-Jennifer-

While Corneliu and I watch Dmitri leave the castle, we stare at the dark shadowy Rozalia encompassing his entire body. She resembles a dark aura you might say. Her sheer size frightens all the dead here; she's not a human spirit at all.

"With enough power, I'm sure I can defeat her. She must know this. Why won't she do anything though? Is it Ivy? What's so great about that bitch anyway? She's nothing."

"You...will do nothing." Corneliu says behind me.
I turn around to him and see others at his sides; early pioneers, some of the men that helped build this place, a few women and three Mohegan Indians glaring heavily at me. They know I'm not a human spirit in the same sense they are.

I stare at Corneliu, "You can barely speak English old man." I look at the Natives, "All you people do is sit around and watch everyone else. You can't understand a word I'm saying either! I will put an end to this; just watch me!" I vanish with a thought and go to the 3rd floor conference room. Noticing I'm alone, I begin to pace back and forth, thinking more and more about Rozalia's change in behavior.

"She's never so mellow or reserved. Something is happening and I really hate not knowing what. I have spent so much time and energy trying to unseat this witch that I have missed something. There must be a way...some way of getting rid of her! What is it about Ivy that keeps her interest? Why has she not made him kill her?! Maybe the others have seen or heard something useful." That's it. I know what to do. I will gather those women that have died because of her, and have them meet me in the files room immediately. I know the files room is a safe place to have a meeting because it's off-limits to all except Dmitri. I grin as my feet become mist and soon my entire body, then I quickly move throughout the castle, touching each female victim and giving them notice. "Meet me in the files room now." I say to each of them, and they listen. Maria is the last I notify. I find her in Dmitri's room, standing at the end of his bed.

"Maria, I need your help in the files room."
She slightly turns her head and faces me. "The files room? No one is allowed in there."
"No one will know." I say, "Don't ask questions. Let's go." I take her hand and vanish in the shadows, heading down to the basement.

Once we're there, everyone stops talking. Maria and I look around the dark, brick room at them standing near the back wall in a group. She looks at me, then slowly walks over to join them, a little uneasy about my behavior.

I put my hands together and form a smile, "Ladies, please line up together so I can see all of your faces. Thank you." As the women line up, Madeline, from the 1920's who has been here the longest says, "What is this all about Jennifer? Still having issues with Rozalia? Maybe you should do as all of us have and accept your situation as it is." The others nod in agreement except for Maria. I continue, ignoring her, "I have gathered you here to discuss something important to all of us. You know who Ivy is, correct?" They all look at each other.

"Yes we've seen her." One of the ladies replies.
I wave a hand slightly, "I'm sure you all have noticed how Rozalia's behavior has changed since Ivy arrived here." Maria becomes aggravated by that and the others fall silent as they think about it.

"Have any of you seen how she makes Dmitri treat her?"
Maria's eyebrows instantly rise. "Dmitri?"
I sigh, "Yes...Nick has played you, Maria, as he has all of us." She glances around at everyone who is either looking down in a sort of shame or is completely blank-faced. "But...I don't understand." She looks at me again.

"Don't you see? Don't you get it? Dmitri never comes here. You know why? Because Nick IS Dmitri!" I walk toward her and stop, pointing at her face now, "Rozalia controls him; she is not a human spirit and never has been. The cold hard truth, Maria: she has possessed and perpetuated the youth in his body for 105 years; he is the original Dmitri. She is the reason we are all here and is a force that must be dealt with. Together, we will stop her. You all need to be stronger. You will be stronger!" Maria is astounded and speechless; between believing and highly skeptical. She continues to look down at the floor and at me.

Emily, a woman killed in the 1960's steps forward. "But what if we can't? She will only inflict pain on us as punishment for angering her. She's very powerful." I turn my head toward her with an icy stare, "We are doing this together. With the power I have, and all of you ladies combined...she doesn't stand a chance. You all want peace, don't you? You want the chaos to end!-Don't you?" They search each other's faces for reassurance.

"Let's make it happen before the party!"
They return their curious, almost agreeing eyes to me.

I watch them intently, becoming satisfied.

-Nicolai-

I go to my private elevator and walk inside it. As soon as the door is closed, Rozalia stops me from pressing the button. "Wait." she says.

"Wait for what?" I exasperatedly look up.
"We must go to the files room in the basement."

"I have no need to go there Rozalia."
"I do!"

"Fine...I'll see you're amused, then we can go?"
"Yes indeed."

