by Renee George
Luckily, David was able to put them to work doing what they did best. Research. After he got them settled into the basement with a Latin-to-English dictionary and the copied pages from the Shedim, we had a private meeting, just the two of us, in the upstairs bedroom while David dressed.
I watched David pull a white tee-shirt over his head, and damn, it was almost as sexy as watching him take it off. That man looked good in and out of clothing. I scratched at the ponytail I’d put in my hair and tried to keep my mind off his hot body and on our immediate problem. “You know the minute I leave this property, Moloch is going to track me. It has to be driving him nuts that he can’t get to me here.”
“Moloch can suck it,” muttered David. He looked at me. “You still have paranormal informants out there? Anyone who might know what level of shit we’re facing?” He tucked the shirt into his jeans then sat down to put on socks.
“I can make some calls once we get into cellular range, but, honestly, I think Moloch will show his cards the moment I’m back on his radar. He’s like a giant toddler who hates his toy, but he doesn’t want anyone else playing with it.”
“Are you the toy in this scenario?” David slipped on his boots. Anger edged his voice as he added, “You’re not his goddamned possession.”
Oh, but I was, I thought morosely. I would make sure that even if I couldn’t get free of Moloch, no one else I loved would become Moloch’s possession. “All I’m saying is that Moloch can throw an epic tantrum when he feels like I’m getting a little too big for my britches.” I waved my hand in a never mind gesture. “Let’s worry about finding Ray.”
“The man is already dying,” said David, “and now he’s the kidnap victim of a demon lord.”
I walked to David and slipped my arms around his waist. He reciprocated the gesture and held me tight. “I’m sorry.” I felt like I was constantly apologizing, but frankly, I had a lot to apologize for. “I bet you wish you hadn’t met me.”
“Never,” he said fiercely. He hugged me even tighter.
I didn’t want to let David go, not now, not ever. But we had a friend to rescue. I tilted my chin up to look at him. “So which hospital does Ray get his treatments?”
“The St. Louis University Hospital.”
Memory flickered. In 1949, I’d gone to the same hospital to nullify a demon from a young teenager named Ronald Hunkeler. At the time, it was called the Firmin Desloge Hospital, named for the guy who bequeathed the Catholics a million dollars to fund the place. Between the parents, the doctors, and the Jesuit priests, I couldn’t get near the kid. In some cases, like poor Ronald’s, the demon possessed a living body, which meant the soul was still intact.
Unfortunately, Ronald’s demonic situation happened before I met David and we discovered the permanent banishing spell. I tried not to kill living hosts if I could help it, and since they had the kid locked down pretty good, the demon wasn’t going anywhere.
Revulsion hit me as I thought about the malevolent entity occupying the kid. It had been particularly nasty—scratching the boy’s skin, attacking the priests, pissing the bed. I couldn’t bring myself to kill Ronald, not after everything he’d been through. And since the teenager was a true innocent, making a deal with him to get rid of the demon wasn’t an option, either.
So, I made a deal with the evil spirit.
I told the fiend to take any dead body he wanted from the hospital’s morgue, and I would let him walk away. Not to brag, but by then my reputation as The Madder was enough to make some demons leave their hosts faster than I could spike them. And this demon had no reason to believe I wouldn’t just kill him and the boy, especially since I was holding a silver rod to Ronald’s forehead as I offered my bargain.
Not long after the demon agreed to my terms and we both vamoosed, the Jesuit priests arrived with rosaries, crosses, and other blessed objects. They piled those relics around the boy and called upon St. Michael to battle Satan for the boy’s soul.
A few minutes later, Ronald woke up and told everyone the demon was gone. The priests got the credit. I didn’t care because I hadn’t had to spike a child. Eventually, I tracked down the kid-possessing fiend and spiked him. I never said how long I’d let him walk away. It’s not my fault he made assumptions.
“Hey, Liv,” said David softly, “where’d you go?”
