The Soul Healer

by B. Groves

  Kyle laughed and turned his gaze over to Samuel. “Did he now?”

  Samuel never flinched.

  “He also stated that he spotted an upset Clara Reid in the church, and there was damage to one of the closet doors. Miranda noticed someone changed the door,” Richard continued. “Do you care to explain what happened? Clara has been missing since yesterday. Her sister has filed a missing person’s report.”

  “The door wouldn’t open, so I had to force my way in,” Kyle said. “My cousin…” Kyle turned to Alison for confirmation. “Was kind enough to have the door replaced by some professionals she knows in the area.”

  None of them would believe that horrible lie.

  Denise raised an eyebrow and turned to Alison. “You know other people in this area?”

  “He actually drove from Tennessee. He’s a good friend,” Alison answered.

  “Tennessee? You could have fixed the door from a local contractor,” Emma chimed in.

  Alison turned and stared down Emma. “He owed me a favor. I’m sure you’re familiar with that kind of thing. It didn’t cost your church any money, so what does it matter?”

  Emma never flinched, she only plastered a smile on her face. “I’m unaware of that kind of thing, as you say, but I get the point.”

  Richard Collins stared between the two women and cleared his throat. “What about Clara?”

  “I asked Clara to help me with the signs for the festival,” Kyle answered. “She decided she wanted counseling too since her sister is harassing her again. She’d been upset about Audrey.”

  “I spoke with Clara a week ago, and she complained about Audrey threatening to move back to Wolfpine,” Charles Cox spoke up. “Reverend Ellis is telling the truth.”

  Richard nodded and the rest of the group quieted. Alison and Emma had been staring each other down since the group asked about Clara.

  Alison glanced over at Samuel, who stood in the corner. He kept his face straight when Clara was mentioned and continued to do so as Charles voiced concern over her well-being and stated he tried calling her several times over the past day or so.

  Something bad happened to Clara after she spoke to him and he would have to live with that guilt the rest of his life. He regretted dragging her into this fight. Even though it wasn’t her own soul inside of her anymore, she was still a living being and didn’t deserve that fate.

  Kyle had to fight the urge to stand up and beat on Samuel Manes.

  He closed his eyes for a moment and inhaled deep breaths while counting to ten. His breaths weren’t too deep because of his bruised ribs but the effect helped calm his already frazzled nerves.

  He knew they would get to Samuel next and he’d rather not do it. He had no story he could make up on a whim.

  “Next we have Samuel here. Now, we brought him here for a reason, Reverend. You pressed charges against him for assault. We’re not sure why, since our mayor stated that he came here to make a substantial donation but you thought he was an intruder and it turned physical,” Richard said. “Care to explain?”

  Kyle heard Alison scoff behind him and he laughed lowly. “If I told you the truth, then you’d think I’m crazy. I know that’s why Samuel is here. Only he and I know what happened, and why his thug assistant—Jason—kicked my ass,” Kyle explained.

  Kyle stood up when there was an audible gasp through the room. Alison stood steady in the corner.

  Kyle lifted his clerical shirt and showed the bruises to the elders. Denise gasped, Richard shook his head and glanced at Samuel, and Emma’s expressions never changed.

  “This is what your precious mayor did to me,” Kyle said. “All because I confronted him on a few issues. He’s not the perfect guy. He’s evil and should rot in Hell!”

  “Kyle—”

  Kyle couldn’t hold back his anger any longer. He felt a cool hand on his forearm but he ignored it.

  “I’m getting fired tonight, aren’t I? For what? Defending myself?”

  Richard stood and put his hands out. “Yes, Reverend. We’ve already made up our minds. We feel it’s in the best interest of the church to let you go because of this incident. We’re already struggling to keep our congregation together, we don’t need scandals within our small community.”

  Kyle laughed. “Oh, really? So because something occurred between myself and the mayor and I just showed you the bruises the mayor gave me, I’m getting fired?”

  “I think you’re victim shaming,” Alison said, speaking from the corner.

  Richard’s eyes widened, and he shook his head furiously. “No, no. That’s not it at all. Miss Stark, you’re not aware of what our great mayor has done for this town. He turned us from a community on the brink of bankruptcy into a premier destination for tourism in the Smoky Mountains. Our streets are booming with business. I’m sure you’ve seen that.”

  “What about me?” Kyle asked. “I’ve counseled every single one of you for years. I’ve kept your dirty little secrets. I gave you advice while you cried on my shoulder and you will throw me away like a piece of trash because this person—” Kyle spat the word “person,” knowing what Samuel Manes was in his former life, and what was inside him now. “Tells you that I assaulted him?”

  Emma stepped around Richard and faced Kyle. Her blue eyes glimmered in the low light. “You did, Reverend and we’ve always appreciated you, but now you’re too much of a risk for us.”

