I shook my head. “That con hasn’t worked for at least thirty or forty years.” There was a famous case back in the sixties of a young man who’d turned out to be possessed when he signed the consent forms. Ever since then, the applicant had to be examined by an exorcist first.
“I know the exorcist who was on duty claimed Tommy wasn’t possessed, but he could have been paid off.”
It sounded plausible, if hard to prove. “Who was the exorcist?”
“His name was Sammy Cho.”
I think I managed to avoid making a face. Sammy was a second-rate exorcist—which explained why he was doing shit work like examining host wannabes. However, even the worst exorcist in existence can read auras well enough to spot a demon, and Sammy had such a big stick up his ass I half-expected leaves to sprout from his ears in the spring.
“There’s no way Sammy would take a bribe,” I said.
“No one is incorruptible.”
“Sammy’s about as close as you can get. Believe me, I know him well.” Only in a professional capacity, mind you, and being an inveterate rule-breaker myself, I tried to spend as little time in his presence as possible. But I’d stake my reputation on the fact that he’d rather die than take a bribe.
Claudia dismissed my assertion with a wave of her hand. “It doesn’t really matter in the long run how it happened. The fact remains that my son has been possessed against his will.” She swallowed hard. “I know it may already be too late, that he may never recover, but I have to get that demon out of him.”
And I realized now exactly what she wanted me to do. “You want me to perform an illegal exorcism.”
She held her chin up defiantly. “We—my husband and I—have money. We’re willing to pay whatever it would take.”
I wasn’t sure whether to be offended that she thought I could be bought, or sympathetic to her terrible situation. What I did know was that there was no way I was performing an illegal exorcism.
“You could pay me a king’s ransom, and it wouldn’t matter to me one bit as I rotted in prison. Illegal exorcism is considered murder.” Only because the authorities didn’t know that the demons didn’t die but were merely sent back to the Demon Realm, but no one was going to believe me if I declared that in my own defense. Besides, I’d been arrested for illegal exorcism once before, and I hadn’t enjoyed the experience.
“I understand you’d be taking a great risk,” she said, her voice soothing despite the desperation in her eyes. “But once we get Tommy back, he can confirm that he wasn’t willing, and—”
“You said yourself it might be too late.” If Tommy Brewster really was hosting an illegal demon, then there was considerably more than an eighty percent chance of him being a vegetable if he and that demon parted ways. Just a little more of my hard-earned knowledge of the deep, dark secrets the demons keep from the human race—the brain damage is brought on by abuse, and sometimes even legal demons don’t treat their hosts all that well.
With a pang, I thought of my own brother, Andrew. He’d hosted Lugh’s brother, Raphael, for ten years, and spent weeks in a state of catatonia when Raphael was gone. The good news was that he’d recovered. The really shitty news was that Raphael had recently possessed him once again.
I forcibly dragged my mind back to the problem at hand. What had I been saying? Oh yeah. “If he’s a—” I stopped myself, thinking that using the word “vegetable” right now might not be very sensitive. “If he’s catatonic when the demon’s gone, he can’t corroborate a thing. It’s not just my own ass I’m protecting, it’s yours, too. You and your husband would be accessories. I’m sorry, but I just can’t do it. And if you find another exorcist who agrees, you can be ninety-nine percent certain you’re about to get scammed. No one’s going to risk a murder charge—not when the pool of suspects would be so small.”
There are only a couple hundred exorcists in the U.S., and many of them would have alibis. I imagine if someone were stupid enough to take the Brewsters’ money, they’d find themselves behind bars in no time.
“So what do you suggest I do?” Claudia asked bitterly. “Just write my son off as dead? Watch that… that thing live out my son’s life?” She shuddered. “I can’t do that. I wont.” A tear snaked down her cheek, and she swiped it angrily away. She didn’t strike me as the kind of woman who cried easily, but it’s amazing how much pain family can cause.
