Dead evil, p.6
Dead Evil, page 6
Ronan threw an arm around Ten. “Yeah, but you’re forgetting that the people who bought tickets for the con did so to get readings from psychics, right? To have their palms and futures read. They came to buy crystal balls and new tarot decks. To make friends. To play tourist in Salem. None of them came here for a bible study or to have their own beliefs judged. I have a feeling KOD is going to get booed off the stage tomorrow night. I, for one, can’t wait to see it happen live and in living color.”
“Jesus, Ronan, don’t tell me you spent a thousand dollars for a ticket to get into that show.” Ten felt a headache coming on.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Jude bought tickets for all of us to go to the Dallas Demonologists show as spectators. There was no way he was paying for the VIP package, which includes the chance to have your demons cast out. Neither one of us believes we have demons inside us.”
“I don’t think we do either,” Ten agreed. He pulled his laptop closer and looked up the Dallas Demon Hunters website. It was loaded with pictures and videos of Barrymore and his partners casting demons out of all sorts of people. He clicked the play button for one of their promotional videos.
“Hey, y’all I’m Duke Barrymore, President and founder of the Dallas Demonologists.” Duke was dressed in jeans and black t-shirt with the DD logo. “Are you an alcoholic or addicted to drugs? Don’t let those libtard doctors fool you into a pricy rehab where you talk about your feelings and meditate on the beach. You need a kickass hunter to cast out the demon that’s keeping you addicted. Call and make an appointment with one of our certified demonologists. We guarantee to exorcise your demon no matter what! But wait, there’s more! Call now and I’ll throw in an exciting free gift, one of our fantastic DD shirts. Pay only shipping and handling! Don’t wait, call now! Dallas Demonologists where the only good demon is an exorcised demon!”
Ten hit the pause button. “Can you believe that?”
“Barrymore is definitely a showman,” Ronan said.
Ten clicked the webpage closed and pulled up a Word document. “Fitz asked us to do some research on the Dallas Demonologists. I joined their social media pages and saw mostly positive reviews of their work. The group had some trolls, but that’s what Facebook has become over the years. There was no mention made of how people felt after the exorcism or what happened to the towns the demonologists visited.”
“Damn, I was hoping we’d come up with something better than that.”
“But wait, there’s more!” Ten said, doing a Duke Barrymore imitation. “I looked at their scheduled appearances for the year and searched for articles about the towns they’d visited. One of the articles I read was from Orlando where there was a near riot staged because not everyone could have their demons cast out. Private deliverance sessions were offered to those people for five grand a piece.”
“That doesn’t surprise me in the least. It’s the law of supply and demand.”
“Similar things happened in appearances in Tulsa and San Antonio. One of the writers described the crowd as ‘desperately frenzied.’ Which sounds scary, if you ask me.”
“I’m guessing that’s what happened on the Titanic when people realized all the lifeboats were gone,” Ronan said. “Did you find anything about the people who experienced a demon deliverance?”
“Only one.” Ten sighed. This had been the most frustrating part of his research. There were so many people who were unwilling to speak about what happened to them. “One woman was willing to speak on the record with the condition of anonymity. She said whiskey was her personal demon. How she’d tried for years and been to rehab several times in an attempt to kick her addiction, but everything failed. When this woman heard Dallas Demonologists were coming to their city, she begged her parents to put up the money for her to get a private meeting with them. It wasn’t until the money was sent that she got a disclaimer letter from DD stating that their services are not guaranteed and were for entertainment purposes only.”
“Jesus,” Ronan muttered. “It’s like having life guards on the beach because they look good, not so they can save swimmers.”
“Exactly,” Ten agreed. “She said she went through the exorcism, believing it would work and it did.”
“For how long?”
“Forty-eight hours, give or take. This woman went on a binge and wound up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning.” Ten shook his head.
“Did the article say what happened to this woman?”
“She killed herself two weeks later. Left her parents a note saying she couldn’t put herself and them through the pain anymore. She ended the letter detailing what kind of service and headstone she wanted, saying at least now they wouldn’t have to worry where she was at night.”
“Wow,” Ronan said. “That’s horrible. I can imagine how devastating it would be to realize the exorcism didn’t work.”
“The exorcism couldn’t work, because there was no demon.” Ten paused waiting for Ronan’s reaction. His eyes widened but stayed silent. “Humans have this need to blame things on other people. I didn’t get a promotion because Bob was blowing the boss, you know, that sort of thing. It’s so much easier to blame a non-existent evil entity because it’s easier than blaming yourself.”
“When I was still drinking, I did the same thing,” Ronan said with a sad smile. “I blamed my ex, my job, my work partner, my shitty apartment. It wasn’t until I was in rehab, about to lose everything, that I realized the responsibility was all on me, but then so was my recovery, which is why it worked. I had to rely on myself. Be accountable to myself.”
“Would you have done this? Gotten an exorcism from these people?”
Ronan shook his head. “No. When I was drinking I never wanted to stop, so it never would have occurred to me to seek out that kind of help. Thinking about now though, I wouldn’t have done it because my faith was in the toilet. I’d begged and pleaded with God to help me and he never did. There’s no way I would have believed in the process.”
