Demons LLC (Damned and Cursed Book 7) (9 page)

Not all of them recognized their master immediately.

Jason looked at Alex in awe.
 
He was aware he was seeing something amazing.

"Alex?
 
What's going on?"

He approached the first camera he saw in the dining room.
 
It took a moment to find the power button, but he finally found it and turned it off.
 
The last thing the camera recorded was Kim's troubled expression.

"You never had a ghost," Alex explained.
 
"Your house was never haunted.
 
You have a demon.
 
It must have somehow slipped through a hole in between the realms.
 
It's been waiting and getting stronger ever since, feeding off your fear.
 
Don't worry, your house isn't a gateway, or you'd be seeing much more than this."

"A demon?" Jason said.
 
"Realms?
 
Gateway?"

Alex sighed.
 
He knew it was a lot to take in.
 
He waited until after turning off the camera in the living room before speaking.
 
Donna and Keith seemed a little more relaxed, but continued to watch Kim.

"There's our realm, the spirit realm, and the demon realm.
 
The spirit realm and ours are closer together.
 
Ghosts are always running around."
 
He thought about Nate.
 
"Some of them
really
like to talk.
 
The demon realm is a lot harder to get to.
 
We're not meant to see each other, but it does happen."

Jason asked the only question that truly mattered.

"And you can get rid of it?
 
You can help my daughter?"

"Yeah."

He knelt in front of Keith and looked up at Donna.

"Hey, guys," he said gently.
 
"Are you both hanging in there?"

Keith wiped a tear from his eye and squeezed his mother's hand.
 
Donna actually managed to give Alex a smile and a nod.

"Good, good.
 
Listen, I need some help.
 
I need you to get an empty trashcan.
 
It doesn't have to be too big.
 
And maybe some old sheets or blankets you don't care about.
 
Can you do that for me?"

Donna nodded.

"Thank you.
 
Set it all up in front of Kim.
 
Don't worry, she won't hurt you."
 
Alex turned and glared at her.
 
She recoiled and averted her eyes.
 
"Will you?"

Alex's presence was already having an impact.
 
The fear in the household was slowly ebbing.
 
The demon was weakening, although it had a solid hold on Kim.
 
It would never release her willingly.
 
Alex wasn't sure if it even knew how to.

Donna and Keith went to the basement as Alex turned off yet another camera.
 
He headed to the second floor to turn the remaining ones off.
 
Jason was right behind him.

"Could you hit those cameras at the end of the hall?" Alex asked.

"Uh, should we be doing this?
 
I don't think Donovan would want us shutting them down like this."

Alex laughed as he ducked into Keith's room.
 
"Yeah, a lot of good they've done so far."

"This one doesn't have a button," Jason called.

"Then just turn it toward the floor."

They met up in the hall.

"Are you saying Donovan did the wrong thing?"

Alex leaned against the wall and sighed.

"No.
 
Donovan is a good man, with good people, and they're just doing what they know.
 
Gathering evidence, getting the church involved, there's nothing wrong with that.
 
Demons hate faith, strength, love, and holy dudes do a great job at channeling that.
 
But you won't see Donovan again for a day or so."

"What do you mean?"

"The church will give him the runaround, no matter how much film he gets.
 
He'll have to fight just to get them out here.
 
And an exorcism, if they go that way, takes time, sometimes weeks.
 
But don't worry.
 
Everything will be okay by the time they get back."

"What will
you
do that they can't?"

Alex smiled.

"Something I don't want their cameras to see.
 
That's for sure."

They rejoined Donna and Keith in the living room.
 
They'd done exactly like he'd asked.
 
A large bed sheet, riddled with holes, sat in front of Kim, folded over.
 
An empty plastic trashcan was on top.

Kim was lashing out once again.
 
She didn't leave the chair, but snarled and glared at Donna and Keith, who stood on the other side of the room.
 
Her demeanor changed to docile, almost afraid, when Alex walked down the stairs.
 
This fact wasn't lost on Donna.

"It's…scared of you," she said.

Kim looked at Alex with a sad, hopeful stare.

"Mast—"

Alex shut her down with a point of his finger and a glare.
 
He definitely didn't want the demon to address him by their favorite nickname in front of three witnesses.

His phone still sat on the couch where he'd left it.
 
He picked it up and scrolled for the app he was looking for.

"Keith, you've got the most important job now.
 
Are you up for it?"

The boy pulled away from his mother, his eyes eager.

"Yeah.
 
I'll do anything to help my sister."

Alex smiled.
 
"That's what brothers do.
 
Okay, take this phone.
 
I want you to record everything.
 
This is for my own notes, so believe me, it's important.
 
Stay right here on the couch, and just point it at your sister."

Keith took the phone.
 
"No problem.
 
I record videos all the time at my school."

Alex shook his head.
 
When he was ten, he could barely handle the remote to the TV.
 
Now kids were sleeping with phones.

"Donna, Jason, come with me, please."

They approached Kim, and suddenly the girl looked like herself.
 
She studied her parents' faces, confused, as she gripped the dining room chair.
 
There was dried blood still on her face, but her face was her own.

"Mom?
 
Dad?" she said.
 
"What's happening?
 
I…don't remember."

"Oh, Kim!" Donna said.
 
She tried to rush past Alex.

He stopped her.
 
"Don't.
 
It's not her.
 