I press the button for the basement and wait as the elevator moves in a slow descent and stops. The doors open to the dimly lit brick hall. I'm just beside the room containing all my personal and confidential files. I can hear whispers coming from inside that room. I walk up to it, and as I place the key into the lock, the whispers cease. Slowly, I open the door. In the middle of the room, I see Jennifer standing in front of all the women I've killed, including Maria in a line abreast.

I kick the door shut with a heel and they see Rozalia over my shoulder with glowing expressionless eyes; it frightens all of them except Jennifer. Maria backs away and hides behind her, shooting a finger out at us, "WHO ARE YOU?!" The others quickly tell her to hush; Rozalia is too powerful. Jennifer's eyes light up furiously, "I KNOW WHY YOU HAVE COME HERE!"

"SILENCE!" Rozalia shouts, causing me to twitch and Jennifer to fall to her knees in great pain. Maria reaches for her arm as Rozalia refocuses on her, emitting a demonic baritone growl through me. Maria gasps, stepping away as Jennifer moans quietly. The other women start vanishing through the ceiling after witnessing this.

"I...am not...afraid of you!" Jennifer winces.
"Oh you make that quite evident Jennifer." Rozalia says, nodding slowly.

"Hey, she doesn't deserve this!" Maria points at us again.
I do the same at her, "Her kindness is a façade!"

"You can't make us leave!" Jennifer barks while forming her shape into a black misty ribbon. She quickly slithers across the floor and jumps up in my face, baring her fangs with a loud hiss. I drop my hat as Rozalia snatches her by the neck with my hand. She gasps in surprise.

"You will not be heard!" She looks at Maria, illuminating my eyes to bright white. Maria begins to tremble uncontrollably. Suddenly, while still looking at her, she symbolically crushes Jennifer's neck and then marches me toward Maria. "No! No!" Maria tries to turn away but Rozalia has immobilized her by manipulating the energy within the room. On approaching her, Rozalia shoves my hand down and squeezes her neck until she bursts into a black mist and fades away. The room immediately falls silent–dead silent...and somewhat peaceful. I take in a long breath and let it out.

"They are in a different realm for now." Rozalia says.
"Yes...the realm of nothingness, as you call it...but for how long, I wonder?" I breathe a little roughly.

"Do not doubt me Dmitri. Ivy will be fine."
"For the last time, give me a break! Let's go find your damn book." I flick out my jacket cuffs, pick up my hat and make a swift exit out of the room to the elevator.

Momentarily, I'm at the first floor in a small room. I go out and walk up the hall behind the grand staircase until reaching the doors to the back walkway of the castle.

"Sir?" I hear Walter behind me. He just came out of the kitchen.
I turn to him.

"Christine has left the rose and note, and breakfast should be ready in about an hour. Are you alright sir?" he says. I nod, "Good, good. Yes I'm fine, thank you. I will be on my way now."
"Are you all set?" he sounds a tad suspicious.
"Walter, I'm in a hurry."
"Of course sir. My apologies." He bows his head, folding his hands behind his back.
I again nod, then turn around and open the doors.

The sky is gray. It'll be snowing soon.
"Sir...one more thing..." My eyebrows lower.

"You forgot these." His words baffle me. I face him and see he has taken my pair of black sunglasses out of his right breast pocket. I reach for them, "When did you get these from my office?"
He smirks, "Just after you exited the room. I was going to give them to you before you left for the mainland. You never leave without saying a final goodbye sir. And you never leave without these tucked away in your pocket."
I slightly smile, "Yes...yes that's true. Thank you."

"Already a long day?" he asks.
"It would seem so." I laugh.
He smiles softly, "Good luck with your trip."
"Make sure you keep a close eye on Ivy." I quietly say.
"Yes sir."

I put my hat and shades on, tip it down and head off to Leonardo's boathouse.

-Maria-

I suddenly feel within the darkness, after what seems like a long time of nothingness, a hand grab my wrist, and I'm pulled forward. As I'm led along, dim light is starting to illuminate around me. "Maria, come with me...come out of this abyss." It's Jennifer's voice. The light finally shows where I am; back in the room Nick and that demonic woman banished us from. The hand releases me.

I quickly scan around and find Jennifer a little to my right.
"Jennifer, you saved me...you brought me back." I mouth. She walks closer, smiling a little at me, "As always." She puts her hand on my shoulder, "We have work to do."
"Like what?" I quietly ask.
"We will have our revenge...and we will start with Ivy."

