Legion's Lust
The room quaked when Martha slammed her fists on the table.
"You leave this house and go back from whence you came, demon." Martha gritted her teeth against the pain that stabbed her head. "Be gone!"
The lights in the old Victorian surged and popped. The homeowners screamed and their faces twisted in the flickering candlelight.
"Be gone demon," Martha screamed, "your kind is no longer welcome here."
Moans echoed in the dark corners of the room and energy swelled and pulled the candle flames this way and that.
Martha pushed back from the table, her head down and jaw set. She slowly uncurled herself to her full height and stared just above the family huddled in front of her. She raised one curled finger and jammed it at the air. "Out," she yelled, drawing out the length of the word with as much force behind it as she could muster.
There was one last burst of the horrible swirling air then the room lightened. The candle flames burned steady and upright.
Martha crashed to her knees and sucked in large gulping breaths.
The family crowded around her. "Thank you," they said, each one breathing palatable relief onto her. "Thank you."
"That wasn't even a demon. All the meters were giving readings for a disgruntled spirit."
Martha looked over her new hire, a young scrawny thing, and smiled. "Theatrics dear. In situations like this, the cleansing is secondary to the act." Martha popped open her trunk and dropped her kit inside. "If I would have said some words, poured some salt, and clutched my talismans to get rid of that grouchy bastard the homeowners would have never believed it."
"But it's dishonest."
Martha sighed. "What's your name again?"
"Jeff," he said, worry clouded his dark eyes.
"It's not dishonest, Jeff, it's show business. We provide a service and the pomp and circumstance has come to be expected be it for ill or good."
Jeff's gaze dropped to his feet. "Yes ma'am."
Martha slammed the trunk and walked back to the boy. "Just be thankful we no longer have to manifest ectoplasm." She chuckled at her own joke and held the keys out to him. "Would you be a dear and drive? I've got one heck of a headache brewing."
Martha checked her messages as the boy drove. The two new potential clients sounded interesting and straight forward, a lady in white and a child with an imaginary friend. They were probably run of the mill hauntings, and as usually happen in those situations, once it was explained to the dead that they were in fact dead everything cleared up and they passed over through their own volition. Of course, Martha would play it up to the clients.
The next message was a hang up. And the next. The third too, but she heard something there. "Listen," she said and turned the phone to speaker to replay the messages.
The phone played its messages and she heard it again. A chill ran through her.
"Hang ups? Jeff's eyes were on the road but he wrinkled up his face in confusion.
"Listen better." She replayed the messages and shoved the phone at Jeff.
"A hum?" I think I can make out a hum. Maybe. If I really stretch."
"There's a way to put this on a computer, right? Enhance the audio?"
"Sure," Jeff said, his tone took on a patronizing air, "But I don't think it's anything more than electronic noise. My ears are tuned-"
"Your ears are tuned to this world, not the others." Martha had dealt with confusion and disbelief and fear her whole life, yet she still got her ire up when confronted with it. "You're the tech. I'm the medium. You deal with it when the machines beep and I'll deal with it when the dead speak. Agreed?"
"Yeah absolutely. I'm sorry. I-"
Martha raised a hand to him and waved it off. "Not necessary." Her mind raced. She needed her energy for dealing with whatever was coming not bickering with a boy.
"Can I ask what you heard? What did the voice say?"
"Voices," Martha said. She took a deep breath. "One screamed and the others laughed."
She reached out physically to find the source
The room quaked when Martha slammed her fists on the table.
"You leave this house and go back from whence you came, demon." Martha gritted her teeth against the pain that stabbed her head. "Be gone!"
The lights in the old Victorian surged and popped. The homeowners screamed and their faces twisted in the flickering candlelight.
"Be gone demon," Martha screamed, "your kind is no longer welcome here."
Moans echoed in the dark corners of the room and energy swelled and pulled the candle flames this way and that.
Martha pushed back from the table, her head down and jaw set. She slowly uncurled herself to her full height and stared just above the family huddled in front of her. She raised one curled finger and jammed it at the air. "Out," she yelled, drawing out the length of the word with as much force behind it as she could muster.
There was one last burst of the horrible swirling air then the room lightened. The candle flames burned steady and upright.
Martha crashed to her knees and sucked in large gulping breaths.
The family crowded around her. "Thank you," they said, each one breathing palatable relief onto her. "Thank you."
"That wasn't even a demon. All the meters were giving readings for a disgruntled spirit."
Martha looked over her new hire, a young scrawny thing, and smiled. "Theatrics dear. In situations like this, the cleansing is secondary to the act." Martha popped open her trunk and dropped her kit inside. "If I would have said some words, poured some salt, and clutched my talismans to get rid of that grouchy bastard the homeowners would have never believed it."
"But it's dishonest."
Martha sighed. "What's your name again?"
"Jeff," he said, worry clouded his dark eyes.
"It's not dishonest, Jeff, it's show business. We provide a service and the pomp and circumstance has come to be expected be it for ill or good."
Jeff's gaze dropped to his feet. "Yes ma'am."
Martha slammed the trunk and walked back to the boy. "Just be thankful we no longer have to manifest ectoplasm." She chuckled at her own joke and held the keys out to him. "Would you be a dear and drive? I've got one heck of a headache brewing."
Martha checked her messages as the boy drove. The two new potential clients sounded interesting and straight forward, a lady in white and a child with an imaginary friend. They were probably run of the mill hauntings, and as usually happen in those situations, once it was explained to the dead that they were in fact dead everything cleared up and they passed over through their own volition. Of course, Martha would play it up to the clients.
The next message was a hang up. And the next. The third too, but she heard something there. "Listen," she said and turned the phone to speaker to replay the messages.
The phone played its messages and she heard it again. A chill ran through her.
"Hang ups? Jeff's eyes were on the road but he wrinkled up his face in confusion.
"Listen better." She replayed the messages and shoved the phone at Jeff.
"A hum?" I think I can make out a hum. Maybe. If I really stretch."
"There's a way to put this on a computer, right? Enhance the audio?"
"Sure," Jeff said, his tone took on a patronizing air, "But I don't think it's anything more than electronic noise. My ears are tuned-"
"Your ears are tuned to this world, not the others." Martha had dealt with confusion and disbelief and fear her whole life, yet she still got her ire up when confronted with it. "You're the tech. I'm the medium. You deal with it when the machines beep and I'll deal with it when the dead speak. Agreed?"
"Yeah absolutely. I'm sorry. I-"
Martha raised a hand to him and waved it off. "Not necessary." Her mind raced. She needed her energy for dealing with whatever was coming not bickering with a boy.
"Can I ask what you heard? What did the voice say?"
"Voices," Martha said. She took a deep breath. "One screamed and the others laughed."
She reached out physically to find the source
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