"God, Who for the salvation of the human race has built your greatest mysteries upon this substance, in your kindness hear our prayers and pour down the power of your blessing into this element, prepared by many purifications." Duke paused. I braced myself before opening my eyes, fearing the image of him possessed by the spirit. Instead, he was staring back at me with a frown.

"What?" I whispered, pulling my trembling hands away from the bowl. Duke pulled his hands back too.

"Are you okay?"

"Would you just keep going?" I gripped the bowl of water harder, sternly commanding my hands to calm themselves. Duke sighed and closed his eyes, once again placing his hands over mine.

"May this your creation be a vessel of divine grace to dispel demons and sicknesses, so that everything that it is sprinkled on in this home will be rid of all unclean and harmful things. Let no pestilent spirit, no corrupting atmosphere, remain in this place: may all the schemes of the hidden enemy be dispelled. Let whatever might trouble the safety and peace of those who live here be put to flight by this water, so that health, gotten by calling Your Holy Name, may be made secure against all attacks. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen."

"Amen," I echoed. "So what's the plan now? Church water, salt, and prayer are all checked."

"Now," Duke began, consulting his cheat sheet. "Now we sprinkle this in the corners of every room."

"Do you want to go first or should I?"

"I'll take this room." I watched as Duke methodically walked to every corner of the den and let a few drops from his fingers land on the carpet. The air felt calm. I didn't sense any disturbances in the atmosphere. No little fingers grabbed at my hair and nothing nasty wafted up my nose. My eyes saw what was in front of me and nothing else. I sighed in relief and took the bowl from Duke when he was done.

"Okay," I breathed. "I think this might be working. I don't feel a thing."

"It's going to be fine," Duke said, grinning down at me. He wrapped one arm around me and warmly rubbed my arm. "How about the kitchen next?"

"Kitchen," I repeated confidently. This is going to be fine. I dipped my right hand into the water and watched as the liquid drip dropped down onto the tile next to the stove.

The doorbell rang.

I jumped possibly a mile high and turned to desperately look at Duke.

"Do you want me to get it?" he asked slowly. I shook my head.

"I'll get it," I replied softly. Duke nodded. I set down the bowl and, taking a deep breath, pushed through the door into the sitting room. Through the lace curtains, I could see a shortish figure waiting in front of the door. I looked behind me. Duke was mostly hidden behind the kitchen door, but I could see him well enough to catch his hand waving me forward. I grabbed the door handle and pulled it open.

"Hi, Tegan!" Caroline Donnelly chimed. My shoulders relaxed as I slumped against the door.

"Hey, Caroline," I sighed.

"Is that Duke Elliot's truck in your driveway?" she asked, moving past me into the sitting room.

"Um. Yeah..." I flashed my eyes back to where Duke had been standing, hoping he would come up with a good excuse, because my mind was blanking.

"Oh! Hey, Caroline," Duke said, stepping through the door. "I was just here to take a look at some of the azaleas out back. Looks like the sun is getting to them a bit too strongly."

"Well, don't mind me," Caroline laughed. "I dropped off my grandma at Mrs. Johnson's bridge party and saw that Mrs. Green was there, so I thought you might want some company."

"Thanks," I smiled. Cheesy, but the thought was nice.

"Actually, I was just inside to get a drink of water. Do you mind, Tegan?" Duke looked at me pointedly.

"Sure... I'll get you a cup. Why don't you sit down, Caroline? Nora made some really good vegetable dip, so I'll just get some of that for us," I said graciously, motioning for Caroline to take a seat on the couch.

"That sounds great! Thank you so much," she beamed. I grinned as I closed the door behind Duke and me.

"What do you want me to do?" Duke whispered.

"Well, try to do a little more of the downstairs and then go out back for a while until she leaves. And be quiet about it!" I murmured back. I pulled out a bag of baby carrots and ripped it open over a plate.

"Yeah. And try not to let her talk a lot, okay?"

"Okay!" I grabbed the dish of dip and reentered the sitting room. "Here we go!" I set the platter on the table and slipped into the chair next to Caroline.