A smile slowly traces my lips to the idea, and her own broadens. Revenge is exactly what we need, and deserve. I want this!

-Ivy-

I wake to hearing a woman knocking on the door. Squinting from the morning sun shining on my face, I look over. Nick isn't here. I sit up and see there's a rose on the pillow and a note that says:

       Good morning beautiful. I left this for you as a small good morning kiss. I didn't want to wake you because you looked too peaceful. Christine will be there at the door for you.

Love,
      Nick

I smile at the fancily written note, then look at the rose again.
"Miss Summers?" Christine knocks again.
"Yes! One moment!" I get out of bed with a wince. Turning around, I glance down at the sheets and see two spots of blood from my neck and from...losing my virginity. The memory flashes in my mind; how everything happened. Oh my...
I hesitantly dab the sore bite marks. The slightest touch sends shivers up and down my spine and my stomach tingles.

Cautiously, I rise up off the bed, take his robe from the coat hanger and put it on. "Christine?" I say, opening the bedroom door.

There she is...with a kind smile and somewhat impatient eyes that she's trying to keep friendly, but then she sees I'm wearing his robe and it causes her to suddenly go expressionless.

"Miss Summers, I've come to tell you breakfast will be served in 45 minutes. Is there anything I can get you?"
"Um," I look behind me, around the room. Here I begin to think of Jennifer, Maria...and Corneliu. I don't feel threatened...I don't exactly feel right either. Something unnatural is here; yet at the same time, it's nonthreatening and more of a protective presence. ...Corneliu?

I turn back to her, "No thank you. I will be down there shortly. Could you tell me where Nick is please?" She puts her hands together in front of her in a modest way, "I don't have the answer to that Miss, but you can ask Walter."
"Oh..." I wonder what he's up to.
"Ok, thank you." I say, grabbing the side of the door.
"You're quite welcome."
I shut the door and go to take a quick bath.

After that–and my swift primping–I collect the green Victorian dress and shoes from the closet and fit it all on. The shoes are black and have little heels–just how I like them, actually. I notice the attire inside the closet; it's mostly filled with navy blue, grey and black suits. Nick really loves those colors... How dashing. I blush, imagining how it looks on him. And then I think of how muscular he is. "Ahem," I snicker to myself. He's very...sexy. Very.

Now the last step; I put my hair up into a bun, then take the necklace with the blue sapphire pendant Nick placed on the dresser and look at it for a moment. I could get lost in its beauty forever it seems.

The air is slowly getting thicker. It's the feeling like eyes are coming in, leering at me. I still myself. What's happening? I don't want to look back.

As I lower my stare down the dresser to the floor, my body stiffens more and more. I breathe in slowly through my mouth. Before I do anything else, a hand touches the place Nick bit me. I gasp and spin around to see Jennifer with Maria behind her. "Holy shit!"

Jennifer grins wide, "Hello princess...we couldn't leave you for long."
I gasp again, "What do you want from me?! How dare you call me that?!"
"You look delicious." She starts walking toward me. "W-" I try to say 'what' but the fear is too much. She stops and looks to Maria, who is starting to smile and laugh at me. I quickly back up and hit the dresser, then the wall beside it.

"Won't you join us Ivy? You would love being one of us." Jennifer says. I put a hand on my chest, "I don't know what you mean!" Maria takes a comb off Nick's dresser and clenches it in a hand, pointing the handle of it at me, "I don't want you looking at him anymore!" Jennifer smacks it out of her grasp, "No, not yet." Just then, the bedroom door opens and the two shift their heads in that direction. I see a black mist standing there. My eyes grow larger. Before anything else happens, Walter appears through it. The black mist disappears and I quickly look ahead of me again to see Jennifer and Maria are now nowhere in sight.

"Miss Ivy, are you alright?" I look at him, horrified. No, I'm not alright! How in the hell can I explain this to him?
"I heard you talking to someone." He says. 'Talking' to someone? That makes no sense! I have to keep as calm as possible. Fuck!

I swallow and scratch my head a little, "Oh, well uh, what did you hear?"
"Something about breakfast." I said nothing about breakfast...

My god...these 'spirits' can manipulate what you hear too? Who was that in the doorway? Corneliu? Is he the reason Walter heard that instead?-To make sure he didn't hear the struggle? He must have followed him up the hall. If he did that, I am thankful. Without Walter coming in here, who knows what else would've happened?

