Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 117510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Sitting on the sofa, Larkin lifted a hand. “I have to admit, I don’t know a lot about incorporeals. Just that they’re nasty little bastards.”
Beside the harpy, Keenan gave Knox a look that said he wasn’t much wiser on the subject. “I know they sure like possessing humans, pretending they’re the devil himself. Do the exorcisms really weaken them?”
“No, but they weaken the human, which then weakens the incorporeal and so they switch to another body while they regain their strength,” Knox explained.
“All I need to know is how the hell to kill it,” said Tanner, sprawled on the other sofa with his legs crossed at the ankles.
Knox had summoned Larkin, Keenan, and Tanner to the mansion so that he and Levi could inform them and Harper of Jonas’s revelations. It was vital that the sentinels were fully apprised of the situation so that they were not only prepared to deal with whatever came next, but so they could then impart the necessary information onto the Force—the demons who worked under the sentinels to help police their lair.
“Like archdemons, incorporeals are born in hell,” said Knox. “For the most part, they remain there. But that’s mainly because they can’t survive outside of it unless they have a host. The only way they can roam the Earth is if they possess bodies. But they can only control them for a short time as it’s draining, so they often sort of … linger inside a person, surfacing occasionally to take command of the body and do whatever it is they wish to do. If they’re very powerful and at top strength, they can even maintain a physical form of their own for a very limited amount of time.”
At Knox’s meaningful look, Harper hissed. “Fuck. I should have considered that she might have been an incorporeal. They’re just so rare … ” Harper frowned as something occurred to her. “Wait, could she have still been in the room with Asher after the attack? I thought she’d gone, but maybe I just couldn’t see her.”
“It wasn’t a ‘she’,” said Knox. “Incorporeals are neither male, nor female; they just are. As for whether it lingered, I doubt it. You hurt and weakened it, so it would have needed to quickly find a host. Without a body to possess, they die fairly quickly, especially since maintaining a physical form of their choosing drains them.”
Cursing, Harper started to pace. “This isn’t good at all. I mean, an incorporeal can look like anyone at any time, can’t it? It can possess virtually anyone.”
“It can possess virtually any human or animal,” began Knox, “but only a powerful incorporeal could possess a demon. Incorporeals are uncommon, and powerful incorporeals are even less so.”
“But they do exist,” said Harper.
“Yes,” Knox allowed. “Still, even powerful incorporeals generally don’t bother trying to possess our kind. They can’t use our abilities, so a human would be just as useful a host. Humans are also much easier to possess, not to mention a hell of a lot easier to control.” He shrugged. “Logically, we’re just not worth the effort.”
“Have you ever come across one before?” Tanner asked him.
“Yes,” replied Knox. “A long time ago. I killed it by calling on the flames of hell.”
Keenan took a swig from his flask. “And if you’re someone who can’t call on the flames, how do you kill them?”
“It’s not easy to harm an incorporeal,” said Knox. “You can’t do so by harming their host. You have to kill it while it’s either bodiless or using its energy to manifest into a solid form. By stabbing it in the heart and dealing it soul-deep pain, Harper will have dramatically weakened it, but it would take much more than that to kill one.”
“They can’t leave hell unless they’re conjured by a practitioner or an incantor, right?” asked Levi.
Knox nodded. “It would take a shitload of dark magick on the conjurer’s part. It usually takes months and involves a lot of blood sacrifices. Not just any incantor or dark practitioner can call a demon from hell. They’d have to specialize in conjuring, and that often takes years of practice under the tutelage of another. There’s nothing simple about the process, which is why there aren’t many of them roaming the Earth.”
“Is the conjurer then in control of the incorporeal?” asked Larkin, her eyes—sometimes gray-green, sometimes gray-blue—glinting with unease.
“To an extent,” replied Knox. “They make a bargain. The conjurer will give it freedom, but the incorporeal must first do their bidding.”
Keenan returned his flask to the inner pocket of his jacket. “And after the incorporeal has fulfilled its end of the bargain?”
“It can do whatever it wants,” said Knox, flicking a concerned look at his mate, who was still pacing. “Remain on Earth. Go back to hell. Whatever it likes.”
“Which means that the one we’re up against could be acting alone,” Tanner pointed out.