Chapter 12: The Psychic Medium
Josh's attitude was sincere.
After last night, he finally understood that everything his wife had said was true.
For so long, these dead spirits had not only been haunting their family but hurting Dalton as well.
Yet he had chosen not to believe her, using overtime as an excuse to avoid coming home, leaving his wife to bear it alone.
He was a terrible husband!
"Father, please forgive my rudeness yesterday." Josh bowed deeply. "Please, save Dalton."
William smiled and helped Josh up. This was all part of his plan.
As the saying goes: You can't teach a man with words, but experience teaches him instantly.
Rather than explaining everything, it was better to let Josh experience it firsthand.
That was why William had left that "loophole" in the defense.
Now, it seemed his goal had been achieved.
While the two were talking, a car honked on the road.
Josh's mother, Lorraine (Lambert), had arrived with three guests.
One was an elderly woman with a kind face and gray hair.
She was accompanied by two young men.
The woman introduced herself as Elise, a psychic medium, and the two young men were her assistants, Specs and Tucker.
Yesterday, Lorraine had received a call from her daughter-in-law. Worried that the couple was being scammed, she invited her old friend Elise that very night.
So they drove over early this morning.
The two male assistants were carrying equipment, ready to survey the house.
Just then, they noticed William on the lawn.
"Oh, I didn't expect you to hire a priest too. Guess we don't need to offer emotional support then."
In North America, church priests often visited communities to provide services to residents.
Of course, these services were mostly about comfort and care, not exorcising ghosts.
For the latter, people usually relied on professionals like them.
Renai heard them mention William and introduced him, mentioning that he hadn't entered the house since he arrived yesterday.
"However, last night..."
Renai wanted to continue, but she was interrupted.
"What?!"
Hearing this, the two male assistants had looks that said, "Are you kidding me?"
"Uh... Evil spirits are very dangerous things. They definitely can't be warded off just by holding a Bible."
"Mrs. Lambert, I suggest you try a different church next time."
The two assistants spoke tactfully, but their meaning was clear.
They had faced demons head-on with Elise. They had real combat experience!
Naturally, they looked down on these amateurs.
"But last night..."
"Relax, Renai."
Lorraine came up and hugged Renai.
"I know you're scared. Don't worry, Elise specializes in dealing with these kinds of problems. Dalton will be safe."
"Gentlemen, mind your manners~"
She had already heard the story from Lorraine.
As a veteran in this field, Elise knew that many people did "exorcism business."
Although it wasn't very ethical, most did it just to survive.
As long as no one got hurt, Elise usually didn't interfere.
So she only glanced at the priest once before focusing her attention on the house.
"May I go inside and take a look?" Elise asked.
"Uh... sure." Renai led the way.
"Everyone seems to have misunderstood the Father. I'll explain it to everyone later..." she thought to herself.
On the other side.
Seeing guests arrive, Josh ended his conversation with William and invited him inside.
"No rush. I still have some preparations to make." William shook his head.
He recognized the medium and had been waiting for her for a long time.
William knew that Dalton's soul was currently in The Further. To enter that place, one needed the innate ability of astral projection.
Right now, the only person who met this condition was Josh.
Although William could just storm the house with holy artifacts and purify every corner with Holy Light, there was clearly a better option right now.
Inside the house.
As soon as Elise walked in, her expression turned serious.
The ceiling, the doors, the staircase...
Everywhere was filled with traces of spiritual energy—something unique to dead spirits that ordinary people couldn't see.
"It's terrifying..."
Elise muttered to herself.
"What happened?" Renai asked quickly.
The others looked at Elise too.
But she didn't answer and continued to the second floor.
In Elise's eyes, this house was "devastated."
Ordinary people couldn't possibly survive an attack of this scale.
Thinking of this, Elise suddenly realized something!
She turned around quickly and stared intently at Renai, Josh, and the rest of the family.
After checking them, she found that they weren't possessed by any dead spirits.
How is this possible?!
Confused, Elise noticed a clue.
She saw a crucifix hanging around Renai's neck, emitting a reassuring aura.
At the same time, Elise remembered seeing similar items downstairs.
She finally realized that those things weren't decorations knocked over by spirits.
They had been placed in specific locations intentionally.
Although spirits could pass through any obstacle, in her years of talking to victims, she knew they were often attacked in exactly these kinds of places (under beds, behind doors).
And having worked in this industry for so long, she had consistently overlooked this.
Her train of thought cleared instantly.
She looked at Renai and asked about the origin of these items.
Only then did Renai have the chance to tell the story of the spirit attack last night.
The four of them, including Elise, were shocked.
It was that dangerous?!
At the same time, Elise was in disbelief.
"Only someone with at least a One-Star Exorcist License could possess such power."
The so-called Exorcist License.
It was an institution jointly established by the North American government, the Church, the Anomaly Council, and other organizations.
Its purpose was to deal with the increasing number of supernatural incidents everywhere.
Currently, it was divided into three star ranks, and only a very small number of people could obtain one.
By this time, Elise had arrived at Dalton's room.
Using her psychic ability, she sensed that the spiritual energy on the bed was the most chaotic.
She stepped forward and slowly lifted the blanket.
The bedsheet was covered in bloody handprints, densely surrounding Dalton.
But not a single one could get within half a centimeter of his body.
Elise looked stern. She inadvertently glanced at the ceiling, and her gaze sharpened instantly.
She quietly called over the assistant with glasses (Specs).
Specs took a sketchbook and started drawing something according to Elise's instructions.
Renai was already nervous seeing these marks on her son's bed again.
Seeing Elise acting strangely, she assumed something bad had happened.
She asked a few times, but Elise didn't answer.
Anxious, Renai rushed over and snatched the sketchbook.
It depicted a red-faced demon.
She turned on the light, but the ceiling was empty.
Elise then told the couple that the monster had tried to attack Dalton multiple times but had failed.
Hearing this, Renai pulled a crucifix from her son's chest. It was still glowing with white light.
The situation here made Elise realize she couldn't wait any longer!
So she told the couple the reason for Dalton's coma (astral projection) and said they must bring his soul back immediately.
Otherwise, he might never be able to return.
But Josh and Renai looked at each other upon hearing this.
Renai then mentioned that the priest had said the exact same thing yesterday.
This left Elise speechless for a moment.
She had been prepared to explain everything to them, as ordinary people found this explanation hard to believe.
"It's that priest again. Who exactly is he?" Elise wondered.
She looked at Renai and said, "I think we should go meet this Father."