Glen and his boyfriend Aiden live a mostly peaceful life in New York City, but then Aiden’s abusive ex, Stephan, comes back into the picture. After an odd encounter with a Catholic priest, Glen begins acting strangely.<br><br>He attributes it to stress at first, but then things get even worse. Glen experiences mental blackouts, and when he comes to, he finds he has been up to no good. A stolen wallet here, a violent loss of temper there, and an unsettling trend of nightmares plague him.<br><br>Glen prays he isn’t losing his mind and hopes he can regain control of himself, but when Stephan slips back into old habits and goes after Aiden, the darkness in Glen’s soul takes over again. Can Glen subdue his inner demons before they consume him, or is it already too late?

Vitia ex Virtus

Glen ran to get Aiden in his arms. “Sweetheart, it’s okay. I understand now. I know what really happened. You blacked out a little, right? You said you don’t really remember how you…how you got to be that way with him?”


“Mmhmm.” Aiden nodded into Glen’s shoulder and held him tightly. “I don’t want to lose you. Please, please tell me I haven’t lost you.”


“You haven’t lost me, I’m still here. Everything is going to be better now, I promise.” Glen gripped Aiden as tightly as possible and stroked his hair. He remembered what Father Sabella had said about distracting the demon to get it out of their systems more quickly. Prickles of anxiety shivered down his extremities. Helping Aiden would be easy, but first Glen needed to deal with his own sin to avoid accidentally hurting his boyfriend further. He gave Aiden a brief kiss and said, “I’ll be right back. Stay here. Don’t come after me, whatever happens.”


Aiden clutched for Glen’s arm. “Don’t go,” he pleaded.


Chapter 37