Exorcist Servant: Demon Hunter

Hell, no wonder Starkweather is SPECTR's most loyal cheerleader.Luckily Caleb's parents did everything in their power to protect him from being brainwashed.

They help him hide his telekinesis—even if it's so weak—so that he can hope for a normal life, and no matter what bad things Ben does, he still keeps Caleb's secret to the death. "Hey, okay. I understand how you feel."

Starkweather waved his hand nonchalantly, "It's not about me, really. I mean, SPECTR is not your enemy. The hate group that forced the registration resolution is. You should be lucky that it was SPECTR that conducted the interrogation, and Not the FBI, CIA, or worse - Homeland Security.

"Or TSA, who take the opportunity to do cavity checks on everyone who boards."

①The abbreviation of Transportation Standardization Agency.

"Well said," Starkweather's serious expression was replaced by his trademark grin, "you can't even appoint someone to examine you."

"Ouch, that hit the nail on the head." Caleb's arms dropped to his sides, "I see what you're thinking now. I mean, though I'm not going to shake a puffball and say 'Come on, SPECTR' over and over , but... you know."

"Yet you must look cute in your cheerleading uniform," Starkweather pointed to a chair on the other side of the table, which had apparently been pulled up from the downstairs kitchen. "Ready to start the interrogation?"

"Your torture etiquette needs to be groomed," Caleb said, taking a seat, knowing he had no other choice. "Well, what do you want to know?"

Starkweather turned on the computer and turned to Caleb, hands folded on the desk, a position that allowed Caleb to see his biceps clearly under his tight shirt, and he tried not to stare at him. watch.

"Let's start with the simple one. You said that the people who were with you in that abandoned house knew that ashes could be found there. How did you do that?"

Oh great, "simple".God, of course Starkweather would have him start by betraying Melanie and her group, whoever the hell they were.

He felt Gray's attention, and the tiger looked up from its nap. "Melanie, your brother's wife."

Vague images of her face flashed in his mind, like an old black and white movie.Melanie laughs; Melanie dances; Melanie arches beneath him—

No!God, no.It was like actually having memories of sleeping with his own sister-in-law, even though they were all lifeless, without taste or feel or color, a sour stream in his throat and almost all his attention Chase those memories to where they belong.

"Caleb?" Starkweather asked, his voice tense.

"It's okay." Caleb held up a hand, wishing he sounded calmer than he felt.If he was out of control now, would Starkweather send him to prison at SPECTR HQ? "It's just... Hui has some memories, from other people..."

"Your brother's?"

He can really guess. "Yeah, it's not very... pleasant, to me. It's just... I don't want to think about it, okay?"

"Okay," Starkweather whispered soothingly.Caleb didn't know whether to resent or thank him, "Can you talk to Ash?"

"Something," Caleb said, taking a deep breath.Calm and in control. "He's always there, watching."

"Can he tell us something about Ben's death? Anything that can help us find the inhuman spirit that killed him?"

"The last moments of life are barely recorded."

Of course not, otherwise it would have really helped.

Caleb dutifully repeated what Ash had said. "Ha," Starkweather frowned, tapping his fingers on the table. "I think it makes sense that if death comes quickly enough, the last few minutes won't be registered in long-term memory."

Caleb looked away, his chest tightening. "Yes, that makes sense."

Starkweather blinked. "Sorry, we're talking about your own brother, I didn't mean to sound so cold-blooded."

"I thought you wanted to ask about Ash."

The agent took the change of subject lightly, and maybe he was genuinely sorry. "Until now, Hui has not taken the life of any living person, right?"

Memories flashed, too fast and too chaotic, and it was difficult for him to find an entry point.I do not understand.is this real?

"Does it matter?"

Damn, if you're not lying, if you don't hate me, answer that damn question.

The presence inside him stirred uncomfortably. "Yes, only dead bodies. I thought I understood."

understand?

no answer.There's just an uncomfortable feeling running down his nerves, something that doesn't belong to him.