"Miss Summers...are you ready for breakfast? You are a little late, you know." he says. I regain more of my composure and nod slightly, "Yes...yes, I'm sorry. Excuse me, Walter, could you tell me where Nick is?"
"He went to Gales University Library to find a book."
"What?"
"Ahem..." he looks out into the hall, closes the door a little more and approaches me, "He wanted me to relay this message to you..." He sounds a little like he doesn't believe what he's about to say. I stop him before he says anything else, "Walter, what is this book about? You don't seem to agree with it." He sighs slowly, "This book I speak of is about ancient supernatural beings, and he went to study it." A book on ancient supernatural beings?

This will help him with banishing the spirits? Why can't he just bring a priest of some sort out here? How powerful are these spirits really? Too powerful for a holy person...? I wish I could have gone with him. I should have gone with him but it's obviously not what he wanted. I am so in the dark.

"When will he be back?" I ask.
"Not long, I assume."
"You assume?" I repeat.

"Miss Ivy, I will escort you to your breakfast in the small dining room. You will be served with Mr. Francis' favorite morning dish–French toast, fruit, bacon and orange juice." He says. The look in his eyes tells me he won't let me go anywhere alone. I'm glad, yet frustrated about this concern for safety. "Ok..." I say.

-Nicolai-

Leonardo has docked the boat at Esmeralda's. Now, as we stand outside the car garage, Esmeralda hands me my car keys and my cell-phone. Leonardo is standing behind her with folded arms and a look of ease.

"Mr. Francis, how is Ivy?" she asks. I maintain a straight face while tucking the phone into my jacket, "She is fine. All is well." I smile, though I am second-guessing myself. If I had it my way, I would still be at the castle.

"See you soon." I say. She and her brother watch me step away and walk toward my Aston Martin.

"Be careful!" Leonardo says. I raise my hand with the keys in it and soon approach my vehicle. Taking the door handle, I mumble, "That's all I am." Once I'm inside, I adjust my mirror and then speed off. Just to think if I did get in a car wreck, death never sounded so sweet. It would never happen though...I can't die at all!

A good minute of silence goes by, then I hear Rozalia tell me, "Let me see our eyes."
"No thank you." I say.
She laughs, "Very well. You know, I have been thinking...I wonder if others of my kind have done the same as I have..."

"What do you mean?" I glance at the mirror. She yanks my glasses off and then I see her; her bloody face smiling maliciously at me, brown eyes glowing brightly, "There are others like me all over the place, doing the same as me. But Dmitri...I have possessed you halfway. You are different." she winks at me. I shift away, "I am not a child. I know that!" Then my eyes narrow on the street. She laughs again. "Possessing you fully would have been too easy."

"Just shut up." God I really hate her face. I should destroy all the mirrors at home. It's so agitating that every time I look in one, there she is–reminding me of that day I killed her. The mirrors are for the maids and Walter though.

I look in the mirror again, lean forward and whisper, "Fuck. You. Okay? Fuck you."
She lowers her head and starts chuckling.

Now refocusing on the road, I put my shades back on. Soon, I slow down and look up at a tall white brick building. From what I can remember, it was built around 1915. There's a bronze sign at the turn-in entrance that says in golden Edwardian lettering:
Gales University Library.

Carefully, I find a parking space and get out, put my hat back on and look from left to right, then in front of me. Good, there's hardly anyone around.

I walk on and as soon as I get to the French double doors, a woman comes out of the building and almost runs into me. "Oh! Sorry!" she giggles shyly, flips her hair and smiles briefly. First, I stare at her oddly, but then I take my glasses off with a smile and simper as she backs away. "Not a problem." I bow my head at her. She sees my eyes suddenly flick up to her and flash bright blue. She almost stumbles off the curb. I give her a quick flirtatious look and then turn for the doors and my eyes return to their normal color. 'Rozalia, no. I said I'm not doing that again.' I grimace at the doors.

"Wait!" the woman calls out. I stand in place for a second while she walks up. Turning around, I watch her look up at me in a way it seems she's about to say something but can't seem to do it. "No." I hypnotize her into thinking she never noticed me. A puzzled expression forms on her face and then she starts walking away, "Um, sorry." she fixes her hair with a small uncomfortable laugh. I grin halfway and then go inside the library.

"What is one drink?" Rozalia sighs.
"One drink...is one too many." I reply as I look around.

So I see, the place is beautiful and silent. There are very few people in here. It's old, has a high ceiling with a few big chandeliers, many tables and chairs are spread around, and farther back, there are the book aisles. "Hm," There is nothing over there for me.

