Eli Fletcher: Mark of the King: Book 1

The three of us woke up early this morning to begin our first day of training together. Miss O opened up the cafeteria, so we could eat a little first. We’ve been pretty quiet, still sleepy from having just woken up, but we’re also nervous about what we’re about to face today. I force down a bowl of cereal while Billy stares at a plate of toast and Fiona nibbles at an apple.

“Ready?” Coquo asks walking up to us in human form; so, I guess, Michael is the appropriate name right now.

He neither smiles nor frowns. He is completely expressionless and it’s weird. I look back at the other two, who stare back at him uneasy. What happened to the mostly human version of him he used to be?

“As ready as I think we can be,” I answer for the three of us, since I guess I’m the leader.

“Good. Follow me.”

We turn in our seats and then follow Coquo out of the cafeteria, down the hallway that leads to the back of the building and out into the courtyard. He doesn’t stop out in the open air, but continues on towards a boarded up window that looks awfully familiar to me. When we get closer, Coquo pulls the board aside and opens the window for us to climb through; it’s the exact same window I’d climbed through with Fiona in my trance.

So, this is what déjà vu feels like.

As soon as we’re through, Coquo joins us and the window boards itself back up. All the light disappears from the room and we’re thrown into pitch black darkness.

“I can’t see,” Fiona says, nervously.

“Yeah, me either,” says Billy.

I look at them both, able to see like I can in the halls when I wander them at night. I guess I’m the only one of the three of us who can see in the dark. Maybe we each have something special about us. Fiona can read minds and I can see in the dark. I wonder what Billy’s is or if he’s developed one yet. Suddenly Fiona’s hand shoots out towards mine, almost as if she can just sense where I am. I grab her hand as it touches mine, then a second later light starts to slowly fill the room, as if someone is sliding a dimmer switch upwards. I look at Fiona and she’s smiling back at me.

“This way,” Coquo says, leading us through a door to the left. We follow him down a long hallway and then through heavy double doors that lead us into the same basketball court I’d seen in my trance. There’s even a basket full of basketballs at the far end from the door we’d entered through.

“Weird,” I say quietly.

“What’s weird?” Fiona asks.

My eyes meet hers as I say, “I’ve been in here before.”

“You have?”

I grin. “We were shooting hoops together.”

“Um, I’ve never been in here,” she says, sounding as if she thinks I’m crazy.

“No, and technically, neither have I,” I say as I turn in place to check out the room. “When I was with that family, they put me under a trance to murder Aiden. So, what I saw when I was in that trance was you and I playing basketball together. It was something Megan used to gain my trust.”

“Take out your blades,” Coquo interrupts us to begin our training..

I reach into my pocket, pull out the paperclip and it grows into a red, glowing blade; it’s even brighter in the dark room. Fiona does the same, pulling out her blue blade and Billy his green one. We’re like Jedi Padawan’s with our first light sabers.

“First, I will show you how to block, and then I will give you some basic attack maneuvers. After you have a grasp on those, we will move on to more advanced techniques. But, before we do that, you should use this to give you a safer grip on your blades since you don’t have your hilts yet,” he says, handing me a roll of electrical tape.

Coquo leads us through four basic defensive blocks, one for each of the four corners of our bodies.

“The point is to redirect your enemy’s blade away from you. If it is below the waist, your blade should be pointing down; above the waist, pointed up. Sometimes your best action is an escape by backing away. Always keep a safe distance between you and their sword, unless you have an opportunity to strike.”

Once we learn to flow through the four positions fluidly, Coquo commands us to stop and stretch.

“Now that you’re warmed up, a little sparring will be good to teach you how to put these defensive moves into action.”

Luce and Torrey appear, each wielding a sword that shines bright white. Then Luce pairs off with Fiona and Torrey with Billy; which leaves me with Coquo. I have to admit, I’m a little nervous. In his disguise as a human, Coquo looks like a tall, twelve or thirteen year old boy, but in angel form, he’s much more intimidating. In his true form, he has an adult body, tall with long arms full of rippling muscles. He reminds me of one of the angels from my comic books.

Torrey looks about the same as Coquo, just with white skin and long blonde hair. Luce, too, looks like the version of herself I met in the caves, just with longer, black hair. Her eyes shine like blue lights instead of eyes. They’re difficult to look at; as are Coquo’s copper colored ones.

