared up at Molinari with such need in her eyes that he could not bear her gaze. He looked down. After a moment, he knelt upon the cold stone, as close as the other priests permitted to the red cord, and set out three candles. Callini held an aspergil over his head, and flung holy water on her. She shot him an annoyed scowl.
Molinari raised an eyebrow.
“It resists the touch of God,” whispered Renault.
Callini stood at his left, dunked the aspergil, and flung more holy water upon the girl. “Should it not burn and writhe?”
“The one in Vienna did so,” said Molinari. A spark of hope filled his heart. “As did one in Genoa. Perhaps this one is not lost to us.” He kissed the OSM embossed in the leather-bound prayer book and set it on a cloth in front of him. “Our Father, who art in Heaven…”
She hid most of her face behind her knees, staring at him as he recited the Lord’s Prayer. Throughout the recitation of the rites of Exorcism, she occasionally cringed or shivered, but maintained a fearful, if not unimpressed, look.
Father Renault shook the thurible, creating a rhythmic clattering of tiny chains on the brass vessel. The cell soon filled with incense smoke, which seemed only to make the living cough. Molinari led into a repetition of the rite that had freed Josephine Baudin. All the while, Father Callini flung holy water at the child. She gave him sour glances and wiped her face whenever it hit her there, but her skin did not blister or smoke.
Impending futility fueled Molinari’s resolve. He powered through a third recitation, his voice rising, despite resignation clear in the hearts of Callini and Renault.
The girl stood and crept forward with tiny, shuffling steps. She waved her arms to keep balance when the tether went taut, staring at Molinari with a forlorn expression. Even if she were to lunge, her hands would only find the sacred book, which he assumed she could not bear to touch. Once more, the weight of guilt crushed his soul, and he averted his gaze to the tendons rising from her too-pale feet. The sight of such a small child in shackles infuriated him, even if she was… tainted.
God grant me the strength to ensure whatever fiend stole this waif from her bed in the middle of the night will suffer an eternity of Hell.
“It ignores your prayers, Father,” said Callini with a trace of a sigh. “The rite is not working.”
Molinari clenched his jaw, barely resisting the urge to sigh. The man had a talent for stating the obvious.
The girl managed to kneel without falling, and folded her hands as if in prayer.
Father Callini growled and worked the aspergil as if a lash, throwing holy water on her while tracing an X pattern in the air. Her eyes shut harder as if she fought to hide pain.
“It mocks us,” yelled Callini.
“We are wasting our time.” Father Renault stopped waving the censer.
Molinari raised a hand to quiet the priests, watching her lips move. The girl recited the Lord’s Prayer in French at a level beneath a whisper. All three men waited in silence until she finished and looked up, defeat plain on her face.
The child lowered her hands into her lap. “Il ne écoute pas.”
“God does not listen to creatures from the depths of Hell.” Renault rattled the censer at her. “You who are a fiend in the guise of innocence. You who have stolen the flesh of―”
“Enough.” Molinari blew out the candles. “I have been sent here for a reason. I will find it.”
She covered her face with her hands and sniffled.
Callini and Renault backed out of the cell and waited for him to gather his things. Molinari avoided looking at the distraught child; his mind raced for something―anything―he could do as he walked out into the hall.
Chiaroscuro
is available here:
Amazon Kindle * Amazon UK * Paperback
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Other Books by J.R. Rain
STANDALONE NOVELS
Winter Wind
Bound By Blood
Silent Echo
The Body Departed
The Grail Quest
Elvis Has Not Left the Building
The Lost Ark
The Journey (with Piers Anthony)
The Worm Returns (with Piers Anthony)
Lavabull (with Piers Anthony)
Jack and the Giants (with Piers Anthony)
Dolfin Tayle (with Piers Anthony)
Dragon Assassin (with Piers Anthony)
Glimmer (with Eve Paludan)
Lost Eden (with Elizabeth Basque)
Judas Silver (with Elizabeth Basque)
The Vampire Club (with Scott Nicholson)
Cursed (with Scott Nicholson)
The Black Fang Betrayal (with multiple authors)
VAMPIRE FOR HIRE SERIES
Moon Dance
Vampire Moon
American Vampire
Moon Child
Christmas Moon (novella)
Vampire Dawn
Vampire Games
Moon Island
Moon River
Vampire Sun
Moon Dragon
Moon Shadow
Vampire Fire
Midnight Moon
Moon Angel
SAMANTHA MOON CASE FILES
with Rod Kierkegaard
Moon Bayou
SAMANTHA MOON ORIGINS
with Matthew S. Cox
VAMPIRE FOR HIRE EXTRAS