As I continue to the empty front desk, I slowly take my hat off. I can remember the first time I set foot in here. It was the summer of 1917 to be sure. Of course, things don't exactly look the same now. It's amusing to me how the people of today are running this place; trying to make it look as it did back in its early days. Whenever I came here–which was often at first, but soon became very seldom–I would refrain from speaking to anyone for very long. Back then, I thought I couldn't control myself well enough; Rozalia was most brutal to me in those times and I had no real courage to stand up to her. It was only 10 years after her 'death'–or I should say, her 'release'.

I stop at the desk, looking around again and sighing to myself, "The good old days..."
"Sir?" A woman's voice says. She sounds elderly. Arching an eyebrow, I turn and face her, then I smile professionally, "Good morning."
She puts her hands together at the front, "Can I help you sir?"
"Yes," I say, "I am looking for a man named Albert Strauss. Is he here today?"
She nods, "Yes sir. He is on the third floor." she then makes an interested face, "Is there something I can help you find?"
I smile once more and then say, "No thank you madam, only him–Albert."
Her right eyebrow quirks up slightly. She waves her arm out, "Alright. Right this way."
"Thank you." I follow her to some gold elevators.

She presses the 'up' button and then waits with me for the doors to open. I look out of the corner of my eye at her once getting the feeling I'm being stared at. She's trying to understand me, I guess. "How long have you been in the US?" she asks.

The doors open. We both look in there.
I turn to her, "A little while. Thank you for helping me." I wink at her. She slightly smiles, "It was my pleasure sir." I dip my head at her, then go inside the elevator. When the doors shut, I look up at the ceiling in a sort of amusement. She's a cute little old lady.

The doors open again. Now I'm on the third floor. I walk out into a big room where there are bookcases everywhere on the left, and on the right, a sitting area. In front of me is a large desk with an old man looking down at something. He looks like a well-educated professor. There is no one else up here (visitor-wise) that I can see. That's good.
I go to him.

He glances up past the top rims of his old-fashioned glasses, "Can I help you sir?"
I get up to the desk and nod, "Indeed you can. I'm Nicolai Francis; I am searching for a man named Albert Strauss."
He gently smiles, "Well, you are talking to him." he stands up and reaches out for a handshake, "What can I do for you good sir?" I shake his hand, "I am looking for a book with the title 'Mythological Creatures of Ancient Times'. I heard you have it on display. Would you mind if I have a look at it?" As he puts his hand down, he thinks to himself and nods, "Of course. Here, follow me." He walks around the desk and leads me toward the book aisles. We go down one into another area, and then ahead of us, I see the stand with the book set there upon it. He takes me over to it and quietly says, "If you turn the pages, you must use these." He takes some white gloves and hands them to me. "Of course." I say as I take them and put them on.

This book is big and looks older than I am. Very good...very good indeed. A small satisfied smile spreads across my face and then I turn to him, lowering my head in thanks, "Thank you for your help Mr. Strauss."
"You're quite welcome sir. I will be around if you need anything." he nods and then strolls away with his hands folding behind his back. I hear him greet someone coming in and I smile shortly again.

Before I begin my reading, I stare at it for a moment. I have a feeling of dread; as if Rozalia will force me to do something wrong. My eyes close as a memory comes to my mind.
The year was 1958...

I drove my red Chevy impala up to a cliff and parked it. At the time, I had my sights on a pretty girl, but I wouldn't dare talk to her for long. I couldn't–wouldn't–get close to her. Not after what I did to Jennifer. I did the same thing to Jennifer as Rozalia; cut her head off, but I threw her remains down my oubliette.

I just sat there in my car with the side of my face resting on my left hand, thinking about life. The best thing to do was to drive off and drown myself. I was ready to go. I figured I couldn't be stopped that time; everything would move too fast.

I snatched the column-shift, rolled up my window and then said, "I'm done. I'm ending this now." I yanked it into gear and went to floor it, but then suddenly raced backward and hit a tree. My head slammed into the steering wheel and knocked me out. I woke up to hearing a police officer tapping on the window with his flashlight. It was an hour into twilight. I looked at him and squinted my eyes from the light. It made my headache worse. Wincing and rolling down the window, I said, "Evening officer... Can I help you?" He slightly peered into my car and then looked at me, beaming the light in my face, "Yeah, I see you wrecked your car. You alright buddy?" I quickly turned my head, "I'm fine. I just didn't hit the brakes in time. Could you please keep that light out of my eyes?"
"Uh huh..." he said as if he had a pinch of disbelief, then he asked while letting the flashlight down, "You need a ride to the hospital?" he gave my car a brief inspection, "How about a tow-truck?" I quickly looked at him, "No thank you. I'm fine." He stared at me. "Son, how long have you been out here?" Him calling me 'son' ticked me off a little, but I was very much out of it. I had a hard time focusing on things. And because of that, I kept my squinting eyes on him once he started seeming suspicious of me. I finally blinked and repositioned myself in my seat, clearing my throat, "Sir, I'm fine. I came out here earlier in the day. I've been unconscious for a while, but I feel alright. I'm only a little sore." I rubbed the back of my neck.