  “You already threw me away a long time ago, Emma. I helped you build that barn or whatever it is on your property and right after that you broke it off with me,” Kyle said. His eyes narrowed at Emma. “What are you using that for? You never said.”

  Kyle caught Emma’s eyes widen a fraction before she huffed and said, “You and I both know we were rebounds. I lost my beloved husband and you were recently divorced.”

  Emma turned and looked over the group. “There are no secrets here. I told you I was planning on using it to start a horse farm.”

  “Oh, please,” Kyle laughed. “You can’t stand to get your hands dirty, that thing will sit there and rot.”

  “Can we move on please?” Denise asked.

  “So, who’s my replacement? Have you hired him or her yet?”

  “Kyle, you know I love you like another son,” Charles spoke up. “You’ve kept an eye on Rickie for me when no one else would, and we’re brothers, we always will be.”

  “Charles, you agreed,” Richard pointed out.

  The older man plopped back into his chair. “That doesn't mean I have to like it.”

  Kyle nodded to Charles. “I know it wasn’t you, brother.”

  “Let’s all relax,” Richard said.

  Denise and Emma returned to their chairs. Alison and Kyle exchanged looks. He noticed her expression changed as if a revelation had come upon her.

  “Reverend, not only has Samuel made a tremendous donation to the church, but he also suggested your replacement. After reviewing the candidate’s resume, we think he’ll be a perfect fit,,” Richard informed him.

  Alison was right. Kyle had impulse issues. They’d always been there beneath the surface, but he’d been able to keep his anger under control, even when he served in Iraq.

  He didn’t know why these demons brought out the worst in him, but again, he would play into one of their hands.

  Kyle took a step forward. He felt a hand placed firmly on his shoulder, but he ignored it.

  “No, Kyle. This is what he wants,” Alison pleaded.

  Her words echoed through his mind, and although she was right, he still ignored her and failed to control his temper.

  In a rage, Kyle flew across the room, grabbed a sneering Samuel Manes by the collar and threw him to the floor.

  He heard the audible gasps and yelling behind him. He felt arms try to wrap around his shoulders and arms to pull him off. His adrenaline rush made him forget about the pain in his ribs, and conjure the strength to fight off anyone who tried to stop him.

  He loved this town and its residents,
even if he hated preaching the gospel nowadays, but this town was his home and watching it decay from the evil that infested it was too much to bear.

  The center of that evil was none other than the mayor himself and he would make the man feel the pain and suffering that he brought to the residents as well.

  Kyle knew Clara Reid was dead. It was only a matter of time before they found her body and Kyle would avenge her death, he would avenge Olivia living with the guilt of murdering her mother, and he would avenge Billy for the abuse he inflicted on his family through no fault of his own.

  Samuel put his arms up in defense as Kyle bent down and beat on him. Kyle didn’t want to stop. He only had one thing in mind and that was to kill the body of the demon inside Samuel Manes and send the demon back to Hell where it belonged.

  Samuel screamed in pain when Kyle’s fist met his nose and blood came gushing out. Kyle was satisfied with that hit since it wiped the sneer off Samuel’s face.

  The elders pulled Kyle off Samuel by three sets of arms. He turned to stare down Richard, Charlie, and Samuel’s assistant—Jason.

  Someone had called 9-1-1 and Charlie escorted Kyle out of the building. He sank to the steps and sat down waiting for the police to arrive.

  Chapter 38

  Journal Entry August 8, Present Day

  This silly Reverend from some small hillbilly town named Wolfpine keeps contacting me about a possession.

  I’ve informed him several times that I’m not interested.

  He says everyone else is busy, and I came highly recommended.

  I’m retired, friend. I don’t want to hunt anymore. I accept that the rest of my life, I will see what ordinary humans cannot. I realize I’ll be forced to exorcise demons here and there, but I’m finished.

  Yet…

  I’m staring at the picture of the little girl he emailed me, and my cold, dead heart is coming back to life. Could I live with myself for ignoring a child? All hunters have weak spots for kids.

  Maybe I’ll do it. One and done. I exorcise her and come back home within 48 hours.

  It’s not long.

  Chapter 39

  “You couldn’t control yourself, could you?” Chief Carter asked Kyle as the other police officers finished up their statements.

  Alison sat next to Kyle on the steps to the church while the rest of the police officers questioned the church elders.

  Samuel Manes sat in the back of the ambulance with an EMT wiping the blood from around his nose.

  Kyle had done a number on the mayor. He had a broken nose and multiple bruises around his face.

  Alison had hoped Kyle would have kept his temper in check, but once the church elders let Samuel choose the new Reverend, it was over.

