The world was blessedly still for a moment.
The decaying scent filling his lungs was dissipating, overtaken by the floral fragrance of the freshly bloomed flowers.
Until a shadow slipped into his vision.
He opened his eyes to find Alexei crouched over him. Balancing on his heels, he looked like a cat ready to pounce.
While resting his chin on his wide palm, he leaned forward enough for his messy red hair to spill over his forehead.
An almost boyish smile curved his lips. But it was the sharp, delighted, and a little too wild gleam in his eyes that caught Elijah's attention.
"Hello there, Father," Alexei seemed to purr, the word Father rolling off his tongue like a sweet secret.
"Please refrain from calling me by a title that isn't mine."
His cold, almost detached answer only amused the mafia prince further.
Blood painted his skin, and yet there was no repulsion for the crimson dripping down his fingers.
He lifted his hand toward Elijah's face, fingers curling slightly as if he were about to caress him… or smear the blood there just to see the reaction.
"Ah, yes," he said while inching forward. "You are not a proper priest for now. So, a priestling?"
Elijah, "..." What an odd person.
Before those bloodied fingers could close the gap, Elijah pushed himself off the ground.
Following the same posture as Alexei's, he leaned forward until his lips were mere inches away from touching the slightly red ears.
"The lust demon inside you is howling too loudly, brother. You should visit a church."
Without actually making any physical contact with the stunned teenager, Elijah stood up and went inside his home.
A low chuckle rumbled in Alexei's throat. And no matter from which angle one looked, it was too inappropriate for the situation.
But when had the Vetrov cared for others?
Actually, thinking about how that ghost, or whatever the hell it was, had used that memory to mess with him only made him angrier.
If Nikolai weren't looking so shitty, he would have punched him by now.
Then, as if suddenly recalling something else, he placed his hand on his head. "Right here... yeah."
----
Elijah returned carrying a light-blue vase.
It was the same cheap china that he had been keeping on his bedside table, and now it was filled with water.
"This is holy water," he said, handing it to Chase.
His handsome face was still pale from the gruesome sight of his cousin spitting blood. Even his usual snarky smile was not there.
Eli patted his shoulder to silently strengthen the blessing on him.
It was this very blessing that had driven the entity inside Nikolai into such a frenzy.
One could even say that it was his own fault for causing so much trouble for this family.
But then again, if it weren't for Chase's blessing to act as a catalyst, they would still be waiting for the bishop's order while the entity would devour Nikolai's spirit until there was nothing left.
"Sprinkle some around his bed. It should keep other spirits away from him."
Before Elijah could turn to leave again, a voice stopped him.
"There are… other spirits? Why leave them?" Anatoly asked with clenched fists. "Can't you deal with them in the same way?"
The man's usual air of command was far too obvious in the words.
Elijah's gray eyes lifted to meet his, and in that single glance, Anatoly understood one truth. This was not one of his business subordinates.
There were no mutual benefits to bargain over, nor could he use his usual methods on this person.
The silence pressed against Anatoly's throat until his shoulders slumped.
His voice visibly softened when he spoke again.
"Please," he said, the word tasting strange in his mouth. "Help my child. I am willing to do whatever it takes."
He would have directly said that he was willing to pay whatever amount, but Chase had warned them not to say anything like that.
For the second time in his life, he bowed his head — not to his wife, but to a young man barely older than his son.
Nikolai was their only child. They couldn't lose him. His pride was nothing compared to his family.
The wind outside rattled the windows, carrying with it the faint scent of metallic rust.
Elijah stood there for a long moment, neither agreeing nor refusing.
That was until Chase stepped in.
"Please, Eli. I know you never accept things on such short notice. I also know it isn't easy for you to do this. But... Can you make another exception for me?"
Chase was aware that the only reason Eli had gone ahead with the exorcism was for his sake. Like a shameless person, he was using the same trick again.
Niko and he were childhood buddies.
They practically grew up in the same house until Uncle Anatoly went back to Russia.
He knew Elijah was a kind-hearted person, so he grabbed his hand and made a pitiful face, "Please? For my sake?"
What else could Elijah do other than agree?
"... I'll contact you later. For now," he looked at the boy sleeping on the mat. The process was more draining for the victim, whose life was hanging by a thread.
His mother looked at him with a grateful smile, and he nodded to her.
"Take that mat as well, and let him sleep for as long as he wants and feed him well."
Anyway, he had no intention of cleaning the blood off it.
That was all he said before turning around, only to nearly bump into a grinning Alexei.
"So, priestling, can you- Hey?!"
Elijah directly side-stepped him and went straight inside his house.
The doors closed, leaving behind three pairs of eyes staring at Alexei.
The young Vetrov merely shrugged his shoulders. "He is grumpy like an old man."