know what God’s little helpers had been up to.
“Do you remember about three weeks ago that fire they set in South Philly?”
I remembered. The fire had killed an upstanding legal demon and his pregnant lover. They’d had another child, a little girl, who was trapped in the house. One of the demon firefighters rescued her, grabbing the child and then jumping from the top of the three-story building to the sidewalk below, taking all the impact with his legs to protect the child he held. That had to hurt. The child had lived, and the demon’s legs had no doubt healed within a few hours.
“I remember,” I said, because Adam was waiting for my answer. Adam’s face was grim and tight. “The firefighter was Dominic Castello. This weekend, God’s Wrath decided to punish him for rescuing the Spawn of Satan.”
I groaned. I hate demons with the best of them, but even I don’t think it’s a bad thing to rescue a three-year-old girl from a burning building just because her daddy happens to be hosting a demon.
“They wanted to teach him a lesson, not kill him,” Adam continued. “So 39 / 226
Jenna Black, The Devil Inside (2007)
Morgan Kingsley #1
nine of them ambushed him in front of his house, armed with baseball bats and crowbars.”
I winced in sympathy even as I began to realize where this story was going.
Adam looked miserable. “He was only trying to defend himself.” He met my eyes, a look of earnest entreaty in his own. “We feel pain, you know. We can tolerate it better than humans, but we have our limits.”
“What happened?” I asked softly. But I already knew. Adam hung his head. “They beat him until he lost control. He went berserk and fought back. Only until he was able to break free and run, but the damage was already done. He killed one, and another is in the hospital on life support.”
I’m not used to sympathizing with the demons, but I was making an exception this time.
Demons don’t have the same rights as humans. According to the law, it doesn’t matter what the extenuating circumstances are. If a demon goes rogue—in other words, is involved in a violent crime—it’s going to be exorcized. Period. And there would be no long, drawn-out trial. Hell, they didn’t even have the right to a lawyer, though some judges let them have one anyway. Certainly there was no jury of their peers.
“So he’s the one you want me to exorcize.”
Adam nodded. If I hadn’t known better, I would have sworn there was a hint of tears in his eyes.
I’m usually hired by family members, and only when the courtappointed exorcist has already failed. I couldn’t think of another time when a demon had hired me, but it sure looked like that was what was happening here.
“Why are you coming to me?” I asked, then winced at my less-thantactful tone. Adam didn’t take offense. “He and I have what you might call a history together. We’ve been friends ever since we came to the Mortal Plain, and our hosts were friends even before that. This is going to be difficult for all of us. We need the exorcism to work smoothly and quickly. And you’re the best there is.”
That made me squirm. “So your host is…aware of what’s going on?”
Adam’s eyes skewered me. “You know he is.”
40 / 226
Jenna Black, The Devil Inside (2007)
Morgan Kingsley #1
I looked away. Yeah, I knew. And this was one exorcism I wasn’t too eager to perform.
“Will you do it?” Adam asked.
I sighed. How could I refuse? Dominic Castello was getting one hell of a raw deal. Better to get it over with quickly than to make him suffer.
“Yeah, I’ll do it.”
He couldn’t quite bring himself to thank me, but he managed a little nod of acknowledgment.
41 / 226
Jenna Black, The Devil Inside (2007)
Morgan Kingsley #1
Chapter 5
The exorcism of Dominic Castello will haunt me for the rest of my life. Not for any reasons I might have expected. Unlike Lisa Walker, he didn’t fight it. They had him bolted to the
“Do you remember about three weeks ago that fire they set in South Philly?”
I remembered. The fire had killed an upstanding legal demon and his pregnant lover. They’d had another child, a little girl, who was trapped in the house. One of the demon firefighters rescued her, grabbing the child and then jumping from the top of the three-story building to the sidewalk below, taking all the impact with his legs to protect the child he held. That had to hurt. The child had lived, and the demon’s legs had no doubt healed within a few hours.
“I remember,” I said, because Adam was waiting for my answer. Adam’s face was grim and tight. “The firefighter was Dominic Castello. This weekend, God’s Wrath decided to punish him for rescuing the Spawn of Satan.”
I groaned. I hate demons with the best of them, but even I don’t think it’s a bad thing to rescue a three-year-old girl from a burning building just because her daddy happens to be hosting a demon.
“They wanted to teach him a lesson, not kill him,” Adam continued. “So 39 / 226
Jenna Black, The Devil Inside (2007)
Morgan Kingsley #1
nine of them ambushed him in front of his house, armed with baseball bats and crowbars.”
I winced in sympathy even as I began to realize where this story was going.
Adam looked miserable. “He was only trying to defend himself.” He met my eyes, a look of earnest entreaty in his own. “We feel pain, you know. We can tolerate it better than humans, but we have our limits.”
“What happened?” I asked softly. But I already knew. Adam hung his head. “They beat him until he lost control. He went berserk and fought back. Only until he was able to break free and run, but the damage was already done. He killed one, and another is in the hospital on life support.”
I’m not used to sympathizing with the demons, but I was making an exception this time.
Demons don’t have the same rights as humans. According to the law, it doesn’t matter what the extenuating circumstances are. If a demon goes rogue—in other words, is involved in a violent crime—it’s going to be exorcized. Period. And there would be no long, drawn-out trial. Hell, they didn’t even have the right to a lawyer, though some judges let them have one anyway. Certainly there was no jury of their peers.
“So he’s the one you want me to exorcize.”
Adam nodded. If I hadn’t known better, I would have sworn there was a hint of tears in his eyes.
I’m usually hired by family members, and only when the courtappointed exorcist has already failed. I couldn’t think of another time when a demon had hired me, but it sure looked like that was what was happening here.
“Why are you coming to me?” I asked, then winced at my less-thantactful tone. Adam didn’t take offense. “He and I have what you might call a history together. We’ve been friends ever since we came to the Mortal Plain, and our hosts were friends even before that. This is going to be difficult for all of us. We need the exorcism to work smoothly and quickly. And you’re the best there is.”
That made me squirm. “So your host is…aware of what’s going on?”
Adam’s eyes skewered me. “You know he is.”
40 / 226
Jenna Black, The Devil Inside (2007)
Morgan Kingsley #1
I looked away. Yeah, I knew. And this was one exorcism I wasn’t too eager to perform.
“Will you do it?” Adam asked.
I sighed. How could I refuse? Dominic Castello was getting one hell of a raw deal. Better to get it over with quickly than to make him suffer.
“Yeah, I’ll do it.”
He couldn’t quite bring himself to thank me, but he managed a little nod of acknowledgment.
41 / 226
Jenna Black, The Devil Inside (2007)
Morgan Kingsley #1
Chapter 5
The exorcism of Dominic Castello will haunt me for the rest of my life. Not for any reasons I might have expected. Unlike Lisa Walker, he didn’t fight it. They had him bolted to the
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