“Nowhere.” I shook my head. “We need to see the surveillance video. I’m sure the cops have the footage already, and I know a guy in the highway patrol.” I tried to make friends in law enforcement wherever I went, so I had contacts in every corner of the world.
“If your contact is MHP, how is he going to get evidence from the St. Louis police? They don’t exactly share jurisdictions.”
“Gary has friends in other law enforcement jobs. He most likely knows a guy who knows a guy. I don’t ask too many questions. If they’ve gotten stills of the guys who took Ray, he could get those photos, and I can do an image search on the internet. We might get lucky.”
“Does Gary know about demons?”
“Oh, yeah. I met him through the forum. He was working an accident when the dead guy unzipped the body bag and, despite a broken neck and mangled leg, took off. Watching a red-eyed corpse run into the nearby woods made Gary a believer.”
“That’ll make things a little easier. You think there might be anything else helpful on that website of yours?”
“One, it’s not my website. And two, maybe. If anyone’s posted about the demonic in the St. Louis area, I might be able to track down one to interrogate. After all, that is my specialty.”
“I remember.” The corner of his lip quirked up “You sure are magnificent to watch when you work.”
“Thanks.” The heat of a blush warmed my cheeks. “It helps that demons are a bunch of chatty Cathies, especially after I embed a silver rod in their heads.”
David nodded. “Do you need any supplies for hunting?”
I smiled. “I’m good in that department. I have Charlotte, remember?”
“She’s still a wiz with creating weaponry?”
“Better than ever.” I picked up my heel and clicked the bottom, and the sharp blades fanned out. “She’s taken stylish and made it practical and deadly.”
“Four-inch heels are not practical.”
“Po-tay-toes, po-tah-toes.” I took a small silvery gray purse out of the suitcase I’d brought in from my car. This handbag matched my gray heels. David watched me attached the silver chain strap.
“I remember when we made that.”
“Me, too. It took forever between the smelting and the spellcasting.” I dumped out the contents of my other purse and added items to the gray bag: my iPad, mini makeup bag, folded brush, and the pouches containing the items needed for the banishing the boogeyman spell. I gave him a quick kiss. “You ready, darlin’?”
“Are you?”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure. Moloch was pissed, and a pissed-off demon lord was one scary bastard. “Absolutely. Let’s get this shit-show on the road.”
I called Officer Gary Olsen as soon as we got on the road and my phone registered a few bars. He said he’d do what he could but no promises. However, I struck gold on the demon boards. There were several dozen reports of demonic possession in the St. Louis area, and there was one in particular that snagged my attention.
“I got a guy who swears his ex-wife is a demon.”
David lifted a brow. “How many men think that about their ex-wives?”
“Well, this ex-wife is a nurse who works in oncology at the hospital. The guy says after a car wreck, his sweet spouse turned into a total bitch. The doctors told him that her personality changes were related to her head injury, but after she threw a couch at his head during an argument—cursing in Latin the whole time—he decided a divorce was in order.”
“That does sound promising. Does he give a name?”
“Sandra. No last name. But how many Sandras can there be working at the hospital?”
Three calls and fo
rty minutes later, I found out there were four Sandras at University Hospital, but only one worked in the cancer ward. Sandra Barstow.
A couple of hours later we arrived at the hospital.
The front of the building had changed very little since it was built in the thirties. It still looked like an expensive gothic-looking church, both beautiful and haunting. We left the truck in visitor parking and made our way through the lobby. David had often visited Ray during treatments, so I followed his lead through the newer part of the hospital to the oncology floor.
“Excuse me,” a woman in pink scrubs said from behind the nurse’s desk. Her badge read: Bailey R., R.N. “Can I help you?” she asked.
“We’re looking for Sandra Barstow. I’m a friend of hers from college, and she told me to drop by when I got to town.”
She gave me a look as if to say, any friend of Sandra’s is not a friend of mine. “I’m afraid Sandra is off today.”
