With a yelp, Ivan ducked down, hastily shielding his head with his arms.
“Are you crazy!?” he screamed from his crouched position on the floor.
“I told you not to move,” Mikah replied indifferently. He stashed the gun away and Ivan finally felt his body slump to the ground, losing all strength as the shock of what just happened set in.
“Firing a gun this close to me, you’re lucky the bullet didn’t somehow ricochet off of anything and kill you,” Ivan chastised. He tried to sound stern but it was becoming increasingly difficult with the way his whole body was going limp. Instead, the words rushed out in a breathless torrent.
Mikah slammed the desk drawer closed before glancing over at Ivan like he was the crazy one. As if Mikah hadn’t just pointed a gun at him.
“Wait a minute, let me get this straight,” Mikah said with mild amusement. “You’re not upset that I almost shot you, but that I could have somehow gotten hurt in the process?”
After hearing Mikah say it out loud like that, Ivan supposed it did sound pretty stupid. The thing was, Ivan had so many near-death experiences that they hardly fazed him anymore. Sure, his body still responded a certain way, and he would be terrified at that moment, but once it passed he had become so used to just moving on that it became second nature. His own safety barely constituted an afterthought.
“Well, why did you shoot at me?” Ivan questioned, becoming irritated. He didn’t feel like explaining himself to the man who just pointed a gun at him over a broken coffee pot.
“Take a look at the wall behind you,” Mikah said, gesturing for Ivan to turn around.
Ivan stood up in confusion before doing as told. “I don’t see why you can’t just answer the question,” he huffed.
“You didn’t answer mine either,” Mikah retorted.
“Whatever!” Ivan angrily analyzed the wall in front of him. It was bare apart from one of those weird scrolls, and the color was also unremarkable, a bland off-white. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be looking at. “I don’t get it. There’s nothing there.”
“Exactly,” Mikah said, suddenly sliding up next to him. “Not even a bullet hole. Don’t you find that odd? It should have hit the wall right here.”
He tapped at a spot on the wall behind where Ivan had been standing a moment ago, yet there was nothing there. Ivan realized then what Mikah was trying to say. Obviously, the bullet hadn’t hit Ivan. It should have embedded itself into the wall somewhere, but there was no sign of it. It was like the bullet had vanished into thin air.
“Are you going to explain what’s going on now or are you going to keep playing cryptic guessing games?” Ivan asked, feeling frustrated.
Mikah merely stared at him, his gaze akin to someone trying to figure out a math problem that had stumped them. Ivan returned his gaze with his own narrowed one, not willing to back down. Finally, Mikah spoke.
“Then let me do the guessing this time. Before you came into the diner, I’m guessing you felt a heavy presence around you, like an oppressive burden. No matter where you went, it followed, and it felt like someone was watching you even when there was no one around. Maybe you even saw some strange things, but brushed them off as your mind playing tricks on you.”
It was the most Ivan had heard Mikah speak since they met, and each word left Ivan feeling a chill run up his spine, the goosebumps from before making a comeback. His heart pounded in his chest, and he took a small step back. “H-how did you know that? What’s really going on?” he asked again.
Mikah took a step forward, closing the gap. Ivan tried to back up further but his back hit the wall. The office was really too small. Why was Mikah getting so close? Ivan suddenly felt like a caged animal, one that had foolishly stepped right into a waiting hunter’s trap.
“How do you feel now?” Mikah pressed, his eyes searching in Ivan’s gaze.
“Confused and… scared,” Ivan found himself answering honestly. “Who are you?”
“Like I said, I’m Mikah,” the other man replied casually. “And that isn’t what I meant. I was referring to that weight, that eerie presence around you. Do you still feel it?”
Ivan paused, breath catching in his throat. With everything going on, he hadn’t even noticed. Since the gun went off, he had felt panic, fear, adrenaline, and even anger. But amongst all of those feelings, that feeling of being watched had completely dissipated. His body felt lighter. His head felt clearer than it had in weeks. It almost made him feel like a new person entirely.
Ivan’s eyes widened as he looked back at Mikah, who was merely watching him expectantly.
“How did you do that? Who- no, what are you?”
“That feeling was being caused by a malevolent spirit, the same one that broke the coffee pot. For some reason, it was clinging onto you, so I exorcised it,” Mikah explained. He said it all as though it were a natural, normal occurrence. “I’m an exorcist.”
“This has to be a joke, right?” Ivan whispered in disbelief. However, he didn’t have any other explanation for the bizarre sequence of events.
Before Mikah could answer, there was a rapid pounding on the office door, like whoever was on the other side was seconds away from breaking it down.