Vampire Alley (poem)
Moon Dance (Deluxe Edition)
Moon Extras: Bonus Scenes
VAMPIRE FOR HIRE SHORT STORIES
Teeth
Vampire Nights
Vampire Blues
Vampire Dreams
Halloween Moon
Vampire Gold
Blue Moon
Dark Side of the Moon
Vampire Requiem
Moon Love
JIM KNIGHTHORSE SERIES
Dark Horse
The Mummy Case
Hail Mary
Clean Slate
Easy Rider (short story)
THE WITCHES SERIES
The Witch and the Gentleman
The Witch and the Englishman
The Witch and the Huntsman (with Rod Kierkegaard)
THE PSI SERIES
with A.K. Alexander
Hear No Evil
See No Evil
Speak No Evil
NICK CAINE SERIES
with Aiden James
Temple of the Jaguar
Treasure of the Deep
Pyramid of the Gods
DEAD DETECTIVE SERIES
with Rod Kierkegaard
The Dead Detective
Deadbeat Dad
Ghosts of Christmas Present (short story)
THE ACCIDENTAL SUPERHEROINE
with Kris Carey
The Accidental Superheroine
My Big Fat Accidental Superheroine Wedding
THE WATSON FILES
with Chanel Smith
Sherlock Holmes and the Missing Shakespeare
Sherlock Holmes and the Lost Da Vinci
WINTER SOLTSICE SERIES
with Matthew S. Cox
Convergence
Containment
ICE WOLF SERIES
with H.P. Mallory
Ice Wolf
MAJOR QUATERMAIN ADVENTURES
with Randy Keys
The Spear
ALEXIS SILVER SERIES
with Matthew S. Cox
Silver Light
MADDY WIMSEY SERIES
with Matthew S. Cox
The Devil’s Eye
THE SPINOZA TRILOGY
The Vampire With the Dragon Tattoo
The Vampire Who Played Dead
The Vampire on the Train (short story)
THE ALADDIN TRILOGY
with Piers Anthony
Aladdin Relighted
Aladdin Sins Bad
Aladdin and the Flying Dutchman
THE WALKING PLAGUE TRILOGY
with Elizabeth Basque
Zombie Patrol
Zombie Rage
Zombie Mountain
THE SPIDER TRILOGY
with Scott Nicholson and H.T. Night
Bad Blood
Spider Web
Spider Bite
SHORT STORY SINGLES
Vampire Road
Skeleton Jim
The Bleeder
Vampire Rain
The Santa Call
COLLECTIONS
Moonlight & Monsters: Ten Vampire Tales
The Sands of Time
Dark Rain: Stories
Blood Rain: Stories
Black Rain: Stories
Red Rain: Over Forty Bestselling Stories
Naughty or Nice
The Indomitable Ten
Chronology
Primetime
Rainy Nights: Four Novels
Rain Dance: Four Novels
The Map: Four Novels
Crime After Crime: Four Novels
L.A. Rain: Four Novels
Murder Latte: Four Novels
Dark Spells: Four Novels
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Other Books by Matthew S. Cox
STANDALONE NOVELS
Caller 107
Operation Chimera (with Tony Healey)
The Summer the World Ended
Chiaroscuro: The Mouse and the Candle
Nine Candles of Deepest Black
The Eldritch Heart
Wayfarer: AV494 (coming soon)
Citadel: The Concordant Sequence (coming soon)
THE AWAKENED SERIES
Prophet of the Badlands
Archon’s Queen
Grey Ronin
Daughter of Ash
Zero Rogue (coming soon)
THE DIVISION ZERO SERIES
Division Zero
Division Zero: Lex De Mortuis
Division Zero: Thrall
Division Zero: Guardian
THE DAUGHTER OF MARS SERIES
The Hand of Raziel
Araphel
Ghost Black (coming soon)
TALES OF WIDOESWOOD SERIES
Emma and the Banderwigh
Emma and the Silk Thieves
Emma and the Silverbell Faeries (coming soon)
TEMPORAL ARMISTICE SERIES
Nascent Shadow
The Shadow Collector (coming soon)
THE ROADHOUSE CHRONICLES SERIES
One More Run
The Redeemed (coming soon)
VIRTUAL IMMORTALITY SERIES
Virtual Immortality
The Harmony Paradox (coming soon)
THE FADED SKIES SERIES
Heir Ascendant
Ascendant Revolution (coming soon)
THE WINTER SOLSTICE SERIES
with J.R. Rain
Convergence
Containment
SAMANTHA MOON ORIGINS
with J.R. Rain
New Moon Rising
ALEXIS SILVER SERIES
with J.R. Rain
Silver Light
MADDY WIMSEY SERIES
with J.R. Rain
The Devil’s Eye
ANTHOLOGIES
The Far Side of Promise
The Divergent Fates Anthology
NON-FICTION
The Dysfunctional Conspiracy
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About J.R. Rain:
J.R. Rain is the international bestselling author of over seventy novels, including his popular Samantha Moon and Jim Knighthorse series. His books are published in five languages in twelve countries, and he has sold more than 3 million copies worldwide.
Please visit him at www.jrrain.com.
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About Matthew S. Cox:
Originally from South Amboy NJ, Matthew S. Cox has been creating science fiction and fantasy worlds for most of his reasoning life. Since 1996, he has developed the “Divergent Fates” world, in which Division Zero, Virtual Immortality, The Awakened Series, The Harmony Paradox, and the Daughter of Mars series take place.
Matthew is an avid gamer, a recovered WoW addict, Gamemaster for two custom systems, and a fan of anime, British humour, and intellectual science fiction that questions the nature of reality, life, and what happens after it.
He is also fond of cats.
Please visit him at www.matthewcoxbooks.com.
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And read his blog here.
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