Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
I could see where Allard Pace had begun work on the property. The circular parking area in the front had been cleared, and more red brick was visible again.
Lorne turned off the Jeep and twisted in his seat to face me. “Whatever happens, remember I love you.”
I shook my head at him. “You think you’re saying something comforting, but you’re really not.”
Flashing grin then, sudden and beautiful.
“You’re absolute shit at pep talks. James told me.”
“Don’t listen to my brother. He’s a liar.”
I grunted and looked around, hoping and not hoping to see the demon. It would materialize as someone; the question was who.
“Kiss me now for luck.”
I rushed him, taking his mouth and making him open for my tongue. The kiss was mauling, and I didn’t stop feasting on him until I got the moan I was after.
“I knew you two would drive out here if you knew the priest had come first.”
Breaking the kiss, we both looked toward the Greek-Revival-style mansion, where Tanner Murphy stood on the portico of the second story, looking down at us. Between the Corinthian columns and cast-iron balconies, it was an impressive structure. At the moment, however, knowing that there was a demon inside the man was disconcerting.
“When Father Dennis told me he hadn’t talked to you, I was worried I would have to call, so I’m pleased I didn’t have to.”
Lorne got right to the point. “Where is Father Dennis?”
“In here with me.”
Lorne got out of the Jeep, walked around to the front, and leaned on the hood. “Is he safe?”
“For the time being,” the demon answered.
Lorne nodded. “Why don’t you let him go? Xander and I will stay whether he’s here or not. He doesn’t have to be part of our conversation.”
“I think he does,” the demon replied, his voice cold and flat.
“A different question, then, if I may?”
The demon lifted his hand for Lorne to go ahead.
“Why choose this man? Why of everyone in town did you pick Tanner Murphy to possess after you killed the nymph?”
The demon chuckled, and it was not a good sound. “The nymph was hard to kill. Afterward, I was drained and had to rest.”
Lorne and I remained quiet, letting him talk.
“This one,” it said, putting its hand over his heart, “was so very weak, there was no fight left in him. He’s a murderer, and without sleep, with nightmares plaguing him, relentlessly reminded of his sins, he unraveled fast. He was going to jump off that bridge in the middle of town when I slithered up and gave him a way out.”
“How is being possessed a way out?”
It smiled at Lorne. “He’s not alone anymore. At least not at the moment.”
Lorne nodded. “So he invited you in.”
“He did, and as I said, I needed to rest.”
Just as we’d suspected.
It cleared its throat then. “Now tell me, Chief MacBain, what is it you wish to discuss with me?”
“First, give me your name so I know whom I’m addressing.”
It stared at Lorne, sizing him up, thinking back, I was sure, on what it had seen of the chief of police over the last two weeks. Lorne had been faced with extraordinary events, and yet here he was, leaning on a car like he didn’t have a care in the world. I would think a demon would at least be curious about the man.
It took long minutes, but finally, the demon masquerading as Tanner Murphy shrugged. “Why not. I am Kamosh, and I’m older than the concept of time. Crossing me will send you swiftly to your grave.”
I had wondered how quickly the threats would come, and if they’d be original. Turned out, the answer was no. All evil had the same lines. When they spoke about themselves, it was always crossing me brings death. Fae, god, and now demon. Nearly identical. As though we, as humans, would simply lie down and let them take over the world without a fight. We weren’t made that way.
“I don’t want to cross you,” Lorne told him jovially. “I want to make a deal.”
“A deal for what?”
“No, I need to see Father Dennis first and to know what you’ve done to Allard Pace.”
“What makes you think I did anything to Pace?”
Lorne grinned. “You’re standing on his property, aren’t you? A property he decided to give to you, as I understand it. I highly doubt the man is alive and well.”
“You’re very clever,” the demon praised Lorne.
“Will you show me?”
Its eyes narrowed, but then he smiled before going back inside.
Lorne looked at me over his shoulder and then back at the mansion, just as the demon returned to the portico, carrying the lifeless body of Allard Pace.
“Here he is,” Kamosh told Lorne, tossing Pace off the balcony. The body fell hard onto the ground below, making a horrible crunching sound, blood seeping onto the bricks.