64: Chapter 64

Shaun's words made Brown nod.

He picked up the cigarette case on the desk, pulled one out, and without lighting it, twirled it twice between his fingers before saying, "Shaun, you're a good cop. You handled the White case beautifully; everyone saw that."

He paused, deliberating for a moment, before adding a word of concern: "But now it seems the situations you encounter are a bit special. Be careful..."

With that, Brown put the cigarette down and leaned back in his chair. "Fine, write the report and hand it in. Let's leave it at that."

Shaun replied with a "Yes" and opened the door to head toward his workstation.

In the hallway, the sunlight remained the same, cutting across the floor tiles in distinct beams.

As he walked to his workstation, the voices of several people drifted out from the breakroom as he passed.

"Did you hear? Something happened over at the cathedral. A woman went crazy and even injured Otis."

"For real? With Otis's size?"

"It's true, I just heard it from dispatch. Shaun was there too."

"Shaun? The Shaun from the White case?"

"Yeah, that's him. How does he run into every case lately..."

Shaun didn't stop and continued walking past.

He sat down at his workstation, opened his computer, and began writing the report.

Sunlight shone through the window onto the keyboard as he typed word by word...

"At approximately 14:30, a report was received regarding a disturbance at St. Louis Cathedral."

"Upon arrival at the scene, an emotionally agitated female was found driving others out of the cathedral."

"During the mediation process, the female engaged in a physical altercation with Officer Otis, causing Otis to fall and sustain injuries. The female subsequently lost consciousness and has been transported to the hospital for treatment."

He stopped and frowned as he looked at those few lines of text.

Although the report could be written this way... Shaun knew the actual truth.

This matter...

Wouldn't be so easily resolved.

At the very least, he had to first figure out exactly what that thing was.

So... Shaun decided he should go ask the witches about the situation.

...

Shaun stayed at the station until five in the afternoon, handed in the report, and finished a few more closing documents for the White case.

Stepping out of the police station, Shaun stood on the steps and took a deep breath.

The setting sun dyed the sky orange-red, and the scents of grilled wings and coffee drifted through the air.

He pulled out his phone, found Cordelia's number, and dialed.

The phone rang three times before being answered.

"Shaun?" Cordelia's voice was gentle, carrying a hint of surprise.

"I want to ask you about something," Shaun said. "About this afternoon."

Cordelia was silent for a second. "Where are you?"

"At the entrance of the police station."

"Come over. I'm at the manor."

Shaun hung up, got into his car, and started the engine.

The gates of Robichaux Manor opened automatically as he approached, and the oak-lined driveway cast long shadows in the sunset.

He parked the car in front of the main house, where Cordelia was already standing on the porch.

She wore a dark long dress, her hair loosely pinned up, and held a cup of tea. Seeing Shaun get out of the car, she nodded slightly.

"Come in."

Shaun followed her into the hall.

The fireplace wasn't lit, but the room wasn't cold.

Cordelia sat on the sofa and gestured for Shaun to sit opposite her.

She poured him a cup of tea and pushed it toward him. "Tell me, what's the matter?"

Shaun took the teacup but didn't drink.

"This afternoon, Otis and I went to St. Louis Cathedral to handle a dispute. A woman suddenly went mad, drove everyone out, and then..." He paused, thinking of how to phrase it.

Cordelia watched him without rushing him.

"Her eyes changed," Shaun said. "They turned gold, with vertical pupils like a cat or a snake. Her strength was abnormally high; she swatted Otis away with a single palm strike."

"Otis weighs two hundred pounds, and when he hit the pews, the wood shattered. Her voice was wrong too—it wasn't her own, like something else was using her throat."

Cordelia's teacup stopped in mid-air.

"She also said some things," Shaun continued. "She asked what I was... anyway, she said she'd be watching me."

Cordelia put down her teacup.

She looked at Shaun, her gentle eyes turning solemn, yet she asked, "Anything else?"

Shaun thought for a moment. "Elizabeth arrived. She said the thing fled but will return, and that the cathedral is its base."

Cordelia remained silent for a long time.

The old clock above the fireplace ticked away, and the sound of birds chirping came from outside.

Shaun waited without prompting her.

After a while, Cordelia finally spoke, her voice a bit lower than usual. "There are two possibilities. The first is an evil spirit."

Shaun waited for her to continue.

"Ordinary ghosts, like the ones you saw at Hill Manor. They remain in a place because of obsession, pain, or an inability to let go. They can frighten people and cause fear, but..."

"They cannot do what you described—changing eye color or granting a host extraordinary strength. Ordinary evil spirits cannot do those things."

Shaun listened and immediately asked, "And the second?"

Cordelia said, "The second is a demon."

Shaun's fingers tightened slightly.

"Not the kind of demon from the movies," Cordelia said. "Not the kind with horns on its head and a pitchfork in its hand. It is something more ancient, more..."

Cordelia chose her words carefully, seemingly trying to make it easier for Shaun to understand. "Something more fundamental. They have no physical form and can only possess living beings. They are very picky about their hosts and won't take just anyone. They have intelligence, patience, and purpose."

"They can speak human languages, they observe, and they are curious. They can sense their own kind, and they can sense outsiders."

Shaun didn't speak; he knew what Cordelia was getting at.

That thing had sensed him—the things about him that didn't belong to an ordinary person.

Magic power, Self-Healing, and the "Breath of Old Gods" mentioned by the Bat Monster.

Finally, Cordelia concluded, "In short, it is interested in you."

Shaun suddenly felt that his [Charisma] skill was really not that great.

He truly did not wish for so many... no, things that couldn't even be called human, to take an interest in him.

Seeing Shaun remain silent, Cordelia knew he probably wasn't in the best mood, so she softened her tone. "Demonic possession doesn't happen without reason; it has a purpose. It chose that woman, that cathedral, and this afternoon for a reason."

Shaun asked, "What reason?"

"I don't know," Cordelia shook her head. "Maybe the woman herself had something it wanted, maybe there's something it needs in the cathedral, or maybe... it knew you would be there today."

A chill ran down Shaun's back.

Could that be right?

It even knew he would go?

The more Shaun heard, the more uneasy he felt.

Cordelia continued, "You have something it's interested in. It smelled it, just as Elizabeth did."

Shaun was silent for a long time before asking the core question: "How do we deal with it?"

Cordelia stood up, walked to the window, and turned her back to him.

"If it were an evil spirit, I would have ways. Holy Water, Incantations, Exorcism Rituals. But if it's a demon..."

She turned around and looked at Shaun, saying with some helplessness, "That is not something I can deal with alone!"