“Oh. Maybe I got my days mixed up.”
The nurse shot me a suspicious gaze. “Who are you again?”
“I’ll just try Sandra at home,” I said, ignoring her question. “Thanks.” I grabbed David by the arm and dragged him away.
“Smooth,” he commented.
“Hush you,” I told him as we waited for the elevator. “It would have been easier if she been at work.”
“I’m not sure stabbing a nurse in the head in broad daylight is easier.” David put his arm around my shoulders as the elevator doors opened and we walked inside. “You think your officer friend can get us her home address?”
“Probably.” I pushed the button for the ground floor.
David smiled and leaned in for a kiss.
“I’ve had this fantasy before,” he said. He wrapped his arms around me then slid his hands down to my butt. I lifted my leg to his hip as and parted my lips for him as he deepened the kiss.
I moaned. He moaned. Then he froze. The elevator jerked to a stop. The next thing I knew, Moloch was in the car with us.
Shit.
“What are you doing, Olivia?” He crossed his arms and leaned against the back wall. “Has mediocre sex convinced you to forsake your sisters?” He curled his upper lip. “Maybe you need more incentive.” He waved his hand, and three images appeared. Eliza sat in a corner crying. Elise pounded on the windowless walls of her empty room. Charlotte was yelling, but I couldn’t hear what she said. All three of them were alone in their own tight spaces. I sucked in a breath as I watched my siblings suffer.
“You’re an evil bastard,” I spat.
“Yes,” he said, ripping me from out from under David’s arm. He yanked me to his chest. “A point you seem to keep forgetting.”
I turned my face away from his hot breath. “Christ, get a mint,” I said with more bravado than I felt.
He squeezed my arms until I cried out. He smiled as he released me. “Don’t make me really hurt you, Olivia.”
“I have two days left,” I told him. “Until then, no changing the terms.”
“An addendum then.”
“No.”
“What if I allow your sisters to be together until you hand over David’s soul?”
I had to fight the urge to say yes. Char, Liz, and Elise were miserable, but they were safe. The more immediate need was Ray. “What did you do with Ray Walker?”
He lifted a shoulder. “He’s awfully weak from the cancer. I can’t be responsible for nature taking its course.”
What was Moloch’s play? Let Ray die alone—in some place we’d never find him? I couldn’t imagine how scared Ray must feel. Fury rose inside me. I’d had enough of Moloch’s stupid games. I was tired of him tormenting people I knew and loved.
“You bastard.” I slapped him hard across the face. I don’t know who was more surprised that I managed to connect the blow, Moloch or me.
He touched his cheek, his red eyes blazing with anger. “How dare you! On your knees, minion!”
His words didn’t drive me to the ground. Shocked, I realized that Moloch’s power over me had weakened. I could resist him. How? I wasn’t sure, but still, it probably wasn’t wise to let him know I could defy him. I dropped my hands to my sides and took a knee in front of him. He grabbed my hair and yanked my head back. “I am your master, Olivia.”
“Yes, master,” I said.
“You will leave Sandra Barstow alone,” he commanded.
“Yes, master,” I said again.
He stared at me, his expression one of cool arrogance. “Two days, Olivia. Don’t waste your time on things you can’t control. Your sisters are counting on you.”
He disappeared. The elevator started up again, and David blinked awake his arms still in the position they were when we were kissing. He looked down at me. “What are you doing down there, Liv? Did you drop something?”
I would have said my dignity, but I was too elated. I stood up and threw my arms around David’s neck. “He-who-shall-not-be-named-outside-the-safe-zone was just here.”
David's eyes widened with alarm. “Why are you so happy? Did he tell you where to find Ray?”
“He told me to leave Sandra alone—that means we’re on the right track.” I smiled so widely my cheeks hurt. “But that’s not the good news. He can’t control me, David. Not completely.” I put my hands on either side of his face. “Don’t you understand? He doesn’t know I can resist his commands. He still thinks he has me under his thumb.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, for the first time, I actually believe we might have a chance to take down a demon lord.”
