Fear the Wicked (Illusions Series Book 2)(32)

Good, I thought, he set the stage perfectly.

"Father Hayle," he called out, adding such speed to his words that no person would doubt he was afraid. "You have to see this. Thank God you came when you did. The man, he-"

"Let me through, Father." Gentry's voice was resolute in his demand that I step further inside so he could follow. My shoulders and head were still blocking his view.

Richard paused in his rush toward me when I held up a hand. Keeping my face trained on the scene he'd staged, I risked a smile while Gentry couldn't see my expression. It was lovely, so much more than I'd expected.

Stepping back, I forced Gentry to do the same so I could slam the door closed. I rested a shoulder against the wood, my head bowed as I made the Sign of the Cross over my body. Eyes clenched shut, I fought not to peek at Gentry's face. He needed to believe I was frightened of what I saw.

"What is it, Father Hayle? What did you see?"

"I can't take you in there," I breathed out, fear and apology in my voice. "I'm sorry, Mr. Holmes, but I've never seen anything like that."

Chancing a peek at his face, I smiled inwardly to see determined rage written across his expression. By now his interest must have been at its highest, mere curiosity transitioning into a driving need to know he can face evil and walk away unscathed. Hesitant interest had now become full blown belief. Sometimes playing with a person's mind was far too easy, but then I'd had many years of practice.

"Fine. I'll allow you in, but you can't show weakness in the face of what you'll see. You need to stay at my side, Gentry, and if you feel your faith failing, you need to leave. Otherwise-"

"Otherwise, what? Are you accusing me of being weak in my faith in God?"

"No," I answered, shaking my head. "I'm only attempting to prepare you fully."

"I'm prepared," he growled.

Inclining my head, I caved in to his demands. "Then follow me."

Playing into his ego had worked perfectly. He was now prepared to believe exactly what I had to show him. I'd even be willing to bet he'd argue with me if I told him it wasn't a demon infecting the raging man trapped in his cage.

Too easy. The human mind was far too easy to toy with.

Opening the door again, I stepped inside and indicated for Richard to hang back, to remain quiet while Gentry took in the scene. The room was nothing special. Scratched white walls that could use a fresh coat, white tile floors that were also worn down and scuffed, a high ceiling lined by air conditioning ducts and exposed electrical made the space utilitarian in its design. Seated in the middle of the large room that had once been used for storage was a large cage just tall and wide enough for a man to pace back and forth without having to stoop. On a normal day, it wouldn't be a shocking or disturbing sight, but the same couldn't be said for today.

The first feature to draw the eye was the crimson splash of blood on the floors bordering the cage. Dripping slowly from the base, it formed a small pool that spread across the tile, slowly working its way down the grout until small streams went in several directions. A copper scent tinged the air, my eyes dragging up to a drugged man screaming and raging in his cage. Dragging my gaze to another drugged man, I grinned to see his wide eyed reaction.

Too fucking easy.

Richard approached me while Gentry remained frozen in place.

"What is this?" I asked, intentionally speaking loud enough for Gentry to hear. Richard played along perfectly.

"Several of the family members brought him in. He wasn't like this at first, Father, but he got worse almost as soon as he was brought into the compound. We had no choice but to cage him."

It wasn't a complete lie, the man had gotten much worse since being brought in. I had to fight to contain my laughter.

"You should have seen what he did to his own daughter," Richard continued, "I'm surprised the girl is still alive."

She would remain alive, I was sure, at least until Richard grew tired of her.

Gentry was listening as he stepped closer to the cage. His eyes took in the feral man, his head struggling to understand what he was seeing. The drug I'd slipped to the businessman had worked better than I'd anticipated. Turning him into a practical monster, the effect was damn near stunning.

Why any person would intentionally ingest such a substance was beyond me. But they did, those addicts seeking their next high, and they were normally found on the side of the road covered in their own blood or that of a loved one.

His eyes catching sight of some strange lump at the bottom of the cage, Gentry jumped back and covered his mouth with his hand, his skin losing all color as he realized what he'd seen.

I had to jump into character once again to play the shocked and concerned priest. "What? What is it?"

Still covering his mouth with one hand, he pointed at the cage with the other. His voice was muffled as he attempted to speak around his trembling fingers. "H - His tongue. I think he bit off his own tongue!"

Bit off, or had it otherwise removed, I thought. Not that it made a difference. Shit, this was going better than I could have dreamed.

My eyes widened with the proper amount of horror, my hand coming down to rest on Gentry's shoulder. "We all need to leave. We can't stay here and watch this. We need -"

"To put that poor man out of his misery," Gentry finished for me.