“Mikah!” his mom’s voice shrieked, muffled through the wood. “Open this door right this instant!”
With a dejected sigh, Mikah opened the door. His mother burst into the room, immediately winding on her son and pointing an accusatory finger in his face.
“I told you not to make too much noise, and this is what you do!” she scolded. “You have so many exorcism tools at your disposal, and you chose the loudest one!”
“Sorry,” Mikah mumbled, not sounding sorry at all.
“Wait, is everyone in your family an exorcist?” Ivan asked, still processing.
“You even told him about that!?” his mother continued her rant.
“Well it would be rude of me to shoot a gun at him and not explain myself properly,” Mikah defended, nonchalant as ever.
“That reminds me, you’re not getting off the hook for that! I had to come up with a lousy excuse to the customers out front for the noise,” his mom huffed, crossing her arms impatiently. “I would ground you except you’re too old for that. I know you would just sneak off anyway.”
“Could I please get a full explanation now?” Ivan interjected. As amusing as the scene in front of him was, he had a lot of questions. Mikah’s mother turned to him with a look of sympathy and began to explain.
It turned out that yes, Mikah’s entire family exorcised spirits, and they even came from a long line of famous exorcists. The diner was a cover. As it turned out, it was located along some prominent spiritual ley line, and many wayward spirits ended up there either by mistake or on their journey to somewhere else. The diner was always open because many of the spirits showed up at night, where they were covertly exorcised by the family. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Ivan also learned that all exorcists had some form of spiritual connection or power tied to the spirit realm. Though his entire family had gifts, Mikah was the only one who could actually see spirits. He had known Ivan was being haunted the minute he walked in and had to watch as the ghost clung to him and repeatedly caused trouble. After getting fed up with its antics, Mikah snapped, eventually exorcising it with the gun.
Along with the gun, apparently many spiritual weapons existed. They were simply weapons that had been imbued with spiritual power, whether at the time of forging or even later on. It was common for spiritual weapons to be passed down among generations of exorcists, and even some well-known ones existed within the exorcism world. Those weapons were once held by extremely powerful exorcists before becoming powerful themselves, and any exorcist would be eager to get their hands on one.
“Not all exorcists need spiritual weapons, however,” Mikah’s mom told Ivan proudly. “Our middle daughter only needs her voice.”
“Huh?” Ivan didn’t quite understand what she meant.
Mikah rolled his eyes. Again. Ivan guessed that was a bad habit of his. “Different exorcists possess different degrees of spiritual power. My sister has significantly more than me, so she can exorcise spirits with a spell rather than a weapon. She imbues it into her voice and exorcises them through song,” he explained.
“Woah, that sounds amazing,” Ivan couldn’t help but comment in admiration.
Mikah’s mom looked increasingly pleased. “That’s right! It’s truly a sight to behold. That’s not all, our eldest is no laughing matter either,” she continued to brag. “She’s a decent fighter, but her true incredible skill is her ability to read the stars! She can make very accurate spiritual predictions, and even read people’s fate!”
Ivan had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but he did his best to sound impressed. “Wow, amazing,” he complimented with a smile.
“Yeah, well none of your exorcisms would be so effective if you didn’t have my ability to see the spirits,” Mikah interjected, mild irritation coloring his voice.
“That does sound pretty useful,” Ivan agreed. However, Mikah’s mom dismissed them both with a wave of her hand.
“Clio can locate them accurately enough with her predictions, and Wren doesn’t need to see them. Any spirit within earshot of her song would be exorcised on the spot. Besides, your father and I can’t see the spirits, but we can sense them, and that’s good enough,” she said.
“Wow, thanks mom. I had almost forgotten how useless I am compared to the rest of you,” Mikah replied dryly.
Such clear favoritism would have wounded anyone, but Mikah seemed used to it. Ivan was surprised that even a skilled exorcist with the ability to see ghosts could feel so unimportant. He secretly sympathized with Mikah’s bitterness.
“You know that’s not what I meant,” his mom quickly corrected.
“Yeah, yeah. I know,” Mikah reassured her, but Ivan could tell from his expression that he was hurt. He had seen the same look in his own eyes enough times after speaking with his parents. It was the look someone had when they felt like a disappointment.
“Why was that ghost clinging to me?” Ivan intervened, in part to change the subject but also because he was genuinely curious.
“I would also like to know,” Mikah answered, humming in thought. The question seemed to have sufficiently distracted him. “It’s pretty unusual, although in your case I can’t say I’m surprised.”
“What do you mean?” Ivan asked.
“Even in high school, spirits always seemed to hang around you.”
