Page 76 of Demon and the Raven

“What about corrupting people?” Lorne asked.

“Isn’t it far more likely that someone is sinning because they want what their neighbor has, be that a beautiful spouse, a big house, or lots of money?”

The man was very logical.

“Greed is one of the seven deadly sins for a reason,” he pointed out.

“So you don’t believe in anything supernatural?” Lorne wanted to know.

“I believe in ghosts because when I’ve gone to people’s homes with Xander in the past, I’ve seen them. When I cleanse a house, or Rabbi Katz does, or Abbot Leung, we’ve all felt old, heavy, stagnant energy leave and be replaced with a feeling of lightness. When I’m here with the two of you, I’m at peace, and that’s different than it is with others. These are things I know. And though neither of you comes to church, I know that God works through each of you, as I see it in your deeds.”

“So goodness can only come from God?” I questioned him.

“No, but you can’t say it isn’t from God either.”

We were all quiet then, pondering this, until Lorne said, “What about demons who aren’t possessing people?”

“I’m sorry?”

“What about demons just walking around?”

“Again, I think perhaps I’m not the one to answer demonic questions for you, and I’m sorry about that. I can quote you passages from the Bible about demons, but it’s mostly about when the angels fell and what it is they want.”

“Which is?”

“To corrupt humans in any way possible and turn them away from God.”

“So killing them outright? No guidance there?”

“I think perhaps you need an archangel for that.”

Or a quick conversation with my lord Arawn. But since I didn’t know for certain what we were up against, I would wait until I knew.

“That is not to say I don’t have friends we could pose these questions to. I know a demonic scholar or two, and fortunately for you, they both live on the West Coast. Let me ask, and I’ll see if we can find any illumination.”

“But in the meantime, do you agree that something malevolent is causing the insomnia and nightmares?”

“I will concede that fact, yes, and we do need to find the nexus.”

“Well, hopefully we can find some answers at the site of the rift,” I told Lorne.

“Rift?” Father Dennis repeated.

I turned around in my seat to look at him. “How much about me do you actually want to know, Father?”

“As much as you’re comfortable to disclose.”

I took a breath and began with what I thought was happening with the sleeping issue. That the church, being on hallowed ground, blessed ground, was repelling—for lack of a better word—the demon’s curse. The same thing was happening with the wards on Corvus, as were the witch bells I enchanted that were hanging on doorknobs all over town. The wards that were wreaths in Amanda’s house, and the black salt and hyssop sprinkled over entryways. They were all working to resist evil.

“All the protections, both spiritual and magical, are keeping the demon’s energy from entering certain homes,” I explained. “Those without any are laboring under the torment of a demon who came into our world two weeks ago through a now burned-up rift, or tear.”

“So you believe there’s an actual demon here in Osprey.”

“We’re calling it a demon,” Lorne replied as he made the turn onto Willow Brook Road, heading for the Phoenix Farm, “because we’re not sure what else it could be. That’s why we need your or your friends’ help.”

“Certainly,” he agreed. “So am I to understand that normally, on Corvus, something evil would not be allowed to cross over onto this plane?”

I chuckled. “Lookit you getting with the lingo, Father.”