Into the Void (The Godhunter, Book 10) by Amy Sumida

children in a boarding school. Everything was very peaceful.
    “ What is this?” I whispered, not wanting to disturb the sleeping children- er- demons, as I walked a little further into the room.
    “ This is where my friends sleep when they're inhabiting humans,” Luke followed me in. “They astrally project into the Human Realm and look for people who are open to possession. While they're gone, I look after their bodies.”
    “ What's the purpose of possession?” I studied the relaxed bodies, clawed hands resting across scaled chests, barbed tails sticking out from beneath the covers. “And why stay in these forms? Surely it doesn't matter if they're astrally projecting themselves.”
    “ There are several reasons for possession,” Luke sighed. “People expect it first of all, second, it keeps the myth alive. A lot of the gods have been forgotten but it's hard to forget there's a devil when your husband is possessed. It brings in a mass amount of energy and the demon who possesses the human collects the most of it, drawing directly on the energy of its host. As far as their demonic forms, it translates somehow and people can sense it.”
    “ People expect it?” I looked from Luke to Azrael. “I have a feeling that means more than you're saying.”
    “ We tried stopping once,” Azrael grimaced.
    “ Demons started collapsing all over Hell,” Luke's face settled into hard lines. “It took us awhile to figure out that they were being taken against their will, pulled astrally into bodies of believers. The power of belief affects us so strongly, we must give humans what they expect or it will be taken forcibly and we won't be able to manage it into something a little more comfortable.”
    “ Do they resent having to do this?” I looked around with new eyes.
    “ Some do,” Luke nodded. “I can't blame them for their resentment and I can't fault them for finding joy in harassing humans because of it. Force someone to do something distasteful for long enough and they'll find a way to make it more palatable. We may not be human but we have the same emotions and very similar ways of dealing with them.”
    “ Well, I think you've ruined all exorcism movies for me,” I gave a little laugh and Luke smiled sadly, looking so much like Azrael in that moment, that my heart jumped a bit. It was one thing to physically be the same but even faces that look alike can be very different, simply by the nuances of emotion that fills them. There's a reason why people say a corpse looks nothing like the person who once inhabited it. It's only a shell, it's the emotions of the soul that really comes through and animates the body, that's what we see when we look at someone, not their facial features. That serious look on Luke's face, sharp intelligence touched with sadness and a hint of hope, was pure Azrael, and now I knew where he'd got it from. “So you can teach me how to do this?”
    “ Yes.” Luke's face broke free of the Azrael expression and became his own again. “It may take awhile but it shouldn't be a problem. Take a close look at them,” he waved a hand at the demons. “I want you to remember how peaceful they look. This is what you'll be striving for and this is the type of environment you'll want to be in when you attempt it. You must be someplace safe, someplace comfortable and soft on your senses but first, you have to learn to manipulate your territory.”
    “ Right,” I nodded, “care to elaborate more on that?”
    “ It helps to be in a meditative state for that as well,” Luke considered it. “It's been a long time since I've changed anything around here but come with me. I'll give it a try so you can see how it works.”
    “ Great,” I followed him back up the stairs, Azrael bringing up the rear and closing the door behind us quietly, respectfully, and it occurred to me that these demons were probably like family to him. He must have grown up around all of that, seen it as normal.
    We went into