She stood up, snatching her purse from the seat beside her. My heart ached with sympathy, the situation with my brother making me feel her pain all the more keenly. Now some might argue that the world was better off without one more God’s Wrath wacko tromping around burning people alive, and I might even agree with them. But I’d rather see that wacko in a brick-and-mortar prison than imprisoned helplessly within his own body.
“Look, don’t do anything drastic,” I advised as Claudia strode to the door.
She stopped and looked over her shoulder at me. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to free my son. He’s had a hard enough life already. I won’t abandon him.”
“Yeah, I get that. I’ve got a, um, friend in the police department.” Calling Adam a friend was a world-class stretch, but I didn’t have any other way to describe him that wouldn’t take five minutes of explanation. “Let me talk to him and see what he suggests.”
“The police have already said they can’t help me.”
“I know, but my friend might be able to pull a few strings. Maybe at least get them to look a little more closely at the case and see if they can find any evidence of coercion.”
Actually, Adam was the Director of Special Forces, the branch of the police department responsible for all demon-related crime. He also had a habit of playing fast and loose with the law, which meant he might be able to get things done that a more by-the-books cop couldn’t.
Claudia looked skeptical, but managed a nod of acquiescence. “Thank you. I will, naturally, compensate you for your time.”
I could have used the money, but I didn’t feel right charging her when Adam was going to do all the work. “No need for that. If I end up performing a legal exorcism for you, you can pay me then. Meanwhile, can I have your assurance that you and your husband won’t try anything illegal while I’m looking into this for you?”
She hesitated, then agreed with a nod. “All right. I appreciate your help, and I’m sorry I asked you to risk yourself like that.”
No, she wasn’t, but I couldn’t entirely blame her, so I accepted the apology.
Chapter 2
I put off calling Adam for so long that when I finally talked to him it was nearly six, and he invited me to come discuss the case over dinner. Like Pavlov’s dog, I began drooling at the suggestion. Adam’s boyfriend, Dominic, is very possibly the world’s best cook, and I found it almost impossible to turn down a chance to sample his wares, despite the unpleasantness a visit to Adam’s house would likely entail.
Adam just loves making me uncomfortable. En during public displays of affection and sexual innuendo was the price I’d have to pay for the free meal, but when I considered the contents of my own kitchen, temptation overwhelmed me.
I arrived at Adam’s house at about six-thirty. As soon as he answered the door, I knew it was going to be one of those nights, the kind that made me regret letting my stomach make decisions for me. His eyes were dilated with excitement, and he was slightly short of breath, which told me my arrival had interrupted something I didn’t want to know about. Of course, he’d known I was on my way, so my interruption wasn’t exactly an accident.
He smiled his typical wolfish smile, and I hoped I wasn’t blushing already.
“Come in,” he said, stepping aside to let me through the door.
I might have backed out if I hadn’t caught the scents from the kitchen at just that moment. My stomach gurgled loudly, and like a zombie I followed that scent, Adam close behind me as if to block my escape.
Dominic is a seriously good-looking guy, tall and olive-skinned, with a sculpted body and
meltingly warm eyes. Despite his sexual orientation, he exudes masculinity even when standing over a hot stove. Tonight, he was wearing a chef’s apron, which I’d never seen him do before, and he greeted me with a wave of his hand rather than turning to face me.
I suspected immediately he was hiding a boner, and my cheeks flushed. They flushed even deeper when I saw the paddle Adam must have set carelessly on the counter when he went to open the door.
Yeah, “carelessly” my ass. He loved rubbing my face in the more unconventional aspects of his relationship with Dom.
Adam and Saul, Dominic’s demon, had been lovers, though from what I could tell they hadn’t actually been in love. In a moment of candor, Dom had once told me it had always been him, not Saul, who’d loved Adam, though when Dom had been possessed, he’d only been able to love Adam from afar.
When Saul had been declared rogue after his control snapped during a God’s Wrath attack, I’d been called in to exorcize him. The fact that I’d exorcized Saul hadn’t endeared me to Adam or Dom, but, in my admittedly biased point of view, they were clearly better off without him. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that they were devoted to one another, though I knew that there were aspects of their physical relationship that Adam found less than fully satisfying.