It's just a trick."

The darkness returned to Kim's eyes.

"I don't want to leave," she said.
 
"I want to stay.
 
I want to play."

Alex ignored her and looked to her parents.

"Okay, stay here by the trashcan and…just wait."

"Wait for what?"

"You'll see."

He took a deep breath as he stood over Kim.
 
She still wore her spaghetti-strap shirt, which was a good thing.
 
Both her arms were completely exposed.

Alex reached out and grabbed both of her shoulders.
 
Kim leaned her head back and howled in agony, gripping the sides of the chair.
 
Her voice changed several times.

"Kim!" Donna shouted.
 
She tried to reach out, but Jason held her back.
 
"He's hurting her!"

"No, I'm not," Alex said calmly.
 
"She'll be fine."

He held onto her left shoulder while running his hand down her right arm, loosening the demon.
 
Demons not only obeyed Alex's every command, but his touch injured them, even when hiding inside a human.

The sensation was uncomfortable for him as well.
 
It felt like his hand was being stabbed with a thousand tiny needles.
 
He continued to stroke her arm, but the demon continued to resist.
 
Alex began to worry about Kim.
 
Her own screams blended with the demon's as her eyes rolled back in her head.

"Come on, Kim," he whispered.
 
"You can do it.
 
Just hold on."

Finally, as Alex's fingers slid over her wrist, he realized he was no longer feeling human flesh.
 
He looked down to see a demon's forearm, protruding slightly from Kim's own arm.
 
It gave the illusion Kim had two limbs grafted on top of each other.

Bracing his right arm against Kim's chest, Alex pulled as hard as he could with his left hand.
 
More of the demon loosened from Kim's body.
 
The arm, completely up to the shoulder, was visible, as was part of the head.
 
Kim leaned forward, an unexpected positive.
 
The demon was mostly free, its waist merging with Kim's.

Alex tugged one last time, and fell backwards onto the floor.
 
The demon landed on top of him.
 
It was one of the more tamer demons he'd seen.
 
Mostly humanoid.
 
Two arms, two legs.
 
Razor-sharp teeth.
 
Pure black eyes.
 
It had two horns that curled upward, one longer than the other.

"Master," the demon whispered.

Peering around the demon, Alex saw Kim on the sheet, resting on her hands and knees.
 
She vomited over and over into the trashcan.
 
Donna stayed at her side, gently rubbing her neck, while Jason held the can for her.

Alex quickly put his hand on the demon's forehead.
 
He wanted to send it back as fast as he could.
 
The Felder family wasn't paying attention, except for Keith.
 
There was no need to add to their list of horrible for the evening.

"Back you go," Alex said.

The demon cringed at his touch.
 
It opened its mouth in an attempt to scream, but no sound came out.

It was gone, taking the chill in the house along with it.

The only sounds Alex heard were of pure emotion.
 
Donna and Jason cried openly as Kim vomited once more.
 
Kim had enough time to moan in pain and discomfort before vomiting again.
 
Her body had rejected the demon, with his help.
 
He had the feeling it wasn't just human bodily fluids running out of her mouth and nose.
 
Not a pleasant thought.

Kim was finally done, and collapsed in her mother's lap, sprawling out like she'd been shot.
 
Tears ran down Jason's face, but he looked at Alex and smiled.
 
Kim took a few deep breaths before breaking down completely.
 
She cried so hard that she gasped for breath.
 
Her parents joined her, with Jason lifting her up and taking her in his arms.
 
The Felder family embraced and cried together.

"Uhh," Keith said, still leaning on the back of the couch with Alex's phone.
 
"Am I done?"

"Yeah, you are," Alex said.
 
"Go hug your sister."

Keith didn't need to be told twice.
 
He dropped the phone on the couch and ran across the room.
 
With a hard tackle, he almost knocked his family over.
 
Kim, despite being unable to stop crying, reached out for her brother.
 
It was a touching scene.

Alex continued to watch while lying on his side, resting on his elbow.
 
He was tired himself, and in no hurry to stand up.
 
The Felders would never be the same again.
 
They knew now that there was something beyond the darkness.
 
Those noises at night, they weren't always just a loose critter running around, or a squeaky floorboard.

But it could have been much worse.
 
Kim would probably need some therapy, but she was herself again.

It was a struggle to pull himself to his feet.
 
He brushed his hands and jeans off as he surveyed the living room.
 
Kim was standing as well, with help from her family.
 
She pulled away and took three wobbly steps, nearly falling in the process.
 
She stumbled into Alex's arms, and he caught her, holding her up.

"Thank you," Kim said, sniffling.
 
"Thank you so much."

She pressed her face into his shirt and squeezed.
 
Alex tried to set aside the fact that Kim's mouth was still covered in blood, vomit, and who-knew-what-else.
 
He relaxed and allowed himself to enjoy the moment.

Making money was a good thing.
 
But helping a family in need was even better.

"You're very welcome," Alex said, returning the squeeze.
 
He looked over Kim's head at Jason and Donna.
 
They were smiling and crying at the same time, with Keith standing close.
 
"I'd still get a house blessing.
 
There's nothing wrong with spreading a little love and light in here.
 
But, I think I'm done here.
 
Case…."

He didn't finish what was becoming a favorite catch-phrase of his.
 
He let it drift as thoughts circled and fought in his head.