“Watch your opponent’s blade at all times. The eyes can be deceiving. If you watch the blade, or their hands, then you will have a better chance of anticipating where they will strike. Now, remember the defensive positions I taught you. Begin!”

Coquo swings at my head first, I block quicker than I expect, but I don’t take my eyes off of his sword. From there he swings down at my feet. In a tight arc, I bat at his sword, stopping his blade inches from my ankle. With a satisfied grin, he pulls his sword back to his side and then points it out in front of him; I do the same. Blocking out the sounds of the metal on metal clanking going on either side of me, I stare unblinking at the white blade before my eyes. In a small, circular motion, the blade swings around at my head, which I duck from, and then as I stand, the blade comes back at my waist. I put my sword in place just in time to block him, then without really knowing what I’m doing, I twist my sword around and in a circular motion I have our positions reversed. Coquo’s sword is out of place and my blade is pointed at his chest.

Smiling, he says, “Well done, Eli.”

I pull my sword back, breathing heavy.

“Thanks,” I say; I have no idea what had come over me in that moment. It’s almost as if it hadn’t been me doing it. Feeling overwhelmed, I drop my sword and start walking away.

“Sicarius, where are you going?” Coquo’s voice echoes throughout the gym.

I stop and turn towards him angrily. “Don’t call me Sicarius!”

“But that’s who you are,” Coquo says, stepping towards me. His voice is deep and powerful, but I don’t let that stop me from being angry.

“No, it’s what I am, not who I am!”

There’s a long period of silence as Billy and Fiona look from me to Coquo, fear etched on both of their faces. Torrey and Luce stand by, watching me indifferently.

“I will not cater to you, Eli. You are the Sicarius whether you like it or not.”

“You know what? I get it! I don’t need a reminder!” I’m shouting at him now, “I don’t feel like myself. I feel like someone else is controlling my movements. How else was I able to best you?”

“I promise you, you didn’t best me,” Coquo says, shaking his head. “I was sparring with you at your strength level.”

“You don’t think I can handle more?” I question him.

He shakes his head again. “No, I don’t. You’re human. You’re a very strong human, but you’re still human and have a long way to go before you can beat me in combat.”

“I can try,” I say under my breath and then run straight for him.

When I reach my sword I drop my hand down to pick it up, but the sword jumps off of the floor and flies into my hand. I keep moving as if it’s completely normal and pick up speed, heading straight for Coquo. I raise my sword, swinging it at Coquo’s head, but suddenly I’m on the floor, staring up in a daze, my sword lying ten feet away. It vanishes; I’m being punished for attacking an angel, I know it. Coquo steps into view and reaches his hand out to me. I try to grab it, but my arm won’t move.

“Take my hand, Eli,” he says softly.

With everything I have in me, I lift my arm and swing it across my chest until my hand falls into his. Grabbing my wrist, he pulls me to my feet. As I lift off the floor, I feel strength slowly return to my legs, but it isn’t enough to hold myself up yet. Fiona and Billy rush to either side of me and hold me up.

“Take him to his bed. He needs rest,” Coquo says bitterly and then Billy and Fiona walk me out of the building. By the time we reach the hallway, I can almost walk, but my legs are still a little wobbly.

“What happened?” Billy asks.

“I’m not sure,” she says.

My vision begins to clear as we round a corner. We’re back in the room we climbed down into from the courtyard.

“Can you crawl out?” Fiona asks me.

I slur something unintelligible at her then look up at the stacks of chairs in front of the window and climb onto the smallest one. When I do, I fall backwards but Billy catches me and pushes me back up. A little more strength returns to my arms as I pull myself onto the next stack. My vision clears more, too, as I reach the sheet of plywood keeping me from daylight.

Falling through the plywood as if it isn’t there, I roll onto the grass outside the window and lay there, feeling completely drained of energy. Fiona doesn’t know about it not being a solid piece of wood and falls through, rolling into me. She laughs as she props herself up on one elbow, the sun shining brightly on her pale face and her dark hair falling to one side.

“Billy, be careful, it’s not-” Fiona starts to warn him but Billy doesn’t hear her in time. He falls through as well, rolling into Fiona, who falls on top of me. Fiona laughs harder than before, which makes Billy laugh. Despite how weak and confused I feel I can’t help but laugh with them. What a strange moment; Billy and I have been at odds with each other since I first arrived at the group home, but somehow, in this moment, a special bond has formed between all three of us.