Again, he stared at me, watching me almost intently. He then backed up some and checked the rear end of my vehicle, shining the flashlight on it, "Well, the damage isn't that bad." He glanced at me, "It looks drivable." I slowly put my head against the headrest and closed my eyes, "Good. Thank you."
He nodded, "No problem. You sure you're ok?"
"Yes." I said.
"Ok..." he began backing away, "Stay safe out here, alright?"
"Yes, of course officer."

Once he left, I started thinking about things. I remember putting it in drive, but how did it go into reverse...?
Rozalia...

Right then, I gradually squeezed and pulled on the steering wheel. I was doing it so hard I thought I would break it, then I jumped out of the car and screamed out all the rage I had to the world. I kicked the car, ripped the back doors open and began throwing everything out, down on the ground. The guitar I had, I threw that off the cliff with a last infuriated shout. It was brand new and I was trying to learn how to play it, but in that moment, it didn't matter to me. After all of that, I fell to the ground, sobbing in defeat. Rozalia always wins–always. I couldn't hear her but I knew she was quite ecstatic.

Snapping back into reality, I blink a couple times, soon frowning. 55 years later, here I am doing the same thing again; trying to get rid of her with almost the same desperation.
I'm taking things slower though; the contemplation.

I put my right hand on the book and sigh. Here I go.
I open it and look through the table of contents. There's a chapter called 'Demonic Expulsion' and the page number is 536. I still my attention on it, engrossing the title. While doing that, Rozalia says, "Demonic expulsion? We don't have any demons at home..." She may be amused–I can't tell.

"Hm," I make a quick smile, "Why yes, you must be right Rozalia. I just found something that interests me. I wonder again–are you so vain that you have forgotten my fascination for mythology?" I start flipping through the sections of the book to get to page 536.

Once I get there, I begin reading...

Demonic Expulsion -

Demons are capable of possessing an unwary person's body. This is accomplished by-

"No." She suddenly makes me shut the book. I glare at it, then reopen it and try to read again. She does just like before when I find where I left off. I grumble, "Enough Rozalia. I am just curious." I open it and then quickly fold my arms and read on. This is accomplished by moving its energy from a body near death, to one that is-

She forces me to turn the page. I take in a deep breath and grab the hand she used and pull it away. While doing that, I happen to glance over and see a young man with glasses staring at me strangely from one of the book aisles. I give him a smile, though it turns out to be an ugly one. He doesn't do anything but turn and walk away. I sigh, then look back down at the book.

"I know what you are doing. I am not a fool."
'I am doing research!' I mentally snap. With an agitated shake of the head, I turn the page back and do as before; put my hands away and continue reading.

This is accomplished by moving its energy from a body near death, to one that is not. This does not exclude animals. Once the demon has moved to another host, it must stay until the host dies – or is near death. Only then can a demon freely move to another host.

However...
My eyes grow slowly in curiosity.

The most commonly accepted way to expel a demon from a host body is through ritual exorcism. This can take up to several months to accomplish and is not guaranteed. Many people believe the ritual drives the demon to another host by giving it permission to leave the current host.

I step back in a sort of astonishment. Several months, it says. And it's not guaranteed. That would be the last option for me. I can't let this happen. I won't.

I take my phone out and take a picture of the page, then stuff it back into my pocket, all the while scanning around to see if I'm being watched. I've got to get out of here now. There are things I need to do at home. I already know how to get rid of Jennifer and Maria. Corneliu–I can't let him go. Once I banish Rozalia, everyone else will have more of a chance to leave.

I stand up, flick out my shirt cuffs and go on my way to the exit, giving Mr. Strauss a 'thank you' and a goodbye nod. He does the same in return but has an odd way of doing it; he has an unnerved expression; he must have seen Rozalia causing me to act up. While I'm leaving through the door, I check the ceiling corners and see cameras almost everywhere. I block my face with my hat.

Of course.