“Makes sense.” Ten took a sip of his tea. “So, what do we do with Everly tomorrow?”
“Truman and Jace are going to keep all of the kids in the pool during the morning session of the convention. They’ll call out for pizza for lunch and then Jude is bringing Wolf to the evening session to see Dallas Demonologists. Everly’s new friends are going to be at the demonstration as well.”
“I liked Eva and Emma. Raven’s great too. I’d love Everly to be involved with the spell classes she teaches. I’m not sure about the deliverance session.” Ten sighed. The next forty-eight hours were going to be the longest of his life.
“Weren’t you the one who just said exorcisms didn’t work because there wasn’t anything to exorcise?” Ronan asked. “I think of it like going to a magician’s show. As kids we all believed David Copperfield actually walked through the Great Wall of China, but as an adult, I know it was all bullshit. It’s the same thing with these demon hunters, with one exception.”
“What’s that? Not sawing a woman in half?”
“Hilarious,” Ronan deadpanned. “You are the exception. When you told the story about seeing the exorcism back in Kansas City when you were a teenager, you said your fear overwhelmed your gift. That won’t happen this time. Your head will be clear. I have no doubt you’ll be able to tell if what’s happening is fake. Then, there’s also the situation with you-know-who’s ninth victim.”
Ten groaned and sunk his head into his hands.
“You know possessions are real. We’ve seen them with our own eyes.” Ronan reached for Ten’s hand.
“I know they’re real. Look, Ronan, even a blind squirrel sometimes finds a nut. I’m guessing that most of DD’s exorcisms are smoke and mirrors. Some of them might even work due to the placebo effect, but they’re going to go up against the real deal at some point. Something stronger than Duke, that won’t obey his dramatic commands. What if that’s what we run into tomorrow night? Do you honestly want your daughter in the room with something like that?”
“Part of me says, hell no!” Ronan laughed. “But, the other part wonders if Everly is the only one who could control something like that.”
Ten’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe his ears. “Are you sure you don’t want to take my mother up on her offer of a mental health eval? Because you’re sounding extra crazy right now.”
“You want Everly there to save the next potential victim,” Ronan said. “We both know that.”
“You’re right, but what if that thing comes after Everly for denying it the chance to kill again. What then?”
“I don’t know, Nostradamus. You tell me.” Ronan pressed a kiss to Ten’s temple. “You and Cope will both be there if anything happens.”
“Okay, she can go to the evening session, but if anything goes wrong, even if Everly so much as spills her popcorn, it’s all on you. Got it, Nostra-dumbass?”
“You think you’re clever, don’t you?” Ronan asked.
“I know I am.” Ten grabbed Ronan’s hand and tugged him toward the stairs.
“Am I getting lucky tonight?” Ronan asked.
“Only if you keep your stupid mouth shut.”
“Mmmpppffff,” Ronan agreed, at least Ten thought he was agreeing.
What Ten needed right now was for Ronan to take his mind off everything going haywire around him. The convention. Demon hunters. King of Deliverance. He knew no better way to do that than with Ronan’s cock pounding him into the mattress.
8
Ronan
With a spring in his step, courtesy of Ten’s gold medal performance in sexual Olympics the night before, Ronan opened the back door of Fitzgibbon’s SUV to usher Ten and Cope inside. “Morning, Cap.”
“Good morning.” Fitz started the SUV and pulled out into traffic. “Are you all ready for today?”
“Ten and I are going to work our schedule. We’ve got a group reading this morning and another after lunch. In between, we’re going to work the booth with Carson and Cole.”
“I want Ronan or Jude with you at those group readings,” Fitz said.
“You got it,” Ronan agreed. “What are you doing today?”
“I’m meeting with the FBI and the Mass State Police this morning. Now that we know KOD will be at the demonology demonstration tonight, we need to revamp our security plan,” Fitzgibbon said. “I’m hoping that it will go the way it did when Ten went to their revival meetings, but we need to be prepared for all hell to break loose. Especially, if the pastor starts trying to convert the con attendees into radicalized Christian warriors.
“What do we do about you-know-who?” Jude asked.
“Christ, are we still talking about that doll?” Fitz asked, sounding annoyed. “We could have real trouble tonight and you’re worried about a toy?”
“Seems like I’m not the only one thinking about Agatha Louise.” Jude pointed to the front of the convention center where a black limo sat idling. Five news vans were parked nearby with reporters speaking to a man holding a large box.
“Christ, that’s Devin Forrest.,” Fitzgibbon muttered. “He brought the doll in a limo and they’re meeting the press?”
“Agatha Louise is famous,” Jude said. “I can’t wait to see her.”
“What if you’re the ninth victim?” Ten asked.
“What?” Jude barked, turning to face Ten in the backseat.
“Everly said she couldn’t see who the ninth victim was. I figured she was being blocked from seeing, the same way the Dallas Demonologists were blocking us all last night, but what if the reason she couldn’t see who was going to die is because it’s you?” Ten asked, sounding as serious as a heart attack.
“Jesus, Ten, could you wait to be a little black storm cloud of doom until after we’ve had coffee?” Cope asked.