“What’s that?” Fiona asks suddenly.

I feel it too, an all too familiar feeling: A demon is near. Billy gets up and helps Fiona to her feet, and then they both help me. I reach into my pocket and pull out my paperclip sword.

Weird! How did it get into my pocket? I dropped it in the gym.

As soon as it’s at full length, the river stone works its magic and replenishes my strength. Whatever happened in the gym is now reversed and I’m back at full health.

I lead the way into the main building in search of the demon.

“Is it Tentatio?” Fiona whispers at my side.

I shake my head. “Too small,” I tell her.

A quick glance at her tells me she’s scared. Her eyes are wide and she’s shaking slightly.

“Don’t worry,” I say, quietly. “I’ve already faced much worse, and now there are three of us.”

Even her forced smile makes me feel warm. So, with renewed strength from my sword and increased confidence from Fiona, I lead the way into the main building and to the bunk rooms. There isn’t a glow coming through this time, but I can still sense the demon near. Pushing the door open slowly, I see the mark on my hand. The image has sharppened. Cautiously, I peer inside and see the boys still asleep; they should be awake though. Chancing walking further into the room, I quickly scan the area. Nothing. Maybe it’s in the girls’ room.

I back out of the room and back out into the hall where Billy and Fiona are waiting for me. I move past them and open the door to the girls’ room; it’s also empty. I quietly close the door and face Billy and Fiona. I shake my head in response to their questioning faces; I have no idea what’s going on.

Continuing down the hall, I give them instructions. “Billy, you and Fiona go together and check upstairs. I’ll start checking the classrooms down here.”

Billy nods but Fiona looks scared.

“I’ll be fine. There’s only one and it’ll be better if the two of you are together. I can be there in a heartbeat if it corners you.”

She nods uncertainly then follows Billy up the stairs to the third floor. I watch them until they’re out of sight; Fiona gives me one last nervous look before disappearing up the staircase. I make my way back down the hall and as I turn the corner I nearly run into Aiden.

“Aiden!” I say in surprise, my heart beating a mile a minute. “What are you doing wandering around?”

He looks at me bemused. “I had to go to the bathroom.”

“Oh…right…sorry. Look, have you seen anything weird?”

“You mean, other than you walking around with a partial sword?” he laughs; the laugh is forced.

I can’t help but hear a hint of bitterness in his voice. I’m not amused by his sarcasm either. But it doesn’t matter; I spot what I’m looking for. Down the hall, behind Aiden, stands a small, ugly demon with red skin and yellow eyes with tiny, black pupils. His huge, pointed ears stand up like horns. That must be where people get the idea they have horns.

Stepping around Aiden, I head straight for the demon. Its long, claw-like fingers grip a small curved sword while his mouth hangs open, showing off rows of sharp teeth.

“Hello, Sicarius,” he says in a high, scratchy voice.

I don’t answer; I just continue towards the demon, wanting nothing more than to kill him. Clutching the taped up end of my sword blade, I march slowly towards the demon, ready for anything. The beast raises his black sword, holding it in front of him. His forked tongue flickers like a snake tasting the air hungrily for its prey. I stop a few feet in front of the demon.

“Leave here and you won’t feel my blade,” I threaten.

It’s another one of those moments where it doesn’t feel like it’s me speaking. I fight the temptation to look for the true source of the voice.

The demon cackles. “You killed a small hellhound and now you think you can take on a real demon?”

I don’t respond to his mocking laugh; he obviously doesn’t know about what I did to the Adlers. I have to stay focused, though. The demon moves quickly, but I’m ready. He leaps forward, spreading his leathery wings and flies straight for me. Before he can run his sword through my chest, I sidestep and grab the hand holding the hilt, directing it away. But the force of the demon takes me with him. We fly through the air and crash into a wall. My vision goes dark for a second but is quickly replaced with spots and stars. My back is in incredible pain, but as soon as the demon rises, I grip my sword tighter and feel the stone heal me again.

Standing up, I face the demon and for a moment I see a flicker of fear in his eyes. He hadn’t expected me to rise so soon. Anger takes over surprise and he rushes towards me again. Without thinking, I jump into the air, flipping over the demon. While I’m upside down, I swing my blade, slicing the demon in half. The two halves splatter to the ground in a mess of black liquid that pours out of its remains while I land safely on the slick floor.

