“Nina!” Anabelle’s gaze slid from me to the cop behind me, and when she was sure he wasn’t going to prevent our reunion, she raced down the aisle toward me and nearly bowled me over with her hug. “Officer Jennings said you’re innocent.”

Officer Jennings obviously hadn’t mentioned that he wasn’t himself at the moment—not that we had time for such a complicated explanation.

Anabelle pulled away from me and stared straight into my eyes as if she could verify my humanity at a glance. “You’re still you, right?”

“Yes, and Mellie’s still herself. It was all a lie, Anabelle. So many lies, the whole time, and we never saw it. My mom was a demon. She was never sick or high, she was possessed, right under our noses.”

Anabelle’s forehead furrowed. “Since when? How is that possible?”

“Since forever. Since before I was born.” Seconds ticked away in my head, and I knew we were running out of time, but I needed Anabelle to understand, and I needed to keep her safe, somehow. I couldn’t let the Church claim her soul. “I didn’t know the truth about myself until I exorcised her—”

“You—” Her eyes widened.

“I’m an exorcist. The Church said I killed my mom because they can’t afford for anyone to find out the truth, but I’m innocent, and Adam was innocent, and Melanie is damn well innocent.” I glanced at Finn over her shoulder. “Speaking of which, where do we stand on the jailbreak?”

“I can’t find the right key,” he said, frustration echoing in his deep, borrowed voice.

“Let me.” Officer Flores pushed past me, already flipping through the keys on his own ring as he marched down the aisle. Finn stepped aside to give him access to the cell door, and that was when I saw my sister. Melanie was lying facedown on the floor of her cell, her legs still pinned to the floor by steel bands bolted to the concrete just below her knees.

She wasn’t moving.

“Melanie!” I raced down the aisle and gripped the bars of her cell with both hands while Flores unlocked the door. As soon as it swung open, I fell to my knees at her side and brushed limp, pale hair from her face. “Unlock her legs,” I demanded, but Flores was already squatting next to me, searching for another key. “Mellie,” I whispered into her ear. “Wake up. It’s Nina. I came to rescue you, and that’ll be a lot easier if you can walk.”

Her eyes rolled behind their lids; then those lids fluttered open, and I exhaled.

“Nina?” My sister’s voice was dry and hoarse, but she was awake and she recognized me.

“Yes. I’m here.” I blinked away fresh tears. “Hold still for just a minute while we get you unlocked.”

“Finn.” I twisted to whisper into his ear while I smoothed Melanie’s hair back. “Bennett was disembodied a few minutes ago.”