Ronan was about to add his two cents until he saw a large crowd down the street from the parking garage. Salem Police Officers were scrambling to get a barricade erected. The group was holding signs and marching. “Fuck me with a chainsaw. It’s gotta be the KOD.”
“It wouldn’t have been hard to get the schedule for when the talent was getting to the event,” Fitz said, as a man broke free from the police and ran at his vehicle, holding his obscene sign high. “God hates-”
“Don’t say it!” Ten cautioned. “We can all read.”
“Repent now, Sodomites!” the man shouted. “Repent! It’s the only path to salvation!”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been called a Sodomite,” Jude said on a laugh.
The protester smashed his fist against the back driver’s side window. Ten jumped back. “Repent in the name of God Almighty!”
Two uniformed officers grabbed the man and yanked him away from the SUV. Ronan could hear the man shouting at the cops that he was a messenger of God. “What worries me is that he knew who we were.”
“We researched them,” Cope said. “It shouldn’t be surprising that they researched us.”
“Let’s just get inside and away from the gathering crowd.” Fitzgibbon entered the garage and stopped at the unmanned booth and took a ticket. The guard arm raised and he drove inside. A few minutes later, Fitz found a place to park on the third level.
“Are you okay?” Ronan asked as he got out of the backseat and offered his hand to help Ten out.
“I’m good,” Ten said. “I want to get inside so we can get this over with.”
Ronan couldn’t agree more. He pressed the button for the elevator and waited for the others to catch up.
“You know, I would never think to do this to someone else. Come to their event and protest. Insult and try to assault people. The fact that these people use Jesus’s name as their sword to hurt others makes me sick to my stomach.” Ten took Ronan’s hand.
“Same,” Ronan agreed.
When the elevator doors opened, everyone crowded inside. A few minutes later, they opened onto the lobby. “All ashore!” Ronan called out.
“Ronan! Tennyson!” a loud voice called out to them.
Ronan turned toward the man shouting and recognized his face. Even if he hadn’t, the large covered box the man was holding would have given his identity away. “Devin Forrest! How the hell are you?”
“Good. Really good. I saw that you guys were working the con and was hoping to catch up with you. Everly’s not here?”
Ten shook his head. “No, she’s coming tonight.” He turned to the others. “These are our friends, Jude, Cope, and Fitz.”
“Nice to meet you all. I’d shake, but my hands are full of precious cargo.”
“Is that Agatha Louise?” Jude asked, excitement in his eyes.
“It sure is. Would you like to meet her?” Devin asked.
“I would,” Jude agreed.
“Just have a caution how you speak to her. My darling is secure in her box, but there are airholes.”
Ronan opened his mouth to ask why the box had airholes, but he shut it again. Obviously Devin wanted the doll to be able to breathe. God help him, if he didn’t keep his big mouth shut, Ten was going to be picking out his coffin tomorrow.
Devin motioned everyone to follow him to a nearby table. He set the box down and slowly pulled the cover off the box. His dramatic movements reminded Ronan of a magician pulling back a drape to reveal a box full of doves instead of the rabbit that had been there when the box was covered. “Here she is, my little love, Agatha Louise.”
Jude smiled at the doll and knelt in front of her box. “Hello, Agatha Louise. You look beautiful today.”
As Jude complimented the doll, her head swiveled toward him.
Ronan bit his tongue to keep from screaming. He waved instead.
“These are all of my friends. We’re very excited to have you here. I’ll come visit you later, if that’s okay?” Jude asked.
The doll’s one good eye closed and then opened again.
“She must really like you,” Devin said. “It’s rare for her to respond to anyone but me like that. You should be honored, Jude.”
“I am.” He set a hand over his heart. “I really am. It was nice to see you both. We’ve got to go set up before the attendees start coming inside. I’ll see you later.” Jude waved at the doll and watched as Devin covered Agatha Louise and followed his handler into the auditorium.
“How cool was that?” Jude asked.
No one said a word. Ten gave two thumbs up. Ronan, Fitz and Cope quickly followed.
Jude snickered and headed toward the convention floor.
“I was about to shit my pants when her head turned. No word of a lie,” Ronan said when Jude was out of earshot.
“Same,” Ten agreed. “I don’t think I want to see her again.”
“Me either,” Ronan agreed. “Once was enough.” He breathed a sigh of relief that Everly wasn’t here with them. Knowing his kind-hearted daughter, she would have made fast friends with the doll or the demon who inhabited her and would have given them a friendship bracelet.
Breathing a sigh of relief that his encounter with Agatha Louise went smoothly, Ronan headed for the snack bar before the attendees started filing into the building. After all, not dying at the hands of a serial killer doll was cause for a treat. Right?
9
Tennyson
Surprisingly, Ten didn’t have a problem getting into the swing of his readings that morning. He’d put his encounter with Agatha Louise behind him and focused his gift on the paying customers who’d booked readings with him that morning.
Ronan stood a few feet away, keeping his eyes on the customers visiting the West Side Magick psychics. He’d snapped pictures for them with Tennyson and Cope and also had to send a few on their way when the scheduled reading time was over. For the most part, everyone was courteous.
