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exorcism. They didn’t come to him during every exorcism and not every exorcism had been successful. On more than one occasion, Gardner had expelled the demon, but lost the host. A few victims had died during the rites of exorcism. The body could only take so much fight before it quit. It disappointed Gardner when the physical body became so worn-out that its soul couldn’t maintain its ground. Luckily, with Donna, her body wasn’t to the point of terminal exhaustion, y et.
                Falling back a step, Gardner’s vision became clear. The blinding light dissipated. He saw her. It was Donna and she was beautiful. They stood in the light. She held her arms out, inviting him to cleanse her body of the demon. There was fight within her. Her soul was capable of beating the entity and Gardner was the catalyst needed to lead the evil spirit out.
    Confident of what his duties entailed, he smiled at the face of the demon Sammael.
    The vision cleared. Gardner adjusted his tie then stepped forward, extended his arm across the bed and rested his palm upon Donna’s forehead. He pulled out a small silver vile and dribbled holy water down her forehead. The demon hissed. Gardner’s face lowered to the demon. Sammael spit at him. Yellow mucus and brown blood dripped from Gardner’s face. He wiped it away, unfazed.
    Looking into the demon’s eyes, he whispered, “I cast you out. The power of good…that which is greater than you, casts you out.” The octave of Gardner’s voice heightened. “The Holy Spirit casts you out!”
                The demon growled. It shook furiously on the mattress, shredding the tangled blankets. The bedposts rose and fell successively on the wood flooring. The demon continued hissing and swearing. It didn’t want to leave the body of this young woman. It wanted to rip her insides to pieces and kill her earthly body. Nothing would satisfy the demon more. It wanted to take her soul to the depths of eternal pain.
    Gardner was contended as he took part in the demon’s defeat. As the evil began to separate from Donna’s body, it looked to Gardner and gnashed its teeth. It spoke in a deep harmonic tone that made Donna’s grandmother writhe and back away. It spoke, “I will come back for you. I will tear the skin from your corpse and burn you in the eternal flame. It will hurt more that way.”
    The demon closed its eyes. In an instant, color returned to Donna’s face. It was as if she’d awoken from a deep sleep. Her body jolted sprung upward from the bed.
                Gardner closed his eyes and began to pray. There were no certainties in life—he knew that more than anyone.
    With grace, Gardner stepped aside while Donna lurched above the bed. The demon howled as it shed from her body.
    Donna landed softly and bounced on the mattress. Her voice rattled and huffed. As if waking from a horrible nightmare, with clear eyes, Donna looked around the bedroom, seemingly confused. This was a normal reaction. Her eyes fell upon Gardner and she asked, “What happened?”
                Donna shook her head. Her face contorted when the pain struck. She groaned , grabbing at her aching back, then fell to the bed. The physical aches had set in. Gardner went to the bedside. He ran his hand down the side of her exhausted face. The demon had stretched and torn her organs. Her body had been twisted, contorted and depleted for weeks. She would have very few recollections of what happened during the short period in which she was possessed. In time, she would be enlightened of the encounter with her evil entity. Sammael.
                Silvia went to Donna’s bedside. She didn’t care about the filth soaked bed sheets or the awful scent that her granddaughter gave off. She only saw her beautiful Donna.
    The awful parasite that preyed on her had been cast away. Her granddaughter was pure in spirit. She could continue life with a clean slate.
    Gardner stood, backing