Chapter 11
After some fast talking on my part, Gary came through with a current address for Sandra Barstow. She was living in Clarkson Valley, between Chesterfield and Ellisville. He’d also managed to get info on the goon squad from the hospital. Perry Rogers and Omar Thomas. They were retired football players from when St. Louis still had a team.
We drove through Sandra’s neighborhood, with its half-million-dollar houses showcased by big manicured lawns. Lucky for us, none of them were surrounded by security fences.
“Oh, those two are definitely demons,” I said, scrolling through the information on my smartphone. “Perry broke his neck during the last game of the season in two thousand and six and had a miraculous recovery shortly after his heart stopped on the field. Omar suffered a massive heart attack one year after retirement in two thousand and seven. The two opened a bar together. Infernal Paradise. Wow. They’re not exactly flying under the radar, are they?”
“Why would Jerkface use two fairly well-known humans to commit a kidnapping?”
“Good question. Jerkface Stupidhead must be desperate if he’s willing to sacrifice a couple of higher-ups to do his dirty work.” I looked at their stats. “Maybe he just wanted the muscle. Both are more than six and a half feet tall, and they were defensive players.”
“So really good at hitting things. And people. Awesome.” David looked at the houses we passed on the same street as Sandra’s address. “These are some fancy homes.”
“Being a demon has its perks,” I agreed. “There’s no way a nurse’s salary paid for one of the homes in this area.” Either Sandra had some side businesses that brought in fast money, or she’d killed the people who owned the home and stolen it. “There it is.” I pointed at a three-story brick house with symmetrical Georgian features.
The GPS on my phone dinged as a soothing electronic voice said, “You have reached your destination.”
“I gotta admit, technology can be handy,” said David as he parked a block past the house. I saw his hands squeeze the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.
“It’s okay to be nervous,” I said.
“Is that what you think?” He let go of the steering wheel. “Sweetheart, I haven’t had this big of an adrenaline rush in a long time.” His smile turned wicked. “I’d say it’s been about fifty-six years or so.”
I took his hand. “Kicking demon ass is one of t
he few things, next to having sex with you, that I truly enjoy.”
“I’m glad you put my bedroom skills at the top of your list.”
I gave him side-eye. “It is definitely number one through ten.”
“I’ll work on making it one through twenty.” He winked at me. “Now, let’s get Ray.”
I opened the Google Earth app on the phone and pulled up satellite images of the property. We studied the forest that snaked between several of the properties. David pointed at the screen. “Look. There’s the backyard. The fence should be easy to climb.” He looked at me. “How do you want to play it?”
“I’ll go damsel-in-distress at the front door,” I told David. I turned off my phone and stuck it into my purse. I’d pretend my phone and my car were dead that so I could ask for help without causing suspicion. “You sneak in through the back.”
“I don’t like splitting up.” David took my hand and squeezed. “If Sandra orchestrated the kidnapping we have to assume Jerkface’s football lackeys are here, too.”
“We can deal with them,” I said with a confidence I didn’t quite feel. “Don’t worry. I’m dressed for this neighborhood. I’m just gonna go knockin’ and asking for a little help. She won’t see me as a threat.”
“Unless a certain demon lord told her you were coming.”
“There is that, but I don’t see any other choice.”
“You’ve always been better at picking locks.”
“True, but it’s mid-afternoon, ninety degrees outside, and that place has an in-ground pool. If Sandra is home, chances are good the back door is unlocked.”
“Hopefully she’s not in the pool.”
I shrugged. “If you have to, break a window, and you’ll be my distraction while I spike an evil bitch.”
I walked down Kingspoint Drive toward the demon’s home. David had taken the truck and driven to Kehrs Mill Road, the most direct access to the backyard woods. I estimated it would take David a little less than five minutes to make it to the back of the house.