Interrogation

Jillian towered over Mary, her blue eyes narrowed to dark slits. The woman's full lips were distorted into a nasty snarl.

"You summoned a demon into this world?"

"Maybe? I don't really know. Luna just came to me with the spell and-" Mary squeaked.

"What made you think this was a good idea?"

Agent St. John began to walk over, ready to put himself between the two girls, but Jillian stuck out a hand and commanded him to stop.

"Answer my question, you little slut!"

"Stop calling me that!" Mary snapped.

"I'll call you what I please. Why did you summon a demon? Do you know what you have done?"

"I really don't!" Mary said. "Nothing even happened. We went into the supply closet in the resource room, chanted a few words, things felt creepy for a little bit, and then nothing happened. I swear that's all I know!"

Agent St. John cocked his head to the side, looking confused.

"But you said you summoned a demon into the world."

"Well yeah," Mary said. "That's what the spell said and every other spell seemed to work for Luna. Besides, given what happened to Luna after I left her in the library, it certainly seems like a demon is messing around behind the scenes."

"You idiot," Jillian said. "If what you're saying is true, you have put every single soul in this school in danger!"

"Well I didn't mean too!" Mary said. She knew it was a bad answer. "Look, I don't think I even did anything. I think it was all Luna. I tried to cast that spell on you guys and nothing happened."

"Either way, you are complicit!" Jillian hissed.

"Look," Agent St. John said. "You need to calm down. We're not getting anywhere if we're trying to kill each other."

"It doesn't matter whether we kill each other or not if this trollop and her idiot friend summoned a demon to earth! A lower demon I might be able to deal with, but anything more and I am well out of my league. So are you, Mr. FBI agent."

"That's why we need to find Luna. She has the book and maybe there's a way to bind the demon. A spell to close, um, the gate. To seal the darkness. To-I don't know. I don't know anything about this shit."

"Your friend is a slut of Satan now."

Mary gritted her teeth. Jillian's whole schtick was getting very old.

"Well she's a slut with a very important book then."

Agent St. John let out a loud sigh and clutched his forehead as if he were nursing a terrible headache.

"The bureau hasn't really handled demons per say, but we have gathered intel. I'm gonna go out on a limb, Jillian, and say whoever you work for has a lot more experience. Whoever this higher power is."

Mary blew a raspberry and through her hands up.

"Higher power my ass. Let me guess, you work for the Pope? The Vatican?"

Jillian turned on Mary, her eyes blazing.

"What?" Mary continued. "You have a total Catholic vibe. Samantha Powers is super catholic and you and her could be friggin twins. Besides, what other religious organization is going to send some gun toting lunatic into a school, ranting about demons?"

"Have you met any evangelicals?" Agent St. John muttered.

"Okay, fair enough," Mary said. "But you know I'm right. You're the Pope's bitch, Jillian. How does that feel, Pope Bitch?"

It felt good to dish it rather than receive it for once. The look in Jillian's eye was as venomous as a cobra.

"Watch it," Jillian said.

"I won't call you Pope Bitch if you stop calling me a slut. Also stop calling me a protestant cow or a protestant whore or really a protestant anything."

"Don't worry," Jillian said with a cold, mirthless smile. "You're a heathen in my eyes now."

"I can live with that, Pope Bitch. Do we have a deal, Pope Bitch?"

For a moment, Jillian looked like she was about to strangle Mary. Then her expression cleared to a serene smile.

"Miserere animae tuae sit tibi Deus," Jillian said.

"What?"

"Don't worry about it," Jillian said. "We have a deal, heathen."

Mary nodded.

"So where do you think your friend is, Mary?" Agent St. John asked. "If she isn't--" he trailed off.

Mary felt her heart grow cold. She didn't want to think about the possibility that Luna was dead. She had to hold onto hope that Luna was out there somewhere. If she didn't, how could she go on?

"We can check her house. To be honest, we don't really spend time many other places. It's either her house or my house."

The agent nodded somberly and gave Mary a kind pat on the back.

"Well that's a start at least. We will need a plan if she isn't there. Don't give up hope if she isn't though, there's a whole big world out there."

Jillian regarded both of them with a sudden, sober look.

"Are either of you prepared for what this girl might have become once you do find her?"