"I'm sorry if I..." she said worriedly, letting her gaze drift back toward where I'd left Duke.

"Oh, gosh, no," I laughed nervously, waving my arms to reemphasize my point. "It's not like that. We're just friends. He was just... you know. The azaleas." I realized that I was overzealously gesturing and awkwardly tucked my hands into my lap.

"That's really sweet that he's helping out around here," Caroline commented before crunching into a carrot.

"Yeah." After a moment, I grabbed a carrot too and gently bit off one end. Caroline became very interested in her shoes for a few seconds. I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and bit into my carrot again.

"You know," Caroline began. "Duke used to be really close to your uncle." I swallowed, thankfully without choking.

"Jack?" I questioned. "Uncle Jack?"

"Yeah. So that's why it's sweet that he's helping," she said lamely, biting her lip. I could tell that much more than wishing she hadn't come at all, she was regretting bringing up my uncle.

"Why were they close?"

"Well..." Caroline shifted uncomfortably and I realized that it was time to step up my hosting skills. Mother had taught me well and it was time to put my learning to use. I leaned slightly toward Caroline and smiled gently.

"Look, I won't let anything go beyond this room," I promised. "But I'd like to know a little more about my uncle." Caroline's hesitancy to talk about her fellow Corbiners was at the present bothersome, but I noted that her tact would be useful later on not as an information source but as a good quality to have in a friend.

"I mean, it's not a secret, because nothing here is really a secret, but I feel a little weird talking about other people's personal lives," she admitted. My faux smile widened into a real one.

"I admire you for thinking that way, I promise," I laughed. "But I just want to know about my uncle, and I promise not to say anything to anyone else." Caroline grinned and nodded.

"I can do that," she agreed. "Well, Duke's dad, Mr. Elliot... he left the family for a few years back when we were real young. I think he left when Duke was two, maybe? He came back when we were maybe eight. I don't remember exactly, but it was sometime a little after Mr. Green passed." She paused, and I nodded for her to continue as I set up the timeline in my mind. In the back of my head, I was hoping that Duke had already gone outside. I didn't quite feel comfortable talking about his past with the knowledge that he might be listening.

"I think since Duke didn't have a dad and Mr. Green didn't have a son, Mr. Green kind of took in Duke. Y'know, kept him growing up straight while Mr. Elliot was gone. So Duke used to always be over here helping out with little stuff on the farm."

"What about Jett?" I interrupted.

"Oh, Jett was too young to be around the farm," Caroline explained. "He'd just been born when Mr. Elliot left. So you see, it was perfect for the Greens to watch Duke while his mom took care of stuff around the house and with the greenhouse."

"So Uncle Jack was Duke's role model for almost six years," I subtracted aloud. No wonder Duke was so interested in sticking around. The room suddenly felt chilly. I rubbed my arms.

"Yeah. My mom said that it was pretty awful for Duke when Mr. Green passed. It was like he'd lost his father. Mrs. Elliot, apparently, didn't try to hide the suicide bit from Duke, even though he was only seven." So Duke wanted to solve the mystery of his father figure's mysterious death. I nodded as things began to make sense. Like why Duke wouldn't let this whole thing go.

"So his dad's back now, though, and all's well?" I asked, turning my attention back to Caroline. She nodded.

"He's been back for a while now and their family sorted things out, as far as I know."

"That's good," I murmured, picking up another carrot.

"So. Are you in college?"

"I just graduated from high school this past spring. I'm going to Cornell."

"Wow. That'll be cold," she said. I nodded.

"Yeah." The grandfather clock began to chime, signifying that eleven o'clock had arrived.

"Oh gosh, eleven already!" Caroline exclaimed, rising. "I need to go get lunch started for my little brother. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer!"

"Don't worry about it," I replied. "And thanks for dropping by! That's so nice of you." Caroline blushed and shrugged.

"Well, if you find yourself alone again, here's my number. We'll have to do something before you head back home," she said.

"Of course! Bye!" I waved as Caroline walked out to her car. As I shut the door, another door behind me opened. I whirled around to see Duke standing there.

"That sounded like a good story time," he observed. I shrugged and rubbed my arm.

