big, dark, creepy haunted house. So far from home. You might start taking some illegal drugs, too. Anything to...cope.” It spoke that last word in a guttural whisper, and grinned broadly. Too broadly. I had seen a grin like that before, last year, on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest.
“ So, you took advantage of her situation,” I said. “You took advantage of a depressed girl.”
“ You call it taking advantage...I call it an opportunity.”
“ An opportunity to do what?”
“ To live,” she said, and her voice was quickly sounding less and less female. “It had been far too long.”
“ Because the house stood empty,” I said.
“ You are a smart witch.”
“ Then why kill her?” I asked. “If you need her to live?”
“ Because I am working on another. You might have met him. He is close to coming around, you could say. He’s fighting me, but it’s always a losing fight.”
I knew, of course, who he was talking about. “You would kill a father and daughter?”
“I will kill all that I can, and as many as I can, and as often as I can.”
“ Why?”
It looked at me oddly. “You ask too many questions, witch.”
“Answer me,” I said, sitting forward. I surrounded myself with even more white light, imagining it engulfing me completely, spreading down through the floor and up through the ceiling, behind me and even through the glass. Liz shrank back even further.
“ Answer me,” I said again. “Why do you hurt others?”
“ I don’t hurt them,” she said, sitting back now in her chair, the phone’s cord stretched to its max. “I possess them, I control them, I own them, I destroy them. Then I kill them. I do far, far worse things than hurt them.”
“ Why?” I asked. “Why do you do these things?”
Liz cocked her head at me, and I saw that she had bitten down hard on her lip and maybe even her tongue. Blood spilled over her jaw and down over her orange jumpsuit.
“Fuck you, witch,” she said.
Chapter Fifteen
The city was beautiful at night.
Perhaps no more beautiful than other big cities, but I enjoyed what Beverly Hills had to offer. Big, safe streets were filled with mostly friendly people. And those who ignored you were generally on the phone or texting, but, on the off chance that you caught them mid-text, they generally looked up and smiled.
Generally.
I was walking down Third Street, surrounded by rows of elegant apartments and apartments. The buildings were a beehive of activity. Open curtains revealed couples eating, people talking, cooking, watching TV, and working out. There was movement everywhere. Cars were coming and going. I passed many joggers and dog walkers and nannies.
I was walking to clear my head and to think, which might have been counterproductive. I was wearing a light windbreaker and a white beanie cap. No, it wasn’t that cold, but my ears got cold easily. I hated when my ears got cold. I wore yoga pants and sneakers, and, I suspected, I looked kinda cute. Maybe not.
It was hard to think about being cute—or anything else, for that matter—when death and demons were on your mind.
Yes, I had some experience with demons. In fact, I had some very personal experience with a “body-hopping” demon on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest. It was personal because I just happened to be a blood relative of a cursed family...and I got to experience first-hand just what it felt like to have another entity control my body. I had watched from the depths of my own mind—as if from a nightmare—as another creature literally took control of my body. Moving me, walking me, speaking for me.
At the time, I could do nothing more than watch passively. It was terrible, and I wouldn’t have wished the experience on my worst enemy.
I had done nothing to invite the entity in. I had simply had the misfortune of being a distant relative of a family who was very, very cursed.
However, Billy and his daughter weren’t cursed. The
“ So, you took advantage of her situation,” I said. “You took advantage of a depressed girl.”
“ You call it taking advantage...I call it an opportunity.”
“ An opportunity to do what?”
“ To live,” she said, and her voice was quickly sounding less and less female. “It had been far too long.”
“ Because the house stood empty,” I said.
“ You are a smart witch.”
“ Then why kill her?” I asked. “If you need her to live?”
“ Because I am working on another. You might have met him. He is close to coming around, you could say. He’s fighting me, but it’s always a losing fight.”
I knew, of course, who he was talking about. “You would kill a father and daughter?”
“I will kill all that I can, and as many as I can, and as often as I can.”
“ Why?”
It looked at me oddly. “You ask too many questions, witch.”
“Answer me,” I said, sitting forward. I surrounded myself with even more white light, imagining it engulfing me completely, spreading down through the floor and up through the ceiling, behind me and even through the glass. Liz shrank back even further.
“ Answer me,” I said again. “Why do you hurt others?”
“ I don’t hurt them,” she said, sitting back now in her chair, the phone’s cord stretched to its max. “I possess them, I control them, I own them, I destroy them. Then I kill them. I do far, far worse things than hurt them.”
“ Why?” I asked. “Why do you do these things?”
Liz cocked her head at me, and I saw that she had bitten down hard on her lip and maybe even her tongue. Blood spilled over her jaw and down over her orange jumpsuit.
“Fuck you, witch,” she said.
Chapter Fifteen
The city was beautiful at night.
Perhaps no more beautiful than other big cities, but I enjoyed what Beverly Hills had to offer. Big, safe streets were filled with mostly friendly people. And those who ignored you were generally on the phone or texting, but, on the off chance that you caught them mid-text, they generally looked up and smiled.
Generally.
I was walking down Third Street, surrounded by rows of elegant apartments and apartments. The buildings were a beehive of activity. Open curtains revealed couples eating, people talking, cooking, watching TV, and working out. There was movement everywhere. Cars were coming and going. I passed many joggers and dog walkers and nannies.
I was walking to clear my head and to think, which might have been counterproductive. I was wearing a light windbreaker and a white beanie cap. No, it wasn’t that cold, but my ears got cold easily. I hated when my ears got cold. I wore yoga pants and sneakers, and, I suspected, I looked kinda cute. Maybe not.
It was hard to think about being cute—or anything else, for that matter—when death and demons were on your mind.
Yes, I had some experience with demons. In fact, I had some very personal experience with a “body-hopping” demon on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest. It was personal because I just happened to be a blood relative of a cursed family...and I got to experience first-hand just what it felt like to have another entity control my body. I had watched from the depths of my own mind—as if from a nightmare—as another creature literally took control of my body. Moving me, walking me, speaking for me.
At the time, I could do nothing more than watch passively. It was terrible, and I wouldn’t have wished the experience on my worst enemy.
I had done nothing to invite the entity in. I had simply had the misfortune of being a distant relative of a family who was very, very cursed.
However, Billy and his daughter weren’t cursed. The
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