Lily felt uneasy calling out help to Jeffray, but she needs his help. “Jeffray speaking,” greeted Jeffray.
“Hi, it’s me, Lily. I need your help. Can you ask Rohan’s friends where Rohan would go when he needed some time for himself?”
“Sure, send me the number or address, and I’ll get right on it. I’ll let you know ASAP.”
“Thank you, Jeffray.” Lily hung up and texted the phone numbers and addresses immediately. She added a message to him noting, Rohan must be in London city.
As soon Jeffray got Lily’s message, he made an excuse about an appointment with Basil and headed out to meet one of Rohan’s friends and call the other. The friend on the phone knew nothing but Rohan’s second friend, Jillian, was very close to Rohan. She found him twice in the Kensington Gardens, playing his violin or sitting at a bench. Hastily he thanked Jillian and sprinted off towards the large park. It made sense; it’s the closest park to Albert Hall, but why should he be there now, possessed by a demon? He shuddered to the thought and doublechecked his pocket for holy water; there was none. “Bugger it!” He hissed below his breath but continued and informed Lily. She was already waiting as Jeffray arrived, almost out of breath and sweating. He begins to regret not going to the gym, as Basil does.
“Did Jillian tell you where in the park Rohan could be?” Asked Lily eagerly.
Jeffray shook his head, still out of breath. “No, but he sometimes plays his violin there or sits on a bench.”
“Pray he doesn’t play this time; that would strengthen the possession, and Rohan would be lost.” Lily sighed. “I suggest we split to find him quickly through the park-“
“Are you mad? Do you know how large the park is?” Jeffray took a deep breath to stand upright. “And what will you do when you find him first since you can’t play the violin, remember?”
“I will stall time, and the call can function as a walkie-talkie.” Assured Lily and dialed Jeffray’s number.
He picked up the call. “Ok, got it. Be careful, Lily.”
“You, too, be careful. Remember, you can play the violin, so there is no need to worry there.”
“Heh, but what about the melody? How will we figure that out?”
Lily pulled out from her coat pocket a folded paper and handed it to him. “Here are some from Paganini and Rohan what he composed so far. I hope one of them is the right one.”
“Wait, are you saying I need to make the right guess when taking the violin into my hands? Gamble with my life?”
“I hate it as much as you do, but if you have any other ideas, I’m all ears.” Hissed Lily.
Jeffray saw for the first time her angered, and it was a frightening sight along with her sharp hiss. She sighed to compose herself. “Look, time is of the essence as your friend Father Mathew mentioned.”
Jeffray nodded. “You’re right; I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Wondered Lily curiously.
“From before, now let’s get going.” Jeffray jogged off to the right-hand side of the park, and Lily took the other. They kept each other informed over the phone while their eyes searched for possessed Rohan and a cursed violin.
Suddenly Jeffray heard the familiar sound of a violin playing at the far end of the park. Ah, a busker performing in the garden does brighten the mood- Wait, that’s him! Rapidly he sprinted off to the sound source and informed Lily over the phone where he is heading. Soon Jeffray saw Rohan playing the violin at hand and had the first few people nearby in a trance. He tried to ignore the music, but soon, his legs came to a halt, and his mind clouded. He gritted his teeth in anger and immediately placed his fingers to his ears to ignore the music. His legs moved to his will, and his mind was clear. Damn! How can I stop him as quickly as possible? Kicking the violin out of his hands is ruthless, plus he will see me coming at full speed. Quickly Jeffray remembered having his phone. He retreated at a safe distance for the moment. “Lily, his tune puts everyone nearby in a trance. I’ll try stopping him without damaging the instrument.”-“Jeffray, wait-“ Jeffray hung up the phone, plugged in his headphones, and listened loudly to Blue Oyster Cult while slowly approaching Rohan. He was pretending to hear it through the headphones and stood still and slowly sneaking closer to him when he isn’t watching. Soon he took the opportunity and lunged for him, pushing him over to the ground. As Jeffray wanted to grab the instrument, a firm fist punched his cheek. Luckily poorly aimed if intended to knock out but painful, nevertheless. Jeffray didn’t let himself get distracted by that and tried to take the violin.
Suddenly Rohan cackled with an eerie deep inhuman voice and took hold of Jeffray’s hands into his, facing each other. “Insolent human, just as annoying as cockroaches and other insects. The violin is mine!”
“I wish I can say ‘you can have it’, but your intentions are not agreeable, Rohan.”
“Rohan? He’s gone. There is only me now, Stanton,” laughed the voice.
“Seriously? Stanton, that’s your name as a demon?” Doubted Jeffray.
The demon pushed Jeffray with his raging force, wrapped his arms around Jeffray to restrict his movement, and revealed for a brief moment his real face. “Mind what you say, fleshling.” He hissed.
Jeffray struggled to free himself from the demon's firm grip, but it was no use.
"Hey! What fun is there killing one without experience? Come at me, you bastard! Come and fight me! I have some experience!" Shouted Lily, angered.
Jeffray blinked in shock at her words and showing no hint of fear in her hazel-green eyes. Rapidly the demon turned to Lily with a ferocious grunt.
Before the demon had a chance to say, Lily charged at him and gave a firm karate chop at the neck. That distracted the monster and let Jeffray go. "You know what to do!" She shouted to Jeffray while facing the nightmare.
Without thinking, Jeffray turned to the violin and bow in the grass. He balled his hands into fists as fear crept in his mind of the risks. He looked over to Lily; she was fighting on her own without a weapon against this sinister demon. For a moment, he thought he saw a blur of the two, and then again, he was able to follow their moves. "Now, Jeffray!" Called Lily as she faced Stanton from a different position and spotted Jeffray from the corner of her eye.
That firm call awakened Jeffray from the trance of watching the two fighting and remembered what to do. Quickly he found the music notes Lily gave to him earlier and picked up the violin. An ice-cold shudder went through his entire body. Jeffray took a deep breath and focused on the music notes to play instead of the fear. I must focus! He reminded himself and recalling the violin lessons from his childhood. Slowly he placed the violin under his cheek, held up the bow while his other fingers on the string positioned for the first tune.
ns 15.158.61.8da2