For some reason, Ivan was pleasantly surprised by that. “You even remember back then?”
Mikah’s cheeks grew the tiniest bit red. “It wasn’t that long ago, and it was hard to miss a guy that had ghosts clinging to him all the time.”
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think someone put a curse on you,” Mikah’s mom chimed in.
“A curse? Is that really possible?”
She nodded. “They’re rare, but not unheard of. However, from the sound of it, this has been a problem your whole life. Who would put a curse on a newborn?”
“If it were a curse, does that mean there’d be a way to cure it?” Ivan asked, no longer able to hide his eagerness.
“Theoretically, yes,” Mikah’s mom agreed hesitantly. “But there’s no guarantee it’s a curse.”
“How would you know for sure?” Ivan questioned. He needed an answer. If there was even just the slimmest possibility, no matter how absurd or minuscule, of getting rid of this plague that had been burdening him his entire life, how could he let it slip away?
Finding out that all of his bad luck, all of his pain and misfortune, might have a real, actual, physical cause? It would change everything.
“Demons,” Mikah said simply, though he didn’t look happy about it. “They’re the ones typically responsible for curses. If you were cursed, a demon would be able to tell.”
“Where can I find one?” Ivan asked hurriedly.
“Woah, slow down Mikah,” his mom protested. “Don’t you think you two are getting carried away? He just found out that ghosts exist, there’s no way he can face a demon. Besides, I don’t want him getting his hopes up when nothing is guaranteed.”
“But-” Ivan began to counter.
“No buts!” she cut him off. “Being an exorcist is not a game. It’s extremely dangerous, and every day my family puts their lives on the line. Spirits are one thing, but demons are a whole other level. I wouldn’t even send Mikah to exorcise a demon, let alone a child who knows nothing of the spiritual world.”
“Mom-” Mikah began.
“No is no, Mikah. And that’s final.”
Ivan cleared his throat before finally mustering up enough courage to speak again.
“Miss… uh…” he realized that he didn’t actually know their last name. Her name tag said ‘Jane‘, but it didn’t feel right to call her that now.
“Mikah’s mom,” he continued, “with all due respect, if I truly am cursed, then my life is already in danger. Simple everyday tasks sometimes end up with me or someone close to me in the hospital. I’ve experienced so-called freak accidents more times than I can count. Every moment of my existence feels at odds with the universe. If there’s a way to make it stop, I need to try, no matter what.”
She turned to him with a gaze he hated the most: pity.
“If what you say is true, you’re basically admitting that I’d be sending you and Mikah to your deaths. What about your parents, what would they think?” she responded, tone soft yet pleading.
“Even if I were to disappear, they likely wouldn’t notice or care,” Ivan answered solemnly.
She looked pained but didn’t respond, instead facing her son. “And you, Mikah? You really want to help this boy?”
Mikah nodded. “I’m not as useless as you think. I can’t just stay cooped up in the diner all the time.”
Her eyes widened, before lowering in defeat. “Fine, I understand. This old woman won’t stand in your way anymore.”
“That’s not it. I know you’re just being considerate. I appreciate it, really,” Ivan rushed to reassure her.
“However,” her gaze snapped back up, fire sparking back to life, “I won’t let you come face to face with a demon unprepared.”
Mikah sighed. “I knew you agreed too easily. What is it now?”
“We recently got a commission. I was waiting to give it to Wren since I thought it suited her best, but I’ll give it to you, Mikah. Take this boy along with you, show him what it’s like out in the field, how dangerous and unpredictable it can be, and see if he still wants to go through with this. If you both come back in one piece, I’ll help you track down a demon,” she said with finality.
“What’s a commission mean for exorcists?” Ivan asked. Though he was practically diving headfirst into everything, he couldn’t help but feel a little excited.
“There’s a whole network of exorcists that stay connected,” Mikah explained. “When they get reports of paranormal activity, they contact the nearest compatible exorcists in the area to deal with investigating and resolving it.”
“That’s right,” Mikah’s mom nodded, “and there are different degrees of difficulty to these jobs as well. The harder the difficulty, the more experienced the exorcists they call in. This commission should be around B-rank. Not too much for you, right Mikah?”
“Of course not,” Mikah said with a frown. “Despite what you and Dad think, I am fully capable.”
“I know, I know. You want to prove something to your father and me, I get it. But don’t forget, this time you’ll also be responsible for the safety of another person,” she pointed out.
Mikah glanced at Ivan and their eyes met briefly, only to quickly look away again. “Not a problem.”
“All right, then I’ll give you all the details,” his mom said with a small, reluctant smile. “Just… please, be careful.”