Caleb put his hands on the table in front of him.He had bitten his nails to the flesh in the last few weeks.

"Well, there are memories. Fragments, a lot, I think. But they're weird. Everything feels distant. No sound. No color, smell, let alone feel." He shook his head, "Maybe because Is the—body dead? I don't know."

Starkweather leaned forward and put his hand on Caleb's.His fingers are warm and strong.Caleb tried to pull his hand back, but found himself turning his palm up instead.The touch made his heart beat faster and his breath quicker.But it's at the same time reassuring him because it's normal, human.

"Don't apologize," Starkweather said, wrapping his fingers gently around Caleb's hand. "You're doing great, let me know if you need to stop."

He never thought that he would find a sense of security from a magician. "I will."

"There's still a lot we don't know about inhuman spirits and psychic powers. Until now, it's not really science, but more like a mix of wild guesses and old superstitions."

Caleb couldn't help snorting, "Of course I know."

"One thing I know for sure is manipulating energy, which is what exorcists do when they cast out inhuman spirits. If I'm going to help you, I need to know if there's any precedent for this, and if so, this vampire is How it was exorcised. There are vampire myths in almost every culture in the world, but most of them are contradictory, which means that research may not be useful. Since Hui is very cooperative, can you ask him the first time he was exorcised? When and how was the summoning done?"

impatient.Want to rush out, to run, to hunt.

Where are you from?what do you?

Ignore it.run, hunt.

Caleb let out a shaky breath he didn't realize was holding his breath. "He doesn't care about the past. He's not stubborn, he just doesn't understand why this is important to us, it doesn't matter to him."

Starkweather leaned forward, his blue eyes fixed on Caleb, his fingers tightened gently, "Ask again."

"You can ask yourself, he can hear you. I—"

Memories poured in chaotically.Through the storm, in the storm, be the storm.Pounce, hunt and dive.Smaller objects shattered as he moved forward.

Then, suddenly, a high platform.The physical confinement tightly wrapped his body, and the women shouted repeatedly in the pouring rain.

Caleb blinked dully.The office feels distant and unreal. "There's a building there...mud brick? I don't know, I guess I should have listened more carefully in ancient history class, right?"

"You're doing well," Starkweather murmured. "continue."

"It's big, sort of like a pyramid, but with a flat top, people shouting over and over, and..." He swallowed convulsively, even though he couldn't remember any color or smell. "Blood, a lot of blood. And, and corpses."

Gray moved restlessly. "This...has never bothered me this much. It is what it is, I don't like this questioning, you're going to stop now."

"What else?" Starkweather urged. "What were those people wearing? You could see any cars, or wires, or—"

"No, those knives—they were of stone. Priests slit their throats, and cut their hearts, and some of them were children, oh God—"

"Stop!"

Caleb felt dizzy and nearly fell out of his chair, his thoughts being snapped aside and torn apart by an angry claw like a stack of papers.

"Caleb? Caleb?"

He knelt on the ground.With Starkweather's strong arms supporting him, he didn't know how he'd gotten to this point.And even though he knew he shouldn't trust a magician, he couldn't help but fell on another person.The clean smell of soap and aftershave on the man's warm skin filled his nostrils.

Starkweather ran his fingers through his hair. "Please, Caleb, answer me."

"I'm fine." He whispered. "I'm okay." Although he was possessed, his ego felt okay.

Starkweather stepped back a little, but didn't let go completely. "what happened?"

"Ash...those memories haunt him. It hasn't happened before." He couldn't move away from his only source of security, even if it was from the wand. "I'm sorry, I can't—I can't think about it. Not now, please?"

Starkweather watched him scrutinizingly for a moment. "Okay. That's it for today. Do you want to watch TV? Or read a book?"

Watch TV with a magician.Nothing out of the ordinary...but not far off. "sounds good."

"Okay." Starkweather helped Caleb to his feet, "I hope you enjoy watching the NASCAR Touring Car Championship."

②That is NARSCAR, an American classic racing project, famous for its dull cars running laps repeatedly.