  Alison kept her thoughts to herself on what she’d discovered while observing the meeting. She would make a phone call later. She would set up the team of hunters to come to Wolfpine and they would plan to rid this town of its infestation.

  Alison waited for Carter to arrest Kyle after the ambulance driver shut the door to take Samuel to the hospital.

  Jason—his assistant—had been shooting glares their way the whole time and Alison thought it’d be best to retrieve Simon from the house like a silent warning for the demon to back off.

  Simon had been pacing inside the house when she retrieved him and bared his teeth when he spotted the two demons outside.

  She held Simon back but it sent the message and Jason stayed far enough away from Alison and Kyle.

  “I should arrest you now,” Carter said, “but Mayor Manes insisted he isn’t pressing charges.”

  “That doesn’t mean we won’t, Chief,” Richard Collins said as the elders left the church.

  “For what? Were you injured, Collins?” Carter asked, challenging the man.

  “No, but—”

  “Well, then what are you pressing charges for?”

  “He damaged property,” Emma said.

  Carter rolled his eyes. “No, he didn’t. I looked around the room myself.”

  Emma stepped back. The only one who defended Kyle had been Charles Cox. It was obvious to Alison that the older man was not a fan of Mayor Manes.

  Denise stepped forward and stood in front of Kyle with a disgusted look on her face. “You have one month to pack your things and leave the house. You’re lucky we’re giving you that long.”

  Kyle looked up at the woman and said, “You’re making a huge mistake—”

  “Save it, Kyle,” Emma said. “You’ve done enough damage to this town and our reputation.”

  Emma set her gaze on Alison, who raised an eyebrow in question.

  “You’ve caused nothing but trouble since you rolled into town. Kyle and the rest of the town were fine until you arrived,” she spat.

  “Yep, it’s my fault. Everything was running smoothly under your watchful eye and controlling hand until I messed it up,” Alison said with a sarcastic smile. “I’m so sorry I interrupted your peaceful life, your grace.”

  Emma bristled, but she stood her ground. “You did.”

  Alison nodded. “I did, but soon you’ll learn a hard lesson of promises they won’t keep.”

  The rest of the group raised their eyebrows in question. Emma huffed and her face reddened. “I can’t wait until you and your disgusting animal leave this town.”

  “I like German shepherds,” Charles Cox spoke up. “Beautiful and loyal beasts.”

  “Whatever,” Emma replied and turned back to Carter to ask a question. “Are we finished here?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Carter answered as he spoke to one of his officers.

  Emma stomped away and Alison shook her head at the departing woman.

  While everyone else was being interviewed, Alison sent a text to John to assemble a team.

  He responded: Do you have a week?

  Alison: There’s a big festival happening here next week. Should be plenty of time.

  John: Perfect cover. Are you sure it’s the location you sent me?

  Alison: Not 100% positive, but I will confirm within 24 hours.

  John: Let me know. Contacting now.

  Alison: Thanks!

  Alison waited for the police officers to leave. Kyle sat there with his head down in his hands. She wanted to reach out to him, but she wanted to wait until everyone left. Blood stained his fingers and hand, and his white shirt had splatters of blood over the collar. He’d pulled his tie off once they left the church.

  His hair was sticking out in all places from running his hand through it while they waited for the police. He’d smoked about four cigarettes since his fight with Samuel Manes causing Denise to comment about stinking up the church.

  “I guess I should consider myself lucky,” Kyle said after a few minutes. “He’s not pressing charges.”

  “Samuel isn’t done with you,” Alison answered. “They fired you. That won’t be enough.”

  Kyle turned and looked at her. “What do you think he’ll try next?”

  Chief Carter had been taking a phone call while Alison and Kyle talked. Alison noticed his grim face as he approached them.

  Most of the church elders had left except for Charles Cox and Miranda who were cleaning up before locking up the church for the night. Kyle had already turned his keys over to Charles.

  Charles said he would help Kyle move his stuff out of the church the next day.

  Alison liked Charles. He was spry and fast for a man in his late sixties, although taking care of a disabled son took a toll on his physical appearance. He looked like he could pass for a man in his eighties. Alison had a brief conversation with him before the police arrived and he narrowed his eyes at her.

  “There’s something different about you, young lady,” he commented.

  “Is that right?” Alison asked with a smirk.

  Charles cocked his head to the side and a slight smile played at his lips. “I’ve never seen someone’s eyes such a deep green before.”

  Alison smiled. “They’re not
contacts.”

  Charles chuckled. “They’re not human either.”

  “I’m all human, sir.”

  “Young lady, I served in ‘Nam. I saw things that would make the average person’s blood curdle, but you… you wouldn’t flinch. You’ve seen things, dark things. The worst the world can dish to a human. Samuel Manes ain’t right, is he?”