When I turn back towards the slayed demon, my blade pulls out of my hand and floats over him. Blue light shines directly onto the demon carcass and sucks it into the stone like a tractor-beam. The blade then returns to my hand and the blue light fades away. There’s no evidence of a demon, other than the large dent in the wall where I’d landed.

I remember Aiden is there and see a mix of surprise and anger in his face. But I can’t focus on that because I feel Tentatio’s presence. I hear a haunting whisper of Aiden’s name.

Aiden looks at me as if he’d forgotten I was there. Nothing is said as we stare at each other, but nothing needs to be said; Aiden is Tentatio’s. There’s no way I can let Aiden out of my sight from now on. I’m glad I chose Billy over him. Aiden is bound to fall into Tentatio’s grip, and then there will be no stopping him.

“Eli?!” Miss O’s voice says from around the corner.

“I’m here, I’m okay!” I call back as she rounds the corner.

“What happened? I heard a loud crash.”

“There was a demon, but I killed it,” I say as if it had been nothing more than squashing a spider.

She stands, staring at me for a few seconds, but then a smile spreads across her face. “Good job, Eli. I’m proud of you.”

Billy and Fiona rush around the corner next, wondering what happened as well.

“It’s gone,” I say. “After I killed it,” I add, “my sword cleaned up the mess. It was weird…” I trail off, studying my blade.

“The sword sent the demon to a holding place until the hell mount is sealed again. Then, all the demons you’ve slain will be sent back into the spiritual realm.”

“Then they won’t be able to hurt us anymore?” Fiona asks hopefully.

Miss O looks at her, but from the look on her face, I know what the answer is.

“Not necessarily,” she says. “You see, when demons are in the spiritual realm, they cannot be seen, but from there most of them only try to influence our thoughts and decisions. However, some are able to attack us physically as well as mentally and emotionally.”

Fiona looks at me with terrified eyes; I try to give her a reassuring look saying that I will always protect her. She gives a faint smile then looks back at Miss O.

“Why don’t we get some lunch?” Miss O suggests. “Aiden, go ahead with Billy and Fiona. Eli and I will be right behind you.”

Aiden nods and the three of them walk away. Once again, Fiona gives me one last look before disappearing around the corner, just like she had a little while ago.

“Eli?” Miss O’s voice breaks into my consciousness again. I’m still staring at the corner of the wall where Fiona disappeared from view.

“Huh?” I say, looking up at her. I’d almost forgotten she was there.

“Are you okay?” she asks me.

I start walking away and Miss O follows. She’s quiet for a few seconds, and I’m glad. I can tell she’s going to ask me something possibly embarrassing, and I really don’t want to answer. I think I’m afraid of the answer as much as I’m afraid of the question.

“So,” she starts awkwardly. “You care about Fiona, don’t you?”

I don’t look at her. It’s very possible that if I look at her, she’ll read my mind. Of course I care about Fiona, but I don’t want to Miss O how much I like her. Liking Fiona like I do is what scares me.

“Yeah…of course, I mean, she’s my friend.”

She doesn’t say anything right away but when she does, my stomach twists into knots.

“I mean more than that, Eli,” she says softly, nudging me with her elbow. I look up at her as we near the cafeteria doors and see her knowing grin spread across her face; there’s no denying the truth now.

I sigh. “Yeah, I do.”

Her arm wraps around my shoulders for a moment and then lets me go before we enter the cafeteria. A scolding or some kind of a warning is what I expected, not the approval she’s giving me; especially after all the lectures she’s given me about everything else.

“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. Although, it’s not really much of a secret,” she says. “I think she knows too.”

We stop inside the doorway and watch the others across the cafeteria getting their food for lunch. Fiona looks back suddenly and smiles and waves at me; being surrounded by the others instead of being with just Aiden and Billy has taken away any lack of confidence she had before. I return the smile then look back up at Miss O.

“Yeah, she does,” I admit.

Then it comes, the warning I feared.

“I think it’s great that you two like each other the way you do, but I have to warn you, Eli, it can be dangerous.”

“I know,” I say, remembering my fears about her and Abby getting hurt because of who I am.

