“You guys, shut up.” I hushed them. “You’l wake Maximus.”
I jerked my head in the direction of the living room.
Dex continued, voice even lower, “I can’t tel you the plan.
When your parents find out what I’ve done-”
“They’l cal the fuzz!” she shot in.
“Exactly. And you’l be gril ed until you tel them the truth.”
“I can keep a secret.”
“No she can’t,” I whispered to him.
He nodded. “See, Perry knows. Just trust me, Ada. You cal ed me here for a reason, didn’t you? I’m saving your sister the only way I know how.”
“And how is that?”
“She needs an exorcist.”
Silence fel over us as we sucked on that exotic word: Exorcist. Dex was taking me to see an exorcist. I know I had been half-convinced I needed an exorcist this whole time but when someone else said it, it became real. Like an actual thing you could have done. What did you do today? Oh I saw an exorcist.
I don’t know if the thing inside me was cowering at the mention of that but suddenly I was very scared again.
“An exorcist?” Ada repeated after what seemed like an eternity.
“Yes,” Dex said, his patience being tried. “You know.
You’ve seen the film.”
“Actual y, I haven’t.”
“Wel , you should. It’s very good.”
“Guys,” I whispered again. “Maximus!”
“Please, Ada,” Dex said imploringly. “Just let us go. You know I’l do anything for Perry. She’s safer with me than with anyone else.”
His admission tugged at my heartstrings. Only a little. He was stil a douchecanoe. The douchcanoe who was going to paddle me to safety.
“My dad wil cal the cops the minute you’re gone,” she said. “They’l come after you. For, like, kidnapping or something.”
“I know.”
Ada folded her arms and stuck out her leg in front of her.
“Then I’m going with you.”
“Noooo,” Dex said, shaking his head. “This is nasty business, little fifteen.”
“I don’t care. There wouldn’t even be a dumb plan if it wasn’t for me. I’m going with you. She’s my sister and you need someone to watch over her while you drive. And if you don’t take me with you, I’m just going to march over to your little ginger friend over there and-”
“Fine,” he said swiftly. “You can come. But we’re going now. Right now. Before it’s too late.”
She smiled widely, which in turn made me feel that bounce of hope again. The thought of going to an exorcist was terrifying but it was no worse than being possessed. I just hoped I’d hold on long enough. The thing was always waiting.
Ada crept quietly to the front door and opened it for us.
With quick feet, Dex jogged down the front steps and into the wet, cold night. The rain splashed hard against my cheeks.
With hot breath he whispered into my ear as he ran, “I’m just around the corner, a few more seconds.”
I heard Ada close the front door quietly, and within seconds she was running beside us. We left the driveway and made a turn for the right. Farther up the road was his black Toyota Highlander. What a sight for sore eyes that car was.
It was unlocked, so Ada opened the back doors and Dex gently placed me in the seat. Ada hopped in on the other side, choosing to ride in the back with me.
Dex got in the front and adjusted the rearview mirror. He looked at me and then looked at Ada.
“Last chance to get out and live a normal life,” he said.
“Are you kidding? I gave that up for Lent,” she answered with a rol of her eyes.
Dex started the car and with a powerful purr, we were off.
~~~
“How is she?” Dex asked.
I felt the car rol to a stop and opened my eyes. Dex was turned around in the front seat, looking at me with concern.
Ada leaned forward until her face fil ed my vision. The only light came from a nearby street lamp. We had pul ed along the side of a road, a gas station in the distance. The far-off roar of cars told me that the highway was close by.
“Perry?” she asked.
“Yes?” I replied groggily. I tried to move in my seat but found it impossible. I looked down. Forget the rope, now my arms and legs were bound to me in a layer of duct tape. I looked like a silver worm.
I looked up at them. “Seriously?”
Dex chewed on his lip for a few seconds and glanced at Ada.
“Perry, it was real y bad,” she said gently. “We had to stop at a gas station and buy out their rope and duct tape.”
“They definitely thought we were doing some kidnapping,” Dex said.
“What did I do?” I tried to adjust myself; the duct tape was so tight and binding and pinched at my sore skin.
“You broke out of your ropes somehow and opened the car door. You were about to jump out.”
My mouth dropped open.
“Dex did some Need for Speed- style maneuvers; you fel back in the car before you could. I grabbed you...shit, you real y need to cut your nails, Perry.”
She rol ed up the sleeve of her striped shirt. There were long, scraggly scratches on it.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, feeling worse than ever. “I don’t remember any of it.”
She shrugged. “S’Ok. But we didn’t want to take any more chances. Now you can’t do anything except bite us.
But a piece of duct tape should fix that.”
I shook my head. “Please don’t. I’l behave.”
But it was a promise that thing wouldn’t keep.
I turned my attention to Dex. His face was dark in the shadows of the car.
“Did I do anything to you?”
“Except for a kil er kick to my chin? Naw,” he said, rubbing it dramatical y.
“Sorry.” It seems that’s al I’d be saying.
“Kiddo, I’d let you brand me with a hot iron if you wanted to.”
“Stil a sucker for punishment?”
He grinned. “Something like that.”
I felt Ada’s eyes boring into me. I gave her a sharp glance. “What?”
She eyed Dex, then smirked. “Nothing, nothing. Just thought maybe you two could stop this Booth and Bones bantering thing so we could talk a bit about where we’re going and who this exorcist is and al that. You know, before her head starts spinning around?”
“Ah ha,” Dex pointed his finger at her. “You have seen The Exorcist!”
“No, that’s from Scary Movie,” she protested.
“Where are we going?” I asked Dex before he could tel Ada she had terrible taste in film.
“Idaho,” he said. “Hope you like potatoes.”
I didn’t understand. “Why Idaho? There’s an exorcist in Idaho?” I looked out the window at the blackness. “Where are we now?”
“We just passed The Dal es. Heading straight through Wal a Wal a and then Lapwai. That’s where he is.”
“Where who is?”
“The medicine man.”
Ada and I exchanged a look. Medicine man?
I snorted. “Uh, Dex, I don’t think a medicine man is going to-”
“Perry, listen to me,” he said curtly, his eyes growing dangerously hard. I listened. I was wrapped in duct tape, I had no choice. “As weird as this might sound to you, this is our only option. Exorcists aren’t exactly in the phone book and the people I did cal yesterday were al too quick to tel me to fuck off. You’ve seen what medicine men can do. You saw that in Red Fox. We both did.”
He paused and eyed my wrapped legs and arms. “I couldn’t just sit back do nothing. I couldn’t just give up on you. I cal ed Bird. He said he knew of a guy close by; I knew I wouldn’t be able to get you on an airplane or anything like that. He said this Roman, a Nez Perce medicine man could help us. That he’s done this kind of thing before.”
“He’s performed an exorcism?”
Pause. “Yes.”
“And did it work?”