"Did you hear?"

"Yes. I did the laundry room then just waited around by the door."

"I didn't realize that you and Jack were so close," I said cautiously. Duke shrugged. "So is that why you're here?"

"I have a variety of reasons," he replied. I rolled my eyes.

"You want to know if maybe he didn't kill himself." I wasn't sure if my tone was accusatory or not.

"I have a variety of reasons," Duke repeated, looking me in the eye. "Your uncle was like a father to me and I can't tell you how often I wanted an answer, or at least a different answer, or just something. So that's part of the reason why I'm here, I guess. But there's more at stake than just answers or whatever." He turned around and walked back to the kitchen.

"What are you talking about?" I pressed, following him through the door. Duke stopped suddenly, and I almost ran into his back. He turned around and looked down at me.

"I don't think I'd be doing my duty to Jack Green if I let the demons that killed him kill his niece." I stared back up at him. I hadn't before noticed how tall he was. He seemed to be leaning toward me, or maybe I was leaning toward him. Or maybe he had stepped toward me. Yes, that must have been it. Belatedly, the soft noise of scuffing shoes registered in my ears. My shoes, certainly, wouldn't have scuffed. I always picked up my feet when I walked. His shoes would probably make a scuffing noise, so he must have stepped forward. Oh. I should keep breathing.

"Oh," I whispered stupidly, my mind racing. His eyes flickered from my eyes to my jaw to my lips. My face reddened and I stepped back, grabbing the bowl of holy water from the counter. "We should finish blessing the house."

"Yeah. We should," Duke said, clearing his throat. He stepped back with clenched fists and looked down.

"So, let's finish the downstairs. And then I can make some lunch while you do the upstairs," I suggested. Only after I said it, I realized that I hadn't suggested but rather decided. I gnawed on the inside of my cheek, frustrated with the awkwardness that had arrived. We should have gotten holy water to ward off awkwardness. Ugh.

"Okay," Duke agreed. "You want to take the sitting room?"

"Yeah."

***

Half an hour later, Duke and I were eating lunch around little table in the kitchen. I figured I'd be safe just pulling out sandwich meat and cheese.

"So. Sensing any ectoplasm?" Duke asked as he bit into his second sandwich.

"Not yet," I laughed. Just as the clock began to chime, I started to choke.

"Startle you?" Duke laughed, offering me his glass of water. I coughed, trying to clear my throat, but I couldn't seem to breath. It felt like cloth had been shoved down my throat. My eyes started to fill with tears and I glanced up at the clock.

"Tegan? Can you talk?" Duke stood up and moved behind me, ready to give whatever medical attention was necessary. I wildly shook my head and pointed at the clock. 11:37.

"What?" It's not noon, it's not noon. I screamed at him in my head. The chimes grew louder and louder. Realization dawned across his face and he scrambled for the holy water and the prayers.

"I- I exorcise thee in the name of God the Father almighty, and in the name of Jesus Christ His Son, our Lord, and in the power of the Holy Ghost-" I clutched at my throat as he continued to rub the water over my face and arms. "That you may be able to put to flight all the power of the enemy, and be able to root out and supplant that enemy and his apostate angels; through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will come to judge the living and the dead and the world by fire." Duke took a deep breath and watched as I continued to suffocate. The clock sounded like it was going to break.

"Oh gosh, what do I do?" he pleaded with me. "I don't know what else- Stop! Please stop!" The clock stopped chiming. Duke froze for a moment, and then finally, air filled my lungs.

"I guess it didn't work," I gasped, reaching for my water. "It didn't work."

"Or..." Duke trailed off.

"Or what?"

"I think we did everything right," he said.

"If we banished all things evil, then why was I just thrown into a choking fit by a spirit?" I growled.

"The spirit in the house isn't bad," he said more firmly. "Because we did everything right, so if it was bad, it wouldn't have done that."

"So..."

"It's warning us. Protecting us. Protecting you, I guess," Duke muttered, rubbing his chin. I frowned.

"Against what?" I wondered. Duke looked at me.

"Something worse. Something that's in the barn. Something that killed Jack."