Demons are incorporeal in their own world, and some of them—like Adam and Saul—find all physical sensations, even pain, fascinating. Adam’s fascination, however, was more in the giving than the receiving. When Dominic had been possessed by Saul, Adam could inflict as much damage as he liked, because Saul could heal his host’s body. Saul could also shield Dominic so his host didn’t feel any more pain than he found pleasant. Ever since I’d exorcized Saul, Adam had to be content with what Dominic could tolerate as a human being, and I knew sometimes he missed the thrill.
That didn’t mean he and Dom didn’t have a jolly old time together. And, to my never-ending embarrassment, thoughts of the two of them together really cranked my engine. They were just so incredibly sexy, both of them, and they were so hot for each other I swear they sometimes leaked pheromones.
“I’ll have dinner on the table in just a moment,” Dom said, his back still turned.
As I moved to the kitchen table, which was set for three, I saw that Dom was dishing out jumbo servings of lasagna. Manners prodded me to offer to help him serve, but I knew from experience he wouldn’t let me. The kitchen was his domain, and he wasn’t about to let a culinary barbarian such as myself intrude.
I waited in silence—and hunger—as Dominic brought the plates to the table, then retrieved some aromatic garlic bread from the oven, popping it into a napkin-lined basket. I had to wait even longer as Dominic poured wine for himself and Adam; then he finally removed the apron—it seemed the delay had calmed him—and took his seat.
I dove for the basket of bread. Naturally, it was homemade, and would have been delicious even without the butter, garlic, and spices. I practically moaned in ecstasy when I bit into it.
“Have you ever thought of starting your own restaurant?” I asked with my mouth full.
Dominic had been a firefighter when he’d been possessed, but he’d quit once Saul had been exorcized. He still had all the training and experience from his time with Saul, but because of Saul’s inhuman healing ability, Dom’s experience could very well have led him to take unacceptable risks. I’m pretty sure that it was Dom who’d made the final decision to quit, but I’m also pretty sure his department had encouraged him to get out. I didn’t know how long he’d be happy as a full-time housewife, or whatever exactly he was right now. I knew he’d given up his crappy house in South Philly and moved in with Adam, but I had no idea what his long-term plans were.
“The idea has crossed my mind,” Dominic admitted as he sampled his lasagna and frowned. “Too much oregano,” he muttered under his breath.
That prompted both Adam and me to take a bite, and we both assured Dom it was perfect. He blushed with the praise, but it was well deserved. I wondered how come neither he nor Adam weighed three hundred pounds if they ate like this every night. I kept eating long after I was full, unable to stop myself because it was so delicious.
Unfortunately, pigging out on the lasagna forced me to turn down the homemade cannoli for dessert. I accepted a cup of strong Italian-roast coffee as a consolation prize, then finally got around to telling Adam why I’d contacted him.
He and Dom both listened carefully to my summary of Claudia Brewster’s story, but they were eerily silent afterward. I looked back and forth between the two of them. Adam was giving me a look that said I was pond scum. Dominic was staring at his coffee cup as if it held the secrets of the universe.
Belatedly, I remembered that Dominic—actually, Saul—had been attacked and savagely beaten by God’s Wrath. I supposed it was naive of me to expect Adam and Dominic to have any desire to help one of its members.
The silence grew increasingly painful as the seconds ticked away, and I tried to think how to extricate my foot from my mouth.
“Look, I don’t have any sympathy for this kid,” I said, though strictly speaking that wasn’t true. Considering my own aversions, I did feel sorry for Tommy Brewster being forced to host a demon in his body, no matter how many ideological problems I had with God’s Wrath. “I do have sympathy for his parents, though. Claudia Brewster was so desperate, she tried to hire me to commit what the law thinks of as murder. She had to know she’d be arrested herself, but she was willing to do it anyway to free her son. She didn’t approve of his involvement with God’s Wrath, but sometimes you love your family even if you don’t approve of them.”