“If Tentatio were to know how you felt about Fiona, or any of these kids, then he would be able to use that against you. What would you do if Fiona was the next one taken?”

“I’d go after her,” I answer honestly.

I shove my hands into my pockets, unsure of what I’m supposed to do now. Life has become pretty complicated since moving here.

Some of the younger kids are led into the cafeteria through a side door by Allaryce and Marco. As soon as Allaryce sees Billy, she runs for him and hugs him tightly.

“I guess there’s another little romance sprouting, isn’t there?” Miss O says with a chuckle.

I chuckle as well then cross the room, joining Fiona and the others in the lunch line.

“Hey, Fi,” I whisper over her shoulder and into her ear.

She shows me a wide grin over her shoulder, her cheeks a little rosy from blushing.

“Hey,” she returns the whisper. “Fi, huh?” she teases with a look over her shoulder.

I shrug. “Why not?”

“I like Fi.”

“So do I,” I whisper and she blushes. “So, sandwiches today, huh?” I say, trying to make some kind of conversation but sounding like a moron in the process.

“Yep,” she says.

Why is it when you like someone, you suddenly forget how to talk to them? At least I haven’t forgotten my name.

“So, what did Miss O want to talk to you about?”

How am I supposed to answer this?

“Uh,” I respond stupidly.

“Did it have to do with us?” she asks, taking her now completed tray from the lunch lady.

I sidestep and reach for the tray she’s now handing me and then follow Fiona to a table. We sit at our own end of the table; Billy had been taken out of line temporarily by Allaryce’s hug. When Billy does take a seat, he sits near us, but with enough distance that three kids can sit between us and them.

“Yeah, it was about us,” I confess after neither of us says anything for a couple of minutes.

“What’d she say?” Fiona asks, sounding a little scared.

I lower my voice more.

“She can tell we…well, you know?”

She grins at me playfully. “No, I don’t. We what?”

I feel my face growing hot. I busy myself with my food tray, trying to decide what to eat first. Apple, cookie or sandwich? It’s somehow a crucial decision.

“Eli?” Fiona asks in a torturously sweet voice.

“Yeah?”

“What does Miss O know about us?”

How the heck am I supposed to answer that question? What if someone overhears us? Allaryce and Marco are close enough to hear us and I know they won’t let me hear the end of it.

I glance at Billy and he looks over at me, nods ever so slightly then returns his attention to Marco and Allaryce. I watch out of the corner of my eye as everything happens in a flash. Marco burps which makes Allaryce laugh hysterically; Billy knocks his milk over, sending it spilling in Allaryce’s lap; Allaryce shrieks at Billy angrily, even using some inappropriate language I know Miss O won’t approve of.

“I’m sorry, Allaryce. I accidentally knocked it over-”

“Allaryce!” Miss O scolds, marching up to the scene.

“Billy knocked his milk over into my lap!”

“That’s no excuse for using that kind of language. Go get cleaned up and then meet me in my office,” Miss O demands and Allaryce stomps out of the cafeteria towards the girls’ bathroom, growling angrily through her clenched teeth.

Billy and Marco follow after her despite Miss O telling them they aren’t in trouble. Now Fiona and I are practically alone. There are younger kids around, but they’re too busy laughing and pointing at Allaryce to pay either of us any attention.

“So, you were saying?” Fiona prods me with her elbow, grinning at me again as she bites into her ham sandwich.

“Huh?” I say, playing stupid.

“Just tell me, before Allaryce, Billy and Marco get back.”

She can read my mind, I remind myself, and then sigh and bite the bullet.

Fiona then leans over to me. “I already know what you’re going to say, I just like hearing you say it,” she whispers.

“She knows I like you, and says she can tell you like me,” I spit out really fast.

Her grin spreads into a big smile. I haven’t seen her smile like this in a few days. She seems to be glowing, no, radiating with happiness.

“Well, Miss O’s pretty perceptive,” Fiona says before biting into her sandwich.

I stare blankly at her, unsure of what to say.

“Eli, I like you too; we’ve already talked about this. Plus, now that I have the same powers as you, you don’t have to worry about the demons using me to get to you,” she reasons.

“That’s not necessarily true; Tentatio can still use you against me,” I argue.

Fiona looks at me sadly.

“But, that doesn’t change how I feel about you,” I assure her.

