Like just witnessing the cleansing had drained me, as soon as Trisha and Isaac left the basement, I felt weak and tired. Amy saw me stagger and helped me sit back down.

"You can't stay here, Fran," she said, concerned.

"Tomorrow," I mumbled, feeling around to sneak into my sleeping bag. "Promise."

She sighed to swallow what she would've wanted to reply and tucked me in.

"Here's your phone," she said, slipping it in my hand. "Kujo and Joseph are here with you, but just dial me if you need anything."

I just nodded, eyes already closed. I fell asleep so fast, I didn't even hear her leave. It could've been five minutes or a whole year later that the yelling woke me up, and Kujo's growls kicked me wide awake. It was pitch black down in the basement, meaning it was night outside. And somebody was yelling at the top of their lungs in the garden, repeating the same word.

"Price," said Joseph.

I crawled out of my sleeping bag as fast as I could and stood up. I gave my eyes a moment to adjust, enough to see the outline of the stack of boards, and grabbed one to wield it as a club. Behind me, Kujo kept growling.

"Easy, boy. That son of a bitch ain't coming anywhere near you this time," I said, feeling the anger build up in my chest.

The yelling sounded now closer, now farther.

"He's trying to break in again?" I asked, dialing Amy.

"Circling the house."

A moment later, hurried footsteps rattled down the wooden stairs like a small army. I heard Isaac and Amy talk in loud voices, but not to each other. Trisha rushed down the basement stairs.

"What's he doing now?" I asked.

"Calling out for his friend and demanding that we release him," she replied. She stopped halfway to the corner when she saw me holding the board and let out a nervous giggle. "What the fuck's that? Drop it and come up! Shit's going crazy!"

"Go."

I didn't know who had said that, but Kujo was still and quiet now, so I decided to take my chances.

"Grab your phone and film whatever goes down," I said to Trisha, taking the lead up the stairs.

"Yessir."

The backdoor slamming open made us hurry, and we reached the kitchen in time to see Isaac run out, Amy on his heels, both of them speaking at the same time. I stormed out after them to find a surreal scene: Mike was in his pajamas, pointing a rifle at Price; Isaac stood between them, open arms to cover his friend and stop him at the same time, while Amy tried to make Mike lower his gun.

"There she is!" Price squealed, pointing at me from behind Isaac.

I signaled Mike to put down his rifle as I approached the Haunters.

"No, Fran!" cried Amy, trying to cut me off.

I brushed past her, glaring eyes fixed on Price.

"See? She's possessed!" he screamed. "And she took Isaac hostage! She wants to feed him to the demon!"

His words were more effective than any order to make Mike lower his rifle. The man turned to me and staggered a couple of steps back, crossing himself. Isaac too tried to stop me, but he saw I was crazy furious and was wise enough to take a step to the side, still holding his friend back with his arms.

I slapped Price as hard as I could. Later on, I'd find out his cheekbones were as hard as they looked, but I didn't feel anything right then.

"Get the fuck out of my house!" I bellowed.

"Look at her!" he kept screaming hysterically, his glasses barely hanging from only one of his ears. "She's possessed! She's been sleeping with that demon for days! The demon took her over!"

I slapped him again, glaring straight into his eyes.

"You fucking son of a bitch! You turned him into a demon and left him chained here! And now you wanna make money out of it! 'Cause that's the only reason why you're here! You and your demons, sullying everything you touch!"

I sort of noticed the thick silence around me, but I couldn't care less. I took another step forward and Isaac took it to the side, away from me. Deprived of his six-foot-tall shield, Price stepped back, gaping and gasping, a demented look in his damaged eyes.

"Back, you demon!" he yelled, stretching out a hand as to stop me.

Before I could slap him yet again, I felt a cool pressure on my shoulders, like invisible hands rested on them to calm me down. I let them act on me and got a little grip on myself.

"I'm wasting my breath," I grunted. "You're not even a man anymore."

"What did you say?" he cried.

I shook my head. "You're just a pet of the demons you're breeding. That's why Isaac is staying with us after being cleansed. 'Cause you've become but a puppet of the darkness you love so much."

He stiffened and looked down at me, like taking mortal offense. A glance at Trisha's phone made him wear his glasses correctly and pull down his jacket.

"If I had any holy water left, I'd show the world what you really are," he replied.

"Wanna prove me wrong? I'll be coming to cleanse you at sunrise," I said, flashing the most patronizing smirk I could manage. "Or you can leave now and prove me right."

He set his jaw and didn't reply. Instead, he turned to Isaac and nodded to the guesthouse.

"Let's go," he commanded.

To everybody's utter surprise, Isaac rubbed his head with a grimace.

"I'm sorry, bro. Amy says I need to stay a couple of days away from you, and I think she's right."

"You too!" Price bellowed. "You're possessed too!"

"Oh, c'mon! Enough already!" cried Amy, stepping up. "Go to sleep or go home, Price. Let's go, guys. It's late and I'm freezing out here. Night, Mike, sorry we woke you up."

I waited for Price to meet my eyes and raised my eyebrows with a mocking little smile.

"Amy said it, Haunter: go to sleep or go home. Goodnight."

I spun around and headed back into the Manor with the medium.

Trisha's video showed later that, behind me, Isaac patted Price's arm and came after us. Mike hung his rifle from his shoulder and walked away, shaking his head. The only reason why Price decided to turn around and stride back to the guesthouse was because Trisha was still filming.

The moment we walked into the kitchen, it was like the anger burning me up inside subsided, leaving me all shaky. Amy and Isaac grabbed my arms carefully, holding me up.

"Thanks," I muttered, sitting down at the table.

Isaac jumped away with a scared cry when the cold tap and a cabinet door opened by themselves, for Amy to grab a glass and fill it with fresh water.

"Thanks, Lizzie," she said, bringing it to me.

"You guys all here?" I mumbled.

"Yes."

Trisha came in, chuckling under her breath. She saw Isaac's panicked face and approached him to pat his shoulder with a reassuring smile.

"Thank you," I said after gulping up the water. "I felt you out there. You helped me calm down."

"You need to rest, child."

I smiled, nodding. "Yeah, I better go back to sleep."

"In the basement?"

"You can have my bed."

"Thanks, Ann, but not tonight. Promise it's the last time."

"Stubborn child."

I saw Trisha whisper in Isaac's ear, while the man looked around with eyes like grapefruits.

"Shall we, Joseph?" I said, standing slowly up. My fingers hurt when I pressed them against the table. Ouch. Price and his damned cheekbones.

The basement door opened by itself, pushing Isaac to the brink of a heart attack.

"After you."

"Thank you. Night, guys. Let's hope the Haunter is as kind as to let us sleep."

Amy followed me down the stairs and all the way to the corner. After the freezing cold outside, getting back into my sleeping bag near Kujo felt great.

"Did you really mean what you said?" she asked, tucking me in yet again. "About cleansing Price?"

"Not really. I just wanted to scare his parasites away."

"And if he doesn't bail?"

I shook my head, sighing. "D'you think I can do it in the state I'm in?"

"No, but if you get a good sleep for the rest of the night, I can help you do it."

"Fran weak," said Kujo.

"Yeah. So keep her warm and don't take any of her energy, no matter what she says. She's gonna need every ounce of it in a few hours."

"Can't give."

"I'm afraid your energy would make her sick."

I scowled up at Amy. "It's okay, my boy. I just need to sleep warm and safe, and that's why I'm here with you."

"Fran safe."

Amy straightened up, halfway between annoyed and amused, and nodded at the central pillar on her way out. "Night, Joseph."

"Goodnight, Amy. Go to sleep, Fran."

"Yessir."