Radiant - By Christina Daley Page 0,24

into his hand. He took it to the waste bin and dumped it before returning to his desk like normal. The bell rang, and Mrs. Stanton began class.

Darn. Mary had hoped that when the salt touched Carter's skin, it would cause the possessing thing to leave him. But it didn't seem to have any effect. She thought of what she should do next.

There was a church not far from her apartment. On her way home from school, Mary walked a few blocks towards the pointed steeple. There wasn't a service going on, but a few people inside sat on long wooden pews or knelt at altars with statues on them. Mary wasn't sure where she should go. Then, she spotted a gift shop off to the side.

"I didn't know churches had those," she said to herself as she went inside.

The walls were covered in crucifixes and the shelves displayed statues of the Virgin Mary, jewelry, Bibles, and all kinds of religious stuff. In glass cases, there were sculptures of angels. Mary studied them for a moment. Most had white robes, golden wings, and predominantly Caucasian faces as they raised their hands and appeared generally peaceful. If Mary had known that that was how they really looked when she was younger, she wouldn't have thought the stars were guardian angels. These ones looked like they couldn't help anyone.

Mary saw a shelf with several clear bottles. When she picked one up and examined it, she read "Holy Water" on the label. She brought it to the counter, where a young nun sat reading a Bible.

"Is this real?" Mary asked.

"Oh yes," the nun said in a smallish voice. "It's the same water used in our services."

"I see," Mary said. "What about with possessions?"

The nun looked at her curiously. "Possessions?"

"Yeah," Mary said. "If I poured this on someone who was possessed, would that help?"

The nun's jaw dropped a little. "Well, um, it would actually take a priest to do an exorcism."

"So, I'd have to bring him here?" Mary asked.

"Who?"

"The possessed guy."

The nun blinked a few times. "Are you sure he's possessed?"

"Pretty sure," Mary said.

The nun stepped out from behind the counter. "Why don't you come with me and we'll talk with Father Cohen?"

Mary followed her up some stairs that led to the church offices. They came to an open door with Father Cohen's name on it. The nun gently knocked on it.

The white-haired man at the desk looked up. "Yes, Sister Emily?"

"Father," she said. "This young lady has a question she'd like to ask you."

The priest nodded. "Come in, please, and have a seat. Tell me what your concern is."

Mary sat in the chair across from his desk. It was like coming in for a teacher conference. She then took a deep breath and told him how she suspected Carter was possessed. He asked her a few questions, and she answered them as best as she could.

When Mary had finished talking, the priest said, "Well, Mary, I thank you for coming to me about your friend. But it doesn't sound to me like he's possessed."

"It doesn't?" she asked. "But what about him speaking Viet?"

"Are you sure he never learned it before?" he asked.

"Well, no," Mary admitted. "Then what about him suddenly not being an ass?"

"Eep!" Sister Emily yelped, covering her own mouth with her hand.

"Sorry," Mary said. "I meant to say 'jerk'."

The nun squeaked again.

The priest chuckled. "It's all right. But you said Carter was in an accident and almost died. He might've decided to change his ways. Big events like that can do that type of thing."

"I see," she said. That was the same thing that Mom had said. She felt a bit discouraged.

Father Cohen studied her for a moment. "Tell you what. Why don't you bring him here to see me? I'll talk to him, like how I talked with you just now. Maybe I can find out a little more."

"I don't know," she said. "He's not really talking to me right now. And it'd be kinda weird just ask him to come here."

The priest chuckled again. "Well, if you do start talking to him again, you might consider inviting him to one of our Sunday services. Or even a choir concert. Many people from the community come for those, even if they don't attend regularly."

"I'll try," she said. "Thank you, sir. Father, I mean."

They shook hands, and she went back to the gift shop with the nun.

"I hope that was helpful," Sister Emily said.

"It was a little," Mary said as she