Fiona bites into her sandwich again, bumping me with her shoulder. “Good,” she says and then winks at me with a giggle.

________________

After the day’s events, I find it difficult to sleep. It’s fine, though, because it’s my turn to patrol the halls. Billy had drawn the short toothpick this afternoon, so he went first, then Fiona after him. It’s about three in the morning, time for me to relieve Fiona so she can sleep until we have to get up for training. It isn’t much, but she’ll get about four hours. I’m taking the last and longest shift.

I get out of bed and sit on the edge, waiting for my alarm to go off. When my watch begins to beep, I silence it and pull my shoes on.

As I finish my search for Fiona in the main building where the younger kids sleep, I find her sitting against a wall in the main hallway on the first floor, fast asleep. I can’t help but smile and laugh a little. There sits an eleven-year-old girl, sleeping with her mouth hanging open and a sword glowing blue lying across her lap. I have my sword out already, anticipating a demon attack at any time while also using it as a sort of flashlight.

Reaching out, I grab her shoulder and gently shake her awake.

“Wake up, Fi,” I say softly.

Her eyes snap open startled and she swings her sword at me. I block it with mine with barely a flinch.

“Eli!” she gasps, dropping her sword. “I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay, Fi. You missed. I guess I’m just a little quicker than you are.”

She smiles and picks up her blue paperclip off the floor. I stand up and offer her my hand, which she takes so I can help her up. Once she’s on her feet, she puts the paperclip in her pocket.

“I’ll walk you to the girls’ dorms,” I say and we begin to walk back towards the girls’ dorm.

“I can’t believe I fell asleep,” she says, shaking her head, slightly embarrassed.

“It’s okay,” I assure her. “I would have sensed a demon enter the building anyway. There are some outside that haven’t come in yet. They know I’d be on them too fast if they tried to get to the kids.”

“Then why do we have a rotating patrol?”

I shrug. “It was Billy’s idea.”

This is the first we’ve really talked since lunch. Even during our training session yesterday afternoon, I could barely look at her. Thankfully she hadn’t tried too hard to talk to me either.

“Well, goodnight, Eli,” she says, then hugs me before going into the girls’ dorm. I walk away and begin my patrol of the halls. I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing; I just walk aimlessly around the halls, up and down the stairs, but all I can think about is Fiona.

Fi.

It’s hard to believe that a little more than a month ago I had come to the home friendless. Within the first few days, Fiona had befriended me and then within a couple weeks of that, she’s become more. Life is so much more different in Colorado than in any other place I’ve lived.

For one, I’m finally getting answers to things I’ve always wondered about. However, even more questions are bouncing around my head. How am I going to close this hell mount? What if I can’t close the hell mount? What if it takes my life to do it? Now that something’s happening between Fiona and me, what’s going to change with us? Is she my girlfriend now? Am I her boyfriend? What if Tentatio finds out about it? What if he takes her? What if I can’t save her?

I turn a corner and find Aiden about to leave through one of the doors.

“Aiden?” I say, stopping him with his hand on the handle.

He looks back startled. “Oh, hey, Eli.”

“What are you doing?” I ask suspiciously.

“Nothing…I thought I saw something outside.”

I don’t respond. Instead I walk towards him. Something feels wrong; I can sense a demon, but I don’t see anything. I raise my sword slightly and see the angel wings on my hand look sharp like when a demon is near. There has to be one close by. But as quickly as the feeling came, it fades away.

I look again and the mark on my hand changes from angel wings to a sword much like the one I have, but with a hilt. It glows softly then blurs into a thick line on the back of my hand.

Aiden definitely sees the change on my hand too, even from where he stands. What does it mean? Why would it suddenly change like that?

“The mark on your hand changed,” Aiden says, stepping closer to me. It’s then I notice he’s carrying a sword.

“Where’d you get that?” I ask him.

He looks at the sword in his hand. “Oh, Miss O gave it to me. I couldn’t sleep and she caught me wandering the halls earlier. She said I shouldn’t be unprotected in case a demon happens to appear.”

I glare at him suspiciously, but don’t argue. I still don’t trust him.

“Well, why don’t you try and get some sleep. I think I can cover the patrol the rest of the night.”

Aiden nods and walks away. Before he reaches the end of the hall, he turns and says, “Be careful. You never know where a demon might be hiding.”