Despite rivers of bad blood between myself and my mother, I was pretty sure we still loved each other, at least a little bit. My general state of happiness increased in direct proportion to the distance between us, but I’d have been miserable if something terrible happened to her. That thought immediately led me to thoughts of the terrible thing that had happened to my father, and I shut that line of reasoning down in a hurry.
“You have one hell of a nerve,” Adam snarled at me, shifting his chair closer to Dominic and slinging his arm protectively around his lover’s shoulders.
“Don’t, Adam,” Dom said softly, though he leaned into Adam’s embrace. “There’s poetic justice in what happened to this guy, but if this really is a case of unwilling possession, how do we know it’s the only one? Maybe it’s happening more often than we think, and this kid is just the only case weird enough to cause raised eyebrows.”
I hadn’t thought of that myself, but it was a good point. I decided to keep my mouth shut, though. I figured anything I said would just dig the hole deeper, but Dominic might be able to persuade Adam to look into the Brewster case.
Adam scowled. “It’s bullshit anyway. There are too many safeguards in place to believe the guy was unwilling. There’s a reason the police have told the mother they can’t help.”
“And maybe Brewster had some kind of sudden religious conversion and decided it was time to host a demon,” Dom agreed, “but it sounds damned unlikely. No matter what the evidence says, I find it hard to believe he could go from being in God’s Wrath to being a willing host in ten days.”
Adam removed the protective arm from Dom’s shoulders and, after giving me another glare, turned his chair to face his lover. “I find it hard to believe anyone would bother going through this elaborate scheme to possess some low-level God’s Wrath flunky. What would anyone have to gain by it?”
“Well that’s a good question, isn’t it? What would it hurt to do a little unofficial investigation? Maybe look at his registration video, see if you see something that ordinary human beings wouldn’t see. Look into Tommy Brewster’s background, see if there’s some reason the Spirit Society would consider him a threat. After all, it’s beginning to look like most of the Spirit Society are Dougal’s puppets. You never know—this could turn out to be something important.”
Adam gave him a sour look. “That’s a bit of a stretch
.” He made a sound between a sigh and a growl. “You really want me to investigate this?”
Dominic thought about that for a minute, then nodded. “Yeah, I do. Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe it’s none of our business. But I’d feel more comfortable if I knew for sure.”
Adam turned his sour look on me, but I knew he wouldn’t turn Dominic down, so I met his gaze steadily.
“You’ll owe me one for this,” he said, and his tone of voice sent a shiver down my spine.
I tried to think of something to say, some clever retort, but nothing came to mind. Dominic ended the staring contest by grabbing another cannoli and plunking it on Adam’s plate.
“Here,” Dominic said with a little smile. “Eat this and see if it sweetens your mood. I’ll walk Morgan to the door.” The smile turned impish. “We have unfinished business, remember?”
I forced myself not to glance toward the paddle that still lay on the counter in plain sight. And I tried my best not to visualize what the two of them would do as soon as I was out the door. It didn’t help when Adam picked up the cannoli with his fingers and scooped out some of the creamy filling with his tongue. Dominic and I both blushed, and I hastened out of the kitchen without a parting shot.
Chapter 3
I went home after dinner, planning a quiet evening of vegging out in front of the TV. I didn’t have many quiet evenings these days, and the prospect held a surprisingly strong appeal.
Because of my uncomfortably eventful life, I never just strolled into my apartment as if it were a safe haven. Before I unlocked the door, I activated and armed my Taser. Once inside, I did a thorough room-to-room check before allowing myself to relax.
For a while, I’d tried the old trick of putting a length of string between the door and the frame when I went out. Supposedly, if that string was still in place when I returned, it meant no one had opened the door. The problem was I didn’t always remember to put it there, and any time I returned home and didn’t see the string my heart would go into overdrive and I’d conjure the image of hordes of demons invading my apartment. Even when the string was still right where I left it, I found I didn’t feel comfortable until I verified with my own two eyes that I was alone. I always felt vaguely silly when I’d finished my search, but that didn’t stop me from doing it.