Demonized Read Online Free PDF Page A

my little speech. I just wanted him to listen to it.
    And I think he actually did. Instead of laughing me out of the building, Crane leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands under his chin. He studied me over the rims of his glasses, pursing his lips. “How did you acquire this demon?” he asked me finally.
    Judging by his inflection on the last word, he still thought I was talking about some tangible vice rather than monsters from the pit. I sighed. “It jumped down my throat. I don’t really remember much of the actual event, which I’m grateful for, as I’m sure I’d be traumatized by it. It didn’t last long—the demon got...taken out of me. Mostly, I guess. It left part of itself behind, and now I’ve got this voice in my head, feeding off misery and anger, all the shitty parts of life. I want to get rid of it.”
    “You’re asking me to perform an exorcism,” Crane said.
    I blinked. “You believe me?”
    Crane rubbed his nose. “Whether I believe you or not is immaterial, I think. You believe you.”
    I didn’t agree, but I didn’t push it. “So you can do it, then? You can exorcise me?”
    “It’s not a ritual I’m very familiar with,” Crane said. “I was actually trained as a Pentecostal priest, but switched to Methodism last year. Only ordained clergymen can perform exorcisms, with the dispensation of our district superintendent.”
    “So you can’t do it?” I didn’t care if he’d trained to be a human cannonball. If he couldn’t do the exorcism, I wasn’t going to sit through his lecture on the church structure.
    “Well, I am an ordained minister,” Crane said brightly. “I’ve never done an exorcism before, but I can certainly consult the superintendent for his opinion.” He seemed keen, now he’d warmed to the idea. Maybe he did believe me after all. Either that or he thought it was the quickest way to get rid of me.
    “Okay.” I drummed my fingers on my knees. “How long will that take?”
    “Perhaps you could come back tomorrow?” he suggested. “I’ll need time to read up on the ritual, and you should take the time to prepare yourself. It isn’t a quick or easy thing.”
    We left it at that, shaking hands and agreeing to reconvene tomorrow afternoon. I left the Overture Church feeling...not hopeful. The Voice wouldn’t let me feel hopeful, but I felt like I’d achieved something.
    I went back to the car, where Mutt had chewed his lamb chop to pieces. “You won’t get another one,” I warned him. He thumped his tail and lolled his tongue at me. I wished I was so easily entertained.
    I sat in the front seat and rolled myself a cigarette, plotting my next move. I needed to get to Hush and start working on the Ellis-Baxter case, but the strip joint didn’t open until nine. The Voice poked and prodded at me, whispering that it was hungry and needed...something. Violence, bloodshed, suffering, and whatever else I could give it.
    I couldn’t deal with the Voice if I had nothing to distract me. That was why night time was so bad. If it was just me and my thoughts, the Voice was impossible to ignore. I had nothing to do between now and nine o’clock except give Mutt a bath in his medicated shampoo. That wasn’t going to cut it. If I wanted any peace, I’d have to man up and feed the Voice. With a sigh, I put the car into gear and headed away from the clean, shiny church toward Mayberry Street, where the porn stores were.

Chapter Four
    Incidentally, or not, Mayberry Street was just a block away from the mysterious Tamsin Searle’s flat, where Rhian had died. It was on the bad side of town in other words, the part where people drove with the windows rolled up and the doors locked. Although in this sweltering heat, I didn’t stick to the windows-up policy. Mutt and me liked our oxygen.
    Mayberry Street boasted a whole ton of dirty-looking porn stores and seedy-looking strip clubs. Hush, where Rhian had worked, was a classy joint in